Read 1 Kings 14
Ahijah’s Prophecy Against Jeroboam
14 At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill, 2 and Jeroboam said to his wife, “Go, disguise yourself, so you won’t be recognized as the wife of Jeroboam. Then go to Shiloh. Ahijah the prophet is there—the one who told me I would be king over this people. 3 Take ten loaves of bread with you, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.” 4 So Jeroboam’s wife did what he said and went to Ahijah’s house in Shiloh.
Now Ahijah could not see; his sight was gone because of his age. 5 But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill, and you are to give her such and such an answer. When she arrives, she will pretend to be someone else.”
6 So when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why this pretense? I have been sent to you with bad news. 7 Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 8 I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes. 9 You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have aroused my anger and turned your back on me.
10 “‘Because of this, I am going to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel—slave or free. I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone. 11 Dogs will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds will feed on those who die in the country. The Lord has spoken!’
12 “As for you, go back home. When you set foot in your city, the boy will die. 13 All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will be buried, because he is the only one in the house of Jeroboam in whom the Lord, the God of Israel, has found anything good.
14 “The Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who will cut off the family of Jeroboam. Even now this is beginning to happen. 15 And the Lord will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they aroused the Lord’s anger by making Asherah poles.16 And he will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”
17 Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and left and went to Tirzah. As soon as she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died. 18 They buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, as the Lord had said through his servant the prophet Ahijah.
19 The other events of Jeroboam’s reign, his wars and how he ruled, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel. 20 He reigned for twenty-two years and then rested with his ancestors. And Nadab his son succeeded him as king.
Rehoboam King of Judah
21 Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.
22 Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger more than those who were before them had done. 23 They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 24 There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.
25 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. 26 He carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. 27 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. 28 Whenever the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards bore the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.
29 As for the other events of Rehoboam’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 30 There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 31 And Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite. And Abijah his son succeeded him as king.
Go Deeper
Jeroboam and Rehoboam were both kings reigning in Israel. Jeroboam was one of Solomon’s former officials and king of Israel in the north, and Rehoboam was one of Solomon’s sons and king of Judah in the south.
As his son became sick, Jeroboam sought the counsel of Ahijah, a prophet in Shiloh. Over his life, he had rejected God and had turned to idols, so he instructed his wife to wear a disguise so that she would not be recognized. Despite her disguise and his poor vision, God’s truth allowed Ahijah to recognize Jeroboam’s wife, and he prophesied the death of the son and great judgment upon Jeroboam’s house. God declared Jeroboam’s actions unfavorable, with intense contempt towards God, and despite the prospect for a lasting dynasty, Jeroboam wasted the promise of God with his unbelief, idolatry, and rejection. Jeroboam lived his life hidden in sin and failed to seek humility through God’s wisdom.
Like Jeroboam’s kingdom, Rehoboam’s kingdom in Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord. The people provoked Him to jealousy with their sins, worshipped idols, and participated in prostitution. Rehoboam’s hidden sins were known by God, resulting in wrath. The Lord cast them out before the children of Israel, taking away the treasures of his house, and over the years of his rule, blessed large defeats against his armies. Like Jeroboam, he died with his kingdom in conflict, but at the end of his life, humbled himself toward God.
Hidden sins make us poor and weak people, and if not tackled, they can perpetuate hardened hearts and distance from our Father. Try as we might, our sins are not hidden from God, and on the day of judgment, we will be called to answer for them. Our disguises cannot last forever, and God will judge us according to what we truly are, not what we seem to be. Do not destroy your life by living a life of sin, drawing others into your facades. God longs for us to seek Him and to confess our sins; He delights in our humility. Hiding our true selves from others and living in hidden sin draws us further away from our Father, throwing away goodness, blessings, and an opportunity for salvation.
Questions
- We think we can fool God and others into not recognizing who we truly are. How often do we pretend to be someone that we are not?
- What sins entertain your life to the path of consumption?
- God provided both men opportunities for blessings and a God-fearing kingdom. What opportunities for fellowship do you have to expose your sins and rejoice in confession, accountability, and mercy?
Keep Digging
Interested in reading more about Rehoboam and Jeroboam? Check out this article from GotQuestions.org!
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4 thoughts on “1 Kings 14”
We think we can hide things from God but He already knows. We have such an beyond speakable amazing gift of what Jesus did for us. Everything, all things, not one thing, nothing has not already been paid for by Jesus. He bore it all “It is finished”. Now we just talk, that is what pray is, just talking, with a loving Heavenly Father!!
God WOOHOO!!! I am feel so humble and beyond speakable words of thankfulness!!! I want to shout from the rooftops but I also just want to lay at your feet in praise!!! Thankful Grateful and Beyond Blessed!!! In Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO and WOOHOO!!!
John C. Maxwell says, “Life is a matter of choices & every choice you make makes you.”
It’s obvious that Solomon’s sons rejected the God of their grandfather, David, and explicitly reveled in idolatry. How tragic it will end for them & their kingdoms! As I read this chapter, I couldn’t help but think of our own “gods, gold calves, idols, & Asherah poles” things that we worship and exchange for God’s glory. Money, praise, possessions, social standing, popularity, power, pleasure quickly come to mind. Praying we would all set our greatest affections on things above which are eternal and not on temporary things of this world. Like Joshua in the Old Testament, we get to choose who we will serve. I echo his choice, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)
In desperation, Jeroboam sought truth and counsel for his son… he knows now his idols can’t help him. They too are meaningless.
I wouldn’t say we should live in a spirit of fear, but from all we have a read about idolatry—God doesn’t play.
John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” No idols, no hidden agendas, no amount of money or power, can give you truth—except from God.
Learning to seek truth is obedience in seeking Jesus. It’s time this world stops following the Jeroboam’s of today and turn back to our Father before wrath comes to feet over thresholds.