1 Kings 14: Jeroboam's Son Dies, Rehoboam's Folly

Short answer: 1 Kings 14 records the death of Jeroboam's son Abijah after a prophet announces judgment on Jeroboam's house, and it turns to Judah where Rehoboam leads the people into idolatry and loses the temple treasures to Egypt.

What 1 Kings 14 says

The chapter opens with sickness in Jeroboam's house. His son Abijah is ill, and Jeroboam sends his wife to the prophet Ahijah at Shiloh, telling her to disguise herself and bring a modest gift of bread, cakes, and honey. Ahijah is old and blind, but Yahweh has already told him she is coming and what to say. When she arrives, he greets her by name and asks why she pretends to be someone else, then delivers heavy news. The disguise fails because God has spoken first. The scene shows a king who once received a promise now trying to manage a crisis by hiding his identity, and a prophet whose physical blindness does not hinder his sight of God's word.

Verses 7 through 16 give the oracle itself. Yahweh reminds Jeroboam that he was exalted from among the people and given the kingdom torn from David's house, yet Jeroboam did not follow David's example of obedience. Instead he made other gods and molten images and cast Yahweh behind his back. Therefore his house will be cut off, swept away like dung, with no one left. Those who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those in the field by birds. The one exception is the sick child: he alone will come to the grave because some good thing toward Yahweh was found in him. The oracle also announces that Yahweh will raise up a king who will cut off Jeroboam's house, and that Israel itself will be struck and scattered beyond the River because of the Asherah poles and the sins Jeroboam taught the people.

The narrative then follows the word to its fulfillment. Jeroboam's wife leaves and comes to Tirzah, and as she crosses the threshold of the house, the child dies. All Israel buries him and mourns, exactly as Yahweh spoke through Ahijah. The chapter closes Jeroboam's reign with a summary: the rest of his acts are recorded elsewhere, he reigned twenty-two years, he slept with his fathers, and his son Nadab reigned in his place. The speed from prophecy to death is stark. There is no long delay, no chance for the king to reverse the sentence. The child's death becomes the first installment of the judgment announced on the house, and the burial shows that the word of God through the prophet was reliable even in its saddest detail.

The chapter then turns to Judah and Rehoboam. Rehoboam was forty-one when he began to reign and ruled seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city Yahweh had chosen. His mother was Naamah the Ammonitess. Judah did evil in Yahweh's sight, provoking him to jealousy more than their fathers had done. They built high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree, and there were sodomites in the land. In Rehoboam's fifth year, Shishak king of Egypt came against Jerusalem and took away the treasures of Yahweh's house and the king's house, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. Rehoboam replaced them with bronze shields, which the guard carried whenever the king went into Yahweh's house. The chapter ends with continual war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam, Rehoboam's death and burial in David's city, and Abijam his son reigning in his place.

Verses that carry the chapter

• “Yahweh said to Ahijah, “Behold, Jeroboam’s wife is coming to inquire of you concerning her son; for he is sick. Tell her such and such; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman.” (1 Kings 14:5)” (1 Kings 14:5) — Yahweh tells Ahijah in advance that Jeroboam's wife is coming in disguise and what to say, showing that no human scheme can hide from God's knowledge.
• “therefore, behold, I will bring evil on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam everyone who urinates on a wall, he who is shut up and he who is left at large in Israel, and will utterly sweep away the house of Jeroboam, as a man sweeps away dung, until it is all gone.” (1 Kings 14:10) — The judgment on Jeroboam's house is total and vivid, sweeping away every male and leaving nothing, which underscores the seriousness of covenant betrayal.
• “All Israel will mourn for him and bury him; for he only of Jeroboam will come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward Yahweh, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.” (1 Kings 14:13) — The child alone will be buried because some good thing toward Yahweh was found in him, a rare note of mercy inside a pronouncement of doom.
• “and he took away the treasures of Yahweh’s house, and the treasures of the king’s house. He even took away all of it, including all the gold shields which Solomon had made.” (1 Kings 14:26) — Shishak carries off the treasures of Yahweh's house and the king's house, including Solomon's gold shields, marking the loss of glory that follows Judah's sin.

Gospel connection

The chapter shows two kingdoms, north and south, both failing the covenant. Jeroboam's house is cut off for idolatry, and Judah provokes Yahweh with high places and Asherah poles. The gold shields of Solomon are taken by Egypt and replaced with bronze, a picture of diminished glory. Yet the chapter also contains a small sign of hope: the child Abijah is buried because some good thing toward Yahweh was found in him. That pattern of judgment mingled with mercy runs through the Bible. The prophets keep speaking, and God keeps preserving a remnant. The ultimate answer to the sin of both kingdoms is not a better king among Jeroboam's or Rehoboam's line but the son of David who keeps the commandments perfectly. Where Jeroboam cast Yahweh behind his back and Rehoboam's people provoked him to jealousy, Jesus follows the Father with all his heart. The scattered nation and the plundered temple point forward to a restoration that only the gospel brings.

Application

This chapter asks the reader to stop treating God as someone who can be managed or hidden from. Jeroboam's wife puts on a disguise, but the prophet already knows who she is and why she has come. We may not wear a literal disguise, but we often try to approach God on our own terms, with our own gifts and our own timing, hoping to control the outcome. The chapter also warns that sin is never private. Jeroboam made Israel to sin, and the consequences fell on the whole people. Rehoboam's Judah followed the abominations of the nations, and the treasures of the temple were carried off. The application is unhurried but clear: examine where you have cast God behind your back, and turn back to him. The one good thing found in Abijah shows that God notices even small faithfulness. He is not blind like Ahijah; he sees the heart, and he honors what is turned toward him.

Biblical fidelity check

The chapter does not tell us the name of the king Yahweh will raise up to cut off Jeroboam's house, nor does it specify when that will happen beyond saying the day is near. It does not describe Jeroboam's reaction to the prophecy or record any repentance on his part. It does not explain why the child Abijah was sick or what the good thing in him was. It does not give the name of the prophet who will arise, nor does it identify the River beyond which Israel will be scattered, though the context suggests the Euphrates. It does not say whether Rehoboam repented after Shishak's invasion, nor does it describe the war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam beyond noting it was continual. The text is silent on the fate of the bronze shields after Rehoboam's death and on the details of Abijam's reign. It also does not comment on the moral character of the sodomites beyond their presence in the land.

Questions for study

1. Why does Jeroboam send his wife in disguise, and what does Ahijah's response reveal about God's knowledge?
2. What specific charges does Yahweh bring against Jeroboam in verses 7 through 9, and how do they contrast with David?
3. What is the significance of the child Abijah being the only one of Jeroboam's house to receive a burial?
4. How does the chapter describe Judah's sin under Rehoboam, and what are the consequences in verses 25 and 26?
5. What does the replacement of gold shields with bronze shields suggest about the spiritual condition of Judah?

Keep reading

Related studies: 1 Kings 1 Bible Study, 1 Kings 10 Bible Study, 1 Kings 11 Bible Study, 1 Kings 12 Bible Study.

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FAQ

Why did Jeroboam's wife disguise herself when going to Ahijah?

Jeroboam told her to disguise herself so she would not be recognized as his wife, perhaps hoping to receive a more favorable word or to keep the visit secret. But Yahweh had already revealed her identity to Ahijah.

What happened to Jeroboam's son Abijah?

As Ahijah prophesied, the child died as soon as Jeroboam's wife crossed the threshold of the house in Tirzah. All Israel mourned and buried him because some good thing toward Yahweh was found in him.

What did Shishak king of Egypt do to Jerusalem?

In the fifth year of Rehoboam, Shishak came up against Jerusalem and took away the treasures of Yahweh's house and the king's house, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. Rehoboam replaced them with bronze shields.