- 1And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.
- 2And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;)
- 3That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying,
- 4Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.
- 5And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.
- 6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?
- 7And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.
- 8But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:
- 9And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter?
- 10And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins.
- 11And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
- 12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.
- 13And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him;
- 14And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
- 15Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
- 16 So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.
- 17But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
- 18Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
- 19So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.
- 20And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
- 21 And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
- 22But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
- 23Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying,
- 24Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.
- 25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel.
- 26And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
- 27If 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.
- 28Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
- 29And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan.
- 30And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.
- 31And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
- 32And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Beth-el, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Beth-el the priests of the high places which he had made.
- 33So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Beth-el the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.
KING JAMES VERSION
1 KINGS 12
Read the chapter, follow a linked verse, and continue into related Watchman 33 teaching.
CHAPTER VISUAL
1 Kings 12 — Rehoboam’s harsh answer divides the kingdom, and Jeroboam establishes counterfeit worship at Bethel and Dan.
About this illustration
The assembly at Shechem and northern altar are linked as political fracture and religious corruption. Only one calf is prominent, with the second shrine suggested in the distance to keep the scene readable.
Scripture basis: 1 Kings 12:1–33King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom
EXPLORE THE MESSAGE
Related Watchman 33 Resources
Archaeological Evidence
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
Late ninth century BC
Tel Dan Stele: The 'House of David'
Fragments of a ninth-century BC Aramaic victory monument name a king of Israel and, in the mainstream reading, the House of David—the earliest widely accepted extra-biblical reference to Judah's Davidic dynasty.
2 Samuel 7:8–16 · 1 Kings 12:19–20 · 1 Kings 15:4
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchitecture
Iron Age I–II, with major ninth–eighth-century rebuilding
The Cultic Precinct at Tel Dan
Successive platforms, courts, rooms, installations, and ritual objects at Tel Dan establish a major northern sanctuary through the monarchy, providing a firm setting for biblical memories of worship at Dan without yielding Jeroboam’s name or an identifiable golden calf.
1 Kings 12:28–33 · 2 Kings 10:29 · Amos 8:14
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCECult & worship
16th century BC
Ashkelon Silver Calf and Ceramic Shrine
A silver-plated bronze calf found inside a ceramic shrine near Ashkelon's city gate provides rare Middle Bronze evidence for bovine divine symbolism in the southern Levant.
Exodus 32:1–8 · 1 Kings 12:28–33 · Isaiah 30:22
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchitecture
Iron Age II, principally ninth–eighth centuries BC
The Iron Age Gate Complex and Dais at Tel Dan
The Iron Age entrance at Dan includes a paved approach, gate chambers, standing stones, and a raised installation or dais outside the gate. The complex documents how a northern Israelite city organized movement, ceremony, authority, and public space. The dossier connects the excavated evidence to 1 Kings 12:29-30 and 2 Kings 23:8 while keeping the historical claim narrower than the biblical narrative.
1 Kings 12:29–30 · 2 Kings 23:8
