1 Kings 14

This chapter belongs to the account of the early divided kingdom in 1 Kings. The preceding chapter, 1 Kings 13, ends by noting that Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way. This chapter recounts, in turn, the resulting prophecy of judgment on the house of Jeroboam and the reign of Rehoboam in the southern kingdom of Judah.

Outline

• Verses 1–6 Abijah, the son of Jeroboam, falls ill. Jeroboam has his wife disguise herself and sends her with ten loaves, cracknels, and a cruse of honey to the prophet Ahijah at Shiloh. Ahijah, whose eyes have dimmed with age, has been forewarned by the LORD and recognizes her by the sound of her footsteps alone.
• Verses 7–16 Ahijah gives her a message for Jeroboam. Because Jeroboam has provoked the LORD to anger with other gods and molten images, the LORD will cut off every male of his house; only this child, in whom some good thing has been found, will come to the grave; and Israel will be scattered beyond the river.
• Verses 17–18 As Jeroboam's wife reaches the threshold of the house at Tirzah, the child dies, and all Israel buries him and mourns for him.
• Verses 19–20 Jeroboam reigns twenty-two years, and his son Nadab succeeds him.
• Verses 21–24 Rehoboam becomes king at forty-one and reigns seventeen years in Jerusalem. Judah builds high places, images, and groves (Asherah poles) and imitates the abominations of the nations.
• Verses 25–28 In the fifth year of Rehoboam, Shishak, king of Egypt, attacks Jerusalem and carries off the treasures of the temple and the royal palace, along with Solomon's shields of gold. Rehoboam makes bronze shields to replace them.
• Verses 29–31 War continues between the two kings. Rehoboam is buried in the city of David, and his son Abijam becomes king.

Key Verses

• 1 Kings 14:13 "For he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave" — reveals a God who sees the heart of the individual even in the midst of judgment.
• 1 Kings 14:16 "Who did sin, and who made Israel to sin" — the origin of the phrase "the sins of Jeroboam," which recurs in later evaluations of the kings of northern Israel.
• 1 Kings 14:27 "Made in their stead brasen shields" — a scene that illustrates the decline of the glory of Solomon's age.

People and Places

• Jeroboam: The first king of northern Israel.
• Abijah: Jeroboam's son, who falls ill and dies. He is a different person from Abijah (Abijam), king of Judah.
• Ahijah: The prophet of Shiloh who, in 1 Kings 11, had prophesied that Jeroboam would become king over ten tribes.
• Nadab: Jeroboam's son, who succeeds him as king.
• Rehoboam: Son of Solomon and king of southern Judah. His mother, Naamah, was an Ammonite.
• Shishak: King of Egypt, commonly identified with the Egyptian pharaoh Shoshenq I.
• Abijam: Rehoboam's son, who succeeds him as king.
• Tirzah: A city in northern Israel where Jeroboam's house was located at this time.
• City of David: The city of David within Jerusalem, where the kings of Judah were buried.

Points for Reflection

• The text does not specify what the "good thing" found in the child was. Specific explanations offered in preaching are inferences that go beyond the text.
• The "river" in verse 15 is commonly understood as the Euphrates. Many interpreters connect this prediction with the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel in 2 Kings 17.
• The term rendered "sodomites" in verse 24 is translated differently in various versions, for example as "male cult prostitutes." Interpreters differ on whether the term refers to persons associated with pagan cultic rites.
• Shishak's invasion is also recorded in 2 Chronicles 12. Chronicles adds that Rehoboam and the princes humbled themselves and so escaped complete destruction.
• The king whom 1 Kings calls Abijam is called Abijah in 2 Chronicles.