Jeroboam Wants to Teach You a Big Something

 “I know God is with me but I will lose my people if they go to Jerusalem and

worship in the temple there” Jeroboam mulled over it.

A light bulb went on in his head,

“What if I build idols here at Bethel for them? That will stop them from going to Jerusalem”

A voice in his heart at once responded, 

“But, that will become a great sin before God”

Jeroboam bluntly brushed off the voice.

You are as free as the bird that claims the sky to make a choice between God and your 'self'

God Was With Jeroboam

God was with Jeroboam, the king of Israel, though he wasn’t perfectly sinless 

in the eyes of God. Just like how many people have taken God, whose mills grind slow, 

for granted; Jeroboam did just the same. He never thought twice before 

committing the heinous crime of idolatry.

He Led the People to Idolatry

After he had made two golden calves, one at Bethel and another at Dan, Jeroboam called 

the people of Israel for a meeting and he said,

 “My dear people, I see it is an uphill task for you to travel up to Jerusalem, therefore, I, as 

a prudent king, have set up your gods(who brought you out of Egypt) here at Bethel for you 

to worship” 

He pointed at the golden calves which stood there majestically.

“All hail the wise king” roared the people.

This was a launching pad for the many sins that trailed behind the Israelites.

As dutiful subjects of the king, they worshipped, sacrificed and held celebrations 

for the idols. This was detestable in the sight of 'Yahweh' the one true God.

What Did Jeroboam Forget?

Yes, the mills of God grind slow but did Jeroboam miss out on the part where God

also grinds fine? He did and this angered God. So, he sent a prophet from Judah to 

Bethel to warn the king, one last time.

The Old Prophet from Judah

“Oh, altars on which sacrifices are offered to the idols!” cried the old prophet from Judah

 “A man named Josiah will be born and he will sacrifice human bones on you, of the high 

priests who carry on this abominable sin against God. This is the word of the Lord”

“How can I know that this is true?” Jeroboam questioned.

“The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured down, for this is the sign 

from the Lord” uttered the prophet.

The words which should have made the king shake in fear only made him furious and he 

stretched his hand out and ordered, “Seize him”

His Hand Shriveled Up

That very moment his hands shriveled up and became lifeless that he couldn’t pull it back.

Fear gripped the king who implored the prophet in a broken voice,

 “Prophet, I was a fool to say that. Please pray for me that my hand may be restored”

The king and all the high priests of the altar gathered there heard a crackling 

noise and when they looked behind they saw the huge altar had broken apart and 

the ashes poured out. The king’s eyes popped out and he pleaded again, 

“Oh! True prophet will you not ask God to forgive me?”

Evilness of Jeroboam

The prophet true to his nature pleaded with God and the king's hand was restored.

The king embraced his renewed hands. Caressing it he said, 

“Man of God, I request you to come with me to my palace. I want to reward you with rich 

gifts for your noble deed”

The prophet failed to notice the evil grin of the king but the word of God ringed in his ears

“Accept neither bread nor drink from people at Bethel and do not take the same route to 

return to Judah.”

Heeding God’s advice the prophet told the king,

 “I will not come with you even if you were to give me half of your possessions since God 

has instructed me to do so”

This dashed the king’s hope of doing away with the prophet.

After all, who is the king before the almighty sovereign God? Just a speck of human dust

Did Jeroboam Change His Ways?

Did king Jeroboam turn from his evil ways and guide the people of Israel to 

worship the one true God? I wish he did but the truth is, he became more and more immoral 

in the sight of God. This was how Jeroboam’s kingdom toppled and his life went down the 

drain not to mention his household was wiped from the face of the earth.

Jeroboam Teaches the Consequence of Pride

PRIDE made his life fall to pieces and no wonder why God stands so firmly against pride.

Do we need any more illustration to prove that:

“Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov 16:18)

Jeroboam was proud. Don’t ever be like Jeroboam.

 

The Pride Test

 Do you want to know whether you have a streak of pride in you? Ask yourself this.

'Will I be able to confess that I am nothing without God?'

If your answer is yes, you are good to go.

 'Do I think I am something because of my skill, talent, knowledge, power and status?'

If your answer is yes, why don't you think about making it a 'NO'?

This story was adapted from I Kings chapter 13. Not all the events that happened in

 history and in the lives of the people are recorded in the Bible. Therefore, I believe that

 every incident recorded in the Bible has been done for a reason - To teach us a lesson.

 Through this incident, Jeroboam teaches us not to be proud of anything in life. Would you

 like to read more of these adaptations from the Bible? Let me know in the comments below.

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