I Kings 14:8
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I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you. But you were not like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, doing only what was right in My eyes.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
The kingdom being divided into that of Judah and that of Israel, we must henceforward, in these books of Kings, expect and attend their separate history, the succession of their kings, and the affairs of their kingdoms, accounted for distinctly. In this chapter we have, I. The prophecy of the destruction of Jeroboam's house (Kg1 14:7-16). The sickness of his child was the occasion of it (Kg1 14:1-6), and the death of his child the earnest of it (Kg1 14:17, Kg1 14:18), together with the conclusion of his reign (Kg1 14:19, Kg1 14:20). II. The history of the declension and diminution of Rehoboam's house and kingdom (Kg1 14:21-28) and the conclusion of his reign (Kg1 14:29-31). In both we may read the mischievous consequences of sin and the calamities it brings on kingdoms and families.
Open source ↗14:8-9 Unlike David, who genuinely repented of his sins (2 Sam 12:13; Ps 51:2-4), Jeroboam exceeded his predecessors in doing evil. Despite clear evidence of God’s displeasure and coming judgment (1 Kgs 13:33), he failed to turn from his ways. His sin would bring grave consequences to his family and descendants (13:34; 14:10-11, 14) and, ultimately, to the whole northern kingdom (14:16). • gold calves: see 12:26-30.
Open source ↗Cross-references
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For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not turned aside from anything the LORD commanded all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’
For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. His body was buried with his fathers and saw decay.
Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. And unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD.
So if you walk in My ways and keep My statutes and commandments, just as your father David did, I will prolong your days.”
Now the LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek out the Baals,