The Way
The Golden Calves of Bethel and Dan
To keep them from going to Jerusalem
Story
Jeroboam, now the first king of northern Israel, fortified the city of Shechem and lived there. But at night one thought would not let him go. Jeroboam said to himself, “If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, their hearts will turn back to Rehoboam king of Judah. Then they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam.”
After taking counsel, the king made two golden calves. Jeroboam said to the people, “Isn't it too hard for you to go all the way up to Jerusalem? Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” They were the very words the people had shouted before the golden calf in the wilderness. One calf was set up at Bethel in the south, and the other at Dan in the far north.
This became a sin. The people went in a long procession all the way to Dan to worship one of the calves. Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests who were not from the tribe of Levi. He copied the feast of Judah and made the fifteenth day of the eighth month a feast day, a month he had chosen on his own. On that day Jeroboam went up to the altar at Bethel and stood there to burn incense.
Walk this scene on the map →Words of God and the Prophets
If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, their hearts will turn back to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me.
It is too hard for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: 1 Kgs 12:25–33
Background
Dan lay at the northern edge of Israel and Bethel near its southern border, so together they blocked the road to Jerusalem from both ends. Bethel was also where Jacob had seen a ladder reaching to heaven.
Pause and Reflect
Am I compromising with God's word to hold on to my position?