Abijah falls sick, and Jeroboam disguises his wife and sends her with presents to the prophet Ahijah at Shiloh, 1-4. Ahijah, forewarned by God, denounces God's judgment, 5-16. Abijah dies and is buried, 17, 18. Nadab succeeds Jeroboam, 19, 20. Rehoboam's wicked reign, 21-24. Shishak plunders Jerusalem, 25-28. Abijam succeeds Rehoboam, 29-31.
1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. 2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, "Arise, I pray you, disguise yourself so that you may not be known to be the wife of Jeroboam and go to Shiloh. Behold, there is Ahijah the prophet who told me that I should be king over this people. 3 And take with you ten loaves, cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall become of the child."
4 And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were set by reason of his age. 5 And the LORD said to Ahijah, "Behold, the wife of Jeroboam comes to ask a thing of you for her son, for he is sick. In this manner you shall speak to her, for it shall be, when she comes in, that she will feign herself to be another woman."
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, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you feign yourself to be another? For I am sent to you with heavy tidings. 7 Go, tell Jeroboam, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel: "Because I exalted you from among the people and made you prince over my people Israel, 8 And rent the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to 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 you have done evil above all who were before you, for you have gone and made yourself other gods and molten images to provoke me to anger, and have cast me behind your back, 10 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam the males and him who is shut up and left in Israel and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man takes away dung until it is all gone. 11 He who dies of Jeroboam in the city the dogs shall eat, and he who dies in the field the birds of the air shall eat, for the LORD has spoken it."' 12 Therefore, arise, depart to your own house. And when your 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 himself up a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day. But what? Even now.
15 "For the LORD will smite 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 scatter them beyond the river because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger. 16 And he will give up Israel because of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned and who made Israel to sin."
17 And Jeroboam's wife arose, departed, 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 spoke by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet.
19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 20 And the days which Jeroboam reigned were twenty-two years. And he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.
21 And 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 chose out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. 22 And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed above all that their fathers had done. 23 For they also built for themselves high places and images and groves on every high hill and under every green tree. 24 And there were also temple prostitutes in the land. And they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
25 And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house. He even took away everything. And he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. 27 And king Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard who kept the door of the king's house. 28 And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bore them and brought them back into the guard chamber.
29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.
Matthew Henry Commentary - 1st Kings, Chapter 14[➚]
[v.2] - "who told me that I should be king over this people" - Reference, 1st Kings 11:31.
[v.3] - "what shall become of the child" - Reference, verse 12.
[v.11] - See the note for 1st Kings 11:33.
[v.14] - "who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day" - Reference, 1st Kings 15:28-30.
[v.18] - "the word of the LORD, which he spoke by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet" - Reference, verse 13.