idolatry

Balance of power

The divided kingdom of Israel made it possible for God to control his peoples’ destiny through a balance of power. Bassha’s evil influences on the people of Israel was counteracted by Asa’s reforms and dependence on God. King Ahab’s wicked deeds were offset by Jehoshaphat’s devotion to God and obedience to his word.

Jehu was made king of Israel at a time when the kingdom of Judah was extremely vulnerable. All the male descendants to the throne had been killed except one (2 Chronicles 22:10-11). Athaliah, the daughter of king Ahab, was reigning over the land of Judah while her grandson, Jehoash was hidden away in the temple of God (2 Chronicles 22:12).

Jehu’s cleansing of Israel began with the death of king Joram (2 Kings 9:24) and Jezebel (2 Kings 9:33), then he had all of Ahab’s seventy sons put to death (2 Kings 10:7). After that, Jehu dealt with the idolatry that had taken over the people’s hearts. Jehu’s first action was to befriend the leader of a conservative movement in Israel named Jehonadab (2 Kings 10:15). Jehu invited Jehonadab to participate in his effort to rid Israel of Baal worship. “And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot” (2 Kings 10:16).

Jehu’s zeal for the LORD could have been described as righteous indignation over the Baal worship that Ahab had instigated. Ahab had gone so far as to build a temple for Baal in his capital city of Samaria (1 Kings 16:32). When Jehu called all the Baal worshippers to a solemn assembly, it says in 2 Kings 10:21, “And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to the other.”

Jehu put and end to Baal worship in Israel (2 Kings 10:28), “but Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin” (2 Kings 10:31). Jehu was not devoted to God. More than anything, Jehu wanted to punish Ahab for what he thought he had done wrong, compromise Israel’s position of power.

Jehu knew God, but he didn’t have a personal relationship with him. Jehu didn’t pray or ask the LORD for guidance. He merely carried out the assignment he was given to cut off the house of Ahab (2 Chronicles 22:7). Jehu’s zeal for the LORD served the purpose of restoring Israel to a position of power, but it didn’t last. The shift was only temporary until Jehoash was able to take the throne and reform the kingdom of Judah.

Divine Intervention

King Ahab’s son Ahaziah did not pretend to be a follower of God. In fact, he was blatant in his pagan worship. When he became seriously ill, he sent messengers to “inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron” (2 Kings 1:2). The word translated inquire, darash suggests that Ahaziah worshipped Baal-zebub (1875) and may have offered sacrifices to the god of the Ekronites.

Ahaziah’s role as king of Israel required him to submit to the LORD and to execute God’s will for his people. Ahaziah had usurped God’s authority and was guilty of violating God’s commandments. Whereas king Ahab’s heart was divided between God and Baal, Ahaziah had no allegiance to God whatsoever.

While Ahaziah’s messengers were traveling to Ekron, God sent Elijah to intercept them. As instructed, Elijah told them, “Now therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shall surely die” (2 Kings 1:4). When the messengers returned and gave Ahaziah the bad news, he sent 50 soldiers to capture Elijah and kill him (2 Kings 1:9).

King Ahaziah thought he could annul God’s word by killing his prophet. Ahaziah was so steeped in the ways of pagan worship, that he was oblivious to God’s control over his life. Not only did God have the power to remove Ahaziah from his office, but God had the right to punish Ahaziah for his idolatry. The problem with Ahaziah’s way of thinking was he placed himself above God. Ahaziah actually thought he could subject God to his will and could overcome his illness with the help of Baal-zebub.

After three attempts to capture and kill Elijah, king Ahaziah was confronted with the truth:

And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. (2 Kings 1:16)

“So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken” (2 Kings 1:17).

A double life

After Jeroboam and then Baasha reigned over the northern kingdom of Israel, there was a steady decline in the moral character of the nation’s kings. Beginning with Omri and then later his son Ahab, established Samaria as an alternate royal city or capital of Israel. Ahab had a foreign wife named Jezebel who influenced him to worship and serve the god Baal. It says in 1 Kings 16:32-33 that Ahab “reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.”

The primary offense of Ahab was that he established a house of worship for Baal, aka Satan. Even though the gods of the Canaanites were never linked to Satan, the Israelites knew that rebellion against God meant cooperation with his enemy, the devil. I think it is safe to assume that Ahab was under the influence of Satan and his marriage to Jezebel opened the door for him to become an instrument of destruction against God’s kingdom both in the physical and spiritual realms. Ahab’s evil actions were intentional. He knew what he was doing was wrong and he did it anyway.

In light of Ahab’s wicked behavior, it seems surprising that his son’s names reflected a relationship with God. Ahab’s oldest son’s name, Ahaziah meant “The LORD grasps” and the younger son’s name, Jehoram meant “The LORD is exalted.” The reason Ahab gave his sons these names is unknown, but it could be an indication that Ahab was leading a double life. Although he openly worshipped Baal, Ahab’s heart may have belonged to God. That could explain why he remained in power for 20 years in spite of his evil practices.

Ahab did not choose to marry Jezebel. The marriage was arranged by his father Omri in order to seal an alliance with Ethbaal, the ruler of Tyre and Sidon. It is likely Ahab agreed to the marriage to please his father and he probably built the house of worship for Baal to honor his father’s intentions in the alliance with Ethbaal. As much as Ahab was responsible for his evil actions, he was also following in the footsteps of his father as Solomon had done with his father David. Ahab was surrounded by wicked men that had been rebelling against God for decades. Ahab’s greatest crime may have been that he wanted to have it both ways, to worship God and Satan, so that all his bases would be covered.

The queen mother

The institution of a queen in the rule of Israel appears to have taken place when Solomon “caused a seat to be set for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right hand” (1 Kings 2:19). When Rehoboam began to reign in Jerusalem, his mother’s name is mentioned indicating she probably took the position at her son’s right side as Solomon’s mother had (1 Kings 14:21). After Rehoboam died, his son Abijam reigned in his stead and it says in 1 Kings 15:2 that “his mother’s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.”

Maachah was the wife of Rehoboam who died at the age of 58 (1 Kings 14:21). Abijam’s age is not stated, but he reigned only three years and then his son Asa “reigned in his stead” (1 Kings 15:8). It says in 1 Kings 15:10 that Asa’s “mother’s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.” Apparently, Maachah was not only Asa’s mother, but also his grandmother.

It is likely that Maachah was much younger than Rehoboam and after he died, she began an incestuous relationship with her son Abijam in order to secure her position as queen mother for a longer period of time. Fortunately, Maachah’s plan didn’t work. It says in 1 Kings 15:11 that “Asa did that which was right in the eye’s of the LORD, as did David his father.” Asa began a reform effort to get rid of idol worship and to cleanse Judah of the pagans that had taken up residence as a result of Solomon’s and Rehoboam’s compromises.

It says in 1 Kings 15:12-13 that Asa “took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen.” This was a bold move by Asa showing that he was sincere about following God’s commandments. Even though he didn’t live a perfect life, it says in 1 Kings 15:14 that “Asa’s heart was perfect with the LORD all his days.

God is in control (part 2)

When things go sideways in our lives, it is easy to assume that God has abandoned us or decided to leave us to our own devices, but in actuality, the opposite could be true. Sometimes, a sign that God is involved in our lives is things go sideways or even upside down. When Rehoboam went to Shechem where all Israel was prepared to make him king, he thought it was going to be a good day. Then Jeroboam showed up and threw a monkey wrench into Rehoboam’s ordination process.

It is clear the people were not happy with the way king Solomon, Rehoboam’s father, had treated them. “So Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee” (2 Chronicles 10:3-4). Mainly, the people were upset because Solomon expected them to do all the work while he enjoyed a luxurious life in the palace. The people felt Solomon treated them like slaves and had made their lives resemble the lives they had when they were in Egypt.

Unfortunately, Rehoboam didn’t get it and answered the people in a manner similar to what they would expect to hear from Pharaoh (7186), saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions” (2 Chronicles 10:14). Even though Rehoboam was foolish in his decision making process (2 Chronicles 10:6-10), the bad outcome was not his fault.

It says in 2 Chronicles 10:15, “So the king hearkened not unto the people: for the cause was of God, that the LORD might perform his word, which he spoke by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.” God had already promised to give ten of the tribes of Israel to Jeroboam before king Solomon died (1 Kings 11:31). It was only because of king David’s faithfulness that the LORD didn’t take the entire kingdom away from Solomon’s son (1 Kings 11:34). Rehoboam’s circumstances were not a result of his father’s idolatry. It was God who turned things in a different direction. God caused Rehoboam to not listen to the people so that his plan could be carried out.

God is in control

It is a mistake to believe that pagan worship is pointless. Satan has much power and can make a difference in the life of a person that will worship him. There are things Satan does not have power over, the most important of which is death. Satan cannot give life, neither can he take life without God’s permission (Job 2:6), so when Jeroboam’s son fell sick, he tried to bribe God into sparing his life (1 Kings 14:3).

The problem with Jeroboam’s plan was that he thought he could trick God into doing what he wanted him to. Jeroboam did not know God, nor did he respect God’s power. Jeroboam was only concerned with getting his own way. Through the prophet Ahijah, God let Jeroboam and his wife know that he was in control.

Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in my eyes; but has done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back; therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.

After receiving the bad news of God’s judgment, “Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died” (1 Kings 14:17).

Out of the frying pan and into the fire

Due to Solomon’s idolatry, God arranged for the man Jeroboam to take over the territory of Israel occupied by the ten northern tribes (1 Kings 11:29-31). When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam “went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king (1 Kings 12:1). There, Jeroboam confronted Rehoboam and turned the people against him (1 Kings 12:3-4). As a result of following the counsel of his friends, Rehoboam alienated the  people and instead of making him king, they abandoned him. “And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel; there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only” (1 Kings 12:20).

Less than 40 years after David’s death, the utopia he established had disintegrated. In spite of Solomon’s wisdom and wealth, his leadership of the nation caused the people to rebel against God and forsake his inheritance (1 Kings 12:16). Shortly after he began his reign as king of Israel, Jeroboam introduced fully pagan practices into Israel’s religious rites. He made two calves of gold and told the people “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt” (1 Kings 12:28). The tragic thing about Jeroboam’s sin was that it caused Solomon’s temple to be deficient in support. The temple was intended to be maintained by the sacrifices of all Israelites, but only a small portion of the people worshipped there. In essence, Jeroboam’s actions put the temple out of business.