Jeroboam | Craig T. Owens

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The Warnings In Jeroboam’s Sin

June 20, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

Jeroboam knew that saints who worship together will stick together. A unified church is hard to defeat.

He first appeals to an easier option than the hard work it takes to travel all the way up to Jerusalem for the feasts of worship.

If this people goes up to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to sacrifice, then the heart of this people will turn again to their Lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah. So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “It is too much for you to go all the way up to Jerusalem. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” (1 Kings 12:27-28)

He then gave them replicas of the devoted things in Jerusalem—“behold your gods.” He tricked them to accept the counterfeit as the real thing.

Next, he appointed unqualified priests (v. 31; 13:33). These priests weren’t accountable to God, but only to Jeroboam.

Finally, he proposed an alternative date that they could gather to “worship” (vv. 32-33).

Jeroboam’s sin was to make true worship seem like burdensome work, and then to pass off cheap and easy substitutes to make it appear that the people were worshiping God. But the Bible says, “And this thing became the sin of the dynasty of Jeroboam that caused it to be abolished and destroyed from the face of the earth” (1 Kings 13:34).

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Kings, idolatry, Jeroboam, sin, worship. 1 Comment »

A Leader’s Nudge And Covering

June 11, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Leadership carries a heavy responsibility. I often paraphrase what the Apostle James wrote, “Not many of you should presume to be leaders because you know leaders will be judged more strictly” (see James 3:1).

Consider what was said to Jeroboam, the king of Israel: “And God will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit” (1 Kings 14:16, emphasis added).

A leader’s action has consequences not only for himself, but for all the people under his care. Sure, some Israelites were going to sin regardless of how Jeroboam lived, but his sinful lifestyle gave a nudge to those who took their cues from him. In other words, Jeroboam’s sin made it that much easier for others to sin.

I’m sure there were some Israelites who didn’t follow Jeroboam into sin, yet they were now exposed to God’s “jealous anger” (1 Kings 14:22) because Jeroboam’s sin removed the covering of God’s blessing on those northern tribes.

These principles still hold true today for me as a dad, a husband, a pastor, a citizen of Cedar Springs. And they hold true for you in your role as a spouse, a parent, an employer or employee, a Christian. Your sin may be the nudge to others that causes them to sin; your sin will remove God’s covering and expose people to His judgment.

Leaders best serve by staying wholly committed to God.

It’s only as I am wholly—and holy—His that I can nudge people toward righteousness and preserve the covering of God’s blessing.

May our lives never arouse God’s righteous anger, but may we be a blessing by wholly serving Him all the days of our lives.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Cedar Springs, commitment, consequences, Jeroboam, leadership, lifestyle, responsibility, servant-leadership, servanthood, sin. Leave a Comment »

Moderate Back Thrusts

April 1, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

How would you like to have this written on your tombstone—

Appointed by God to be king
Caused all Israel to sin against God
Doomed my family line to extinction

That is exactly the epitaph of King Jeroboam (see 1 Kings 13-14). In God’s indictment of Jeroboam He says, “Because of the sins you have committed, and the sins you have caused Israel to commit, you have provoked Me to anger and thrust Me behind your back.”

I find that phrase—thrust Me behind your back—intriguing. The word thrust means to throw something away. How exactly does one go about throwing God away? Can you crumple Him up like a piece of paper and toss Him in a garbage can? Can you grab Him and shove Him behind you? Is He like a stack of old newspapers thrown in a recycling bin? Clearly not!

One only thrusts God behind one’s back little by little. Just moderate back thrusts.

John Maxwell was exactly right when he said that whatever good things a leader does in excess, those following will do in moderation. Whatever poor things the leader does in moderation, those following will do in excess. The “moderate” ways in which Jeroboam thrust God behind his back caused all of Israel to sin excessively. And that became Jeroboam’s eternal legacy!

People are watching me—my kids, my neighbors, my friends, the baristas at Starbucks—what example am I setting for them? There are only two examples I can set: (1) Pursue God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength; in other words, love God to excess. Or (2) Moderately thrust God behind my back little by little by little.

Search me, O God, see if there is ANY moderate back thrusting in me and lead me in the way everlasting (see Psalm 139:23-24).