← All Chapters The Book of 1 Kings · Chapter 14

1 Kings 14: Judgment on Two Kings

Ahijah foretells the fall of Jeroboam's house when his son dies, while in Judah Rehoboam's reign sinks into idolatry and loss.

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1 Kings 14 (WEB)

1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.

2 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.

3 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.”

4 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.

5 Yahweh 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.”

6 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.

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

8 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,

9 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:

10 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.

11 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 Yahweh has spoken it.”’

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

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

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

15 For Yahweh 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 Yahweh to anger.

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

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

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

19 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.

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

21 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 Yahweh had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there: and his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess.

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

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

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

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

26 and he took away the treasures of Yahweh’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.

27 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.

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

29 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?

30 There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.

31 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.

Summary

When Jeroboam's son Abijah falls sick, the king sends his disguised wife to the blind prophet Ahijah at Shiloh, hoping to learn the child's fate. The LORD warns Ahijah of her coming, and he greets her without being deceived, delivering heavy news: because Jeroboam exalted himself, made other gods and molten images, and cast the LORD behind his back, God will sweep away his entire house. Only the sick child, in whom some good toward the LORD is found, will be mourned and buried; the rest will be devoured by dogs and birds. He foretells that Israel itself will one day be uprooted and scattered beyond the River because of the sins Jeroboam led them into. As the queen returns home, the child dies the moment her feet enter the city, just as Ahijah said. The narrative then turns to Judah, where Rehoboam reigns forty-one years and the people do evil in the LORD's sight, building high places, pillars, and Asherah poles and tolerating shameful practices. In Rehoboam's fifth year, Shishak of Egypt comes up against Jerusalem and carries off the treasures of the temple and palace, including Solomon's gold shields, which Rehoboam replaces with bronze. There is continual war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam, and both kings eventually die, succeeded by their sons.

Main Characters

  • Jeroboam — The northern king whose dynasty is condemned for idolatry, and whose son dies as the prophet foretold.
  • Ahijah the prophet — The aged, blind prophet of Shiloh who, undeceived by disguise, pronounces the LORD's judgment on Jeroboam's house and on Israel.
  • Jeroboam's wife — The queen sent in disguise to inquire about her sick son, who carries home the word of doom and finds the child dead at the city gate.
  • Rehoboam — King of Judah whose reign is marked by idolatry, the plunder of the temple by Shishak of Egypt, and ongoing war with Israel.

Key Verse

1 Kings 14:8 (WEB)

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,

Lessons Learned

  • No disguise or distance can hide a heart from the God who sees and knows.
  • Leading others into sin compounds guilt and invites judgment on a whole house.
  • God remembers and honors even a small measure of good toward him.
  • Forsaking the LORD leaves a people defenseless, their treasures and glory stripped away.
  • God is not fooled by appearances. The LORD told Ahijah she would "pretend to be another woman" (1 Kings 14:5, WEB), and the blind prophet knew her at the door. We cannot disguise ourselves before God.
  • Wholehearted devotion is the standard. Jeroboam was measured against David, "who followed me with all his heart" (1 Kings 14:8, WEB), and found wanting. God looks for undivided allegiance.
  • God notices the good he finds. The child alone would be mourned and buried because in him was "found some good thing toward Yahweh" (1 Kings 14:13, WEB). No genuine devotion escapes his eye.
  • Abandoning God brings loss. Judah's idolatry was followed by Shishak carrying off "the treasures of Yahweh's house" (1 Kings 14:26, WEB). When a people forsakes the LORD, their glory is soon plundered.
  1. Why did Jeroboam send his wife in disguise, and what does the LORD's warning to Ahijah reveal about God?
  2. What specific sins does Ahijah name as the cause of judgment on Jeroboam's house?
  3. Why is the dying child singled out for mourning and burial?
  4. How does the account of Rehoboam's Judah parallel the failures of Jeroboam's Israel?
  5. Where might you be tempted to hide part of your life from God, and what would it mean to come to him openly instead?
  1. Jeroboam wanted a word about his sick son without revealing it was the king's family inquiring, perhaps fearing judgment. But God forewarned Ahijah of the disguise (14:5), showing that the LORD sees every heart and that no scheme can hide us from the one who knows all.
  2. Ahijah condemns Jeroboam for exalting himself, making "other gods, and molten images," and casting God "behind your back" (14:9), and for leading Israel into sin. His idolatry and his corrupting influence on the nation bring sweeping judgment on his whole house.
  3. Because "in him there is found some good thing toward Yahweh" (14:13), the child alone will be properly mourned and buried while the rest of the house faces disgrace. God graciously recognizes even a small measure of devotion amid a corrupt family.
  4. Like the north, Judah builds high places, pillars, and Asherah poles and does evil in the LORD's sight (14:22-24). Both kingdoms forsake the LORD, and Judah's idolatry is answered by Shishak's plundering of the temple, showing that the southern kingdom is far from innocent.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Invite members to consider areas they keep hidden or compartmentalized from God. As leader, reassure them that the God who sees all also welcomes the honest and forgives, and encourage one step toward openness in prayer.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.