By the word
of the Lord a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by
the altar to make an offering. By the word of the Lord he cried
out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named
Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests
of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on
you.’” (vv.1-3)
Jeroboam never got the picture, spiritually speaking. As we learned earlier, God brought the king face-to-face with some incredible promises. But evidently, Jeroboam did not consider God's promises worth the necessary obedience on his part. He looked the other way, plunging the northern kingdom into idolatry and false worship that would cling to them for several centuries.
Since
Jeroboam rejected God's goodness, God confronted the king with the truth of His
judgment through the prophecy of 1 Kings 13. But ""even after this,
Jeroboam did not change his evil ways"" (13:33). He rejected God's
word and warning. All that was left was for the sentence of judgment to be
carried out.
Although the king reigned for twenty-two years in Israel,
nothing else he did is recorded. Jeroboam's apostasy, his departure from the
truth, brought disaster on his entire family and even on the nation (1 Kings
14:15). His descendants would not even get a decent burial, and Israel itself
would one day be uprooted from its land.
Jeroboam's
demise, and the damage he left behind, is a graphic example of poor leadership and his refusal to follow God's word or head His warnings. Nations, like people, can be either blessed by God or allowed to suffer the consequences of their own folly. Whether you agree with the governing leadership of our country or not, pray continually for
those in authority. For their success or failure will be shared by us all.
The
Truth
“I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf
of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a
tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” (1 Timothy 2:1-2)
