Friday
Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiances to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”
After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of Egypt.” One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people went even as far as Dan to worship the one there.
Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.
(I Kings 12:26-33, NIV)
Following the 40-year reign of King Solomon, his son Rehoboam succeeded him as king. Rehoboam’s throne was in jeopardy from the beginning because of growing opposition that dated back to his father’s reign. Various adversaries of Solomon began to emerge, adversaries who were gladly cultivated by Israel’s traditional enemies, such as the Pharaoh of Egypt. In addition to these political rivals, the Lord called Jeroboam, son of Nebat, who was an official in Solomon’s court, to take leadership over ten tribes because of the judgment against the idolatry of the Jews.
The preceding verses in chapter twelve record how this brash young son of Solomon rejects the advice of the elders who encouraged him to lighten the tax and forced labor burdens on his people and to serve them as their king. Instead, Rehoboam follows the advice of his young friends to make the people’s burdens even heavier. His harsh vindictive spirit is clearly evident in one of his first official declarations: “My father [Solomon] scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions” (v. 14). Not surprisingly, the people rebelled and ten tribes declared their allegiance to Jeroboam, while only two (Judah and Benjamin) remained loyal to Solomon’s son.
Today’s verses record how Jeroboam, fearful of the loss of support from his ten tribes, builds shrines in Bethel and Dan, appoints priests from among his supporters, and creates new religious festivals involving sacrifices to idols so his people will not travel to the Temple in Jerusalem and possibly become attached to King Reboboam.
Sin is not only shalom’s enemy, attacking the hearts of individuals; sin also finds expression in our corporate lives. In today’s study we see how political rulers used religious symbols and practices to achieve their own political ends. Religion became a tool of the ruling elite. Sin is an obstacle to God’s shalom on both the individual and the corporate level.
Prayer
Lord, give us eyes to see sin and evil in all its destructive manifestations and a desire to stand up against it in the name of your son Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.