Today begins the account of the unraveling of Israel from a regional power. Everything that happens could have been avoided if the leaders had only been obedient to God.
Having read all this before, I know what comes next, and it’s very sad. It’s not enjoyable to read about the needless collapse of a nation that is so important to your faith. But God allowed this for a reason, and the reason is to demonstrate to us that even though we are chosen, we still must obey. Just because we have been chosen doesn’t mean that we can take our relationship with God for granted, or assume that the benefits that come from that relationship are permanent. Everything God gives can be taken away, and will be …if we don’t remain faithful to Him.
God doesn’t require that we remain perfect, In fact, I wouldn’t propose that it’s even possible. But He does require that we are invested in our relationship with Him to the point that it will be evident in the choices we make. Sometimes we make bad choices, due to ignorance, a moment of weakness or bad advice. But if our heart is devoted to God, He will forgive us, restore us and help us repair what we have broken. If we aren not devoted, then on top of the natural consequences of our bad decisions He begins to work against us. No person, and no nation can stand against that. When God works against you, or even when God doesn’t bless your efforts….you’re done.
Jeroboam was a good guy. He was smart, talented and loved by the people. Solomon realized that he was gifted as a leader, and put him in charge of many things. But when Solomon’s heart became hard toward God, it also became hard toward Jeroboam, and he tried to kill him. Jeroboam wasn’t looking to become a rebel leader who overthrows the king…but he did accept what God had said about him…that one day he would rule 11 of the 12 tribes. So when he heard that Solomon had died, he returned from exile to see if he could live in his own country again. By now, Rehoboam, Solomon’s son had taken charge of the kingdom.
Solomon must not have done a very good job at raising his son to listen to wise counsel. Maybe Rehoboam wasn’t the right pick for king…but God must have been in it, causing Solomon to think that he was….so that the kingdom would fall apart. Remember, this whole thing happens because of Solomon’s sin. He built and worshiped at pagan shrines, and violated the guidelines for a king. His sin is about to unfold and affect the whole nation. We always remember Solomon as the “wisest man who ever lived” and “wealthier than any other king”…but I doubt that’s how he’s remembered in heaven. How sad to consider that Solomon may not even be in heaven at all. A man who spoke with God personally, and accomplished such great things for Him. What a terrible epitaph.
Rehoboam will not listen to the advice of the elder counselors. I am trying to take a lesson here, but I also want to consider that the advice of the elders is likely what got us to where we are. There must be some sort of balance, or we won’t ever move. I wonder if these same counselors were telling Solomon to “lighten up” on the people? Maybe Solomon was ignoring their advice as well. Like father, like son?
Rehoboam is not a godly person, as evidenced by his continued worship at pagan shrines. In fact, under his leadership the false worship grows. He simply continues to do the bad things his father has begun.
On the other hand, Jeroboam..the “good kid” who was skilled and respected changes when the nation breaks away from Rehoboam. Suddenly he isn’t trusting in God anymore. Even though he knows better (he was told by a prophet that he would be king!) he fails to trust in God, and sets up the golden calves. This becomes the worst sin in Israel’s history.
Okay, so as I sit here reflecting on the story I realize that all I am really doing is telling it again. Let me jump to a few conclusions.
1. Skill, wisdom and popularity are not good indicators of what sort of leader you will be. Only a heart tuned to God will reveal that.
2. trusting in yourself, and making plans to protect yourself…instead of allowing God to be exalted will always result in failure
3. Jeroboam should have been delighted at the thought of the nation being reunited as they worshiped together in Jerusalem. Instead, he wanted them to be split apart. The king was working against what was best for the people. Again, this was allowed by God to punish the people for their decisions to worship other gods.
4. Thinking of the prophet who was killed: if God tells you to do something, He will not send someone else to contradict His own word.
Everything that happens here happens because the leaders were not truly 100% invested in God. This whole thing could have been avoided if the leaders simply had the courage and desire to sacrifice, and to say “I will deny myself _____pleasure, etc. in order to remain obedient”.
What if Solomon had simply prayed about his desire to love other women, and had taken one or two wives from within the nation? There would have been no “Rehoboam” since his mom was a foreigner…and his heart wouldn’t have strayed, and the nation wouldn’t have been lost.
That’s something to consider the next time I feel tempted to do something wrong, and I don’t see how anyone will be affected by it.
The best future is only available when we are obedient.
Faithfully,
PR