Ep. 132. 1 Kings 12-14 | Rehoboam & Jeroboam

EPISODE 132

REHOBOAM AND JEROBOAM: 1 KINGS 12-14

Rehoboam was the son of Solomon, son of David. Solomon had departed from his father David's ways and rejected God. God had declared that he would remove the kingdom from Solomon, but not in his days. So, in the days of Rehoboam, the once unified kingdom of Israel was divided to become the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. From this point forward, in the Bible, the terms primarily used for the southern kingdom are Judah and Jerusalem. The terms for the northern kingdom will be Israel, Samaria, and Ephraim. 

The first act of Jeroboam, king of Israel, was to make two idols for the people to serve. He declared the same thing Aaron did at the base of Mount Sinai: " Behold your gods who brought you up out of Egypt." The new king easily led the people astray, which shouldn't surprise us. The Hebrew people had not been walking with God faithfully since they left Egypt. 

Rehoboam and Jeroboam rebelled against God and turned their nations against God. The northern kingdom will never have a king who serves the Lord, but Judah will have kings who seek God about fifty percent of the time. 

ADDITIONAL READING: 1 Samuel 14; Exodus 32: 8; 2 Kings 22; 2 Kings 23:15-17; Galatians 1:8; 2 Chronicles 12:1-8