The event is selected to show the persistence of Jeroboam in his course of evil and the judgments that were to fall upon him and his house as a result. The name of the son, Abijah, means “Jehovah is my father,” and is probably an indication that when the child was born, Jeroboam did not intend to forsake the worship of Jehovah. The coincidence of the name with that of Rehoboam’s son, Abijam (v. 31), or Abijah (2 Chron. 12:16), is of interest. Possibly it is more than a coincidence, since the births of the two sons may have taken place at about the same time, when Jeroboam was in favor with Solomon.

 This town had been the central place of worship for 300 years, from the time the ark was placed there after the conquest (Joshua 18:1) until the taking of the ark by the Philistines (1 Sam. 4:4, 11), at which time Shiloh too is believed to have been destroyed (see Jer. 7:12; PK 415, 416). It was, however, the home of the old blind prophet Ahijah, who had told Jeroboam that he would be king (1 Kings 11:29-31). Shiloh was in the territory of Israel, 10 mi. south of Shechem. It is thus evident that in spite of the new idolatry at Bethel and Dan, God still regarded Israel as His chosen people, to whom His prophets were to minister, and to whom these ministration were of primary importance. When Jeroboam wanted a message from God, he knew it could be secured from the prophet Ahijah. Disguised as a daughter of the people, Jeroboam’s wife was thus sent to approach the prophet.

 The humble gift accords with the custom of the times (1 Sam. 9:7, 8), of approaching the prophet with some present, however trifling. It was a token of appreciation and respect.

Cakes, probably of a hard, brittle variety.

 Heb. qamu. The same word is rendered “were dim” in 1 Sam. 4:15. Even prophets of God are subject to the common afflictions of man.

The wife of Jeroboam meant to deceive the prophet, but God gave him mental sight. The prophet’s full knowledge of the circumstances of the visit was confirmatory evidence to Jeroboam that he was receiving a message direct from the Lord.

 Previously Ahijah had been sent to Jeroboam with the cheering words that he was to be king, and that if faithful, the Lord would be with him and give him a sure house (ch. 11:38). But Jeroboam had not obeyed the Lord’s commands; he had grievously sinned and had led Israel into sin. At a time when the king was looking for a word of hope, God could give him only a message of rebuke.

Jeroboam had before him the example of Solomon’s wayward life. Indeed he had received his kingdom because it had been taken away from Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. Jeroboam therefore stood without excuse before God and before all Israel.

The language is strong, but not too strong. There had been sinners among the leaders of Israel before the days of Jeroboam, but none to equal Jeroboam in his gross iniquities. Jeroboam repudiated the God who had given him the kingdom, serving idols instead. The warnings that had been given, he contemptuously spurned. God’s inheritance had been placed in his hands as a sacred trust, but he failed to be true. The people of Israel were deliberately led into sin, encouraged to turn their backs on the Lord, who had delivered them from Egypt and given them the Promised Land.

 All the males of the family of Jeroboam were to be put to death, so that his house would perish. This was done by Baasha (ch. 15:29). The phrase used to denote males was a common expression of the period, from the time of David (1 Sam. 25:22, 34), through Baasha (1 Kings 16:11), to Ahab (1 Kings 21:21; 2 Kings 9:8), and is a term of contempt applied to such males as are doomed to utter destruction.

 The meaning of this phrase is not clear, but it is used in the connection with the contemptuous term applied to such males as were to be cast away and rooted out (1 Kings 21:21; 2 Kings 9:8), and at times of calamity or adversity (Deut. 32:36; 2 Kings 14:26). The expression seems to be idiomatic, and various meanings have been assigned to it such as

 (1) married and single,

 (2) bond and free,

 (3) precious and vile,

 (4) minors and those of age.

 The same terrible judgment was pronounced on others who had grossly sinned (chs. 16:4; 21:24). Dogs were common scavengers in Oriental cities, and often feasted on unburied bodies of the dead.

Scarcely a message to comfort a mother’s aching heart or for a father anxiously hoping for the healing of his child. The death of the child was to be to Jeroboam a type of the doom of his house, which, if he continued in his evil ways, would be utterly destroyed. Perhaps the death of this son might so touch the heart of the king as to bring him to reason and to God.

To allow this son to die was no doubt an act of mercy on the part of God. God saw what goodness there was in the heart of the young man, and dealt with him accordingly. There is something singularly pathetic in this announcement of death as the only reward possible in view of the coming judgments. There are times when even death is a blessing to the righteous.

 This was Baasha, who slew Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, and wiped out every member of the house of Jeroboam (ch. 15:28, 29).

 Judgment would not wait long. The day of doom had already dawned, and anyone who read the signs of the times might know that the times were evil. The thought is similar to that expressed by Jesus, “I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?” (Luke 12:49).

 The Euphrates. Here is foretold the future captivity. The pronouncement of judgment, however, was conditional, and would be carried out only if the nation did not repent (Jer. 18:7, 8).

 Heb. ’asherim. See on Ex. 34:13; Deut. 7:5; Judges 6:25. The native religions of Palestine were fertility cults, consisting of the worship of male and female divinities, and involving the grossest immoralities. Groves, tree stumps, or wooden poles were symbols of the female divinity, commonly known as Asherah. The Baalim were male gods, and both were often found close together. Thus Gideon threw down the altar of Baal and cut down the grove that was by it (Judges 6:25-30). God’s people were expressly forbidden to plant an Asherah of any tree near the altar of the Lord (Deut. 16:21). Israel was carried into captivity because it had “made a grove” and “served Baal” (2 Kings 17:16). Manasseh incurred the Lord’s displeasure because “he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel” (2 Kings 21:3). Josiah broke down “the altar at Beth-el,” which Jeroboam had made, and “burned the grove” (2 Kings 23:15).

 Jeroboam seems to have moved his capital from Shechem to Tirzah. Tirzah continued as the capital of Israel till Omri founded Samaria (1 Kings 16:23, 24).

 The mention of the death and burial of Jeroboam’s son Abijah marks the close of the detailed record of Jeroboam’s reign. There were many other servants, such as the war between Jeroboam and Abijah of Judah (2 Chron. 13:2-20), but all this the narrator in Kings passed by. From all the available material he selected one item, the sickness and death of Abijah, in order to bring home the lesson of judgment on the house of Jeroboam, who had made Israel to sin.

This is part of a regular formula used to close the accounts of the king’s reigns. There were always other items concerning the kings than those that had been selected—in Jeroboam’s case “how he warred, and how he reigned.” Such items might be found in the official annals, “the chronicles of the kings of Israel,” for the Israelite kings.

 This figure represents the official years of the king’s reign. The actual length of reign was only 21 years. In the method of reckoning used by the kings of Israel at this time, the remainder of the calendar year during which a king came to the throne was termed that king’s first year, whereas the earlier portion of that year had already been assigned to the preceding king as his last year (see on ch. 15:28).

 An item concerning the successor is the closing one in a regular formula henceforth used to close the account of each king (see on ch. 11:43).

 This statement illustrates how the reigns of kings are introduced in the official formula. The record of Rehoboam’s visit to Shechem for his coronation and of his hurried retreat to Jerusalem because of the rebellion of the northern tribes has already been given (ch. 12:1-24). Next follows the account of Jeroboam’s reign (chs. 12:25 to 14:20), and now comes the record of Rehoboam’s reign after the official introduction. The records for the kings both of Judah and of Israel for a period till the appearance of Elijah (ch. 17:1) are brief. Supplementary material is, however, found in 2 Chron. 11:1 to 16:14.

 He must, therefore, have been born before his father, Solomon, came to the throne, since Solomon reigned 40 years (ch. 11:42).

 These were official years, but in this case they were also actual years. The system of reckoning was different in Judah from that in Israel (see on v. 20). In Judah the remainder of the calendar year during which a king came to the throne was not termed his first year. His first official year was counted from the beginning of the next calendar year.

It is curious that the succession should pass to the son of an earlier wife than the one who was probably Solomon’s chief queen, the daughter of Pharaoh. The reference to the queen mother is usual in the royal annals.

 The primary motive in the records in Kings seems to be to disclose the part each individual played in the religious history of the kingdom. In the cases of certain kings the information is that it was the ruler who did evil (2 Kings 17:2; 21:2, 20; 23:32, 37; 24:9, 19), but in the case of Rehoboam the record states that “Judah did evil.” The apostasy in Judah was evidently the harvest of the deadly seed sown by the evil example of Solomon, under whose idolatry the young men of the nation had grown up. Rehoboam was weak and vacillating, and did not take the initiative in restraining the people when they did wrong.

 Heb. maṣṣeboth, literally, “pillars.” There were repeated commands to destroy the pillars erected by the Canaanites, as well as to cut down and burn their groves (Ex. 23:24; 34:13; Deut. 7:5; 12:3; see on Deut. 16:22). The pillars erected by Jacob (Gen. 28:18; 31:13; 35:14) were not objects of worship (see on Gen. 28:18).

 Heb. qadesh, male temple prostitutes. They carried on their abominable trade under a religious sanction. It was for the practice of such abominations as these that the ancient inhabitants of the land were to be cast out, and now the people of Judah were rivaling them in wickedness (see 1 Kings 15:12; 2 Kings 23:7).

Known in Egyptian history as Sheshonk I. He was the founder of Egypt’s Twenty-second Dynasty. He made his famous raid against Judah in the fifth year of Rehoboam. This record is remarkably confirmed by the celebrated inscription at Karnak, enumerating the conquests of Sheshonk and listing cities captured on that campaign. Among the places that can be identified are many within the borders of Israel, chiefly in the plain of Esdraelon, such as Taanach, Megiddo, Beth-shan, Shunem, and others. Socoh and Arad are the only well-known towns in Judah whose names have been read. Some have thought that at the time of this attack, the aforenamed cities in Israel had been captured and were being held by Rehoboam, with the result that Jeroboam invited his former protector to effect a rescue. It is more probable that Sheshonk had certain grievances against Jeroboam, who may not have fulfilled promises made before he became king over Israel. The fragment of a victory stele found in the excavation of Megiddo indicates that Sheshonk dealt with that city as conquered and not liberated.

There is a touch of pathos in this looting of the Temple treasures, which David and Solomon had so laboriously gathered and which were the glory of all Israel. But this sad experience was only a foretaste of sadder days yet to come.

The fact that the shields of brass were committed to the chief of the guard indicates that the golden shields had been for the use of the guard on state occasions.

 The reference to this source for the original records of the kings of Judah constitutes another item in the official formula closing the account of each king. This volume is constantly cited from here on throughout the history of Judah (see 1 Kings 15:7, 23; 22:45; 2 Kings 8:23; 12:19; 14:18; 15:6, 36; 16:19; etc.).

Of this war no specific accounts have been preserved. References to such particulars as this, not otherwise mentioned in connection with the record in Kings, frequently occur in the closing statement about a king’s reign.

 See on ch. 11:43.

 Reference to the queen mother was made in v. 21. The usual place for such a mention is in the statement introducing the reign of the king. This is the only instance where such an item occurs as a part of a king’s closing regnal formula.