The Sin of Yarob‘am
Part 2: Jeroboam Makes Things Worse
Turning away from YHVH
Part Two:
A quick recap: The Northern Tribes have called home from Egypt the king they want, Yarob’am, and appointed him over them. He has rebelled against Rehoboam, the rightful king in the kingly line of Yehudah in Jerusalem. This is ALL in accordance to prophecy and the plan of the Father. YHVH even stops Rehoboam from going to war with the Northern Tribes.
Yarob’am could have simply taken over and reigned with integrity and obedience to the Father and led the people rightly in worship and service.
But he didn’t.
Yarob’am made everything worse. He had two gold calfs created and placed them AS the god of the Northern Kingdom, even giving them credit for the things that the Father had done. Then he appointed his own priests, not in accordance with Torah and the ordinances of the priesthood. Then he changed the times of the Father to match what was right in his own eyes. He created his own feasts and ordered the people to keep them INSTEAD of keeping the Feasts of the Father YHVH.
Then Israel went into utter depravity. This idolatry led to the early demise of Yarob’am.
A Prophet of YHVH Arrives
1 Kings 13:1–10, 33–34 * (in segments) — 1) And see, a man of Elohim went from Yehuḏah to Bĕyth Ěl by the word of יהוה, while Yaroḇ‛am was standing by the slaughter-place {altar he had built} to burn incense…
This man of Elohim came to Yarob’am WHILE THE kING WAS ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN idolatrous worship of the golden calf idol in Beth’el. He offers a warning that is a sign of the depravity to come:
… 2) And he cried out against the slaughter-place by the word of יהוה, and said, “O slaughter-place, slaughter-place! Thus said יהוה, ‘See, a son is to be born to the house of Dawiḏ, Yoshiyahu is his name. And on you he shall slaughter the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones be burned on you.’ “
This is a little difficult because the prophet is not speaking to Yarob’am directly, but to the altar of the fake idol. He is proclaiming that to the true kingly line in Yehudah will be born a prince, Yoshiyahu. Then he tells the altar that this prince of Yehudah will come and destroy the fake priests on it and they will be burned to ash there. That’s quite a threat.
The Father backs it up. This is scary. Those of you with weak constitutions… Oh, just read it!
… 3) And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which יהוה has spoken: See, the slaughter-place is split apart, and the ashes on it is poured out.”
The Father will prove this to you right here today by splitting this fake altar apart and ash will pour from it. (In case you are wondering or of a confrontational nature, no part of Israel sits anywhere on any volcano where from ash could pour. This was not a convenient threat of, there’s a volcano here and it is about to erupt.)
… 4) And it came to be when Sovereign Yaroḇ‛am heard the saying of the man of Elohim, who cried out against the slaughter-place in Bĕyth Ěl, that he stretched out his hand from the slaughter-place {altar}, saying, “Seize him!”
Then his hand, which he stretched out toward him, dried up, so that he was unable to bring it back to him.
… 5) And the slaughter-place {altar} was split apart, and the ashes poured out from the slaughter-place {altar} according to the sign which the man of Elohim had given by the word of יהוה.
Whoops! He threatened the man of Elohim. The prophet didn’t need to do anything, Elohim took care of it right then. Yarob’am’s hand dried up and was stuck pointed outward. Think of a mummified hand attached to a living person. Ew…
→ “Okay, time to rethink what I’m doing now,” Yarob’am was thinking.
… 6) And the sovereign answered and said to the man of Elohim, “Please appease the face of יהוה your Elohim, and pray for me, that my hand might be restored to me.”
→ “Hey, whoa… I didn’t mean any of it. P-p-please fix me.”
Hey, I know I didn’t do any of the homework and haven’t studied five whole minutes for this test, but LORD I really need to pass in order to graduate. Please help me pass this test.
{Shrug…} Whatever.
… And the man of Elohim appeased the face of יהוה, and the sovereign’s hand was restored to him, and became as it was before.
Then Yarob’am is slighted. The prophet was warned by the Father not to accept any kindness from the false king:
… 7) The sovereign then said to the man of Elohim, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I give you a gift.” 8) But the man of Elohim said to the sovereign, “If you were to give me half your house, I do not go in with you, nor do I eat bread nor drink water in this place. 9) “For so He commanded me by the word of יהוה, saying, ‘Do not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.’” 10) So he went another way and did not return by the way he came to Bĕyth Ěl.
This leaves Yarob’am incensed. He has had his altar to his golden calf destroyed and desecrated, he almost lost his hand but for the mercy of the Father, AND that impudent prophet wouldn’t even join him for dinner. (Who knows what evil he actually had planned for the man of Elohim, for the Father knows the heart of a man.)
In my preparation of this lesson, I read a passage that, somehow, I have missed in the past (or plain forgotten, the more likely scenario). And what a fascinating read it was. But not for this lesson, but DO go and read 1 Kings 13:11–32. It is fascinating that the Father used both of these men to make His point vividly clear, in a kind of unfair way — at least by our perception. Remember, the first man of Elohim had to make a choice. He chose disobedience even if he were deceived. Adam and Hav’vah were deceived, but into disobedience they ran because they chose to believe the lie that contradicted the Word of Elohim.
But these lessons are about the Sin of Yarob’am. The “king” makes it all the worse. Since some of his priests were killed in the incident at Beyth’el:
… 33) After this event Yaroḇ‛am did not turn from his evil way, but again he made priests from all sorts of people for the high places. Whoever wished, he ordained, to become one of the priests of the high places. 34) And this matter was the sin of the house of Yaroḇ‛am, even to cut it off and destroy it from the face of the earth.
Are you aware of what is required to open a church in the USA? A form filed with the Internal Revenue Service to receive a religious tax exempt status.
Yep.
And if you aren’t concerned about tax exempt status, nothing. You want to be a preacher and open a church, you do not need a degree, not any education for that matter. You do not need authority from Elohim. You don’t need to have a clearly defined message or set of doctrines or any understanding of His Word. Just speak sweet words that tickle the ears of those foolish enough to follow you and that’s all you need. A wolf shepherding some sheeple.
If you start your own church in this manner and you love the coin pouring into your pocket, you are likely to make a few disciples who want to preach the same ridiculous drivel you preach. So, you write a book. Then make some doctrines that you can print and give out to those who want to teach your word. Then you seed them to go do the same. You ordain them. No requirements, no education, no authority from Elohim. Just pack them up and ship them out. Keep the money rolling in.
Doesn’t this have a familiar ring to it?
How many of you are familiar with the Word of Faith and Charismatic movements? Ever watch CBN? Ever hear of Kenneth Copeland? Creflo Dollar? Kip McKean? And countless other charlatans fleecing those unable to discern the flagrant nonsense these men spew from their mouths?
The real problem is that these men are making hundreds of millions of dollars teaching this dreck. With their incredible wealth they ordain disciples to go out and preach this same garbage to unsuspecting, undiscerning believers who fall for their lies and kowtow lock-stock-and-barrel to put their money into the hands of these evil men in hopes of receiving a blessing back from… them? Surely Elohim cannot be bribed with a gift in the offering plate.
NO! He cannot!
THEN it gets even WORSE!
2 Chronicles 11:13–16 — 13) And from all their borders the priests and the Lĕwites who were in all Yisra’ĕl took their stand with him. 14) For the Lĕwites left their open lands and their possessions and came to Yehuḏah and Yerushalayim, for Yaroḇ‛am and his sons had rejected them from serving as priests unto Yeho’Vah 15) as he appointed for himself priests for the high places, and for goats, and the calf idols which he had made. 16) And after the Lĕwites left, those from all the tribes of Yisra’ĕl, such as set their heart to seek יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, came to Yerushalayim to slaughter to יהוה Elohim of their fathers.
He forced out the legitimate priests of Elohim and they ran for the safety of Yehudah. I wonder if this had a “Soviet Union” purge-like feel to it where they were literally running for their lives. It is implied in that they took their stand against the false king and that could have led to some fairly severe repercussions, but the story is abbreviated. We have to read it as is. They departed. They left their lands open, their houses, and their possessions in order to go to Yehudah. You don’t leave everything behind if it is simply a case of, “I don’t like the governor. I’m going to live someplace else.” You don’t leave everything behind unless you are running!
The sin of Yarob’am isn’t one sin. In this mini-series, the “sin of Yarob’am” is the lifestyle of sin (disobedience), not only any one specific sin. He ordained men to continue to preach lies and mislead the people and forcibly removed those who had been chosen by the Father to be His priests. The people bit. They swallowed the hook. They died. Then things still get worse… Wait, that’s the next lesson.
Next: The Fall of the House of Jeroboam
Originally published at https://aminoapps.com.
