Whatever Jeroboam did was so serious in God's eyes that Jeroboam and all his house was cut off from the face of the earth! I'd like to present a brief synopsis of the history of Jeroboam and relate it to the Lord's purpose for His believers today. In 1 Kings 12:25-33 and 13:33-34 we have an account of the apostasy of Jeroboam which we will cover at the end of this section.

King David is well known among all the kings of Israel. He was the "man after God's own heart." He was the king who defeated all the enemies in the good land of Canaan. He was the one who acquired all the materials for his son, Solomon, to build the temple of God Himself as God's dwelling place on earth. And one bit of trivia: David is mentioned in the Bible more than any other character including Jesus Christ.

Solomon is known for two matters: (1) his prayer to God for wisdom in leading God's people. This prayer pleased God because he did not ask for women, money, fame or power. So God made Solomon the wisest man on the earth to lead His people, Israel. Solomon wrote thousands of Proverbs and songs, overflowing with the highest human wisdom and understanding. Today his books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are still considered classical literature at its best. (2) Included in the wisdom God granted to Solomon was the capability to carry out God's blueprint for building the temple of God in Jerusalem.

Why is this important? Because the temple was the center of God's economy in the Old Testament. God desired to dwell on earth with His people and the temple afforded God His ordained way. The temple became God's physical habitation on earth so that men could come into His presence to worship Him, abide in His presence, to hear Him and to carry out His desires on the earth. The temple was also the center of worship for God's people. God desired all of the children of Israel to worship at the temple. Deuteronomy 16:16 says, "Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty." The bottom line is that the temple in Jerusalem was extremely important to God and to His people.

Solomon was warned by God not to depart from His commandments, statutes and ordinances. For much of his reign as king of Israel, Solomon was faithful to the Lord. However, he lusted after women. His lust was so intense that eventually he took 300 wives and 700 concubines! This excessive desire for women also carried consequences which damaged Israel tremendously, as we shall see. The foreign women brought into Israel their culture and especially their worship of idols and false gods. This offended God to the uttermost. Eventually Solomon went after the idols himself, breaking his covenant with God and forcing God to deal with him and with all of Israel.

But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, [and] Hittites; 2 Of the nations [concerning] which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: [for] surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, [that] his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as [was] the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as [did] David his father. 7 Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that [is] before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. 8 And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. 1 Kings 11:1-8

Solomon's son, Rehoboam, reigned as king over Israel when Solomon died. By this point in history, Israel was becoming distraught with their king because of the oppressive treatment Solomon began and which Rehoboam continued. Solomon lived an excessively extravagant lifestyle at the expense of the people of Israel. When he died, Jeroboam came with representatives from ten (10) tribes of Israel to negotiate with Rehoboam concerning the harsh treatment his father had laid on them. Rehoboam disregarded the insight of the elders of his people and rather heeded the advice of his peers who said to further the oppressive treatment of Israel in order to subdue any element of revolution in the people. This advice backfired and Jeroboam led in rebellion the people from the ten tribes of Israel away from Jerusalem, leaving only the two tribes of Benjamin and Judah in Jerusalem as a nation. Therefore, Israel was divided into two nations; one in the north (the ten tribes) and one in the south (the two tribes).

So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. 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. 21 And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 23 Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying, 24 Thus says the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD. 1 Kings 12:19-24

The dividing of the nation of Israel, more particularly of the house of David, was a terrible thing, but according to the verses above, this action came from the Lord Himself as a discipline to His people. Then, the deeper problem of apostasy arose through Jeroboam the son of Nebat. This utterly offended God.

26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: 27 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. 28 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. 29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. 30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went [to worship] before the one, [even] unto Dan. 31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. 32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that [is] in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. 33 So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, [even] in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense. 1 Kings 12:26-30

God allowed His people to be divided into two nations because of their sin and wickedness before Him. However, He was further incited to wrath and judgment when Jeroboam took upon himself to establish a worship center outside of Jerusalem, outside of the temple of God. In fact, Jeroboam established two centers, one in Bethel and the other in Dan. This was his great sin before God! Basically, this meant that Jeroboam in the name of Jehovah caused the people of Israel to worship and fear other gods and to establish their own statutes, ordinances, laws and commandments that the Lord did not initiate or approve! Therefore it was recorded again and again in the Old Testament as the "sin of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat." There are twenty-one references to the "sin of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat" in the book of 1 and 2 Kings! (1 Kings 13:34; 14:16; 15:30, 34; 16:2, 19, 26; 21:22; 22:52; 2 Kings 3:3; 10:29, 31; 13:2, 6, 11; 14:24; 15:9, 18, 24, 28; 17:21; 23:15) Almost every king's epitaph in the northern kingdom of Israel mentioned the "sin of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat."

God pronounced judgment on Jeroboam and his house in Amos 7:9, "And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword." The setting of the book of Hosea was during the time of Jeroboam in which God told Hosea to marry a Prostitute as a picture of Israel's unfaithfulness to God their Husband. Jeroboam's sin was a sin of prostitution in God's eyes! Jeroboam's sin caused the destruction and termination of the house of Israel! (Hosea 1:1-4)

Jeroboam made two calves of gold, putting one in Bethel and the other in Dan, in order to distract his people from worshipping God in Jerusalem (12:25-30). God had ordained that His people come together three times a year in Jerusalem. Jeroboam was afraid that the ten tribes would return to their rightful king if they went to worship God in Jerusalem. Thus, he set up two worship centers, saying that it was not convenient to travel to Jerusalem. The excuse of convenience also is used to justify today's denominations. Jeroboam's apostasy broke God's ordination of having one unique worship center in the holy land for keeping the unity, the oneness, of the children of Israel (Deut. 12:2-18). This became a great sin and caused the people to worship idols.

The apostasy of Jeroboam in the above five items could be considered a type of the apostasy of today's Christianity. How many so-called worship centers have been established by men throughout church history in the name of God? Many think it normal to "go to the church of your own choice!" This is apostasy to God. Many so-called ministers, pastors, priests and reverends chose a such a career to make money or to fulfill their own desire, not based on God's calling or commission. Christians in general are idolatrous literally or in their heart, replacing God with forms of entertainment, pleasure or occupation. Christianity has taken on many pagan traditions, practices and customs which are still endorsed and carried on today. Yet, they will argue and even defend their false practices in the name of God because they feel so right. This is the extent of apostasy. 2 Kings 17 refers to the apostasy and its devastating effects on the children of Israel before the Lord.

Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, [and by] all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments [and] my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. 14 Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God. 15 And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that [were] round about them, [concerning] whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them. 16 And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, [even] two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.

20 And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight. 21 For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin. 22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them.

33 They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence. 34 Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; 35 With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them. 2 Kings 17:13-16, 20-22, 33-35

2 Kings 17 mentions the children of Israel serving their own gods after the manner of the nations. This is very prevalent today even among fundamental Christians. If Christians would honestly evaluate some of their traditions and practices they would find that the source is from pagan nations and not at all from the Lord. Often Christians will even admit to practicing religious traditions that were based on pagan religious, but they defend them saying, "We've Christianized them!" This is apostasy. Let me illustrate with some popular traditions handed down from heathen nations. Probably the most popular holiday among many Christians is Christmas which is celebrated on December 25th. This holiday is entirely pagan and idolatrous in all its aspects! Scholars have never attributed December 25th to the Lord's birthday and neither did the Lord ever ask us to commemorate His birthday. Gift giving originated from pagan practices not Saint Nick. The Christmas tree and the lights, etc. are all taken from idol worship of other cultures. It is a fact that the Christmas tradition was incorporated into Christendom based on pagan revelry not God's ordination.

Another deceit passed down from pagan worship is the matter of going to heaven when we die. There is not one verse in the scriptures that mentions that believers in Christ will go to heaven when they die. A common gospel question is, "If you died today would you go to heaven?" This is not only misleading to the unsaved, but also unscriptural. If Christians would just take this challenge to find one verse, they would reconsider their shallow understanding of the Lord's economy which is to dispense Himself into man in order to gain man as His expression on the earth.

Easter, named from the goddess of fertility, "Ishtar," is based on a pagan holiday. Christians would argue that Easter represents the Lord's resurrection, but the Lord established the breaking of bread gathering, the Lord's Table (communion), to remember Him and to declare His death. He never asked us to produce some holiday brought in by unbelievers that eventually was incorporated by Christians. Brothers and sisters, we need to know the facts and the source of all we do before the Lord.

Probably the biggest offense to the Lord is the matter of the Body of Christ being divided into denominations and so-called independent churches. The Lord never condones division of His children, but in fact He clearly repudiates it (1 Cor. 1:10-13). So-called churches are established based on a man ("I am of Paul, I am of Cephas, I am of Apollos"); others are established based on culture, language, nationality, social status and even gender, but the Lord said that these matters cannot exist in the Body of Christ (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:10-11). They have been brought into the Lord's Body according to the customs of the nations. This is the whole point of showing you the sin of Jeroboam, son of Nebat. On the contrary the Lord desires one acquired people, one holy nation, one chosen race, and one royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), possessing His name to express Him and represent Him (Gen. 1:26-28). This means He must be the Lord and Savior. He must be the Initiator, the Mediator, the High Priest, and the Perfecter of our faith. He must be the Enactor of the New Covenant. He must be the source of all that we do, and all that we say and all that we are without any other mixture from the nations (Romans 11:36).

First Kings 13:1-32 is a record of God's judgment on the altar at Bethel made by Jeroboam. This judgment was carried out by a man of God from Judah (13:1-10). This man of God was then deceived by an old prophet to take the way against God's commandment and was torn apart by a lion (13:11-32).

In 14:1-18 we have Ahijah's prophecy concerning the tragic ending of Jeroboam. Jeroboam sent his wife in disguise to see Ahijah the prophet in Shiloh, hoping to get some good news concerning his son, Abijah (14:1-5). Instead of giving good news, Ahijah the prophet, in a prophecy from God, told the wife of Jeroboam that because of Jeroboam's evils in his apostasy, God would destroy Jeroboam and his whole family as a man sweeps dung until it is all gone (14:6-18).