Prophecy Against Jeroboam and Israel. He will give up Israel because of the sins of Jeroboam which he has committed, and with which he has made Israel sin [by leading them into idolatry].” 1 Kings 14:16
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT UNDER THE MONARCHY
INTRODUCTION
Originally Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles were regarded as one series, and called the Books of Kings. In the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament, made during the period between the Testaments), each of these books was divided into two parts; and what we term First Kings was called the Third Book of Kings.
It is impossible to fix accurately either the date when this book was compiled, or the name of the writer. From the fact that the last chapter of II Kings records the release of Jehoiachin from captivity, which took place B.C. 562, but makes no mention of the decree of Cyrus, B.C. 538, with which the return of the Jews from captivity began, it is concluded that the book was compiled sometime between these dates.
The sources from which the compiler drew were three: the Book of the Acts of Solomon, 1Ki_11:41; the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, 1Ki_14:29, etc.; and the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, 1Ki_14:19. The Chronicles here referred to are not the books called Chronicles in the Bible, but separate works which are now lost.
The history of the nation is recorded from the close of the reign of David to the middle of the reign of Ahaziah. In its highest glory under Solomon, the kingdom foreshadows the millennial kingdom of our Lord. The prosperity of the nation rises or falls according to the character of the ruler and his people, illustrating for us the important truth that obedience is the condition of blessing.
II. THE DIVIDED KINGDOM, I Kings 12-22
2. The Reign of Jeroboam, I Kings 12:25-14:20
40. What did Ahijah predict concerning Jeroboam?
PROPHECY AGAINST JEROBOAM AND ISRAEL
THE BLIND PROPHET SEES JEROBOAM’S AND ISRAEL’S DOOM
At that time Abijah the son [and crown prince, heir] of Jeroboam became sick.
Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please get up and disguise yourself, so that people will not know that you are Jeroboam’s wife, and go to Shiloh. Ahijah the prophet is there, the one who told me that I would be king over this people.
Take with you ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a bottle of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”
Jeroboam’s wife did so. She got up and went [twenty miles] to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, because his eyes were dim from old age.
And the LORD said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you about her son, because he is sick. You shall say such and such to her, for when she arrives, she will pretend to be another woman.”
So when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in the doorway, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another woman? For I have been sent to you [by God] with a harsh message.
Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: “Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over My people Israel,
and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you–but you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes,
but have done more evil than all [the kings] who were before you; for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back–
therefore behold, I am bringing evil on the house (royal line) of Jeroboam, and I will cut off (destroy) from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free, in Israel, and will utterly sweep away the house of Jeroboam as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone.
The dogs will eat [the carcass of] anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat [the carcass of] anyone who dies in the field, for the LORD has spoken it.”‘ [Deu_28:26]
Now as for you (Jeroboam’s wife), arise, go to your own house. When your feet enter the city, the child [Abijah] will die.
All Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he alone of Jeroboam’s family will come to [be placed in] the grave, because in him there was found something good and pleasing toward the LORD, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.
Moreover, the LORD will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house (royal line) of Jeroboam this day and from now on.
“The LORD will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and He will uproot Israel from this good land which He gave to their fathers, and He will scatter them beyond the [Euphrates] River, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the LORD to anger.
He will give up Israel because of the sins of Jeroboam which he has committed, and with which he has made Israel sin [by leading them into idolatry].”
So Jeroboam’s wife arose and left and came to Tirzah [the king’s residence]. As she was entering the threshold of the house, the child [Abijah] died.
And all Israel buried him and mourned for him, in accordance with the word of the LORD which He spoke through His servant Ahijah the prophet.
PROPHECY AGAINST JEROBOAM
THE BLIND PROPHET SEES JEROBOAM’S AND ISRAEL’S DOOM
How blind we become when we sin against our conscience! Each act of willful sin puts another shade on the window of the soul. “Their foolish heart was darkened,” Rom_1:21. Surely if the prophet were able to predict the issue of this sickness, he would be able to penetrate the mother’s disguise, although she brought only the gifts of a poor peasant woman. Jeroboam had devised this ruse, partly, because he did not wish the nation to know that he was consulting a prophet of Jehovah-an act which might invalidate his new temple and the calves, and also because he wanted to get a more favorable answer than that which he anticipated in case the prophet recognized the inquirer. We may disguise ourselves as we will, but we cannot cheat God, and no dissembling can ever turn away the arrow that speeds straight to the guilty heart.
Jewish historians say that the exception was made in Abijah’s case, 1Ki_14:13, because he interceded with his father that all Israelites who wished might be allowed to go to the feasts at Jerusalem, without being penalized. There is always discrimination in the divine judgments. How often God has brought beautiful lives out of foul surroundings, as the pure lily-cup out of a muddy pond!
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