1 Kings 14:1-31
Ahijah's Prophecy
1 At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill, 2 and Jeroboam said to his wife, “Go, disguise yourself, so you won’t be recognized as the wife of Jeroboam. Then go to Shiloh. Ahijah the prophet is there—the one who told me I would be king over this people. 3 Take ten loaves of bread with you, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.” 4 So Jeroboam’s wife did what he said and went to Ahijah’s house in Shiloh.
Now Ahijah could not see; his sight was gone because of his age. 5 But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill, and you are to give her such and such an answer. When she arrives, she will pretend to be someone else.”
6 So when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why this pretense? I have been sent to you with bad news. 7 Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 8 I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes. 9 You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have aroused my anger and turned your back on me.
10 “‘Because of this, I am going to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel—slave or free. I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone. 11 Dogs will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds will feed on those who die in the country. The Lord has spoken!’
12 “As for you, go back home. When you set foot in your city, the boy will die. 13 All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will be buried, because he is the only one in the house of Jeroboam in whom the Lord, the God of Israel, has found anything good.
14 “The Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who will cut off the family of Jeroboam. Even now this is beginning to happen. 15 And the Lord will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they aroused the Lord’s anger by making Asherah poles. 16 And he will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”
17 Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and left and went to Tirzah. As soon as she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died. 18 They buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, as the Lord had said through his servant the prophet Ahijah.
19 The other events of Jeroboam’s reign, his wars and how he ruled, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel. 20 He reigned for twenty-two years and then rested with his ancestors. And Nadab his son succeeded him as king.
21 Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.
22 Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger more than those who were before them had done. 23 They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 24 There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.
25 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. 26 He carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. 27 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. 28 Whenever the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards bore the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom.
29 As for the other events of Rehoboam’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 30 There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 31 And Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite. And Abijah his son succeeded him as king.
At that time Jeroboam’s son Abijah became very sick...Jeroboam said to his wife, “Go to Shiloh and see the prophet Ahijah...He is the one who said that I would become king of Israel...Dress yourself so that people will not know that you are my wife...Give the prophet ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey...Then ask him what will happen to our son, and he will tell you.”...So the king’s wife did what he said...She went to the home of Ahijah the prophet in Shiloh...Ahijah was very old and had become blind...But the LORD said to him, “Jeroboam’s wife is coming to ask you about her son because he is sick...I will tell you what to say to her.”...When she came to Ahijah’s house, she pretended to be someone else...But when Ahijah heard her coming to the door, he said, “Come in!...I know who you are...You are Jeroboam’s wife...Why are you pretending to be someone else?...I have some bad news for you...Go back and tell Jeroboam that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jeroboam, I chose you from among all the Israelites...I made you the ruler of My people...David’s family was ruling the kingdom of Israel, but I took the kingdom away from them and gave it to you...But you are not like My servant David...He always obeyed My commands and followed Me with his whole heart...He did only what I accepted...But you have sinned worse than anyone who ruled before you...You stopped following Me and made other gods for yourself...You made those statues to make Me angry...So Jeroboam, I will bring troubles to your family...I will kill all the men in your family...I will destroy your family completely, like fire burning up dung...Anyone from your family who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs...And anyone from your family who dies in the fields will be eaten by birds...The LORD has spoken.’”...
Jeroboam’s wife went back to Tirzah...As soon as she stepped into the house, the boy died...They buried him and all the people of Israel cried for him...This happened just as the LORD said it would through his servant, the prophet Ahijah...The rest of what King Jeroboam did is written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel...It includes the wars he fought and the way he ruled...Jeroboam ruled as king for 22 years...Then he died and was buried with his ancestors...His son Nadab became the new king after him...
Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, was 41 years old when he became king of Judah...Rehoboam ruled 17 years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD chose for his own...He chose this city from all the other tribes of Israel...Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah...She was an Ammonite...The people of Judah did things that the LORD considered evil...They made Him angry with all their sins—more than any of their ancestors had done...They built high places, memorial stones, and sacred poles...They built them on every high hill and under every green tree...There were also men who served other gods by selling their bodies for sex...So the people of Judah were worse than the people who had lived in the land before them...And the LORD took the land away from those people to give it to the Israelites...In the fifth year that Rehoboam was king, King Shishak of Egypt came to attack Jerusalem...He took the treasures from the LORD’s Temple and from the king’s palace...He even took the gold shields that David had taken from the officers of King Hadadezer of Aram and put on the walls of Jerusalem...King Rehoboam made more shields to put in their places, but they were made from bronze...He gave them to the guards on duty at the palace gates...Every time the king went to the LORD’s Temple, the guards took out the shields and went with him...After they were finished, they put the shields back on the wall in the guardroom...The rest of what King Rehoboam did is written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah...Rehoboam and Jeroboam were always fighting against each other...Rehoboam died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David...(His mother was Naamah...She was an Ammonite.)...Rehoboam’s son Abijah became the next king after him...