So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense. (1 Kings 12:33)
Jeroboam seems to have taken upon himself priestly as well as kingly functions. Having set aside the Levitical priesthood and consecrated new priests of his own choosing, Jeroboam could well have crowned the proceedings by assuming the role of supreme head of the unauthorized priesthood that he had created. Bethel is called the place both of “the king’s chapel” and of “the king’s court” (Amos 7:10, 13). That might indicate that the “chapel” at Bethel was his own special shrine where the king presided in religious affairs, and that it likewise had a court where he officiated in affairs of state. Shechem was the regular capital and the usual place where the king held court, but when he officiated as priest at Bethel, court was probably held at his palace there.