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The Sin of King Jeroboam - The Book of 1 Kings · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made
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  Speaker 1: two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is
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  Speaker 1: too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Behold
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  Speaker 1: thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the
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  Speaker 1: land of Egypt. 1 Kings 12.28 Protect me, Lord, from
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  Speaker 1: the moments in my life when I want to go
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  Speaker 1: back to the golden calves and false idols that held
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  Speaker 1: me captive to limited beliefs and ungodly behaviors. I confess
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  Speaker 1: that whatever success you've blessed me with isn't a sign
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  Speaker 1: for me to take my foot off the spiritual gas
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  Speaker 1: pedal and abandon the ways and principles that have elevated
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  Speaker 1: my life and brought peace and understanding to everything I do.
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  Speaker 1: The sins of Jeroboam will not be copied in my life.
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  Speaker 1: The rejection from godly wisdom and alignment will not be
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  Speaker 1: the action I take when I'm confronted for compromising my standards.
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  Speaker 1: When I am faced with tough choices, I will be
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  Speaker 1: like Josiah, the descendant of David, and I will bring
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  Speaker 1: down anything that isn't in alignment with your words or
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  Speaker 1: your ways. For the rest of my days, I will
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  Speaker 1: keep my mind and heart focused on the main thing,
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  Speaker 1: and that will forever be you. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for making prayer a priority in your life. To
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  Speaker 1: hear the Bible come to life, stay tuned for the
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  Speaker 1: Bible in a Year. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: The Sin of King Jeroboam In our last story... We
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  Speaker 2: witnessed the splitting of Israel. Solomon's sin had caused God
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  Speaker 2: to strip him of his legacy. Rehoboam, Solomon's son, used
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  Speaker 2: the throne as an opportunity to be cruel. Jeroboam, the
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  Speaker 2: son of a widow and old servant of King Solomon,
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  Speaker 2: was named king in place of Rehoboam. So Rehoboam ruled
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  Speaker 2: over Judah. while Jeroboam ruled over the other ten tribes
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  Speaker 2: of Israel. Now we see that even the noble Jeroboam
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  Speaker 2: is vulnerable to the traps of sin and idol worship,
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  Speaker 2: and how God shows no partiality when it comes to
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  Speaker 2: taking away kingdoms, inspired by the book of 1 Kings.
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  Speaker 3: This is Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
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  Speaker 3: in a Year. In our last time together, we heard
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  Speaker 3: how Rehoboam's pride and foolishness cost him most of his kingdom.
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  Speaker 3: When given an opportunity to show mercy and kindness to
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  Speaker 3: his people, he chose rather to oppress them in an
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  Speaker 3: attempt to prove his own strength and gain more power.
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  Speaker 3: And so Israel became a kingdom divided, with ten tribes
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  Speaker 3: of the north serving Jeroboam, a man who had served
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  Speaker 3: Solomon and was chosen by God to rule much of Israel. Today,
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  Speaker 3: we'll hear how despite being warned by God not to
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  Speaker 3: turn away from him and his commandments, Jeroboam succumbs to
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  Speaker 3: temptations and sins in the eyes of the Lord. And
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  Speaker 3: just like Solomon and Rehoboam before him, his disobedience will
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  Speaker 3: prove costly as God will judge him because of his unfaithfulness.
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  Speaker 3: Let's listen now to the Word of God.
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  Speaker 2: It had been over 500 years since God led his
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  Speaker 2: people out from the grips of Egyptian slavery. Since then,
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  Speaker 2: the Hebrew people had learned to wrestle with their own
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  Speaker 2: sin and shame. They learned to cling to God through
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  Speaker 2: wilderness and hardship. In that time, a wonderful blossoming had
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  Speaker 2: taken place in the hearts of every man and woman. However,
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  Speaker 2: sin still lurked at the borders of Israel, like a
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  Speaker 2: hungry lion seeking whom it may devour. Jeroboam, the new
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  Speaker 2: king of Israel, built up a new capital in the
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  Speaker 2: city of Shechem. He worked diligently and with much compassion. However,
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  Speaker 2: his time spent in Egypt had muddied his mind. He
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  Speaker 2: had forgotten the history of Israel and its history with
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  Speaker 2: golden calves. Jeroboam noticed that people were still traveling to
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  Speaker 2: Jerusalem to worship God at the temple. Wary of this,
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  Speaker 2: Jeroboam thought to himself, Unless I am careful, the people
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  Speaker 2: will return to the dynasty of David. They will kill
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  Speaker 2: me if they spend too much time over there. So
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  Speaker 2: under the advice of his counselors, Jeroboam sought to build
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  Speaker 2: a place of worship in the new capital. He amassed
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  Speaker 2: fine gold and precious jewels from the storehouses and built
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  Speaker 2: a beautiful new monument in the center of the city. There,
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  Speaker 2: among the nation of Israel, stood two massive golden calves.
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  Speaker 2: The very image of ancient idolatry stood in the presence
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  Speaker 2: of the people of Israel. Unaware of his ignorance, Jeroboam
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  Speaker 2: yelled to the people, Behold, the gods who brought you
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  Speaker 2: out of Egypt! Jeroboam was elated at his new project.
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  Speaker 2: People came from all over to worship the golden calves.
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  Speaker 2: Jeroboam smiled. However, God was burning with anger. Under the
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  Speaker 2: influence of his time spent in Egypt, he also erected
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  Speaker 2: pagan shrines and ordained his own priests to tend to them.
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  Speaker 2: He established religious festivals and parties. Jeroboam led the people
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  Speaker 2: of Israel into a time of laughter, revelry, and feasts. However,
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  Speaker 2: their hearts drifted away from God. This God would not allow.
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  Speaker 2: At God's command, a man of God came up from
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  Speaker 2: Judah and went to Bethel, where Jeroboam was burning incense
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  Speaker 2: at the altar. The sun had set, and the people
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  Speaker 2: of Israel were partying down below in the city streets.
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  Speaker 2: Jeroboam lit matches and burned incense when he heard a
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  Speaker 2: voice from behind him.' Oh, altar! Oh, altar!' Jeroboam turned
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  Speaker 2: around to see the man from Judah standing a few
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  Speaker 2: yards behind him. The man approached him with great force, saying,'
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  Speaker 2: The Lord has spoken, saying,' A child named Josiah will
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  Speaker 2: come from the dynasty of David. He will come and
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  Speaker 2: make sacrifice of your priests and false worship.' The words
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  Speaker 2: shook Jeroboam, but he did not budge from his idolatry.
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  Speaker 2: Jeroboam shrugged and continued worshipping. The man struck his staff
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  Speaker 2: onto the ground, demanding Jeroboam's attention. The Lord has promised
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  Speaker 2: you this sign. Your precious altar of evil will split
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  Speaker 2: in half and ashes will pour forth from it like snow.
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  Speaker 2: King Jeroboam stood up from where he was kneeling, fuming
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  Speaker 2: with anger. He turned to his guards who were with
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  Speaker 2: him and yelled, Seize that man! Spit fell from his
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  Speaker 2: face as he screamed. He pointed to him. but as
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  Speaker 2: he was yelling, a jolt of pain coursed through his arm.
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  Speaker 2: Jeroboam fell to the floor holding his right arm. It
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  Speaker 2: was paralyzed in a pointing motion. As he fell to
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  Speaker 2: the floor writhing in pain, cracks could be heard from
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  Speaker 2: behind him. He turned his head and watched his altar
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  Speaker 2: split in two. The sound of stone cracking pierced his eardrums,
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  Speaker 2: and ash poured out from the middle and flew through
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  Speaker 2: the air like snowfall. Jeroboam could barely stand the pain
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  Speaker 2: from his arm. He turned to the man and said,
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  Speaker 2: Please ask the Lord to restore my arm. He did,
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  Speaker 2: and his arm was restored. The king rose to his feet.
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  Speaker 2: Sweat dripped from his whole body. He panted and stared
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  Speaker 2: at the broken altar. He gripped his arm and faced
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  Speaker 2: the man, saying, Please come to the palace with me
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  Speaker 2: and eat. I will give you a gift. The man
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  Speaker 2: looked at Jeroboam. He was a pathetic sight indeed. The
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  Speaker 2: man turned his back to the king and said, Even
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  Speaker 2: if you gave me half your kingdom, I would not
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  Speaker 2: go with you. I would not eat or drink anything
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  Speaker 2: in this city of darkness. And with that he departed
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  Speaker 2: back to Judah. Despite all that Jeroboam just witnessed, his
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  Speaker 2: heart did not turn from its corruption. He continued to
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  Speaker 2: ordain priests and burn incense at the altar of false gods.
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  Speaker 2: His idolatry seeped into the hearts of Israel. God would
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  Speaker 2: not allow any king to corrupt the hearts of his people. Soon,
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  Speaker 2: he would remove the throne from Jeroboam in order to
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  Speaker 2: protect his sheep.
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  Speaker 3: Today's scripture begins with King Jeroboam establishing the capital of
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  Speaker 3: the northern kingdom in Shechem. The new king showed potential
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  Speaker 3: for greatness, and he acted kindly and graciously towards his people,
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  Speaker 3: as David had once done, and Solomon after him. But
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  Speaker 3: within Jeroboam's heart was a seed that lives in all
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  Speaker 3: of us, unfortunately. It is the seed of sin that
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  Speaker 3: was planted long ago when Adam and Eve turned from
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  Speaker 3: God in the garden. God had told him that if
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  Speaker 3: he would obey his commands, Jeroboam's kingdom would be established. Yet,
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  Speaker 3: Jeroboam followed the seed of doubt and allowed this seed
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  Speaker 3: to grow in his heart. As he saw his people
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  Speaker 3: travel to Jerusalem to worship God in his dwelling place,
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  Speaker 3: the temple, Jeroboam began to fear that he would lose
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  Speaker 3: power and sway over them and that Rehoboam would soon
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  Speaker 3: have the kingdom once more. In 1 Kings 12, 27,
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  Speaker 3: we see what Jeroboam was thinking when he says to himself,
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  Speaker 3: If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the
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  Speaker 3: temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of
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  Speaker 3: this people will turn again to the Lord, to Rehoboam,
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  Speaker 3: king of Judah, and they will kill me and return
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  Speaker 3: to Rehoboam. king of Judah. So clearly he was afraid
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  Speaker 3: of losing power and control. But rather than believing God,
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  Speaker 3: he built a place of worship in Shechem. What's worse,
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  Speaker 3: he didn't build a temple for the Almighty God. He
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  Speaker 3: repeated the mistakes, the terrible sin of Aaron, the brother
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  Speaker 3: of Moses, and erected golden calves for people to worship.
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  Speaker 3: This angered God and brought judgment 500 years before, and
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  Speaker 3: it angers him again when Jeroboam does the same thing.
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  Speaker 3: Jeroboam also repeated the pagan practices of the Egyptians among
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  Speaker 3: whom he had lived when he was exiled, escaping Solomon's sword.
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  Speaker 3: He built shrines to pagan gods. The Lord would not
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  Speaker 3: allow this to continue. He loved his children too much
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  Speaker 3: to watch as they gave their hearts to lifeless idols
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  Speaker 3: and forget their covenant relationship with him. So God sent
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  Speaker 3: a prophet to Jeroboam to rebuke him and to deliver
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  Speaker 3: some very bad news. The kingdom that God had entrusted
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  Speaker 3: to Jeroboam would be taken from him. A man named
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  Speaker 3: Josiah of the line of David would rise up and
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  Speaker 3: destroy Jeroboam's priests and false gods. And he would send
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  Speaker 3: a sign. The altar on which Jeroboam made sacrifices to
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  Speaker 3: his pagan deities would be split open right before his eyes.
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  Speaker 3: The king, rather than repenting, became angry and ordered his
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  Speaker 3: men to seize the prophet. But God struck Jeroboam down
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  Speaker 3: with intense pain. His arm shriveled up. At that very moment,
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  Speaker 3: he watched as the altar was torn in two and
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  Speaker 3: ashes poured from it. There was no question that this
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  Speaker 3: was God's doing, and the king recognized this. He pleaded
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  Speaker 3: with the prophet to ask God to restore his arm,
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  Speaker 3: and God did just that. But when Jeroboam asked the
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  Speaker 3: man of God to stay with him and have a
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  Speaker 3: meal so he could give him a gift, the prophet refused,
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  Speaker 3: saying he would never remain there with Jeroboam, not at
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  Speaker 3: any price. It may seem a small point, but it
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  Speaker 3: is a valuable lesson about how we should deal with
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  Speaker 3: people who reject God, that we should separate ourselves from
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  Speaker 3: worldly idols and people who do not honor God. Genuine
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  Speaker 3: biblical separation. This man had given Jeroboam a word from
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  Speaker 3: the Lord. He had given witness to God's power, but
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  Speaker 3: he was not about to remain in the king's inner circle.
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  Speaker 3: He would not allow himself to be seduced by the
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  Speaker 3: power and the riches of the king because he refused
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  Speaker 3: to turn away from God. So he left, but Jeroboam
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  Speaker 3: did not change his ways. He remained unfaithful, and soon
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  Speaker 3: the Lord would deal with his unfaithfulness in order to
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  Speaker 3: love and protect his own people. Dear Lord, may we
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  Speaker 3: never be lured into the sin of idolatry, including the
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  Speaker 3: idols that people put in their hearts, the idols of
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  Speaker 3: money or prestige or power or even sinful satanic idols
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  Speaker 3: that people worship today. God, may we be alert that Satan,
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  Speaker 3: like a roaring lion, is roaming throughout the whole earth,
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  Speaker 3: seeking whom he may devour. May we always look to you.
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  Speaker 3: May we protect ourselves with your armor, the armor of God.
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  Speaker 3: And may we pray always, knowing that you will deliver
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  Speaker 3: us from evil. For this we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app
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  Speaker 3: with God, then be sure to visit jackgraham.org. That's jackgraham.org.
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  Speaker 3: God bless you.