And Jeroboam said in his heart , As he was musing about the state of his kingdom and the affairs of it: now shall the kingdom return to the house of David ; such were his fears, unless some method could be taken to prevent it, particularly with respect to religion, which was what his thoughts were employed about. read more
If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem ,.... In the temple there, three times in the year, which all the males were obliged to, besides other times, when they had occasion to offer sacrifice, which they might do nowhere else: then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their Lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah ; being drawn by the magnificence of the temple, the beauty and order of worship in it, the holiness of the place, and the grandeur... read more
Whereupon the king took counsel ,.... Of some of his principal men, that had as little religion as himself, and were only concerned for the civil state; and the result of their consultation was as follows: and made two calves of gold ; in imitation of that which was made by Aaron, and encouraged by his example and success; and having been in Egypt some time, he might have learned the calf or ox worship there, and might take his pattern from thence, and have two as they had; the one they... read more
And he set the one in Bethel ,.... In the southern part of the land, on the border of Ephraim and Benjamin; and the rather he chose this place, because its name signifies the house of God, and had been a sacred place, where Jacob more than once enjoyed the divine Presence: and the other put he in Dan : in the northern part of the land, for the convenience of the inhabitants of those parts; and the rather, since it had been a place resorted to in former times, because of the teraphim of... read more
And this thing became a sin ,.... The cause and occasion of the sin of idolatry; it led them by degrees to leave off the worship of God, and to worship these calves as gods: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan ; which was the furthest off, such was their great zeal for idolatrous worship; or they went thither before that at Bethel was set up; and even they at Bethel would go as far as Dan to worship, such was their veneration for both the calves. Abarbinel is of... read more
And they shall kill me - He found he had little cause to trust this fickle people; though they had declared for him it was more from caprice, desire of change, and novelty, than from any regular and praiseworthy principle. read more
Made two calves of gold - He invented a political religion, instituted feasts in his own times different from those appointed by the Lord, gave the people certain objects of devotion, and pretended to think it would be both inconvenient and oppressive to them to have to go up to Jerusalem to worship. This was not the last time that religion was made a state engine to serve political purposes. It is strange that in pointing out his calves to the people, he should use the same words... read more
One in Beth-el , and the other - in Dan - One at the southern and the other at the northern extremity of the land. Solomon's idolatry had prepared the people for Jeroboam's abominations! read more
I. AN ERROR THAT COULD NOT BE REPAIRED ( 1 Kings 12:21-24 ). Rehoboam had zeal and strength behind him in his attempt to bring back the tribes by force. One hundred and eighty thousand men responded to his call; but all were dispersed at the lifting up of God's hand. The attempt was forbidden, 1 . Because of the ties of kindred . These were forgotten by Rehoboam when he threatened the people with a heavier yoke. Tyranny is possible only in the denial of the brotherhood... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 12:25-33
We have here the beginning of the reign of Jeroboam. He built Shechem first and then Penuel?beautified and fortified them, and probably had a palace in each of them for himself (1 Kgs. 12:25), the former in Ephraim, the latter in Gad, on the other side Jordan. This might be proper; but he formed another project for the establishing of his kingdom which was fatal to the interests of religion in it. I. That which he designed was by some effectual means to secure those to himself who had now... read more