A nd he set one in Bethel, and one he put in Dan. Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan.
— First Kings 12:29-30
Biblical balance is not always found between two available options. First Kings 12:25-33 teaches this principle in an incredible way, providing insight for those seeking to discern what’s being said in the current sufficiency controversy.
Because of Solomon’s disobedience, God took ten tribes from his son, Rehoboam, and gave them to Solomon’s enemy, Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:9-13, 26-40). Once Jeroboam became king of the northern tribes, he promptly forsook God and sinned in ways worse than King Solomon. The primary features of King Jeroboam’s sin were two golden calves, idols, to be worshiped as part of his newly constructed religion (1 Kings 12:28, 31-32). To prevent the nation from returning to David’s descendants and worshiping at God’s temple in Jerusalem, Jeroboam placed one idol in Bethel, near the southern border of Israel’s territory, and the other idol in Dan, near the northern border. This way, every worshipper in Israel would be located between Bethel and Dan and presumably would choose a place of worship closer than the temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:26-30).
Old Error, New Appeal
One baffling quality of Jeroboam’s folly is its familiarity with Israel’s first breach of God’s covenant. Jeroboam virtually quotes Aaron, who crafted Israel’s first golden calf at Mount Sinai. Both these idolatrous leaders told the people that their calves were “your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt” (Exodus 32:4; 1 Kings 12:28).
Jeroboam took an old error and made it newly appealing to his contemporaries. Something similar is happening within the biblical counseling movement. Men and women self-identifying with the biblical counseling label are presenting old errors concerning the meaning of sufficiency, the term “integration,” an emphasis on the embodiment of the human soul, common grace, how to faithfully help sufferers, and a host of other issues. They are adding an appealing, seemingly compassionate call for nuance to the well-worn ancient paths already successfully trod by those faithfully making disciples.
Old Truth, New Lessons
This passage has several lessons to teach us.
1. Do not seek truth between two manmade options. Imagine some overly pious member of the tribe of Issachar determining that he would only worship Yahweh and not Jeroboam’s idols. So far, so good. But if that man also determined that since Dan was too far north and Bethel was too far south, he would, instead, worship somewhere in between them, wouldn’t he still be missing the mark God had set? Everyone was required to worship in Jerusalem according to God’s authoritative, necessary, clear, sufficient revelation (Deuteronomy 12:5, 13-14, 18, 21, 26; 1 Kings 8:16; 9:3). Therefore, seeking some middle ground between Jeroboam’s extremes would be as foolish and self-willed as Jeroboam was in establishing his own religion.
In the debate over sufficiency, redemptive counselors want to rebuff traditional Integrationism on one hand while avoiding a “maximalist” version of the sufficiency of Scripture on the other.1See Nate Brooks, “Everybody Integrates” in Volume 15, Number 1, Spring 2024 Southeastern Theological Review. The result is that they settle for a theologically-savvy, psychologically respectable version of counseling. The problem with this approach is that it still falls short of what God has revealed in his sufficient word. Their counseling system, though claiming Scripture, doesn’t arrive where God intends. They’re still between Bethel and Dan.
2. Do not settle for almost-biblical counseling. Those striving to be clinically-informed reject formal Integrationism. For this we can be thankful. However, we also find that the Redemptive Counseling/Clinically-Informed Biblical Counseling (RC/CIBC) approach still fails to faithfully uphold and implement the sufficiency of Scripture. The wholesale acceptance of secular definitions of trauma,2Eliza Huie maintains that she is “clinically competent” and provides “clinically informed supervision” to equip and guide other counselors (See https://www.elizahuie.com/). On definitions of trauma, see Eliza Huie and Beth M. Broom’s Counsel for Life podcast, “Understanding Trauma: Part 1” (https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1664338.rss) accessed, January 26, 2025. the attribution of sinful parenting practices to past trauma,3Kristin Kellen asserts that mental health struggles and its accompanying generational dysfunction can be explained, at least in part, because they are “passed down” from parents to children through genetics and various environmental factors. See “Generational Dysfunction,” Volume 15, Number 1, Spring 2024 Southeastern Theological Review, page 54. as well as the implementation of EMDR, grounding, exposure therapy, and cognitive processing therapy4Eliza Huie includes each of these and more as valid counseling methods that can be utilized by Christians in counseling. See Appendix E in Trauma Aware: A Christian’s Guide to Providing Help and Care (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2025), 299-303. See also the varied services offered at Bridgehaven Counseling Associates where Brad Hambrick serves as one of the board members: https://bridgehavencounseling.org/our-team/ and Courage Christian Counseling where Nate Brooks serves as the executive director: https://www.couragechristiancounseling.com/counselors as corrective counseling techniques are a small sample of the myriad ways that the doctrine of sufficiency is being undermined by CIBCers. This approach to counseling seeks light (insight) and life (health) outside of Scripture on matters already addressed in the Bible, thus, practically accusing God of speaking insufficiently. Even though CIBCers formally reject Integrationism, they have settled somewhere other than sufficiency. By this, we cannot be encouraged.
God had established his name in Jerusalem, and although Bethel was only 10 miles away (far better than Dan’s nearly 105 miles from Jerusalem!), God still rejected Bethel as a legitimate option for worship. Some seem to think that biblical counselors should be satisfied that CIBCers are closer to a biblical position of sufficiency— that the Bible includes everything we need to know to please God— than avowed integrationists. They think we should be glad some counsel as close as Bethel and not as far as Dan. But this thinking is wrong. We can no more approve almost-biblical counseling than God approved Bethel as a valid place of worship. In fact, not only must we reject their decision to counsel in Bethel, we must also make known the truth of God’s displeasure there as well (see 1 Kings 13:1-10).
3. Do not fear. God made incredible promises to Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:37-38). These promises even rivaled the Davidic covenant. But it was fear that snatched away God’s blessings from King Jeroboam. He sinned so grievously against God because he was anxious about losing the kingdom to the house of David (1 Kings 12:26-27).
It is truly astonishing the wickedness fear can squeeze out of us. Biblical counselors are no exception. We, too, are in danger of succumbing to fear regarding our counseling convictions and practices. What will people think of me if I just say God’s word is enough? Is my position on sufficiency amply nuanced? How do I refute that new book everyone is raving about? How do I explain the findings of that compelling study published by neuroscientists? What if I can’t find fault with research that seems to overturn what I was taught in my training? If I don’t give this counselee something other than the Scriptures, they might stop coming to me for counsel, or harm themselves, or something worse. What if biblical counseling doesn’t work as well as another counseling system?
All these are temptations that we must combat with the truth. “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar,” Proverbs 30:5-6 tells us. Therefore, take heart. We can trust that those who side wholly with God’s Word are always on the right side of a controversy. “Be well satisfied that you are in the way of your duty,” counsels John Flavel, “and that will beget holy courage in times of danger… a good cause will bear up a man’s spirit bravely.”5John Flavel, The Works of John Flavel, Volume V (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1968), 454.
