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CHAPTER 1
Two young men appeared on the scene in Israel after the death of David
and Solomon. The rightful heir to the throne was Rehoboam, the son of
Solomon, and the other was a very promising young man by the name of
Jeroboam. Solomon liked Jeroboam and gave him a position of authority
in the land.
Before Solomon died, the Lord sent the prophet Ahijah with a message
for Jeroboam. When they were alone in a field outside of Jerusalem,
the prophet found Jeroboam and said to him, ""I have a message for you
from the Lord." Then he tore his cloak into twelve pieces and gave ten
of them to Jeroboam and said, "God has said, 'Because my people are
worshipping idols, I will divide the kingdom. Solomon's son will rule
two tribes because of my promise to David, and you will rule the other
ten tribes of Israel. If you will be obedient to my Word, your sons
will rule after you.' "
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When Solomon heard about God's message to Jeroboam, he tried to find a
way to kill him, but Jeroboam fled into Egypt and remained there until
the death of Solomon.
As soon as Solomon died, Rehoboam became king over the entire nation.
The leaders of the people came to him and brought Jeroboam with them.
They said to the young king, "Your father put a heavy tax burden upon
us and made our lives very difficult. If you will lighten our tax load
and treat us kindly, we will be happy to serve you as we did your
father."
Rehoboam replied, "I must have time to think it over. Come back to me
in three days and I will tell you what decision I make."
His arrogance and poor judgment resulted in the young king accepting
the advice of the young men with whom he had grown up ... he should
have listened to the words of the older and wiser men who had served
his father for forty years.
Three days later, the people returned for Rehoboam's answer, and he
spoke roughly to them and said, "You think my father treated you
severely? Here's my answer .... I will tax you more heavily that he
did! Now go, and don't bother me about the matter of taxes again!"
Needless to say, the men were very angry, and they left in a huff to
return to their homes to decide what they would do next. Only the
tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained in Jerusalem with Rehoboam.
Many in the nation heard that Jeroboam had returned from Egypt, so
they sent for him and made him king over the northern kingdom that
would now be known as Israel.
Rehoboam sent his chief tax collector among the people, and they
stoned him to death. Then Rehoboam gathered 180,000 chosen men to
attack the rebels, but the Lord sent a prophet to him and said, "You
shall not fight against your brethren, because I am using them to
discipline you for your foolishness!"
Throughout the nation there were priests and Levites, and when they
heard that Jeroboam had ordained priests and prophets of his own
choosing they fled to Jerusalem. Also, many of the common people went
to Judah, because they wanted to worship the Lord God of their fathers
rather than idols.
Jeroboam did not want to lose any more people in Israel, so he made
two golden calves and put them in strategic places in the land. He set
one in Dan at the northern part of his kingdom, and the other in
Beersheba, which was in the southern part of the land. Then he said to
the people, "Here are your gods, Israel! There is no need for you to
travel all the way to Jerusalem to worship God!"
Jeroboam was well-aware that only a priest was permitted to make
sacrifices to the Lord, but in his arrogance, he decided to offer a
sacrifice himself. While he was in the process of doing so, the Lord
sent a prophet from Judah to warn him of his wrongful act. The prophet
didn't speak directly to Jeroboam, but he addressed the altar and
said, "Altar, altar! Thus saith the Lord: 'Behold, a child shall be
born in the line of David by the name of Josiah, and upon you he shall
offer the priests who bum incense to the false gods that Jeroboam has
set up. You will know that the Lord has spoken when you are broken
down and your ashes are poured out! "
 Jeroboam
was furious with the prophet! He drew his hand away from the altar and
pointed his finger at him and said, "Arrest that man!"
Jeroboam's hand dried up immediately so that he was unable to use it!
His expression changed one that of anger to fright, and he said to the
prophet, "Please pray to the Lord for me and ask Him to restore my
hand!"
The prophet prayed for him, and the hand was restored to normal. Then
Jeroboam said, "Please come home with me and refresh yourself and I
will reward you. You must be very tired and hungry after your long
journey.
The man of God replied, "Even if you would give me half your kingdom,
I would not go with you or eat bread or drink water in this place!"
Then he turned from the king and went another way back to Judah.
CHAPTER 2
An old prophet who lived in Bethel heard that a prophet of God had
been sent from Judah, and he wanted to see and speak with him. He sent
for his sons and had them saddle his mule, and he went to look for the
man of God.
He soon found him sitting under an oak tree a short distance from
Bethel and he asked, "Are you the prophet who came here from Judah?"
The man of God replied, "Yes, I am. I was sent here to speak to
Jeroboam."
The old prophet said, "I'm very pleased to meet you. Please come and
dine with me today."
His answer was the same for this man as it had been for the king, and
he said, "The Lord has forbidden me to eat or drink in this place, and
He told me to return to Judah by a different road."
The old prophet lied and said, "I too am a prophet of the Lord, and He
told me I should take you to my house to dine with me."
The man of God believed the old prophet and accompanied him to his
house. While they were eating, God spoke to the older man and said,
"The prophet whom I sent from Judah has disobeyed me. Now, tell him
that because he was disobedient, he will die and his body will not be
buried with his people."
When the prophet from Judah heard that, he left and went on his way.
After he had gone a short distance down the road, a lion attacked and
killed him. The lion did not eat his body, but stood by it until some
travelers saw them and went back to Bethel to tell the old prophet.
The old prophet said, "I know it is the body of the man of God who was
here with me today. The Lord delivered him to the lion because he was
disobedient." Then he went to look for the body and buried it in his
own tomb and told his sons that after his death he wished to be buried
beside the prophet from Judah
Jeroboam continued his evil conduct in defiance of the Lord. He even
took some of the worst people in the land and made priests of them.
Then God's judgment was administered to Jeroboam, and many of the
people in Israel also had to suffer because of their idolatry.
Jeroboam ruled for twenty-two years and then he died.
Meanwhile, back in Jerusalem, Rehoboam had become strong, and for
three years, he and his people in Judah walked in the ways of the
Lord. However, after they became a very powerful nation, they forsook
the Lord and went back into idolatry again.
The Lord sent the Egyptians after them, and they took all of the
treasures from the temple that King Solomon had stored, and also
Rehoboam's personal treasures as well.
After that, Rehoboam humbled himself before the Lord, and he ruled
seventeen more years before he died.
THE END
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