And at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had dressed himself in a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the open country.
An officer Solomon had promoted walks out of Jerusalem alone. On the open road a prophet meets him, and what happens to the coat on his back settles the future of the nation.
Why a Prophet Appears Here
The king was meant to hold Israel's link with God. Watch what God does when the king fails.
H. L. RossierNow a prophet appears. The ruin of the priesthood raised up Samuel; in the same way, the fall of the kingship now raises up a prophet. As these books go on, he becomes the striking link between the people and God, now that the kingship has failed in its responsibility.
A prophet on the scene is not only bad news.
H. L. RossierHis appearance proved that the grace and mercy of God could not be destroyed even when everything was ruined.
The Man on the Road
Jeroboam was no foreign enemy. Solomon had promoted him himself.
Leslie M. GrantSolomon's third enemy was the most dangerous. He was Solomon's own servant, a capable man whom Solomon had trusted with a position of responsibility (v.28). Jeroboam rebelled against the king because of a message God sent him through the prophet Ahijah. So it is plainly God who raised up this enemy.
The New Garment and the Twelve Pieces
The coat is not a random object. It is new, and so is what it stands for.
Leslie M. GrantAhijah met Jeroboam outside Jerusalem, with no one else there to see it (v.29). Ahijah was wearing a new garment. He took it and tore it into twelve pieces, telling Jeroboam to take ten of them. The garment was Solomon's kingdom, newly set up.
The tearing is not a forecast of something God will do later.
H. L. RossierHe tears the new garment he is wearing (the kingdom itself was still quite new), and gives ten parts to Jeroboam. At that very moment the kingdom is torn out of Solomon's hands, though people only see it later. One tribe is left to the house of David, because grace freely chose David and Jerusalem.
Why God Tore the Kingdom
God gives His reason in the message: "they have forsaken me." One writer asks who that "they" really was.
H. L. Rossier"They" was Solomon, the king! No doubt, all the people later followed that same path, but at this moment one man had sinned — the king. God had set him in a position of responsibility for all the people, and his unfaithfulness brought judgment on Israel.
The charge is spelled out in full. It was also a warning to the man who heard it.
Leslie M. GrantGod's reason for breaking up the kingdom is stated very clearly. Israel had forsaken the Lord and had sunk to worshiping all kinds of false gods and goddesses, ignoring God's statutes and judgments (v.33). God plainly hated that guilt, and Solomon led the way into it. It should have made a deep impression on Jeroboam's conscience, so that he took care never to copy such practices. But soon after he was raised up as king of the ten tribes, he fell into the same evil ways.
The Piece That Was Not Given Away
One tribe looks like a scrap next to ten. Watch what happens to each kingdom afterwards.
William KellyWhat mercy — a light always! Judah was greatly reduced, cut down in size and glory, yet one thing marked it off sharply from the ten tribes. Their kingdom began with a rebellious servant, and it would not end with him. Rebellious servant after rebellious servant would rise up against the king of Israel, so the ruling family was changed over and over and over again. It was not so with Judah. God calls it only one tribe, and still the light will always be there.
Jeroboam Would Not Wait
God had put the matter in His own hand, and told Jeroboam the outcome. Jeroboam would not leave it there.
C KnappBut like a stubborn, impatient child, he could not wait. He had to take the case out of God's hand and handle it himself.
What God asked of him was simple trust.
Truth & TestimonyThe kingdom was his. He had only to believe the promise of God for that. Yet, like Jacob, he felt he had to work out his own schemes to get the promise fulfilled. Are we not ourselves sometimes guilty of the same mistake?
Summary
- Failure — kingship broke down, so God raised up a prophet as the link between Himself and His people.
- Sign — the new garment stood for the new kingdom. Tearing it settled the split that day, though no one saw it yet.
- Cause — the reason was idolatry. One man held responsibility for all, and his sin brought judgment on the nation.
- Mercy — God kept one tribe for David's sake. Its light would always burn, while the ten tribes changed ruling families again and again.
- Warning — the kingdom was already his by God's promise. He would not wait. He schemed for what he only had to trust God for.