Study of the Book of Kings – 1Ki 12:1-33 “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee…
1Ki 12:1-33 “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart” – (Pro 3:3)
[Study Aired March 31, 2022]
1Ki 12:1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.
1Ki 12:2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;)
1Ki 12:3 That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying,
1Ki 12:4 Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.
1Ki 12:5 And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.
1Ki 12:6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?
1Ki 12:7 And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.
1Ki 12:8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:
1Ki 12:9 And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter?
1Ki 12:10 And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins.
1Ki 12:11 And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
1Ki 12:12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.
1Ki 12:13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him;
1Ki 12:14 And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
1Ki 12:15 Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
1Ki 12:16 So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.
1Ki 12:17 But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
1Ki 12:18 Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
1Ki 12:19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.
1Ki 12:20 And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
1Ki 12:21 And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
1Ki 12:22 But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
1Ki 12:23 Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying,
1Ki 12:24 Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.
1Ki 12:25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel.
1Ki 12:26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
1Ki 12:27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
1Ki 12:28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
1Ki 12:29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
1Ki 12:30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.
1Ki 12:31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
1Ki 12:32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
1Ki 12:33 So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.
In our last study the groundwork was laid to show why God was going to tear the nation of Israel apart, as was prophesied by Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the next two chapters the specifics of how this will happen are going to unfold. Rehoboam’s inability to hear the people, “Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD” was caused by the Lord just as Jeroboam’s actions were “devised of his own heart” (1Ki 12:33), whose heart as all men’s hearts are in the Lord’s hand to accomplish His purpose for humanity (Pro 21:1, Eph 1:11).
Pro 21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
1Ki 12:1-33 “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: Both Jeroboam and Rehoboam are being used by the Lord to bring about this division of the nation of Israel as the sins of their fathers, Solomon in this case. As a father of the nation of Israel, the sins were visited on the generations that would follow him (Num 14:18, Exo 20:5-6).
Num 14:18 The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Jeroboam demonstrates the same spirit as Rehoboam, and Rehoboam shows the same spirit as Jeroboam, telling us that both these carnal kings are all about the power grab and are manipulating the masses to that end as demonstrated in these verses (1Ki 12:31, 13).
Speaking of Jeroboam:
1Ki 12:31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi:
Speaking of Rehoboam:
1Ki 12:13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him;
The lesson has to be taken inwardly if it is going to be of any value to us today. What we can learn from these two kings is that when Christ is not on the throne of our hearts ruling and reigning as typified by king David (1Ki 11:4), then the body will be divided and brought into captivity (2Ki 17:23, Zec 14:2). When we are blessed to be abased and take the lower seat through Christ, God will be glorified in our life (Mat 23:12, Luk 14:10).
1Ki 11:4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.
2Ki 17:23 Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
Zec 14:2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Mat 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Luk 14:10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.
All of this destruction and manipulation in both kings’ lives represent the powers and principalities we war against in our heavens and fail to overcome until we are chastened and scourged of the Lord and brought back to him with a spirit of obedience (Heb 12:6, Tit 2:11-12). It is only a small little flock on this earth today who understand this concept of God’s grace and how all these stories we are reading about are written for the elect’s sake to demonstrate how we all lose our first love, separating Christ from his body as typified by Judah and Israel being divided and brought into captivity. Our goal then as the body of Christ is to “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” Who is not divided (Php 3:14, 1Co 1:13) and has called us to go through a process of overcoming so our hearts can be changed through that process to ultimately bring us to the point where we continue in this life to “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee” as we continue to “bind them about thy neck” and “write them upon the table of thine heart” (Rev 1:3).
Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
1Ki 12:1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.
1Ki 12:2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;)
1Ki 12:3 That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying,
1Ki 12:4 Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.
1Ki 12:5 And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.
1Ki 12:6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?
1Ki 12:7 And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.
What God requires of us is stated this way in Micah 6:8 in order to be kings and priests: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”. This essentially is the counsel that was given to Rehoboam of the “old men” when they spoke these words: “If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever” (Gal 6:2, Mat 23:12, Joh 13:34-35). When we obey the commandments found in Micah 6:8, we can then mortify the deeds of the flesh through our service toward all men, especially unto the household of faith (Gal 6:10), and in so doing overcome the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life so we can then recognize God’s will and fulfill it and abide forever (1Jn 2:16-17).
1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
God calls all men to come and learn to bind about our necks mercy and truth expressed in being doers of the word and not just hearers. Then “shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man” (Pro 3:4). Rehoboam did not humbly receive the instructions of those who were old (1Ki 12:13) who represent the safety that is found in the multitude of counselors (Pro 11:14, Pro 20:18).
1Ki 12:13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him;
Pro 11:14 Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
Pro 20:18 Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.
Rehoboam went to a place called Shechem which means ‘shoulder’ or ‘ridge’, and all Israel came to Shechem to make him king. Rehoboam, at this point, expected smooth sailing and that nothing could prevent him from becoming king, but God had other plans by way of Jeroboam who, when he heard of this coronation that was going to take place, presented some terms and conditions stated this way: “Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.“
This ‘ridge’ would turn out to be more of a ‘cold shoulder’ that was given to Rehoboam than a warm acceptance, and this all transpired as a result of God having Jeroboam ask the right questions at the right time. The intention of how Rehoboam was going to treat the nation did not manifest immediately. “And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed“, showing that negative process of judgment in play in this wicked king’s heart who was going to make the yoke many times heavier than Solomon. This verse: “And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?” reminds us of Ecclesiastes 9:13-18 where the foolish king does not recognize how this wisdom that was with these elders was the way to preserve the kingdom.
H7927
she kem
shek-em’The same as H7926; ridge; Shekem, a place in Palestine: – Shechem.
H7926
shekem
shek-em’From H7925; the neck (between the shoulders) as the place of burdens; figuratively the spur of a hill: – back, X consent, portion, shoulder.
Ecc 9:13 This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:
Ecc 9:14 There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
Ecc 9:15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
Ecc 9:16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
Ecc 9:17 The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
Ecc 9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.
1Ki 12:8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:
1Ki 12:9 And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter?
1Ki 12:10 And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins.
1Ki 12:11 And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
Rehoboam was going to go where he could get the answer his flesh wanted to hear and “forsook the counsel of the old men.” In type and shadow what was being asked was that the law for the lawless, demonstrated by Solomon’s rule the “heavy yoke“, could be lightened to reflect the joyful burden that we have in the yoke Christ gives us (Mat 11:28-30).
Mat 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
There was a big draw in Rehoboam’s heart to go to “the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him” seeing they would readily agree with him and no doubt be profited by this unholy alliance. What was promised was that Rehoboam would chastise the nation of Israel with scorpions which symbolizes false doctrines that would be coming from the false prophets who are likened unto scorpions in God’s word (Isa 9:14-15). Inwardly these scorpions and the rule that Rehoboam has over us at an appointed time is all of the Lord and for the destruction of our old man, as was being typified with these events with the nation of Israel.
Isa 9:14 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
Isa 9:15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.Eze 2:6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.
Rev 9:4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
Rev 9:5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.Rev 9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
His friends, which were really a group of foolish companions, were soon going to be destroyed (Pro 13:20) and did exactly what was expected of them: “The young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins.” ‘Loins’ in the positive represent where God blesses us to “Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins.” So we are being told that the possibility of Rehoboam speaking “good words to them” (1Ki 12:7) which would make for a fruitful nation that was going to multiply was not going to happen. That was because he was leaning unto his own understanding and not honoring “the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase” (Pro 3:9).
1Ki 12:12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.
1Ki 12:13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him;
1Ki 12:14 And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
Rehoboam is now emboldened, and the three days that have passed have given him time to establish his perverted judgment he is going to pronounce over the nation of Israel. He “answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him“, and he made it very clear he was going to rule without mercy and truth bound about his neck (Pro 3:3-4). Rehoboam was trusting in his own flesh and this example teaches us that when we lean to our own understanding we will always reap what we sow. That is all we ever can do unless the Lord builds the house within us through much affliction, persecution and tribulation in this life through which He sees us every time, and that makes us stronger in his service (Pro 3:5-8, 2Co 12:8-10).
Pro 3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
Pro 3:4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Pro 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
Pro 3:8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.2Co 12:8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
1Ki 12:15 Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
1Ki 12:16 So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.
1Ki 12:17 But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
The prophesied end of the matter was that the king would not hearken to the people “for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat“. All Israel saw that the “king hearkened not unto them” and their concern was expressed this way: “The people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse.” This inheritance, which typifies our inheritance in the saints (Eph 1:18), was extremely important to the nation of Israel, and God put that level of importance in their hearts for our sake. The only viable solution to this wicked king with his unreasonable edicts was to say, “To your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.” That is just another way of saying what is written in Judges 21:25, at least for the time being, until Jeroboam would come along and fill this vacuum as the new king of the northern tribes of Israel which would break off from “the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.” We can also say that both Rehoboam ruling over these cities of Judah and Jeroboam soon to be ruling over the nations of Israel was caused by the Lord “for the cause was from the LORD“, and happened for our sakes as types of our losing our first love and being divided both in our head and in our body, represented by Judah and Israel (Isa 1:3-6).
Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Jdg 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Isa 1:3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
Isa 1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Isa 1:5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
Isa 1:6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
1Ki 12:18 Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
1Ki 12:19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.
1Ki 12:20 And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
Solomon taxed the people of his time (1Ki 10:14-15) and after Rehoboam’s less than inspiring speech to the nation of Israel regarding how much harder he was going to be on everyone, he then sends for Adoram who is “over the tribute“, He then sees Adoram walk into this ugly mob who will stone him and cause Rehoboam to flee to Jerusalem. This was not a one-time rebellion, but as it says: “Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day“, telling us how our flesh is always against the spirit of God and the spirit against the flesh that only Christ in us can rule over (Gal 5:17).
The tribute seems unfair to our old man, and in fact at this stage in our walk, it is a great burden we don’t yet know how to deal with, as God chastens us for our infidelity via Rehoboam who represents those seven worse spirits that possess our temple after Solomon dies (Mat 12:45). Only Christ, who is the strong man, can come and bind these powers and principalities and liberate us with His spirit (Mar 3:27), which happens only after we experience His wrath poured out upon our old man, symbolized by these events that are going to unfold in the nation of Israel which all typify the Israel of God, the church today that is being judged (1Pe 4:17).
1Ki 12:21 And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
1Ki 12:22 But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
1Ki 12:23 Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying,
1Ki 12:24 Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.
Throughout the passages we are reading, we are being reminded that all that was unfolding was “according to the word of the LORD” and that “this thing is from me.” The question for God’s elect is what is this thing God is doing, because we know for certain that it is for our sake (2Co 4:15). God has created this alliance now with the northern ten tribes of Israel that represent our flesh, and the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin that represent our religious man of sin, and these are against each other. So we read of this prophecy (Rev 17:16) which reveals this same point: “And the ten horns [Israel] which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore [Judah and Benjamin which represent the harlot], and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.” Thinking spiritually and not physically, Israel is going to try to kill the worship in Judah by establishing false idols: “two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt“. This action of Jeroboam is typical of the beast hating the whore!
Regardless of what was in the heart of Rehoboam who wanted to “fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon“, the word of the Lord, the counsel of God, was going to stand which said, “Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.“
1Ki 12:25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel.
1Ki 12:26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
1Ki 12:27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
1Ki 12:28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
On one side we have Rehoboam who, like Peter, wants to take up a sword and take the kingdom through violence (Mat 11:12, Mat 26:52), and on the other side we have the defiled flesh of man, represented by Israel, that just wants to go back to any kind of false worship as long as it can attract the masses to its gates and rule over the laity (Rev 2:14-16).
Mat 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
Mat 26:52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
Rev 2:14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
Rev 2:15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
Rev 2:16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
A tree is known by its fruit, and the actions of Jeroboam are not going to bless the nation, but in time will put Israel further into an idolatrous state that will eventually lead to their being taken into captivity. God is showing us through these two kings how we operate in our flesh before we are dragged out of Babylon and come to understand that God is sovereign over all the affairs of mankind. There is nothing we can do to change the plans He has determined will unfold for each one of us, not picking up a sword as Rehoboam wanted to do, and not by any other measure, including the false worship that initially trips up all flesh. Our former conversation in this world (Eph 2:1-3) is the same as the king taking counsel that leads to our idolatrous ways being exposed: “Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.“
Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
1Ki 12:29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
1Ki 12:30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.
1Ki 12:31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
Jeroboam set up these two calves which were witnesses to his idolatrous heart, and one was put in BethelH1008 and the other in DanH1835 , whose names when put together mean ‘striving against the house of God’. It “became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan“. It was already a sin for Jeroboam to set up these idols, and these evil actions represent the leaven that was going to leaven the whole nation (1Co 15:33, Gal 5:9).
1Co 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
Gal 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
H1835
dân
dawnFrom H1777; judge; Dan, one of the sons of Jacob; also the tribe descended from him, and its territory; likewise a place in Palestine colonized by them: – Dan.
H1777
dı̂yn dûn
deen, doonA primitive root (compare H113); to rule; by implication to judge (as umpire); also to strive (as at law): – contend, execute (judgment), judge, minister judgment, plead (the cause), at strife, strive.
H1008
bêyth-‘êl
bayth-ale’From H1004 and H410; house of God; Beth-El, a place in Palestine: – Beth-el.
Contending with the house of God is all we can do at first until He burns these idols out of our lives. Both kings were self-righteously going about their ways that were bringing the nations further and further away from God. There was nothing but a spirit of wanting to control and rule over the people no matter what the human toll or corrupt means by which this would be obtained, and so we read “he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi“.
1Ki 12:32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
1Ki 12:33 So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.
Here is the full-blown counterfeit ways of mankind on display that are “like unto the feast that is in Judah“, or like “another Jesus” (2Co 11:4) accompanied with offerings and sacrifices that he had made, and priests who were placed in the high places that he had made. All idolatrous works “in the month which he had devised of his own heart” demonstrated the disobedient spirit that had Jeroboam in the same bondage we read of king Saul being in 1 Samuel 15:22.
2Co 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
1Sa 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
It was Jeroboam who “ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense” and although he may have seen these acts as merciful and benevolent in their nature, they were nothing of the sort to God. They bear witness to the truth that neither Jeroboam or Rehoboam, nor any of us in our appointed time, can properly serve God at an altar that glorifies Him, until Christ makes a way for this to happen. The way we can truly be obedient and pleasing to God is only through our Lord who gives us the power to “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee” as He gives us the strength to “bind them about thy neck” and “write them upon the table of thine heart” so that we can “find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man”. Christ must judge these wayward kings in our hearts if we are His elect bride, and through that judgment make Judah and Israel one which is the ultimate goal for all of His creation (Eph 2:14, Mar 10:8). Not letting mercy and truth forsake us and having them written upon the table of our heart is what is happening to those who are bound to the altar through the hands of a fit man, Jesus Christ (Psa 118:27, Lev 16:21).
Eph 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Mar 10:8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
Mar 10:9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Psa 118:27 God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
Lev 16:21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
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