Let's turn in our Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 14. 1 Kings chapter 14. The last few weeks we've seen the focus on a man by the name of Jeroboam in chapter 11. Jeroboam was told that he would be given 10 northern tribes. That comes to pass in chapter 12, when the north revolts against the south.
The south is led by Rehoboam, Solomon's son. Jeroboam is the king of the north. And the thing that he does initially in chapter 12, verses 25 to 33, is to institutionalize idolatry. As a result of that, God sends a man of God from Judah to go and rebuke this king for his particular sin.
And the chapter ends, chapter 13, with Jeroboam continuing in his lawlessness and wickedness. It says, after this event, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but again he made priests from every class of people for the high places. Whoever wished, he consecrated him. And he became one of the priests of the high places.
And this thing was the sin of the house of Jeroboam, so as to exterminate and destroy it from the face of the earth." So chapter 14 brings us to the conclusion of Jeroboam via death. But as well, there is a prophecy concerning destruction to his household. So I just want to begin reading in chapter 14 at verse 1. At that time, Abijah, the son of Jeroboam, became sick.
And Jeroboam said to his wife, please arise and disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that I would be king over this people. Also take with you 10 loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will become of the child.
And Jeroboam's wife did so. She arose and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were glazed by reason of his age. Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, here is the wife of Jeroboam coming to ask you something about her son, for he is sick.
Thus and thus you shall say to her, for it will be when she comes in that she will pretend to be another woman. And so it was when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news.
Go tell Jeroboam, thus says the Lord God of Israel, because I exalted you from among the people and made you ruler over my people Israel and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you. And yet you have not been as my servant David who kept my commandments and who followed me with all his heart to do only what was right in my eyes. But you have done more evil than all who were before you. For you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke me to anger and have cast me behind your back.
Therefore, behold, I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male in Israel, bond and free. I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam as one takes away refuse until it is all gone. The dog shall eat whoever belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field, for the Lord has spoken. Arise, therefore, go to your own house.
When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he is the only one of Jeroboam who shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something good toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. Moreover, the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam. This is the day.
What? Even now. For the Lord will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land which he gave to their fathers and will scatter them beyond the river because they have made their wooden images, provoking the Lord to anger.
And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned and who made Israel sin. Then Jeroboam's wife rose and departed and came to Terzah. When she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. And they buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke through his servant Ahijah the prophet.
Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he made war and how he reigned, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. The period that Jeroboam reigned was 22 years, so he rested with his fathers. Then Nadab, his son, reigned in his place. Amen.
Introduction: Idolatry and Divine Judgment
So it's certainly an evidence or an indicator that God frowns upon idolatry. It provokes him to wrath. And he brings judgment to bear upon Jeroboam, upon his entire house, and ultimately upon the northern tribes themselves. So
Sermon Outline Announced
I want to look at this particular prophecy under three sections. First, the occasion of Ahijah's prophecy in verses 1 to 6. Secondly, the content of Ahijah's prophecy in verses 7 to 16. And then the application of Ahijah's prophecy in verses 17 to 20.
But
The Occasion of Ahijah's Prophecy
note in the first place with reference to the occasion, verse 1, at that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. Now it is intriguing that from this point on what Jeroboam does is he seeks out the prophet of God. He seeks out the prophet of Israel. He does not consult his golden calves.
He does not consult his idols because they are dumb and they cannot respond and they cannot answer. As well it is intriguing that he seeks out the prophet in a time of crisis or a time of distress. He has this desire for knowledge in a period of distress and we ought to appreciate that even idolaters care about their kids. Jeroboam was concerned about his son Abijah and wants to find out information concerning him.
Matthew Henry said that Jeroboam sent not to him for advice about the setting up of his calves or the consecrating of his priests, but had recourse to him in his distress when the gods he served could give him no relief. So he doesn't seek the prophet's encouragement, he doesn't seek the prophet's counsel, he doesn't seek the prophet's guidance or direction through the ordinary course of life, but as soon as distress comes, he dispatches his wife in order to ascertain the condition of his son. Davis makes this observation. He says, Jeroboam, however, turned a deaf ear to the Word of God in chapter 13.
We see that. I mean, every time prophecy comes to Jeroboam, it never works out well for him. Ahijah spoke to him concerning the giving of the kingdom in chapter 11, and then he plunges the kingdom right into the depths of depravity. In chapter 13, that man of God from Judah comes and tells him he needs to repent and forsake his sin, but the chapter ends with him continuing in his sin.
Here, as Davis says, he turned a deaf ear to the Word of God in chapter 13.
Seeking God Only in Crisis
Jeroboam wants the help of the word in the emergencies of life, but not the rule of the word over the course of life. I think Jeroboam here is very symptomatic of mankind in general. In fact, I think as we look at Jeroboam, we ought to see at least in part something of ourselves, but certainly of all men everywhere. Men typically have no regard for God whatsoever.
They typically have no regard for the prophet of God. They have no regard for churches. They have no regard for pastors. They have no regard for Christian friends until their child is sick, or until there's some calamity, or there's some distress, and then they reach out, and then they have a yearning.
Not that it's wrong to reach out in times of distress, but it has a mercenary feel to it. It has this, I'm going to use God to try and alleviate my particular problems, and then I'll go back to the status quo. So back to Davis. Jeroboam wants the help of the Word in the emergencies of life, but not the rule of the Word over the course of life.
He desires only the occasional Word of God. He wants the Word of God for his crisis, but not for his routine or practice. He craves light in his trouble, but not on his path. He doesn't want to live with the Word, but only visit it. like one does a prostitute.
So it's only insofar as it benefits him in a time of difficulty that he reaches out to Ahijah the prophet.
Jeroboam's Ruse and Disguise
Now notice his ruse in verses 2 to 4. He sends his wife in a disguise to try and fetch the information concerning his son Abijah. Now the text doesn't specify why he would send his wife in disguise to fetch this information concerning Abijah. But the entirety of the context would suggest a few things, I submit.
In the first place, Jeroboam knew what he had been commanded by Ahijah in chapter 11, verse 38. In fact, you can turn there to refresh yourselves. First Kings chapter 11 in verse 38. After Ahijah, the Shilonite told him that he would receive the kingdom, God through the prophet tells him in verse 38, then it shall be if you heed all that I command you, walk in my ways and do what is right in my sight to keep my statutes and my commandments as my servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house as I built for David and will give Israel to you.
Now, Jeroboam was an idolater, but he wasn't an idiot. He knew that he had not obeyed 1 Kings 11, 40, 38. He knew that he had been in rebellion to the living and true God. So because of that, he probably didn't want to show his face to Ahijah, the Shilonite, to ask information concerning his son Abijah.
As well, Jeroboam knew that Ahijah knew of his idolatry, and he probably suspected that the prophet would not give him the answer that he was seeking. Now, the answer that he was seeking is that his son was going to be fine, everything was going to be okay. But if it was him, he perhaps suspected that the prophet would not give him that response. And then as well, Jeroboam probably recognized that if he, the king of the north, were to go and visit a southern prophet, it might give cause to other northerners to see the validity of a southern prophet.
Remember that Jeroboam instigated or institutionalized idolatry to maintain political control over the north. He had to maintain appearances that this was indeed a true and right religion. This was an expression of the way that we are to worship God. So if he goes and sees a prophet from the South, then maybe those in the North will see the validity of the prophet in the South, and he would lose his hold, his political control, on the north.
So there were probably a myriad of reasons why he would send his wife in his place. Now notice in terms of the disguise, verse 2. It says, Jeroboam said to his wife, please arise, disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there who told me that I would be king over this people.
Now, this description of Ahijah as the one who told him he would be king would probably lend a degree of confirmation to his wife. In other words, go visit the man who told me that I would become the king. I am the king, so therefore we can trust his insight, we can trust his counsel. They're wretches, but they love their son, and that's not to be debated.
And who but better than a mother would go on this particular journey so that she could present the case of the situation concerning the son to the prophet. But this description or this call for disguise indicates that Jeroboam doesn't know some specific things about Ahijah. I think we're to conclude that a certain period of time has passed. He doesn't know of Ahijah's physical limitations.
I mean, the narrative is woven together beautifully. I want you to disguise yourself, and then in verse 4 we find out the man can't see anyway. I mean, what an exercise in futility, right? I mean, everything that Jeroboam tries to do is absolutely refuted by God Most High.
But he doesn't know that the prophet's eyesight is no longer present. but as well he underestimates the spirituality of the prophet. For certainly if this man is able to discern what will become of Jeroboam's son, he might be able to discern what is Jeroboam's wife. Matthew Henry says, could he see into the thick darkness of futurity and yet not see through the thin veil of this disguise? So it really was a futile exercise, but nevertheless he attempts it.
Now note specifically the inquiry, or the instruction rather, in verse 3, take with you ten loaves, some cakes, a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will become of the child. Most common in 1 Samuel 9, when they went looking for Samuel, they brought a gift for the prophet. You'll see that again in 2 Kings 5 and 2 Kings 8.
But the particular message or mission of this wife's journey was to determine what was going on with the son. And then notice in verse 4, Jeroboam's wife did so. She arose and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were glazed by reason of his age." So this brings them together.
Now we're given information in verses 5 and 6 concerning the word of God. And God's word to Ahijah is simple. Here is the wife of Jeroboam coming to ask you something about her son for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her for it will be when she comes in that she will pretend to be another woman.
Now that thus and thus is a feature of Hebrew narrative. He didn't really say thus and thus. It's a way to compact in terms of the literary nature of the documentation. So God tells Ahijah that the wife of Jeroboam has come.
Now, notice specifically to Jeroboam's wife, verse 6. And so it was when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps, as she came through the door, he said, Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Now, what would you have done if that would have been you? You would have probably suspected you were in the presence of a man of God.
You would have suspected that you were in the presence of somebody who had divine contact, because you were greatly disguised Chances were they had never met prior to this particular encounter. He's blind, and yet he is able to identify who you are. That will lend weight to the prophecy that is given to her that she is to take back home. Again, she's not really savvy with reference to Ahijah the Shilonite.
Jeroboam has had contact and dealings with them, but when the prophet speaks this truth to this particular woman, she certainly gets more than she bargained for. She certainly gets a lot more than she bargained for. In fact, what we have in 1 Kings chapter 14 is something of a programmatic text for the Northern Kingdom. This is a very central passage in 1 Kings with reference to the Northern tribes.
But back to verse six, come in wife of Jeroboam, why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news. Note the emphasis. It wasn't the case that she had come to him seeking information.
This was the occasion wherein the prophet had been sent to her to deliver this bad news. I have been sent to you with bad news. She is not in control. Jeroboam is not in control, God is in control, and he is using this occasion to send the prophet to tell Jeroboam what is going to happen with reference to his household and with reference to the northern kingdom.
The Content of Ahijah's Prophecy
Now note, secondly, the content of Ahijah's prophecy in verses 7 to 16. Now, he certainly answers what's going to happen with reference to Abijah, but he tells her to tell him a whole lot more concerning God's plan with reference to Israel. There's three things we ought to observe here.
Divine Provision Scorned
In the first place, the divine provision, verses 7 and 8. Go tell Jeroboam, thus says the Lord God of Israel. Notice God describes himself here as the Lord God of Israel. Jeroboam is the king over Israel specifically in terms of the northern kingdom.
When you look at the kingdoms, Israel is typically identified with the north and Judah is typically identified with the south. So God hasn't given up yet on Israel. They are still his people. Thus says the Lord God of Israel.
Matthew Henry again says, God calls Himself the Lord God of Israel. Though Israel had forsaken God, God had not cast them off, nor given them a bill of divorce for their whoredoms. He is Israel's God and therefore will take vengeance on Him who did them the greatest mischief He could do them, debauched them and drew them away from God. So God is angry with Jeroboam and he sends this woman back to tell her.
Notice, God then highlights the fact that he exalted him. Verse 7, because I exalted you from among the people and made you ruler over my people Israel. This underscores the reality that Jeroboam is sinning against grace. Jeroboam is sinning against goodness.
Remember when David is found out by the prophet Nathan in 2 Samuel. God says, I gave you, and I gave you, and I gave you, and I gave you, and if that were not enough, I would have given you more. It's terrible to sin against God in general. It is particularly wicked to sin against God and His grace. in his kindness, in his mercy.
God exalted Jeroboam, put him in this position of authority, gave him authority over the tribes of Israel, and what has he done but plunged it into ruin, plunged it into idolatry. Davis says, Jeroboam had received grace and despised it. That's why his dynasty would be annihilated. God goes on to indicate through the prophet how he had tore the kingdom away, verse 8, from the house of David and gave it to you.
Now he speaks to the royal rebellion in verses 8b and 9. He violated the Davidic standard. It's interesting because David is held forth as the standard of royal goodness. David wasn't perfect, but David in terms of idolatry was a blameless man.
So David is the standard by which kings are measured with reference to goodness. Jeroboam is going to become the standard by which kings are measured with reference to evil or wickedness or badness. And here specifically, the Lord God condemns him as this was part and parcel of the promise in 1138. You need to toe the line the way David toed the line.
You need to obey God the way David obeyed God. And here in 8b, he says, and yet you have not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments and who followed me with all his heart. to do only what was right in my eyes." Now, I think that always troubles us when we consider David and the fact that he committed adultery and he committed murder and had some other things along the way that weren't altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. John Gill says, concerning David, who was never guilty of idolatry. That's the standard by which Jeroboam is measured.
Gil says, he was always and constantly and cordially attended the pure worship of God and was careful to do everything in that according to the will of God, whatever else he might be deficient in. So all authors understand that David was an imperfect man, but in terms of his devotion to God, David was the model, he was the standard, he was the pattern, and Jeroboam had completely departed. Notice the exceeding wickedness of Jeroboam in verse 9. but you have done more evil than all who were before you." That includes Saul, that includes Solomon even in his decline or his defection into idolatry at the end of his life, and most likely includes Rehoboam. Again, he is going to become the benchmark or standard for wickedness in the northern kingdom, well, throughout the kingdoms of Israel.
Jeroboam made for himself other gods. Notice in verse 9, for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images. You go back to chapter 12. I mentioned how some see the calves as a means by which Yahweh was to be worshipped.
Now, this would still be wrong, and it's certainly to be condemned, but some people see this as syncretism. He used these golden calves as a means by which Yahweh was worshipped. But when we compare 14.9 with reference to 12.28, we see that he was engaged in idolatry. It is too much for you, 12.28, to go up to Jerusalem.
Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt. So according to Ahijah, It was not the case that these calves were means by which Yahweh was accessed, but rather the calves themselves were the object of worship, and so he is condemned for that. And then notice what verse 9 says. It says very specifically, "...you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke me to anger." to provoke me to anger." Now, this is spoken in the manner of men.
It highlights something concerning God's justice, His righteousness, His holiness, but idolatry is a provocation. Idolatry is a provocation. In fact, go back to Exodus chapter 20 for just a moment, or Deuteronomy 5. It's closer.
It just happened to alight there. Deuteronomy 5.8, well, verse 7, you shall have no other gods before me. Verse 8, you shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God. visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments." This is a provocation of a jealous God to anger.
And when we look at those particular concepts, perhaps we struggle. Jealousy? Anger? Are these fitting of our God?
Well, if He was not, then it would be questionable whether He was really loving toward us or not. Consider a marriage relationship in terms of a parallel analogy. If my wife is unfaithful and I find out about it, I hate to use that example, but, you know, let me, you know, indulge me here. She's unfaithful, I find out about it, and I'm not angry.
I'm not jealous, then it's questionable whether I even have love for that person. The fact that God responds the way He does is consistent with the fact that He had covenantal love with this particular people. They have gone a-whoring from Him they have been unfaithful to him, they have played the harlot away from him, and now he is provoked to anger and his jealousy is provoked. That is consistent with the holiness and the justice and the righteousness and the love of God Most High.
And then that last statement in verse 9. Notice what he goes on to say, after you provoke me to anger and have cast me behind your back. I mean, what a neglect and what a term of rejection. Cast me behind your back as if God wasn't the omnipotent, omniscient, glorious being that he is.
You kind of have this vision of somebody who's eating a piece of candy and they take the wrapper and they just toss it behind their back. They have no concern. In fact, when I see something like that, it bugs me. I was raised not to litter.
That was one thing the paper school taught me, is that you did not litter. You didn't waste food, and you didn't litter. And so to this day, when I see people litter, it really bothers me. I want to grab them and say, pick up your junk.
We don't want to live in your filth, you know, whatever. But the idea that Jeroboam would do that with God. You've cast me behind your back. You discarded me as if I was a candy wrapper.
So we see the divine provision in 7 and 8, the royal rebellion in 8 and 9.
Divine Judgment on Jeroboam's House
Now notice the divine judgment in verses 10 to 16. Verses 10 and 11 highlight disaster upon the house of Jeroboam. disaster upon the house of Jeroboam. Now notice in verse 10. Therefore, behold, I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male in Israel, bond and free.
I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam as one takes away refuse until it is all gone. The dog shall eat whoever belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field, for the Lord has spoken." So you see, there won't be proper burial for any of the men associated with the house of Jeroboam. It's going to be desecration. It's going to be devastation.
Not to have a proper burial in Israel was a sign of utter contempt. And this is what is prophesied concerning the house of Jeroboam. But we really need to look at verse 10 a little bit more closely and translate it more literally. Notice in verse 10, I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male in Israel, bond and free.
I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam as one takes away refuse until it is all gone. The literal translation of every male is he who urinates against a wall. Now, pardon my crudeness here, but to cite the King James Version, it's, he who pisseth against the wall. When we drop down to that word refuse, it's literally dung.
Okay, the prophecy is somewhat crude, but note what it's targeting with reference to the utter devastation of Jeroboam's house. The male, or every male, is literally he who urinates against a wall. Refuse is literally dung. Ian Proven makes this observation.
He says, literally, he who urinates against a wall. The translator's desire for discretion obscures the obvious connection between the urine and the dung or excrement that God uses as fuel for the fire of destruction. Jeroboam's house smells. Radical action is needed to deal with this sanitation problem.
You see, sin is bad and sometimes scripture describes it using crude language. We get hung up on the crude language and miss the sin. There's an instance in Ezekiel 16 at verse 25. Only the New American Standard Translation translates it accurately.
It is so vulgar and so offensive. One time I was preaching, this was way back before I ever came here, and I just cited the verse. I just quoted the verse. And somebody got very upset with me and I said, it's what the text says.
The NAS gets it right. So we get hung up on the crudity of the language and forget that this man, a northern king, has just plunged the nation into utter idolatry, provoking Yahweh to anger, casting Yahweh behind his back. And so what the prophet says is that his house is filthy, it reeks like dung, and those who urinate against the wall are going to be cut down and devastated and destroyed. That's the emphasis in verses 10 and 11.
Notice he goes on.
The Death of Abijah
He highlights the death of Abijah in verses 12 and 13. You came to ask concerning the young man? Well, now he's going to tell you. But there is mercy here for Abijah.
He was the only shining light in this wretched, crooked family. Notice in verse 12, arise therefore, go to your own house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he is the only one of Jeroboam who shall come to the grave.
None of the other men will. They will all be devastated. Dogs will eat them. Birds will eat them.
They will not meet that burial that is part and parcel of decency in Israel. But this young man, however, is going to come to the grave, because in him there is found something good toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. So in some sense this was an act of mercy for Abijah to remove him from the impending judgment that's going to come upon the house of Jeroboam. And so all the nation or all Israel mourn for him or shall mourn for him and bury him.
Now, Matthew Henry makes this comment. Perhaps he goes a bit too far, but the sentiment is beautiful. He says, those that are distinguished by divine grace shall be distinguished by divine providence. Precisely what happens?
Abijah's death means that he avoids the coming judgment that Jeroboam's men. Jeroboam's family is going to meet with. Matthew Henry goes on to say, this hopeful child dies first of all the family. For God often takes those soonest whom he loves best.
Heaven is the fittest place for them. This earth is not worthy of them." It's a beautiful sentiment, I think, that he expresses there. But nevertheless, the answer has come. Abijah will die, but this is in the context of a whole host of other things.
Notice in the third place in terms of the judgment, the overthrow of the dynasty in verse 14. In some sense, this is repetition. Certainly, if all the males are destroyed and the birds of the air and the dogs of the field eat their bodies, there's no son, there's no heir apparent, there is no one from Jeroboam's house that's going to rise up and reign. So moreover, the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam.
This is the day, what even now? Some of that's a bit difficult to translate, so we'll move on to the final aspect of the prophecy,
Exile of the Northern Tribes Foretold
the exile of the northern tribes, verses 15 and 16. You see, isn't this an outline of everything that's going to follow? in 1st and 2nd Kings. This is precisely a roadmap for what's going to happen from this point on in 1st and 2nd Kings. We are going to see this fulfilled to a T.
We see the death of the Son right in the context. We see the other things start to take place not long after that. But notice specifically the language of verses 15 and 16. It's the language of exile.
Verse 15, the Lord will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land which He gave to their fathers and will scatter them beyond the river. You see, this is exile. They have been planted in the land by a good and gracious God in accordance with the covenant promise to Abraham.
And now they have sinned against this covenant God in accordance with the curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy chapter 28. They will be exiled. They will be sent out of the land. They will be vomited out of the land by the land itself.
God is in the business of bringing judgment upon idolaters. Note he gives the specific reason. Because they have made their wooden images provoking the Lord to anger. Wooden images is Asherim, or Asherah.
And Asherah was a Canaanite goddess. She was a girlfriend to Baal. I mean, if you can imagine, they had gods and goddesses, and those gods and goddesses, you know, had relations with one another. They were consorts, one with another.
So Asherah was a female deity and it was a wooden pole that would represent her and it was one of the girlfriends of Baal. Now Asherah is going to make more of an appearance under Ahab later in the narrative. He goes full on Baal, Asherah, the whole kit and caboodle. But here we see its introduction under Jeroboam.
And then verse 16 summarizes, he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam who sinned and who made Israel sin. So it wasn't just Jeroboam, the people of Israel followed him into this. Now certainly Jeroboam bears a great deal of responsibility because as a leader goes, so goes the people. The leader is certainly culpable and responsible for his share, but the people ought not to follow a bad leader.
Jesus said, if a blind man leads a blind man, both shall fall into the pit. Now you feel sorry for the second blind man, but he shouldn't have followed the blind man. You see, we are responsible to make sure that we are following leadership that is consistent, that is faithful, that is biblical, that is right. We're not to join churches where the leadership doesn't honor or obey or fear God.
Now, it becomes a little bit more difficult in civil polity because unless we're going to mount a revolution or, you know, all that sort of thing or a civil war, We've got to, insofar as we're able, submit to the governing authorities insofar as they aren't commanding us to sin. But the point is that leadership is culpable. James says, let not many of you become teachers, for we shall receive a stricter judgment. So Jeroboam bears the lion's share of the guilt, but nevertheless, Israel sinned willingly.
The Application of Ahijah's Prophecy
Now notice, thirdly, by way of a major section, the application of Ahijah's prophecy in verses 17 to 20. Note first the death of Abijah in verses 17 and 18. Now, what do you think Mrs. Jeroboam and Jeroboam were thinking at this particular point?
Certainly they were shedding tears over the death of Abijah, but they were probably fearful and fretful at the reality that if the near prophecy has been fulfilled, then most likely the latter prophecy will be fulfilled. Remember when the man of God from Judah comes to Bethel in chapter 13 and tells Jeroboam that a man by the name of Josiah, about 300 years later, is going to be the king. He's going to dig up bones, he's going to exhume them, and he's going to burn them on this altar. And as a sign, this altar is going to split open right before your eyes and ashes are going to pour out.
In 13.5, the altar split and the ashes poured out. What should that have told Jeroboam? That if the near prophecy is fulfilled, then certainly the latter prophecy is going to be fulfilled. And the same is true here with the death of Abijah.
The splitting of the altar in 13.5 confirmed the prophecy concerning Josiah in 13.2. The death of Abijah here immediately confirms the prophecy concerning the disaster upon Jeroboam's house, the overthrow of the dynasty, and the exile that is to take place with reference to the northern tribes. So certainly they shed tears over Abijah, But they should have been shedding some tears over the reality that they had made a mess of everything. Better yet, they should have repented, or Jeroboam should have repented and forsaken his sin.
Davis says, the death of the son is both a sign and a preview of the death of the dynasty and nation. And they couldn't have missed that. I mean, again, he was an idolater, he wasn't an idiot. He had to realize the significance involved in this situation.
Fulfillment: Dynasty Destroyed
Now note, chapter 15, verses 25 to 30. This is where disaster comes to Jeroboam's house and the overthrow of the dynasty. Verses 25 to 30, notice in verse 25, Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, became king over Israel in the second year of Asa, king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. He did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin by which he made Israel sin.
Then Basha, the son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar, conspired against him, and Basha killed him at Gibethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibethon. Besha killed him in the third year of Asa, king of Judah, and reigned in his place. And it was so, when he became king, that he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone that breathed until he had destroyed him, according to the word of the Lord which he had spoken by his servant Ahijah the Shilani, because of the sins of Jeroboam which he had sinned and by which he had made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he had provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.
Fulfillment: Northern Kingdom Exiled
Notice 2 Kings chapter 17, to see the end, not of the dynasty, but of the northern tribes as a whole. So you see the death of the son is a foretaste of or foreshadowing of the death of the dynasty in chapter 15, and ultimately the death of the northern kingdom in 2 Kings chapter 17. Notice in 2 Kings chapter 17, Let's see here, verse 6. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria and placed them in Hala and by the Habor, the river of Gotan, and in the cities of the Medes.
Now notice in same chapter, verse 21. gives us a summary as to why this would indeed take place. For he tore Israel from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord and made them commit a great sin. For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam, which he did.
They did not depart from them until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants, the prophets. So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria as it is to this day, never to be reconvened again. Judah went into captivity, but they were restored. Why is that?
Because of 2 Samuel 7 and the Davidic covenant. God promised that David would always have an heir. with reference to his line. God promised David that there would always be a dynasty because that dynasty would lead to the dynastic Messiah himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. That covenant was not with the North.
So when Jeroboam plunges the nation into sin, God judges them, sends them into captivity in Assyria, and doesn't bring them back. He doesn't restore them as he does the southern tribes. So going back to 1 Kings chapter 14, ending on the death of Jeroboam. Notice verses 19 and 20.
Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he made war and how he reigned, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. This isn't the inspired book of chronicles that we have following first and second kings, but rather probably court annals, kings' annals, written records, things that were extant then but we don't have possession of. But notice it does indicate certain things here. how he made war and how he reigned, and then verse 20, the period that Jeroboam reigned was 22 years. So he rested with his fathers, then Nadab his son reigned in his place.
Now the narrative shifts. We have a divided kingdom, so we have a divided narrative. We go from this king of Israel, the author is then going to highlight a few of the kings of Judah, and then he's going to return to the north, and that was in chapter 15. Notice there in 1525, now Nadab, the son of Jeroboam.
So it picks up the narrative in the north there in 1525. At the end of 1420, or at 1421, we have a series of kings in Judah. So you've got a divided kingdom, north-south, Israel-Judah, and now we have a divided narrative. He's going to report on some of the kings in the north, he's going to report on some of the kings in the south.
He's going to go back to the kings of the north, go back to the kings of the south. That's how it's going to carry out because of that division. But here particularly, notice he reigned 22 years. And some of the things that he did, he made war and how he reigned.
Now, for a 22 year reign, he must have done something right. I'm not suggesting religiously, I'm not suggesting in terms of worship or devotion to God or anything like that, but to maintain a throne for 22 years, I got to imagine at some point along the way he did something right. He secured the kingdom for that amount of time. But notice how much of a passing glance this is.
What's important in the life of Jeroboam isn't how he reigned, and it's not how he waged war. It's how he worshipped. See, all of the substance in terms of the narrative concerning Jeroboam is not concerned with his reign and with his war-making capability, but how he worshipped. Davis makes this observation.
I think it's good. Obviously, I wouldn't quote it. He says, the writer has little interest in Jeroboam's military and political successes, but has spilled all his ink on how the king responded to the basic covenant demand. Accomplishments don't matter, fidelity does.
You see, in less than a verse, he gives us what he did in the history of 22 years. What are you going to be remembered for? Is it going to be, you know, I built this, I did this, I did that, or is it going to be, he was faithful to God? You see, that's what Davis is bringing out.
He says, verse 19 is frightening. All the energy and exertion you have poured into making your mark and your calling may prove one huge irrelevance. The only thing that matters is whether you worship Yahweh alone. Were you contented with the real God?
We think verse 19 is only a throwaway biographical note. Actually, it's a disturbing worldview when all that you've ever done takes up less than one verse. chapters devoted to how you rejected God, how you cast Him behind your back, and how you engaged in abject idolatry and plunged the people you were supposed to lead into that self-same idolatry.
Conclusion: Three Applications
Well, in conclusion, I got three things and then we'll go. First, the certainty of God's judgment upon idolatry. You cannot miss that. I'm not suggesting that it's okay to commit, you know, violations of commandments 3 to 10.
I'm not suggesting that for a moment. But God has a special enmity toward those first and second commandment violations. Now typically, when you violate the first and second, all the rest are open game. If you're violating, you know, the foundational ones, everything else are going to be open as well.
You're going to violate those. But the idea being, and we ought to learn this from Jeroboam the son of Nebat, idolatry is bad. I mean, if we could summarize the entire narrative concerning Jeroboam, idolatry is bad. This is a good lesson to pass on to your kids.
Idolatry is bad. Do not have other gods before God. and do not try and worship the true God in an incorrect manner, because he's provoked to anger that way as well. Now, I don't think that's what Jeroboam did, using the calves as a means to worship Yahweh. I think he was using the calves as objects of worship.
But there are those who say it doesn't matter that we have the true God, however we want to approach Him. It most certainly does matter. God is not only the object of our worship, but God has defined the manner by which we worship Him. We are not to engage in idolatry.
We're not to picture Him. We're not to make images of Him. We're not to be innovative and creative with reference to worship. We're to do what He commands.
We're to do how He commands, and we're to do precisely what He commands, happily and joyfully and gratefully for His goodness and kindness. Secondly, the clarity of God's word regarding depravity. There are just several things, quickly, we ought to notice about the sins of Jeroboam. In the first place, the rejection of the command of God.
This is typical of every sinner. Again, I think there's a little bit of Jeroboam in all of us, and I don't want to psychologize it, but this is, in some ways, very symptomatic of the way that people respond to God. Not just pagans, but those who are supposed to be covenant members. The rejection of the commandment of God, 1138.
The institutionalizing of idolatry, chapter 12, 25 to 33. Now most of us hopefully won't institutionalize idolatry, though we might in our homes if we're not consistent with the first and the second word, if we're not diligent to teach our children the the ways and the things of God, we may be institutionalizing idolatry in the very home that we're supposed to lead. So, perhaps it's not so far afield. We need to take heed that we are not Jeroboam-ish in that regard.
Thirdly, he attempted to murder the man of God from Judah in chapter 13. I mean, isn't that typical? We can't kill the God of heaven and earth, so we'll kill the messenger? Right?
You see that pattern. People get upset at the messenger. Why? It doesn't change the message.
You can shoot a preacher in the head, but it doesn't change that God calls you to repent and forsake your wickedness. But that was Jeroboam's response when the man of God from Judah comes to Bethel and he prophesies concerning Josiah. He wants to arrest him so that he can kill him. After the prophecies, the short-term prophecies come to pass by the man of God from Judah, then Jeroboam tries to bribe the man of God.
Well, if I don't need to kill him, he does do some things that are pretty legitimate and pretty excellent, I'll just bribe him. I'll give him up whatever kind of reward that he's seeking because it'd be quite handy to have a prophet like this in my back pocket. Notice as well his persistence in rebellion, chapter 13, verses 33 to 34. Again, this is typical.
This is symptomatic. We are called out at times for our sin, and instead of repenting, instead of forsaking, we harden our necks. We hear the law of God, we hear the word of God, we hear the word preached, and yet we continue to resist. Why is it easier to see it in the case of Jeroboam in 1 Kings chapter 13 than it is for us?
When we receive the commandment of God in a particular situation, let's say James 1.26, we are told by God to bridle our tongues. We may happen to know or suspect that we have a problem in that regard. And yet we don't bridle it. Is Jeroboam the only guy that continues persistently in rebellion against God?
No. More often than not, the professing people of God do the same sorts of things. The folly of seeking God's prophet in distress only. Again, I'm not trying to discourage anybody from seeking God in distress.
Cast your burdens upon the Lord because He cares for you. That's what we're supposed to do. But if it's only in distress, if it's only when you're trapped under the water and you're about to drown to death, if it's only when you've got a negative report from your doctor, if that's the only time you pray, if that's the only time you seek out any pastoral or spiritual counsel or you seek out any fellowship, that is indicative that things aren't well with your soul. As well, he provoked God and he cast God behind his back and he becomes the standard of royal wickedness.
I have many texts indicated from this point on where Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, functions in a negative way the way that David functions in a positive way, as the benchmark or standard. And then thirdly and finally, the impossibility of avoiding God's word through duplicity. Go back for just a moment to verse 6. This is an intriguing passage.
And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps, as she came through the door, he said, come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news. That's an attempt that persons often try and engage in, is to hide themselves from the word of God through duplicity, through deceitfulness, through disguise.
There's an interesting account in Charles Haddon Spurgeon's autobiography. It's a two-volume set. We're going to close here. Two volumes.
The first is the early years and the second is the full harvest. It's always intrigued me because he was a skinnier man in the earlier years and a heavier man in the full harvest. And it looks like he had a full harvest somewhere along the line. And this just kind of always struck me.
But there's an interesting part. There's a chapter on memorable sermons or something like that. But this is a quote straight from the volume itself. The service at the tabernacle on Lord's Day evening, July 31st, 1864, was a memorable one to Spurgeon and two of his hearers.
A man living in Newington had been converted through the pastor's preaching, and he became a regular worshiper at the tabernacle. His wife, a very staunch member of the Church of England, strongly objected to his going, but he continued to attend, notwithstanding all that she said. One Sabbath night, after her husband had gone to the service, her curiosity overcame her prejudice, and she herself determined to go to hear what the preacher had to say. Not wishing to be known, she tried to disguise herself by putting on a thick veil and a heavy shawl and sought still further to avoid observation by ascending to the upper gallery.
She was very late in reaching the building, so just as she entered, the preacher was announcing his text. And the first words that sounded in her ears were strikingly appropriate to her case, especially as she declared that Spurgeon pointed directly at her as he said, come in, thou wife of Jeroboam. Why faintest thou thyself to be another? For I am sent to thee with heavy tidings, 1 Kings 14, 6.
Isn't that beautiful? I just love that. We can't hide from God's word. And then Spurgeon, as he's discoursing in the sermon, says something about persons that may try and disguise themselves.
Persons like, you know, a man of business that may not want to be seen as a religious person, a preacher maybe from another church. And in the course of the sermon, he made this observation. He said, notwithstanding, Whoever you may be, disguised or not, it is of no use where God's gospel is preached. It is a quick discerner.
It will find out the thoughts and intents of the heart. It will search you out and unmask your true character. Disguise yourself as you may." Now the woman went home and told her husband that she thought he had set it up or had some hand in setting it up. which he didn't. It was just the way it was.
But I thought that was an interesting way to sort of end the study tonight and to encourage us that those whom we witness to and those whom we speak to, and even our children, cannot avoid and cannot hide from God's Word. It will indeed find the mount. Well, let's pray.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank you for your Word. We thank you for this passage. We thank you for the instruction we receive from even the life of a wicked man like Jeroboam. Give us grace, God, to resist the tendencies that we see in this man.
Give us grace, God, to pursue those good things that Scripture sets forth throughout. We ask that you would go with us now, that you would watch over us in the remainder of our week. Help us to come together on the Sabbath to worship and to praise and to glorify your great and awesome name. And we pray these things through Christ our Lord.
Amen.