1 Kings 12:26-32; 13:33-34
Chapter 12
Should this person go up to offer sacrifices in the Lord’s house in Jerusalem, their hearts would turn again to their master, Rehoboam, king of Judah. They would kill me and go back to him.”
And so the king sought advice and made two golden calves. Then he told the people: “You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
He put one of these in Bethel, the other in Dan.
This caused Israel to sin; the people went to Bethel and Dan to worship the calves.
Jeroboam also built temples in high places, appointing priests who were not from the Levites.
Jeroboam also appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month in imitation of the feast in Judah and offered sacrifices on the altar. He did this in Bethel and sacrificed to the calves he had made. There, he placed priests for the high places he had made.
On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the month he had arbitrarily chosen, he ordered a feast for the Israelites and went up to the altar to burn incense.
Commentaries
The Schismatic Cult.
Following the political split, a religious division begins. Jeroboam attempts to diminish the significance of the Jerusalem cult and instead promotes alternative forms of religious expression within the people’s faith. He chooses the shrines at Bethel and Dan, which have a long-standing history and tradition. He represents the divine with the image of a bull, as the Canaanites did, and using images in worship proves more impactful than the image-free practices in Jerusalem. He appointed priests without court privileges and started a major pilgrimage festival in the fall. For the author writing during Josiah’s reform, this marks the original sin of the Northern Kingdom: Jeroboam began it, other kings repeated it, and it continued.
The Prophet of Judah.
The Word of God dominates this chapter: sent by the Lord from Judah through an anonymous prophet, it is stronger than the stone altar and the king’s arm; it serves as both proclamation and command. The prophecy spans from here to its fulfillment in 2 Kings 23:15-19. The narrator continues with another episode that is closely linked to the previous one, yet it remains enigmatic (10). Why is there so much interest in misleading the Prophet, who came from the south? Did the prophet of the North want to test the fidelity of the prophet of the South? Did he seek to verify the validity of his oracle? The latter seems most likely, given the story’s outcome. If the prophet continued on his way, his obedience to God authenticated his mission; if he disobeyed and went unpunished, his mission was doubtful; if he disobeyed and was punished, his mission was authentic. This account also explains the origin of the tomb with two anonymous prophets in Bethel (cf. 2 Kgs 23).
Sentence Against Jeroboam.
Ahijah ends his life in the city of the old sanctuary where Samuel carried out his ministry. Like Samuel, he condemns the king of Israel. Although Ahijah is nearly blind, he hears clearly, distinguishes sounds, listens to the inner voice of the oracle, and perceives the tragic and impending end of the dynasty he helped establish. The king’s consultation feels both familiar and royal. The death of the child (12) serves as punishment for the father (remember the first son of David and Bathsheba), not the son. The author is not surprised that an innocent person dies. Instead, he sees it as a mercy: God spares him from widespread disaster and grants him the rare honor of private burial.
Rehoboam King of Judah.
The author discusses Rehoboam, focusing solely on Pharaoh Shishak’s campaign and highlighting the contrasts: Solomon marries a daughter of the pharaoh, while Rehoboam must submit. The golden shields symbolize decline: if gold was once so plentiful that it made silver worthless, now bronze is the most valuable item Rehoboam owns, and even that must be carefully protected. The list of sins (22-24) is fairly typical, except for the mention of sacred prostitution. Political decline stems from religious decline. Still, something remains: Jerusalem stays the chosen city, the king is laid to rest with his ancestors, and his son inherits the throne. Though humiliated, the dynasty of David continues on the promise of the Lord (31).
Kings of Judah and Israel.
From this point onward, and in 1Kings 22:41-54 the author must alternately focus on the northern and southern kingdoms; for him, both are part of God’s people. Over the next forty years, two kings ascended the throne of Judah and five ruled in Israel through two dynastic changes. This turbulent period is summarized in the book with a few religious assessments. Sometimes, only the outline remains without the details; generally, the author’s explanation is simple.