In the Old Testament, following the death of Solomon, the nation of Israel was divided by two rival kings. This was due to the following sequence of events:
1 Kings 11:1-11 – Solomon’s disobedience
1 Kings 11:26-40 – Jeroboam’s rebellion against Solomon
1 Kings 11:38; 14:8 – Ahijah’s message
Rehoboam was the son of Solomon and took his father's place on the throne. In Egypt, Jeroboam heard of the death of Solomon and returned to Israel. In fulfillment of the words of the prophet Ahijah, ten tribes of Israel gave their allegiance to Jeroboam. The prophet had told Jeroboam, "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" (1 Kings 11:38).
Jeroboam did not follow after these words. Instead, he set up two golden calves for the people to worship and serve as the gods who brought them out of the land of Egypt. He allowed priests to come from any tribe and he "ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month." He did more evil than all those who were before him and because of his actions, set the tone for the history of the Northern tribes of God's people. All the future kings over the northern kingdom of Israel followed in "the sins of Jeroboam" (1 Kings 12:25-33). Ahijah prophesied that God would "give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned and who made Israel sin" (1 Kings 14:8-16).
NOTICE:
Jeroboam's son, Nadab, (1 Kings 15:25-26) "became king over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin."
1 Kings 15:29-30 - Baasha would be the next king of Israel as he conspired against Nadab, killed him and "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 Shilonite, 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."
1 Kings 15:34; 16:7 - Baasha "did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin...And also the word of the LORD came by the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD in provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because he killed them."
1 Kings 16:13 - Elah, the son of Baasha, reigned two years before he was murdered by Zimri (his own servant) and Zimri destroyed all the household of Baasha "for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, by which they had sinned and by which they had made Israel sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their idols."
Zimri, 1 Kings 16:18-19 – “…died, because of the sins which he had sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he had committed to make Israel sin."
Omri, 1 Kings 16:25-26 - "…did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all who were before him. For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin, provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their idols."
And then there was Ahab in 1 Kings 16:30-33, "Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him. And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him. Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him."
Ahaziah, 1 Kings 22:51-53 - "Ahaziah the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; for he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done."
Jehoram (Joram), 2 Kings. 3:1-3 - “He did what was evil in the LORD’S sight; he…clung to the sins that Jeroboam….had caused Israel to commit. He did not turn away from them.”
Jehu, 2 Kings 10:28-31 - “Jehu eliminated Baal worship from Israel, but he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit…worshiping the golden calves that were in Bethel and Dan. Nevertheless, the Lord said to Jehu, ‘Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in My sight and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel’. Yet, Jehu was not careful to follow with all his heart the laws of the Lord God of Israel. He did not turn from the sins that Jeroboam had cause Israel to commit.” ** (** Although Jehu ‘reformed’ somewhat, still he did not have the approval of God. Reform is not enough!)
Jehoahaz, 2 Kings 13:2 - “He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and followed the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.”
Jehoash, 2 Kings 13:11 - “He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He did not turn away from all the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit, but he walked in them.”
Jeroboam II, 2 Kings 14:24 - “He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He did not turn away from all the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.”
Zechariah, 2 Kings 15:9 - “He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight as his fathers had done. He did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had cause Israel to commit.” Murdered after only 6 months in power.
Shallum, 2 Kings 15:10 - 13-15, murdered Zechariah, and one month later was murdered by Menahem.
Menahem, 2 Kings 15:18 - “he did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. Throughout his reign, he did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.”
Pekahiah, 2 Kings 15:24 - “He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.”
Pekah, 2 Kings 15:28 - “He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He did not turn away from the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.”
Hoshea, 2 Kings 17:1 - “He did evil in the Lord’s sight, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him.”
2 Kings 17:6-18; 21-22 summarizes the history of Israel. Another interesting observation following the captivity is the practice of compromise. 2 Kings 17:24-41 tells of this. (COMPROMISE IS NOT ACCEPTABLE! Matt. 6:24)
WHAT DO WE SEE FROM THIS? All the remaining kings of Israel followed the pattern of their predecessors. All followed in the way of Jeroboam. The destruction of the kingdom of Israel was completed by the Assyrians when they invaded the land and took the ten tribes away, never to be a united people again. "And the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His sight. 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" (2 Kings 17:20-22).
The lesson in this sad history is the impact a life can have on so many. Jeroboam's works followed him after he died. The evil he lived in his life was not contained only while he lived but continued on for generations to come. Consider how many lives were lost because of his influence. Think of all the lives that were given over to evil because of his influence. The powerful influence of an evil life destroyed a great nation. While the influence of Jeroboam was felt for many generations, I want to make this observation:
- Jeroboam was a religious person - his changes were not a discouragement to religion, they encouraged it for they appealed to the comforts of the people. We see this from his words in 1 Kings 12:28, “…it is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem to worship.”
This mindset opens a door that cannot be closed. When man assumes the role of decision making in religion, then he assumes a role of authority that belongs only to Christ. When man assumes this authority to decide what is best, or how to worship God, it only results in a moral decline.
So likewise today... There are so many deviations, and such diversity among denominationalism, and the “freedom” to do as one’s heart desires, continues to plunge man further into immorality.
Pagan worship was not acceptable to God from the children of Israel. God gave instructions regarding how HE was to be worshiped: Deut. 12:29-31 – “When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ YOU SHALL NOT WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD IN THAT WAY; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.”
This lesson needs to be remembered by God's people today, for not just any worship is acceptable today. God has revealed thru the teachings of Jesus and the apostles HOW HE IS TO BE WORSHIPED TODAY. Likewise, there is a pattern for the organization and work of a local church. Any innovations to these patterns are an unacceptable as the innovations of Jeroboam were in his day.
As those of Jeroboam’s day didn’t know that Jeroboam’s innovations were wrong, so has the influence of denominational theology and philosophy resulted in innovations which are wrong! It is in teaching, that care must be taken to bring out God's pattern for worship. So also, modern-day innovations must be opposed, on the same basis as Jeroboam’s innovations had to be opposed. They were NOT AUTHORIZED of God!
The church that Jesus built (Matt. 16:18), is identifiable by its doctrines. These doctrines reveal authorized patterns. The patterns contained in the gospel are to be preached so that unity, love and reverence for God will prevail and carry a greater influence on society. In this way, righteousness will "flow" as God purposed; His people will be the "head", not the "tail", as Moses told Israel in Deut. 28:13, 44, "And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them."
Spiritual seed will produce after its kind as does physical seed (Luke 8:11).
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