Jeroboam -- A Powerful Influence

Introduction:

A. Our lesson is simply entitled, Jeroboam -- A Powerful Influence.

B. Jeroboam could rightly be called, "The Man Who Could Have Been."

  C. He was a man who had everything going for him (i.e., everything was going his way). Think about it:

  1. God had promised to be with him.

   I Kgs. 11:38: "And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, & wilt walk in my ways, & do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes & my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, & build thee a sure house, as I built for David, & will give Israel unto thee."

  2. He had the love & respect of his people. I Kgs. 12:3,20

  3. He had the background & qualities for the making of a great leader.

  4. He is described as a "mighty man of valor" in I Kings 11:28.

D. And yet, as we consider Jeroboam's life in an overview, we can't help but see him as a failure, a miserable failure.

E. Whatever may have been his life, he exerted a lasting influence on the Northern Kingdom & her subsequent kings.

F. In this lesson we shall view the life of Jeroboam & try to make some applications to our generation.

Discussion:

I. THE EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE TIME OF HIS KINGSHIP:

  A. In I Kings 11 we read of Solomon's idolatry.

   1. He allowed his many wives to influence him to build altars to idol gods & to "go after them."

    I Kgs. 11:3,4: "And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, & three hundred concubines: & his wives turned away his heart. (4) For it came to pass, when Solo- mon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: & his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father."

   2. The Scriptures tell us that he went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians & Milcom of the Ammonites. He built a high place for Chemosh of Moab & for Molech of Ammon. I Kgs. 11:5-8

  B. Because of his idolatry God told him that the kingdom would be taken away from him.

   I Kgs. 11:9-11: "And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, (10) & had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded. (11) Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, & thou hast not kept my covenant & my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, & will give it to thy servant."

  C. In Solomon's kingdom was a young man by the name of Jeroboam.

   1. He was the son of Nebat; his mother's name was Zereda -- a widow. I Kgs. 11:26

   2. Jeroboam is described as "a mighty man of valor." I Kgs. 11:28

   3. He was given charge of the conscription labor of the house of Joseph -- Ephraim. I Kgs. 11:28b

  D. In I Kgs. 11:29-39 Jeroboam was visited by Ahijah the Shilonite, a prophet of God.

   1. Ahijah tears his new garment into twelve pieces. I Kgs. 11:29,30

   2. He instructs Jeroboam to choose ten portions, stating that God has given ten of the tribes of Israel to him. I Kgs. 11:31

   3. Jeroboam is told that God will be with him if he will heed the commandments of God. I Kgs. 11:38,39

  E. Because of Solomon's attempts on his life, Jeroboam flees to Egypt where he remains until Solomon's death. I Kgs. 11:40

  F. Upon Solomon's death Jeroboam returns to Israel & goes with the people to Rehoboam (Solomon's son) with a request to make their load lighter.

   I Kings 12:2-4: "And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, & Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) (3) That they sent & called him. & Jeroboam & all the congregation of Israel came, & spake unto Rehoboam, saying, (4) Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, & his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, & we will serve thee."

  G. Rehoboam sends them away for three days so that he might ask cousel & give the matter further thought. I Kgs. 12:5

   1. He first asks counsel of the old men who advised him to lighten the people's load.

    I Kings 12:6,7: "And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, & said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people? (7) & they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, & wilt serve them, & answer them, & speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever."

   2. He then asks counsel of the young men who advise him to increase the load.

    I Kings 12:8-11: "But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, & consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, & which stood before him: (9) & he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter? (10) & the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins. (11) & now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."

  H. Jeroboam & the people came to Rehoboam after three days to hear his decision. I Kgs. 12:13-15

   1. Rehoboam answers them "roughly" [harshly]. I Kgs. 12:13

   2. Consequently, the people (ten tribes) rebel.

    I Kgs. 12:16,17: "So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. (17) But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them."

  I. These ten tribes (all but Judah & Benjamin) make Jeroboam king, thus the prophecy of Ahijah (I Kgs. 12:20) concerning him is fulfilled.

II. JEROBOAM'S REIGN OVER ISRAEL:

  A. Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim to be his capital, but later built Penuel as his capital.

   I Kgs. 12:25: "Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, & dwelt therein; & went out from thence, & built Penuel."

  B. From the very beginning of his reign Jeroboam displayed absolute faithlessness in God.

   1. God had given him the ten tribes.

   2. God had promised to be with him as long as he hearkened unto him. I Kgs. 11:38

   3. Yet in his faithlessness Jeroboam fears that the people will return to Jerusalem & to Rehoboam. I Kgs. 12:26

  C. As king of Israel Jeroboam caused the people to sin in many ways:

   1. He changed the object of worship -- he built two golden calves for Israel to worship. I Kgs. 12:28a

    a. This was done in spite of Exodus 20:3,4.

     Exo. 20:3,4: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (4) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in hea- ven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth."

    b. This was blatant idolatry!

   2. He changed the place of worship.

    a. He placed one of the calves at Dan & one at Bethel & encouraged the people to worship there instead of Jersualem.

     I Kgs. 12:28,29: "Whereupon the king took counsel, & made two calves of gold, & 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) & he set the one in Beth-el, & the other put he in Dan."

    b. Obviously Jeroboam had no respect for God's will in the matter!

   3. He changed the priesthood.

    a. He made priest from among the people & not from the sons of Levi.

    b. Another deliberate violation of God's commands

   4. He changed the time of worship from the seventh month to the eighth month.

    I Kgs. 12:32: "And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, & he offered upon the altar. So did he in Beth-el, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: & he placed in Beth-el the priests of the high places which he had made."

   5. Sadly, through his influence the people accepted these ungodly changes one by one.

III. THE RESULT OF JEROBOAM'S SIN:

  A. Ultimately, the people of Jeroboam's generation (those under his rule) were led totally away from God (i.e., they lost all respect for the commands of God).

  B. The majority of the kings of Israel for the next 230 years would follow in the steps of Jeroboam & continue to cause Israel to sin.

   1. Not a single one of the eighteen (18) kings who succeeded Jeroboam can be classified as a godly individual.

   2. Of at least fourteen (14) of them we find such sad statements as:

    "He departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam." II Kgs. 10:31

    "He departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat." II Kgs. 15:18

    "He cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom." II Kgs. 3:3

   3. What a sad & tragic way to be remembered, as one who led the people of God astray!

  C Because of the lasting influence of Jeroboam the people were led deeper & deeper into idolatry until finally in about 722 or 721 B.C. God allowed the Assyrians to take these ten tribes into captivity, & ultimately into oblivion.

  D. How great & terrible was the influence of one evil man upon a nation of people.

IV. SOME LESSONS & PERSONAL APPLICATIONS FROM THE LIFE & INFLUENCE OF JEROBOAM:

  A. The qualities of leadership which Jeroboam possessed must be those qualities pososessed by church leaders today.

   1. He was courageous -- "a mighty man of valor." I Kgs. 11:28

   2. He was a hard worker -- industrious.

   3. Without hard working & courageous leadership in the church today there will be little, if any, spiritual growth.

  B. In Jeroboam we see that the qualities of leadership can be greatly abused & misdirected.

   1. Jeroboam misused his abilities by doing evil rather than good.

   2. Many today & in the past who have & do possess the qualities of lealdership have, & continue to abuse them.

    a. Leaders of hobby factions (i.e., "one cuppers," "anti-orphan home," "saints-only," etc.)

    . b. Leaders of cult movements (i.e., Crossroads, Boston movement, etc.).

    c. Some leaders of our "Christian colleges."

  C. We also learn from the life of Jeroboam that numbers do not necessarily constitute the way that is right.

   1. Ten tribes followed Jeroboam into idolatry while only two tribes (a definite minority) remained with Rehoboam. I Kgs. 12:21

   2. Today there are those in the church who possess this same mentality which says, "Numbers at any cost," or, "the end justifies the means."

    a. Such was the philosophy of Jeroboam.

  D. Jeroboam clearly illustrates the fact that one's influence (good or bad) lives on long after death.

   1. As we have already seen, Jeroboam's influence lived on long after his flesh had returned to the dust.

   2. In our own generation, we have seen the influence of men, both sound & unsound, have lasting effects.

    a. The influence of godly elders.

    b. The influence of anti-ism, modernism, & liberalism.

    c. The influence of faithful Bible class teachers &/or preachers.

    d. The influence of godly Christian parents, grandparents or other family members.

  E. We learn from Jeroboam that only by obeying God can we ever be acceptable to Him.

   1. Jeroboam's power, his fear, his changes, & his disobedience did not gain him the favor of God.

   2. Likewise today, all the frenzied activity, the numbers, & intellectualism of church leaders (or preachers) does not make them right with God.

   3. Only when one fully & completely obeys God is he truly acceptable to God.

    Heb. 5:9: "And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him."

Conclusion:

1. Jeroboam had tremendous potential for good.

2. Because of his faithlessness he abused his abilities & disobeyed God.

3. Through his rebellion & disobedience he influenced those of his generation (& generations to come), to disobey God.

4. As was Jeroboam, so are many in the Lord's church today.

5. May we all live our lives in such a way as to influence & draw men to God.

6. In closing, consider the Lord's words of Matthew 5:13-16: "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, & to be trodden under foot of men. (14) Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. (15) Neither do men light a candle [lamp], & put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick stand; & it giveth light unto all that are in the house. (16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, & glorify your Father which is in heaven."

Sermon Source -- Ernest Underwood