In the final days of Solomon’s reign, a prophet named Ahijah approached Jeroboam, a Ephraimite from the town of Shechem, as he was returning to his hometown. He took his cloak, tore it into 12 pieces, and said to him, “Take 10 of these pieces for yourself, for Yahweh has torn ten of the tribes of Israel away from Solomon’s line and has given them to you because he worshipped other gods. If you follow the commands of God and do what is right, as David did, Yahweh will be with you and will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one built for David.”
When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam went to Shechem where people from all of Israel had gathered to crown him king. There Jeroboam called out to him, “Your father worked us very hard both in the building of the temple as well as in his army. If you are easier on us, we will gladly serve you.”
Rehoboam asked for advice from his father’s councilors and they said, “If today you give these people the answer they want they will always be your servants.”
But he rejected this advice and instead asked his friends for their advice and they said, “Tell them that you are even tougher than your father and that you will work them even harder. If he whipped them with straps you will whip them with scorpions.”
The prophecy of Samuel, which the people had seen in part during the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon, had never been more true: “A king will take your sons and require them to be in his army...or be his craftsmen...You will become like his slaves and you will cry out to God for relief.”
With Rehoboam’s harsh answer, the people said among themselves, “This man does not represent us, so let’s abandon him.” So all of Israel, save Judah alone, seceded from the rule of Rehoboam and made Jeroboam their king. On that day the crack in Israel which had formed long ago during the civil war had now split the country in two and the prophecy of Moses that the tribe of Ephraim would become a greater tribe than Manasseh was fulfilled.
Rehoboam quickly mustered an army to reclaim what he believed was his by right. but Yahweh sent a prophet to the frontlines who called out to the soldiers, “Do not fight against your own kin. Go home. This schism is Yahweh’s doing because king Solomon worshipped other gods.”
Jeroboam thought to himself, “If I am going to keep these ten tribes under my banner, I will need to do so from a place of strength.” So he went to Shechem and made it his capital city. And though the people reviled Rehoboam, Jeroboam knew that that the presence of the temple in Jerusalem still held great sway in the people’s hearts, which Rehoboam could use to regain their allegiance. Then Jeroboam did a great evil in the eyes of God, making two golden calves and saying to the ten tribes of Israel who had seceded, “It’s too much effort to go and worship in Jerusalem. Here are your gods who brought your ancestors out of Egypt. He put them in the cities of Bethel and Dan and the people came to worship them. He built shrines and appointed priests to oversee them even though they weren’t Levites.
Then Ahijah came once more to Jeroboam. When he saw the altar Jeroboam built he said, “Altar! This is what God says. A man named Josiah, from the line of David, will one day be born. On you these false priests will burn. And so you know this is God’s doing, right now you will split apart.”
When Jeroboam heard this he stretched out his hand and said, “Seize him!” But his hand immediately shriveled up and the altar split in two. Jeroboam said to Ahijah, “Pray to God that my hand be healed.” So the prophet did and Jeroboam’s hand was restored. Jeroboam continued, “Come eat with me and I will give you a gift.”
But Ahijah replied, “Even if you gave me half of everything you have, I would not go with you or eat with you. I was commanded by God not to.” Then he left Jeroboam.
Shortly after this, Jeroboam’s son got sick. Jeroboam sent his wife in disguise to Ahijah with a sacrifice to find out what would happen to his son. Even though she was disguised, Yahweh told Ahijah that she was coming and what to say.
When she entered his home he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why this disguise? I have somber news for you. Tell Jeroboam this is what Yahweh says, ‘I raised you up and made you king over ten tribes of Israel. I took the kingdom from David’s descendents and gave it to you. But you are not like David, who committed himself to me with all of his heart. You have done more evil than any who lived before you. You intentionally led the people to abandon me and worship false gods that you yourself made. Because of this, I am bringing utter destruction on you and anyone who associates with you.’ As for your son, he will die for your evildoing, but his death is an act of mercy from God, for he is the only one of you who has any good in him. Yahweh will raise up a new king to replace you. In fact, it has already begun. Yahweh is going to uproot these people from the promised land and scatter them to far off countries because they worship other gods.” Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and left and as soon as she returned to her home her son died.
Meanwhile, during Rehoboam’s 17 year reign in Jerusalem, the people of Judah, who are called, Jews, also turned from Yahweh to worship other gods. The way the people worshipped these other gods was disgusting, as bad as any of the people they had battled in the time of Joshua. In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, Egypt attacked Jerusalem and stole treasures from the temple. There was also continual warfare between Jeroboam and Rehoboam during his entire reign. His life and the kingdom he ruled were a dark shadow of his father’s and his death was not mourned by many. He was succeeded by his son Abijah.
Though the armies of his father had refrained from spilling the blood of their kinsmen on the battlefield, Jeroboam brought war to Abijah for his entire reign. While on a hill above the battlefield he called out, “Jeroboam and all of you Israelites, listen to me. Don’t you know that Yahweh has given the kingship of Israel to the line of David forever? But you rebelled against your rightful king and now you plan on fighting against God’s chosen. You have a mighty army and you brought your golden idols with you. You’ve driven off the Levite priests and replaced them with imposters. As for us, we serve Yahweh. Our priests are the descendants of Aaron. Every day they follow Yahweh’s law at the temple. They will sound their trumpets against you. Do not fight against Yahweh, for you will not succeed.”
As Abijah was speaking, Jeroboam saw an opportunity for a decisive victory. He divided his forces and took up positions around the Jewish army. But as the Levite priests blew their trumpets and Abjiah’s army yelled a battle cry, though they were surrounded, the Jews inflicted heavy losses on the rest of Israel and Jeroboam’s military might never recovered.
Abijah’s reign lasted only two years and upon his death he was succeeded by Asa his son. It was during the reign of Asa that Jeroboam died and was succeeded by his son Nadab. His rule lasted only two years when he and the entire family of Jeroboam were assassinated by a man named Baasaha, who then crowned himself king of Israel and moved the capital city to Tirzah, as the prophet Ahijah had foretold.
Baasha reigned for 24 years. He was as evil as the kings who had come before him. One day a prophet named Jehu came to him and said, “Yahweh lifted you up and made you king, but you have continued to lead the people away from the one true God. So I am going to bring destruction on you and everyone who allies with you.
In Judah Asa ruled for 41 years. He followed all of Yahweh’s laws and made the Jews turn away from their idols. During his reign, the Cushites from Ethiopia went to war with Judah. When Asa saw the army amassed against him he prayed to Yahweh, “God, there is no one like you to help the weak against the strong. Help us, Yahweh. We rely on you for our protection. You are our God, do not let mere mortals defeat you.” And God looked upon the faithfulness of Asa and remembered the promise made to David and caused the Cushites to be utterly defeated by the Jewish army.
One day after this, the prophet Azariah came to Asa and said, “Listen to me, Asa, and all the Jews as well. Yahweh is with you because you remain faithful. Seek Yahweh and you will find what you are looking for. But if you abandon Yahweh, you will be abandoned. Be strong, do not give up, and your work will be rewarded.”
Upon hearing this prophecy, Asa was encouraged. He continued to rid his kingdom of idol worship and had all the people recommit themselves to Yahweh. Anyone who refused to follow Yahweh had no place in Judah. During his reign the land had peace for many years.
But after 36 years, Baasha invaded Judah hoping to reunify the kingdom under his rule. Asa learned that the king of Aram, Ben Hadad, had made a treaty with Baasha. Having become arrogant in his leadership, Asa relied on the strength of his diplomacy to turn the tide against Baasha. He removed treasures dedicated to God from the temple as well as from his own stores and sent them to the Aramean capital of Damascus, hoping to buy Ben Hadad’s support. So it was that during the key moment in the battle, the Aramean army turned against Baasha’s army and they were forced to retreat.
But after the battle, the prophet Hanani, the father of Jehu, came to Asa and said, “Why did you look for help from Ben Hadad and not your God. Weren’t the Cushites an equally mighty army? Yahweh rescued you from them. But now that you have foolishly relied on your own statecraft, the rest of your reign will be tainted by war.” Three years later Asa died and was succeeded by his son Jehoshaphat.
When Baasha died his son Elah became king. But after only two years, one of his generals, Zimri, became fed up with his leadership and killed the king as well as all of Baasha’s family as Jehu had foretold. And though he crowned himself king, seven days later, Omri, another general, executed Zimri for the crime of regicide and was chosen to be the next king of Israel. He moved his capital city from Tirzah to Samaria and those who lived in that region became known as Samaritans. But the evil that had befallen Israel since the time of Jeroboam was but a glimpse of what was still to come.
When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam went to Shechem where people from all of Israel had gathered to crown him king. There Jeroboam called out to him, “Your father worked us very hard both in the building of the temple as well as in his army. If you are easier on us, we will gladly serve you.”
Rehoboam asked for advice from his father’s councilors and they said, “If today you give these people the answer they want they will always be your servants.”
But he rejected this advice and instead asked his friends for their advice and they said, “Tell them that you are even tougher than your father and that you will work them even harder. If he whipped them with straps you will whip them with scorpions.”
The prophecy of Samuel, which the people had seen in part during the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon, had never been more true: “A king will take your sons and require them to be in his army...or be his craftsmen...You will become like his slaves and you will cry out to God for relief.”
With Rehoboam’s harsh answer, the people said among themselves, “This man does not represent us, so let’s abandon him.” So all of Israel, save Judah alone, seceded from the rule of Rehoboam and made Jeroboam their king. On that day the crack in Israel which had formed long ago during the civil war had now split the country in two and the prophecy of Moses that the tribe of Ephraim would become a greater tribe than Manasseh was fulfilled.
Rehoboam quickly mustered an army to reclaim what he believed was his by right. but Yahweh sent a prophet to the frontlines who called out to the soldiers, “Do not fight against your own kin. Go home. This schism is Yahweh’s doing because king Solomon worshipped other gods.”
Jeroboam thought to himself, “If I am going to keep these ten tribes under my banner, I will need to do so from a place of strength.” So he went to Shechem and made it his capital city. And though the people reviled Rehoboam, Jeroboam knew that that the presence of the temple in Jerusalem still held great sway in the people’s hearts, which Rehoboam could use to regain their allegiance. Then Jeroboam did a great evil in the eyes of God, making two golden calves and saying to the ten tribes of Israel who had seceded, “It’s too much effort to go and worship in Jerusalem. Here are your gods who brought your ancestors out of Egypt. He put them in the cities of Bethel and Dan and the people came to worship them. He built shrines and appointed priests to oversee them even though they weren’t Levites.
Then Ahijah came once more to Jeroboam. When he saw the altar Jeroboam built he said, “Altar! This is what God says. A man named Josiah, from the line of David, will one day be born. On you these false priests will burn. And so you know this is God’s doing, right now you will split apart.”
When Jeroboam heard this he stretched out his hand and said, “Seize him!” But his hand immediately shriveled up and the altar split in two. Jeroboam said to Ahijah, “Pray to God that my hand be healed.” So the prophet did and Jeroboam’s hand was restored. Jeroboam continued, “Come eat with me and I will give you a gift.”
But Ahijah replied, “Even if you gave me half of everything you have, I would not go with you or eat with you. I was commanded by God not to.” Then he left Jeroboam.
Shortly after this, Jeroboam’s son got sick. Jeroboam sent his wife in disguise to Ahijah with a sacrifice to find out what would happen to his son. Even though she was disguised, Yahweh told Ahijah that she was coming and what to say.
When she entered his home he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why this disguise? I have somber news for you. Tell Jeroboam this is what Yahweh says, ‘I raised you up and made you king over ten tribes of Israel. I took the kingdom from David’s descendents and gave it to you. But you are not like David, who committed himself to me with all of his heart. You have done more evil than any who lived before you. You intentionally led the people to abandon me and worship false gods that you yourself made. Because of this, I am bringing utter destruction on you and anyone who associates with you.’ As for your son, he will die for your evildoing, but his death is an act of mercy from God, for he is the only one of you who has any good in him. Yahweh will raise up a new king to replace you. In fact, it has already begun. Yahweh is going to uproot these people from the promised land and scatter them to far off countries because they worship other gods.” Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and left and as soon as she returned to her home her son died.
Meanwhile, during Rehoboam’s 17 year reign in Jerusalem, the people of Judah, who are called, Jews, also turned from Yahweh to worship other gods. The way the people worshipped these other gods was disgusting, as bad as any of the people they had battled in the time of Joshua. In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, Egypt attacked Jerusalem and stole treasures from the temple. There was also continual warfare between Jeroboam and Rehoboam during his entire reign. His life and the kingdom he ruled were a dark shadow of his father’s and his death was not mourned by many. He was succeeded by his son Abijah.
Though the armies of his father had refrained from spilling the blood of their kinsmen on the battlefield, Jeroboam brought war to Abijah for his entire reign. While on a hill above the battlefield he called out, “Jeroboam and all of you Israelites, listen to me. Don’t you know that Yahweh has given the kingship of Israel to the line of David forever? But you rebelled against your rightful king and now you plan on fighting against God’s chosen. You have a mighty army and you brought your golden idols with you. You’ve driven off the Levite priests and replaced them with imposters. As for us, we serve Yahweh. Our priests are the descendants of Aaron. Every day they follow Yahweh’s law at the temple. They will sound their trumpets against you. Do not fight against Yahweh, for you will not succeed.”
As Abijah was speaking, Jeroboam saw an opportunity for a decisive victory. He divided his forces and took up positions around the Jewish army. But as the Levite priests blew their trumpets and Abjiah’s army yelled a battle cry, though they were surrounded, the Jews inflicted heavy losses on the rest of Israel and Jeroboam’s military might never recovered.
Abijah’s reign lasted only two years and upon his death he was succeeded by Asa his son. It was during the reign of Asa that Jeroboam died and was succeeded by his son Nadab. His rule lasted only two years when he and the entire family of Jeroboam were assassinated by a man named Baasaha, who then crowned himself king of Israel and moved the capital city to Tirzah, as the prophet Ahijah had foretold.
Baasha reigned for 24 years. He was as evil as the kings who had come before him. One day a prophet named Jehu came to him and said, “Yahweh lifted you up and made you king, but you have continued to lead the people away from the one true God. So I am going to bring destruction on you and everyone who allies with you.
In Judah Asa ruled for 41 years. He followed all of Yahweh’s laws and made the Jews turn away from their idols. During his reign, the Cushites from Ethiopia went to war with Judah. When Asa saw the army amassed against him he prayed to Yahweh, “God, there is no one like you to help the weak against the strong. Help us, Yahweh. We rely on you for our protection. You are our God, do not let mere mortals defeat you.” And God looked upon the faithfulness of Asa and remembered the promise made to David and caused the Cushites to be utterly defeated by the Jewish army.
One day after this, the prophet Azariah came to Asa and said, “Listen to me, Asa, and all the Jews as well. Yahweh is with you because you remain faithful. Seek Yahweh and you will find what you are looking for. But if you abandon Yahweh, you will be abandoned. Be strong, do not give up, and your work will be rewarded.”
Upon hearing this prophecy, Asa was encouraged. He continued to rid his kingdom of idol worship and had all the people recommit themselves to Yahweh. Anyone who refused to follow Yahweh had no place in Judah. During his reign the land had peace for many years.
But after 36 years, Baasha invaded Judah hoping to reunify the kingdom under his rule. Asa learned that the king of Aram, Ben Hadad, had made a treaty with Baasha. Having become arrogant in his leadership, Asa relied on the strength of his diplomacy to turn the tide against Baasha. He removed treasures dedicated to God from the temple as well as from his own stores and sent them to the Aramean capital of Damascus, hoping to buy Ben Hadad’s support. So it was that during the key moment in the battle, the Aramean army turned against Baasha’s army and they were forced to retreat.
But after the battle, the prophet Hanani, the father of Jehu, came to Asa and said, “Why did you look for help from Ben Hadad and not your God. Weren’t the Cushites an equally mighty army? Yahweh rescued you from them. But now that you have foolishly relied on your own statecraft, the rest of your reign will be tainted by war.” Three years later Asa died and was succeeded by his son Jehoshaphat.
When Baasha died his son Elah became king. But after only two years, one of his generals, Zimri, became fed up with his leadership and killed the king as well as all of Baasha’s family as Jehu had foretold. And though he crowned himself king, seven days later, Omri, another general, executed Zimri for the crime of regicide and was chosen to be the next king of Israel. He moved his capital city from Tirzah to Samaria and those who lived in that region became known as Samaritans. But the evil that had befallen Israel since the time of Jeroboam was but a glimpse of what was still to come.
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