1 Kings 14:1-18

1 Kings 14:1-18

[1] At that time  Abijah  the son  of Jeroboam  fell sick.  [2] And Jeroboam  said  to his wife,  Arise,  I pray thee, and disguise  thyself, that thou be not known  to be the wife  of Jeroboam;  and get  thee to Shiloh:  behold, there is Ahijah  the prophet,  which told  me that I should be king  over this people.  [3] And take  with thee  ten  loaves,  and cracknels,  and a cruse  of honey,  and go  to him: he shall tell  thee what shall become of the child.  [4] And Jeroboam's  wife  did so,  and arose,  to Shiloh,  and came  to the house  of Ahijah.  could  not see;  for his eyes  were set  by reason of his age.  [5] And the LORD  said  unto Ahijah,  Behold, the wife  of Jeroboam  cometh  to ask  a thing  of thee for her son;  for he is sick:  thus  and thus shalt thou say  unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in,  that she shall feign herself to be another  [6] And it was so, when Ahijah  heard  the sound  of her feet,  as she came in  at the door,  that he said,  Come in,  thou wife  of Jeroboam;  why feignest thou thyself to be another?  for I am sent  to thee with heavy  [7] tell  Jeroboam,  Thus saith  the LORD  God  of Israel,  Forasmuch as  I exalted  thee from among  the people,  and made  thee prince  over my people  Israel,  [8] the kingdom  away  from the house  of David,  and gave  it thee: and yet thou hast 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 mine eyes;  [9] But hast done  evil  above all that were before  and made  thee other  gods,  and molten images,  to provoke me to anger,  and hast cast  me behind  thy back:  [10] Therefore, behold, I will bring  evil  upon the house  of Jeroboam,  and will cut off  from Jeroboam  him that pisseth  against the wall,  and him that is shut up  and left  in Israel,  and will take away  the remnant  of the house  of Jeroboam,  as a man taketh away  dung,  till it be all gone.  [11] Him that dieth  of Jeroboam  in the city  shall the dogs  eat;  and him that dieth  in the field  shall the fowls  of the air  eat:  for the LORD  hath spoken  [12] Arise  thee to thine own house:  and when thy feet  enter  into the city,  the child  shall die.  [13] And 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  God  of Israel  in the house  of Jeroboam.  [14] Moreover the LORD  shall raise him up  a king  over Israel,  who shall cut off  the house  of Jeroboam  that day:  but what? even now. [15] For the LORD  shall smite  Israel,  as a reed  is shaken  in the water,  and he shall root up  Israel  out of this good  land,  which he gave  to their fathers,  and shall scatter  them beyond  the river,  because they have made  their groves,  provoking the LORD  to anger.  [16] Israel  up  because  of the sins  of Jeroboam,  who did sin,  and who made Israel  to sin.  [17] And Jeroboam's  wife  arose,  and came  to Tirzah:  and when she came  to the threshold  of the door,  the child  died;  [18] And they buried  him; and all Israel  mourned  for him, according to the word  of the LORD,  which he spake  by the hand  of his servant  Ahijah  the prophet. 

What does 1 Kings 14:1-18 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Whereas the prophecy of the young prophet from Judah dealt with Jeroboam"s religious cult, this one predicted the fate of the king"s descendants. Compare Samuel"s prediction concerning unfaithful Saul"s descendants ( 1 Samuel 13).
Jeroboam probably sent his wife to see Ahijah because that prophet had previously given a favorable prophecy to him ( 1 Kings 11:29-39). He probably hoped his gift ( 1 Kings 14:3) would win the prophet"s favor as Jeroboam had won the favor of the old prophet of Bethel. Ahijah"s ability to recognize the queen should have convinced her that what he said was from the Lord. Yahweh was still the God of Israel ( 1 Kings 14:7), even though Jeroboam refused to acknowledge Him as such. David"s viewing himself as Yahweh"s servant, keeping His commandments, and following Him with all his heart ( 1 Kings 14:8), contrast with Jeroboam"s views and practices.
Jeroboam was extremely evil ( 1 Kings 14:9) because he set up a new cult. In judgment, God would cut off Jeroboam"s descendants so he would not have a continuing dynasty. This is what the Lord had done to Eli and Saul for their similar disregard of God. Jeroboam"s descendants would not even enjoy burial. Wild animals would eat them, a terrible disgrace in the minds of ancient Semites ( 1 Kings 14:11; cf. 1 Kings 16:4; 1 Kings 21:24; Deuteronomy 28:26). [1] The sign that this would happen would be the death of Jeroboam"s sick child ( 1 Kings 14:12). His death at this time was really a divine blessing in view of what he would have experienced had he lived ( 1 Kings 14:13). The king God raised up ( 1 Kings 14:14) was Baasha ( 1 Kings 15:27-29). God compared Jeroboam"s Israel to a shaky reed planted in unstable water ( 1 Kings 14:15), like the papyrus reeds Jeroboam had seen in Egypt when he lived there. God handed Israel over to captivity eventually, but only temporarily ( 1 Kings 14:16).
Evidently Jeroboam had moved his capital from Shechem to Tirzah (modern Tell el-Far"ah), seven miles to the northeast, and was living there ( 1 Kings 14:17). [2]