Verse 31
31. House of high places That is, a house at the two high places just mentioned Beth-el and Dan. At each of these high places he built houses suitable to the worship that was to be established at them. So the houses of high places ( 1Ki 13:32 ; 2 Kings 17:29; 2 Kings 17:32; 2 Kings 23:19) are the temples for worship built at the high places.
Made priests of the lowest of the people Rather, from the whole of the people; that is, the entire mass of the population without reference to tribes. The priesthood had hitherto been hereditary, and confined to the tribe of Levi; but Jeroboam annulled this Divine arrangement, probably because the Levites refused to give their sanction to the new forms of worship, and thus obliged him to do this or have no priests at all. מקצות העם , literally, from the ends of the people, never has reference to the moral character or social position of the people, but to their numerical or territorial extent. The sin of Jeroboam in this was not that he selected for priests persons of low birth or infamous character, but persons taken indiscriminately from the entire population.
Not of the sons of Levi These probably opposed the king’s new devices and unauthorized innovations; and when he proceeded to make priests from the whole people, they “left their possessions,” and with “such as set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel, came to Jerusalem,” and by their piety and numbers they greatly “strengthened the kingdom of Judah.” See 2 Chronicles 11:13-17.
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