But then Jeroboam thought, “It won’t be long before the kingdom is reunited under David. As soon as these people resume worship at The Temple of GOD in Jerusalem, they’ll start thinking of Rehoboam king of Judah as their ruler. They’ll then kill me and go back to King Rehoboam.” So the king came up with a plan: He made two golden calves. Then he announced, “It’s too much trouble for you to go to Jerusalem to worship. Look at these—the gods who brought you out of Egypt!” He put one calf in Bethel; the other he placed in Dan. This was blatant sin. Think of it—people traveling all the way to Dan to worship a calf! And that wasn’t the end of it. Jeroboam built forbidden shrines all over the place and recruited priests from wherever he could find them, regardless of whether they were fit for the job or not. To top it off, he created a holy New Year festival to be held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month to replace the one in Judah, complete with worship offered on the Altar at Bethel and sacrificing before the calves he had set up there. He staffed Bethel with priests from the local shrines he had made. This was strictly his own idea to compete with the feast in Judah; and he carried it off with flair, a festival exclusively for Israel, Jeroboam himself leading the worship at the Altar.
Read 1 Kings 12
Listen to 1 Kings 12
Share
Compare All Versions: 1 Kings 12:26-33
3 Days
Temi Michael-O guides readers through scriptural truths on two common mindfulness practices- meditation and grounding. You will learn how to stay grounded and practice the highest form of meditation to overcome negative emotions or feelings.
5 Days
When hard times come and it seems God is deviating from the plan we assume our life should follow, we’re much more likely to want to tame God, not trust Him. Trustworthy is a 5-day reading plan that tackles the trust issues the ancient kings had with God that are applicable to us today.
7 Days
Many Old Testament kings went so far beyond foolishness, so far beyond any good sense that “stupid” is a far more accurate characterization of the choices these kings made during their reign. This 7-day devotional focuses on garnering wisdom from the mistakes of these “Stupid Kings”, as told from the book of 1 Kings.
20 Days
From Genesis to Revelation, “God’s Redemption Story” outlines the narrative of God’s plan for the reconciliation of humanity. This 12-part reading plan summarizes the story of the Bible. 1 Kings through Ezra begins the fall of a fractured Israel yet God remains faithful to His people.
Save verses, read offline, watch teaching clips, and more!
Home
Bible
Plans
Videos