The Way
Ahijah's Cloak in Twelve Pieces
The prophet who tore his new cloak
Story
Jeroboam, a man of Ephraim, was the son of a widow. When Solomon was building up the city, he saw how hard this young man worked and put him in charge of all the laborers from the house of Joseph. One day, as Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, he met the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh on the road. Ahijah was wearing a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in the open country.
Suddenly Ahijah took hold of his new cloak and tore it into twelve pieces. Ahijah said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself. This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand and give you ten tribes. For he has forsaken me and bowed down to other gods. But for the sake of my servant David, I will leave him one tribe.”
Ahijah went on with the Lord's message: “If you walk in my ways as my servant David did, I will be with you and build you a lasting house, as I did for David. I will humble David's descendants, but not forever.” After this Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam. Jeroboam fled to Shishak king of Egypt and stayed there until Solomon died.
Walk this scene on the map →Words of God and the Prophets
Take ten pieces for yourself. The Lord says he will tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand and give ten tribes to you.
I will leave one tribe to his son, so that my servant David may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem.
If you listen to me and walk in my ways as my servant David did, I will be with you and build you a lasting house.
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: 1 Kgs 11:26–40
Background
Ahijah's hometown of Shiloh was where the tent of meeting and the ark of the covenant had stood in the days of the judges. Tearing a garment was a sign-act, a way for a prophet to show God's word before people's eyes, and Samuel had once said something similar to Saul.
Pause and Reflect
Am I clinging to what God entrusted to me as if it were my own?