1 Kings 12:25-33

Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 12:25-33

Introduction

Sometimes When We’re Getting the Girls in the Car…

VK Likes to Jump to Me Off the Roof of the Car

But, She Likes to Hold Onto My Hands Before She Jumps…

Because it Makes Her Feel Safer

But, in Reality, it Makes Her Much Less Safe…

Because Now I Can’t Catch Her Because She’s Holding My Hands

Her Lack of Faith/Trust in Me to Catch Her…

Puts her in More Danger Than if She Totally Trusted/Relied on Me to Catch Her

If She would Place Complete Faith/Trust in Me…

I would Catch Her All Day Long

But Since She Doesn’t Completely Trust Me…

She Acts Irrationally and Selfishly…

In Order to Protect/Save Herself…

Which Only Leads to Her Own Downfall (Literally)

1 Kings 12:25-33

Last Time, We Saw Rehoboam Take the Throne After Solomon’s Death

Israel Wanted Him to Ease the Burdens that Solomon had Placed on Them

But Rehoboam Chose to Make Their Burdens Much Worse

Rehoboam and His Father Solomon…

Have Become the New Pharaohs Who Oppress and Enslave God’s People

Because of that Foolish Decision, 10 Tribes Rebelled Against Him…

And Jeroboam Became King Over this New Kingdom of Israel

So, the Kingdom of Israel is Divided in 2…

All According to God’s Providence

The Southern Kingdom of Judah Where Rehoboam is King

And the Northern Kingdom of Israel Where Jeroboam is King

Back in Chapter 11, We Saw God Make Jeroboam an Amazing Promise

1 Kings 11:38 (NET)

38 You must obey all I command you to do, follow my instructions, do what I approve, and keep my rules and commandments, like my servant David did. Then I will be with you and establish for you a lasting dynasty, as I did for David; I will give you Israel.

If Jeroboam will Obey God…

Then God will Bless Him with a Dynasty Over Israel…

Like David’s Dynasty Over Judah

Jeroboam has the Opportunity to Be a New David for God’s People

But, He Ends Up Being More Like a New Aaron Instead

Israel is No Longer Under the Reign of the Wicked Pharoah-Figure (Rehoboam)

They’re Now Under the Leadership of an Aaron-Like Figure (Jeroboam

Just Like the People Turned From God in the Wilderness Under Aaron’s Leadership

Jeroboam is Going to Lead Northern Israel Away From God

1 Kings 12:25 (NASB95)

25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel.

(3 Maps Showing Shechem & Penuel)

1 Kings 12:26–27 (NET)

26 Jeroboam then thought to himself: “Now the Davidic dynasty could regain the kingdom.27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, their loyalty could shift to their former master, King Rehoboam of Judah. They might kill me and return to King Rehoboam of Judah.”

It Didn’t Take Long at All for Jeroboam to Begin Doubting God

God Promised Him 10 Tribes of Israel…

And a Royal Dynasty if He Remains Faithful

But He Doesn’t Trust God to Keep His Promises

He’s Already Scared to Death that He’s Going to Lose His Kingdom

Fear is a Motivator

But Rarely is it Ever a Positive Motivator

It Often Leads Us to Act Irrationally and Selfishly

That’s Exactly What We See Next Out of Jeroboam

1 Kings 12:28–30 (NET)

28 After the king had consulted with his advisers, he made two golden calves. Then he said to the people, “It is too much trouble for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look, Israel, here are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 29 He put one in Bethel and the other in Dan. 30 This caused Israel to sin; the people went to Bethel and Dan to worship the calves.

Just Like Aaron in the Wilderness…

Jeroboam Makes Golden Calves for the Israelites to Worship

Even His Words are Identical to Aaron’s:

“Here are Your Gods Who Brought You Out of the Land of Egypt”

Jeroboam has Become a Soft & Scared Aaron-Like Leader

He Set Up These 2 Golden Calves…

On the Northern and Southern Borders of the Kingdom

He Doesn’t Want His People Going to the Southern Kingdom to Worship…

So He Makes a New System of Worship

A System that Breaks the 1st and 2nd Commandments

Exodus 20:3–4 (NET)

3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below.

Jeroboam, Out of Fear of Losing Power…

And Probably Money From the Temple…

Is Causing His Entire Kingdom to Sin

This is Not Only Going to Lead to Israel’s Full Acceptance of Idolatry…

But it is Also Disqualifying Jeroboam From Being King

But, He Doesn’t Stop There

He Goes on to Change Pretty Much Everything About Their Religious System

1 Kings 12:31–33 (NET)

31 He built temples on the high places and appointed as priests people who were not Levites. 32 Jeroboam inaugurated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival celebrated in Judah. On the altar in Bethel he offered sacrifices to the calves he had made. In Bethel he also appointed priests for the high places he had made. 33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month (a date he had arbitrarily chosen) Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had made in Bethel. He inaugurated a festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to offer sacrifices.

Other Changes Jeroboam Made Included:

Building Temples on High Places

Setting Up His Own Feast of Booths a Month After the Original

Offering Sacrifices on Altars to the Golden Calves

Replacing the Levitical Priesthood with Non-Levites

This Led to Many Levites Migrating South to Judah

2 Chronicles 11:14–16 (NET)

14 The Levites even left their pasturelands and their property behind and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons prohibited them from serving as the Lord’s priests. 15 Jeroboam appointed his own priests to serve at the worship centers and to lead in the worship of the goat idols and calf idols he had made.16 Those among all the Israelite tribes who were determined to worship the Lord God of Israel followed them to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their ancestors.

All of These Things Listed were Against the Law to Do

In the 9 Verses of Our Text, We Find 1 Word 10 Times

The Hebrew Word ʿâsâh (aw-saw) = “He Made”

Every Time it is in Reference to Him Making Something He shouldn’t

All the Things He Made were in Opposition to What God Made for His People

Jereboam was Making His Own Way to Worship God

This was Wrong/Sinful

Application

There are Several Lessons We can Learn From this Passage

Don’t Change God’s Instructions

Everything that Jeroboam “Made”…

Was in Direct Opposition to God’s Direct/Explicit Instructions

God hasn’t Given Us Direct/Explicit Instruction on Everything

Where There isn’t Direct/Explicit Instruction, There is Some Freedom

But Where There is Direct/Explicit Instruction From God…

There is Absolutely No Freedom to Alter or Change

It Doesn’t Matter What Culture Says

It Doesn’t Matter How Convenient it would Be

When God Directly/Explicitly Says it…

We Must Obey it

Worship In Spirit & Truth

Jereboam Changing the System of Worship in Northern Israel…

Is Going to Lead to Generations of Sin and Wickedness

And Eventually, the Northern Kingdom will Be Destroyed and Dispersed

Centuries Later, the People of that Region will Be Known as “Samaritans”

Samaritans and Jews will Hate Each Other

They Both Claim to Worship God

They Both Claim that Their Mountain is the One True Place to Worship

In John 4, We Find Jesus Talking to a Samaritan Woman About this Very Thing

John 4:20–24 (NASB95)

20 “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Jesus Said to Her:

“There’s Coming a Time (and it’s Already Here)…”

“Where God’s People Won’t Need a Certain Location to Worship Him”

“God Doesn’t Want People Worshiping at a Certain Location”

“He Wants People to Worship Him in Spirit and Truth”

In John’s Gospel, “Spirit” Refers to the Holy Spirit

And “Truth” Refers to the Truth that Jesus is the Messiah

The Kind of Worship God Wants…

Is Not Worship that is Practiced in a Certain Location

But Worshipers Who are Temples of the Holy Spirit…

And Who Live/Walk By the Spirit

And Worshipers Who Believe in and Give Their Allegiance to King Jesus

Philippians 3:3 (NASB95)

3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,

Faith Destroys Fear

Fear is the Result of a Lack of Faith/Trust

Like VK, When She Jumps Off the Roof of the Car

She Doesn’t Fully Trust Me, So She is Afraid

And Her Fear Causes Her to Act Irrationally and Selfishly…

Which Leads, Not to Her Salvation, But to Her Downfall

The Same was True for Jeroboam

God Promised to Protect Him, Provide for Him, and Give Him a Lasting Dynasty…

If He would Only Trust and Obey God

But He Didn’t have Faith/Trust

And His Lack of Trust Led to Fear

And Fear Led to Irrational and Selfish Choices…

Which are Going to Lead to His Downfall

As Christians, We are Called to Be Faithful

We are to Trust God Our Father and Jesus Our King

Trust Their Word/Teachings/Instructions

Trust that They will Keep Their Promises to Protect/Provide/Save Us

When We Trust that God’s Instructions are the Way to Live…

And that if We Live By Them, God will Keep His Promises to Us…

Then We will Not Live in Fear

We will Not Fear Lack of Daily Necessities

We will Not Fear Shame/Judgment from Outsiders

We will Not Fear Persecution/Danger

We will Not Fear Evil Acts of Violence

We will Not Fear Death in its Many Ways it can Come for Us

We will Live in Peace…

Trusting that God is Going to Take Care of Us

If Jeroboam had Simply Trusted God, Everything would have Turned Out Fine

If We will Simply Trust God, Everything will Turn Out Fine for Us Too

Jesus is Coming and with Him Comes Salvation to Eternal, Blissful Life

If You’re Not a Christian, Give Your Allegiance to King Jesus and Be Baptized

Receive the Holy Spirit…

And Become a Worshiper that God Desires You to Be

If You are a Christian…

Obey God’s Instructions

Worship Him in Spirit & Truth

And Choose Faith Over Fear