JOSEPH W. TKACH
PASTOR GENERAL

December 1987

Dear Friend:

Thank you for your inquiry concerning Jeroboam's changing the day of worship from the seventh to the first day of the week.

When the 12 tribes of Israel split into two kingdoms, Jeroboam, king of the northern ten tribes, became fearful that his people would eventually reunite with Judah, the southern kingdom. He said, "Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord (the Temple) at Jerusalem" (I Kings 12:26-27).

To retain control over the people, Jeroboam devised his own religious system. He made two idols, set them up in the towns of Dan and Bethel, which he made the centers of worship, hired the lowest of the people to be his priests, and created a counterfeit Feast of Tabernacles for the people to observe in the eighth month (not the seventh, as God had ordained, Leviticus 23:34) (I Kings 12:28-33). And the people followed him and served the pagan god Baal (II Kings 17:16).

The word "Baal" means LORD. Baal was the lord of the sun; he was the sun-god. It should be no surprise that the sun-god was worshipped on the day we now call SUNday. This can be verified in any reliable reference work on the subject, such as Webster's "Rest Days." Sunday, of course, is the first day of the week.

The fact that Israel turned to Baal worship is proof in itself that the nation began to observe the first day of the week. Did they also forget God's seventh-day Sabbath? The answer is, Israel "left ALL the commandments of the Lord their God" (II Kings 17:16). This, of course, includes the Fourth Commandment, the one governing the Sabbath (Ex. 20:8-11).

Some 200 years later, they were still observing the first day of the week. God warned, "I will also cause all HER mirth to cease, HER feast days, HER new moons, and HER sabbaths and all HER solemn feasts" (Hos. 2:11). God condemns Israel for keeping THEIR OWN -- not HIS -- days of worship. There is no doubt as to the real source of the days Israel kept: "And I will visit upon [punish] her [for observing] the DAYS OF BAALIM" (Hos. 2:13).

Because of Jeroboam's actions, Israel abandoned God's Sabbath for the pagan "Lord's Day" -- the day of the sun-god Baal -- and never did return to keeping the true Sabbath. The evidence is that Jeroboam made the day of Baal the national day of worship. Notice this brief summary of his actions: "For He tore Israel from the house of David, ... drove ... [them] from following the Lord, and made them commit a great sin" (II Kings 17:21, RAV). Jeroboam is the only king to have recorded of him that he "made Israel sin" (same verse, and 20 additional passages). Clearly, Jeroboam was responsible for far more than not setting the right example. Jeroboam deliberately and actively turned Israel away from the true worship of the true God, doing away with the seventh-day Sabbath by instituting Baal worship.

If we can be of further assistance, please let us know. It is our pleasure to serve you.

PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE DEPARTMENT