A Low Down Dirty Shame 

The term “low down dirty shame” is defined as beneath repute, skeevy, skanky, shady, sordid, nasty, dirty, and contemptuous. It can also be referred to a very unfortunate circumstance.

Jeroboam became King Solomon’s successor to the throne of Israel. He began as a servant to King Solomon and First Kings 12:28 says “And Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.”  He was a man that was very productive in his labour and very resourceful and exhibiting strength while doing so. These are exceptional qualities.

Jeroboam would become Solomon’s successor because of his idolatry of the gods of his wives who were not Israelites as a result of him turning his heart away from the Lord. During Solomon’s reign the Nation of Israel had peace round about them from their enemies but because of this king’s disobedience and departure from the Word of God the Lord began to judge him and raised up adversaries against him. As a result of a prophetic word from Ahijah the prophet, the Nation of Israel would be split into two kingdoms. The Northern Kingdom that consisted of 10 tribes Jeroboam would reign over and the Southern Kingdom that consisted of 2 tribes Solomon’s son Rehoboam would reign over. Of course, Jeroboam attempted to engage an insurrection against Solomon while on the throne and it incurred the king’s wrath and consequently, Jeroboam fled to Egypt for a time until the king died.

Once King Solomon died, there was a revolt against his son Rehoboam’s leadership as he assumed his duties as King and ten of the tribes withdrew from him and Jeroboam became the king of northern tribes of Israel. But during his reign he led the people into idolatry by building two golden calves for them to worship and claimed that these were the gods that led Israel out of Egypt. What a low down dirty shame! The expression concerning Jeroboam, “made Israel to sin,” is used 23 times during his reign as king. And this sin was idolatry when you create a god of your own making and then you worship it or them. You have done more for this god than this god can ever do for you. Jeroboam did not recall when his ancestors were guilty of the same sin when Moses went to Mount Sinai to receive the commandments of God and spent 40 days with the Lord when Aaron led the people in false worship by creating a molten calf of gold and made the same claim that this was the god that brought them out of Egypt according to Exodus 32:4.

What adds insult to injury during Jeroboam’s kingship, I Kings 12:31 says “…and made Priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.” I Kings 13:33 says “After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever he would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.” This King had been warned of his idolatry by two prophets Ahijah the Silonite in I Kings 11:29 and an unnamed prophet in I Kings 13:1 that his idolatrous activity would cost him his life and Israel’s downfall as a nation. And in our modern day churches particularly in America that I can speak of, there are all types of men and women that are being consecrated in sacred offices and leadership in our Lord’s church that are vile, profane, irreverent and ungodly and they endorse, activate, sanction, and promote idolatrous worship in the House of God by those who consecrate them as long as they are reaping the benefits of their position. They are unqualified, they do not study, pray, and consecrate themselves to be of use in the Lord’s Church and in his service and they use the ministry as a hustle for their own gain at the expense of the Lord’s people. What a low down dirty shame! Their agendas include but not limited to: money laundering, racketeering, whoredom, witchcraft, teaching false doctrine, persecution to leaders and laity that promote righteousness, entertainment, celebrity glorification, overtaxing congregants, nepotism, favoritism and the like. It’s a low down dirty shame!

I am grateful that the Lord doesn’t suffer from memory loss and these choices have their built in consequences. As it was then so it is now, there will be a day of reckoning. The Lord used the unnamed prophet in I Kings 13 to indicate that 350 years in the future that God would raise up King Josiah and in his reign he would eradicate idolatry from Israel and they would return to pure worship of the God of their Fathers. It is comforting to know that God is using men and women in 2023 that are eradicating false worship and idolatry from the House of God and returning the Lord’s people to pure worship of God the Father. Jesus wants his house to be known as the House of Prayer and no longer the House of Ill Repute!