25 And Jeroboam buildeth Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and dwelleth in it, and goeth out thence, and buildeth Penuel; 26 and Jeroboam saith in his heart, 'Now doth the kingdom turn back to the house of David— 27 if this people go up to make sacrifices in the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem, then hath the heart of this people turned back unto their lord, unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they have slain me, and turned back unto Rehoboam king of Judah.' 28 And the king taketh counsel, and maketh two calves of gold, and saith unto them, 'Enough to you of going up to Jerusalem; lo, thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.' 29 And he setteth the one in Beth-El, and the other he hath put in Dan, 30 and this thing becometh a sin, and the people go before the one—unto Dan. 31 And he maketh the house of high places, and maketh priests of the extremities of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi; 32 and Jeroboam maketh a festival in the eighth month, in the fifteenth day of the month, like the festival that 'is' in Judah, and he offereth on the altar—so did he in Beth-El—to sacrifice to the calves which he made, and he hath appointed in Beth-El the priests of the high places that he made. 33 And he offereth up on the altar that he made in Beth-El, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month that he devised of his own heart, and he maketh a festival to the sons of Israel, and offereth on the altar—to make perfume.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Kings 12:25-33
Commentary on 1 Kings 12:25-33
(Read 1 Kings 12:25-33)
Jeroboam distrusted the providence of God; he would contrive ways and means, and sinful ones too, for his own safety. A practical disbelief of God's all-sufficiency is at the bottom of all our departures from him. Though it is probable he meant his worship for Jehovah the God of Israel, it was contrary to the Divine law, and dishonourable to the Divine majesty to be thus represented. The people might be less shocked at worshipping the God of Israel under an image, than if they had at once been asked to worship Baal; but it made way for that idolatry. Blessed Lord, give us grace to reverence thy temple, thine ordinances, thine house of prayer, thy sabbaths, and never more, like Jeroboam, to set up in our hearts any idol of abomination. Be thou to us every thing precious; do thou reign and rule in our hearts, the hope of glory.