Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from 1 Kings chapters
12 through 14. Chapter 12 And Rehoboam went to
Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to
make him king. So it happened when Jeroboam the
son of Nebat heard it, he was still in Egypt,
for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon
and had been dwelling in Egypt. The day sent
and called him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly
of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore
lighten the burdensome service of your father
and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we
will serve you. So he said to them, Depart for
three days, then come back to me. And the people
departed. Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders
who stood before his father Solomon while he
still lived. And he said, How do you advise me
to answer these people? And they spoke to him,
saying, If you will be a servant to these people
today, and serve them and answer them, and speak
good words to them, then they will be your servants
forever. But he rejected the advice which the
elders had given him, and consulted the young
men who had grown up with him, who stood before
him. And he said to them, What advice do you
give? How should we answer these people who have
spoken to me, saying, Lighten the yoke which
your father put on us? Then the young men who
had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, Thus
you should speak to these people who have spoken
to you, saying, Your father made our yoke heavy,
but you make it lighter on us. Thus you shall
say to them, My little finger shall be thicker
than my father's waist. And now, whereas my father
put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke.
My father chastised you with whips, but I will
chastise you with scourges. So Jeroboam and all
the people came to Rehoboam the third day. as
the king had directed saying come back to me
the third day then the king answered the people
roughly and rejected the advice which the elders
had given him and he spoke to them according
to the advice of the young man saying my father
made your yoke heavy but i will add to your yoke
my father chastised you with whips But I will
chastise you with scourges. So the king did not
listen to the people, for the turn of events
was from the Lord, that he might fulfill his
word which the Lord had spoken by Ahijah the
Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Now when
all Israel saw that the king did not listen to
them, the people answered the king, saying, What
share have we in David? We have no inheritance
in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel.
Now see to your own house, O David. So Israel
departed to their tents, but Rehoboam reigned
over the children of Israel who dwelt in the
cities of Judah. Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram,
who was in charge of the revenue. But all Israel
stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore
King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to
flee to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion
against the house of David to this day. Now it
came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam
had come back, they sent for him and called him
to the congregation, and made him king over all
Israel. There was none who followed the house
of David, but the tribe of Judah only. And when
Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all
the house of Judah with the tribe of Benjamin,
180 ,000 chosen men who were warriors, to fight
against the house of Israel, that he might restore
the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. But
the word of God came to Shemaiah, the man of
God, saying, Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon,
king of Judah, to all the house of Judah and
Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying,
Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up nor fight
against your brethren, the children of Israel.
Let every man return to his house, for this thing
is from me. Therefore they obeyed the word of
the Lord and turned back according to the word
of the Lord. Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the
mountains of Ephraim and dwelt there. Also he
went out from there and built Penuel. And Jeroboam
said in his heart, Now the kingdom may return
to the house of David. If these people go up
to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord
at Jerusalem, then the heart of these people
will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of
Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam
king of Judah. Therefore the king asked advice,
made two calves of gold, and said to the people,
It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.
Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you
up from the land of Egypt. And he set up one
in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Now this
thing became a sin, for the people went to worship
before the one as far as Dan. He made shrines
on the high places and made priests from every
class of people who were not of the sons of Levi.
Jeroboam ordained the feast on the fifteenth
day of the eighth month, like the feast that
was in Judah. Chapter 13 And behold, a man of
God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of
the Lord, and Jeroboam stood by the altar to
burn incense. Then he cried out against the altar
by the word of the Lord and said, O altar, altar!
Thus says the Lord, Behold the child, Josiah
by name, shall be born to the house of David,
and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of
the high places who burn incense on you, and
men's bones shall be burned on you. And he gave
a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign
which the Lord has spoken. Surely the altar shall
split apart, and the ashes on it shall be poured
out. So it came to pass when King Jeroboam heard
the saying of the man of God, who cried out against
the altar in Bethel, that he stretched out his
hand from the altar, saying, Arrest him. Then
his hand, which he stretched out toward him,
withered, so that he could not pull it back to
himself. The altar also was split apart, and
the ashes poured out from the altar according
to the sign which the man of God had given by
the word of the Lord. Then the king answered
and said to the man of God, Please entreat the
favor of the Lord your God and pray for me, that
my hand may be restored to me. So the man of
God entreated the Lord, and the king's hand was
restored to him and became as before. Then the
king said to the man of God, Come home with me
and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.
But the man of God said to the king, If you were
to give me half your house, I would not go in
with you, nor would I eat bread nor drink water
in this place. For so it was commanded me by
the word of the Lord, saying, You shall not eat
bread nor drink water, nor return by the same
way you came. So he went another way and did
not return by the way he came to Bethel. Now
an old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his sons
came and told him all the works that the men
of God had done that day in Bethel. They also
told their father the words which he had spoken
to the king. And their father said to them, Which
way did he go? For his sons had seen which way
the man of God went who came from Judah. Then
he said to his sons, Saddle the donkey for me.
So they saddled the donkey for him, and he rode
on it, and went after the man of God and found
him sitting under an oak. Then he said to him,
Are you the man of God who came from Judah? And
he said, I am. Then he said to him, Come home
with me and eat bread. And he said, I cannot
return with you nor go in with you. neither can
i eat bread nor drink water with you in this
place for i have been told by the word of the
lord you shall not eat bread nor drink water
there nor return by going the way you came he
said to him i too am a prophet as you are and
an angel spoke to me by the word of the lord
saying bring him back with you to your house
that he may eat bread and drink water He was
lying to him. So he went back with him and ate
bread in his house and drank water. Now it happened
as they sat at the table that the word of the
Lord came to the prophet who had brought him
back. And he cried out to the man of God who
came from Judah, saying, Thus says the Lord,
Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord,
and have not kept the commandment which the Lord
your God commanded you, but you came back, ate
bread, and drank water in the place of which
the Lord said to you, Eat no bread, and drink
no water, your corpse shall not come to the tomb
of your fathers. So it was after he had eaten
bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled
the donkey for him, the prophet whom he had brought
back. When he was gone, a lion met him on the
road and killed him, and his corpse was thrown
on the road, and a donkey stood by it. The lion
also stood by the corpse. And there men passed
by and saw the corpse thrown on the road, and
the lion standing by the corpse. Then they went
and told it in the city where the old prophet
dwelt. Now when the prophet who had brought him
back from the way heard it, he said, It is the
man of God who is disobedient to the word of
the Lord. Therefore the Lord has delivered him
to the lion, which has torn him and killed him,
according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke
to him. And he spoke to his sons, saying, Saddle
the donkey for me. So they saddled it. Then he
went and found his corpse thrown on the road,
and the donkey and the lion standing by the corpse.
The lion had not eaten the corpse nor torn the
donkey. And the prophet took up the corpse of
the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought
it back. So the old prophet came to the city
to mourn and to bury him. Then he laid the corpse
in his own tomb. And they mourned over him, saying,
Alas, my brother! So it was, after he had buried
him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, When
I am dead, then bury me in the tomb where the
man of God is buried. Lay my bones besides his
bones. For the saying which he cried out by the
word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel
and against all the shrines on the high places
which are in the cities of Samaria will surely
come to pass. After this event, Jeroboam did
not turn from his evil way, but again he made
priests from every class of people for the high
places. Whoever wished, he consecrated him, and
he became one of the priests of the high places.
And this thing was the sin of the house of Jeroboam,
so as to exterminate and destroy it from the
face of the earth. Chapter 14 At that time Abijah
the son of Jeroboam became sick, and Jeroboam
said to his wife, Please arise and disguise yourself,
that they may not recognize you as the wife of
Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the
prophet is there, who told me that I would be
king over this people. Also take with you ten
loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go
to him. He will tell you what will become of
the child. And Jeroboam's wife did so. She arose
and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of
Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see, for his eyes
were glazed by reason of his age. Now the Lord
had said to Ahijah, Here is the wife of Jeroboam,
coming to ask you something about her son, for
he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her,
for it will be when she comes in that she will
pretend to be another woman. And so it was when
Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she
came through the door, he said, Come in, wife
of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another
person? For I have been sent to you with bad
news. Go tell Jeroboam, thus says the Lord God
of Israel. Because I exalted you from among the
people and made you ruler over my people Israel
and tore the kingdom away from the house of David
and gave it to you, and yet you have not been
as my servant David, who kept my commandments
and who followed me with all his heart, to do
only what is right in my eyes. But you have done
more evil than all who were before you, for you
have gone and made for yourself other gods and
molded images to provoke me to anger and have
cast me behind your back. Therefore behold, I
will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam,
and will cut off from Jeroboam every male in
Israel, bond and free. I will take away the remnant
of the house of Jeroboam, as one takes away refuse
until it is all gone. The dogs shall eat whoever
belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, and
the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in
the field, for the Lord has spoken. Arise therefore,
go to your own house. When your feet enter the
city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall
mourn for him and bury him, for he is the only
one of Jeroboam who shall come to the grave.
Because in him there is found something good
toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of
Jeroboam. Moreover, the Lord will raise up for
himself a king over Israel who shall cut off
the house of Jeroboam. This is the day. What?
Even now? For the Lord will strike Israel as
a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot
Israel from this good land which he gave to their
fathers, and will scatter them beyond the river,
because they have made their wooden images, provoking
the Lord to anger. And he will give Israel up
because of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned and
who made Israel sin. Then Jeroboam's wife arose
and departed and came to Tirzah. When she came
to the threshold of the house, the child died.
And they buried him, and all Israel mourned for
him, according to the word of the Lord, which
he spoke through his servant Ahijah the prophet.
Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he
made war, and how he reigned, indeed they are
written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Israel. The period that Jeroboam reigned
was twenty -two years, so he rested with his
fathers. Then Nadab his son reigned in his place.
And Raboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah.
Rehoboam was 41 years old when he became king.
He reigned 17 years in Jerusalem, the city which
the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of
Israel to put his name there. His mother's name
was Nama and Ammonitus. Now Judah did evil in
the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him
to jealousy with their sins which they committed,
more than all that their fathers had done. For
they also built for themselves high places, sacred
pillars and wooden images on every high hill
and under every green tree. And there were also
perverted persons in the land. They did according
to all the abominations of the nations which
the Lord had cast out before the children of
Israel. It happened in the fifth year of King
Raboam that Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against
Jerusalem. And he took away the treasures of
the house of the Lord and the treasures of the
king's house. He took away everything. He also
took away all the gold shields which Solomon
had made. Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields
in their place and committed them to the hands
of the captains of the guard, who guarded the
doorway of the king's house. And whenever the
king entered the house of the Lord, the guards
carried them, then brought them back into the
guard room. Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam
and all that he did Are they not written in the
book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam
all their days. So Rehoboam rested with his fathers
and was buried with his fathers in the city of
David. His mother's name was Nama and Ammonitus.
Then Abijam his son reigned in his place. I hope
you enjoyed today's reading as much as I did
and I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow
to continue on our journey. God bless you and
have a great day.