May 2, 2006 - I Kings 12-13 and Luke 22:1-20
God does not mumble when He speaks to us. He knows how to communicate with us clearly, and He does reveal Himself and His will to us all of the time. The problem is that we do not want to hear Him, or we don't want to obey what He says. That is the main theme of this passage. We have no excuse for not following the clear communication of God.
Chapter 12 describes how Rehoboam alienated the 10 tribes so that they made Jereboam their king, and Judah was reduced to just the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Why did this happen? Rehoboam did not take the advice of his elders, but he took the advice of his young friends. God knew what he would choose to do, but God did not force him to do this. He simply used what He knew would happen to carry out His will, which was to split the kingdom, because of the sin of Solomon. Rehoboam's pride led him to forget the people and to act in an ungodly way. At least, when God clearly told him not to attack the other tribes, he did stop the army. God spoke clearly, and he obeyed.
The same was not true for Jereboam. He, also, went against what he knew was right and acted in an ungodly manner by making two golden calves and setting up a man-made religion. He did this to protect his kingdom. Then, God sent a man to warn him to repent. The man of God even gave him a sign, but he would not listen. Jereboam led the people into serious sin by refusing to listen to God. This can be true for any of us, who ignore the clear message of God.
The most distressing part of this story is the death of the man of God, because he failed to obey what God had clearly told him. The old prophet lied to him about an angel changing God's Word. That will never happen. God's Word never changes. Once He speaks to us, He will not throw us a curve. We should always trust His Word and obey. Therefore, in this case God had to punish the man of God severely to show his sin, even though he had been faithful to God at first. We all need to learn this lesson. We don't get brownie points with God for being good that exempt us from being punished later, if we disobey. God punishes all sin.
Luke 22 has another example of this truth. Judas should have known better than to betray Christ. He had heard His Words, and He had seen the signs. However, he chose to go his way. He thought he knew better than Jesus. Therefore, he rejected the clear communication of God to him. This led to his own death. What a tragedy! If only he had listened to God. How are you doing with your spiritual hearing and obedience. I beg you to make it a priority.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Kings 14-15 and Luke 22:21-46.
Chapter 12 describes how Rehoboam alienated the 10 tribes so that they made Jereboam their king, and Judah was reduced to just the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Why did this happen? Rehoboam did not take the advice of his elders, but he took the advice of his young friends. God knew what he would choose to do, but God did not force him to do this. He simply used what He knew would happen to carry out His will, which was to split the kingdom, because of the sin of Solomon. Rehoboam's pride led him to forget the people and to act in an ungodly way. At least, when God clearly told him not to attack the other tribes, he did stop the army. God spoke clearly, and he obeyed.
The same was not true for Jereboam. He, also, went against what he knew was right and acted in an ungodly manner by making two golden calves and setting up a man-made religion. He did this to protect his kingdom. Then, God sent a man to warn him to repent. The man of God even gave him a sign, but he would not listen. Jereboam led the people into serious sin by refusing to listen to God. This can be true for any of us, who ignore the clear message of God.
The most distressing part of this story is the death of the man of God, because he failed to obey what God had clearly told him. The old prophet lied to him about an angel changing God's Word. That will never happen. God's Word never changes. Once He speaks to us, He will not throw us a curve. We should always trust His Word and obey. Therefore, in this case God had to punish the man of God severely to show his sin, even though he had been faithful to God at first. We all need to learn this lesson. We don't get brownie points with God for being good that exempt us from being punished later, if we disobey. God punishes all sin.
Luke 22 has another example of this truth. Judas should have known better than to betray Christ. He had heard His Words, and He had seen the signs. However, he chose to go his way. He thought he knew better than Jesus. Therefore, he rejected the clear communication of God to him. This led to his own death. What a tragedy! If only he had listened to God. How are you doing with your spiritual hearing and obedience. I beg you to make it a priority.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Kings 14-15 and Luke 22:21-46.