48443 matching verse commentaries
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
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. But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying Speak unto...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God,.... A prophet in those days, see 2 Chronicles 12:15 and the word that came to him, as in the Targum, is called the word of prophecy: saying; as follows.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon king of Judah,.... He is called king before, but of what tribe or tribes is not expressly said, only it is implied in 1 Kings 12:17 and he is only acknowledged king of Judah by the Lord himself: and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin; which made but one house, as before but one tribe, 1 Kings 11:36 and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Thus saith the Lord,.... A common preface the prophets used when they spoke in the name of the Lord: ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel; and that because they were their brethren; though that is not the only reason, another follows: return every man to his house, for this thing is from me; it was according...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then Jeroboam built Shechem in Mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein,.... Not that this city had lain in ruins from the times of Abimelech, Judges 9:45 for then it would not have been a proper place for the convention of the people, 1 Kings 12:1 but he repaired the walls of it, and fortified it, and built a palace in it for his residence: and went out...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: 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...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Jeroboam said in his heart, c,] As he was musing about the state of his kingdom and the affairs of it: now shall the kingdom return to the house of David such were his fears, unless some method could be taken to prevent it, particularly with respect to religion, which was what his thoughts were employed about.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem,.... In the temple there, three times in the year, which all the males were obliged to, besides other times, when they had occasion to offer sacrifice, which they might do nowhere else: then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their Lord, even unto Rehoboam king...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Whereupon the king took counsel,.... Of some of his principal men, that had as little religion as himself, and were only concerned for the civil state; and the result of their consultation was as follows: and made two calves of gold; in imitation of that which was made by Aaron, and encouraged by his example and success; and having been in Egypt...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Whereupon 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. Truly, history repeats itself, only, if it be bad history, it is apt to grow worse. “Behold thy gods O Israel, which brought thee up out of the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he set the one in Bethel,.... In the southern part of the land, on the border of Ephraim and Benjamin; and the rather he chose this place, because its name signifies the house of God, and had been a sacred place, where Jacob more than once enjoyed the divine Presence: and the other put he in Dan: in the northern part of the land, for the...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And he set the one in Beth-el, 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. I suppose that Jeroboam did not mean to draw them away from worshipping Jehovah; but he would have Jehovah worshipped under some visible image, and not according to the rule which God had laid down....
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And this thing became a sin,.... The cause and occasion of the sin of idolatry; it led them by degrees to leave off the worship of God, and to worship these calves as gods: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan; which was the furthest off, such was their great zeal for idolatrous worship; or they went thither before that at...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he made an house of high places,.... Or "altars" (s), built a temple at Dan, and set up several altars in it for sacrifice, both for burnt offerings, and for incense, as at Jerusalem: and made priests of the lowest of the people; this clause seems not so well rendered; for this would have been very unpopular, and brought his new form of...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
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. For the sons of Levi went over to Judah, and remained faithful to God; and the better sort of people probably dreaded to assume the office to which God had called the sons of Levi, and none would undertake it but the very lowest...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah,.... The feast of tabernacles, which was on the fifteenth day of the seventh month; this was done chiefly for the sake of an alteration; though Abarbinel thinks, because the fruits of the land were not so soon ripe nor so soon...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, He shifted the month, but retained the day, — the fifteenth day of the eighth month instead of the seventh. “That was quite unimportant,” say some. I do not agree with them, for nothing is unimportant that has to do with the...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
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. So 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; It is a strong...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month,.... As he had done in Dan: even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; the feast of tabernacles was of God's appointing, but the time of keeping he had devised himself, changing it from the seventh month, or Tisri, which answers to our...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense. Thus Israel was led astray at the very beginning. She came to the turning of the roads, and took the wrong course, and she went from bad to worse. God save all of us from following her evil example, but may we all serve the one living and true God,...