Jeroboam_II

Jeroboam II was the great-grandson of King Jehu of Israel and the son of King Joash. He was the longest-reigning and most accomplished monarch of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (reigned approximately 793-753 BC), restoring its northern border to that of David’s era.

During Jeroboam II’s reign, God caused the Neo-Assyrian Empire to enter a 39-year period of decline. Internal strife was constant, and royal authority was limited by the nobility, forcing Assyria to halt its foreign expansion. This created a secure international environment for Israel. It was during this period that the prophet Jonah went to Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, to declare judgment, and the Assyrian king humbly repented (Jonah 3:6-9). God used Joash’s son Jeroboam to recover Damascus and Hamath, formerly part of Judah, for Israel, granting the Northern Kingdom over forty years of prosperity and stability.

Jeroboam II did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused Israel to commit. The spiritual condition of the people was also extremely dark. However, the period of his reign was the most prosperous since the time of David and Solomon. The Northern Kingdom of Israel enjoyed economic prosperity and vast territory. Many artifacts unearthed today in Samaria, Megiddo, and Tirzah also attest to the many achievements of Jeroboam II’s forty-one-year rule, yet the author of the Book of Kings dismisses them as hardly worth mentioning. This is because these achievements were not due to his own ability or piety, but merely a brief resurgence orchestrated by God, a preparation for the impending judgment. Shortly after Jeroboam II’s death, God’s judgment upon the Northern Kingdom of Israel began: A year after King Pul (Tiglath-Pileser III, 745-727 BC) ascended the Assyrian throne, he resumed foreign expansion, and the Northern Kingdom was swiftly destroyed in less than thirty years.

Therefore, we cannot judge whether individuals or nations are favored by God based on earthly success and wealth. Nor should we assume that the ultimate goal of faith is national prosperity, economic growth, or social harmony. If people treat the Gospel as a tonic for national revival and prosperity, or as a panacea for self-cultivation, family management, state governance, and world peace, they will unwittingly turn God into a golden calf that can be manipulated and exploited.