The Great Sorting: When Worship Divides
Introduction: A Kingdom Divided by Worship
Every generation of Christians is tempted to believe that the great conflicts of our time are primarily political, or economic, or cultural. But the Scriptures consistently teach us that the fault line of all human history runs right through the center of the human heart, and that fault line is a matter of worship. Who will you serve? What will you bow down to? Every other issue is downstream from this one fundamental question. Politics is simply the public expression of a people's worship. Culture is the outworking of a people's cult, their system of worship.
In our text today, we see this principle displayed with stark clarity. The nation of Israel has just been torn in two. Ten tribes have followed the charismatic but corrupt Jeroboam into rebellion, and two tribes have remained with Rehoboam, the foolish son of Solomon. And the very first thing that happens after this great political schism is a great spiritual sorting. The division of the kingdom immediately forces a division based on worship. This is not a story about political maneuvering. This is a story about the non-negotiable demands of true worship and the high cost of idolatry.
Jeroboam, the new king of the northern ten tribes, is a pragmatist. He looks at his new kingdom and sees a political problem. His people are accustomed to going to Jerusalem to worship, but Jerusalem is the capital of his rival. He reasons, quite shrewdly from a worldly perspective, that if his people keep going south to worship, their hearts will eventually follow their feet, and they will return their allegiance to the house of David. His solution is a state-sponsored, counterfeit religion. He sets up golden calves in Dan and Bethel and tells the people, "Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt." He invents his own priesthood, his own feast days, and his own places of worship. It is a religion of political convenience, a religion designed to serve the state, not God.
This act of state-sponsored apostasy creates a crisis of conscience for the godly within the northern kingdom. It forces a choice. You can have your land, your possessions, and your political identity, or you can have your God. You cannot have both. This is the great sorting. And what we see in this passage is a glorious and courageous exodus of the faithful. They understood that true worship is not a matter of personal preference or convenience. It is a matter of divine command. And when the state makes true worship illegal, the righteous must choose whom they will obey.
The Text
Moreover, the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with him from all their territories. For the Levites left their pasture lands and their possession of land and went to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from ministering as priests to Yahweh, And he set up priests of his own for the high places, for the goat demons and for the calves which he had made, Now those from all the tribes of Israel who gave their hearts to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, followed them to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to Yahweh, the God of their fathers. They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and gave courage to Rehoboam the son of Solomon for three years, for they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.
(2 Chronicles 11:13-17 LSB)
The Principled Stand of the Priesthood (v. 13-14)
We begin with the response of those who were officially charged with leading the people in worship.
"Moreover, the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel took their stand with him from all their territories. For the Levites left their pasture lands and their possession of land and went to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from ministering as priests to Yahweh, " (2 Chronicles 11:13-14)
The first to move are the priests and Levites. This is as it should be. The leaders must lead. God had set apart the tribe of Levi for the service of the tabernacle and the temple. They were the custodians of true worship. Jeroboam's new religious system was not just an innovation; it was a direct repudiation of the Mosaic covenant. He was firing God's chosen ministers. He was telling them that their services were no longer required.
Notice the cost. They left their "pasture lands and their possession of land." The Levites had been allotted cities and pasture lands throughout all the tribes of Israel. This was their inheritance, their livelihood, their 401k. To leave meant abandoning their homes, their fields, and their financial security. They became refugees for the sake of true worship. They chose fidelity to God over their real estate. This is the nature of all true faith. It is a calculated risk, a willingness to lose the visible for the sake of the invisible. They understood that it is better to be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord in Jerusalem than to dwell in the comfortable tents of wickedness in a land of idolatry.
Their action is a powerful rebuke to all forms of comfortable, compromised, and cowardly Christianity. How many pastors and church leaders today trim their sails to the prevailing cultural winds? How many are silent on the pressing moral issues of our day for fear of losing their tax-exempt status, their reputation, or their congregation? These Levites were not hirelings. They were true shepherds, and when the wolf of idolatry came, they did not flee for their own safety. They fled to the true sheepfold, and they led the way for the rest of the flock.
The reason for their departure is explicit: "Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them from ministering as priests to Yahweh." The issue was not a minor disagreement over liturgical style. It was a fundamental rejection of God's authority. Jeroboam wanted a priesthood that served him, not Yahweh. He wanted priests who would bless his political project, not priests who would speak God's truth to power. This is always the desire of the tyrannical state. It wants to co-opt the church, to make it a chaplain to the regime. The faithful Levites refused to be chaplains to a rebellion.
The Abominations of a Counterfeit Religion (v. 15)
Verse 15 gives us the sordid details of Jeroboam's man-made religion.
"And he set up priests of his own for the high places, for the goat demons and for the calves which he had made, " (2 Chronicles 11:15)
First, he "set up priests of his own." 1 Kings tells us he made them "from all sorts of people," not from the sons of Levi. This was a direct violation of God's law. The priesthood was not a career open to all applicants. It was a divine calling, restricted to a specific lineage. By appointing his own priests, Jeroboam was declaring that he, not God, had the authority to determine how God would be worshiped. This is the essence of all false religion. It is worship on our terms, not God's.
Second, he established worship at the "high places." These were traditional sites of Canaanite idolatry. Instead of calling the people to the one place God had chosen, Jerusalem, he decentralized worship and, in doing so, syncretized it with paganism. He was making idolatry easy, accessible, and convenient.
Third, and most shockingly, he set up worship for "the goat demons and for the calves." The text does not mince words. The word for "goat demons" is the Hebrew 'seirim', which can refer to male goats or to demonic, satyr-like creatures. This was not just a slightly off-brand version of Yahweh worship. This was a plunge into the demonic. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians that what the pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God (1 Cor. 10:20). Jeroboam's political pragmatism led directly to demon worship. This is where all idolatry eventually leads. When you reject the true God, you do not get nothing; you get demons. The calves, of course, were a throwback to the golden calf at Sinai, the original act of national apostasy. Jeroboam was not inventing a new sin; he was institutionalizing an old one.
The Exodus of the Faithful Remnant (v. 16)
The courage of the Levites was not in vain. It inspired others to follow.
"Now those from all the tribes of Israel who gave their hearts to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, followed them to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to Yahweh, the God of their fathers." (2 Chronicles 11:16)
This is the great sorting in action. The apostasy of the king and the courage of the priests forced everyone to show their cards. A remnant from "all the tribes of Israel" chose God over their nation. Their defining characteristic is that they "gave their hearts to seek Yahweh." This is not about external observance; it is about the orientation of the soul. Their hearts were set on seeking the true God.
And what did this seeking look like in practice? It meant they "followed them to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to Yahweh." True worship is not an abstract feeling in the heart. It is an obedient action in the world. They understood that God had commanded His people to worship Him in a specific place and in a specific way. They were not theological liberals, arguing that any place or any method would do, as long as you were sincere. They were Bible-believing conservatives. They knew that God cares about the details. They left their homes and their lands to obey the specifics of the covenant.
This verse is a beautiful picture of the true Israel. The true Israel is not defined by political boundaries or ethnic identity alone. The true Israel is composed of those, from every tribe, who set their hearts to seek Yahweh. This is a remnant theology that runs throughout the entire Bible. It is not the nation, but the faithful remnant within the nation, that carries the promises of God. And so it is today. The true church is not defined by denominational labels or church membership rolls. It is defined by those who have set their hearts to seek the Lord and who gather to worship Him according to His Word.
The Strengthening Effect of Faithfulness (v. 17)
The final verse of our text shows the immediate, positive consequence of this faithful migration.
"They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and gave courage to Rehoboam the son of Solomon for three years, for they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years." (2 Chronicles 11:17)
The arrival of this wave of godly refugees had a profound effect on the southern kingdom. It "strengthened the kingdom of Judah." How? Not primarily through military might or economic stimulus, but through spiritual capital. A nation's greatest resource is its righteous remnant. The presence of these faithful families infused Judah with a renewed zeal for the Lord. It gave courage to Rehoboam, who, let us not forget, was a fool who had just lost most of his kingdom. But for a time, the faithfulness of these immigrants shored up his wavering resolve.
The text gives us the reason for this period of strength and blessing: "for they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years." This is a crucial qualifier. For three years, under the influence of this revival, Judah experienced a period of covenant faithfulness. They obeyed God, and God blessed them. This is the simple, unchanging calculus of the covenant. Obedience brings blessing; disobedience brings cursing. The blessing was temporary because, as we will see later in Chronicles, Rehoboam and Judah did not persevere in this path. But for a time, they saw the undeniable connection between faithfulness and fortitude.
This teaches us a vital lesson. The faithfulness of a few can have a disproportionately powerful effect on the many. The courage of these Levites and the families who followed them did not just save their own souls; it strengthened an entire nation. We should never underestimate the power of a principled stand. When one man, one family, or one church decides to obey God regardless of the cost, it sends out ripples of courage that can strengthen and embolden an entire generation.
Conclusion: The Cost of Discipleship
This story is not just a piece of ancient history. It is a paradigm for the Christian life in every age. Jeroboam's state-sponsored idolatry is a picture of every attempt by the world to create a counterfeit religion that serves the interests of man rather than the glory of God. Our modern Jeroboams may not set up golden calves, but they set up the idols of sexual autonomy, materialism, and the sovereign self, and they demand that the church bless them.
They appoint their own priests: the talking heads in the media, the tenured radicals in the universities, the activist judges in the courts. They establish their own high places: the abortion clinic, the secular school, the halls of a godless legislature. And they call us to worship their goat demons: the demonic ideologies of Marxism, gender confusion, and racial tribalism.
And in the face of this, the church is being sorted. We are all being asked to choose. Will we be pragmatic like Jeroboam, and try to create a faith that is convenient, culturally acceptable, and politically harmless? Or will we be like the Levites, who were willing to lose everything for the sake of worshiping God according to His Word?
The Levites had to leave their homes and go to Jerusalem. We too must make an exodus. We must come out from the world and be separate. But our Jerusalem is not a physical city. Our Jerusalem is a person. The writer to the Hebrews tells us, "Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach" (Hebrews 13:12-13).
To be a Christian is to be a refugee. It is to recognize that this world is not our home. It is to leave behind the counterfeit worship of the northern kingdom of this world and to journey to the true King in the heavenly Jerusalem. It will cost you something. It may cost you your job, your reputation, your comfort, your possessions. But in leaving the land of idolatry, you do not go to a place of lack. You go to the place of true sacrifice, to the King who is also the final High Priest, and you find that in losing your life for His sake, you find it for the first time.
The great sorting is upon us. May God grant us the grace to be counted among that faithful remnant who set their hearts to seek the Lord, who leave the land of the calves and the goat demons, and who follow the true High Priest, even outside the camp.