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1 Kings chapter 12. Last week we looked at verses 
1 to 24. Specifically what we saw there 
was the request of the northern tribes in verses 1 to 15. They 
come to Rehoboam. They are led by Jeroboam, the 
son of Nebat, and essentially they ask for a lighter load. 
They complain that Solomon had been a bit of a heavy hand with 
reference to the northerners, and so they ask for some degree 
of reprieve. Rehoboam then seeks out counsel 
from the elders they give. They give wise counsel. They counsel that he makes concessions 
with the northern tribes to try and keep everything peaceful 
and happy. But then he rejected the advice 
which the elders had given him. He consulted with the young men, 
and he followed their advice. And essentially, instead of making 
concessions, he turned to threats and intimidation. That then led 
to the revolt of the northern tribes in verses 16 to 20. Remember, 
this is all according to the will, the purpose, and the plan 
of God. the prophecy that was made by Ahijah, the man of God, 
in chapter 11. But the northern tribes revolt 
against the southern tribes, and then the chapter ends, or 
that section rather, ends with a requirement for the southern 
tribes. Rehoboam wanted to launch a military incursion against 
the northern tribes to try and regain control of the entire 
kingdom, but he was counseled by Shemaiah, the man of God, 
that he stand down. Instead of launching this incursion, 
stand down, this thing is from me, from the Lord as well. And 
now we pick up in chapter 12, verses 25 to 33. If the first part of the chapter 
highlight Rehoboam's folly regarding matters of state, verses 25 to 
33 highlight Jeroboam's failure with reference to matters of 
worship. So I'll read at verse 25. Then 
Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim and dwelt 
there. Also he went out from there and 
built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, 
now the kingdom may return to the house of David. If these 
people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, 
then the heart of this people will turn back to their Lord, 
Rehoboam, king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back 
to Rehoboam, king of Judah. Therefore the king asked advice, 
made two calves of gold, and said to the people, it is too 
much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, 
which brought you up from the land of Egypt. And he set up 
one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Now this thing 
became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one 
as far as Dan. He made shrines on the high places 
and made priests from every class of people who were not of the 
sons of Levi. Jeroboam ordained a feast on 
the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was 
in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, 
sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And at Bethel he 
installed the priests of the high place which he had made. 
So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on 
the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he 
had devised in his own heart. and he ordained a feast for the 
children of Israel and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned 
incense." Well, certainly not a good start for Jeroboam as 
he begins to lead the northern tribes. In terms of political 
maneuvering, he uses religion or worship to try to maintain 
control on the northern tribes. And essentially what we have 
in this brief section of scripture are two primary observations. First, the motivation behind 
his idolatry in verses 25 to 27, and then the execution of 
his idolatry in verses 28 to 33. Note in the first place his 
defense. This is a legitimate expression 
of a newly ordained or newly installed king. Verse 25, Then 
Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim and dwelt 
there. Also he went out from there and 
built Penuel. Now where it says he built Shechem, 
remember they met at Shechem to consider Rehoboam's ascendancy 
to the throne. Shechem was already existing. 
I think the marginal reading in the New King James is preferable 
here. He fortified Shechem. The same 
thing is probably true with reference to Penuel. He took military action 
or he fortified these particular key cities that were east-west 
trade routes and he fortifies them. This is a good maneuver 
on the part of a new king to secure his boundaries. Notice 
as well, however, that he then devolves or degenerates with 
reference to his religious approach to religious worship. Now there's 
a bit of a debate here in terms of Jeroboam. Some portray him 
as not really being that bad after all. Perhaps he was just 
a bit misunderstood. They suggest that he built those 
calves or he set up those calves not as an object of worship, 
but as a means to facilitate the worship of Yahweh. This was 
a common thing in the ancient Near Eastern world. Calves would 
oftentimes be the carriers of deity. And when you look at, 
say, for instance, the Ark of the Tabernacle or the temple 
itself, you see that God's presence rested upon the cherubim. And 
so some suggest that what we have with Jeroboam is not so 
much wickedness, but he was just a bit misunderstood. We also 
need to keep in mind that Judean authors were the ones who wrote 
1 Kings, and they certainly would want to portray Jeroboam in a 
sort of a negative light. The idea being is that he was 
maybe a little bit misguided, but he wasn't a wicked idolater. I think that he was a wicked 
idolater, and I think that the Scripture sets that forth pretty 
plainly and pretty clearly. In the first place, there's a 
great deal of similarity here between Jeroboam and Aaron in 
Exodus chapter 32. We'll see more of that as we 
proceed tonight. As well, the use of representations 
are forbidden in the second commandment. Let's just grant for a moment 
that he was just using those bull calves as a means to direct 
the worshiper to Yahweh. That in and of itself is condemned 
by the second commandment. You're not supposed to make any 
visible representation to aid, to assist, to facilitate the 
worship of the living and the true God. Davis, for instance, 
makes this observation. It may be, now I don't think 
Davis agrees that it was. In fact, he doesn't. This was 
in a footnote. He says it may be that Jeroboam's 
intent was syncretistic. Now that word syncretistic simply 
means this. When you take a little bit of 
this religion, you take a little bit of this religion, and you 
combine it together to have sort of a new religion. A dictionary 
online calls it the combination, or defines it, the combination 
of different forms of belief or practice. So in other words, 
we have a little bit of Baal and we have a little Yahweh in 
order to produce this particular type of worship. That's syncretism. That's something that happens 
all throughout the Old Testament, and it's as much idolatrous as 
just bowing before a calf and calling it God. So we need to 
understand that. Syncretism isn't, you know, something 
that is a little less idolatrous. It's still idolatrous, and we 
see it condemned as such when we move through scripture. But 
Davis says it may be that Jeroboam's intent was syncretistic rather 
than idolatrous, i.e., to worship Yahweh by means of bull worship. breaking the second commandment 
rather than the first. But to worship the true God in 
a false way, the second commandment, inevitably leads to worshiping 
a false God, the first commandment. We need to understand the first 
two commandments target primarily idolatry. The first commandment 
specifies the God we are supposed to worship. You shall have no 
other gods before me. You shall have no other gods 
besides me. Yahweh alone. But the second 
commandment defines how we are to worship that true God. So 
if we have the right God, but we have the wrong approach to 
worship, then it really isn't the right God that we're worshiping. We need to understand that those 
two go hand in hand. You don't have one without the 
other. You don't have a proper approach 
to a false God. You don't have an improper approach 
to the true God. You have to have both of those 
commandments down, because if you don't, you're in sin and 
rebellion against God. But then as well, decisively, 
the next chapter, Ahijah, the man of God, condemns what Jeroboam 
does. Notice in chapter 14 at verse 
9. 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. Now, it's not just a modern theory. 
John Gill quotes one of the Jewish rabbis who saw the text this 
way as well. Jeroboam wasn't necessarily committing 
idolatry. He was using these calves in 
order to facilitate the worship of the true God. But the passage 
itself, specifically later in verse 28, indicates that he did 
present these things as the gods that had, in fact, led them out 
of the land of Egypt. So we are dealing with Jeroboam 
committing corporate idolatry, institutionalized idolatry, putting 
it at a level that prior to this time had been seen in Exodus 
32 with reference to Aaron, and then in Judges chapter 17 and 
18, where Micah has this Levite and engages in idolatry, and 
then the tribe of Dan co-ops that and brings it into a more 
massive scale in the tribe of Dan. So we're dealing with wicked 
Jeroboam. Now note specifically his motivation 
for his activities in verses 26 to 27. The source of his motivation 
is given in 26a. Jeroboam sat in his heart. You 
see the mistake there? We're not supposed to rationalize 
with our hearts what the true worship of God is to look like. We're supposed to obey the written 
word of God Almighty. Now when we come to this particular 
statement in verse 26a, Jeroboam said in his heart, We ought not 
to forget what happened with Solomon and his heart. These 
foreign women turned his heart away from following the Lord. 
In chapter 11, Ahijah the prophet tells Jeroboam very specifically 
the path of blessing in 1138. He says, 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. So he has the example of Solomon's 
heart. He has the commandment of God 
through the prophet. And this fool wants to rationalize 
or listen to his own heart. Matthew Poole says the phrase 
discovers the fountain of his error, that he did not consult 
with God who had given him the kingdom. This is the improper 
motivation when it comes to the worship of God. Our hearts cannot 
be trusted. Our hearts will always lead us 
to the path of least resistance. Our hearts will always lead us 
to entertainment rather than doctrine. Our hearts will lead 
us to idols that indulge us in our sin and wickedness rather 
than to the God of absolute holiness. We're not supposed to listen 
to our hearts. We're supposed to obey the commandments 
of God. That is crucial. Now, if our 
hearts are steeped with the commandments of God and our hearts are communicating 
to us the commandments of God, then goody. But if we are not 
being guided by the truth of God's Holy Word, we are always 
going to fail. We are always going to fall. 
Now, notice the description of his motivation in 26b to 27. In the first place, he has this 
fear that the kingdom would return to the house of David. 26b. Now, the kingdom may return to 
the house of David. He no sooner takes the helm and 
he's already stricken with fear. In fact, much of this motivation 
for idolatry stems from this fear and insecurity. Fear and 
insecurity on the part of a leader will lead him to engage in manipulation, 
seeking to control the situation, seeking to try and take out any 
risk whatsoever. Brethren, if we have a sovereign 
God, we don't have to fret and worry and try to control and 
manipulate every circumstance and every detail. We trust in 
the living and the true God. This is what Jeroboam is failing 
to do. Notice he realizes that if the 
people went to Jerusalem, they would go back to Rehoboam. You see the particular situation. You've got the northern tribes 
up here, you've got the southern tribes down here. What happens 
to be amongst the southern tribes? Jerusalem. That's the place where 
the temple is now standing. That's the place God had commanded 
for centralized worship. Jeroboam reckons that if these 
people travel down to Jerusalem, they'll not just stay in Jerusalem 
with reference to religion, but they'll go back to their particular 
king, Rehoboam. So he realizes that if they in 
fact go to Jerusalem, they will in fact go back to Rehoboam. 
And then he fears that the people would kill him, 27b, and they 
will kill me and go back to Rehoboam, king of Judah. This is an insecure 
man. Wouldn't you say? I mean, this 
leadership does not flow from, or this idolatry does not flow 
from a stable, secure man who is comfortable under God, but 
rather he is riddled with insecurity and fears and doubts. He does 
not trust Rehoboam in the first place. Remember I suggested that 
we ought to see what happens at Shechem and Penuel, not as 
building, but as fortifying. He doesn't trust Rehoboam. He 
believes that Rehoboam is going to come back and try to take 
the northern tribes. He does not trust the northerners, 
the very people that he governs, for in verse 27 he says, then 
they will kill me. I mean, this guy doesn't even 
trust the people that he has been stationed over. As well, 
he does not trust his own legitimacy as the king of the northern tribes. 
Notice what verse 27 says. If these people go up to offer 
sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart 
of this people will turn back to their Lord, Rehoboam, king 
of Judah. So he's not even content or he's 
not even secure or stable in his own God-given leadership 
role. This kingdom split was of the 
Lord. Ahijah had handed 10 pieces of 
that new garment to Jeroboam. Ahijah not only handed him those 
10 pieces, but he also handed him the word of the Lord. And 
the word of the Lord said, I am doing this for you, Jeroboam. And if you obey, and if you are 
faithful, and if you are compliant with the law, then I will prosper 
you. So he doesn't trust Rehoboam, 
he doesn't trust his own people, he doesn't trust the legitimacy 
to the throne he has, and ultimately he does not trust God, because 
God had put him in that particular position. Proven says that he 
fears that the presence of the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem 
will be a more decisive factor in this matter than his own obedience. It is this inability to trust 
that is his downfall, for he must now strive for security 
for himself. In his thinking, religion becomes 
simply an aspect of political control. I wonder if the sorts 
of idolatry that we see present in our own day could be brought 
back to that place where you have insecure men or an insecure 
man that wants to try and control people and he feeds them a great 
big dose of idolatry in order to do it. This is what Jeroboam 
is doing to control the northern tribes. He feeds them false religion 
so that they don't go to the true religion Because if they 
go to the true religion, they're going to abandon Him. It's a 
means by which He is striving to control these people. Matthew 
Henry says, a practical disbelief of God's all-sufficiency is at 
the bottom of all our treacherous departures from Him. I think 
he's absolutely right. And this is precisely what marks 
those men in Caiaphas' palace. Go to John chapter 11. I referred 
to this on Sunday morning. John chapter 11, we looked at 
the parallel in Matthew chapter 26 verses 1 to 5, that conspiracy 
to commit murder. It was born out of the same sort 
of insecurity, the same sort of fear, the same sort of little-mindedness 
on the part of Christ's enemies. Notice in chapter 11 of John's 
gospel in verse 48, if we let him alone like this, Everyone 
will believe in him and the Romans will come and take away both 
our place and nation. You see, they conspire to murder 
the Messiah out of fear that their place and their nation 
will be taken away. Now, their place most likely 
means their positions of authority. These elders, these chief priests, 
these scribes, these Pharisees, these men that made up the Sanhedrin 
saw Jesus Christ as a threat to their place, to their nation. So they engage in a conspiracy 
to commit murder. And thus, by their actions, lead 
the nation down the pathway of idolatry. For in the rejection 
of the Messiah, that is to open oneself up to embrace all manner 
of wickedness and evil. Hence the whole Olivet discourse 
and Christ's threat of judgment upon Jerusalem in AD 70. So there's 
nothing new under the sun. Weak-minded, insecure men want 
to try and manipulate and control situations and circumstances 
because they are afraid of what may happen if they lose a grip 
on their particular situation. Now notice in chapter 12, verses 
28 to 33, with reference to the execution of his idolatry. It's reading verse 28 this morning, 
therefore the king asked advice. You mean there were actually 
fools out there that advised him to do this? It's an unfortunate 
thing, isn't it? Just like Rehoboam. Rehoboam 
sought advice too. I think by way of maybe a moralistic 
sideline note, find good advisors in your life. Find people that 
have an ounce of horse sense and some knowledge of scripture 
before you seek out advice? I mean, Rehoboam's great error 
was to reject and resist the advice of the wise elders who 
had stood in the presence of the wisest man that had lived 
up to that time. He sought out the young men and 
he took to intimidation and threats. Well, Jeroboam sought out advice 
as well, and it was terrible, bad advice. In a multitude of 
counselors, there is safety. Solomon tells us that in the 
Proverbs. I think the unspoken sort of 
premise, however, is that they're wise counselors. Don't seek out 
foolish counselors. Surround yourself with intelligent 
people. Young people ought to go to their 
parents. Parents ought to go to other 
trusted people. We ought to seek counsel with 
people that are wise. We can't live without counsel. We certainly, however, must seek 
out wise counsel. So the king asked advice. Now 
notice, with reference to the idolatry, it begins in 28b and 
ends at verse 33. I listed six particular things 
that were, you know, grievous acts of idolatry in this particular 
section. In the first place, we have a 
rejection of the first and second commandments, 28b. Notice. It 
is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, 
O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt. The making 
of two calves for use in the worship of God is a violation 
of the second commandment. To identify those two calves 
as the gods who brought you out of Egypt is a violation of the 
first commandment. See, typically it is the case. 
You don't violate one without the other. It's a package deal. If we don't come to the true 
God in the way that He specifies, we are going to fall into sin. 
Obviously, if we go to a false god, I mean, I don't think there's 
a way to go to a false god with the right means, but you get 
the point. We need the true God, and we 
need the true way to get to that God, and that's what's stipulated 
in Commandments 1 and 2. So, what we find is that he rejects 
the first and the second commandments. Secondly, he rejects Deuteronomy 
chapter 12. This is 28C to verse 30. Now, you might ask, what is Deuteronomy 
chapter 12? Deuteronomy chapter 12 was God's 
commandment for a central sanctuary. In other words, there ought to 
be one place in Israel where Israelites go in order to worship 
God. Prior to the temple being made, 
it seemed to be located at Shiloh. Once the temple was made, or 
even prior to the temple, we see the ark of the tabernacle 
brought to Jerusalem by David. So since 2 Samuel 6, The city 
of Jerusalem served as this centralized sanctuary. Now once the temple 
is built in 1 Kings chapter 8, it's a done deal. That's where 
Israelites go to worship. Now there's a rationale for this. 
God knows that if People go worshipping God wherever they might hanker 
to do so, it typically does not end well. This was a means by 
which the religion of Israel would be kept pure. It wasn't 
to be the case that persons were to go just when they got an idea 
to go out and worship. There's that instance in the 
book of Joshua where the Eastern tribes erect an altar and the 
Western tribes want to go and liquidate them. And then the 
Easterners say, we only made this as a witness and as a testimony. 
That was legit. Had they made it for a place 
of actual worship, that would have been a violation. So you 
see what Jeroboam is doing. He wants to rip Deuteronomy 12 
right out of the Bible. The central sanctuary in Jerusalem 
was in accordance with Deuteronomy 12, 1 to 14. Now, his design, 
again, at least on the level of an insecure, fearful, untrusting 
little man, it makes sense. If the northerners go to Jerusalem, 
they're going to go back to Rehoboam. You get the logic, right? So 
what does he say? I can't let them go back to Jerusalem. I know what I'll do. I'll facilitate 
them in both the north, Dan, and in the south, Bethel. Now, 
Bethel was only about 12 miles to the north of Jerusalem. So, I mean, somebody that wanted 
to make it to Bethel could certainly make it to Jerusalem. But there's 
more driving Jeroboam here than just the convenience of his people. 
It is to keep them in a hostage situation. Matthew Henry says, 
if they cleave to their old religion, they will go back to their old 
king. So we've got Dan, which is the 
northernmost part of Israel, and then you've got Bethel, which 
is not the most southern part, but just about of the southernmost 
part of the north. You get that? The southernmost 
part of the north. Now, notice the particular reasons 
that he gives to them. And I think these would have 
a certain appeal. I think they would today. In the first place, 
he appeals to convenience. Notice verse 28, it is too much 
for you to go up to Jerusalem. Now you might think that if you're 
in the north, you're going down to Jerusalem, but wherever you 
are in Israel, you're going up to Jerusalem. That's just the 
idiom. That's just the way that you would say that. But it's 
convenient. You don't need to go that extra 
12 miles. You've got Dan to the north, you've got Bethel to the 
south, we've got, you know, two places. Choose your poison, wherever 
you want to go. I actually think this is a means 
that is employed today in order to facilitate idolatry. We all 
like convenience, don't we? Now, I'm not suggesting we purposely 
make worship inconvenient. Okay, we're going to put barbed 
wire up at our door and you're going to have to shimmy through 
without getting caught because we got to know. I'm not suggesting 
we ought to make it inconvenient, but the modern marketing craze 
with reference to idolatrous worship tries to make it very 
convenient. We'll come to your house and 
we'll give you a Bible study in your house. We'll bring our 
calf idols. right into your living room, 
and we'll let you touch them and pet them. We'll describe 
them to you. We'll give you books about them, 
and we'll weave a tale so that you'll embrace this. It's convenient, 
this false religion. But it might also be read this 
way. It is a means of consolidation. The text could be, it is too 
much for you to go up to Jerusalem, or it might just be Jeroboam 
saying, you have gone there long enough. Based on recent events, 
based on the northern revolt from the south, you no longer 
have a need to go down there. Those are bad people. We need 
to consolidate our particular kingdom. So we've got Dan to 
the north and Bethel to the south. As well, this idea of accessibility. We've got Dan to the north and 
Bethel to the south. You've got two places. Choose 
which one you will have. Or it might be association. And by that I mean that Dan and 
Bethel both contain or carry specific association. Dan was 
the place where the Danites worshipped this particular idol that had 
come from Micah and his Levi. but as well Bethel. You know 
what the word Bethel means? It means house of God. And there's 
strong, blessed associations of Bethel with Abraham in the 
book of Genesis and with Jacob in the book of Genesis. So it 
might be something like this. We've got them in Dan, which 
has already known a religious innovation of its own in the 
history in Judges 18, and we've got Bethel. I mean, if Abraham 
worshiped there successfully, and if Jacob worshiped there 
successfully, why can't we, their ancestors, worship there successfully? You see, Jeroboam's playing. 
Not playing in the sense of playing games, but he is playing the 
crowd. He is manipulating them. He is 
trying to control them and keep them under his particular thumb. And then as well, the apparent 
success of the proposal. Notice in verse 30. Now this 
thing became a sin for the people went to worship before the one 
as far as Dan. In other words, it worked. Doesn't 
this give impetus to idolaters to see the apparent success? 
This is always a scary thing when you measure church life 
in terms of numbers or in terms of success. Success doesn't always 
mean it's right. I mean, there's some huge cults 
out there. I think I've read that Joel Osteen, 
what, 30,000 people go to his places? I mean, his church is 
an old sports stadium. Now, you look at that, and by 
worldly standards, it looks really successful. I mean, they probably 
have a coffee bar. They probably have a gift shop. 
They probably have a book table. You can buy, you know, all of 
his smiling face books right as you walk in. But that's not 
success as God would measure it. I love what Steve has quoted 
often. You know, the Puritans used to 
say, the mark of a successful service is that the Word of God 
was preached. That's really not the way we 
think anymore. They've got a clean nursery. 
They've got great activities for the young people. Yeah, but 
there's golden calves at the front of their altar. I mean, 
come on! But we like our clean nurseries, 
and we like activities for our youth, and we like bongo drums 
and worship. Whatever it takes, but they've 
got golden calves at the front. It doesn't matter. Those places 
are packed. Success, or numbers, or the fact 
that everybody goes to Dan, or goes to Bethel at the suggestion 
of Jeroboam, doesn't mean it's right. It doesn't mean it's true. It is the Word of God that is 
our standard every step of the way. So he rejects the first 
and second words, he rejects Deuteronomy 12. Thirdly, he rejects 
Solomon's temple. Notice 31a, he made shrines on 
the high places. Now that's a bit of a difficult 
statement to sort of unfold. The Geneva Bible says, also he 
made an house of high places. They give a comment, the old 
Geneva Bible was a study Bible, and not only is this probably 
one of the better translations in terms of the text itself, 
but the comment is accurate. That is a temple where altars 
were built for idolatry. So he made shrines on the high 
places. No, he made a house of high places, 
most likely in Bethel. The house of God has now become 
the temple of this idolatrous cult. Proven says, so he builds 
a house of high places, i.e. an illegitimate temple in the 
singular with its own altar in Bethel. You see what he's doing? 
He's absolutely aping true religion. He is counterfeiting or duplicating 
every step of the way the true. This is what's oftentimes more 
difficult to see, to sort of determine. Now, obviously, golden 
calves gives the whole thing away. But with reference to the 
attendant worship of those golden calves, it mirrors Judah's worship. We'll see that as we move along. 
Every step of the way, Jeroboam is duplicating with a perverted 
twist what is happening in the southern tribes, what is happening 
with the true religion of Yahweh. And then notice, fourthly, there 
is a rejection of the Levitical priesthood. Not a rejection of 
priests, because any man from any class can now become a priest. Notice in 31b, and he made priests 
from every class of people who were not of the sons of Levi. 
Now this every class of people probably doesn't mean, you know, 
anybody whatsoever, probably means it's not confined to the 
tribe of Levi. So you see, he's got his own 
priesthood, he's got his own sanctuary, he's got his own temple, 
he's got everything in place, but he doesn't stop there. Notice 
the rejection of the law concerning feasts. Verse 32, Jeroboam ordained 
a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the 
feast that was in Judah. Now, the feast that was in Judah 
was the Feast of Tabernacles. It was on the fifteenth day of 
the seventh month. You see, when he tries or conspires 
to keep the people in the North, he gives them essentially everything 
they would have gotten in the South, just with his own tweaks, 
just with his own twists, just with his own accommodations. 
Davis says, religion for Jeroboam was not a given, but something 
pliable to be massaged and shaped as one prefers. That's wrong. 
That's not the way we're supposed to approach the worship of the 
living God. It's not something that is pliable, 
something to be massaged and shaped as one prefers. And then sixth, in terms of verses 
32 and 33, I'm sorry, verse 33, it kind of summarizes, look at 
verse 32. So Jeroboam ordained a feast 
on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was 
in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, 
sacrificing to the calves that he had made, and at Bethel he 
installed the priests of the high places which he had made." 
See, it's come to fruition. Everything that he has done, 
he has put into practice. And then in verse 33, so he made 
offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the 
fifteenth day of the eighth month. Now, probably he made offerings. As we get to chapter 13, he has 
no problem with being in the holy place doing the offerings. And then it says, on the 15th 
day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in 
his own heart, and he ordained a feast for the children of Israel 
and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense. So 
in the sixth place, I submit that this is a rejection of Deuteronomy 
chapter 12, verse 32. You can either turn there or 
listen to me quote it. Deuteronomy 12.32 says this, whatever I command 
you, now remember 12.1-14 Central Sanctuary. Deuteronomy, you know, 
chapter five, first and second commandments. Deuteronomy 16 
deals with feasts and when you're supposed to appear in Jerusalem 
for the Feast of the Tabernacles, for instance. All these things 
have been stipulated. So in 1232, it's sort of a summary 
statement in Deuteronomy that we often ought to refer to. Whatever 
I command you, be careful to observe it. You shall not add 
to it nor take away from it. You see, at every step of the 
way, Jeroboam has violated that principle. In his rejection of 
the first and second commandment, in his rejection of the central 
sanctuary, in his rejection of the temple itself, in his rejection 
of the Levitical priesthood, every step of the way, Jeroboam 
has fallen in that particular application. Profane offerings 
on a profane altar on a different date and a different location. 
You see, you cannot come from this and say, well, you know, 
this was just another approach. He sort of had a liturgical renewal. Some guys actually suggest that's 
what's happening here. But he's just tweaking it a little 
bit to fit the northern tribes. You know, when you get to 2 Kings 
chapter 17, it describes the fall of the northern kingdoms. 
You know what it's ascribed to? Jeroboam, the son of Nebat and 
his idolatry. And the fact that the people 
followed him into this. You see, he institutionalized 
idolatry. The specific date, notice in 
verse 33, and I would suggest the other trappings that he had 
instituted, he had devised in his own heart. There's that wretched 
heart again at the very beginning of the narrative and at the very 
end of the narrative. What is it? It's not, thus saith 
Yahweh. It's not what the Lord commanded. 
It's what came out of his wretched heart. The folly involved is 
evident. Davis makes this observation. Our writer, however, is not a 
detached historian content simply to describe Jeroboam's religious 
ingenuity for your enlightenment. He is rather a disciple of Yahweh 
who mocks the king's cult even as he depicts it. The writer 
says that Jeroboam's cult is both different and stupid. He does this, I suggest, in a 
subtle but telling way. Do you know how he does it? Look 
at the verb that is used eight times in verses 31 to 33. It first appears in verse 28. He made two golden calves. Look at verses 31 to 33. He made 
shrines on the high places. He made priests from every class 
of people. Verse 32, Jeroboam made a feast 
on the 15th day of the eighth month. toward the end. So he 
did it Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. 
And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which 
he had made. Verse 33, so he made offerings 
on the altar which he had made at Bethel. And then verse toward 
the end, and he made a feast for the children of Israel. Now, 
Davis cautions us, the verb made is quite common, it's not something 
that is very infrequent in Scripture, but it certainly does seem as 
if the author is trying to underscore for us and highlight to us The 
fact that this did not come from God, it comes from Jeroboam. It came from his own wretched 
heart. He begins by musing in his own heart and it ends by 
telling us he devised this day of his own heart. So Jeroboam's 
idolatry is obvious in 1 Kings 12. There's a few lessons I think 
we ought to appreciate. In the first place, the characteristics 
of idolatry, just in 1 Kings 12, certainly we could study 
the doctrine or the idea of idolatry from Genesis to Revelation. It 
is a conspicuous doctrine. In fact, one of the most excellent 
book on idolatry is by G.K. Beale. It's called, We Become 
What We Worship, A Biblical Theology of Idolatry. And Beale's main 
sort of thesis statement is penetrating. He says, what we revere, we resemble, 
either for our ruin or redemption. And the idea being, Psalm 115, 
those who make idols become like them. In other words, in Psalm 
115, the idols are called those things that have eyes that don't 
see, they have ears that don't hear, they have mouths that don't 
speak. How many times is Israel upbraided 
for having ears but not hearing and eyes but not seeing? When 
Israel is called stiff-necked, it's probably a reference to 
calves or goats because they're stiff-necked. You have to put 
a yoke upon that. Well, when you worship a bull 
calf, you become like that. You become stiff-necked just 
like that. So, idolatry from Genesis to 
Revelation is a most powerful, an inducement to the sons of 
men. And that book is most excellent. But in terms of this particular 
chapter, I would suggest a few things. In the first place, it 
is the rotten fruit of listening to one's own heart instead of 
the word of God. You just can't be trusted, right? I'm sorry you're going to go 
home tonight and seek out your safe space because Jim said your 
heart can't be trusted. But somebody needs to tell you 
that. You need the scriptures. What's 
that statement in Proverbs 3? You know, trust in the Lord with 
all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Why? 
Because when we lean on our own understanding, we make a mess 
of things. Look back in your history and 
consider every time you leaned on your own understanding and 
ask yourself, how did that turn out? Right? This is emphasized 
throughout scripture. Calvin says man's nature is a 
perpetual factory of idols. Secondly, this idolatry is born 
out of fear, insecurity, and a failure, ultimately, to trust 
God. Now, I don't want to get psychological 
and try to put Jeroboam on the couch and, you know, tell me 
what your childhood was like, were your parents nice to you. 
I don't want to do all that. But it's obvious the man was 
afraid. He didn't want to lose the kingdom back to Rehoboam. He was insecure. He failed to 
trust God. God told him through the prophet, 
do what you're supposed to do vis-a-vis obey my commands and 
everything will go well and I will prosper you. But no, he was fearful 
and he was insecure and he failed to trust God. Thirdly, it was 
born out of a desire to impose and maintain political control 
over people. It's a problematic thing when 
politicians use religion, a sort of manipulated, tweaked version 
of religion to try and control the body politic. There's just 
enough little sound bites with reference to the politicians 
in terms of religion to sway our hearts and make us say, but 
he said, God bless us all. He must be a good man. We need 
to be very cautious and very careful. Invoking the deity for 
political maneuvering cannot be a good invocation of deity, 
brethren. That may border on blasphemy. If I'm just saying God bless 
you so I can get your vote, then that's not the kind of religion 
that we as God's people ought really to appreciate. Fourthly, 
it is syncretistic. That's, again, combining elements 
of falsehood along with truth. That does not result in purity. 
You can't combine Yahweh with Baal and end up with good things. It's just not going to happen. 
And then, as I mentioned earlier, it is counterfeit. Jeroboam's 
religion was modeled after true religion. He had an object of 
worship. not Yahweh, but these bull calves. He had a place for 
worship, not Jerusalem, but Bethel. He had a temple that he had manufactured. He had priests to facilitate 
worship, feast days to engage in worship, and sacrifice at 
the heart of worship. You see, that's what he's doing. 
He's offering up sacrifices in order to worship these bull calves. 
Now, I thought of heretics and cults. They use biblical terminology, 
but it's empty of biblical truth. Just because a guy knows what 
the word redemption is, he says redemption, doesn't mean he understands 
what's true. Read the early church fathers 
or the reformers or anybody who deals with the doctrine of the 
Trinity, and they will highlight and they will tell you time and 
time again. It's not the word so much, but the meaning that 
the words carry. So if the Jehovah's Witness or 
the Mormon says, yeah, we believe in being born again, we believe 
in redemption, we believe in reconciliation, they don't mean 
it the way the Bible means it, and that's what's important. 
So Jeroboam had the appearance, Jeroboam had the place, he had 
the object, he had the day, he had the sacrifice, he even had 
the priest to facilitate it. But it wasn't true, it wasn't 
accurate, it wasn't legitimate. Secondly, we ought to appreciate 
the responsibility of leadership. James was not joking when he 
said, let not many of you become teachers, for we shall receive 
a stricter judgment. I mentioned that Jeroboam was 
sort of like Moses in the first part of the chapter. Jeroboam 
was in Egypt. He comes to Israel. He liberates 
the northern tribes from the severe oppression imposed upon 
them by Rehoboam. He's a Moses-like figure. At 
the end of chapter 12, he's an Aaron-like figure. He is engaged 
in idol-making to lead the people of God astray. Proven says this, 
the story is still evoking memories of Aaron. He too made his golden 
calf, built an altar, and announced a festival on a date of his own 
choosing." Aaron does that, 32.5. Tomorrow will be a feast of the 
Lord, right? Same sort of thing. He goes on 
to say, and on that occasion, it was the Levites who were distanced 
from the celebrations. You know what happens when Jeroboam 
uses non-Levites? The Levites all leave, according 
to the parallel in 2 Chronicles 11. The Levites leave the northern 
kingdom and go to the south. Guess what happens when the Levites 
leave the northern kingdom? Those common lands are now available 
for Jeroboam and whatever he wants to do with that. No longer 
will the tithe monies be given to those Levites, you see? So 
when the Levites left, it's similar to what we find in Exodus 32. Who sided with Moses against 
Aaron and the people? It was the Levites. There's similarity. As well, the Danite connection. The New King James margin at 
verse 30 in Judges 18 is probably correct. It was the grandson 
of Moses that led, that was the presiding priest over the idolatry 
at that particular situation. So you've got Aaron, you've got 
the grandson of Moses. Now, we often think, my idolatry 
or my sin only affects me. It most certainly doesn't. And 
then we might go forward in terms of the Jeroboam effect. Jeroboam 
becomes the standard upon which negative assessments are made. 
It happens already in chapter 15 at verse 26. chapter 15, verse 
34, several times in 16, 21, 2 Kings 3, 2 Kings 9, 2 Kings 
10, all throughout 1 and 2 Kings, Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, is 
the benchmark standard for evil in the northern tribes. So all 
of that to say, the sins of the leaders affect the people. Davis says this, the text breathes 
such an air of tragedy for it shows us that the deviation of 
Israel and Aaron in Exodus 32 and that of Micah and of the 
tribe of Dan in Judges 17 and 18 gave the excuse to someone, 
Jeroboam, You know, when Jeroboam is concerned with how do I consolidate 
power and control the north, and these advisors come to him, 
I don't think it would be a stretch to say, you know what Aaron did? 
And it seemed to work for him. You know what they did at the 
time of Micah and his Levite and the Danites subsequent to 
that? Years later, to advocate falsehood and in such a way that 
finally destroyed a nation. We may think our infidelity is 
our own business, but sadly, it may be embraced by those who 
come after and damn a whole generation. A little covenant breaking at 
Sinai, a deviant cult at Dan, and a future in ruins. I think 
that's powerful. A little departure here or there, 
we don't know where it's going to end up for the next generation. 
We don't know what's going to happen with our kids and our 
grandkids. We start paring off the rough edges now. We start 
making concessions for this, that, or the other. Who knows 
where they're going to be? I mean, the evangelicals in the 
20th century, or evangelicals today, at least in some circles, 
sound a lot more like the liberals in the 20th century. I remember 
reading one man who said, liberals or conservatives go to, I'll 
say some seminaries, I don't think it's all seminaries. Conservatives 
go to some seminaries and they come out liberals. Liberals go 
to some seminaries, they come out apostate. You know, a little 
deviation at the very beginning, that's not that big of a deal. 
It may end up being a great big deal. Aaron, the Danites, Jeroboam, 
and thus the ruin of the northern tribes. Look at 2 Kings 17. Let's 
say you don't think I'm making this up. 2 Kings chapter 17, 
specifically verses 21 to 23. This is the rehearsal of God's 
dealings with Israel on the eve of the destruction of the northern 
kingdom. Verse 21, 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 this day." Now, interestingly 
enough, if we were to keep on reading here, Assyria settles 
in Samaria. At this point, it's not Bethel, 
it's Samaria, that's under Omri, right? Omri is the one who says 
that Samaria is the new Jerusalem, right? In the Northern kingdoms. 
Well, once Assyria comes to resettle Samaria, they don't take all 
the Israelites away. There's still a few Israelites 
in the land and they start, the Assyrians start worshiping their 
idols and God sends lions to kill them. I mean that's how 
God dealt with idolatry then. I've always thought if you knock 
at the door and You open the door and there's a lion. I don't 
think the lion would knock, but somebody brought the lion. You've 
upset God. You've done something wrong. 
If there's a lion in your path, you have somewhere along the 
line engaged in activities you shouldn't have done. So anyways, 
they seek out some help and they find help from this priest at 
Bethel. And you know what happens? Syncretism. 
It says they made their gods and feared Yahweh. They had their 
gods and feared Yahweh. The author's not saying it's 
legit. He expects you to remember the 
first and second commandments and to realize that it's dripping 
with irony. You don't have Chemosh and Yahweh. You don't have the various gods 
that are indicated here. So even the destruction of the 
Northern Kingdom did not root out from among them this syncretism, 
this desire to have a bit of Yahweh and to have a bit of paganism. And then thirdly, we ought to 
appreciate the protection afforded by what has historically been 
called the regulative principle of worship. Now, I can see that 
among those who hold to the regulative principle of worship, there are 
differences of opinion. I mean, you'd think if it was 
the regulative principle of worship, we'd all sing off the same page. 
But there are some intramural debates concerning the regulative 
principle of worship. At least the reformed are thinking 
down the right path. I cringe at the thought of a 
church environment where there's no regulative principle of worship. 
It protects the worshipers from the leaders. Well, today we're 
going to bring in monkeys and have a bit of a show. That is 
just a violation. You are not to be held captive 
to leaders who want to do whatever it is they want to do. There 
must be protection. There must be parameters. There 
must be hedges. And the church has historically 
identified this as the regulative principle of worship. It's based 
on that passage in Deuteronomy 12. Whatever I command you, be 
careful to observe it. You shall not add to it, nor 
take away from it. Pastor L. Martin clearly, quickly, 
and succinctly defines it, the regular principle of worship 
is nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else than what God 
has commanded in our worship. We have a confessional expression 
in the Second London Baptist Confession. The acceptable way 
of worshipping the true God is instituted by himself and so 
limited by his own revealed will that he may not be worshipped 
according to the imaginations and devices of men nor the suggestions 
of Satan under any visible representations or any other way not prescribed 
in the Holy Scriptures. That's safety. That's where we 
want to be. We want to be at the hand of 
the living God. We don't want to, you know, march 
across or transgress a particular boundary. Davis, I think, summarizes 
it well. He says, worship either rests 
on the prescriptions of divine revelation or on the preferences 
of the human heart. It sounds simplistic, but it's 
scriptural. And I think he nails this. Our 
current Western culture may not be enamored with gold bulls, 
but is deeply in love with its own religious subjectivism. We 
have our idols. They may not be golden calves, 
but we have our idols. And they're bowed to every single 
Sunday. We need to guard our hearts, 
as John says in 1 John 5.21, little children, keep yourselves 
from idols. Well, let's pray. Father, we 
thank you for your word and we thank you for your grace. We 
thank you for your truth. We thank you that you not only 
command us what to do, you command us how to do it. And in this, 
we give you thanks. I pray that you would cause us 
to reflect upon passages like these, reflect upon how unworthy, 
or unsure rather, our hearts are in terms of guiding us with 
reference to the worship of God. Help us to obey scripture. Help 
us to obey your law. Help us to put these things into 
practice. Go with us now, we pray. Watch 
over all of our brothers and sisters in our local church. 
And we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.