Ahijah said the boy would die as soon as Jeroboam's wife returned to her city of residence. But he also stated that this son was the only member of Jeroboam's household in whom the Lord had found anything good and that he would be the only male of Jeroboam's household whose death would be mourned. Disaster is to come upon the dynasty of Jeroboam because of his own personal idolatry and because of the idolatry into which he is swiftly leading the nation. The Lord promised Jeroboam a great dynasty like that of David's if he would be faithful to Him. But Jeroboam didn't want to be faithful to Him. Because he did not want to be faithful to Him, fears came upon him about losing the kingship and even his life, so he prevented his people from going down to the southern kingdom to worship the Lord at the temple in Jerusalem. He thought they would give their allegiance to King Rehoboam of Judah if they were allowed to travel to Jerusalem and back. He instituted his own state religion which utilized golden calves and unlawful altars on the high places. The majority of the people of his kingdom and the people of his own family have followed him into these idolatrous practices.
Because of these sins, the prophet pronounces this judgment of the Lord upon Jeroboam and upon the northern kingdom: "The Lord will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will cut off the family of Jeroboam. Even now this is beginning to happen. And the Lord will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that He gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they aroused the Lord's anger by making Asherah poles. And He will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit." (1 Kings 14:14-16)
The first part of this prophecy will come true during the second year of the reign of Jeroboam's successor. Jeroboam either already has, or will have, a son named Nadab. I believe Abijah was Jeroboam's firstborn son and that Nadab was the second son born to him. Nadab will succeed Jeroboam as king but during the second year of his reign he will be killed by a man named Baasha of the tribe of Issachar who will take his place as king and slaughter every member of Jeroboam's family. Baasha will be as much of an idolater as Jeroboam was. The prophet's statement that the Lord would "raise up for Himself a king" is not an indication that the king who takes the throne away from the family of Jeroboam will be a good man. It simply means that this will be the man who makes the prophecy come true that the dynasty of Jeroboam will soon come to an end.
The second part of the prophecy won't be fulfilled until about three hundred years later when the northern kingdom of Israel is conquered by the nation of Assyria. Had there ever been a widescale turning away from idolatry during those three centuries, the Lord would have turned away this invading nation, but He knew three hundred years ahead of time that the majority of the people would not heed the warnings of any of the prophets He sent to them. This is why He could say with certainty that He would "uproot Israel from this good land that He gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River".
Jeroboam's wife accepts the words of the prophet because there's nothing else she can do. "Then Jeroboam's wife got up and left and went to Tirzah." (1 Kings 14:17a) Whether she had any desire to turn from idols to the living God we cannot say, but it's clear from the Scriptures that her husband and their son Nadab never do. If her son Abijah had lived to adulthood, it's quite possible that he too would have eventually been seduced into the idolatry of his family's household and of the nation at large. As we discussed yesterday, the Lord saw something good in Abijah which was probably a heart that longed to know the Lord even if the boy didn't quite understand what this longing was. And the Lord mercifully took him into His presence to spare him from going the wrong way and to spare him from the destruction to come.
"As soon as she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died. They buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, as the Lord had said through His prophet Ahijah. The other events of Jeroboam's reign, his wars and how he ruled, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel. He reigned for twenty-two years and then rested with his ancestors. And Nadab his son succeeded him as king." (1 Kings 14:17-20) We will be learning more about Jeroboam as we take a look at the reign of King Rehoboam of Judah in the coming days. These two men reigned at the same time and the events of their lives are written in the books of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles. We'll be combining sections from both these books as we continue our study of the kings of Israel and Judah.
The main thing we can take away from the life of Jeroboam is that he could have had what he wanted---a secure kingdom and a lasting dynasty---if only he'd obeyed the Lord. Instead he sought to retain a powerful kingdom and a lasting dynasty through human means while he lived in opposition to the Lord. Jeroboam should have taken these words penned by David to heart: "Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:3-4) David isn't saying we'll obtain every single thing we want in life if we are faithful to the Lord but that if we commit our ways to the Lord and serve Him, we will want what He wants. We will place our trust in Him even when He allows things to happen in our lives that we don't fully understand. And it's certainly true that we'll find more fulfillment in our families, in our work, and in everything else if we've placed the Lord at the center of our lives. The Lord knew Jeroboam was an ambitious man and He said to him, "You will rule over all that your heart desires". (1 Kings 11:37) But this promise was conditional upon Jeroboam's obedience. (1 Kings 11:38) Jeroboam went out of his way to be disobedient after he became king and the Lord is not obligated to give Jeroboam the desires of his heart. The longlasting and powerful dynasty Jeroboam envisioned is not going to materialize. He could have had this dream come true if he'd have bowed his knees to his Creator. So many blessings could have been his.
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