Would you turn to 1 Kings 12. I'd like to begin reading in
verse 25. And here we have a story that
I'm going to show you a bunch of scriptures that this is referred
to over and over again in the Kings and in the Chronicles.
almost considered to be the sin by which all other sins are measured
in the scripture. Verse 25, then Jeroboam built
Shechem in Mount Ephraim and dwelt therein and went out from
thence and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart,
this is where this took place, now shall the kingdom return
to the house of David. Now, you remember that the kingdom,
this is the beginning of the dividing of the kingdom. And
there was only one place where the Passover was to be observed.
And there was one place that Jerusalem was to look. I mean,
the Israel was to look, that was to Jerusalem. There weren't
any other places that were acceptable. But look what Jeroboam says.
He knew that if the people went to Jerusalem, That's where Rehoboam
was, and he thought that that is where they would show their
allegiance. He said in verse 27, if this
people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem,
then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their
Lord, even unto Rehoboam, king of Judah, and they shall kill
me and go again to Rehoboam, king of Judah. Now, the Lord
had promised in chapter 11, if you're obedient to me, I'm gonna
establish your kingdom just like I did David. It's gonna have
the same power as David's. And he could not believe God. Verse 28, whereupon the king
took counsel and made two calves of gold and said unto them, it's
too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. It's just too difficult.
Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land
of Egypt. golden calves, the recirculation of an old heir.
And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
And this thing became a sin for the people, for the people went
to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made an house
of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people,
which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a
feast in the eighth month on the 15th day of the month, like
unto the feast that's Judah. He made a new Passover. And he
offered upon the altar, so did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto
the calves which he had made. And he placed in Bethel the priests
of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the
altar which he had made in Bethel the 15th day of the eighth month,
even in the month which he had devised of his own heart. God
had given a specific day the Passover was to be kept, and
he made it different, he modified it. And he ordained a feast unto
the children of Israel, and he offered upon the altar and burnt
incense. Let's pray. Lord, we ask that by your grace,
by your spirit, you would teach us what is being said in your
word. And Lord, deliver us from a religion
of our own heart, which we devise in our own mind. And Lord, give
us the grace to believe on thy son and trust him completely,
how we thank you for him. We ask that he might be exalted
and glorified in our midst and that we might be enabled to worship
him. Bless us for Christ's sake, be with all your people wherever
they meet together. And Lord, forgive us of our sins, cleanse
us, order our steps in your word, and let not any iniquity have
dominion over us. In Christ's name we pray, amen. Now, turn to 1 Kings 14. I'm gonna read a bunch of scriptures
to introduce this. 1 Kings 14, verse 16. And he shall give Israel up because
of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, who made Israel to sin. Chapter 15, verse 29. And it came to pass when he reigned,
this is another king, he smote all the house of Jeroboam. He
left not to Jeroboam any that breathed until he destroyed him,
according to the saying of the servant, which he spake by the
servant Hijah, the Shilwite. Because of the sins of Jeroboam,
which he sinned, and which he made Israel to sin by his provocation,
wherewith he provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger. Look
in verse 34. This is another king, and he
did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of
Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin. Chapter
16, verse two. For as much as I exalted thee
out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people of Israel,
and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and made my people
Israel to sin. Look in verse seven. And also
by the hand of the prophet Jehu, the son of Hanai, came the word
of the Lord against Ben-Ashi and his house, even for all the
evil that he had done in the sight of the Lord, and provoking
him to anger with the work of his hands, like the house of
Jeroboam. And he killed him. Look in verse
19 of the same chapter. This is talking about another
king for his sins, which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of
the Lord and walking in the way of Jeroboam. Look in verse 26
of the same chapter. For he walked, this is another
king, he walked in all the way of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. Look in verse 31. This is talking
about Ahab. And it came to pass as if it
had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam,
the son of Nebat, that he took his wife Jezebel and the daughter
of Ethbael, king of the Zidians, and went and served Baal and
worshiped him. Look in chapter 21. Years later,
verse 22. Behold, I'll bring evil upon
thee and will take away thy posterity when cut off from Ahab, him that
pisseth against the wall and him that shut up and left in
Israel and will make his house like unto the house of Jeroboam. Look in verse 52. No, chapter 22, 52. And he did evil on the side of
the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way
of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat,
who made Israel to sin, for he served Baal. And so, well, I've
got about another 10 scriptures to read, and I'm not gonna take
the time to do it. I think you got the point. The sin of Jeroboam. This is man-made religion that
God condemns. And throughout, you go into the
other, the second Kings, this is mentioned time and time again. the sin of Jeroboam. Now, this
story begins, go back to our text in verse Kings 12. This
story begins with God's judgment against Solomon. And he says,
because you have committed this idolatry, we considered what
he did a few weeks ago, because you've committed this idolatry,
I'm gonna bring division into your house, but I'm not gonna
do it in your lifetime, because your daddy was David, your father
was David, and I've had such respect for him, so it's not
gonna happen in your lifetime, it's gonna happen in the lifetime
of your son, Rehoboam. And we considered Jeroboam, how
he was brought into power last week, but God made a promise
to Jeroboam, if you serve me faithfully, I'll make your kingdom
just like David's. That's how blessed this is gonna
be. And he could not believe God. Look in verses 26 and 27 of our
text. And Jeroboam said in his heart,
now shall the kingdom return to the house of David. If this
people go up to sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem,
and where's the one place you could go for sacrifice? Jerusalem. And this represents Where's the
one place you can go to find acceptance with God? Christ. Only Christ. Nowhere but Christ. This is the promise of Scripture.
Verse 27. Then shall the heart of this people turn again unto
their Lord, even unto Rehoboam, the king of Judah, and they shall
kill me and go again to Rehoboam, king of Judah. Now he didn't
want this to happen. Verse 28. Whereupon the king
took counsel and made two calves of gold and said unto them, it's
too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Now, sometimes they
would have to make a long journey to get to Jerusalem. So he said,
I'm gonna make things more convenient and I'm gonna make things more
easy. I'm going to set up these golden calves, these visible
representations of God. They'll help you. I mean, you
know that calf didn't bring you up, but this is a representation
of God that it will aid you in worship. You won't have to go
so far. You won't have to be so inconvenienced.
It sounds a whole lot like contemporary religion, doesn't it? He's the
beginning of it. Make it more convenient. Make
it easier. Make it less costly, less sacrificial. He said, verse 28, whereupon
the king took counsel, made two calves of gold, and said unto
them, it's too much for you to go up to Jerusalem, to behold
thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Look, this is the recirculation of an old error, isn't it? This
is exactly what Aaron did. And he's just repeating it. Every
error is just the repetition of an old error. There's nothing
new under the sun. And we see this in this instance,
he's just getting what Aaron did. Verse 29, and he set the
one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan, and this thing
became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one,
even unto Dan. Now, the sin that Israel always
fell into over and over and over again was the sin of idolatry. Now, what is idolatry? Good question. Idolatry is anything that's not
God. Now, God is, as he reveals himself
in his work, and anything that's not Him, any comparison to Him
is wrong. He's transcendent. He's altogether glorious. And
to take something and say, this is what God is like, is just
bringing Him down to human levels. That's all it is. It's trying
to, I love what Luther said to Erasmus, your God is too human. And that's what idolatry is.
It's trying to humanize God, make Him to where we can understand
Him, make Him to where we can get hold of Him, and we can see
Him, and we can feel Him. And Israel was always, always
falling into idolatry. And that's exactly what will
happen to me and you apart from the grace of God. We'll fall
into idolatry. We'll humanize God. We'll make things easier for
ourselves. This is too much for you, too much sacrifice, too
much effort to go all the way to Jerusalem. Now remember, Jerusalem
represents Christ. You could only go to one place,
Jerusalem. There's only one way me and you
can be accepted, Christ alone. Amen. I am the way, the truth, the
life. No man comes to the Father but
by me. Christ alone as the only way
into God's presence, but he introduced something else. Now let's go
on reading, verse 31. And he made an house of high
places and made priests of the lowest of the people. which were
not the sons of Levi. This kind of reminds me of today's
preachers. I have no, and I know apart from
the grace of God, I'm gonna be the same way, but I have no respect
for anyone who will modify the gospel. who will let it be changed
in any way. And that's what these priests,
he made priests of the lowest of the people, men who would
do this, who had no principle, they had no respect for the word
of God, they had no respect for the character of God, they would
go ahead and go on with him in this. So he made priests of the
lowest of the people. Verse 32. And Jeroboam ordained a feast
in the eighth month on the 15th day of the month. He changed
the date of the Passover. He modified the Passover. Now,
that may seem innocent enough, but no, it's not. To change anything
in the word of God always has some evil motive. This is God's
word and God has stated everything exactly as it should be stated.
and to change anything always has some kind of evil, self-seeking,
sinister motive. But he changed the date of the
Passover. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month on
the 15th day of the month, like under the feast that's at Judah,
the real Passover that took place only in Jerusalem, and he offered
upon the altar. So did he in Bethel. Dan and
Bethel sacrificing under the calves that he had made. And
he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had
made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel
the 15th day of the eighth month, even in the month which he devised
of his own heart." What's a scary proposition, isn't it? And all
the people were so influenced by this. And he made the people
to... It made sense to him. You know, it is easier to go
to these places rather than make this whole trip to Jerusalem. This is much more convenient.
Let's go ahead and go with it. And he led Israel into this great
sin. Now, idolatry is the worship of a
God you can see, that you can understand. that you can grasp,
and the bottom line of false religion is idolatry. I love what Paul said in 1 Corinthians
1, verse 17, Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the
gospel, not with wisdom of words. Now here we see the use of the
wisdom of words to make the gospel more appealing. more attractive,
easier. This is not gonna be trouble
for you. I think of the preaching that I hear of men who would
claim that they're what they call reformed preachers, and
they claim to believe grace, yet they'll never come out and
just say Christ died for the elect. Christ died for those
who believe. Now that statement's true, but
what's the emphasis there? What's the emphasis there? Christ
died for you if you believe. It puts more emphasis on your
faith and your belief than his work. Somebody says, and I read
this recently, that's why I've been harping on it for three
or four weeks, there's a sense in which God loves all men. And
there's a sense in which Christ died for all men. Now, why would
someone say that? There's only one motive. to make
the gospel more appealing, to make it more attractive and less
offensive. People won't be offended by that.
And this is exactly what Jeroboam was trying to do. He was trying
to market the gospel, make it more attractive, more appealing,
easier. That's exactly what this man
was doing. Now, look in 1 Kings 13. And behold, there came a man
of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Bethel. We're
gonna consider this next time. And Jeroboam stood by the altar
to burn incense, and he, the man of God, cried against the
altar in the word of the Lord and said, O altar, altar, this
altar that you've created, this altar to burn sacrifice on that's
utterly forbidden in the word of God. O altar, altar, thus
saith the Lord, behold, a child shall be born into the house
of David, Josiah by name. And Josiah, this is going to
happen hundreds of years later, and Josiah is the one who the
Lord testified of him, there was not a king like him before
or after. He's even making him better than
David. This Josiah, what a special,
special man. and he born under the house of
David, Josiah by name, and upon thee shall he offer the priests
of the high places that burn incense upon thee, they're going
to be burned on this altar, and men's bones shall be burnt upon
thee. Now centuries later, turn to
2 Kings chapter 23. This is right before Nebuchadnezzar
came in and the 70 year captivity. 2 Kings 23, beginning in verse
15. Moreover, the altar that was
at Bethel, that had been hundreds of years before by Jeroboam,
and the high place which Jeroboam, the son of Naboth, who hath made
Israel a sin, had made, both the altar and the high place,
he break down. And he burned the high place,
and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove, and Josiah
turned himself. I think that's so powerful. He's
gonna say, is there anything else that needs to be stamped
out? Is there anything else that needs to be addressed? This was
a man after God's own heart, and he was utterly intolerant
for these high places and these false altars. I love the way
it says he turned himself. I pray that the Lord will make
us be people like that, that turn ourselves at seeing this
stuff. And he spied the sepulchers that
were in the mount, and he sent and took the bones out of the
sepulchers and burned them upon the altar and polluted it. according
to the word of the Lord, which the man of God proclaimed, who
had proclaimed those words that we just read hundreds of years
before. He took the priests out and he
burnt their bones upon this altar. Now, what do we learn from all
this? Well, number one, where did Jeroboam
fail, first of all? It's so simple. He failed to
believe what God said. He just didn't believe. God said,
you do what I tell you to. You direct the children of Israel
to Jerusalem, where the tabernacle is, where the temple is, where
the sacrifice is, the only one place of salvation. I'll make
your kingdom just as stable as David's kingdom. He was given
this promise. and he could not believe God. We won't either unless the Lord
gives us the grace to. May the Lord enable us to believe
God. Now, second thing, do not modify or alter or change anything in the word
of God. That's what he did. He made a different date for
the Passover. He modified the Passover. And the only reason anyone will
modify anything in the Word of God is because they're seeking
to please men and gain their acceptance. And may the Lord
cause us to be people who don't care about pleasing men, but
all we care about is pleasing God. Do not modify the Word of
God the way Jeroboam did. And never, this is so important,
never, thirdly, never try to make the gospel more attractive,
less offensive, and easier to receive. That is showing that
you don't really believe the gospel is the power of God unto
salvation. There's something you need to
do in order to help it out. Never make the gospel more attractive,
less offensive, or easier to receive. State the gospel as
it is and don't try to help it out. If I do that, I prove that
I think I have something to do with this rather than it being
the work of God. No, the preacher's job, our job,
is simply to state the gospel and get away. The Lord will do
His work. I'm not talking about fatalism,
you know that, but I mean state the gospel as it is and trust
God to use it, not try to help out to make it easier to receive. Now, the motive, fourth, the
motive behind man-made false religion is always self-protection,
like Jeroboam. I'm going to get killed. I'm
going to get killed if I go ahead and let them go to Jerusalem,
they'll lose their allegiance to me. They'll no longer be loyal
to me. And they will, they will go back to Rehoboam because they
see that the sacrifices in Jerusalem, they're just going to forget
me. That motive behind that is nothing but self-protection,
self-seeking and beware, beware, beware of convenience in religion. What an abomination to try to
make the worship of God more convenient. And that's exactly
what he did. He said, it's too much for you.
It's too much for you to go all the way to Jerusalem. Anything
that is an attempt for me to make things easier for myself
so I'll sacrifice something in the worship of God is a great
evil. And you see what God says about
the sin of Jeroboam, I could have read a bunch more scriptures.
I mean, it's in there. This sin that he committed when he conceived
this thing in his own heart and made religion easier and modified
the word of God and changed the date of the Passover and then
recirculated these old errors, these golden calves, it became
the sin by which all other sins are measured. I remember, preaching
on this, the sin of Jeroboam, probably 15 years ago. And there
was a preacher that, that he just seemed so irreverent to
me. He didn't, I just, you know, anytime, anytime a preacher or
anybody makes jokes about truth in a flippant way, it just, just
goes through me. I can't stand it. This is not
to be joked about. But I said, I'm going to preach
on the sin of Jeroboam. And he harped out, well, his
team was having a name like that. And I thought, what a reverence. May the Lord deliver us from
the sin of Jeroboam. Amen.