Episode 138: God kills Jeroboam's son

1 Kings 14

14 ¹ Abijah, Jeroboam's son, became sick. ² So Jeroboam said to his wife,

Put on a disguise and go to Shiloh to see Ahijah the prophet, who told me that I'd become king.

³ Take ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and honey. He'll tell you what will happen to our son.

⁴ So Jeroboam's wife went to Ahijah's house in Shiloh.

But Ahijah had become blind in his old age.

⁵ God said to Ahijah,

Jeroboam's wife is coming to ask about her sick son.

She'll be disguised as another woman.

⁶ Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came to the door. He said,

Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why are you in disguise?

I have bad news for you.

⁷ Go tell Jeroboam, this is what God says:

^8-9 I made you king, but you haven't obeyed me like David did, but have done more evil than anyone has ever done before.

¹⁰ Therefore, I will bring evil on you and kill everyone in your family who pisses against the wall. They will be treated like shit.

¹¹ If they die in the city, their bodies will be fed to the dogs. If they die in the country, the birds will eat them.

¹² Go home. When you enter the city, your son will die.

¹⁴ God will raise up a king over Israel who will kill everyone in Jeroboam's family.

¹⁷ After Ahijah's delivered God's message to Jeroboam's wife, she left for home. When she arrived at the front door, her son died.

Images, groves, and sodomites

²¹ Jeroboam was king of Israel for 22 years. When he died, his son, Nadab, became the king.

Rehoboam was the son of Solomon and Naamah the Ammonitess. He reigned in Jerusalem and was king of Judah for 17 years.

²² God became jealous because the people of Judah did evil in his sight, committing sins that were worse than anyone had committed before.

²³ They built high places, made images, and groves on every hill and under every tree.

²⁴ There were also sodomites in the land who did abominations, like the people God cast out to make room for the Israelites.

³¹ After Rehoboam died, his son Abijam became king of Judah.