| GOLDEN CALVES |

You can probably see the situation. After Jeroboam rebelled against Rehoboam, splitting the kingdom in two, he realized that he had a problem. The temple, the center of worship was still in Jerusalem under the control of Rehoboam. His fear was that if the people of his northern kingdom journeyed to Jerusalem to worship and sacrifice as the Lord had instructed they would be inclined to reconcile with Rehoboam and the people of the South.

Therefore, Jeroboam chose to institute an alternative set of practices for worship. Jeroboam made two idols, in the form of golden calves. He established an alternative priesthood. And he created his own celebrations and feast days. Essentially, he was establishing an alternative religion.

This is so very important to see. When Jeroboam did this he did what “he had devised from his own heart (1 Kings 12:33).” Jeroboam was afraid of losing his new found kingship. It was because Jeroboam feared losing something that he cherished more than God that he was willing to worship a false God. This is the foundation of every false religion. If God is actually God then he alone has the right to say how and when and where he would be worshiped. This is why it is so important to pay attention to the Bible. The Bible not only tells us who God is, but it also tells us what he requires.

What is something that you have learned so far in our reading about God and what he requires of his people?