And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
Jeroboam said in his heart. Having received the kingdom from God, he should have relied on the divine protection. But he did not. With a view to withdraw the people from the temple, and destroy the sacred associations connected with Jerusalem, he made serious and unwarranted innovations on the religious observances of the country, on pretext of saving the people the trouble and expense of a distant journey.
First, He erected two golden calves х `eegel (H5695) (see the notes at Exodus 32:4; Exodus 32:8); Septuagint, damaleis chrusas] - the young bulls Apis and Mnevis, as symbols, in the Egyptian fashion, of the true God. Monceau says Jeroboam made them the nearest, according to his fancy, to the figures of the cherubim. The one was placed at Dan [considered a sacred place from the time of Micah (Judges 17:1-13); and to this day the worship of the calf enters into the sacred rites of the Dress saints in that neighbourhood (Newbold, 'Journal of Asiatic Society,' vol. 16:, p. 27)], in the northern part of his kingdom; the other at Beth-el [also venerable for its hallowed associations (Genesis 28:1-22), and recommended from its proximity to the passes which both on the west and east, led into the central mountain chain of the country (see Michaelis, 'Commentary-on the Laws of Moses,' b. 5:, article 245; Hengstenberg's 'Christology'-Preliminary Observations on Hosea)], the southern extremity, in sight of Jerusalem, and in which place he probably thought God was as likely to manifest Himself as at Jerusalem (Genesis 32:1-32; 2 Kings 2:2). The latter place, called afterward Beth-aven, was the most frequented; because the words, 1 Kings 12:30, should be rendered, 'the people, even to Dan, went to worship before the one' (Jeremiah 48:13; Amos 4:4-5; Amos 5:5; Hosea 5:8; Hosea 10:8). This innovation was a sin; because through Jeroboam did not give any formal intimation of his purpose to renounce the worship of Yahweh, it was setting up the worship of God by symbols and images, and departing from the place which he had chosen to put His name there.
Secondly, He changed the feast of tabernacles from the 15th of the seventh month to the 15th of the eighth mouth. The ostensible reason might be, that the ingathering, or harvest, was later in the northern parts of the kingdom; but the real reason was to eradicate the old associations with this, the most welcome and joyous festival of the year.