1 Kings Chapter 14

Ahijah’s Prophecy Against Jeroboam

¹ At that time, Abijah, Jeroboam’s^I son, got sick. ² Jeroboam told his wife,  

         “Disguise yourself and go to Shiloh. Ahijah the prophet is there who said I’d be king. ³ Take ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey. He’ll tell you what will happen to the boy.”

⁴ She went to Ahijah’s house at Shiloh. He couldn’t see because of his age. ⁵ Yahveh had told him,

“Jeroboam’s wife is coming to ask about her son that’s sick. Tell her such and such; when she gets here, she’ll pretend to be another woman.”

⁶ When Ahijah heard her footsteps coming in the door, he said,

“Come in, Jeroboam’s wife, why pretend to be another woman? I’m sent to you with a harsh message. ⁷ Tell Jeroboam that Yahveh God of Israel says, ‘I lifted you up from among the people and made you Israel’s leader. ⁸ I tore the kingdom away from David’s descendants and gave it to you. But you’ve not been like David. He kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart and did only what I said was right. ⁹ You’ve done more evil than anybody before you. You’ve made other gods and molten images and tossed me aside. ¹⁰ So I’ll bring catastrophe on your family: I’ll eliminate from you every male, bond or free, and consume your family like a person burns up manure. ¹¹ Dogs will eat any relative that dies in the city; birds will eat any that die in the field; I’ve said so.’                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                      1 Kg 14:1-11

¹² “Go home. When you enter the city, the child will die. ¹³ Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He’s the only one in Jeroboam’s family they’ll put in a grave. This child was something good that Yahveh saw in Jeroboam’s family. ¹⁴ Yahveh will raise up a king to get rid of Jeroboam’s dynasty. ¹⁵ He’ll strike Israel like water washing over a reed and uproot Israel from this good land. He’ll scatter them beyond the Euphrates River because they’ve set up their Asherah poles and made him angry. ¹⁶ He’ll give Israel up over the sins Jeroboam got Israel to do.”

¹⁷ She left and went to Tirzah. As she was going into the house, the child died. ¹⁸ All Israel buried him and mourned for him like Yahveh’s message said.

The Death of Jeroboam

¹⁹ The rest of the acts of Jeroboam—how he ruled and made war—are recorded in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. ²⁰ He ruled for 22 years and died. His son Nadab reigned.

                                                                                                                            1 Kg 14:12-20

Rehoboam Rules in Judah

²¹ Rehoboam ruled in Judah. He was 41 when he became king and ruled for 17 years in Jerusalem, the city Yahveh chose from the tribes of Israel to identify with. His mother was Naamah the Ammonitess. ²² Judah provoked Yahveh more than their ancestors did. ²³ They built high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every tall hill under every green tree. ²⁴ There were male cult prostitutes in the land. They did all the disgusting things the nations did that Yahveh originally drove out for Israel. 1 Kg 14:21-24

²⁵ In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak [Shoshenq I], king of Egypt, came up and attacked Jerusalem. ²⁶ He took away the treasures in Yahveh’s Temple and the king’s palace, and everything Solomon had made, including the gold shields. ²⁷ Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and committed them to the care of the commanders of the guard for the king’s palace. ²⁸ Whenever he went to the Temple, the guards would carry them and bring them back to the guardroom.

²⁹ The rest of the acts of Rehoboam are recorded in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. ³⁰ War went on constantly between him and Jeroboam. ³¹ He died and they buried him in The City of David. His son Abijam became king. 1 Kg 14:25-31