Day 168 – Jeroboam (Northern King 22 years)

• Whilst Rehoboam was king of the southern region of Judah, Jeroboam became the first king of the northern region, Israel.
• Look at the passage in 1 Kings 12. Jeroboam is worried about people leaving Israel to go to Judah. Can you work out why this is the case? What sin did Jeroboam commit to encourage his people to stay in Israel rather than to head down to Jerusalem?
• The image below shows, roughly, how the land is split up. Note that Bethel and Dan, the places where Jeroboam sets up golden calves, are neatly placed at opposite ends of the country to encourage people to travel to them rather than travel to Jerusalem.
• Look at 1 Kings 12:28. It makes astonishing reading for us, looking at the bigger picture, doesn’t it? Do you think God would have taken care of him if he had trusted in God rather than trying to take matters into his own hands?
• In 1 Kings 13, we hear of a young prophet who sends a message to Jeroboam from God about what he has done. What is this message? Jeroboam was given a clear (and physical) sign of God’s displeasure, wasn’t he? Did this sign, and the warning by the prophet, mean that Jeroboam turned from his wrong decisions? Do you turn away from bad decisions when you are warned? Think carefully!
• Aside from the story of Jeroboam, there is an interesting little story, in the latter part of chapter 13, of an old prophet lying to the younger prophet about a message from God. The young prophet ends up dead because he disobeyed God by following the untruths of the older man (we aren’t told what happens to the older prophet for his lies). Why are we told this story? What do you think we can learn in these words about trusting the words of men above those of God? For example, what might you think when someone teaches you something that isn’t quite what the Bible says?
• In 1 Kings 14, Jeroboam’s son is sick. To whom does Jeroboam (and his wife) turn for help? Do you, or people you know, find you only turn to God in a crisis? Think why this might be.
• Why does Jeroboam’s wife disguise herself? Can you fool God? What tragic news does God give to the wife to take back to the king?

What a sad turn of events. Jeroboam’s sin was incredibly destructive, wasn’t it? It resulted in the death of his son (1 Kings 14:12), his dynasty (1 Kings 14:14) and the future destruction/exile of the northern tribes of Israel (1 Kings 14:15). The actions of the king are affecting the people and bringing turmoil.

How great is is, therefore, that the actions of our king, king Jesus, affect us just as deeply, but in a joyful rather than destructive way. No earthly king, power, ruler or authority comes even close!