In 1 Kings 12:25-33, we catch a glimpse of Jeroboam’s insecurity and self-serving flaws. His immediate action after being king of Israel was to enlarge and fortify Shechem and Penuel. Shechem in Ephraim was an important ancestral location. Genesis 12:6-7 tells us that it was here that God promised Abraham to give his offspring the promised land. He then built an altar to the LORD there. During the period of the conquest, Joshua 21:20-21 said that Joshua handed Shechem to the Kohathites as a city of refuge. Joshua 24:32 reveals that this place was also Joseph’s burial ground. It seemed obvious that Jeroboam wanted to make Shechem the capital of Israel, which was later moved to Tirzah, then eventually to Samaria. First Kings 12:25 also said that Jeroboam strengthened Penuel. Genesis 32 reveals that this was the place that Jacob had named Penuel after his encounter with the angel of the LORD. It was here that his name was changed from Jacob, the conniver or trickster, to Israel, meaning strive with God.
Jeroboam’s kingdom building began on the wrong footing. He did not take the promise of God seriously. The LORD had revealed to him that Rehoboam would be dealt with, and he, Jeroboam would be given a part of Israel to rule. The promise was made in 1 Kings 11:37-38. God said, “I will take you, and you shall reign over whatever you desire, and you shall be king over Israel. Then it will be, that if you listen to all that I command you and walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight by observing My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build you an enduring house as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.” In 1 Kings 12:26-33, Jeroboam’s movements had shown that he had utter disregard for the word of God given through the Prophet Ahijah.
First Kings 12:26-33 then describe all his wrong moves. He feared that the people would return to Rehoboam and give him their allegiance when they returned to Jerusalem to worship and sacrifice. He consulted with the people and had two golden calves made and presented to them as their gods. He set up two centers for worship, one at Bethel near the southern border and the other at Dan near the northern border. He also violated the regulation of only having Levites for the priesthood. He even had the audacity to appoint non-Levites to be priests. Furthermore, he instituted religious practices that the Canaanites practiced. High places were built by him in the places of worship. Jeroboam also set up his own festival and celebration and appointed his own feast to prevent the people from migrating southward to join their brethren in Judah. Verse 33 said that “he went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised in his own heart; and he instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and went up to the altar to burn incense.” What he did led Israel on a downward path, and increasingly the people were getting farther and farther away from God.
Jeroboam’s actions were very telling. They showed that he had never trusted God at all. His actions were all driven by his fear of losing the loyalty of the people. The Bible makes it clear in Proverbs 29:25 that “The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.” When we fear men, we have the tendency of being self-serving. Just imagine how glorious the northern kingdom would be, had Jeroboam trusted the Lord and taken Him at His word and not be so self-serving.
People who are self-serving seldom feel secure. They have a narrow heart and a small mentality. They are usually very parochial and would do anything to protect their own turf. For self-preservation, they would even compromise on godly principles and values. Their eyes are set on the immediate, not on the eventual. Who would we rather be – a God-fearing person or a self-serving one? The answer is obvious!
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