Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel.
Jeroboam enlarged and fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and made it his capital and dwelling place, then went out and fortified Penuel. The act belongs to the history after Solomon's sin and death divided the kingdom, leaving ten tribes under Jeroboam in Israel and Judah and Benjamin in Judah. The division came through the weak and foolish Rehoboam, who rejected the people's plea and threatened harsher rule, so the ten tribes revolted and chose the stronger Jeroboam as king. The verse stands at the beginning of Jeroboam's reign before he turned against the God who gave him the kingdom, when fear of losing power led him to keep the people from worship at Jerusalem and turn them to idolatry with golden calves at Bethel and Dan. He meant the calves as representations of the true God rather than another god, but this image worship broke the second commandment and shows that keeping his rule required loyalty to God's Word, not political control.
Words, Place, and History
To build is to enlarge and fortify, and Jeroboam enlarged and fortified Shechem in the hill country of Mount Ephraim, made it the capital of his kingdom and his own residence and dwelt there, then went out from there and built and fortified Penuel, another place of ancient note.
Shechem lay in a valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, about thirty-four miles north of Jerusalem and near Jacob's well where Jesus met the Samaritan woman, and only a few miles from Tirzah. It was a frequent gathering place of the nation with a long sacred history stretching back through the patriarchs and the conquest. There Abraham stopped, received the Lord's promise of the land, and built an altar; there Jacob camped and bought land; there Joseph's bones were buried; from the slopes of Gerizim and Ebal nearby Israel heard the blessings and curses; there Joshua assembled the people to renew their covenant with God; and there a sanctuary stood for centuries, even after Jerusalem became the nation's sacred capital.
Israel had gathered at Shechem to make Rehoboam king, then rebelled and chose Jeroboam, which led Jeroboam to establish his kingdom and his capital there. He first made Shechem his residence, then later left it and built Penuel. After a few years he moved his residence to Tirzah, which remained Israel's royal city until Omri's reign.
Division, Reign, and Idolatry
The verse belongs to the history of Israel after Solomon's reign and death, when his sin in multiplying wives and turning his heart from God divided the kingdom. The division left ten tribes in Israel under Jeroboam and Judah and Benjamin, reckoned as two and a half tribes, in Judah, bringing war and strife between the divisions. The remainder of 1 Kings beginning after Solomon's reign is the history of the kings after that division, and the separation of the ten tribes from Judah and Benjamin under Jeroboam marks its starting point.
The division came through weak and foolish Rehoboam, Solomon's weak son, who rejected the people's complaints and threatened harsher treatment. The ten tribes therefore revolted to Jeroboam and elected him king, the strong young man who led Israel to revolt. Jeroboam was in some respects a much stronger king than Rehoboam.
The verse stands at the beginning of Jeroboam's reign over the ten tribes, before he turned against the God who had given him the kingdom. It belongs to the story told in 1 Kings 12 to 16 and to the account of the two kingdoms covering about eighty years from the revolt of the ten tribes to Jehoshaphat's death. That narrative continues through the prediction of the unknown prophet against the king and the altar, the prediction of Ahijah concerning Jeroboam's seed, the spoiling of the temple by Shishak of Egypt, the brief reign over Judah of wicked Abijam and the better reign of Asa with prosperity of Judah under his sway, leading on through Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri and Omri to wicked Ahab and the work of the prophet Elijah, a narrative instructive especially for these days. Those separating tribes carried their copies of the books of Moses with them.
In the account connected with the verse, Jeroboam's fear of losing power led him to prevent the people from worshiping God in the appointed way at Jerusalem and to turn them to idolatry. As a wicked king he made golden calves and set them up at Bethel and Dan, setting up altars against the altar of God and beginning a downward course of unfaithfulness for the ten tribes of Israel under his rule. He intended the calves as representations of the true God rather than a change to another god. Yet this image worship violated the second commandment, and shows how making an image to represent God can lead people toward forsaking God and worshiping other gods. Retaining his rule required loyalty to God's Word, not political control.
Jeroboam enlarged and fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and made it his capital and dwelling place, then went out and fortified Penuel. The act belongs to the history after Solomon's sin and death divided the kingdom, leaving ten tribes under Jeroboam in Israel and Judah and Benjamin in Judah. The division came through the weak and foolish Rehoboam, who rejected the people's plea and threatened harsher rule, so the ten tribes revolted and chose the stronger Jeroboam as king. The verse stands at the beginning of Jeroboam's reign before he turned against the God who gave him the kingdom, when fear of losing power led him to keep the people from worship at Jerusalem and turn them to idolatry with golden calves at Bethel and Dan. He meant the calves as representations of the true God rather than another god, but this image worship broke the second commandment and shows that keeping his rule required loyalty to God's Word, not political control.
Words, Place, and History
To build is to enlarge and fortify, and Jeroboam enlarged and fortified Shechem in the hill country of Mount Ephraim, made it the capital of his kingdom and his own residence and dwelt there, then went out from there and built and fortified Penuel, another place of ancient note.
Shechem lay in a valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, about thirty-four miles north of Jerusalem and near Jacob's well where Jesus met the Samaritan woman, and only a few miles from Tirzah. It was a frequent gathering place of the nation with a long sacred history stretching back through the patriarchs and the conquest. There Abraham stopped, received the Lord's promise of the land, and built an altar; there Jacob camped and bought land; there Joseph's bones were buried; from the slopes of Gerizim and Ebal nearby Israel heard the blessings and curses; there Joshua assembled the people to renew their covenant with God; and there a sanctuary stood for centuries, even after Jerusalem became the nation's sacred capital.
Israel had gathered at Shechem to make Rehoboam king, then rebelled and chose Jeroboam, which led Jeroboam to establish his kingdom and his capital there. He first made Shechem his residence, then later left it and built Penuel. After a few years he moved his residence to Tirzah, which remained Israel's royal city until Omri's reign.
Division, Reign, and Idolatry
The verse belongs to the history of Israel after Solomon's reign and death, when his sin in multiplying wives and turning his heart from God divided the kingdom. The division left ten tribes in Israel under Jeroboam and Judah and Benjamin, reckoned as two and a half tribes, in Judah, bringing war and strife between the divisions. The remainder of 1 Kings beginning after Solomon's reign is the history of the kings after that division, and the separation of the ten tribes from Judah and Benjamin under Jeroboam marks its starting point.
The division came through weak and foolish Rehoboam, Solomon's weak son, who rejected the people's complaints and threatened harsher treatment. The ten tribes therefore revolted to Jeroboam and elected him king, the strong young man who led Israel to revolt. Jeroboam was in some respects a much stronger king than Rehoboam.
The verse stands at the beginning of Jeroboam's reign over the ten tribes, before he turned against the God who had given him the kingdom. It belongs to the story told in 1 Kings 12 to 16 and to the account of the two kingdoms covering about eighty years from the revolt of the ten tribes to Jehoshaphat's death. That narrative continues through the prediction of the unknown prophet against the king and the altar, the prediction of Ahijah concerning Jeroboam's seed, the spoiling of the temple by Shishak of Egypt, the brief reign over Judah of wicked Abijam and the better reign of Asa with prosperity of Judah under his sway, leading on through Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri and Omri to wicked Ahab and the work of the prophet Elijah, a narrative instructive especially for these days. Those separating tribes carried their copies of the books of Moses with them.
In the account connected with the verse, Jeroboam's fear of losing power led him to prevent the people from worshiping God in the appointed way at Jerusalem and to turn them to idolatry. As a wicked king he made golden calves and set them up at Bethel and Dan, setting up altars against the altar of God and beginning a downward course of unfaithfulness for the ten tribes of Israel under his rule. He intended the calves as representations of the true God rather than a change to another god. Yet this image worship violated the second commandment, and shows how making an image to represent God can lead people toward forsaking God and worshiping other gods. Retaining his rule required loyalty to God's Word, not political control.