After Solomon died, his kingdom was split in two as a consequence that God allowed because of his sin. In the south, Solomon’s son Rehoboam ruled over two of the twelve tribes of Israel. In the north, Jeroboam ruled over the remaining ten tribes. God had promised Jeroboam that if he obeyed Him, he would have his own kingdom and that He would bless him (11:31-38).
Jeroboam did not believe God’s promises. As a result, he did not obey the Lord. God had said that the Jews could worship Him only at the temple in Jerusalem. But Jeroboam did not want his people to travel to the south in order to worship because this might make them dependent upon Rehoboam for an important part of their lives and culture. So Jeroboam built two temples in the north to replace the temple in Jerusalem. He placed an idol in each of these unauthorized temples.
To make it even more convenient for the people in his kingdom, Jeroboam built numerous shrines at which they could “worship” the Lord. This was a further act of disobedience.
The Lord had also said that only men from the tribe of Levi could serve as priests. But most of these priests were located in the southern kingdom. It would be much more convenient if Jeroboam could pick men from the other tribes to serve in those capacities. After all, ten tribes were under his authority.
To make things even easier and to lead the people to give him their allegiance, Jeroboam made himself a priest. Even though the Law of Moses forbade it, he then offered sacrifices to God.
It sure would have been difficult for the people under Jeroboam’s rule to travel to Jerusalem. Jeroboam made it a lot more convenient to “worship” the Lord close to home. He worried that if the priests in Jerusalem led the people in worship and offered the sacrifices they needed for the forgiveness of sins, the people would feel a connection with the south. They might long for the days when the nation was united under Solomon. Religious Jews from the north might decide to move to the south to be nearer the temple and the real priests.
Jeroboam did what he did because he feared losing control of his nation. It is easy to see how he justified his actions. God had given him the nation over which he ruled. He was caring for his people by making it convenient for them to worship the Lord. Maybe he even told his people that God had told him to do what he did. I feel confident that a false prophet or two would have been glad to support his decisions, and probably did.
Jeroboam surely made things convenient. Life was easier for all involved. I’m sure the people appreciated the new measures that certainly seemed to make life more enjoyable.
Can we be like Jeroboam? Can we choose to worship at the most convenient place? What if there is a church that is doctrinally sound, but much farther away than a less doctrinally sound church close by? What if the closer church has more activities for my family and me? What if it is more fun?
Sometimes, obeying the Lord is not as fun as the alternatives. It takes more work. It is not as convenient. Jeroboam did not believe obedience was worth the hassle or the risk. The rest of 1 and 2 Kings shows what happened. Jeroboam did not receive the blessings that would have been his if he had obeyed. He should have believed what the Lord said. So should we when we are faced with similar decisions.
