Moreover, the LORD will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today. And henceforth,
Ahijah once told Jeroboam that God would build him a house as lasting as David's, on one condition. Here the same prophet says God will raise up a king to cut off Jeroboam's house — so who was that king, and what went wrong?
A House Promised on Condition
The promise Jeroboam lost came with a condition attached:
H. L. Rossier"And it shall be," says Ahijah to Jeroboam, "if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, keeping My statutes and My commandments, as David My servant did — then I will be with you. I will build you a lasting house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you." A new responsibility now rested on Jeroboam. God was giving him a privileged position. His house was to be as secure as that of David, if he would listen to the commandments of the Lord... In due time the grace on which David's kingdom was founded would claim its rights again. Jeroboam's kingdom, and Solomon's kingdom too, rested not on grace but on responsibility.
Two Messages, One Prophet
The prophet who once announced Jeroboam's rise now announces his fall:
Leslie M. GrantAhijah added more to his message in verse 14: the Lord would raise up a king over Israel to cut off the house of Jeroboam. This matter was completely settled. The Lord would shake Israel so hard as to uproot them from the land He had given to their fathers. He would scatter them beyond the river (Euphrates), because Israel's idolatry had provoked His fierce anger... This message of God's unsparing anger and vengeance against Jeroboam's sin stood in great contrast to Ahijah's first message to him (ch.11:28-39).
The King Who Was Raised Up
Jeroboam's son Nadab died by treachery while besieging the town of Gibbethon. Writers tie that death straight back to this verse:
C KnappGibbethon bordered on the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines most likely seized it when the Levites moved away to Judah. Its name means "lofty place". Nadab was killed by treachery while trying to win it back for the crown. But it was in fulfilment of the prophecy of Ahijah, "The Lord shall raise Him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now."
(Knapp is quoting an older translation of the verse's closing words; the ESV reads "today. And henceforth.")
Jeroboam's line outlived him by one short reign:
H. L. RossierHis reign lasted two years; this short period of time was enough to prove his wickedness. The Lord's word against Jeroboam came true in his son and in all his family.
An Instrument, Not an Innocent
That God "raises up" a man does not make that man good:
Leslie M. GrantBaasha made sure that none of Jeroboam's descendants would challenge him. He killed them all. On his part this was vicious cruelty, but by killing them he fulfilled the Word of the Lord by Ahijah the prophet (v.29), who had given the message of judgment to Jeroboam's wife.
Jeroboam himself had once been such a tool, and the pattern does not stop with him:
W. W. FeredayGod might use Jeroboam to punish Solomon and his house. He might use the kings of Assyria to punish Jeroboam's subjects. He might use Nebuchadnezzar to punish Judah and its kings. But God has had to judge each of these in turn. These rods of His anger (Isa. 10:5) were no more faithful to God than the people He used them against.
Sentences That Always Arrive
The word took years to land, and its reach goes beyond Israel:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinBaasha then struck down all the house of Jeroboam. This fulfilled the prediction of Ahijah, the prophet of Shiloh... God's predicted judgments never fail in the end. The Lord will one day carry out the judgments written against our own age, this evil age, just as He carried out every other judgment He had threatened against Israel.
Summary
- Offered. God promised Jeroboam a house as secure as David's, on one condition: that he walk in God's ways as David did.
- Forfeited. He turned to idolatry instead. Ahijah's second message was the reverse of his first: not a kingdom given, but a house cut off.
- Named. The king God raised up was Baasha. He struck Nadab at Gibbethon and left Jeroboam's line with no survivors.
- Used. Baasha's act was real cruelty on his part and fulfilled prophecy on God's part. The rods God uses are judged in their turn.
- Certain. The sentence took years to land, but it never lapsed. Commentators read it as proof that God's announced judgments always arrive — including the ones over our own age.