When you ask the question who is Jeroboam in the Bible, the first question you must ask is which one? In the history of the kings of Israel in the Old Testament, you will find two kings who were named Jeroboam.
Whether you consider one the original and the other one the sequel, unfortunately neither one of them followed God with a whole heart. I want to investigate the lives of these Jeroboams, and one we know more about than the other. Once we look at who Jeroboam is – or who the Jeroboams are – we will see that there are two key principles from their lives.
Who Is the Original Jeroboam in the Bible?
The story of Jeroboam takes place in the book of 1 Kings starting in chapter 11 going through to chapter 14. God raised up Jeroboam because he was going to bring judgment on Solomon.
At this point in Solomon’s life, he had fallen victim to the outside influences of his many foreign wives from the surrounding nations. This led him to turn his heart away from God. Solomon led the people in worshipping other gods such as Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Molek, who were the gods of the nations around them. He even went so far as to build high places of worship for these gods.
As a result of Solomon’s divided heart, God decided to take the kingdom from Solomon and Jeroboam would be the beneficiary, so to speak, of God’s decision. However, before Jeroboam began his reign and was given the kingdom, he was given a prophecy and a promise. Let’s look at both.
The Prophecy Given to Jeroboam
“About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. Then he said to Jeroboam, ‘Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes” (1 Kings 11:29-31).
Jeroboam (the original) served as one of Solomon’s officials and was not a natural successor to the throne, which added intrigue to this prophecy. When the prophet Ahijah spoke to Jeroboam, God was foretelling of the split of the nation of Israel into two kingdoms – Israel the northern kingdom and Judah the southern kingdom. Jeroboam would become the first king of this divided nation, ruling over the ten tribes in Israel.
The Promise Given to Jeroboam
“However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you” (1 Kings 11:37-38).
God didn’t just give Jeroboam a prophecy, he also armed him with an incredible promise. God told him he would build him a dynasty as enduring as the one for David. To understand the magnitude of this promise, you must remember what God promised David.
“Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16).
“For this is what the Lord says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel” (Jeremiah 33:17).
Jeroboam walked into the kingship with the confidence knowing God put him there, and with a promise that God would establish his throne. All that God required of him is that he would walk in obedience to his commands and do what is right in his eyes. What an amazing promise.
The Problem with Jeroboam
As you learn more of who Jeroboam is, you will discover that Jeroboam had a problem. He chose not to walk in obedience to God’s commands. Even with such an incredible promise laid out before him, he decided to walk in a different direction. If you could sum up Jeroboam’s life, I would do it in this manner. Everything God instructed him to do and everything he knew that was right to do, he did the opposite. Here are some examples.
1. Jeroboam desecrated the priesthood and made up his own festivals.
“Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings” (1 Kings 12:31-33).
2. Jeroboam ignored the word of the prophet and continued in sin.
“Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways, but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts of people. Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places. This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth” (1 Kings 13:33-34).
3. Jeroboam ultimately lost what God had promised him because he refused to walk in obedience to God’s commands.
“I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes. You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have aroused my anger and turned your back on me” (1 Kings 14:8-9).
This was the plight of the first Jeroboam. Let’s see how the next Jeroboam faired.
Who Is the Second Jeroboam in the Bible?
The next Jeroboam (the sequel) was not much better than the first. The sins that were started with the first Jeroboam (the original who was the son of Nebat) continued with the second one. Even though his reign started more than one hundred years after the first one, he still continued in his sinful ways. This Jeroboam (the sequel) reigned in Israel forty-one years, which was almost twice as long as the first Jeroboam who reigned twenty-two years. We don’t know a lot about this Jeroboam, but what we do know is he did have military success, however his heart was no different.
“In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit” (2 Kings 14:23-24).
The Principle of Jeroboam
Now that we have a picture of who these two Jeroboams, there are two principles to take from each of these men’s lives.
Jeroboam (the original) – It’s not about the promises you receive, it’s what you do with them.
In one way we are just like Jeroboam. We have all received awesome promises from God. The Bible is filled with the promises that God has made to his people. But just like Jeroboam, it’s not enough just to have the promise, it is what you do with it that matters. For most of God’s promises, the condition that often triggers the promise is obedience. Usually there is something God requires of you, which puts God’s promise into effect. Often our disobedience nullifies God’s promise. So don’t just rejoice over the promise, make sure you walk in the obedience that brings the promise to pass.
Jeroboam (the sequel) – Success without morality, integrity, and character is not success at all.
There is a false narrative in our society that says win at all costs. This causes us to celebrate achievements, but leave morality and character behind. God doesn’t do that. For as much military success as Jeroboam had, he was defined as one who did evil in the eyes of the Lord. It does not matter how much you accomplish in life, if this is what God thinks about you, you have failed. Let it be said not just that you accomplished much in this life but that you did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. This is a true measure of success.
I hope you have enjoyed our journey to get to know Jeroboam in the Bible. Most importantly, let the lessons from their lives challenge us to walk in obedience to what God commands us to do. When we do, we will see all of God’s promises fulfilled in our lives, and most importantly we will live a life that is pleasing to him.
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