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John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 12 This chapter relates Rehoboam's going to Shechem to be made king, and Jeroboam's return from Egypt, 1 Kings 12:1, the people's request to Rehoboam to be eased of their taxes, as the condition of making him king, 1 Kings 12:3, his answer to them, after three days, having had the advice both of the old and young men, which latter he followed, and gave in a rough answer, 1...
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 convenience of the inhabitants of those parts; and the...
Matthew Henry
The glory of the kingdom of Israel was in its height and perfection in Solomon; it was long in coming to it, but it soon declined, and began to sink and wither in the very next reign, as we find in this chapter, where we have the kingdom divided, and thereby weakened and made little in comparison with what it had been. Here is, I. Rehoboam's accession to the throne and Jeroboam's return out of...
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. That is just where mischief often begins, both in...