Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 12:25-33
Following Solomon's death, the tribes of the northern area of Israel withdrew from the rule of Rehoboam, his son. No longer was there one, unified kingdom of Israel. Now, at the hand of God, there would be two separate kingdoms … Israel, with 10 tribes, in the north … and Judah, with 2 tribes, in the south.
The people of the northern kingdom chose a man named Jeroboam to be their king. Jeroboam was a very capable man whom Solomon had put in charge of the labor force in Israel. When Jeroboam became king in the northern kingdom, in an attempt to keep the people from relocating in the south, he devised an entire alternative religious system,
He established new worship centers (Bethel and Dan) to rival Jerusalem and the temple. He formed a new priesthood and a new autumn holiday to rival the Feast of Tabernacles.
His sinful legacy was so effective that he became the standard of wickedness. Subsequent kings were compared to him. They are said to have "walked in the way of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin" (cf. 1 Kgs 22:52).
Jeroboam rejected the word of God, given in the Mosaic Law. When someone rejects the authority of the Bible, there are no restrictions to harness the wicked impulses of the heart. It is a dangerous and destructive way to live. Let us learn to say, "I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life" (Psa 119:93).
