(REFLECTIONS ON 1 Kings 12:25-33)

27 “If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

What led to the downfall of Jeroboam? It was his insecurity, fear, and lack of trust in the Lord. Instead of trusting that God had placed him as king over the northern kingdom of Israel, Jeroboam relied on his own wisdom and strength to control a situation that he had not created in the first place.

How did Jeroboam respond to his insecurity, fear, and lack of trust? He made two golden calves, reminding us of the golden calf Aaron made in the wilderness. Rather than directing Israel to worship the Lord whose Name dwelt in Jerusalem, Jeroboam led the people to worship gods of his own making.

Jeroboam also built shrines on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, even though they were not from the tribe of Levi. In doing so, he established his own system of worship and disregarded the priesthood that God had ordained.

He further instituted his own feast in a month of his own choosing and offered sacrifices on an altar he had made. Again and again, we see the same pattern. Jeroboam replaced God’s commands with what seemed right in his own eyes and what he devised in his own heart.

Placed in his position by God, Jeroboam nevertheless led God’s people astray because he trusted his own heart more than the word of the Lord.

Brothers and sisters, we may have good intentions and a sincere desire to serve God, but if insecurity, fear, and lack of trust take hold of our hearts, we too can begin to substitute God’s will with our own. What begins as an attempt to protect God’s work can quickly become an attempt to control it.

Let us therefore build God’s church and His kingdom not according to our own wisdom, preferences, or fears, but according to His heart. Let us build our faith, our families, and our faith communities not with what we devise in our own hearts, but according to the will, good pleasure, and grace of God.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: 1 Kings 12