1 Kings 12 Golden Calves

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
1 Kings 12:25 Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel.[c]

26 Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. 27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”

28 After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” 29 One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. 30 And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other.[d]

31 Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. 32 He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. 33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.​

c. 1 Kings 12:25 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel
d. 1 Kings 12:30 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text people went to the one as far as Dan

So... did I get this right? Jeroboam, who is now king of the northern section known as Israel, was afraid that worshiping God would lead people back to David's family? So to keep things under control, this idiot crafted gold calves and put them in two of God's cities. This is as bad as Aaron's calf. God had to know this idiot would do this. God controls time, you see, and He knows how the story ends.

Well this is from the easy English site.

Jeroboam made Shechem his first capital city. Abraham had camped there. He had also built an altar there. Later the Canaanites had a place of worship there. There the people had rejected Rehoboam as king. Peniel was an important city for defence against Israel’s enemies.

It was God who appointed Jeroboam to be king. But Jeroboam was not loyal to God. Instead, he set up his own religion.

This was a clever political decision. People would not still go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices. So the relationship between Israel and Judah would become even weaker. And Jeroboam would become a more powerful king. Jeroboam’s religion was like the religion that Aaron set up in Exodus chapter 32. Jeroboam tried to combine the worship of the bull with the worship of the Lord. Of course, this was against God’s law. Jeroboam did not obey the second commandment when he did this. Dan was in the far north of northern Israel. Bethel was near the border with Benjamin and Judah. The idea was that people would have a place of worship near them. Then they would not want to go all the way to Jerusalem.

Also, Jeroboam set up other places of worship on the hills. This is where the Canaanites had given honour to their gods. He made his own festival on the 15th day of the 8th month. This would be like the Festival of Shelters which the people in Judah celebrated. They did this on the 15th day of the 7th month. Jeroboam also made priests from families who did not belong to the tribe of Levi. He also acted as a priest himself. When Jeroboam did these things, he was rebelling against God. We must give honour to God in the way that he has told us. If we do not, he will not accept our worship.

In 1 Kings 11:28, God made a wonderful promise to Jeroboam. Jeroboam’s family would always rule Israel, if only they obeyed God. But Jeroboam did not obey God. Instead, Jeroboam chose his own false gods, and he taught the people in Israel to serve them.

When I was a kid, it was customary for good behavior was sometimes rewarded with ice cream or candy. We all remember earning that ice cream or candy. Jeroboam could have had his ice cream or candy.... but bringing in fake gods... or making fake gods is bad enough to take away his ice cream right? On top of that... he taught God's people to take the convenient route. Why go all the way to Jerusalem... down there in Judah.... when there's a perfectly beautiful way to worship right here, close to home. It may be fake.... but it'll save a lot of sandal wear and tear.

:coffee:
 
Top