2 Kings 14:28

A SUMMARY OF THE EVIL REIGN OF JEROBOAM

"Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and Zechariah his son reigned in his stead."

This formula, repeated over and over in the records of the kings of God's people, is an effective comment upon the worthlessness of human achievements unless they are accompanied by a moral and worshipful heart. In the last analysis, what difference does it make if a man succeeds greatly in the eyes of his contemporaries but utterly fails in the sight of God?

In a sense, Jeroboam was the last chance that Israel had to straighten up their lives, reject their sinful worship of the Canaanite idols, and to get right with God. Zechariah who succeeded Jeroboam was a weak ruler, and with him the phantom reigns of the kings of Israel began. God had promised that the dynasty of Jeroboam I would last four generations. It terminated in Zechariah the fourth generation whose reign lasted six months!