1 Kings 14 Jeroboam’s Child
Jeroboam’s child is sick and there is nothing he can do about it. Rather than calling out to God, he sends his wife in disguise to learn his fate.
Jeroboam KNOWS that he is on the wrong side of the Lord. He is afraid to go himself to the prophet Ahijah. He is even afraid for the prophet to know that it is his wife who is coming to inquire of him. And he doesn’t ask the prophet to intercede on the child’s behalf. Only to find out what will happen to him.
Jeroboam could have repented and turned from his ways and sought the Lord, but he didn’t. He was still afraid of Israel turning back to the Lord and reuniting with Judah. There was war between Israel and Judah all the time. Brings to mind squabbling children; especially Jacob and Esau. But that is a story for another day.
Today we see Jeroboam’s family’s fate sealed. Let’s rejoin our story as we see the beginnings of God’s just judgment against Israel.
♥ ♦ ♥
Jeroboam has been king of Israel for some time. He has outlived the son of Solomon, Rehoboam. Rehoboam’s son Abijah now sits on the throne of Judah. The divide between the two haves of the once great nation of Israel are fully entrenched. Jeroboam himself saw to that when he first erected the golden calves. The people’s hearts are FAR away from the Lord. Yet they STILL know His power.
Jeroboam knows how far from the Lord he personally is. And today, it terrifies him. Jeroboam stands beside his wife, who is holding his youngest child. He is such a sweet child. He always has a smile for everyone. His temperament is mild, and at the tender age of two, he is the apple of his father’s eye.
Right now, that ‘apple’ is burning up with fever and struggling to breathe. Jeroboam feels the weight of his own sin pressing down on him and fears it is smothering his beautiful child.
“Please do something!” his wife pleads as if he is God and can heal the sick.
Jeroboam is desperate too. “I have no right to ask God for healing for my child, but if I can at least know his fate…” thinks Jeroboam. With this thought another occurs to him. The prophet who told him that he would be king one day lives in Shiloh. Surely he will know what will become of his son.
Jeroboam knows that he cannot approach him. He fears that God would strike him dead if he even tried. And if he were to simply send his wife, God would probably reject her outright. But there might be a way.
Grasping his wife’s shoulders, Jeroboam turns her to face him. “Arise, and disguise yourself, that it not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who said of me that I should be king over this people. Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall happen to the child” (1 Kings 14:2-3).
She looks down at her child in her arms. “I need to tend him. Can you send someone else? Or go yourself?”
“It has to be you. The Lord may listen to a mother’s heart, but He will refuse me outright. The child will be well cared for. The sooner you go, the sooner you will return.”
Scraping what hope she can together, Jeroboam’s wife does exactly as her husband has instructed. She even wears the robes of one of her servants so she will not appear in royal garments. To complete the transformation, Jeroboam’s wife rides a donkey the distance from Shechem to Shiloh. She is taking every precaution to hide her identity.
She cannot hide from the Lord. He saw her as the plan was being put to her. He watched as she rode out of Shechem. He follows her every step, right up to the home of Ahijah. As she is nearing Ahijah’s home, the Lord speaks to him of her identity, her purpose, and His plan.
“Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you say to her” (1 Kings 14:5).
Ahijah remembers well the day he met Jeroboam outside of Jerusalem. Of the promise the Lord gave him and the requirements of that promise. And he KNOWS the lengths Jeroboam has gone to in voiding that promise. “I am ready Lord, to speak the words You have given me; painful as they are.”
Moments later Jeroboam’s wife’s footsteps can be heard in the house. Ahijah calls out to her; “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another? For I am charged with unbearable news for you…”
Jeroboam’s wife steps into the room where Ahijah is seated. She bows low to the floor. And she holds her breath as she anticipates the ‘unbearable news’ that is coming.
Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: “Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes, but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking me to anger, and have cast me behind your back, therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free in Israel, and will burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone. Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the Lord has spoken it …”’
“No!” Jeroboam’s wife whispers in terror. But there is more to come.
“… Arise therefore, go to your house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die …”
A cry of pain so deep it can’t be spoken in words rips from the child’s mother. Her body crumples to the floor. Her mourning wails touch Ahijah’s heart, but he continues. He will not keep a single word from her that the Lord has given him.
“… And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam …”
Jeroboam’s wife is sobbing, but she knows that she must listen to the whole message. Through her pain and tears, she hears the rest of the Lord’s words against Israel itself.
“…Moreover, the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today. And henceforth, the Lord will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and root up Israel out of this good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger. And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin” (1 Kings 14:7-16).
Ahijah finally falls silent. Jeroboam’s wife waits, to see if there is more. When he says nothing more, she slowly picks herself up off the floor. She feels as if her whole body is being pulled towards the ground, so great is her grief, but she has to go home.
Slowly she drags herself to her donkey. Rather than mount him, she sags down against his side and front legs. “If I don’t go home, my son will not die”, she thinks to herself. She is resigned to stay here and let the ground swallow her up, until she remembers the struggle her child is embroiled in. “I cannot force him to struggle just to save my heart. I have to go home so he can know peace.”
With this settled, Jeroboam’s wife rises from the ground and mounts her donkey. It is fortunate that the donkey knows the way, because the tears that continue to fall from her eyes makes it difficult to make out her surroundings.
By some miracle, Jeroboam’s wife reaches their home. She dismounts the donkey and slowly walks to the door. As soon as her toes hit the threshold of her house, she hears a mournful wail rise up from within. “He is free now”, she tells herself as she continues on to his side. She joins her voice to those who have witnessed her son’s last breaths.
The child is buried that same day and all of Israel mourns for him. His short life touched many hearts.
After returning from the tomb, Jeroboam’s wife tells him ALL the words Ahijah shared with her. Jeroboam’s heart is heavy, knowing full well that the words of the Lord ALWAYS come to pass. He will do all he can to prevent it, except repent and turn the people back to the Lord.
Jeroboam dies years later. His legacy of idolatry lives on in Israel.
(to be continued)
What a lonely place to be. I firmly believe that we are NEVER so far away from God that He won’t welcome us back. Until the moment we breathe our last here on earth, He holds out His arms to us. Jeroboam could have repented and tore down the idols. But that wasn’t part of God’s plan. NOT that God damned him to live the life that he did, but that God KNEW what he would choose even before Jeroboam himself did.
Father God, don’t let me wander away. Keep me by Your side! Send Your Holy Spirit after me every time I even think about stepping away.
I cannot imagine the pain that mother went through, knowing that her very steps home were marking her son’s last moments on earth. But love for her son brought her home so he could have rest from his pain. That’s love!
