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The Politics of Religion
After the death of Solomon, the poor judgment of Rehoboam, his son, led to the division of the nation, with King Jeroboam ruling in Israel, the northern kingdom, and Rehoboam in Judah, the southern kingdom (see 1 Kings 12).
Not long after the break, Jeroboam set the northern kingdom on a very dangerous path. He did not deliberately set out to lead Israel from a worship of God to idolatry; instead, he was acting from political expediency. He created two centers of worship, one at Bethel and one at Dan. He claimed to be trying to make things easier for the Israelites, so that they would not have to travel all the way to Jerusalem in order to worship. The golden calves were simply to be a visual reminder of God (not a representation) and were to make worship more credible for the common Israelite. What started as a political move, however, led to the breaking of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:4, 5).
What similarities can be noted between the golden calf episode in Exodus 32 and Jeroboam’s golden calves? See 1 Kings 12:25–33.
It is necessary to be innovative in worship and adapt worship to our specific cultural contexts, but we must be so careful. Even a small deviation from a clear command of God has far-reaching effects. In the case of Israel, the golden calves led the nation on a path toward blatant sin. But things did not stop there. Jeroboam was obliged to make other changes, as well. He wanted to persuade some of the Levites, living within his borders, to serve as priests at his newly established shrines. However, they saw the dangers and were not prepared to contradict God’s commands; thus, Jeroboam was compelled to make priests of common people (1 Kings 12:31, 32), which in turn degraded the sacred office.
The story of Jeroboam’s religious-political changes should have served as a warning to the early Christian church; however, the same thing happened. Divine commandments were changed due to political or social influences. Sunday instead of Sabbath was now the new “holy” day, in order to distinguish the church from the Jews. The veneration of saints was introduced in order to make the worship of God more visual for heathen believers. The pressures that led to these changes are by no means limited to the time of Jeroboam or early Christianity. Today, as a church, we face many similar challenges.
What kinds of cultural pressure is your own church facing? How susceptible are you to cultural pressures around you? How willingly do you compromise on “little” things?
| SUNDAY | November 28 |
After the death of Solomon, the poor judgment of Rehoboam, his son, led to the division of the nation, with King Jeroboam ruling in Israel, the northern kingdom, and Rehoboam in Judah, the southern kingdom (see 1 Kings 12).
Not long after the break, Jeroboam set the northern kingdom on a very dangerous path. He did not deliberately set out to lead Israel from a worship of God to idolatry; instead, he was acting from political expediency. He created two centers of worship, one at Bethel and one at Dan. He claimed to be trying to make things easier for the Israelites, so that they would not have to travel all the way to Jerusalem in order to worship. The golden calves were simply to be a visual reminder of God (not a representation) and were to make worship more credible for the common Israelite. What started as a political move, however, led to the breaking of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:4, 5).
What similarities can be noted between the golden calf episode in Exodus 32 and Jeroboam’s golden calves? See 1 Kings 12:25–33.
It is necessary to be innovative in worship and adapt worship to our specific cultural contexts, but we must be so careful. Even a small deviation from a clear command of God has far-reaching effects. In the case of Israel, the golden calves led the nation on a path toward blatant sin. But things did not stop there. Jeroboam was obliged to make other changes, as well. He wanted to persuade some of the Levites, living within his borders, to serve as priests at his newly established shrines. However, they saw the dangers and were not prepared to contradict God’s commands; thus, Jeroboam was compelled to make priests of common people (1 Kings 12:31, 32), which in turn degraded the sacred office.
The story of Jeroboam’s religious-political changes should have served as a warning to the early Christian church; however, the same thing happened. Divine commandments were changed due to political or social influences. Sunday instead of Sabbath was now the new “holy” day, in order to distinguish the church from the Jews. The veneration of saints was introduced in order to make the worship of God more visual for heathen believers. The pressures that led to these changes are by no means limited to the time of Jeroboam or early Christianity. Today, as a church, we face many similar challenges.
What kinds of cultural pressure is your own church facing? How susceptible are you to cultural pressures around you? How willingly do you compromise on “little” things?
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