A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

chance of succeeding, and now it was time for God to once again intervene more directly in the
life of His people. The Prophet Shemaiah carried the message of God to Rehoboam and the loyal
tribes of Judah and Benjamin. “Thus says the Lord: `You shall not go up nor fight against your
brethren the Children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me’ “ (1
Kings 13:24). Though Judah was not all it should have been in its relationship with God, on this
occasion they obeyed the message delivered by Shemaiah and returned to their homes.
THE APOSTACY OF JEROBOAM
(1 Kings 12:25-14:20; 2 Chron. 11:5-17)
After the threat of attack from the south was removed, Jeroboam was confronted with the
task of administering a new nation as its first king. He was faced with a problem unique to his
nation. Most of the nations of the Near East had a national god or series of gods which they
worshiped and which served as a major unifying force in the nation. The new nation of Israel
was unique in that it worshiped Jehovah but that worship required of the people regular
pilgrimages to Jerusalem, the capital of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. As Jeroboam
considered this situation, he saw several problems.
The first of these problems was the realization that the worship of Jehovah by both Israel
and Judah could eventually lead to a reunification of the nations which was contrary to
Jeroboam’s personal ambition. Second, as the worship of Jehovah required the paying of tithes
and offerings in Jerusalem, 20 to 30 percent of the gross national product was going into the
treasury of another nation. Then there was a third problem. The nation of Israel had come into
being in part because of another king’s refusal to consider tax reform. This meant Jeroboam had
to be careful not to overtax his people if he wanted to retain his throne. The fourth problem with
this system was a consequence of the previous two. Because Jeroboam was limited in his ability
to tax, he was limited in his ability to provide services to his people. However, Rehoboam in the
south was limited in the number of services he needed to provide his people and had no
restrictions as to how much money he raised. As a result, Rehoboam was able to fortify at least
fifteen cities during his reign (2 Chron. 11:5-12) at a time when Jeroboam was forced to practice
financial restraint. As his people traveled to the south to worship Jehovah, they would see the
improvements in Judah and contrast it with the poverty and neglected fortifications in the north.
As a result, they would want to reunite the two kingdoms.
For the northern king, the solution to the problem was simple. If Israel had its own
national god, all of the money going to the treasury in Jerusalem would remain in Israel. There
would be no reason for the people to travel into Judah and they would, therefore, not realize how
well off the south was at a time when the north was hurting. Also, a unique god for Israel
reduced the likelihood the people would want to see a reunification of the two nations.
Northern King Jeroboam worked with others to develop a national religion. Two golden
calves were erected at either end of the nation so the people would not have to travel to
Jerusalem. He established the fifteenth day of the eighth month as the national feast day. Priests
were recruited throughout the land who were sympathetic to this new approach to religion.
Jeroboam himself participated in the new religion, offering gifts on the altar in Bethel as an
example to his people.
Rather than having a unifying effect on his nation initially, Jeroboam’s actions actually
caused him some losses of support. Within the nation, there were many who had a genuine faith
in God, whole pilgrimages to Jerusalem were more than a religious ceremony. When Jeroboam
expelled the Levites from the priesthood in the north and set his own priest in their place, the