1 Kings 12:25-33; 13:1-7; 33-34
Thou, even thou, art to be feared; and who may stand in Thy sight, when once Thou art angry?
Psa. 76:7.
YOU have heard, my dear children, how Solomon's servant, Jeroboam, made himself king over part of Canaan; but Solomon's son was king over the other part of Canaan. Now Jerusalem was not in Jeroboam's part of Canaan; it was in the part over which Solomon's son was king. It was a good thing for Solomon's son that he had Jerusalem. You can tell me why it was a good thing—The temple was in Jerusalem, and in the temple God came down in a glorious cloud.
You know that God had desired all the people in Canaan to come to Jerusalem very often to worship Him. Jeroboam ought to have come to Jerusalem to worship God; but he would not. He was very wicked, and he told his people not to go to Jerusalem.
Why did he not like to go there? Because there was another king in Jerusalem. He did not like his people to go to a place where there was another king, lest they should like the other king best. You see how proud Jeroboam was. Then Jeroboam did a very wicked thing: he made two golden calves, and set them up in his part of Canaan, one calf in one town, and the other calf in another town. Why did he set up the calves? That people might worship them instead of God. He told his people to worship them. He said, 'Do not go to Jerusalem, it is too far off: worship these golden calves.' How wicked it was of Jeroboam to teach his people to worship idols! It is very wicked to teach other people to do wrong. Remember this, dear children. Never advise your playfellow to do wrong. God will be very angry with you if you do, and you will be like the devil; for he tempts people to sin against God.
Jeroboam worshipped the calves himself. One day God sent a prophet to him, to tell him of his wickedness. Jeroboam was standing by an altar burning incense to a golden calf, when the prophet came, and told him how angry God was with the people who worshipped the golden calves, and how He would punish them. And the prophet said, `And this is the sign that God is angry; the altar shall be broken, and the ashes that are on it shall fall to the ground.'
When king Jeroboam heard this he was angry, and he wished to punish the prophet; so he stretched out his hand, and said to his servants, 'Lay hold on him.' Now while Jeroboam's hand was stretched out, God made it grow dry and stiff, so that he could not pull it back again; and at the same time, the altar was broken, and the ashes fell upon the ground, as the prophet had said.
Do you not think Jeroboam must have been frightened then? He knew that no one could make his hand well but God: so he said to the prophet, 'Pray thou to the Lord thy God for me, that my hand may be made well?
Would the prophet pray to God for Jeroboam, who had been so unkind to him? Yes, he would; he prayed to God, and God made the king's hand as well as it was before.
Then Jeroboam did not try to hurt the prophet anymore, because he was afraid; but Jeroboam did not repent of worshipping idols and turn to God, but he went on teaching his people to pray to the golden calves. And God was very angry with Jeroboam.
Why was not Jeroboam afraid of God? He saw that God could dry up his arm; He could even kill him. Ah! dear children, we ought to fear to offend our great God. Have you never stretched out your arm to do something naughty? To fight? God could have died up your arm. He is very kind. But He will punish us one day, if we do not love Him, or trust Him.
Questions on Lesson 23
Was Jeroboam king over all the land of Canaan?
Who was king over the other part?
Was Jerusalem in Jeroboam's part of the land?
Why ought Jeroboam to have come very often to Jerusalem?
Why did he advise his people not to go to Jerusalem?
What wicked thing did Jeroboam teach his people to do?
Why did God send a prophet to Jeroboam?
Why did God make Jeroboam's hand stiff and dry?
Who prayed to God to make it well again?
Did Jeroboam repent of his wickedness?