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Answer
Second Kings 3:3 makes reference to King Joram (or Jehoram) of Israel and the “sin of Jeroboam.” Joram, a son of Ahab, is only positively noted for “getting rid of the sacred stone of Baal that his father had made” «And he wrought evil in the sight of the LORD; but not like his father, and like his mother: for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made. », (2 Kings 3:2); therefore, he was not as wicked as his parents, although that is not a significant praise. Joram’s issue was that he “clung to the sins of Jeroboam” (verse 3).
Jeroboam was the initial king of the divided Israel. In 1 Kings 14:9, the prophet Ahijah clearly condemns the sins of Jeroboam: “You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have aroused [God’s] anger and turned your back on [God].” Jeroboam’s sin was idolatry. He established and worshipped gods other than the Lord.
This idolatrous practice began early in Jeroboam’s reign. Upon the division of the kingdom and his rule over the northern part, he ceased all pilgrimages to Jerusalem: “‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’ One [golden calf] he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other” (1 Kings 12:28-30).
Apart from sacrificing to these two golden calves, Jeroboam “built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites” «And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. », 1 Kings 12:31. God’s entire system of holy days, sacrifices, and worship was changed into a man-made system focused on worshiping golden calves. In addition to the idolatry, the cities of Bethel and Dan became the places of worship rather than God’s chosen city of Jerusalem “but I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.”, (cf: 2 Chronicles 6:6).
The sin of Jeroboam was doubly tragic in that he had been promised blessing from God if he had just followed the path of David. “If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you” “And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.”, 1 Kings 11:38. In turning to calf-worship, Jeroboam spurned God’s goodness and brought about his own demise: “The sin of the house of Jeroboam . . . led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth” “And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.”, 1 Kings 13:34.
There are other places throughout 1 and 2 Kings that refer to the sins or ways of Jeroboam. For example, 1 Kings 15:34 states that King Baasha “did evil in the eyes of the LORD, following the ways of
Jeroboam and committed the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.” For following Jeroboam’s sin, Baasha suffered Jeroboam’s fate (1 Kings 16:1-4).
The sins of Jeroboam haunted the later kings of Israel, all of whom practiced idolatry. King Zimri «for his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin. », (1 Kings 16:19), King Omri «For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities. », (1 Kings 16:26), King Jehoahaz «And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. », (2 Kings 13:2), and King Pekahiah «And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. », (2 Kings 15:24)—these and others all followed the wicked example of Jeroboam.
Jeroboam’s reign included many sins, yet the “sin of Jeroboam” is a specific reference to idol worship that marked his reign and the reigns of the kings of Israel who followed him. This sin was one that angered the Lord and ultimately led to judgment upon Israel.
