First Kings 12:12

The Bible says in First Kings 12:12-19, “So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.[13] And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him;[14] And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.[15] Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.[16] So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.[17] But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.[18] Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.[19] So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.” The terrible words are in verse thirteen. Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, “forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him.” Rehoboam not only did not have his own wisdom, he rejected the wisdom of the older wiser men. It is a common mistake of young adults to take the advice of other young adults. That usually does not end well, just as in Rehoboam’s case. This was definitely not the time to raise taxes: something that neither Rehoboam understood, nor his young advisors. But the people made it clear by what they did to the tax collector. It says in verse eighteen that “all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died.” Because God said the kingdom would be divided, the Bible says in verse nineteen, “So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.”

The Bible says in First Kings 12:20-24, “And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.[21] And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.[22] But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying,[23] Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying,[24] Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.” All things are of God. Nothing happens except God allows it to happen. The ten tribes split off and formed the new “house of Israel” because God made it happen. It was God’s will as a chastisement to Solomon’s failures with women and false religion. The lesson here: do not use force or violence to try and change what God permitted. Humbly submit to God’s will, and ask that God change things.

The Bible says in First Kings 12:25-33, “Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel.[26] And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:[27] If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.[28] Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.[29] And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.[30] And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.[31] And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.[32] And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.[33] So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.” Jeroboam was made the king of the ten northern kingdoms. God tells Jeroboam that it was going to happen, and that it was the will of God. That was a great beginning for Jeroboam, but verse twenty-six tells us why Jeroboam went the wrong way in life. It says, “And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David.” That was fear based upon a lack of belief in what God had already told Jeroboam. Lack of faith and fear will always cause you to make the wrong decisions in life. It says in Proverbs 4:23, “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.”

In Jeroboam’s wild imaginings and fears, he was sure that the people would keep going to Jerusalem to worship God, and that they would therefore rebel against him and kill him. Jeroboam’s solution: create places to rival Jerusalem for the worship of God. And this resulted in false religion being set up and presented to the people. Fear led to the wrong decisions by the leader, which led to the corruption of the people. What a terrible consequence to not believe God and not trust in Him.

The Bible says in First Kings 13:1-3, “And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.[2] And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.[3] And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.” Why did God hate this altar so much? The reason is clear: this altar came from the mind of man. It came from Jeroboam’s own personal ideas and wants. It did not come from the revealed will of God. All of false religion is like that. That is one reason to be careful about human tradition. Do not replace the Word of God with the will of man.

The Bible says in First Kings 13:4-10, “And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.[5] The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.[6] And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.[7] And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.[8] And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:[9] For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.[10] So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.” In this passage we see that Jeroboam got very angry. The reason he got angry is found in verse four that says, “when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God…” Speaking the truth from God is what made Jeroboam angry. Jeroboam had become self-willed, and so he did not want to hear the Word of God; and as a matter of fact, the Word of God made him angry. There is plenty of that going around today.

After Jeroboam’s hand was fixed, he tried to get the preacher to go home with him. But the preacher was interested in one thing: doing the will of God. Some people might think that it is a good thing to be invited to spend time with a king or even with a celebrity, but that might not be a good thing. They might influence you to go away from God instead of closer to God. This preacher knew that God did not want him to go with the king. The rich and the famous and the powerful do not usually serve God.

The Bible says in First Kings 13:11-19, “Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.[12] And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.[13] And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,[14] And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.[15] Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.[16] And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:[17] For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.[18] He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.[19] So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.” Just because the man of God survived the temptation to go with Jeroboam did not mean that temptation would end there. This time a liar was able to fool and trick the man of God. Notice that the liar claimed to be a believer, and the liar claimed to have seen an angel, and the liar claimed to have a message from the angel. Many Christians have been fooled by such techniques. False teachers are liars. False teachers claim to have a message from God. False teachers claim to have had some super spiritual experience such as seeing an angel. Jesus said in Matthew 24:11, “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” And Jesus also said in Matthew 24:24, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” The Apostle Peter wrote in Second Peter 2:1, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” And the Apostle John said in First John 4:1, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”

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