Who is King Jeroboam in the Bible?

Quick Facts

Father: Nebat, 1 Kings 12:2
Mother: Zeruah, 1 Kings 11:26
Reign: 931 BC – 910 BC
Succession: 1st king
Kingdom: Kingdom of Israel
Length of reign: 22 years, 1 Kings 14:20
Successor: King Nadab, 1 Kings 14:20
Tribe: Ephraimite, 1 Kings 11:26
Morality: evil king, 1 Kings 14:9
Biblical history: 1Ki 12:1-33; 1Ki 13:1-10; 1Ki 14:1-20

Disambiguation

Background

The name Jeroboam means the people will contend. Jeroboam was the first king of the Kingdom of Israel when the kingdom split and he reigned for 22 years in Tirzah. His father was Nebat and his mother was Zeruah. Jeroboam had at least two sons, Abijah and Nadab. Abijah died and Nadab succeeded him. Jeroboam died of natural causes during the reign of King Asa of Judah and his son Nadab succeeded him.

How Jeroboam became a king

The Lord promised David that if his descendants faithfully served Him, He would make them rule as kings over Israel forever (1 Kings 2:4). As for David, he was faithful to God for life. His son Solomon who succeeded him started in the fear of God, but in his old age, the foreign women he married misled him into idolatry and he breached the condition of God’s promise. So God began to look elsewhere to select a new leader for Israel and strip the kingdom from the hands of the family of King David.

During that time, there was a young man called Jeroboam, the son of Nebat of the tribe of Ephraim from the town Zereda. Jeroboam was an industrious young man and King Solomon, seeing that he was industrious, made him an important officer who oversaw all of the governmental affairs in the tribe of Ephraim. (1 Kings 11:28)

One day, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, Prophet Ahijah met him on the road and the two of them were alone. Ahijah took the new garment he was wearing, tore it into twelve pieces, and made Jeroboam pick ten of them. This symbolic act represents the division of the kingdom, with Jeroboam receiving ten tribes while Solomon retains only one. (1 Kings 11:26-40)

Under the influence of Ahijah’s prophesy, Jeroboam conspired against King Solomon to usurp the throne, but his conspiracy was discovered and King Solomon sought to kill him. So he fled to Egypt to seek the protection of Shishak king of Egypt till the death of King Solomon. (1 Kings 11:26-40)

After King Solomon’s death, Jeroboam returned to Israel when he heard that Solomon’s son Rehoboam was going to be made a king in Shechem. Jeroboam led the people to Rehoboam to ask for a reduction of the high taxes they were paying. When Rehoboam refused to grant their request, ten of the tribes rebelled and declared themselves independent, forming the Kingdom of Israel. These tribes chose and made Jeroboam their king.

Jeroboam founded a new religion

According to the Law of Moses, the Israelites were not supposed to offer their burnt offerings at any place they deemed fit. Rather, they were to go to the place the Lord had chosen for worship, which was Jerusalem; there they should perform all their religious rites (De 12:5-12). And that was what all the tribes of Israel were doing ever since the Temple of Solomon was completed.

But Jeroboam saw an occasion to fear for he thought that if his people offered sacrifices in the temple of God in Jerusalem, their hearts would turn again to King Rehoboam of Judah, and he Jeroboam would be killed. Therefore he took counsel from his advisors and founded a new religion for the kingdom.

He made two golden calves and built altars in Bethel and Dan and placed one of the golden calves in Bethel and the other in Dan. Further, he diverted the attention and devotion of the people from God and God’s chosen place of worship, Jerusalem, to these golden idols in Dan and Bethel (1 Kings 12:31). This sin was later referred to as the sins of Jeroboam or the way of Jeroboam.

Jeroboam, in addition to the golden calves, built high places – places for offering sacrifices on top of hills. He disregarded the Levitical priesthood established by God and appointed priests from all walks of life for the high places and the shrines in Bethel and Dan. He also ordained a feast on the 15th day of the 8th month during which burnt sacrifices and incense would be offered to the golden idols in Bethel and Dan. (Bible reference 1 Kings 12:25-33)

Jeroboam and the prophet from Judah

One day, while Jeroboam was offering burnt incense at the shrine in Bethel, a man of God from Judah prophesied against the altar. He said a descendant of David named Josiah would be born and he would burn the bones of the priests of the high places on the altar to defile it. And the prophet caused the altar to split apart and the ashes on it poured down as a sign that his prophecy would come true (1Ki 13:1-3).

Jeroboam was furious, stretched forth his hand towards the prophet, and commanded, “Arrest him!”. But the hand he stretched withered such that he could not pull it back to himself. Then Jeroboam pleaded with the prophet to pray for him to regain use of his hand. And the prophet did so to make his hand become as before. Sadly, these events did not turn the heart of Jeroboam from the sin of idolatry. The prophecy of the man of God was fulfilled in (2Ki 23:15-16). (Bible reference 1 Kings 13:1-10)

King Jeroboam lost his son

Over time, Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. Jeroboam had his wife disguise herself, take ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey to Shiloh to see Prophet Ahijah to inquire what would happen to the child. Before her arrival, the Lord disclosed to Ahijah the visit of Jeroboam’s wife and gave him a message to tell her. When she arrived, Ahijah disclosed to her that Abijah would die when she returned to Tirzah and it happened. In addition, Ahijah prophesied the doom of Jeroboam that because he had done evil above the previous kings, God would raise another king who would exterminate his entire family and end his dynasty. This prophecy was fulfilled during the reign of King Nadab recorded in 1Ki 15:25-32. (Bible reference 1 Kings 14:1-20)

Major events during Jeroboam’s reign

  • Jeroboam fortified the city of Bethel and the city of Penuel. (1Ki 12:25)
  • He founded the worship of the golden calves as a new religion for Israel. (1Ki 12:25-33)
  • There was a war between Jeroboam and King Abijah of Judah. Israel was defeated, losing 500,000 men. (2Ch 13:17)
  • Following his defeat, Jeroboam lost Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and Ephron with its villages to Abijah.  (2Ch 13:19)
  • A prophet from Judah prophesied against the altar in Bethel. (1Ki 13:1-10)
  • Abijah, the son of Jeroboam, died. (1Ki 14:17-18)
  • Prophet Ahijah prophesied about the extermination of Jeroboam’s entire family (1Ki 14:10-14)

The achievement of Jeroboam

  • He built a town called Shechem in Mount Ephraim. (1Ki 12:25)
  • He built a town called Penuel. (1Ki 12:25)

Contemporaries of Jeroboam

  • King Solomon: Jeroboam was Solomon’s official. Their relationship deteriorated when Solomon discovered that Jeroboam was plotting against him. (1Ki 11:26-40)
  • King Rehoboam, son of King Solomon, and Jeroboam became kings around the same time. The Bible testifies that there was war between them all their days. (1Ki 14:30)
  • King Abijah, son of King Rehoboam, began to rule in Judah in the 18th year of Jeroboam’s reign. There was enmity between them, leading to war. (2Ch 13:1-20)
  • King Asa, son of King Abijah, began to reign in Judah in the 20th year of Jeroboam’s reign. Though they were not in any good relationship, no war occurred between them. (1Ki 15:9)

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