Introduction
Because of Solomon’s sin and the sin of the people, God divided the kingdom into two with Israel in the north and Judah in the south. And God gave the northern kingdom to Jeroboam; and he promised to bless Jeroboam’s kingdom, so long as Jeroboam did what God commanded and walked in his ways and did what is right in God’s eyes and kept God’s statutes and commands. If you do that, I will be with you, said the Lord.
But as we saw last week, Jeroboam did not do what God commanded or walk in his ways and he did not do what is right in God’s eyes or keep God’s statutes and commands. Instead, he created a man-made religion for the people of his kingdom, which was a kind of evil imitation of the true religion. So, instead of worshipping the Lord, he taught the people to worship two golden calves. Instead of worshipping at the temple in Jerusalem, he created his own shrines at Bethel and Dan. Instead of appointing Levitical priests to offer sacrifices, he appointed all sorts of people to be priests. Instead of observing the feasts God appointed for his people, he created his own feast. Instead of worshipping the Lord only, Jeroboam created his own man-made religion.
And chapter 12, which we finished last week, flows into chapter 13 almost without a break, because chapter 12 ends by telling us that Jeroboam went up to the altar in Bethel to make offerings; and at the beginning of chapter 13 we have Jeroboam standing at that altar. And when he was standing there, making an offering to one of these golden calves, this man of God from Judah appeared. The phrase ‘man of God’ means that this man was a prophet. And in a moment we’ll think about what this man said to Jeroboam and what happened afterwards.
But as a kind of preview, let me point out to you that there are two things which are repeated throughout chapter 13. The phrase ‘the word of the Lord’ is repeated nine times in chapter 13. It’s there in verse 1 and in verse 2 and in verse 5 and in verse 9 and in verse 17 and in verse 18 and in verse 20 and in verse 26 and in verse 32. God sent his prophet to proclaim the word of the Lord to Jeroboam.
And the other thing which is repeated throughout chapter 13 is a word which means ‘return’, although it’s translated in different ways throughout the chapter. This word appears 16 times. I won’t give you all the references, but it’s used in verse 4 to describe how Jeroboam could not pull back or return his shrivelled hand. And it’s used in verse 9, where it says the man of God was instructed not to return by the way he had come. And it’s used in verse 16 where the man of God told the old prophet in Bethel that he couldn’t turn back or return with him. And it’s used in verse 29 where it says the old prophet in Bethel picked up the dead body of the man of God and brought it back or he returned with it to Bethel. The same word is used 16 times. It means ‘return’. It also means ‘repent’.
So, if you were one of the first people to hear chapter 13 being read in the Hebrew language, what you would hear being repeated over and over and over again is the phrase ‘the word of the Lord’ and the word ‘repent’. The word of the Lord. The word of the Lord. The word of the Lord. Repent. Repent. Repent.
And what we’ll learn from these two chapters is that the word of the Lord is true. And what has God said? That he will bring trouble on those who disobey him. And so, he brought trouble on the man of God for not obeying him. And he will bring trouble on Jeroboam for not obeying him. And he will bring trouble on Israel for not obeying him.
The word of the Lord is true. He will bring trouble on those who disobey him. This is sure to happen, unless, that is, they repent.
Chapter 13
Turn with me please to chapter 13 where we read in verse 1 how this man of God, this prophet of the Lord, came from Judah in the southern kingdom to Bethel in the northern kingdom, just as Jeroboam was making an offering on the altar he had made for his man-made religion. And the man of God cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord. And though he was crying out against the altar, this was really a message for Jeroboam.
And it was a message about how the Lord would raise up a son named Josiah in the house of David. He’s referring to a future king who will come from David’s line to rule over the southern kingdom of Judah. And if you know your Old Testament history, then you’ll know that there was such a king. You can read about him in 2 Kings 22 and 23. He was only eight years old when he became king. And we’re told that he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. And the man of God foretold how Josiah will sacrifice the priests of the high places on the altar in Bethel; and human bones will be burned on the altar. In other words, he will rid the land of these false priests. And we’re told in verse 3 that the man of God gave a sign so that all who see it will know that the Lord has done it. And the sign was that the altar will be split apart and the ashes on the altar will be poured out.
That was the man of God’s message about the altar, which was really for Jeroboam to hear. And when Jeroboam heard the word of the Lord, he should have repented. He should have given up his sinful ways and returned to the Lord, who is gracious and merciful and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and who is always willing to forgive all those who confess their sin and turn from it. But instead of repenting, Jeroboam stretched out his hand to point at the man of God. And he cried out, ‘Seize him!’ Presumably he was calling his guards.
But the hand he stretched out shrivelled up, so that he could not pull it back. Years later, the Son of God healed a man with a shrivelled hand. But on this occasion, the Lord did the opposite and he made Jeroboam’s hand wither and become useless, because instead of repenting, his heart was hard and his only thought was to seize the man of God and presumably silence him.
We’re told in verse 5 that the altar split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the Lord. It’s possible this happened that very day. However, it’s more likely that verse 5 should be in brackets and our narrator is inserting here a little note to tell us that what the man of God said would happen did happen, but years later. If you have your Bible, turn with me to 2 Kings 23 which tells us about some of the reforms Josiah introduced when he was king. And verse 15 says:
Even the altar at Bethel, the high place made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin — even that altar and high place he demolished. He burned the high place and ground it to powder…. The altar was split apart whenever Josiah demolished it.
And in verse 20 of 2 Kings 23, it says that Josiah slaughtered the priests of the high places and burned human bones on them. It’s as if the narrator is saying to his first readers that they can go to Bethel and see for themselves that what the Lord foretold through the man of God happened just as he said it would happen. The word of the Lord is true.
Back in verse 6 Jeroboam asked the man of God to pray for him, so that his withered hand will be restored. And the man of God prayed and the Lord heard and healed him. And you’d think that Jeroboam would now have a change of heart, because by healing his hand, the Lord showed him kindness and goodness. But as we will see, Jeroboam did not have a change of heart and he continued to do evil.
For now, he invites the man of God to come home with him. But the man of God refused, because he has been commanded by the word of the Lord not to eat or drink or return by the way he came. He mustn’t stay in Bethel and he mustn’t go home by the same route he arrived. He must take a different route. And so, in obedience to the Lord, he set off for home.
But then we’re introduced to this old prophet who was living in Bethel. And when he heard from his sons about the man of God from Judah, he wanted to go after him and meet him for himself. Fortunately his sons knew which way he had gone. And so, the old prophet told his sons to saddle his donkey and he went after the man of God.
The man of God had stopped under an oak tree. And so, the old prophet was able to catch up with him. He invited the man of God to come home with him and eat. The man of God refused, because he has been told by the word of the Lord not to eat or drink or return by the way he came. And this is where we discover that the old prophet is not only old, but he’s also wily. He’s as wily as the Devil who comes at us with his wicked schemes to deceive us. The old prophet told the man of God that he was a prophet and an angel spoke to him by the word of the Lord and told him to bring the man of God to his home so that he could eat and drink. And our narrator makes clear for us in verse 18 that the old prophet was lying. But the man of God was deceived and he went back to the old prophet’s house and ate and drank.
And that’s when the old prophet really did receive a word from the Lord. The Lord spoke through the old prophet to accuse the man of God of defying the word of the Lord. He did not keep the command which the Lord gave him. Therefore, God said, your body will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers. In other words, he will die far from home.
The narrator doesn’t tell us how the man of God or the old prophet responded. All he does is tell us that the man of God finished his meal and left. And on the way home, a lion met him and killed him. And we know that this was not just bad luck, because the narrator makes clear that the lion did not eat the man’s body; and the lion did not attack the man’s donkey; nor did the donkey run away. This was not bad luck, because the Lord had sent the lion to kill the man and to leave his body alone, so that all could see what had happened.
And when the old prophet heard what had happened, he went to recover the man’s body. We’re told in verse 29 that the old prophet mourned for the man of God and buried his body in his own tomb. And he gave instructions to his sons for them to bury him in the same grave. Lay my bones beside his bones. And from what it says in verse 32 we discover that this wily, old prophet had come to realise that the word of the Lord is true and everything the man of God had declared will certainly come true.
I should add that in 2 Kings 23 we’re told that after Josiah destroyed Jeroboam’s altar in Bethel, he removed bones from nearby tombs and burned them on the altar to defile it. We’re also told that he saw one particular tomb and asked about it. The men of the city explained that it was the tomb of the man of God who had come from Judah and who had pronounced against the altar the things that Josiah had done to it. And Josiah commanded his men to leave that tomb alone. Don’t let anyone disturb his bones. And so, though the man of God had disobeyed the word of the Lord, the man of God’s body was allowed to rest in peace until the resurrection.
But chapter 13 ends with the news that even after all of this — after the man of God warned Jeroboam and was himself killed for defying God’s word — Jeroboam did not change his evil ways. He did not repent even though he had heard the word of the Lord.
14:1–20
And so, when he sent his wife to visit Ahijah, another prophet, to see what would become of their sick son, the Lord announced to Jeroboam’s wife what he intended to do to Jeroboam and Israel because of their unbelief and rebellion.
Look with me at verse 7 of chapter 14. God’s message to Jeroboam was that God has raised him up and made him leader over God’s people. God has torn the kingdom from the house of David and given it to Jeroboam. In other words, the Lord was gracious and kind, giving him what he did not deserve. And Jeroboam should have responded to God’s grace and kindness by devoting himself to serve the Lord as David had done, when God has raised him up and made him king over his people. But Jeroboam was not like David. In fact he was a kind of evil imitation of David. Whereas David kept God’s commands and followed God with all his heart and did what was right in God’s eyes, Jeroboam has done more evil than all who lived before him. And God mentions how Jeroboam created those man-made gods and how he provoked God to anger and turned his back on God.
And having accused Jeroboam, the Lord pronounces his sentence on him. Take a look at verse 10 where God said that because of this, I will bring disaster on your family. I will cut off every last male from your family. And I will burn up your family as one burns dung, until it is all gone. Dogs will eat those who die in the city and birds will feed on those who die in the country. And as for Jeroboam’s sick son, he will surely die. But his death will be a mercy for him, because he’s the only one in Jeroboam’s family who will receive a proper burial. He’s the only one who will receive a proper burial, because he’s the only one in Jeroboam’s family in whom the Lord found something good. And so, he will be spared the diaster which will fall on the rest of Jeroboam’s family.
And the Lord goes on to explain that he will raise up a new king over Israel who will cut off Jeroboam’s family. The Lord is referrring to Baasha. We’ll read about him at the end of chapter 15, where it says that he plotted against Jeroboam’s son, Nadab, who had succeeded Jeroboam as king. Baasha killed him and then killed Jeroboam’s whole family. It says that he did not leave Jeroboam anyone that breathed, but destroyed them all.
But the Lord not only pronounced his sentence on Jeroboam, but he also pronounced sentence on the people of Israel. Look at verse 15 where he announced that he will strike Israel. And he’ll uproot Israel from the Promised Land and will scatter them by sending them into exile. And the Lord will do this to them, because they provoked the Lord to anger by making Asherah poles, which were used in pagan worship. Up to now we haven’t heard anything about these Asherah poles, but we’ll hear more about them in the future, when we’ll see how the people of Israel continued to turn away from the Lord to worship false gods. And so, God will give them up, because of the sins of Jeroboam and because of the sins of the people.
That was the Lord’s message to Jeroboam through his prophet, Ahijah. Jeroboam’s wife got up and returned home. As soon as she entered her house, their sick son died, just as the Lord had said. They buried him, as the Lord foretold, and everyone mourned for him, as the Lord foretold. But instead of weeping and mourning over his sins, Jeroboam continued to sin against the Lord. He did not repent when he heard the word of the Lord. He did not turn away from his evil ways.
Application
In chapter 13 we read about a man of God who did not obey the word of the Lord; and God announced that he would die. And he did die, just as the word of the Lord had said. In chapter 14 we read about a king who did not obey the word of the Lord and God announced that he and his whole family would die. And he and his whole family did die, just as the word of the Lord had said. And in chapter 14 the Lord also announced that God would give up the people of Israel, because of their unbelief and rebellion; and he would send them into exile. And by the time these things were written down, it had already happened, just as the word of the Lord had said.
These things were written down, so that people in later generations would listen and take note that the word of the Lord is true and that he will bring diaster and trouble on all those who sin against him and who do not walk in his ways. He will bring diaster on them, unless they pay attention to his word and turn from their sin in repentance and seek his forgiveness for what they had done wrong.
As the Apostle Paul tells us in the New Testament, the wages of sin is death. In other words, what we all deserve for our sin and disobedience and for all the ways we fall short of doing God’s will is death. And after death, there comes the judgment, when everyone who has ever lived will have to stand before God’s judgment throne to give an account of our lives. And we cannot hide our sins and shortcomings from the Lord, because he sees all things and he knows all things and he knows all that we have done wrong. He knows the things we did which were wrong; he know the things we said which were wrong; he knows the things we thought which were wrong. He knows us better than we know ourselves; and we cannot hide anything from him. And he will bring disaster on everyone who does not turn from their sin in repentance and turn back to him.
And the good news is that when we turn from our sin in repentance and turn back to God, he is willing and able to forgive us our sins. And he’s willing and able to forgive us our sins, because of Christ the Saviour, who is God’s Only-Begotten Son, who came into the world as one of us to pay for our sins with life. Whoever believes in him is pardoned, because he took the blame for us and paid the penalty for our sins when he died in our place.
And whoever believes in him is accepted by God. God treats us as if we have done everything right, even though we have done everything wrong. And God is able to treat us like that, because Christ the Saviour shares his own perfect obedience with all who believe in him.
And so, whoever turns back to God in repentance and believes in his Son is pardoned and accepted. And whoever turns back to God in repentance and believes in his Son receives the free gift of eternal life, so that we can look forward to being with God forever in the life to come, instead of being sent away from the presence of God to be punished forever, which is what we all deserve.
And the Lord Jesus Christ also gives his people his Spirit to enable us to fight against sin and temptation and to do what is good and pleasing to God in our daily lives. And so, when Satan tempts us, or when an unbelieving world tempts us, the Holy Spirit inside us helps us to resist their temptation to sin and he helps us to do God’s will here on earth.
Conclusion
Take a look again at verse 16 of chapter 14 where it says that the Lord gave Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed; and because of the sins Jeroboam has caused Israel to commit. God was going to give Israel up and send them into exile because Israel’s king had led them astray.
But thanks be to God who has given us a greater King. Jesus Christ is our King and he committed no sin. In fact, he was obedient even to the point of giving up his life on the cross to pay for our sins and shortcomings. He committed no sin and he did everything necessary to make peace for us with God, so that God will never ever give us up. He will never ever give us up, not because we’re better than the Israelites, but because Christ our King is better than their king ever was. And because of Christ our King, whoever turns to God in repentance and believes in his Son is pardoned and accepted and receives the free gift of eternal life. And so, instead of bringing disaster on us, which is what we deserve, God promises us everlasting happiness in the life to come.
Sermons and Stuff 