1 Kings 14:1-5

I. THE DECREE AGAINST JEROBOAM 14:1-20

The commencement of the divine retribution against the house of Jeroboam is related in this unit. The same prophet who foretold Jeroboam's reign over Israel now issued a decree of doom against his dynasty. Here is narrated (1) the mission of the king's wife(1 Kings 14:1-5); (2) the message of the prophet (1 Kings 14:6-16); (3) and the mourning over the king's son (1 Kings 14:17-18). To this is appended (4) a concluding note on the reign of Jeroboam (1 Kings 14:19-20).

A. THE MISSION OF THE KING'S WIFE 14:1-5

TRANSLATION

(1) At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. (2) And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray you, disguise yourself, that it might not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Behold Ahijah the prophet is there. He is the one who spoke concerning me that I would be king over this people. (3) And take in your hand ten loaves of bread, and cakes and a jar of honey, and go unto him. He shall tell you what shall become of the lad. (4) And the wife of Jeroboam did so, and arose and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah was not able to see, for his eyes were set because of his age. (5) And the LORD had said unto Ahijah, Behold the wife of Jeroboam is about to come to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you speak unto her. And it shall come to pass when she comes that she will pretend to be another woman.

COMMENTS

Some time seems to have elapsed since the events of the last chapter, and the reign of Jeroboam is coming to a close. The capital has been transferred from Shechem (1 Kings 12:25) to Tirzah, probably because the latter town was easier to defend. During those days, the crown prince Abijah[355] (Yahweh is my father) fell desperately sick (1 Kings 14:1). The fact that Jeroboam gave his son a name ending in yah (short for Yahweh) has been adduced as proof that he did not regard himself as disloyal to the national Deity, although he had repudiated the national sanctuary in Jerusalem. Apart from the fact that the child may have been born prior to the establishment of the calf religion, it remains a precarious procedure to draw inferences about a man's theology from the names that he gave his children.

[355] It is most interesting to note that both Jeroboam and Rehoboam gave their sons and intended successors the name Abijah. cf. 2 Chronicles 12:16.

Suspecting that the illness of his son was punitive, Jeroboam determined to secure from the prophet of God some word as to the prognosis for the lad. The king's decision to seek help from Ahijah was based on the prophet's support of him in the past. But realizing that his own religious activities would bring only censure and rebuke and perhaps an unfavorable prediction, Jeroboam determined to send his wife to seek the oracle. Even she must disguise (lit., change) herself so that neither the prophet nor the populace[356] would recognize her as the queen (1 Kings 14:2).

[356] According to Slotki (SBB, p. 104) the disguise was intended to be a protection against the king's personal enemies and was not intended to conceal her identity from the prophet.

The commission was too delicate to be entrusted to a servant or stranger. The inconsistency of the king is seen in that while he anticipated receiving from the prophet reliable insight into the future, he expected the old man to be deceived by his wife's disguise. At any rate, the wife was instructed to take with her certain giftsten loaves, some cakes, a leather bottle of honeyas presents for the prophet. The present was purposely a poor one for the sake of maintaining the deception. The reason for this elaborate preparation is so that the king might learn what the fate of his young son would be (1 Kings 14:3). Probably Jeroboam hoped for more than just information; he may have hoped to trick the old prophet into a declaration that the son would recover. In godless superstition he apparently believed that whatever the prophet said would come to pass even if he were tricked into saying it.

The queen was just as anxious as her husband to secure the pronouncement of the prophet and so, as soon as she had made the necessary preparations, she hastened to Shiloh. Shiloh would be about thirty miles distant from Tirzahmore than a day's journey for the queen, as the road involves some toilsome climbing. Ahijah lived in his own house in Shiloh and spent his days there in darkness because his eyes had set, i.e., his pupils would not adjust to the light (1 Kings 14:4). Why Ahijah had remained in the North when other godly Israelites were migrating to the South is not stated. Some suggest it was because of his old age and others that he felt a duty to remain and be as best he could a witness for truth.

The attempted deception was frustrated by a direct revelation from the Lord. Ahijah was told who was coming to his house and for what purpose she was coming (1 Kings 14:5).