After King Rehoboam angered his people and harshly threatened them, ten of the twelve tribes in his kingdom seceded and anointed a new king named Jeroboam.
Word: I Kings 12:25-33 (abridged)(NLT)
26 Jeroboam thought to himself, “Unless I am careful, the kingdom will return to the dynasty of David. 27 When these people go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the Temple of the Lord, they will again give their allegiance to King Rehoboam of Judah. They will kill me and make him their king instead.”
28 So on the advice of his counselors, the king made two gold calves. He said to the people, “It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!”
29 He placed these calf idols in Bethel and in Dan—at either end of his kingdom. 30 But this became a great sin, for the people worshiped the idols, traveling as far north as Dan to worship the one there.
31 Jeroboam also erected buildings at the pagan shrines and ordained priests from the common people—those who were not from the priestly tribe of Levi. 32 And Jeroboam instituted a religious festival in Bethel, held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in imitation of the annual Festival of Shelters in Judah. There at Bethel he himself offered sacrifices to the calves he had made, and he appointed priests for the pagan shrines he had made. 33 So on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a day that he himself had designated, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar at Bethel. He instituted a religious festival for Israel, and he went up to the altar to burn incense.
Jeroboam had just led a successful coup and won over most of the nation to his side! He was the new king, but politically he had a problem. The religion of the nation required them to perform their rituals in the capital of the old country—the enemy country. So, on the advice of his counsellors, he creates a new religion—or perhaps more accurately, a new imitation of the old religion.
To create a new religion, you need a new history: not that old God of the old story, but these new gods are the true gods of freedom, of liberty. Then you must have a new priesthood to tell the new story, of course. These new priests lacked only the credentials and anointing of the old religion and the old god, so if they are given new credentials and if they dress like the old priests, almost no one will notice any difference. Then the clever new king created new religious festivals “in imitation” of the old festivals, and he chose appropriate days, and he performed the main rituals himself—because, after all, he is the creator of this entire new religion—that looked and felt a lot like the old religion.
Beware of leaders that need to change the national story, who ignore history, and especially who offer new and improved morals and values! Neither goodness nor power reside in this new religion just because it feels like the old one. Goodness and power are where the real God is!
Prayer: Lord, You alone are the God who has led us to this day in history. You are the real God who has shaped our nation. Keep us from being deceived by imitation gods, pretending to be good and have power, but who are nothing! Deliver us from leaders who would create substitute histories and substitute morals/values in order to further their political agendas. Amen
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