(TEXT : 1 Kings 12:20) And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
FOCUS :
1 Kings 12:25-31 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Sometimes I wonder why the so-called the “people of God” would leave the right path and persist in following the evil path. When you choose the wrong path, must definitely, you will surely end up in the den of the devil. The chosen children by God, now had to be following the path God had forbidden them to follow or practice. However, when the children of God invited an evil accompanist into the Holy Land of God, he turned their hearts, souls and mind against the way, and the will of the Lord. We may perhaps see in Jeroboam’s ministering and person not only the design to invest the new ordinance with exceptional interest and splendor, but also the idea of encouraging his new priests to enter on their unauthorized functions without fear. The history, or even the traditions, of Nadab and Abihu (Lev 10); and of Korah and his company (Num 16:40) may very well have made them hesitate.
In addition, 1 Kings 13:1-2 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.
Israel, the northern kingdom, is very comfortable with her new religion “the two calves of gold.” Jeroboam, arrayed as king and priest, stands by his altar offering incense to his “god.” The entire court assist, together with a vast multitude of worshippers, so-called. In fact, nothing is lacking to win the admiration is interrupted by a “man of God out of Judah,” who has a “Word from the Lord.” This altar, one might say, was a “bastard” altar, designed by man, which referred to golden calves as god. There was only one Altar in all of Israel that God would recognize, that was in Jerusalem. The Altar that was in Jerusalem at the Temple was designed by the Holy Spirit, and it portrayed Calvary, yet to come. This “altar” of Jeroboam would deliver no one. It is irrespective of the multitudinous altars of this world, devised by the hand of man, with many of them in Christendom. “Josiah” nearly 350 years later, exactly as the prophecy predicted, would destroy this altar: likewise, all false religion in Israel (our local worship centers) and elsewhere in the world, will ultimately be destroyed by a child that shall be born into the house of David with the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Zechariah 13:2).
Finally, 1 Kings 13:7-11, 15-19, 31-32 (read, 1Kings 13:7-32) And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel. Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water. And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones: For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.
Hmm, unfortunately, there are many “old prophets” in the house of God today who they know by themselves that they have no path in God’s business, but they are so deliberate and intentional in misleading many “young men of God” who are still in the service of God. The devil knew that the old prophet has already have his own path in hell fire and the old prophet also knew, and that is why he was looking for “someone who accompany him and be his right-man in hell.” Hmm, you can imagine, the old prophet knew what he did was wrong, but he did it anyway, because he did it purposefully. And that why the old prophet told his children to buried him beside the young prophet when he died too. For the young prophet, this was in direct disobedience in the Word of God. It would cost him his life. As well, it will cost the life of the Church. The two greatest dangers of the Church are the “Jeroboam,” who represent the world and its ways, and, second, “the old prophet” who represent the apostate Church. The old prophet, whose duty it was to have testified against the evil around him, bore with it, and by his silence, sanctioned it; therefore, he was very anxious that the “man of God” should approve his unfaithfulness by association with it; consequently, the “man of God” ensnared.
BE SAFE AND GET SAVED!
God bless you richly!
Jesus Christ loves you
Thank you Holy Spirit
ARE YOU SAVED?
T.O AKINSANYA
PRINCE ORATORTEE