The Israelites chose their kings, but they didn’t come to me for advice. They chose leaders, but they didn’t choose men I knew. The Israelites used their silver and gold to make idols for themselves, so they will be destroyed.
Listen to my people. Everywhere in this country, people are crying for help. They say, “Is the Lord still at Zion? Is Zion’s King still there?” But God says, “The people of Judah worshiped their worthless foreign idols. That made me very angry! Why did they do that?”
But where are the idols you made for yourselves? Let’s see if they come and save you when you are in trouble! People of Judah, you have as many idols as you have cities!
Later, Hoshea sent messengers to the king of Egypt to ask for help. That king’s name was So. That year Hoshea did not pay tribute to the king of Assyria as he did every other year. The king of Assyria learned that Hoshea had made plans against him. So he arrested Hoshea and put him in jail.
When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had come back, they called him to a meeting and made him king over all Israel. The tribe of Judah was the only tribe that continued to follow the family of David.
In the same way the people of Israel will continue many days without a king or a leader. They will be without a sacrifice or a memorial stone. They will be without an ephod or a household god.
The king was very important to us. He was like the breath we breathe, but he was trapped by them. The Lord himself chose the king, and we said this about the king, “We will live in his shadow. He protects us from the nations.”