Bible Strands
1 Kings 12:15
So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word He had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records King Rehoboam's refusal to heed the people's plea immediately after he delivers a harsher threat than his father Solomon's. This moment captures the precise point of national fracture following the northern tribes' request for relief.
The words — The text highlights סִבָּה (si.Bah), translated literally as "a turn" or "circumstance," to describe the political shift. It pairs this with הָיְתָה (ha.ye.Tah), meaning "it was," to state the origin of the event.
The thread — The motif of the LORD orchestrating historical outcomes to fulfill His spoken word appears in Deuteronomy 2:30 and Judges 14:4. The specific prophecy referenced here originates in 1 Kings 11:29, where Ahijah the Shilonite met Jeroboam.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that political rebellion and royal refusal operate within a framework of divine fulfillment. It requires reading historical shifts not as random accidents but as the execution of a prior prophetic declaration.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the Lord, that he might perform his saying, which the Lord spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 2:30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as is the case this day.
- Judges 14:4 (Now his father and mother did not know this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines; for at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.)
- 1 Kings 11:29 During that time, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met Jeroboam on the road as he was going out of Jerusalem. Now Ahijah had wrapped himself in a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in the open field.
- 1 Kings 12:24 that this is what the LORD says: ‘You are not to go up and fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Each of you must return home, for this is My doing.’” So they listened to the word of the LORD and turned back according to the word of the LORD.
- 2 Chronicles 25:20 But Amaziah would not listen, for this had come from God in order to deliver them into the hand of Jehoash, because they had sought the gods of Edom.
- 1 Kings 11:11 Then the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.
- 2 Chronicles 10:15 So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from God, in order that the LORD might fulfill the word that He had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.
- 2 Chronicles 22:7 Ahaziah’s downfall came from God when he went to visit Joram. When Ahaziah arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.
- 2 Samuel 17:14 Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had purposed to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.
- 1 Kings 22:23 So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has pronounced disaster against you.”