1 Kings 11:26 – 43 “Now Jeroboam son of Nebat was an Ephraimite from Zeredah whose mother was a widow named Zeruah. Jeroboam was a servant of Solomon, but he rebelled against the king, and this is the account of his rebellion against the king.
Solomon had built the supporting terraces and repaired the gap in the wall of the city of his father David. Now Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor. So, when Solomon noticed that the young man was industrious, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph.
During that time, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met Jeroboam on the road as he was going out of Jerusalem. Now Ahijah had wrapped himself in a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in the open field.
And Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing, tore it into twelve pieces, and said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and I will give you ten tribes. But one tribe will remain for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
For they have forsaken Me to worship Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in My ways, nor done what is right in My eyes, nor kept My statutes and judgments, as Solomon’s father David did.
Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David My servant, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and statutes. But I will take ten tribes of the kingdom from the hand of his son and give them to you. I will give one tribe to his son, so that My servant David will always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put My Name. But as for you, I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your heart desires, and you will be king over Israel. If you listen to all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight in order to keep My statutes and commandments as My servant David did, then I will be with you. I will build you a lasting dynasty just as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. Because of this, I will humble David’s descendants—but not forever.’”
Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, where he remained until the death of Solomon.
As for the rest of the acts of Solomon—all that he did, as well as his wisdom—are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? Thus, the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. And Solomon rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David. And his son Rehoboam reigned in his place.”
God is fed up with Solomon. Solomon is building one pagan temple after another in a frantic effort to propitiate those 700 wives and 300 concubines, most of whom worship demons. Solomon himself is even joining in the worship of these idols, turning his back on the One True Living God who has made him great. Jeroboam is Solomon’s overseer for the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the tribes of Joseph. As Jeroboam is leaving Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah meets him and gives him an incredible word from the Lord. Ahijah tells Jeroboam that God is about to tear ten of the tribes away from Solomon’s family and that He will give those tribes to Jeroboam to rule if Jeroboam will only prove faithful.
When Solomon hears of this prophecy, he tries to kill Jeroboam, who takes off for Egypt and shelters with Shishak, the Pharaoh at that time. Jeroboam remains in Egypt until Solomon dies. Solomon never repents, but continues to worship idols until he dies and is buried in Jerusalem. What a tragedy!
God’s promise to Jeroboam is amazing. “But as for you, I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your heart desires, and you will be king over Israel. If you listen to all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight in order to keep My statutes and commandments as My servant David did, then I will be with you. I will build you a lasting dynasty just as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.”
God is prepared to hand Israel over to Jeroboam, if Jeroboam will only be obedient and walk in the ways of God and keep his statutes and commandments. All Jeroboam has to do is to be obedient and God will build him a lasting dynasty. Incredible! Little wonder if Solomon is ready to kill Jeroboam.
APPLICATION: After the horrible example of Solomon and his fall from grace, you would think that Jeroboam would fully appreciate this incredible prophecy and would be careful to follow God’s instructions completely. Unfortunately, once more, we have a young man with a sense of entitlement. Eventually, Jeroboam will prove to be a sever disappointment, just as Solomon has. But Jeroboam will also be the instrument God uses to finally tear ten tribes away from Solomon’s family.
Why does God choose Jeroboam to be His instrument in this situation? Obviously, God knows the end from the beginning and God knows that eventually, Jeroboam will also fall into idolatry. But God continues to give men opportunities. For Jeroboam at this point, the kingdom is his to gain or to lose. The whole universe tilts on the axis of free will, and Jeroboam has the opportunity for greatness.
One of my favorite hymns begins “Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide.” There are pivotal points for each of us in our lives where we will either choose to follow God or we will choose to turn away from God to follow something lesser. These moments may very well come when we are tired, upset, stressed out, and feeling overwhelmed. To avoid failure, we must continue to make right choices at those times when we are not stressed, tired, etc. We must continue to make it our habit to seek God’s will and not our own for our lives. If we perpetually choose God’s will, then when crises erupt, we will respond in the right way. But if we are in the habit of indulging our passions and only choosing God’s ways when they are convenient, we may miss untold blessings. May God help us, so that our choices moment by moment will yield obedience to Him!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to continue to choose Your will and Your ways and not our own. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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