And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
He built temples on hilltops and appointed priests from common people who were not from the tribe of Levi.
This verse describes how King Jeroboam deliberately broke God's laws by setting up unauthorized worship places and appointing unqualified priests who weren't from the priestly family line.
📚 Historical Context
In the biblical narrative, after King Solomon's death, the kingdom of Israel divided into two parts: the northern kingdom led by Jeroboam and the southern kingdom under Rehoboam. Jeroboam, worried that his people would travel to Jerusalem for worship and possibly defect to the south, built unauthorized worship sites known as high places and appointed priests from non-Levite groups to serve there. This action defied God's commands in the Law of Moses, which reserved the priesthood for the tribe of Levi, and it marked a step toward idolatry that contributed to the northern kingdom's spiritual decline.
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