I Kings 12 - 13

In chapter 11 we read that Solomon has died. How was his death perceived by the people of Israel? Was he viewed as the spoiled prince who became king? Was he the king who started off with high hopes and best wishes of the people only to disappoint them later in his reign? Was he the wise king who didn’t always practice what he preached? Will he be remembered for reigning during a time of peace and prosperity but who ended his reign as leading his people away from the one true God and the nation burdened with huge governmental expenses?

As with any leader, Solomon left behind a mixed legacy. The books that he wrote reflected the man. A man of passion, wisdom, and flaws who late in life drifted away from his devotion to God.

Solomon was succeeded by his son Rehoboam. Let’s take a quick look at Rehoboam and the southern Kingdom of Judah. Rehoboam was the fourth and last king of the United Kingdom of Israel. He became king at the age of 41 and ruled for 17 years. He had eighteen wives and sixty concubines.

His mother was the only wife of Solomon who is mentioned by name. She was Naamah, an Ammonite. Ammonites were descendants of Lot and were located east of Israel in what is modern day Jordan. The Ammonites worshiped the god Molech which included child sacrifices. God commanded the Israelites not to marry these pagans, because intermarriage would lead the Israelites to worship false gods. Solomon ignored this command.

Naamah was the one who introduced her religious practices to Israel. I Kings 11:4-6, “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites.” Once the leaders moved away from God, the people followed.

The ultimate cause of the split of Solomon’s kingdom is found in 1 Kings 11:11-13, “since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates (Jeroboam). Nevertheless, for the sake of David, your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. . . Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him but will give him one tribe for the sake of David.” 

The immediate cause of the spit in the country was Rehoboam’s unwise decision to refuse to lower the tax burden on his people.

The United Kingdom of Israel split into the Northern Kingdom of Israel, led by Jeroboam and the much smaller, Southern Kingdom of Judah, led by Rehoboam.

Most of the kings of the southern Kingdom of Judah were evil, but there were several who were good and tried to turn the people back to God. But in 585 B.C. Judah would be invaded by the Babylonians, the temple destroyed and many of the people would be taken into captivity for seventy years.

Let’s take a quick look at what would become the northern Kingdom of Israel. It’s first king was Jeroboam who had been one of Solomon’s officials in charge of the labor force (I Kings 11:26-28). Jeroboam was told by the prophet Ahijah that the nation of Israel would be taken away from Rehoboam and ten tribes would be given to Jeroboam (verses 35-36).

Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but he flees to Egypt until Solomon dies.

Rehoboam succeeded his father Solomon as the king of Israel, and Jeroboam returns to Israel and askes that Rehoboam lower the heavy tax burden that his father Solomon placed on his people. Rehoboam refused and the northern tribes seceded from the union and appointed Jeroboam as their first king.

Jeroboam reigned for 22 years and introduced a wide range of “worship innovations” which included Golden Calves, appointing unqualified priests, created new sites for sacrifices within their borders and male temple prostitutes. Jeroboam became the standard for evil among the kings of Israel. There was not a single righteous king among all who followed Jeroboam. Finally, in 721 B.C. the nation was invaded by the Assyrians who took some people into captivity. These people disappeared from history. Assyrians moved in and intermarried with the Israelites.

With this background, let’s get back to the text.

In 1 Kings 12:1 we find Rehoboam being crowned as the new king of the still United Kingdom of Israel and Jeroboam returning from Egypt. Jeroboam, along with a group of representatives from the northern tribes visits Rehoboam, Solomon’s successor. Jeroboam says (verse 4), “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us and we will serve you.”

This seems to me to be a reasonable request. All Rehoboam had to do was to provide them with some tax breaks and he would probably gain their support for life. An act of generosity on his part might have solidified the people’s support for him much as Solomons’ demonstration of wisdom and David’s military victories had done for them.

Rehoboam asked for three days to give this request some thought. He then asked his older advisors, and they too thought it would be a good idea to lessen the burden on the people (verse 6).

Apparently, Rehoboam didn’t get the advice he wanted so he asked a group of younger advisors. They told him what he wanted to hear. This is what many subordinates do when a powerful person asks for advice. Nations have gone to war over faulty intelligence, but the leaders “signaled” what they hoped the intelligence agencies would find and so they were told what they wanted to hear.

Rehoboam’s advisors probably told the boss what they thought he wanted to hear. The younger advisors suggested that Rehoboam demonstrate that he was in charge, that he would not give the people any tax relief for fear that they would come back and ask for more.

Jeroboam returned to the palace to get the decision of King Rehoboam. As you can imagine, he was shocked and disappointed with the decision of Rehoboam. His disappointment quickly turned to anger. Angry words were exchanged, and Jeroboam ended the meeting with (verse 16), “What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse’s son? To your tents, O Israel! Look after your own house, O David.”

To “Look after your own house” meant to look after your own tribe. It can also suggest that they viewed the house or temple in Jerusalem as the temple or house of the tribe of Judah rather than the temple of all of Israel.

Things got even uglier for Rehoboam. Rehoboam accompanied Adoniram, the head of the unpopular forced labor program on a visit. Adoniram was welcomed by the crowds, not with cheers and confetti, but with jeers and a hail of rocks. Adoniram was killed and Rehoboam barely escaped with his life. This triggered the people of the northern tribes to turn to Jeroboam and make him King of the northern tribes of Israel.

This infuriated Rehoboam. He had already had a very ugly confrontation with Jeroboam over tax relief. Adoniram was killed, he was assaulted and now Jeroboam was crowned king of the northern tribes. He gathered an army (verse 21) and was ready to go to war with the northern tribes when a prophet of God by the name of Shemaiah told him, “Do not go up to fight against your brothers” (verse 24). Shemaiah averted a bloody civil war. The U.S. could have used his services back in April of 1861. I wonder if Shemaiah received the equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. He probably deserved it.

Now Jeroboam had another concern to deal with. How was he going to keep the northern tribes united and prevent people from migrating south to Judah? The Israelites were required to go to Jerusalem three times a year to observe the pilgrimage festivals (Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles).

Not only were they required to make these pilgrimages, but they also took a lot of money with them to fill the coffers of those in Judah. “They shall not appear empty handed. Each shall bring his own gift, appropriate to the blessing which the Lord your God has given you” (Deut.16:16). The Israelites had to pay their first tithe to the Levites in Judah. They also used their second tithe to pay for their trip and living expenses while in Jerusalem. All that money from the ten northern tribes being spent in Judah may have been an economic boost to Judah but may not have done much for the northern tribes. Naturally he would want to keep that wealth in his own country.

Jeroboam was also concerned that if the people continued to observe these festivals in Jerusalem they might, at the very least, become less loyal to him. And these festivals were a community-building experience. The last thing Jeroboam wanted was for there to be stronger emotional ties between the north and the south. They might even relocate to Judah. He wanted to prevent this from happening.

To keep the Israelites closer to home, Jeroboam created his own worship and sacrifice sites in Israel. Jeroboam built two state approved temples, one in the town of Bethel (about 22 miles from Jerusalem) along the southern border and the other near the northern border in the town of Dan. Jeroboam also hired his own priests and designated new dates for religious festivals. His advisors may have also suggested that water slides, chariot races and casinos be built to attract visitors, but there is no historical record of such ideas being made.

But Jeroboam did agree to bring back that old-time favorite idol, the Golden Calf. No, it wasn’t a carnival ride, it was an object of worship.

I can imagine the promotional posters for the new pilgrimage sites. Which promotional slogan do you like best?

“Worship Locally and Save Money.” 

“Less Travel Plus Golden Calves” 

“Worship in Israel, it’s the Patriotic Thing to Do”

Verse 28, “After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He (Jeroboam) said to the people, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

Bethel was about twenty-two miles from Jerusalem and 120 miles from Dan in the north. The idea of shortening travel time, saving money, and having more fun with the Golden Calves, must have been very attractive.

The golden calves were symbols of strength and fertility so you can imagine what their worship or festival celebrations were like. They might have been a cross between a fitness center and a brothel. Do you think worship attendance rates increased at this time? It’d probably be difficult for competing religions who had little more to offer than contemporary music, coffee, and donuts.

Many of the righteous Levites shook their heads in disgust with these innovations of worship and headed south to Jerusalem. Jeroboam had to appoint new priests (verse 31) “from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites.” 2 Chron. 11:14 tells us that those Levites who disapproved of these actions by Jeroboam and who didn’t leave voluntarily, were expelled from the country. In a sense, the Israelites experienced a split in the nation and the “denomination.” Not so much different than what some nations and churches experience today.

In Chapter 13 we find a “man of God came from Judah to Bethel,” to visit the new worship site at Bethel. Do you think he was pleased with what he saw? He wasn’t there to worship but to give a message to Jeroboam, the man who was responsible for these “liturgical innovations.”  Jeroboam was there for worship services and was about to offer a sacrifice when he was interrupted by this “man of God” (verse 1). Did you notice that this “man of God” was not a local, but came from Judah? Couldn’t God find an honest prophet left in Israel? Probably not.

Why was he unnamed? I hope his feelings weren’t hurt. Maybe he wanted to remain anonymous, for security reasons. Well, he told Jeroboam that a future king of Judah, a righteous one by the name of Josiah would sacrifice on this pagan altar the bones of Jeroboam’s phony priests (verses 2-3).

Many years later, another prophet would come from the south to deliver another painful message to the Israelites. His name was Amos. And his message wasn’t any more positive than this “man of God.” And he wasn’t any more welcomed, either.

These prophecies were fulfilled and are recorded in 2 Kings 23. There the good King Josiah ordered that the long-ignored temple be renovated and cleaned up and placed back in service. In the process the workmen found the Book of the Law, which had been lost for years. When it was taken to the king, he asked that it be read to him. He was shocked by what he heard and ordered that the Law be read to the people (2 Kings 23:2). He realized how far the people had strayed from the true worship of God and renewed the covenant between his people and God.

He then pulled down the altars to the pagan gods that were built by Jeroboam (2 Kings 23:12-15), burnt the Asherah pole, removed the bones from the nearby tombs of the priests appointed by Jeroboam and burnt them on the altar. Why would he do that? The understanding back then was if you burnt human bones on the altar, it would be so desecrated that it could never be used again for sacrifices.

King Jeroboam, like many in power, did not take kindly to what the man of God had to say. I imagine he wasn’t very pleased with his security detail, either, for allowing someone to interrupt him in worship. The king outstretched his hand and ordered, (verse 4) “seize him!” But just then, his hand shriveled up so that he could not pull it back. Also, the altar that the king was using to offer a sacrifice to a pagan god, split in half. This put the king in a panic, and he cried out to the man of God, “Intercede with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand many be restored” (verse 6). Notice that he referred to God as “your God” not “our God.” The prophet did, and the kings’ hand was restored. He was so grateful he invited the man of God over for lunch, though the offer was declined (verse 7). He explained to the king that he was told to not eat or drink anything until his mission was complete and to take a different route home (verse 9). Why a different route home? Perhaps he was concerned that the King might send someone to go after him. The man of God was there on official business and to have had lunch with the king would have diminished the seriousness of the mission and the message. But, like a good soldier, he was going to obey his orders until his mission is completed.

Can you think of other times when people were given similar instructions to stay focused on the mission and avoid any unnecessary distractions? Elisha sent his servant with instructions to not speak or greet anyone on the way (2 Kings 4:29). Jesus said much the same in Luke 10:4. That didn’t mean that they couldn’t say “Hello” as they passed by someone, but in that day, “greetings” were more elaborate and time consuming.

On his way home the man of God was resting under a tree, probably hungry and wishing he had something to eat, when the sons of an “old prophet” came by and invited him to eat with them (verses 11-15). The man of God declined the offer. When his sons returned home, the old prophet himself came by to invite the man of God for dinner, saying, “I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the Lord: ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water” (verse 18). Ah, but the old prophet was probably lying.

But the man of God did go with the lying old prophet and ate with him. While having lunch the old prophet got a real message from God, telling him that the man of God, the true prophet who was his lunch guest would be punished for disobeying God and that when he died his body would not be buried in the tomb of his fathers (verse 22). I wonder how God gave him this message. Was it when he went into the other room? Did he tell the man of God what the message was? Can you imagine what the old prophet may have said when he returned to the table? “Is there something wrong? You look troubled?” “Oh, it’s nothing. Would you like more desert?”

When the man of God left, he was attacked by a lion and killed (verse 24). But strangely, the lion didn’t maul or eat the man, he just killed him. This was understood to mean that his death was divine judgment. When the old prophet heard what happened, he retrieved his body and laid his body in his family tomb. He was probably racked with guilt for his role in the man’s death. Did he know what name to put on his tombstone? Perhaps it read like the inscription on the tomb of the unknown soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, “Here Lies a True Prophet, Known unto God.”

Was his death a signal to King Jeroboam? I think it was a warning that what happened to the man of God might happen to the king, if he continued to disobey God.

I do feel bad for the man of God. He had the courage to confront the King, yet his name isn’t even given. He died for what appears to have been a rather minor mistake in judgement. But maybe there is more to the story than we are being told. Perhaps he was starting to suffer from the early symptoms of a debilitating neurological disease which would have slowly and painfully killed him, so maybe his quick death wasn’t so bad.

What about Jeroboam, the man the prophet confronted and whose hand became all shriveled up? Did the warning from the man of God have any lasting effect? Did the frightening immobilization of his arm convince him that he should change his ways? Did the splitting of the altar bring him to his senses? Did the death of the man of God turn his heart back to God? No. No. No and No. Verse 33-34, “Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways, but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth.” I would guess that the only real qualification to become a priest was a hefty bribe.

Today there are religious leaders who like to give themselves titles such as Apostle or Prophet. Others like to say, “God told me . . .” or “God appeared to me in a vision.” We should always be skeptical of such claims. The man of God was deceived by the old prophet because his invitation was phrased in religious language. He sounded so sincere and pious. The Apostle Paul warned us in Gal. 1:8-9, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!”

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) believed that he had a vision where God the Father and his son Jesus Christ appeared to him and instructed him to join none of the existing churches because they were all wrong. (Joseph Smith History 1:18-19 Doctrines and Covenants).

Even today people claim to have received messages from God or angels.