King Jeroboam I

Readers of this blog may recall that I have been learning about the Divided Kingdoms Judah (South) and Israel (North).

This from the Bible Lens in the Christian Science Sentinel dated 13th March on the Christian Science Bible Lesson “Matter” is very helpful:

8 | I Kings 13:1, 3–6 

There came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Beth–el: . . . And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Beth–el, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Entreat now the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.

In this account, an unidentified prophet arrives in the Northern Kingdom of Israel to admonish its first king, Jeroboam. This monarch has cemented the split from the Southern Kingdom of Judah, whose two tribes worshiped at Jerusalem, by setting up idols for the remaining ten tribes at sanctuaries in Bethel and Dan. (Jeroboam is later designated the monarch who “made Israel to sin”; see 16:26.) 

Now, at the dedication of the Bethel altar, Jeroboam’s actions are denounced by the visiting seer. When the unrepentant king attempts to arrest the prophet, his outstretched hand is withered and the altar destroyed. In a tacit recognition of God’s power, Jeroboam asks for healing—and receives it from the man whose rebuke he has rejected.

Joyce Voysey

Ed. A shortened version of the Bible Lens appears in the print version of the Christian Science Sentinel. It includes a QR Code that can be read by a smartphone and which gives access to more helpful material. Click the links above to find out more about the Christian Science Bible Lesson and the Bible Lens. Or go to the Bible Lesson page on BooksThatChangeLives.au (a joint venture of Christian Science churches in Queensland).