We open a new chapter on Israel’s history: The Divided Kingdom.
How typical of a spoiled rich kid to reject the wisdom of his elders and instead listen to the stupid ideas of his frat bros. That was Solomon’s son Rehoboam. And it’s no surprise that the people weren’t keen on heavier taxes. This whole episode reminds me a bit of the Boston Tea Party. Rehoboam is like King George milking the population for more money and the colonists have had enough.
But instead of a War for Independence, one man stands up and shuts the whole thing down.
Shemaiah is so obscure he’s like the “Biblical Prophets for $1000 please Alex” space on Jeopardy.
Yahweh gives him a message for the nation and he bravely stands before an entire angry army and says…
“Thus says Yahweh: ‘You shall not go up and you shall not fight with your brothers the Israelites. Return each of you to his house, for this thing was from me.’ So they heeded the word of Yahweh, and they returned to go home according to the word of Yahweh.”
1 Kings 12:24 LEB
Props to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin for listening and obeying.
And it got me thinking…
When some circumstance has gone sideways, when a relationship ruptures, when plans flop, when there is some kind of national upheaval even… do I stop and ask Yahweh if “this thing was from Him?”
Cuz what if it is?
I think that’s what Gamaliel understood when he argued in the Sanhedrin about the arrest of Peter and John for doing miracles and preaching the resurrection of Jesus.
“And now I tell you, keep away from these men, and leave them alone, because if this plan or this matter is from people, it will be overthrown. But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them, lest you even be found fighting against God.” So they were persuaded by him.”
Acts 5:38-39 LEB
The division of a nation is a serious matter. The rupture in Jewish culture caused by the Gospel was a serious matter. Perhaps we should look at serious matters like this in our own time with the counsel of Gamaliel and Shemaiah.
RETURN OF THE GOLDEN CALF CALVES
Bear in mind that Jeroboam was chosen by God. He could’ve followed Yahweh. I wonder how much his years living in Egypt affected his worldview. I would guess – quite a bit. Interesting, isn’t it, that Israel made a golden calf after they came out of Egypt and they thought they had lost their leader. And here, Jeroboam makes 2 golden calves after coming out of Egypt and Israel has lost its leader (the Davidic Dynasty).
Jeroboam the son of Nebat is a name to remember. He will be the gold standard of evil for quite some time in Israel. Future wicked kings and their sins will be compared to him. Until a worse guy comes along.
As he gets settled in as the king of the newly independent Northern Kingdom of Israel, he has a moment of insecurity that will have centuries of repercussions…
“Then Jeroboam said to himself, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David if this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of Yahweh in Jerusalem. The heart of this people will return to their master Rehoboam the king of Judah, and they shall kill me and return to him.”
1 Kings 12:26-27 LEB
What’s his motive? Fear. Insecurity.
Recall that the Prophet Ahijah had given him the message that Yahweh was handing him 10 tribes. There was no additional warning like, “You will be king if you can manage to keep the people loyal to you.” No – his worry is a massive lack of faith in God’s Word. And it gives Jeroboam a terrible idea: “Let’s make worship convenient.”
You’d think that he, and all Israel for that matter, would know the story of their ancestors and the Golden Calf and that it didn’t end well. But as so often happens, later generations look at what their ancestors did and think, “But we’re different. We’ll get a different result.”
🫢 (Ahem, cough, socialism, cough cough)
So Jeroboam builds places to “worship Yahweh” in the form of a pair of Golden Calves placed in two convenient locations, Bethel and Dan.
🤔 But why not build one location in the center, like in the plain of Megiddo or along the Jordan River or something?
The Bethel location keeps people from wanting or needing to travel to Jerusalem. If the worship center was further north, all those folks on the southern border probably would’ve just gone to Jerusalem. But now Bethel is closer. More convenient.
The Dan location might’ve been to keep the northern folks from going over to Syria or Lebanon to worship their gods. Beat the competition.
Not only did Jeroboam install golden calf idols, he set up a whole priesthood that was open to anyone. No Levitical ancestry required. All the guys who didn’t meet the strict standards of the Mosaic Law – they could be priests in Jeroboam’s priesthood. No problem. He even invented a knock-off version of Yahweh’s Feast of Booths, (Sukkot). It was a month after the true feast in Jerusalem. Interesting that it’s that one feast. No others. Remember how we noted before that the Feast of Booths figures into the prophesied future reign of Jesus Christ? Hmmm… (my prophecy spidey-senses are tingling because Daniel 7:25).
Jeroboam would’ve been right at home in the 21st century religious landscape. He was doing DEI before anyone had heard of it. Worship was convenient. Comfortable. No requirements. Zero expectations. Commitment-free. Plenty of options. Anyone can be in the ministry. Anyone can just show up to worship. No more of that inconvenient ceremonial purification stuff.
Beware of convenient worship.
Remember what King David said,
“But the king replied to Araunah, ‘No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing.’ So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen.”
2 Samuel 24:24 NLT
And remember this?
“a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very expensive perfume, and she poured it on His head as He was reclining at the table.”
Matthew 26:7 NASB2020
The disciples were indignant but Jesus defended the generous offering.
Beware of easy, convenient, comfortable worship.
I might even go so far as to say…
If you’re always comfortable in worship and it’s not costing you dearly, you’re doing it wrong.
That convenient, easy-access worship actually ended up costing the Northern Kingdom everything in the end.
It was at Jeroboam’s substitute feast (where Jeroboam himself was serving as a priest), that he is confronted by an anonymous “man of God” from the land of Judah. And what happens after that is just wild…
The man of God gives a prophecy to the altar of Bethel, Jeroboam’s hand gets paralyzed, the altar (probably made of stones) gets ripped in two by an unseen hand, the man of God heals Jeroboam’s paralysis… It’s the kind of thing that if you had been there to see it, it probably would’ve made you superstitious.
Do any of these supernatural signs make Jeroboam pause and say, “Gee, I wonder if maybe God doesn’t approve of the golden calves and stuff.” Nope. He doesn’t even tap the brakes. He just keeps leading Israel right off a cliff.
BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS
The story of the “man of God” from Judah shows us, that even people who have been used by God to do powerful, even supernatural things, can still be deceived.
The anonymous “man of God” had strict instructions from Yahweh – get in, deliver the message, get out. Don’t eat or drink. Go back home the same way you came. Seems simple enough. He refuses the king’s offer in a mic-drop moment…
“But the man of God said to the king, ‘Even if you gave me half of everything you own, I would not go with you. I would not eat or drink anything in this place.’ ”
1 Kings 13:8 NLT
So he gets outa there…
Then an old prophet from Bethel (also anonymous) hears about all of the hullabaloo at Jeroboam’s “feast” and he tracks down the man of God and invites him home for supper. Again, the man refuses until…
“Then he said to him, ‘I too am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, so that he may eat bread and drink water.’ But he lied to him.”
1 Kings 13:18 NASB2020
Beware of sentences that start with “God told me to tell you…” It could be a word from the Lord. But it could also be utter hogwash. Do you have the discernment to know the difference? If not, might wanna brush up on that.
😬 How? How would you go about that?
You know how currency experts spot counterfeit money? 💵 They spend a lot of time with the real stuff. They know how it feels. Blindfolded. They know how it smells and how it sounds when you riffle a stack of it. Their fingers have memorized the correct thickness and texture. They know every tiny detail – even the ones that require a magnifying glass to see.
If you know the real-deal backwards and forwards, then you won’t be fooled by a counterfeit.
Secondly, discernment is a spiritual gift (1 Cor. 12:10). Put it on your wishlist. Ask God for it. If all of the spiritual gifts were in wrapped boxes on a table and I could pick 2, I’d pick prophecy (cuz Paul recommended it) and Discerning of Spirits.
Which is better – A: the ability to do miracles but possibly get conned by a miracle faker? or B: the ability to always know which side is behind any person, message, or ministry?
I’d choose B. Miracles are nice (don’t get me wrong- I’ve seen some and pray for more), but there will be miracle-workers turned away at the pearly gates. I’d rather suffer for lack of miracle and be spiritually discerning than follow a deceptive spirit into hell on a miracle-strewn path.
When the LORD gives a clear instruction (for example, in His Word), He doesn’t send along a prophet who talks to angels with another word that contradicts the first.
Stop. Please read that again.
Many-a-heresy and many-a-cult have popped up like fairy mushroom rings because someone had a supernatural encounter with an “angel” or otherwise thought they heard something from the spiritual realm. How does the “new” message compare to the “original?” Does it agree with it or disagree? God is not capricious. If He called something sin in the Bible, guess what, it’s STILL sin.
Let me really meddle for a second…
God never told any married person that it was ok to have a fling and then divorce their spouse and run off with the new person.
EVER.
I don’t care if a luminescent, white-robed being handed them a business card for a divorce attorney. God didn’t send him.
God does not contradict His Word. He does not send angels with messages to contradict it. This is not a new problem. It’s why Paul said,
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”
Galatians 1:8-9 ESV
We have to KNOW the Word of God. Inside out. Backwards and forwards. Memorize it. Hide it in your heart. Absorb the principles. If you only have time to read one book, read the Bible.
We are not at liberty to just make up stuff about God based on how we feel. We have to know the original Word and commit to sticking with it come Hell or high water. Even if a king offers us riches. No thank you. Even if we’re starved and someone offers us a bowl of red lentil soup. I’ll pass.
The “man of God” trusted the old prophet. I have no idea why the old guy would lie him. Was it a test? Feels more like this:
Too bad the man of God had never seen Return of the Jedi.
Then, the story cranks the weirdness up another notch. The lying old coot of a false prophet is given an actual word from the LORD.
😲 WHAT?!?!?
Yeah. I know, right?
😧 How is that possible?!
Well, we have seen Yahweh speak through – shall we say – “questionable” people before. Remember Balaam?
🤔 Oh yeah… He wasn’t even a believer.
And remember Saul and the Witch of Endor and the appearance of a very dead Samuel?
😳 Oh yeah… That was off-the-charts level weirdness.
And Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes probably as an older man who had compromised with paganism and had 700 wives… David committed adultery and murder and after he repented continued to be inspired to write scripture. God can use anyone He chooses; from saint to sketchy.
🤔 And God decides to use the sketchy old prophet?
Yup. He tells the man of God that because he has disobeyed, he’s gonna die away from home and not be buried in the family plot.
And that’s what happens.
This account reminds me a bit of Jonah or the young men who mock Elisha. God sends an animal to do a specific job. A lion attacks and kills the man but doesn’t eat him or attack the donkey. And the donkey doesn’t run off. Which is VERY odd. On what planet does a donkey just stand around and hang out with a lion after its rider has been killed?
😏 Maybe it was a descendant of Balaam’s donkey. Very spiritual. Perhaps the donkey and the lion were having a chat. Ooo! Gimme the keyboard ⌨️ for a sec. I have an idea…
🦁 Hey bro. Don’t be scared but God sent me to attack your human, ok? Not gonna hurt you. Promise. But I got my assignment from the Boss and I gotta take him out. If you don’t believe me, ask Angel-Dude over there.
😇 [Angel nods]
🫏 Uh… Ok. Well… Please make it as quick and painless as possible.
🦁 [Pounce. Kills man. 😵]
🫏 So… is this something you do a lot?
🦁 No. I mostly hunt deer and hyraxes. Those little guys are tasty but hard to catch. What about you?
🫏 I belong to the old prophet in Bethel. He’s alright I guess.
🦁 So does he, like, go around and prophesy?
🫏 He used to a long time ago, I think. But I don’t think the Boss has told him anything in a long time so he just makes stuff up to save his reputation.
🦁 Whoah. NOT cool. I wonder if he had anything to do with this guy. He didn’t follow orders so I was told I needed to take out the rogue agent. Mission accomplished. Oh… we better be quiet… Here comes someone…
👴🏽 Shooo! Shooo you pesky cat! Malachi, you old piece of shoe leather, what on earth are you doing standing here in the road with a lion?
You’ll want to remember this story – about the man of God prophesying to the altar at Bethel that a descendant of David named Josiah would burn the bones of dead men on it and that this man of God was taken back to town and buried there. It’s going to take about 250 years to get to part two.
😏 Wow. And I thought the wait for the sequel to Return of the Jedi was long. I just hope this part two is more satisfying.
To The Reader 