Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Beth-el » A city » A city north of jerusalem » Prophecies against the idolatrous altars at
The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests of the secondary order, and the doorkeepers to take out of the LORD's Temple all of the implements that had been crafted for Baal, for Asherah, and for every star in the heavens. Then he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried the ashes to Bethel.
Verse Concepts
Right when Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn some incense, a man of God arrived in Bethel from Judah in obedience to a command from the LORD. He cursed the altar in this message from the LORD: "Hey altar! Hey altar! This is what the LORD says: "Pay attention to this! A son is going to be born in David's dynasty. His name will be Josiah. He will sacrifice the priests who burn incense on you in these high places. Human bones will be burned on you!'" Later that same day, he gave them a special display of power of what was to come when he said, "Here's proof that the LORD has decreed this: Look! This altar will be split apart and the ashes that are on it will spill out." read more.
When he heard the man of God curse the altar in Bethel, the king pointed at the man of God from where the king was standing at the altar. "Seize him!" he ordered. But all of a sudden his hand that he had stretched out dried up, and he could not bring it back to his side! Also, the altar broke apart and the ashes that were on it spilled out from the altar, providing just the proof that the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD! "Please!" the king begged the man of God, "Ask the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored for me!" So the man of God asked the LORD, and the king's hand was immediately and fully restored, just like it had been before.
When he heard the man of God curse the altar in Bethel, the king pointed at the man of God from where the king was standing at the altar. "Seize him!" he ordered. But all of a sudden his hand that he had stretched out dried up, and he could not bring it back to his side! Also, the altar broke apart and the ashes that were on it spilled out from the altar, providing just the proof that the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD! "Please!" the king begged the man of God, "Ask the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored for me!" So the man of God asked the LORD, and the king's hand was immediately and fully restored, just like it had been before.
because what he predicted by a message from the LORD against the altar in Bethel and the temples built in the high places of the cities of Samaria will certainly come about."
Verse Concepts
Furthermore, he even broke down the altar that had been at Bethel as well as the high place constructed by Nebat's son Jeroboam, who had caused Israel to sin. He demolished its stones, pulverized them to dust, and burned the Asherah. As Josiah turned around, he observed the graves located there on the mountain, so he sent for and recovered the bones from the graves and burned them on the altar to defile it, in keeping with the message from the LORD that the godly man had proclaimed when he was declaring these things. He asked, "What is this monument that I'm looking at?" The men who lived in that city answered him, "It's the grave of that godly man who came from Judah and predicted these things that you've done against the altar at Bethel!" read more.
Josiah replied, "Leave him alone. No one is to disturb his bones." So they preserved his bones undisturbed, along with the bones of the prophet who had come from Samaria. Josiah also removed all of the temples on the high places that had been in the cities of Samaria and that the kings of Israel had erected, thereby provoking the LORD. He treated Samaria just as he had Bethel. After he had slaughtered all the priests who served at the high places and burned their bones on those high places, he returned to Jerusalem.
Josiah replied, "Leave him alone. No one is to disturb his bones." So they preserved his bones undisturbed, along with the bones of the prophet who had come from Samaria. Josiah also removed all of the temples on the high places that had been in the cities of Samaria and that the kings of Israel had erected, thereby provoking the LORD. He treated Samaria just as he had Bethel. After he had slaughtered all the priests who served at the high places and burned their bones on those high places, he returned to Jerusalem.
"because on that day I will lay out the charges against Israel. I will also bring judgment upon the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off and will fall to the ground.
Verse Concepts
Calf » Prophecies against the golden calves at beth-el
because what he predicted by a message from the LORD against the altar in Bethel and the temples built in the high places of the cities of Samaria will certainly come about."
Verse Concepts
Moab will be ashamed because of Chemosh just as the house of Israel was ashamed because of Bethel, their confidence.
Verse Concepts
Right when Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn some incense, a man of God arrived in Bethel from Judah in obedience to a command from the LORD. He cursed the altar in this message from the LORD: "Hey altar! Hey altar! This is what the LORD says: "Pay attention to this! A son is going to be born in David's dynasty. His name will be Josiah. He will sacrifice the priests who burn incense on you in these high places. Human bones will be burned on you!'" Later that same day, he gave them a special display of power of what was to come when he said, "Here's proof that the LORD has decreed this: Look! This altar will be split apart and the ashes that are on it will spill out." read more.
When he heard the man of God curse the altar in Bethel, the king pointed at the man of God from where the king was standing at the altar. "Seize him!" he ordered. But all of a sudden his hand that he had stretched out dried up, and he could not bring it back to his side! Also, the altar broke apart and the ashes that were on it spilled out from the altar, providing just the proof that the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD!
When he heard the man of God curse the altar in Bethel, the king pointed at the man of God from where the king was standing at the altar. "Seize him!" he ordered. But all of a sudden his hand that he had stretched out dried up, and he could not bring it back to his side! Also, the altar broke apart and the ashes that were on it spilled out from the altar, providing just the proof that the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD!
Your calf, Samaria, has been thrown away. My anger is burning against them. How long until they become pure again? Because from Israel it was fashioned by craftsmen, it is not God; therefore Samaria's calf will be broken in pieces.
"The residents of Samaria will be terrified because of the cows of Beth-aven. Its people will mourn over Beth-aven, along with the priests who will mourn its glory, because that glory has departed. Indeed, that glory will be carried to Assyria it will become a present for an avenging king. Ephraim will be disgraced, and Israel will become ashamed of its decision.
Calves of jeroboam » Sacrifices offered to
Jeroboam invented a festival for the fifteenth day of the eighth month similar to the festival that takes place in Judah. He approached the altar that he had set up in Bethel and sacrificed to the calves that he had made, having stationed in Bethel the priests that he had appointed.
Verse Concepts
Right when Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn some incense, a man of God arrived in Bethel from Judah in obedience to a command from the LORD.
Verse Concepts
Calves of jeroboam » Worship of » Denounced by a prophet
Right when Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn some incense, a man of God arrived in Bethel from Judah in obedience to a command from the LORD. He cursed the altar in this message from the LORD: "Hey altar! Hey altar! This is what the LORD says: "Pay attention to this! A son is going to be born in David's dynasty. His name will be Josiah. He will sacrifice the priests who burn incense on you in these high places. Human bones will be burned on you!'" Later that same day, he gave them a special display of power of what was to come when he said, "Here's proof that the LORD has decreed this: Look! This altar will be split apart and the ashes that are on it will spill out."
intercession » Answered » The prophet of israel, for the restoration of jeroboam's withered hand
Right when Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn some incense, a man of God arrived in Bethel from Judah in obedience to a command from the LORD. He cursed the altar in this message from the LORD: "Hey altar! Hey altar! This is what the LORD says: "Pay attention to this! A son is going to be born in David's dynasty. His name will be Josiah. He will sacrifice the priests who burn incense on you in these high places. Human bones will be burned on you!'" Later that same day, he gave them a special display of power of what was to come when he said, "Here's proof that the LORD has decreed this: Look! This altar will be split apart and the ashes that are on it will spill out." read more.
When he heard the man of God curse the altar in Bethel, the king pointed at the man of God from where the king was standing at the altar. "Seize him!" he ordered. But all of a sudden his hand that he had stretched out dried up, and he could not bring it back to his side! Also, the altar broke apart and the ashes that were on it spilled out from the altar, providing just the proof that the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD! "Please!" the king begged the man of God, "Ask the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored for me!" So the man of God asked the LORD, and the king's hand was immediately and fully restored, just like it had been before.
When he heard the man of God curse the altar in Bethel, the king pointed at the man of God from where the king was standing at the altar. "Seize him!" he ordered. But all of a sudden his hand that he had stretched out dried up, and he could not bring it back to his side! Also, the altar broke apart and the ashes that were on it spilled out from the altar, providing just the proof that the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD! "Please!" the king begged the man of God, "Ask the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored for me!" So the man of God asked the LORD, and the king's hand was immediately and fully restored, just like it had been before.
Jeroboam » First king of israel after the revolt » Hand of, paralyzed
Right when Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn some incense, a man of God arrived in Bethel from Judah in obedience to a command from the LORD. He cursed the altar in this message from the LORD: "Hey altar! Hey altar! This is what the LORD says: "Pay attention to this! A son is going to be born in David's dynasty. His name will be Josiah. He will sacrifice the priests who burn incense on you in these high places. Human bones will be burned on you!'" Later that same day, he gave them a special display of power of what was to come when he said, "Here's proof that the LORD has decreed this: Look! This altar will be split apart and the ashes that are on it will spill out." read more.
When he heard the man of God curse the altar in Bethel, the king pointed at the man of God from where the king was standing at the altar. "Seize him!" he ordered. But all of a sudden his hand that he had stretched out dried up, and he could not bring it back to his side! Also, the altar broke apart and the ashes that were on it spilled out from the altar, providing just the proof that the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD! "Please!" the king begged the man of God, "Ask the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored for me!" So the man of God asked the LORD, and the king's hand was immediately and fully restored, just like it had been before. So the king told the man of God, "Come back to my palace and rest a while. I'd like to give you a reward." But the man of God replied to the king, "Even if you were to offer me half of your house, I wouldn't go with you, and I'm sure not going to eat even a piece of bread or drink water in this place, because the LORD commanded me specifically, "You are not to eat bread, drink water, or return by the way that you came to arrive here!'" Then he left, returning a different way than the one by which he had traveled to Bethel.
When he heard the man of God curse the altar in Bethel, the king pointed at the man of God from where the king was standing at the altar. "Seize him!" he ordered. But all of a sudden his hand that he had stretched out dried up, and he could not bring it back to his side! Also, the altar broke apart and the ashes that were on it spilled out from the altar, providing just the proof that the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD! "Please!" the king begged the man of God, "Ask the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored for me!" So the man of God asked the LORD, and the king's hand was immediately and fully restored, just like it had been before. So the king told the man of God, "Come back to my palace and rest a while. I'd like to give you a reward." But the man of God replied to the king, "Even if you were to offer me half of your house, I wouldn't go with you, and I'm sure not going to eat even a piece of bread or drink water in this place, because the LORD commanded me specifically, "You are not to eat bread, drink water, or return by the way that you came to arrive here!'" Then he left, returning a different way than the one by which he had traveled to Bethel.
Josiah » King of judah » Prophecies concerning
Right when Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn some incense, a man of God arrived in Bethel from Judah in obedience to a command from the LORD. He cursed the altar in this message from the LORD: "Hey altar! Hey altar! This is what the LORD says: "Pay attention to this! A son is going to be born in David's dynasty. His name will be Josiah. He will sacrifice the priests who burn incense on you in these high places. Human bones will be burned on you!'" Later that same day, he gave them a special display of power of what was to come when he said, "Here's proof that the LORD has decreed this: Look! This altar will be split apart and the ashes that are on it will spill out."
Judgments » Disobedience » Prophet of judah
Right when Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn some incense, a man of God arrived in Bethel from Judah in obedience to a command from the LORD. He cursed the altar in this message from the LORD: "Hey altar! Hey altar! This is what the LORD says: "Pay attention to this! A son is going to be born in David's dynasty. His name will be Josiah. He will sacrifice the priests who burn incense on you in these high places. Human bones will be burned on you!'" Later that same day, he gave them a special display of power of what was to come when he said, "Here's proof that the LORD has decreed this: Look! This altar will be split apart and the ashes that are on it will spill out." read more.
When he heard the man of God curse the altar in Bethel, the king pointed at the man of God from where the king was standing at the altar. "Seize him!" he ordered. But all of a sudden his hand that he had stretched out dried up, and he could not bring it back to his side! Also, the altar broke apart and the ashes that were on it spilled out from the altar, providing just the proof that the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD! "Please!" the king begged the man of God, "Ask the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored for me!" So the man of God asked the LORD, and the king's hand was immediately and fully restored, just like it had been before. So the king told the man of God, "Come back to my palace and rest a while. I'd like to give you a reward." But the man of God replied to the king, "Even if you were to offer me half of your house, I wouldn't go with you, and I'm sure not going to eat even a piece of bread or drink water in this place, because the LORD commanded me specifically, "You are not to eat bread, drink water, or return by the way that you came to arrive here!'" Then he left, returning a different way than the one by which he had traveled to Bethel. Now there was an old prophet who lived in Bethel, and his sons went to him and told him everything that the man of God had accomplished that day in Bethel, including the message that he had delivered to the king. "Which way did he go?" their father asked him, since his sons had observed the way that the man of God had taken to return to Judah from Bethel. "Saddle my donkey for me!" he ordered. So they saddled the donkey for him and he rode off after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. "You're the man of God who came from Judah, aren't you?" the old prophet asked him. "I am," he replied. "Come home with me and have a meal," he told him. But he replied, "I can't go back with you to your home, be in your company, or even eat food or drink water with you in this place, because I've been given a command in the form of this message from the LORD: "You are to eat no food, drink no water, and do not return to Judah by traveling the way by which you go there.'" "I'm a prophet like you," the old man replied, "and an angel spoke to me and delivered this message from the LORD: "Bring him back with you to your house and give him food and water.'" But he was lying, and the man of God accompanied the old prophet back to his house, ate some food, and drank some water. Later, while they were sitting down at the table, a message from the LORD was delivered to the prophet who had brought him back, so he cried out to the man of God from Judah: "This is what the LORD says: "Because you disobeyed a command from the LORD and haven't done what the LORD your God commanded you to do, but instead you returned to eat and drink in the very place that he told you "Eat no food and drink no water," your body will not be buried in the same grave as your ancestors.'" After the meal was over, and the man had eaten food and had drunk water, the old prophet saddled the donkey for him that is, for the man of God whom he had brought back. Not long after the man of God had left, a lion met him along the road and killed him. His body was left lying in the middle of the road with the donkey standing beside it and with the lion also standing next to the body.
When he heard the man of God curse the altar in Bethel, the king pointed at the man of God from where the king was standing at the altar. "Seize him!" he ordered. But all of a sudden his hand that he had stretched out dried up, and he could not bring it back to his side! Also, the altar broke apart and the ashes that were on it spilled out from the altar, providing just the proof that the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD! "Please!" the king begged the man of God, "Ask the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored for me!" So the man of God asked the LORD, and the king's hand was immediately and fully restored, just like it had been before. So the king told the man of God, "Come back to my palace and rest a while. I'd like to give you a reward." But the man of God replied to the king, "Even if you were to offer me half of your house, I wouldn't go with you, and I'm sure not going to eat even a piece of bread or drink water in this place, because the LORD commanded me specifically, "You are not to eat bread, drink water, or return by the way that you came to arrive here!'" Then he left, returning a different way than the one by which he had traveled to Bethel. Now there was an old prophet who lived in Bethel, and his sons went to him and told him everything that the man of God had accomplished that day in Bethel, including the message that he had delivered to the king. "Which way did he go?" their father asked him, since his sons had observed the way that the man of God had taken to return to Judah from Bethel. "Saddle my donkey for me!" he ordered. So they saddled the donkey for him and he rode off after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. "You're the man of God who came from Judah, aren't you?" the old prophet asked him. "I am," he replied. "Come home with me and have a meal," he told him. But he replied, "I can't go back with you to your home, be in your company, or even eat food or drink water with you in this place, because I've been given a command in the form of this message from the LORD: "You are to eat no food, drink no water, and do not return to Judah by traveling the way by which you go there.'" "I'm a prophet like you," the old man replied, "and an angel spoke to me and delivered this message from the LORD: "Bring him back with you to your house and give him food and water.'" But he was lying, and the man of God accompanied the old prophet back to his house, ate some food, and drank some water. Later, while they were sitting down at the table, a message from the LORD was delivered to the prophet who had brought him back, so he cried out to the man of God from Judah: "This is what the LORD says: "Because you disobeyed a command from the LORD and haven't done what the LORD your God commanded you to do, but instead you returned to eat and drink in the very place that he told you "Eat no food and drink no water," your body will not be buried in the same grave as your ancestors.'" After the meal was over, and the man had eaten food and had drunk water, the old prophet saddled the donkey for him that is, for the man of God whom he had brought back. Not long after the man of God had left, a lion met him along the road and killed him. His body was left lying in the middle of the road with the donkey standing beside it and with the lion also standing next to the body.
Kings » Who reigned over israel » Jeroboam
Now when all of Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent for him and invited him to visit their assembly, where they installed him as king over all of Israel. Nobody (with the sole exception of the tribe of Judah) would align with David's dynasty.
Verse Concepts
Later on, Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. He also expanded from there and built Penuel. Jeroboam was thinking to himself, "The kingdom is about to return to David's control. If these people keep going up to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the LORD there, the hearts of these people will return to their lord, King Rehoboam of Judah. Then they'll kill me and return to Rehoboam, king of Judah!" read more.
So the king sought some advice and then built two golden calves and announced, "It's too difficult for you to travel to Jerusalem. So here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!" He set one of them in Bethel and placed the other one in Dan. Doing this was sinful, because the people traveled as far as Dan to appear before one of their idols. Jeroboam built temples on the high places, and appointed his own priests from the fringe elements of the people who were not descendants of Levi. Jeroboam invented a festival for the fifteenth day of the eighth month similar to the festival that takes place in Judah. He approached the altar that he had set up in Bethel and sacrificed to the calves that he had made, having stationed in Bethel the priests that he had appointed. Then, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, he went up to burn incense on the altar that he had set up in Bethel, thus beginning the festival that he had made up out of his own heart for the Israelis. Right when Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn some incense, a man of God arrived in Bethel from Judah in obedience to a command from the LORD. He cursed the altar in this message from the LORD: "Hey altar! Hey altar! This is what the LORD says: "Pay attention to this! A son is going to be born in David's dynasty. His name will be Josiah. He will sacrifice the priests who burn incense on you in these high places. Human bones will be burned on you!'" Later that same day, he gave them a special display of power of what was to come when he said, "Here's proof that the LORD has decreed this: Look! This altar will be split apart and the ashes that are on it will spill out." When he heard the man of God curse the altar in Bethel, the king pointed at the man of God from where the king was standing at the altar. "Seize him!" he ordered. But all of a sudden his hand that he had stretched out dried up, and he could not bring it back to his side! Also, the altar broke apart and the ashes that were on it spilled out from the altar, providing just the proof that the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD! "Please!" the king begged the man of God, "Ask the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored for me!" So the man of God asked the LORD, and the king's hand was immediately and fully restored, just like it had been before. So the king told the man of God, "Come back to my palace and rest a while. I'd like to give you a reward." But the man of God replied to the king, "Even if you were to offer me half of your house, I wouldn't go with you, and I'm sure not going to eat even a piece of bread or drink water in this place, because the LORD commanded me specifically, "You are not to eat bread, drink water, or return by the way that you came to arrive here!'" Then he left, returning a different way than the one by which he had traveled to Bethel. Now there was an old prophet who lived in Bethel, and his sons went to him and told him everything that the man of God had accomplished that day in Bethel, including the message that he had delivered to the king. "Which way did he go?" their father asked him, since his sons had observed the way that the man of God had taken to return to Judah from Bethel. "Saddle my donkey for me!" he ordered. So they saddled the donkey for him and he rode off after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. "You're the man of God who came from Judah, aren't you?" the old prophet asked him. "I am," he replied. "Come home with me and have a meal," he told him. But he replied, "I can't go back with you to your home, be in your company, or even eat food or drink water with you in this place, because I've been given a command in the form of this message from the LORD: "You are to eat no food, drink no water, and do not return to Judah by traveling the way by which you go there.'" "I'm a prophet like you," the old man replied, "and an angel spoke to me and delivered this message from the LORD: "Bring him back with you to your house and give him food and water.'" But he was lying, and the man of God accompanied the old prophet back to his house, ate some food, and drank some water. Later, while they were sitting down at the table, a message from the LORD was delivered to the prophet who had brought him back, so he cried out to the man of God from Judah: "This is what the LORD says: "Because you disobeyed a command from the LORD and haven't done what the LORD your God commanded you to do, but instead you returned to eat and drink in the very place that he told you "Eat no food and drink no water," your body will not be buried in the same grave as your ancestors.'" After the meal was over, and the man had eaten food and had drunk water, the old prophet saddled the donkey for him that is, for the man of God whom he had brought back. Not long after the man of God had left, a lion met him along the road and killed him. His body was left lying in the middle of the road with the donkey standing beside it and with the lion also standing next to the body. When some men passed by and noticed the body lying in the middle of the road and the lion standing beside the body, they went straight to the city and told what had happened in the city where the old prophet lived. The prophet who had brought the man of God back from the road learned about it. "It's the man of God who disobeyed the message from the LORD," he said. "That's why the LORD gave him to that lion, which mauled him and killed him, just as the message from the LORD told rebuke him." Then he ordered his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they did. The old prophet went out, located the body on the road where the donkey and the lion were standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body nor mauled the donkey. The prophet picked up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to the city where the old man lived so he could mourn and bury him. He buried the corpse in his own grave and his family mourned for him, crying out, "Oh, no! My brother!" After he had buried the man of God, he gave these instructions to his children: "When I die, bury me in the same grave in which the man of God is buried. Place my bones beside his, because what he predicted by a message from the LORD against the altar in Bethel and the temples built in the high places of the cities of Samaria will certainly come about." Despite everything that happened, Jeroboam never did repent of his evil practices. Instead, he appointed even more people to act as priests for the high places. Anyone who wanted to be a priest was ordained to be a priest in the high places. This practice became so sinful that the LORD decided to erase Jeroboam's dynasty, thus eliminating it from the face of the earth. Right at that time, Jeroboam's son Abijah became ill, so Jeroboam suggested to his wife, "Get up, disguise yourself so that no one will know that you're Jeroboam's wife, and go to Shiloh where the prophet Ahijah lives. He's the one who told me that I would be king over this people. Take ten loaves with you, some cakes, and a jar of honey and go visit him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy." So that's what Jeroboam's wife did. She got up, went to Shiloh, and found Ahijah's home. Ahijah was blind, because his eyes could not focus due to his age. Meanwhile, the LORD had spoken to Ahijah, "Be on your guard! Jeroboam's wife is coming to ask you about her son, because he is ill. You're to say such and such to her. When she arrives, she will pretend to be someone else!" When she arrived, Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came through the doorway. He said this to her: "Come in, wife of Jeroboam. What is this pretension at being someone else? I have some harsh news. Go tell Jeroboam: "I raised you up from among the people. "I made you Commander-in-Chief over my people Israel. "I tore the kingdom away from David's dynasty. "Then I gave it to you. But you have not lived like my servant David, who kept my commands with all his heart, and did only what I considered to be right. "Instead, you have done more evil than everyone who lived before you. "You have gone out and crafted other gods for yourself. "You made cast images. "You have provoked me to anger. "You have thrown me behind your back. "Therefore, watch while I bring calamity on Jeroboam's dynasty! "I will eliminate every male, both slave and free in Israel, from Jeroboam. "I will burn up Jeroboam's dynasty, as a man burns up manure until it is gone. Dogs will eat anyone who dies in the city that belongs to Jeroboam's household. The birds of the sky will eat anyone who dies in the open field, because the LORD has determined it.' "Now get up and go home. When your feet cross the city line, your child will die. Everyone in Israel will mourn for him and will bury him, because he alone from Jeroboam's family will receive a decent burial, because something good was observed in him with respect to the LORD God of Israel out of all the household of Jeroboam! "In addition to this, the LORD will raise up for himself a king over Israel who will eliminate Jeroboam's dynasty, starting today and from now on. The LORD will attack Israel, and Israel will shake like a reed shakes in a river current! He will uproot Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and he will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they erected their Asherim and provoked the LORD to become angry! He will give up Israel because of Jeroboam's sins that he committed and by which Jeroboam caused Israel to sin." Then Jeroboam's wife got up and left for Tirzah. As soon as she set foot over the threshold of the house, the child died. All of Israel mourned him at his burial, just as the LORD had said when he spoke through Ahijah the prophet. Now as for the rest of Jeroboam's accomplishments, including how he waged war and how he reigned, you may read about them in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. Jeroboam reigned for 22 years and then died, as had his ancestors, and his son Nadab reigned in his place.
So the king sought some advice and then built two golden calves and announced, "It's too difficult for you to travel to Jerusalem. So here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!" He set one of them in Bethel and placed the other one in Dan. Doing this was sinful, because the people traveled as far as Dan to appear before one of their idols. Jeroboam built temples on the high places, and appointed his own priests from the fringe elements of the people who were not descendants of Levi. Jeroboam invented a festival for the fifteenth day of the eighth month similar to the festival that takes place in Judah. He approached the altar that he had set up in Bethel and sacrificed to the calves that he had made, having stationed in Bethel the priests that he had appointed. Then, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, he went up to burn incense on the altar that he had set up in Bethel, thus beginning the festival that he had made up out of his own heart for the Israelis. Right when Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn some incense, a man of God arrived in Bethel from Judah in obedience to a command from the LORD. He cursed the altar in this message from the LORD: "Hey altar! Hey altar! This is what the LORD says: "Pay attention to this! A son is going to be born in David's dynasty. His name will be Josiah. He will sacrifice the priests who burn incense on you in these high places. Human bones will be burned on you!'" Later that same day, he gave them a special display of power of what was to come when he said, "Here's proof that the LORD has decreed this: Look! This altar will be split apart and the ashes that are on it will spill out." When he heard the man of God curse the altar in Bethel, the king pointed at the man of God from where the king was standing at the altar. "Seize him!" he ordered. But all of a sudden his hand that he had stretched out dried up, and he could not bring it back to his side! Also, the altar broke apart and the ashes that were on it spilled out from the altar, providing just the proof that the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD! "Please!" the king begged the man of God, "Ask the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored for me!" So the man of God asked the LORD, and the king's hand was immediately and fully restored, just like it had been before. So the king told the man of God, "Come back to my palace and rest a while. I'd like to give you a reward." But the man of God replied to the king, "Even if you were to offer me half of your house, I wouldn't go with you, and I'm sure not going to eat even a piece of bread or drink water in this place, because the LORD commanded me specifically, "You are not to eat bread, drink water, or return by the way that you came to arrive here!'" Then he left, returning a different way than the one by which he had traveled to Bethel. Now there was an old prophet who lived in Bethel, and his sons went to him and told him everything that the man of God had accomplished that day in Bethel, including the message that he had delivered to the king. "Which way did he go?" their father asked him, since his sons had observed the way that the man of God had taken to return to Judah from Bethel. "Saddle my donkey for me!" he ordered. So they saddled the donkey for him and he rode off after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree. "You're the man of God who came from Judah, aren't you?" the old prophet asked him. "I am," he replied. "Come home with me and have a meal," he told him. But he replied, "I can't go back with you to your home, be in your company, or even eat food or drink water with you in this place, because I've been given a command in the form of this message from the LORD: "You are to eat no food, drink no water, and do not return to Judah by traveling the way by which you go there.'" "I'm a prophet like you," the old man replied, "and an angel spoke to me and delivered this message from the LORD: "Bring him back with you to your house and give him food and water.'" But he was lying, and the man of God accompanied the old prophet back to his house, ate some food, and drank some water. Later, while they were sitting down at the table, a message from the LORD was delivered to the prophet who had brought him back, so he cried out to the man of God from Judah: "This is what the LORD says: "Because you disobeyed a command from the LORD and haven't done what the LORD your God commanded you to do, but instead you returned to eat and drink in the very place that he told you "Eat no food and drink no water," your body will not be buried in the same grave as your ancestors.'" After the meal was over, and the man had eaten food and had drunk water, the old prophet saddled the donkey for him that is, for the man of God whom he had brought back. Not long after the man of God had left, a lion met him along the road and killed him. His body was left lying in the middle of the road with the donkey standing beside it and with the lion also standing next to the body. When some men passed by and noticed the body lying in the middle of the road and the lion standing beside the body, they went straight to the city and told what had happened in the city where the old prophet lived. The prophet who had brought the man of God back from the road learned about it. "It's the man of God who disobeyed the message from the LORD," he said. "That's why the LORD gave him to that lion, which mauled him and killed him, just as the message from the LORD told rebuke him." Then he ordered his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they did. The old prophet went out, located the body on the road where the donkey and the lion were standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body nor mauled the donkey. The prophet picked up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to the city where the old man lived so he could mourn and bury him. He buried the corpse in his own grave and his family mourned for him, crying out, "Oh, no! My brother!" After he had buried the man of God, he gave these instructions to his children: "When I die, bury me in the same grave in which the man of God is buried. Place my bones beside his, because what he predicted by a message from the LORD against the altar in Bethel and the temples built in the high places of the cities of Samaria will certainly come about." Despite everything that happened, Jeroboam never did repent of his evil practices. Instead, he appointed even more people to act as priests for the high places. Anyone who wanted to be a priest was ordained to be a priest in the high places. This practice became so sinful that the LORD decided to erase Jeroboam's dynasty, thus eliminating it from the face of the earth. Right at that time, Jeroboam's son Abijah became ill, so Jeroboam suggested to his wife, "Get up, disguise yourself so that no one will know that you're Jeroboam's wife, and go to Shiloh where the prophet Ahijah lives. He's the one who told me that I would be king over this people. Take ten loaves with you, some cakes, and a jar of honey and go visit him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy." So that's what Jeroboam's wife did. She got up, went to Shiloh, and found Ahijah's home. Ahijah was blind, because his eyes could not focus due to his age. Meanwhile, the LORD had spoken to Ahijah, "Be on your guard! Jeroboam's wife is coming to ask you about her son, because he is ill. You're to say such and such to her. When she arrives, she will pretend to be someone else!" When she arrived, Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came through the doorway. He said this to her: "Come in, wife of Jeroboam. What is this pretension at being someone else? I have some harsh news. Go tell Jeroboam: "I raised you up from among the people. "I made you Commander-in-Chief over my people Israel. "I tore the kingdom away from David's dynasty. "Then I gave it to you. But you have not lived like my servant David, who kept my commands with all his heart, and did only what I considered to be right. "Instead, you have done more evil than everyone who lived before you. "You have gone out and crafted other gods for yourself. "You made cast images. "You have provoked me to anger. "You have thrown me behind your back. "Therefore, watch while I bring calamity on Jeroboam's dynasty! "I will eliminate every male, both slave and free in Israel, from Jeroboam. "I will burn up Jeroboam's dynasty, as a man burns up manure until it is gone. Dogs will eat anyone who dies in the city that belongs to Jeroboam's household. The birds of the sky will eat anyone who dies in the open field, because the LORD has determined it.' "Now get up and go home. When your feet cross the city line, your child will die. Everyone in Israel will mourn for him and will bury him, because he alone from Jeroboam's family will receive a decent burial, because something good was observed in him with respect to the LORD God of Israel out of all the household of Jeroboam! "In addition to this, the LORD will raise up for himself a king over Israel who will eliminate Jeroboam's dynasty, starting today and from now on. The LORD will attack Israel, and Israel will shake like a reed shakes in a river current! He will uproot Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and he will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they erected their Asherim and provoked the LORD to become angry! He will give up Israel because of Jeroboam's sins that he committed and by which Jeroboam caused Israel to sin." Then Jeroboam's wife got up and left for Tirzah. As soon as she set foot over the threshold of the house, the child died. All of Israel mourned him at his burial, just as the LORD had said when he spoke through Ahijah the prophet. Now as for the rest of Jeroboam's accomplishments, including how he waged war and how he reigned, you may read about them in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. Jeroboam reigned for 22 years and then died, as had his ancestors, and his son Nadab reigned in his place.
Prophets » Mentioned in scripture » Prophet of judah
Right when Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn some incense, a man of God arrived in Bethel from Judah in obedience to a command from the LORD.
Verse Concepts
Reproof » Faithfulness in » A prophet of judah, of jeroboam
Right when Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn some incense, a man of God arrived in Bethel from Judah in obedience to a command from the LORD. He cursed the altar in this message from the LORD: "Hey altar! Hey altar! This is what the LORD says: "Pay attention to this! A son is going to be born in David's dynasty. His name will be Josiah. He will sacrifice the priests who burn incense on you in these high places. Human bones will be burned on you!'" Later that same day, he gave them a special display of power of what was to come when he said, "Here's proof that the LORD has decreed this: Look! This altar will be split apart and the ashes that are on it will spill out." read more.
When he heard the man of God curse the altar in Bethel, the king pointed at the man of God from where the king was standing at the altar. "Seize him!" he ordered. But all of a sudden his hand that he had stretched out dried up, and he could not bring it back to his side! Also, the altar broke apart and the ashes that were on it spilled out from the altar, providing just the proof that the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD! "Please!" the king begged the man of God, "Ask the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored for me!" So the man of God asked the LORD, and the king's hand was immediately and fully restored, just like it had been before. So the king told the man of God, "Come back to my palace and rest a while. I'd like to give you a reward." But the man of God replied to the king, "Even if you were to offer me half of your house, I wouldn't go with you, and I'm sure not going to eat even a piece of bread or drink water in this place, because the LORD commanded me specifically, "You are not to eat bread, drink water, or return by the way that you came to arrive here!'" Then he left, returning a different way than the one by which he had traveled to Bethel.
When he heard the man of God curse the altar in Bethel, the king pointed at the man of God from where the king was standing at the altar. "Seize him!" he ordered. But all of a sudden his hand that he had stretched out dried up, and he could not bring it back to his side! Also, the altar broke apart and the ashes that were on it spilled out from the altar, providing just the proof that the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD! "Please!" the king begged the man of God, "Ask the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored for me!" So the man of God asked the LORD, and the king's hand was immediately and fully restored, just like it had been before. So the king told the man of God, "Come back to my palace and rest a while. I'd like to give you a reward." But the man of God replied to the king, "Even if you were to offer me half of your house, I wouldn't go with you, and I'm sure not going to eat even a piece of bread or drink water in this place, because the LORD commanded me specifically, "You are not to eat bread, drink water, or return by the way that you came to arrive here!'" Then he left, returning a different way than the one by which he had traveled to Bethel.
"So now you think you'll be able to withstand the LORD's kingdom as controlled by David's descendants, just because you have a large crown and have brought with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods. Haven't you already driven away the LORD's priests, the descendants of Aaron and the descendants of Levi? Haven't you established your own priests like the people of other lands? "Now as far as we're concerned, the LORD is our God, and we haven't abandoned him. The descendants of Aaron are ministering to the LORD as priests, and the descendants of Levi continue their work. read more.
Every morning and evening, they're offering burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD, the showbread is set out on the pure table, and they take care of the golden lamp stand so its lamps can continue to burn every evening. We continue to be faithful over what the LORD our God entrusted to us, but you have abandoned him.
Every morning and evening, they're offering burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD, the showbread is set out on the pure table, and they take care of the golden lamp stand so its lamps can continue to burn every evening. We continue to be faithful over what the LORD our God entrusted to us, but you have abandoned him.
Rulers' » Wicked » Instances of » Jeroboam, perverting the true worship
Right when Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn some incense, a man of God arrived in Bethel from Judah in obedience to a command from the LORD. He cursed the altar in this message from the LORD: "Hey altar! Hey altar! This is what the LORD says: "Pay attention to this! A son is going to be born in David's dynasty. His name will be Josiah. He will sacrifice the priests who burn incense on you in these high places. Human bones will be burned on you!'" Later that same day, he gave them a special display of power of what was to come when he said, "Here's proof that the LORD has decreed this: Look! This altar will be split apart and the ashes that are on it will spill out." read more.
When he heard the man of God curse the altar in Bethel, the king pointed at the man of God from where the king was standing at the altar. "Seize him!" he ordered. But all of a sudden his hand that he had stretched out dried up, and he could not bring it back to his side! Also, the altar broke apart and the ashes that were on it spilled out from the altar, providing just the proof that the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD!
When he heard the man of God curse the altar in Bethel, the king pointed at the man of God from where the king was standing at the altar. "Seize him!" he ordered. But all of a sudden his hand that he had stretched out dried up, and he could not bring it back to his side! Also, the altar broke apart and the ashes that were on it spilled out from the altar, providing just the proof that the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD!
Jeroboam was thinking to himself, "The kingdom is about to return to David's control. If these people keep going up to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the LORD there, the hearts of these people will return to their lord, King Rehoboam of Judah. Then they'll kill me and return to Rehoboam, king of Judah!" So the king sought some advice and then built two golden calves and announced, "It's too difficult for you to travel to Jerusalem. So here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!" read more.
He set one of them in Bethel and placed the other one in Dan. Doing this was sinful, because the people traveled as far as Dan to appear before one of their idols. Jeroboam built temples on the high places, and appointed his own priests from the fringe elements of the people who were not descendants of Levi. Jeroboam invented a festival for the fifteenth day of the eighth month similar to the festival that takes place in Judah. He approached the altar that he had set up in Bethel and sacrificed to the calves that he had made, having stationed in Bethel the priests that he had appointed. Then, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, he went up to burn incense on the altar that he had set up in Bethel, thus beginning the festival that he had made up out of his own heart for the Israelis.
He set one of them in Bethel and placed the other one in Dan. Doing this was sinful, because the people traveled as far as Dan to appear before one of their idols. Jeroboam built temples on the high places, and appointed his own priests from the fringe elements of the people who were not descendants of Levi. Jeroboam invented a festival for the fifteenth day of the eighth month similar to the festival that takes place in Judah. He approached the altar that he had set up in Bethel and sacrificed to the calves that he had made, having stationed in Bethel the priests that he had appointed. Then, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, he went up to burn incense on the altar that he had set up in Bethel, thus beginning the festival that he had made up out of his own heart for the Israelis.
He will give up Israel because of Jeroboam's sins that he committed and by which Jeroboam caused Israel to sin."