He was promised that, should he obey and honour God, he would be blessed, as David was, with a dynasty of sons on the throne of Israel. Sadly, Jeroboam proved faithless and set up counterfeit places of worship in Israel. Ironically, the people found themselves yoked religiously, under Jeroboam, to a set of golden calves (1 Kings 12:25-33). The Mosaic shades of Jeroboam, a man who came from Egypt to set the people free from the oppression of Rehoboam, give way to Aaronic shades in the fabrication of golden calves.
It is against this backdrop that a man of God confronts Jeroboam as he is making offerings at his altar (1 Kings 13:1-6). His false worship is denounced and a prophecy concerning its demise under a future king named Josiah is declared. A sign to confirm this message from the Lord is given as well – “this altar will split apart, and its ashes will be poured out on the ground” (v.3 NLT). Jeroboam’s response is to stretch out his hand towards the man of God, and call out to seize him. To his horror, his hand withers, so that he cannot bring it back to himself. At the same time, the altar splits apart and the ashes spill out as the prophet had declared. Jeroboam is reduced to pleading for the restoration of his hand which the Lord graciously provides via the man of God. The unfolding story highlights the truth that God is trying to convey, and that is being ignored – obedience to the Word of God is what brings blessing and favour; disobedience brings consequences and ultimately death.
On the heels of Jesus’ offer of an easy yoke in Matthew 11, we find Him in a grain field with His disciples. The Pharisees are horrified as the disciples glean from the field to satisfy their hunger. They consider this to be unlawful behaviour on the Sabbath day. Jesus teaches them that their additions to the law have resulted in a counterfeit religion – sure, there weren’t any visible golden calves, but their disapproval certainly wasn’t the intent of the law of Moses! He rebukes them, “if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless” (Matthew 12:7).
To emphasize the point, and thus further parallel the events with the actions of Jeroboam, Jesus enters their synagogue and finds a man there with a withered hand (Matthew 12:9-13). Jeroboam’s withered hand was indicative of his outrage at being rebuked for his introduction of false religion in the name of God. Here, the man’s withered hand is an indication that the Jewish religion had similarly been corrupted. The withered hand illustrates the inability of the Jewish religion to meet the needs of the people. It had been rendered powerless. Jesus restores the man’s hand to strength, and this sign/miracle was to prove the accuracy and authority of His message to the Pharisees who witnessed it.
Sadly, like Jeroboam, the witness of the signs, authenticating the message of God, did not fall on receptive hearts. The Pharisees were united in a desire to destroy Him (Matthew 12:14). They disregarded the signs by claiming that the power Jesus had to do them was from the devil. Interestingly, this provokes a discussion about a divided kingdom – exactly what happened back in Jeroboam’s day!
The threat of worshipping golden calves is still real today. We would never dress them up in gold, of course. But we are just as prone to fabricating what we want God’s Word to say, and to use it to justify whatever actions we need justified. And what is our response when the Word of God is brought to bear on our false assumptions and fleshly actions? Are we like Jeroboam and the Pharisees? Do we seek to kill the messenger – even when the truth of the message is being manifested before our eyes? We need to search our own hearts. Jeroboam fashioned his religion for fear of losing his following. The Pharisees’ religion was to ensure their status as good Jews – they could measure and compare themselves by means of their own scrupulosity and thus find themselves justified by their own standards.
Again, we must confess that we are made of the same stuff! We like religion. Jesus is looking for relationship. Here is a King who desires to be yoked with you and to you; plodding along in the daily “muck” of life. Isn’t that amazing?!
Don’t be fooled by golden calves – yoke yourself to a real ox, One who is meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29)!
