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Jeroboam is a very good example of a very bad leader. He led his people away from worshiping the true God and turned to the worship of idols. How did that happen? After the death of Solomon, the nation of Israel divided. The nation to the north became known as Israel, and the nation in the south, Judah. Likewise, two kings were established; Jeroboam in Israel, and Rehoboam in Judah. Furthermore, two capital were established; Shechem in Israel, and Jerusalem in Judah.
With that came a tremendous problem: Where to worship? God had prescribed only one place, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. However, Jeroboam feared that travel to Jerusalem for sacrifices might create a desire to turn his people’s allegiance back to the southern kingdom. So he set up two sacrificial altars with golden calves, one in Bethel, the other in Dan, saying, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 1 Kings 12:28
Archaeologists have uncovered Jeroboam’s High Place at Tel Dan. Also discovered in the high place was one horn of the main altar. The size of it would indicate an altar that once stood ten feet tall. The metal frame in the photo represents these dimensions for visitors today.
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