Now when Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he assembled all the [fighting men from the] house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel to bring the kingdom back to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, “Tell Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and all the house (fighting men) of Judah and Benjamin and the rest of the people, ‘Thus says the LORD, “You shall not go up and fight against your brothers, the sons of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing has come about from Me.” ’ ” So they listened to the word of the LORD and returned to go home, in accordance with the word of the LORD.
Then Jeroboam built Shechem [as his royal city] in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. He went out from there and rebuilt Penuel [as a stronghold]. Jeroboam [doubted God’s promise to him and] said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. [1 Kin 11:38] If these people go up to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices, then their heart will turn to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” So the king took counsel [and followed bad advice] and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “It is too much for you to go [all the way] up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” He set the one [golden calf] in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Now this thing became a sin [for Israel]; because the people went to worship before the one [or the other of them] as far as Dan. And Jeroboam also made houses on high places, and he made priests from all people who were not of the sons (descendants) of Levi. Jeroboam held a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast which is kept in Judah, and he went up to the altar; he did this in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. [Lev 23:34] So he went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in his own heart [in defiance of God’s commandments]; and he held a feast for the Israelites and he went up to the altar to burn incense [in defiance of God’s law.]
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