Jeroboam’s son is sick. He sends his wife in disguise to Ahijah — the same prophet who first told him he would be king — to ask what will happen. Ahijah is blind with age, but God tips him off: “come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another?” The message is the end of the dynasty. Only the sick child will get a proper grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD. Meanwhile in the south, Rehoboam loses the temple gold to Egypt.
A study in 1 Kings 14 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 8 min read
Why Feignest Thou Thyself To Be Another
“And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick… And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.”
1 Kings 14:5-6
Jeroboam still believes in this prophet enough to consult him in a crisis — but only in disguise, and only for information, not correction. He wants a forecast, not a word from God. The disguise is useless: God has already told Ahijah who is coming. You cannot approach God incognito; the point of coming to Him is to be known.
Thou Hast Done Evil Above All That Were Before Thee
“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… But hast 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:”
1 Kings 14:7-9
The charge is ingratitude. God took Jeroboam from nowhere, handed him ten tribes, and offered him the same standing deal He gave David — “if thou wilt hearken… I will build thee a sure house” (11:38). Jeroboam took the kingdom and refused the terms. “Cast me behind thy back” is the phrase: not that he forgot God, but that he deliberately put Him out of sight to do as he pleased.
Some Good Thing Toward The LORD
“Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam… and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone… And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.”
1 Kings 14:10-13
The whole house is condemned, and the one mercy in the sentence is grim: the child dies now, and is the only member of the family who will get a burial and be mourned. And the reason is a single bright thread — “in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD.” God’s eye finds the one true thing in a corrupt house and honours it. Even under judgment, He is looking for what He can bless.
He Took Away The Treasures Of The House Of The LORD
“And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done… that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.”
1 Kings 14:22-26
The south is no better. Within five years of the split, Egypt marches in and strips the temple — the gold shields Solomon made are carried off, and Rehoboam replaces them with bronze (14:27), a downgrade the chronicler notices. The people recognise the hand of God and briefly humble themselves; God relents; and then relief undoes the repentance. The pattern for the rest of Kings is set here: sin, invasion, a short repentance, relief, relapse.
“But as the hand of affliction was removed, and the nation prospered once more, many forgot their fears and turned again to idolatry. Among these was King Rehoboam himself. Though humbled by the calamity that had befallen him, he failed to make this experience a decisive turning point in his life.”
Ellen G. White · Prophets and Kings, p. 95
