1 Kings14

King Jeroboam's son, Abijah, falls ill, prompting Jeroboam to send his disguised wife to the prophet Ahijah. Ahijah, divinely informed, reveals Jeroboam's severe judgment for his idolatry, prophesying the destruction of his house and Abijah's immediate death. The chapter concludes with Rehoboam's reign in Judah, marked by similar idolatry and an invasion by Shishak of Egypt, who plunders Jerusalem.

Jeroboam's Wife Seeks the Prophet

At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.

Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please get up and disguise yourself, that you won’t be recognized as the wife of Jeroboam. Go to Shiloh. Behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, who spoke concerning me that I should be king over this people.

Take with you ten loaves, and cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will become of the child.”

Jeroboam’s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.

The LORD said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam comes to inquire of you concerning her son; for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall tell her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman.”

It was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, “Come in, you wife of Jeroboam! Why do you pretend to be another? For I am sent to you with heavy news.

Ahijah Pronounces Judgment on Jeroboam

Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: “Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you prince over my people Israel,

and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it you; and yet you have not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in my eyes,

but have done evil above all who were before you, and have gone and made you other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and have cast me behind your back:

therefore, behold, I will bring evil on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam everyone who urinates on a wall, he who is shut up and he who is left at large in Israel, and will utterly sweep away the house of Jeroboam, as a man sweeps away dung, until it is all gone.

He who dies of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and he who dies in the field shall the birds of the sky eat: for the LORD has spoken it.”’

Arise therefore, and go to your house. When your feet enter into the city, the child shall die.

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, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.

Moreover the LORD will raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam. This is day! What? Even now.

For the LORD will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and he will root up Israel out of this good land which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River, because they have made their Asherah poles, provoking the LORD to anger.

He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he has sinned, and with which he has made Israel to sin.”

Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah. As she came to the threshold of the house, the child died.

All Israel buried him, and mourned for him, according to the LORD’s word, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet.

Summary of Jeroboam's Reign

The rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he fought, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

The days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place.

Rehoboam's Wicked Reign in Judah

Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there: and his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess.

Judah did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, above all that their fathers had done.

For they also built them high places, and pillars, and Asherah poles, on every high hill, and under every green tree;

and there were also sodomites in the land: they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD drove out before the children of Israel.

Shishak Invades Jerusalem

In the fifth year of king Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem;

and he took away the treasures of the LORD’s house, 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.

King Rehoboam made in their place shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house.

It was so, that as often as the king went into the LORD’s house, the guard bore them, and brought them back into the guard room.

Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.

Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. Abijam his son reigned in his place.

Study Notes for 1 Kings 14

Verse 2

Jeroboam’s attempt to disguise his wife shows that he feared the prophet Ahijah but refused to repent of the sins (the golden calves) that Ahijah had previously condemned.

Verse 4

Ahijah had previously prophesied Jeroboam’s kingship (11:29-39). Though now physically blind due to old age, his spiritual sight remains sharp, guided directly by the LORD.

Verse 5

God's immediate revelation to Ahijah underscores that human attempts at deception are futile before divine omniscience, affirming the prophet's authority despite his physical blindness.

Verse 6

The greeting 'wife of Jeroboam' immediately reveals the failure of the disguise and establishes the seriousness of the 'heavy tidings' (or harsh judgment) about to be delivered.

Verse 8

This verse establishes the key theological contrast in Kings: David is the standard of faithfulness and obedience, while Jeroboam failed precisely where David succeeded—in keeping God's commandments.

Verse 9

Jeroboam's 'evil above all that were before thee' refers primarily to his institutionalization of idolatry by setting up the golden calves at Bethel and Dan, causing the entire nation to sin.

Verse 10

The judgment is one of total annihilation of Jeroboam’s dynasty. The phrase 'him that pisseth against the wall' is a crude idiom signifying every male, ensuring no remnant of his royal line remains.

Verse 11

To be eaten by dogs and vultures was the ultimate indignity in the ancient world, signifying a total lack of proper burial and complete divine rejection.

Verse 13

Abijah's death is a tragic mercy; he is the only member of Jeroboam’s house to receive a proper burial because he alone showed some spiritual integrity 'toward the LORD God of Israel.'

Verse 15

Ahijah expands the judgment beyond Jeroboam's household to the entire Northern Kingdom. 'Beyond the river' (the Euphrates) is the first explicit prophecy of the Assyrian exile that would occur centuries later.

Verse 16

The text attributes the future downfall of Israel directly to Jeroboam, holding him responsible not just for his own sin, but for leading the entire nation into systemic idolatry.

Verse 21

Rehoboam’s mother, Naamah the Ammonitess, may explain the strong foreign religious influences that characterized his reign, as Ammonites were known for their idolatry (cf. 11:5).

Verse 22

Judah, the Southern Kingdom, quickly fell into sin comparable to Israel, provoking God to jealousy. This confirms the theological perspective that the division of the kingdom did not solve the problem of national unfaithfulness.

Verse 23

The building of high places, images, and groves indicates the widespread adoption of Canaanite fertility cults, a practice strictly forbidden in the Mosaic Law.

Verse 24

The term 'sodomites' (Hebrew *qadesh*) refers to male cult prostitutes actively involved in pagan rituals, demonstrating the depth of moral and religious corruption in Judah.

Verse 25

This invasion by Pharaoh Shishak (Sheshonq I) is a key synchronism, verifiable by Egyptian records, including a relief detailing the campaign on the walls of the Karnak Temple.

Verse 26

The plunder of the Temple and palace treasures is viewed as divine punishment for Rehoboam’s and Judah’s disobedience, reversing the wealth and security established by Solomon.

Verse 27

Replacing Solomon's golden shields with bronze ones symbolizes the drastic decline in the kingdom’s status, glory, and wealth immediately following the division and spiritual failure.

Verse 30

The constant 'war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam' confirms that the political division was accompanied by ongoing military conflict, preventing either kingdom from achieving stability or peace.

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1 Kings14

Jeroboam's Wife Seeks the Prophet

Ahijah Pronounces Judgment on Jeroboam

Summary of Jeroboam's Reign

Rehoboam's Wicked Reign in Judah

Shishak Invades Jerusalem

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