Study of the Book of Kings – 1Ki 14:1-31 “…He revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amo 3:7)
1Ki 14:1-31 “…He revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amo 3:7)
[Study Aired April 14, 2022]
1Ki 14:1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.
1Ki 14:2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people.
1Ki 14:3 And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.
1Ki 14:4 And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
1Ki 14:5 And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman.
1Ki 14:6 And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.
1Ki 14:7 Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel,
1Ki 14:8 And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes;
1Ki 14:9 But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:
1Ki 14:10 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.
1Ki 14:11 Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it.
1Ki 14:12 Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.
1Ki 14:13 And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.
1Ki 14:14 Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now.
1Ki 14:15 For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.
1Ki 14:16 And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.
1Ki 14:17 And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died;
1Ki 14:18 And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet.
1Ki 14:19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
1Ki 14:20 And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.
1Ki 14:21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess.
1Ki 14:22 And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done.
1Ki 14:23 For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.
1Ki 14:24 And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
1Ki 14:25 And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem:
1Ki 14:26 And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
1Ki 14:27 And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king’s house.
1Ki 14:28 And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.
1Ki 14:29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
1Ki 14:30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.
1Ki 14:31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.
What God reveals to the prophets of old (Amo 3:7) is typical of what He reveals to the body of Christ today, and what is being revealed to God’s elect is that a trumpet, which represents God’s judgments, must be blown in the heavens of those who are being sanctified through judgment in this age (1Pe 4:17, 1Pe 4:12).
Amo 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
That trumpet spoken of in the book of Amos represents the day of the Lord, and these verses (Amo 3:6-8, Amo 3:14-15) parallel very well with the events that are going to unfold now in the life of Jeroboam who represents the judgments and wrath of God which are being poured out upon our old man of sin who must be destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming into our heavens (2Th 2:8).
Amo 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
Amo 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
Amo 3:8 The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?Amo 3:14 That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.
Amo 3:15 And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the LORD.
It all just sounds so dire, and it is for the old man within us, but God encourages the body to exhort one another daily “lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb 3:12-13) as we die daily and overcome sin through Christ who gives us the power to endure His judgments and make sense of the fiery trials and much tribulation we are promised through this life (Act 14:22).
This time of great trial upon Jeroboam and his family and the nation of Israel symbolizes the fiery trials of our life in this age of judgment that is upon God’s elect (1Pe 4:17), and yet there is always hope being shown in the midst of these tragic events that were befalling Israel, expressed through the life of king David who typifies Christ “and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes“. So we look to Christ today (Heb 12:1-2) with the confidence that He is the one who is raising these storms in our lives, or blowing the trumpet in the city, that brings us to see the evil in our city which causes us to fear God. This fear is a good thing because then we will cry out and are heard as a result of that Godly fear which God is working within His workmanship that we are (Heb 5:7, Eph 5:30, Eph 2:10). God is showing us through this story of Israel and Judah’s division what great division and sickness there is when Christ is not on the throne of our hearts ruling and reigning as He ought (Isa 1:5-6).
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Below are some inspired examples of how the word exhort is used in God’s word. All of these profitable words (2Ti 3:16) have been given to the body of Christ today so that we don’t lose heart and start to despise prophecy, and this is truly an ongoing work in the lives of those who are being saved through Christ. It is tragic what befalls mankind throughout history, and perilous times are going to come to a crescendo for this world which we are told to understand (2Ti 3:1). We must remember that and not despise prophecy which can shine for us as a light in a dark place (2Pe 1:19). This happens within us when we are blessed to see how all these prophecies that involve lying and betrayal and murder and covetousness are all for our sakes and reveal to us how God can cause circumstances in our lives that require His judgment which will bring about the peaceable fruit of righteousness in the end (Job 2:10, Ecc 7:8, Mat 28:20, Jer 29:11).
Job 2:10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
Ecc 7:8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
How we can help each other reach that expected end:
Heb 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
Heb 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Act 2:40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.1Th 5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
Act 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
1Ti 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.
2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Tit 2:6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
Jud 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
Isa 45:19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: [Amo 3:7] I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain [1Co 15:58]: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right [Jer 29:11].
All prophecy that is being revealed to the body of Christ today is given to us via the one true Prophet of Israel who all these other prophets only typify. That prophet of course is Christ who edifies, exhorts and comforts us (1Co 14:3) through God’s spirit which is working in the body of Christ “to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:” (Eph 3:10-11, Rom 8:28).
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Christ in us, our hope of glory within (Col 1:27), inspired these words John uttered as a messenger or angel of God which we all are to each other: “I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev 19:10)
1Ki 14:1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.
1Ki 14:2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people.
1Ki 14:3 And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.
1Ki 14:4 And Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
Nothing is hidden from God and nothing is hidden from God’s elect that needs to be revealed from our Father (Heb 4:13), and this is especially true regarding judgment as God knows how to search our reins and try us to see what is within us (Psa 26:2, Psa 139:23-24).
Heb 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Psa 26:2 Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.
Psa 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
Psa 139:24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
This sickness of Jeroboam’s son was used by the Lord to bring Jeroboam into judgment for all the evil that he had done in his life. When we first go into Babylon we think that our many wonderful works can cover our transgressions and unchanged hearts. That is what this veiled disguise of Jeroboam’s wife represents who is wearing her own clothes and eating her own food even while she seeks out the counsel of God via the prophet at her husband’s bequest (Isa 4:1). Her own food is represented by the fleshly number ten so it is “ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey” that are sent to find out the truth of the matter in regard to what is going to happen to her son who represents the false doctrines that are in the house of Jeroboam (Psa 144:11, Eph 4:14). Going to Shiloh represents going into Babylon where we do encounter kings and prophets who desire to see what we see but they cannot (Luk 10:24). Ahijah is just such a prophet who has been correct in past prophecies (1Ki 11:29-39), and so Jeroboam believes that whatever this prophet says is going to come to pass (Deu 18:22). Another witness that Ahijah was able to prophesy truthfully is given to us in the statement: “But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.” It is with age, or by reason of use (Heb 5:14) we could say, that we gain the ability to see truth which happens as a result of our confession to God that we are blind and in continual need of His healing typified by Ahijah (Joh 9:41, Mar 2:17).
Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Joh 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
Mar 2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
1Ki 14:5 And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman.
1Ki 14:6 And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.
This is the confirmation given to us that nothing is hidden from God who reveals to the prophet via the holy spirit what is coming, and the prophet wastes no time in addressing this lying spirit by asking, “Why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.” This situation is reminiscent of Ananias and Sapphira who had this lying spirit that resulted in death that created fear in the church as a result of what God caused to be manifest in the lives of Ananias and Sapphira for our sake (Act 5:11).
Act 5:11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
2Co 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
1Ki 14:7 Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel,
1Ki 14:8 And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes;
1Ki 14:9 But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:
Keeping in remembrance that Israel represents Aholah and Judah Aholibah (Eze 23:4), when we read these verses we can see that God is showing us, through Jeroboam and his reign, what we do when we become independent of our Head, represented by Judah. It’s not that Judah is better than Israel. To the contrary, as we will see they are both wicked and ruled by wicked idolatrous kings, which shows us that when we initially come out of ‘Babylon’ or ‘Jerusalem below’, God does not give us the ability to properly rule and reign over our heavens, and that is reflected in our earth, our bodies. As a result of that we reflect a spirit of ‘greasy grace’ which is what Jeroboam’s reign typifies. He was going to do what he wanted with the rulership that was given to him, just like Solomon and just like Rehoboam. The only difference now with Jeroboam and Rehoboam as opposed to Solomon is that these two kings have become two-fold more the child of hell that Solomon was (Mat 23:14-16), and show us the natural state of affairs for our old man who must wax worse and worse before being destroyed.
This separation of Israel and the judgment that must come upon both nations is typical of how God is going to ultimately reconcile all the world making the body and the head one, but only after it has been divided. The old man-head is Judah and the old man-body is Israel in other words, and the new man-Head is Christ the lion of the tribe of Judah, and the new Body is the Israel of God, the elect of God (Rev 5:5, Gal 6:16).
Rev 5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
Gal 6:16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
1Ki 14:10 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.
1Ki 14:11 Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it.
1Ki 14:12 Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.
This is a prophecy of what will happen to us when our old man enters into the city, Shiloh, which represents in the positive sense coming before Christ. It’s not a pretty picture God paints, as nothing is hidden from Him who drags us to Christ (Joh 6:44), and this is done for the express purpose of bringing “evil upon the house of Jeroboam“. This is what must happen to our old man as described in these graphic details that just tell us flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God and how God has very little regard for flesh: “Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.” What we are shown is that nothing will be left of our old man, nothing in our heavens and nothing in our earth, “Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it.” This is what is required in order for all things to become new in Christ, and so we are told, “Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.” It is only when we are raised in heavenly places that this destruction can begin of our old man, symbolized by the child that shall die (2Sa 12:13-14, Eph 2:6).
2Sa 12:13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
2Sa 12:14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
1Ki 14:13 And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.
1Ki 14:14 Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now.
1Ki 14:15 For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.
1Ki 14:16 And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.
All the world in time, Israel in type, will lament the death of the old man symbolized by this child of Jeroboam, and God will provide the means for us to endure that death and put it behind us via the “king over Israel” who represents Christ who is the righteous reed (Rev 21:15-16) who knows how to execute judgment in the earth stated this way: “For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.“
What a telling statement for us! God will “give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.” God is showing us through this example of disobedience in the life of Jeroboam that his sins affected the whole nation of Israel. All the world, in other words, can be affected by the sins of any other person, and this is very clear for the body of Christ as a little leaven can leaven the whole lump (Gal 5:9). We are being admonished through this story to examine ourselves and to understand that our actions have consequences not just for ourselves but for the entire body of Christ. When we sin, it is against God, against His workmanship which we are (Gal 6:7-8, Gen 39:9, Heb 12:15).
Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Gal 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.Gen 39:9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
1Ki 14:17 And Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died;
1Ki 14:18 And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet.
It is at “the threshold of the door” that God’s chastening grace puts to death our false doctrines represented by the death of the child (Eze 43:8, Zep 1:8-17), and the threshing floor is analogous to an area where God’s saving grace unfolds in the life of those who are being crushed in this life under the great millstone, Jesus Christ (Mat 21:44). He is working all these events as a great stone from heaven who is destroying the image of the beast that we all naturally start off as (Dan 2:34, Ecc 3:18).
Eze 43:8 In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger.
Zep 1:8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD’S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.
Zep 1:9 In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.Zep 1:16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.
Zep 1:17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.Mat 21:42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
Mat 21:43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
Mat 21:44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
What this story of Jeroboam’s son dying tells us is that this child within us must die as a seed in order for life to come out of that experience of death: “And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet.” (Joh 12:24)
Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
“All Israel” within us will initially mourn the loss of “houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake” that we have forsaken in order to hold onto the words of eternal life (Joh 6:68), and if God will give us the strength through Christ to endure those losses (Php 4:13) and put them in perspective as nothing (Php 3:8) compared to the glory that will be revealed to us (Rom 8:18), it will be because God has ordained that in our lives to His glory to be overcomers through Christ (Mat 19:26-30)).
Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Mat 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Mat 19:27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
Mat 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Mat 19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
Mat 19:30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.
1Ki 14:19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
1Ki 14:20 And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.
This verse 19 could read: ‘the rest of the acts of our old man, how we warred against God’s spirit, and how our flesh had dominion over us are all documented as a witness against the unconverted kings of Israel within us.’ One day that is what Jeroboam and his wife will intimately come to know of their lives representing our Adamic struggles that can only be conquered through Christ (Rom 8:37). Jeroboam’s reign is a witness of our old man who must die and sleep with our fathers, and so we read: “And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years.” The cycle of sin just continues on in our life until the son of God sets us free, which is an ongoing dying daily process (Joh 8:36), and so we see his son NadabH5070 who would now reign “in his stead” have a name that represents the unchanged spirit of Jeroboam’s lineage that is going to continue to use their liberties in rulership as an occasion for their own flesh (Gal 5:13), which is what we do until we don’t, through Christ.
Gal 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
H5070
nâdâb
naw-dawb’From H5068; liberal; Nadab, the name of four Israelites: – Nadab.
H5068
nâdab
naw-dab’A primitive root; to impel; hence to volunteer (as a soldier), to present spontaneously: – offer freely, be (give, make, offer self) willing (-ly).
1Ki 14:21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess.
1Ki 14:22 And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done.
1Ki 14:23 For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.
1Ki 14:24 And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
Both Jeroboam and Rehoboam do not figuratively inherit the kingdom as they represent our old man in his most depraved state, and so we read first of Jeroboam: “But hast done evil above all that were before thee” (1Ki 14:9), and then of Rehoboam who was the king of Judah: “Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done.” How can they both be “above all“? Who is the worst here? What we are being shown is that we are all the chief of sinners (1Ti 1:15), and there is no contradiction being made. Both the head is sick (Judah), and the body, from the foot to the head, is sick as well. In other words, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” applies to us all.
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.
The Lord is the one who sought the occasion against Rehoboam’sH7346 flesh, and we only need look at the names and their definitions mentioned in 1 Kings 14:21 to understand why it was inevitable that they would “built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.” The outward manifestation of this idolatrous controlling spirit, which God will burn out of all mankind in time, has fruits that are demonstrated in (1Ki 14:24) which reads: “And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.“
H7346
rechab‛âm
rekh-ab-awm’From H7337 and H5971; a people has enlarged; Rechabam, an Israelite king: – Rehoboam.
H7337
râchab
raw-khab’A primitive root; to broaden (intransitively or transitively, literally or figuratively): – be an en- (make) large (-ing), make room, make (open) wide.
Mat 23:5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
Mat 23:6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
Mat 23:7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
Mat 23:8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
It was purposed of the Lord to have Rehoboam reign “forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there.” This choosing of the Lord was for our sakes to remind us that we all start off as Rehoboam, wanting to control everything, which is all that the man of sin within us knows. The ‘forty one’ represents not just tribulation but tribulation-plus-one seeing this corrupt king who represents the man of sin in us is going to be rooted out and exposed by the day of the Lord, which the ‘one’ added to ‘forty’ represents. ‘Seventeen’ years shows the same principle, seven being the complete judgment upon our flesh by way of the day of the Lord which is what must happen in order for the new man to be formed (1+7=8).
Rehoboam’s mother’s name was “NaamahH5279 an AmmonitessH5984” telling us that Rehoboam was born of the pleasures of sin for a season, shapen in iniquity in other words as we all our (Heb 11:25, Psa 51:5) and revealing to us that we all must be in bondage to sin until we are dragged to Christ. We then spend the rest of our time in this life fulfilling these words by the grace through faith process we’ve been called to “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.”
H5279
na‛ămâh
nah-am-aw’Feminine of H5277; pleasantness; Naamah, the name of an antediluvian woman, of an Ammonitess, and of a place in Palestine: – Naamah.
H5277
na‛am
nah’-amFrom H5276; pleasure; Naam, an Israelite: – Naam.
H5984
‛ammônı̂y
am-mo-nee’Patronymic from H5983; an Ammonite or (adjectively) Ammonitish: – Ammonite (-s).
H5983
‛ammôn
am-mone’From H5971; tribal, that is, inbred; Ammon, a son of Lot; also his posterity and their country: – Ammon, Ammonites.
Heb 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
Heb 11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
1Ki 14:25 And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem:
1Ki 14:26 And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
1Ki 14:27 And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king’s house.
1Ki 14:28 And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.
It is the faith of Christ that is represented by the “shields of gold“, and when it is taken away from us as it was with Rehoboam, the truth is replaced with the lies of the devil “in their stead brasen shields”, showing what happens to us when we trust in our flesh and not in God, who is our buckler and shield (Psa 35:2-3). Satan is the one God causes to take away even that which we thought we had and gives it to another (Mat 25:29). This is part of the chastening grace of God we experience in this life typified by Shishak, a type of Satan that buffets us exactly to the degree God knows our old man needs: “And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.” (1Co 5:5, 2Co 12:7)
Mat 25:29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
1Co 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
2Co 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
Psa 35:2 Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.
Psa 35:3 Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.
Rehoboam did not just experience the gold shields taken away that represent the faith of Christ, figuratively Shishak took away the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water: “he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all.” (Isa 3:1)
Isa 3:1 For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,
In their stead, Rehoboam replaced the shields of gold with brasen shields and “committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king’s house“, showing us that in type and shadow his faith stood in the wisdom of men and not in the power of God (1Co 2:5). These orders and actions of Rehoboam, “And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber” is another way of saying the Lord was not building this house or guarding it, seeing it was the arm of man that was protecting it and not the living God (Psa 127:1).
1Co 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Psa 127:1 A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
1Ki 14:29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
1Ki 14:30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.
1Ki 14:31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.
The chapter ends by revealing that “the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?“, and in Jeroboam’s case we read: “And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.” The “chronicles of the kings of Judah” are part of the oracles of God as opposed to Jeroboam of whose death and burial we are told, “and he slept with his fathers.” We’re not comparing Rehoboam and Jeroboam whose flesh cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and so it reads of Rehoboam the same way as it did with Jeroboam: “Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David.” There is one important detail to notice however, and that is that Rehoboam’s lineage is connected to Christ as he was buried in “the city of David“, and Jeroboam has no claim to this Jewish lineage as a reminder to us that salvation is typically of the Jews (Rom 3:1-2, Rom 2:29). Again Rehoboam and Jeroboam were both carnal kings with carnal predecessors, “And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days” symbolizing for us that the spirit is against the flesh and the flesh is against the spirit (Gal 5:17).
Rehoboam’s mother’s name was Naamah, who was an Ammonitess, and 1 Kings 14:30 in the PNBkjv shows the typical origins of Rehoboam’s flesh and blood that reveals to us how God sees us before we ‘come out of her my people’, as being seduced by the pleasures of this world, being spiritually blind inbreds who are of our father the devil who is the god of this world who rules over the sea of humanity negatively.
1Ki 14:31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.
1Ki 14:31 and (the people grow) slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of (beloved). And his mother’s name was (pleasantness) an (inbred). And (my father’s sea) his son reigned in his stead. [PNBkjv]
We started our study today by considering the title “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amo 3:7), and the way God does this is by giving us His spirit that opens our blinded eyes, giving us the ability to compare spiritual with spiritual using the physical (1Co 2:13).
Other related posts
- The Keys to The Kingdom of Heaven - Part 2 (August 21, 2015)
- The Endless Love Energy Loop Between Christ and His Wife (May 26, 2021)
- The Book of Kings - 1Ki 1:31-40 "Let my Lord King David Live for Ever" (June 24, 2021)
- Study of the Book of Kings - 1Ki 9:1-9 Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house? (February 3, 2022)
- Study of the Book of Kings - 1Ki 14:1-31 "...He revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amo 3:7) (April 14, 2022)
- Study of the Book of Esther - Est 3:1-15 Haman Plots Against the Jews (July 11, 2020)
- Studies in Psalms - Psa 143:1-4 "Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake..." (January 23, 2020)
- Prophecy of Isaiah - Isa 16:1-7 Let Mine Outcasts Dwell With Thee, Moab (October 13, 2017)
- Gospels in Harmony - Whose Son is the Christ? (July 20, 2021)
- Gospels in Harmony - Mat 20:1-16 Laborers in the Vineyard (January 27, 2021)