Who was Jeroboam in the Bible?
Even clear warning are hard to obey. The Bible is filled with stories of people who had direction from God and yet chose their own way. Their disobedience was rarely due to ignorance of what God wanted; rater, it grew out of stubborn selfishness. Jeroboam was a constant example of this all-too-human trait.
During his construction activities, Solomon noticed young Jeroboam’s natural leadership skills and made him a special project foreman. Shortly after this, God contacted Jeroboam through the prophet Ahijah. He told Jeroboam that God would punish David’s dynasty by tearing the kingdom fro Solomon’s son and that Jeroboam would rule the ten northern tribes. And God made it clear that the same fate would destroy Jeroboam’s family if they refused to obey God. Apparently Solomon heard about these events and tried to have Jeroboam killed. The future king escaped to Egypt, where he stayed until Solomon died.
When Rehoboam, Solomon’s heir, took the throne, Jeroboam returned. He represented the people in demanding that a new king be more lenient than his father David was. Rehoboam’s unwise choice in rejecting his people’s request led to their rejecting him as king. Only Judah and the annexed tribe of Benjamin remained loyal to David’s dynasty. The other ten tribes made Jeroboam king.
Rather than seeing the fulfillment of God’s promise as motivation to obey God. Jeroboam decided to do whatever he could to secure his position. He led his own kingdom away from the God who had allowed him to reign. God had already warned him of the consequences of this action and his family was eventually wiped out. And Jeroboam even set into motion events that would lead to the destruction of the northern kingdom.
Sin’s consequences are guaranteed in God’s Word, but the timing of those consequences is hard to predict. When we do something directly opposed to God’s commands and there isn’t immediate disaster, we are often fooled into believing we got away with disobedience. But that is a dangerous assumption. Jeroboam life should make us recognize our frequent need to admit our disobedience and ask God to forgive us.
Have you asked God to forgive things you’ve done that are disobedient? Do you know God? Do you know Jesus?
Are you certain that you are going to heaven? If the answer is no or your not really sure and there is something stirring inside you at this very moment to do this, then all you have to do is say a small prayer and you can be assured of your name being added to the Book of Life. Go to the prayer of salvation and pray the words out loud and believe in your heart and you will be saved.
Jeroboam’s story is told in 1 Kings 11:26 – 14:20. He is also mentioned in 2 Chronicles 10 – 13
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