Provocations: Sins of Jeroboam and Two Golden Calves

Minister Monardo said:

Are there provocations as these in America today?
In turning to gods of convenience from the past?

1 Kings 12:
25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there.
Also he went out from there and built Penuel.
26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now the kingdom may return to the house of David:
27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill
me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.
28 Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people,
It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!
29 And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
30 Now this thing became a sin, for the people went before the one as far as Dan.
31 He made shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people,
who were not of the sons of Levi.

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Particularly ironic, given the incredible promises God had given Jeroboam!
1Kings11v29Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field. 30Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces. 31And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you 32(but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), 33because they have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and keep My statutes and My judgments, as did his father David. 34However I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes. 35But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and give it to you—ten tribes. 36And to his son I will give one tribe, that My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My name there. 37So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel. 38Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you. 39And I will afflict the descendants of David because of this, but not forever.’ ”

But despite the promises of God, Jeroboam rebelled and deliberately turned Israel to idol worship.
Such was his sin that it established a recurring theme throughout the OT, a theme exampled in this verse.
2Kings15v24And he (Pekahiah) did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin.
The above verse is repeated countless times in the OT, "The sin of Jeroboam that caused Israel to sin!"
That one evil decision of Rehoboam's brought destruction on Israel for many generations.