Burunche’s Blog

1 Kings 1 – 16 “Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”

Then a revelation from the LORD came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan. And you are to drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

So Elijah did what the LORD had told him, and he went and lived by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan. The ravens would bring him bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he would drink from the brook. Some time later, however, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”

So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, so that I may drink.” And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread.”

 But she replied, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I have no bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.”

 “Do not be afraid,” Elijah said to her. “Go and do as you have said. But first make me a small cake of bread from what you have, and bring it out to me. Afterward, make some for yourself and your son, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be exhausted and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain upon the face of the earth.’ ”

So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and there was food every day for Elijah and the woman and her household. The jar of flour was not exhausted and the jug of oil did not run dry, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Elijah.”

Ahab, son of Omri, has married Jezebel, the daughter of the King of the Sidonians and most likely a priestess of Baal, Asherah, and any other demonic cult active at that point. Spurred on by Jezebel, Ahab, is leading the northern kingdom rapidly down the road to destruction. But God has called the Israelites out of Egypt and has repeatedly delivered them from their enemies. God is not about to give the northern kingdom over to Satan without fighting back, and Elijah is God’s secret weapon.

How old is Elijah when he begins his ministry? However old Elijah is, he is one tough cookie! After delivering a daunting message to King Ahab, Elijah moves east into the wilderness near the Brook of Cherith. While Ahab is sitting in an ivory – studded palace, Elijah is sheltering in caves, depending on ravens to bring him food. Later on, Elijah will do other strenuous physical exploits. While Ahab is really a wimp, Elijah is made of far sterner stuff.

One of the most amazing things about Elijah is his unwavering faith and trust in God. “You want me to decree three years of drought and famine, Lord? No problem! You want me to hide in the wilderness? I’m on my way!” How many of us would be ready to accept food from scavenger birds such as ravens? Now, perhaps Elijah does make small fires to cook that food, but still, ravens are unclean birds according to the Law of Moses and yet it is ravens that God uses. Elijah is bright enough to realize that sooner or later, the brook is going to dry up, but he’s trusting that the same God who has sent ravens as messengers will also provide for him when that happens.

The day the brook evaporates completely, God sends Elijah to Zarephath of Sidon, Jezebel’s people. God tells Elijah that He has commanded a widow in Zarephath to provide for Elijah; however, when Elijah meets the widow, she doesn’t appear to have heard from the Lord. But God knows this lady’s kind and generous heart; He knows that this woman will do everything she can, even if it costs her the last bit of meal in the house. This widow is the second person of great faith in this story. Look at this lady’s response: ““As surely as the LORD your God lives…” God has led Elijah to a woman who believes in the God of Israel, even if she fears to claim that God as her own. It is this woman’s faith and obedience that saves Elijah, this woman, her son, and everyone belonging to her household.

APPLICATION: One of the first questions we might have while reading this passage is this: does God really do this stuff? Yes! Let me tell you about the KFC miracle. Many years ago, I had a Christian surgeon friend, call him “M.”, who had left a lucrative general surgery practice to get training as a pediatric surgeon. This family had sold their dream home and had moved half – way across America so M. could receive the training he felt God calling him to have. Many family members thought M. was crazy, and the night I came to stay with them, his father – in – law was arriving to check out the situation. I was with M. when he swung by KFC to pick up food for supper, and I was worried.  That night there would be four adults plus two ravenously hungry teen – agers; the amount of food we were buying would scarcely feed three people.

I had decided that I would eat very little that night so that my friends would not be embarrassed; however, the food just kept on coming and everyone had plenty. At the end of the meal, M.’s wife and I slowly realized that we had far more food left over than the modest amount originally purchased. Not only did God multiply the KFC food, but M.’s father – in – law was so impressed by the family’s faith that he became a supporter instead of a critic.

Now the interesting thing is that while my friends prayed over their food, they did not beg God to multiply it. But the same loving Heavenly Father who had already called M. into pediatric surgery provided bountifully, leaving a potential critic with no grounds for complaint.

I love the widow of Zarephath! Elijah has been called as a prophet and is obviously a man of faith. But that widow knows very little about the God of Israel, except that she KNOWS that He surely lives! That’s more faith than most of the citizens of Israel are exhibiting at this point. And it is this faith that leads this woman to fulfill Elijah’s request and to feed him before feeding her son and herself.

If God has cared so much for this nameless lady and her household, don’t you think God will also care for you? If God was willing to multiply food for my friends, He can multiply resources for you as well. The key is obedience. Both the widow of Zarephath and my friends were obedient to God’s instructions. If you want God’s provision, you must be careful to follow His orders.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help all those whose faith is failing to remember that You don’t play favorites and that You can supply our needs in an infinite number of ways. We pray in the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

 1 Kings 16:21 – 34 “Then the people of Israel were split into two factions; half supported Tibni son of Ginath for king, and the other half supported Omri. But Omri’s followers proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.

In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah. He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city on the hill, calling it Samaria, after Shemer, the name of the former owner of the hill.

But Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him. He followed completely the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit, so that they aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, by their worthless idols.

As for the other events of Omri’s reign, what he did and the things he achieved, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? Omri rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. And Ahab his son succeeded him as king.

 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him.He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.

In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua son of Nun.”

AHAB AND JEZEBEL! “Jezebel” means “Baal exalts.” Other sources claim it means “not exalted in Hebrew.” “Ahab” means “uncle,” or “father’s brother,” a fairly neutral meaning. But ever since Ahab ascended the throne in Israel and married Jezebel, Jezebel’s name has come to be used as a description of an evil scheming woman.

Had Ahab paid attention to the Law of Moses, he would never have married Jezebel in the first place. Kings of the Israelites were only supposed to marry other Israelites. Jezebel was a Sidonian and her father might even have been a priest of Baal in addition to being a king. But Ahab knew little or nothing of the Law of Moses and Jezebel was undoubtedly lovely and seductive. Little wonder then, that Ahab married her. Lacking any spiritual foundation, Ahab was easily led into ever increasing evil, doing “more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.”

There is no evidence to suggest that Ahab was ever a strong personality, and he rapidly came under the domination of Jezebel, who had the personality of a bull dozer. Were Ahab and Jezebel a Hollywood couple today, they might be described as “Ahabel” or perhaps “Jezehab.” The two personalities became so entwined that they were impossible to separate.

What’s the reason for mentioning the rebuilding of Jericho? Jericho was the first Canaanite city Joshua conquered, and it was to be an offering to the Lord. In Joshua 6:26 Joshua pronounces the curses, “Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gate.” While some sources simply believe that these sons would die of some illness, it might also be true that this curse refers to a man so bent on rebuilding Jericho that he would be willing to kill his firstborn son and bury him in the foundation and kill his youngest son and bury him under a gate post. Even though the Israelites have been caught up in evil, until now there has been no man so horrible that he has been willing to sacrifice two sons for his ambitions. Whether a man would deliberately kill his sons with his own hands or merely leave them open for sickness to attack them, this curse describes unspeakable evil.

APPLICATION: At this point, the spiritual covering of Israel is becoming very thin indeed. A succession of increasingly evil rulers has left Israel open to spiritual attack. Asherah poles, altars of all kinds, and groves on the high places now dot the landscape. The land that God intended to be holy has been perverted into a cesspool of idol worship, including offering live children as sacrifices to Molech. Burial jars containing children and infant bones have been found in foundations in several locations, most notably in Gezer. (How was the curse on Jericho Fulfilled? http://www.journals.uchicago.edu>doi>pdf )

For those living in the Northern Kingdom, morality is sliding downhill rapidly and things are about to get a great deal worse.

Why doesn’t God simply send in the Babylonians or the Assyrians or someone else to clean up the Northern Kingdom right away? Amazingly, God’s plan is to give Ahab and Jezebel the opportunity to repent. Eventually Ahab does repent half – way. Jezebel never repents and suffers a terrible fate. But God is so loving that He wants all those people under the sway of Ahab and Jezebel to have the chance to return to Him and to truly worship Him.  

2 Peter 3:9 – 10 tells us, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.”

God gives people lots of chances to turn and to worship Him; however, God does not wait forever. As we study the careers of Ahab and Jezebel, keep in mind that God loved both of these people from the day they were conceived, and that it was God’s perfect will for them to turn away from evil and degradation and worship Him.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we lift up world leaders, particularly those who appear to have no interest in You. Bring each one of them to repentance. We ask this in the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 Kings 16:1 – 34 “Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu son of Hanani concerning Baasha: “I lifted you up from the dust and appointed you ruler over my people Israel, but you followed the ways of Jeroboam and caused my people Israel to sin and to arouse my anger by their sins. So I am about to wipe out Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat.Dogs will eat those belonging to Baasha who die in the city, and birds will feed on those who die in the country.”

As for the other events of Baasha’s reign, what he did and his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? Baasha rested with his ancestors and was buried in Tirzah. And Elah his son succeeded him as king.

Moreover, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani to Baasha and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger by the things he did, becoming like the house of Jeroboam—and also because he destroyed it.

In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years. Zimri, one of his officials, who had command of half his chariots, plotted against him. Elah was in Tirzah at the time, getting drunk in the home of Arza, the palace administrator at Tirzah.Zimri came in, struck him down and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah. Then he succeeded him as king.

As soon as he began to reign and was seated on the throne, he killed off Baasha’s whole family. He did not spare a single male, whether relative or friend. So Zimri destroyed the whole family of Baasha, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken against Baasha through the prophet Jehu— because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, so that they aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, by their worthless idols. As for the other events of Elah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel

 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah seven days. The army was encamped near Gibbethon, a Philistine town. When the Israelites in the camp heard that Zimri had plotted against the king and murdered him, they proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that very day there in the camp.Then Omri and all the Israelites with him withdrew from Gibbethon and laid siege to Tirzah.When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the royal palace and set the palace on fire around him. So he died, because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord and following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.As for the other events of Zimri’s reign, and the rebellion he carried out, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?”

If you are getting a little dizzy reading this part of 1 Kings, don’t feel alone. At this point, Israel is changing kings faster than performers in a music video change costumes. First, there was Jeroboam, to whom God made wonderful promises if Jeroboam would only serve Him. But Jeroboam fouled his own nest, creating a fake religion and condemning his family to destruction as a result. Then there was Jeroboam’s son Nadab, who only reigned for two years before being assassinated by Baasha. After Baasha came his son Elah, who was certainly no prize either. God had already pronounced judgement and annihilation against Baasha and his family, and Zimri, the commander of half of Elah’s chariots, murdered Elah and took over as king. But Zimri was so horrible that the army revolted after only seven days of Zimri’s rule. When Zimri realized that the army was coming for him, he went into the citadel of the royal palace at Tirzah and set the palace on fire, dying in the fire. Omri, the army commander, took the place of Zimri.   

Jeroboam, Nadab, Baasha, Elah, and Zimri – Each one of these men died because of their failure to follow God and their willingness to worship any idol that appeared. “Enough!” you might think. “Surely someone is going to come along who will reign in righteousness.” But just wait, because Ahab succeeds Omri and Ahab proves to be an even bigger disaster than all those who precede him.

APPLICATION: It all began with Jeroboam. Had Jeroboam been faithful to the One True Living God, God would have blessed his reign and his descendants might also have been God – worshipers. But Jeroboam settled for a made – up religion, something he thought he could use to control those around him. Little did Jeroboam realize that he was condemning his descendants to the most horrible deaths imaginable. The aging prophet Ahijah foretold the terrible fate of Jeroboam’s family members, a fate that over took every one of them.

Those rulers who succeeded Jeroboam failed to learn anything from his terrible fate. Rather than repent and worship the God of Israel, these men persistently worshiped every demon they could find. God sent the prophet Jehu to warn Baasha of the fate that would overtake his family and him; however, Baasha paid no attention.

Proverbs 14:34 tells us, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” Where were the rest of the Israelites when all these evil rulers were busy murdering one another? It’s quite possible that many of the common people were very unhappy about the situation but they were afraid to say anything for fear of reprisals. The saddest part of all is that there is no record of anyone in the ten tribes making up the Northern Kingdom who was interceding for revival.

The famous Bible teacher Oswald Chambers tells us that intercessory prayer is one of the few things we can do where we cannot make a mistake. In the March 30^th reading in My Utmost for His Highest, Chambers says, “Do you find yourself thinking that there is no one interceding properly? Then be that person yourself. Be a person who worships God and lives in a holy relationship with Him. Get involved in the real work of intercession, remembering that it truly is work – work that demands all your energy but work which has no hidden pitfalls. Preaching the Gospel has its share of pitfalls but intercessory prayer has none whatsoever.”

What can you do when all around you seems dark? Light the candle of faith! Who knows how many others will take courage from that flame and light their own candles as well?

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to be faithful and to continue to pray for revival throughout the world. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 Kings 15:25 – 34 “In the second year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel, and he reigned two years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.

Then Baasha son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against Nadab, and Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon of the Philistines while Nadab and all Israel were besieging the city. In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha killed Nadab and reigned in his place.

As soon as Baasha became king, he struck down the entire household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone that breathed, but destroyed them all according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he had provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger.

As for the rest of the acts of Nadab, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their days.

In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah twenty-four years. And Baasha did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.”

Foolish Jeroboam! God gave Jeroboam the opportunity of a lifetime. If Jeroboam would just whole – heartedly worship God as David had done, God was prepared to establish a dynasty for Jeroboam and his descendants. This was a forever promise by the One True Living God…. And Jeroboam blew it! Rather than trusting in the God of Israel, Jeroboam settled for the expedient, fabricating his own religion, creating golden calves, building altars that God had never commanded, and ordaining men who were not Levites as priests. The results were truly disastrous; God warned Jeroboam that every one of his descendants would die horrible deaths, and their bodies would be eaten by dogs or by vultures, treated as carrion rather than as human beings worthy of honorable burial. Now God’s retribution was beginning to show itself.

The Israelites were fighting the Philistines at Gibbethon when Baasha, a man of the tribe of Issachar, killed Nadab, Jeroboam’s son in the midst of the battle. No doubt, Baasha probably hoped that the Israelites would blame the Philistines for Nadab’s death; however, everybody knew who was the actual murderer.  Once king, Baasha proceeded to wipe out Jeroboam’s entire family, fulfilling the prophecy spoken over Jeroboam. But Baasha failed to learn anything from the fate of Jeroboam. Rather than repenting and turning to the God of Israel, Baasha persisted in idolatry for the entire 24 years of his reign. Obviously, Baasha learned absolutely nothing from the horrific fate of Jeroboam’s family.

APPLICATION: Baasha was a product of Jeroboam’s fake religion and the results were obvious. Ruled by passion alone, Baasha was more than willing to eradicate every member of Jeroboam’s family, neglecting to realize that if he behaved like Jeroboam, he and his family might suffer the very same fate.

Albert Einstein is quoted as having said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Obviously, Baasha was crazy; after wiping out Jeroboam’s family, he expected that his family would be fine, even though he was doing the very same things that Jeroboam had done. Never once in that twenty – four years of reign did Baasha ever stop to consider that his family and he could be wiped out as well.

Reading the accounts of some of these kings, we might feel a bit smug. After all, we have never set up a fake religion as did Jeroboam. But the question is one of holiness. The God of Israel, the One True Living God, is completely holy, and we are human and fallible. Born with sinful natures, there is nothing that we can do that will make up for that sin. Rather than face the question of holiness, Jeroboam created his own religion with his own pretend gods and his own rules, and Nadab and Baasha followed suit. It was easy for Jeroboam to feel that he was OK because he had already drawn up the rules by which he would achieve righteousness. But those rules bore no relationship to the One True God.

Many times, we want to think that if we do good deeds or dedicate ourselves to helping humanity, this will be enough for us to earn our way into heaven. But the prophet Isaiah nailed it when he said that “all our righteousness is as filthy rags.”

Isaiah 64:4 – 6 says, “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear,
Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him.
⁵ You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways.
You are indeed angry, for we have sinned— In these ways we continue; And we need to be saved.

⁶ But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;
We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (The filthy rags referred to here are the rags women used as menstrual pads.)

The reason that the Gospel is called good news is that Jesus Christ has done what we could never do for ourselves. Jesus was both God and man, and he died for our sins, shedding his blood on the cross at Calvary. Only the blood of a sinless man could possibly wipe out the sins of others. But we must truly believe that Jesus has done this for us. We cannot take this sacrifice lightly. When Paul and Silas were in jail at Philippi, God sent an earthquake that opened all the doors and removed all the chains from the prisoners. The jailer begged Paul and Silas to know what he had to do to be saved. The answer: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31) Nothing has changed. Only belief in the Lord Jesus Christ will bring salvation.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Thank You for sending Your Son Jesus Christ to live as a man and to die for our sins. We confess that by ourselves, we have no purely righteous acts that could earn our way into heaven. We confess that we are sinners and that we fall short of Your holiness throughout our days. But we are trusting that the Blood of Jesus Christ is adequate to wipe out those sins, and that because of Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross, our sins have been cancelled. We thank You that we can be with You for eternity because of that sacrifice. We thank You, we praise You, and we bless You. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus, our Savior. Amen.

1 Kings 15:1 – 24 “In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. (Absalom)

And Abijam walked in all the sins that his father before him had committed, and his heart was not as fully devoted to the LORD his God as the heart of David his forefather had been. Nevertheless, for the sake of David, the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and to make Jerusalem strong. For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not turned aside from anything the LORD commanded all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

And there was war between the houses of Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of Abijam’s life.  

As for the rest of the acts of Abijam, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. And Abijam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David, and his son Asa reigned in his place.

In the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Asa became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. (Other sources say his mother was Micaiah, daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.)

And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done. He banished the male shrine prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

The high places were not removed, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted to the LORD all his days. And he brought into the house of the LORD the silver and gold and other articles that he and his father had dedicated.

Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their days. Baasha king of Israel went to war against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.

So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace. He entrusted it to his servants and sent them with this message to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus: “Let there be a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Now go and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and the whole land of Naphtali, including the region of Chinnereth.

When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah. Then King Asa summoned all the men of Judah, with no exceptions, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials King Asa built up Geba of Benjamin, as well as Mizpah.

Now the rest of the acts of Asa, along with all his might, all his accomplishments, and the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? In his old age, however, he became diseased in his feet. And Asa rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of his father David, and his son Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.”

This passage says practically nothing about the character of Abijah. For a better look at Abijah, you have to go to 2 Chronicles 13. When Jeroboam attacked Jerusalem, Abijah counter – attacked in the Battle of Mount Zemaraim. Abijah testified against Jeroboam for driving out the priests of the Lord and making golden calves. When Jeroboam attempted to ambush the men of Judah, they cried out to the Lord, and “God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.” Abijah and Judah slaughtered a total of 500,000 of Jeroboam’s men. But rabbinic sources indicate that Abijah was actually quite corrupt, taking over the golden calves from Jeroboam rather than destroying them as he should have. When God defeated Jeroboam, Abijah evidently did not allow the corpses to be buried until they had begun to putrefy, a violation of Jewish law. Abijah also falsely accused all of Israel of turning away from God. The results of Abijah’s sins limited his reign as king to 3 short years.

This passage only gives a brief description of Asa, Abijah’s son. “The high places were not removed, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted to the LORD all his days.” Asa only followed the Lord up to a point. 2 Chronicles 14 tells of a time when an enormous army from Ethiopia attacked Asa at the Valley of Zephathath, and God gave him victory. Yet later on, Asa’s faith failed and he sent a huge sum of money to Ben Hadad to attack Israel. Unfortunately, God had selected Asa to defeat Ben Hadad, and Asa frustrated that plan with his faithlessness. When Asa was old and developed diseases in his feet, 2 Chronicles 16:12 says that “he did not seek the Lord, but relied upon the physicians.”

APPLICATION: What can we learn from the stories of Abijah and Asa? Abijah called on God when it was expedient, but he did not follow God faithfully, nor did he know God’s Law. Once more, we have a king who failed to copy the Law or to study it for himself. Asa did far better, removing his own grandmother from her position as Queen Mother and burning her Asherah pole in the Kidron Valley where refuse was burnt. But Asa’s faith failed him on several occasions, and he ended his reign unable to walk because he refused to ask God for help.

Abijah called on God when he wanted help, but did not really believe in God. For Abijah, the God of Israel was just one more deity, perhaps a little more powerful than the rest. Abijah was good at making stirring speeches, but his heart wasn’t in it. Asa trusted God, but only up to a point. Even though Asa had the power to wipe out every high place and to truly bring revival to Judah, he drew back and failed to accomplish everything God wanted him to do.

It’s easy for us to criticize these men, but how well do we do in our own lives? When confronted with evil on a massive scale, do we seek God’s help, or do we attempt to fix things somehow by political manipulations? Are we really following hard after God, or are we behaving like Asa – sometimes fervent and sometimes timorous? May God help us to follow Him steadily and faithfully all the days of our lives, and may we continue to seek God’s help even in our old age!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow you steadily and whole -heartedly for all of our lives, not drawing back when things become difficult. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 Kings 14:19 – 31 “As for the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he waged war and how he reigned, they are indeed written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. And the length of Jeroboam’s reign was twenty-two years, and he rested with his fathers, and his son Nadab reigned in his place.

Meanwhile, Rehoboam son of Solomon reigned in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel in which to put His Name. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite.

And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and by the sins they committed they provoked Him to jealous anger more than all their fathers had done. They also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land. They imitated all the abominations of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.

In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, Shishak king of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem. He seized the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields that Solomon had made.

Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and committed them to the care of the captains of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards would bear the shields, and later they would return them to the guardroom.

As for the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, along with all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their days. And Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David; his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. And his son Abijam reigned in his place.”

Twenty – two years! That was the length of Jeroboam’s reign. All during that time, Jeroboam could have repented, turned away from his fake religion, and could have served the Living God. Instead, Jeroboam just became worse and worse, finally dying. Meanwhile, the nation of Judah under Rehoboam experienced a very brief revival and then plunged into idolatry.

Solomon’s first wife was Pharaoh’s daughter, and she may have converted to worship the God of Israel. In the normal scheme of things, this woman’s son should have succeeded Solomon. But somehow it was Rehoboam, the son of an Ammonite woman, who became king after Solomon. (Perhaps Solomon’s first wife tried to gently correct him and he became offended – who knows?) Although God had permanently barred the Ammonites from entering the temple and had forbidden the kings of Israel to marry such people, Solomon married this woman anyway.  Lacking any teaching from his father, Rehoboam soon began following his mother’s religion, worshiping Molech. Left unrestrained the people of Judah went crazy, setting up Asherah poles for fertility rites all over the place and even establishing male temple prostitutes. No abomination was left untasted.

When a nation sins, its spiritual protection disappears. Now Pharaoh Shishak attacked Jerusalem, carrying off all the treasures of the temple and the palace, particularly the gold shields Solomon had made. Rehoboam instituted bronze shields in place of the gold ones. This gesture was not only practical but also symbolic. By this action, Rehoboam was demonstrating that his kingdom was far less glorious than his father’s kingdom had been. The substitution of bronze for gold also indicated the general spiritual deterioration of the populace.

Rehoboam reigned seventeen years, five years less than Jeroboam. Both men were morally and spiritually corrupt; both led their respective nations deep into idolatry. Both had the potential to turn to God and repent, but neither did so. The wheels were definitely coming off the bus in both Israel, the Northern Kingdom, and Judah, the southern kingdom.

APPLICATION: What do you do if you find yourself in a country that appears to be deteriorating morally and spiritually?

1. First and foremost, don’t give up and don’t give in! The One True Living God is still worthy of all honor, all praise, and all worship. Continue to worship God in the beauty of His Holiness.
2. Keep praying and keep being faithful! As the story unfolds, we will see that the northern kingdom goes into exile well before the southern kingdom does. Even though every pagan religion ever practiced appeared to be flourishing in Judah, there was still a remnant who were serving God faithfully. There were far fewer believers in the northern kingdom; that’s why they went into exile early on. Be part of that remnant, wherever you find yourself.
3. Continue to intercede for your nation and encourage others to do so as well.
4. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN THE WAYS OF THE LORD!!! The whole mess in both Judah and Israel came about in the first place because David, although faithful, never studied the Law of Moses as he was supposed to. Lacking the knowledge that intensive study of the Law would have given, David did a poor job of discipling Solomon. Solomon in turn completely failed to teach his children anything. Solomon was obsessed with work, obsessed with power, obsessed with wealth, and obsessed with sex. Despite Solomon’s vaunted wisdom, he never made his own copy of the Law of Moses nor did he ever study it. There is no indication that Jeroboam was ever a believer in the first place, so he had no knowledge of the Law of Moses, nor did he worship God. Jeroboam probably went up to Jerusalem for the feasts and considered himself a believer as a result; meanwhile, he was just going along with the crowd.

The whole universe tilts on the axis of free will. God has given each of us the ability to choose to serve Him or to serve Satan. If we are not serving God, we are serving Satan, whether or not we realize it. Each of us has the same choices that these men faced. What choice will we make? Will we choose light or darkness? Righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit or gloom and despair? Choose wisely, for your eternal destiny and that of your descendants depends on it!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow You and no other god. Help us to choose Your ways and no other. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 Kings 14:1 – 18 “At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill, and Jeroboam said to his wife, “Now get up, disguise yourself so they will not recognize you as my wife, and go to Shiloh. For Ahijah the prophet is there; it was he who spoke about my kingship over this people. Take with you ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will become of the boy.”

Jeroboam’s wife did as instructed; she arose and went to Shiloh and arrived at Ahijah’s house. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age. But the LORD had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill. You are to say such and such to her, because when she arrives, she will be disguised.”

So when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet entering the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you disguised? For I have been sent to you with bad news. Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler over My people Israel. I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you. But you were not like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, doing only what was right in My eyes. You have done more evil than all who came before you. You have proceeded to make for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke Me, and you have flung Me behind your back. Because of all this, behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam:

I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both slave and free, in Israel; I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns up dung until it is gone!

Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.’ For the LORD has spoken.

As for you, get up and go home. When your feet enter the city, the child will die. All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. For this is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will receive a proper burial, because only in him has the LORD, the God of Israel, found any good in the house of Jeroboam.

Moreover, the LORD will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house of Jeroboam. This is the day—yes, even today! For the LORD will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that He gave their fathers, and He will scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their Asherah poles, provoking the LORD to anger. So He will give Israel over on account of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”

Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and departed for Tirzah, and as soon as she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died. And they buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servant Ahijah the prophet.”

Jeroboam has wasted no time in spoiling God’s plan for his life! Ahijah was the prophet who first told Jeroboam that God was going to tear 10 tribes away from Rehoboam and give them to Jeroboam. But there were conditions. If Jeroboam would follow God faithfully as David had, then God would establish Jeroboam’s family as a dynasty. But if Jeroboam refused to follow God faithfully, disaster would strike.

Jeroboam’s first mistake was failing to seek counsel from the prophet Ahijah. If Jeroboam had immediately humbled himself and asked Ahijah for direction, Ahijah could have given him wise counsel. Unlike the old prophet who caused the death of the young one by his lies, Ahijah was a true man of God. But Jeroboam just assumed that he was fine and that God had simply recognized his greatness and was now rewarding him. Jeroboam might have assumed that the God of Israel was simply like one more pagan deity, only with prophets who actually spoke for him.

Jeroboam’s next mistake was establishing a fake religion instead of following God’s instructions. Now Jeroboam is about to reap the results of his wickedness. Jeroboam’s son, presumably his heir, is sick and Jeroboam sends his wife to the prophet Ahijah in hopes that Ahijah will pray and the boy will recover. Unfortunately, God says that this boy is the only righteous member of Jeroboam’s family and therefore will die and have an honorable burial. Because Jeroboam has rejected the One True Living God, God has also rejected him. Ahijah gives a spine – chilling description of what will happen to Jeroboam and his descendants. “I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both slave and free, in Israel; I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns up dung until it is gone! Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone who dies in the field will be eaten by the birds of the air.’

Ahijah goes on to describe what will happen to the ten tribes who have formed the new nation of Israel, the Northern Kingdom. When Jeroboam began establishing his fake religion, these people could easily have rebelled, demanding to be allowed to worship in Jerusalem. But swayed by Jeroboam’s arguments – “It is too much for you to go to Jerusalem” – these people are going along to get along. They have just been waiting for someone to lead them back into idolatry, and now Jeroboam has done so.

“For the LORD will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that He gave their fathers, and He will scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their Asherah poles, provoking the LORD to anger. So He will give Israel over on account of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.” For failing to oppose Jeroboam and for enthusiastically worshiping idols, the ten tribes will be carried off beyond the Euphrates.

APPLICATION: How much evil will you tolerate? As I am writing this, the U. S. Supreme Court has struck down Roe vs. Wade, the evil suit that legalized abortion in America. It is estimated that 63 million babies have been killed through abortion since 1973. When Roe vs. Wade first came into being, the churches were silent. Now America is reaping the results of years of shedding of innocent blood.

While it is tempting to criticize those in the ten tribes who left Rehoboam to make up the Northern Kingdom, how many of us might have tolerated Jeroboam’s evil acts? How many of us might have comforted ourselves with the idea that we were worshiping God in our homes, no matter what Jeroboam was doing? How many of us would have actually spoken out, knowing that we might pay with our lives for doing so? Realistically speaking, many of us would have remained silent, allowing Jeroboam to bring curses on us and on our families by our refusal to oppose the evil he was bringing.

May God help us so that when evil appears, we stand for righteousness and refuse to hide. May God grant us the ability to speak His Word whenever necessary!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You and to be willing to speak out against idolatry and unrighteousness. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 Kings 13:11 – 34 “Now a certain old prophet was living in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the deeds that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told their father the words that the man had spoken to the king.

“Which way did he go?” their father asked.

And his sons showed him the way taken by the man of God, who had come from Judah. So the prophet said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.”

Then they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it and went after the man of God. He found him sitting under an oak tree and asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”

“I am,” he replied.

So the prophet said to the man of God, “Come home with me and eat some bread.”

But the man replied, “I cannot return with you or eat bread or drink water with you in this place. For I have been told by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.’ ”

Then the prophet replied, “I too am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, so that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ”

The old prophet was lying to him, but the man of God went back with him, ate bread in his house, and drank water.

While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back, and the prophet cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the commandment that the LORD your God gave you, but you went back and ate bread and drank water in the place where He told you not to do so, your body shall never reach the tomb of your fathers.’ ”

And after the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet who had brought him back saddled the donkey for him. As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it.

And there were men passing by who saw the body lying in the road with the lion standing beside it, and they went and reported this in the city where the old prophet lived.

When the prophet who had brought him back from his journey heard this, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the command of the LORD. Therefore the LORD has delivered him to the lion, and it has mauled him and killed him, according to the word that the LORD had spoken to him.” Then the old prophet instructed his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled it, and he went and found the body lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had not eaten the body or mauled the donkey. So the old prophet lifted up the body of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his own city to mourn for him and bury him. Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they lamented over him, “Oh, my brother!”

After he had buried him, the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, you must bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones, for the message that he cried out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria will surely come to pass.”

Even after these events, Jeroboam did not repent of his evil ways, but again he appointed priests for the high places from every class of people. He ordained anyone who desired to be a priest of the high places. And this was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its extermination and destruction from the face of the earth.”

This is one of the most confusing stories in the Old Testament. The young prophet who has cried out against Jeroboam’s altar at Bethel has done extremely well. God has split the altar and spilled out the ashes, withering Jeroboam’s hand and then restoring it once the young prophet has prayed. But God has told this young prophet not to eat or drink anything in that place and to return home by a route different from the one he took to get there.

In the same vicinity lives an old prophet whose behavior is far from exemplary. The old prophet wants to meet the young one, and this is fine. But then when the young prophet describes his orders from God, the old prophet lies, saying that an angel has appeared to him and that the young prophet is to stop at his house to eat with him. Why would this old prophet behave this way? Perhaps this old prophet is jealous; after all, the young prophet has just ministered in a powerful way. Perhaps the old prophet has never had anything miraculous happen in his life. Perhaps the old prophet has been called to speak out against Jeroboam and he has refused, fearing for his life. Now he is jealous and resentful that someone else has succeeded where he has failed. This old prophet is already on the spot at Bethel. What has he been doing while Jeroboam has been establishing this fake religion? Anyhow, the old prophet entices the young one to come home and eat with him, only to turn around and prophesy that the young prophet will die on the way for failing to follow God’s instructions correctly. (Is the old prophet gloating as he utters this proclamation?)

When the young prophet leaves and is killed by a lion, it is obvious that this lion is from the Lord because the lion leaves the body and the young prophet’s donkey alone and allows the old prophet to collect the body. Finally, the old prophet instructs his sons to bury him with the young prophet because the young prophet’s outcry against Jeroboam’s fake religion is going to come true. Now that the young prophet is safely dead and can no longer make the old prophet feel ashamed of himself, the old prophet is willing to cry, “My brother! My brother!”

APPLICATION: IF GOD TELLS YOU TO DO SOMETHING, FOLLOW ALL THE DIRECTIONS IMPLICITLY! This young prophet has carried out the work of the Lord; however, he is willing to listen to the old prophet when that man claims that an angel has appeared to him. By this point, the young man is probably hungry, thirsty, and tired. How nice it would be if God would allow him to enjoy just a small refreshment before he takes the long road home!

Fatigue and self – pity are a disastrous combination. Satan uses the old prophet to sway the young one so that he will forfeit his life for lack of obedience. Because of the old prophet’s perfidy, we will never know how wonderful the young prophet’s career might have been. This young man might have become a second Samuel or a precursor to Elijah. Now all that promise lies dead on the road at the feet of God’s lion, who watches until the old prophet and his sons collect the body.

IF YOU ARE AN OLDER BELIEVER, DO NOT INTERFERE WITH THE CALL OF GOD ON SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE FOR ANY REASON, ESPECIALLY FOR JEALOUSY! The old prophet has behaved wretchedly, duping the younger one at the cost of that man’s life. If this old man has ever moved in the prophetic, he knows the cost of such a life. Perhaps he has turned away from God, refusing to pay the price for effective ministry. Now he is willing to deceive a promising young man because that man’s ministry is proving more effective than his own. We can never know precisely what God intends for someone else; only God knows. When we interfere as the old prophet has done, we may cripple a fellow believer so that he or she may never develop their full potential. God will hold us responsible if we act so wickedly.

 The old prophet and the young one: Follow God’s directions implicitly and don’t interfere with the call of God on someone else’s life. Allow God to do His full work with someone else; anything less is like removing a butterfly or a moth from its chrysalis without allowing it to struggle. It is the struggle that develops the magnificent wings. No struggle, no flight, only a poor crippled thing left on the ground to die, stripped of its potential by someone playing amateur providence. May God help us, so that we follow His Will for our lives and refuse to interfere in His dealings with others for any reason!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, thank You that You have a perfect plan for each of our lives and that in Your sight, humble actions are just as important as big public ones, if they are done in obedience.  In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 Kings 13:1 – 10 “Suddenly, as Jeroboam was standing beside the altar to burn incense, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD. And he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, “O altar, O altar, this is what the LORD says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David, and upon you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense upon you, and human bones will be burned upon you.’”

 That day the man of God gave a sign, saying, “The LORD has spoken this sign: ‘Surely the altar will be split apart, and the ashes upon it will be poured out.’ ”

Now when King Jeroboam, who was at the altar in Bethel, heard the word that the man of God had cried out against it, he stretched out his hand and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward him withered, so that he could not pull it back. And the altar was split apart, and the ashes poured out, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.

Then the king responded to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray that my hand may be restored.”

So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored to him as it was before.

Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.”  But the man of God replied, “If you were to give me half your possessions, I still would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. For this is what I was commanded by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’”

So the man of God went another way and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

PRESUMPTION!!! Jeroboam might be the king of Israel, but he is really the king of presumption. When the prophet came to Jeroboam and told him that God was going to give him ten of the tribes of Israel and that God would establish his throne as a dynasty if he did what was right, Jeroboam should immediately have asked the prophet to advise him. Nope! Jeroboam is young and strong and he is already supervising the labor force from Ephraim and Manasseh. Jeroboam evidently thinks that God has finally recognized him for his true worth, not realizing that God could easily have picked someone else. Ask advice from some prophet? Are you kidding??? Rather than humbling himself to learn what God wants from a king or how he should go about it, Jeroboam simply blunders forward.

Solomon is responsible for much of Jeroboam’s problems. After all, Solomon is the one who built magnificent buildings and dedicated his temple with the blessing of the Lord, only to end his reign by worshiping idols. Jeroboam probably thinks he can do at least as well as Solomon in that regard. Now Jeroboam has sought advice from who knows where and has made two golden calves and has placed one in a temple in Dan and the second in the temple at Bethel. (Who was advising Jeroboam? Probably idol – worshiping relatives who were hoping for places of power in the new kingdom.)

Compounding the heresy, Jeroboam has announced that these golden calves represent the gods that have brought the Israelites out of Egypt! Depending on your point of view, these gods either represent the Egyptian goddess Hathor, the goddess of fertility, or Baal, the god of the Sidonians. Never mind that during the ten plagues, God has handily defeated every single major Egyptian god. Why would any Egyptian god allow slaves to escape from his or her territory? But logic has no place in Jeroboam’s thinking. All he can think of is how he can retain power.

Having no regard for the God who has torn ten tribes away from Rehoboam and given them to him, Jeroboam now proceeds to attempt to act as a priest, even though he has no God – given mandate to do so. But as Jeroboam is about to commit further heresy, a young prophet cries out against the altar and the altar splits, spilling its ashes on the ground. When Jeroboam points to the prophet to have the prophet seized, Jeroboam’s hand is withered. (This is presumably Jeroboam’s right hand, his social hand. In this culture, the left hand is used to wipe oneself after defecating. The right hand is reserved for greeting and other important gestures. To lose the use of one’s right hand means becoming a social outcast.)

Jeroboam begs the prophet to pray for him, and the prophet does so, restoring Jeroboam’s hand. But when Jeroboam tries to curry favor with the prophet, the prophet refuses, stating that God has ordered him not to eat or drink anything at Bethel and to take another route home.

APPLICATION: Jeroboam is really a slow learner! What lessons should Jeroboam have learned that he has not?

1. God gives Jeroboam a wonderful prophecy about kingship; however, Jeroboam assumes that he is fine as is and has no need to make any changes. Jeroboam only listens to half the promise. 1 Kings 11:38 – 39 records God’s conditions: “But as for you, I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your heart desires, and you will be king over Israel.  If you listen to all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight in order to keep My statutes and commandments as My servant David did, then I will be with you. I will build you a lasting dynasty just as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. Because of this, I will humble David’s descendants—but not forever.’”
2. NONE of us is fine as is. Isaiah 64:6 says, “Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; (like a stained menstrual garment.)” Jeroboam seizes on the promise of power without paying the slightest attention to the conditions. Jeroboam never humbles himself before the Lord but instead goes out and sets up his own religion. The results are disastrous.
3. Even when God sends a prophet who cries out against Jeroboam’s fake religion and when God shrivels Jeroboam’s arm, Jeroboam fails to repent. When that altar splits and Jeroboam nearly loses the use of his right hand, he should be falling on his face and repenting. Nope!

In an earlier generation, there was a saying when someone was doing something that would only result in disaster for himself that “He is cutting off his own nose to spite his own face.” God has sent a prophet to advise Jeroboam that if Jeroboam will walk in God’s ways, God will establish his dynasty. But the reverse is also true. By refusing to follow the One True Living God and establishing his own religion, Jeroboam is bringing curses on his descendants as well as on himself. We must keep this in mind as we continue to follow Jeroboam’s downward spiral. We must also search our own hearts. Are we coming closer to God each day, or are we refusing to humble ourselves, feeling that we are really good people and have no need of a Savior? May each of us individually come to realize our need for deliverance from our sins!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, if we are honest, we know that nothing we do is good enough for us to earn our way into heaven. Because of our sins, You sent Your Son Jesus Christ to die for us. But we must believe in Jesus and we must humble ourselves before You. Help all who read these words to come to a saving knowledge of Your Grace. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

“When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.

And when Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mobilized the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—180,000 chosen warriors—to fight against the house of Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon.

But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: “Tell Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and the rest of the people that this is what the LORD says: ‘You are not to go up and fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Each of you must return home, for this word is from Me.’”

So they listened to the word of the LORD and turned back according to the word of the LORD.

  Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And from there he went out and built Penuel.  

Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom might revert to the house of David. If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, their hearts will return to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah; then they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”

One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people walked as far as Dan to worship before one of the calves.

Jeroboam also built shrines on the high places and appointed from every class of people priests who were not Levites. And Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, (one month after the Feast of Tabernacles) and he offered sacrifices on the altar; he made this offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had set up, and he installed priests in Bethel for the high places he had set up.

On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had set up in Bethel. So he ordained a feast for the Israelites, offered sacrifices on the altar, and burned incense.”

God has torn the Northern Kingdom away from Rehoboam just as he promised, leaving Rehoboam only the tribes of Benjamin and Judah. When Rehoboam wants to go to war to get back the rest of the tribes, God stops him. But Jeroboam is not a believer, and even though God has promised to establish him if he remains true to God, Jeroboam panics. What if the Israelites keep returning to Jerusalem? Won’t they change loyalties back to Rehoboam and kill Jeroboam?

On the face of it, this fear is ridiculous. Rehoboam is obviously a fool, and nobody in his right mind would follow him. Judah and Benjamin are following Rehoboam out of tribalism, not for personal loyalty. But Jeroboam doesn’t ask God for advice; instead, Jeroboam’s answer is to set up his own religion using….. wait for it…. golden calves! That’s right. Jeroboam revives the worship of Hathor, the Egyptian goddess of fertility and makes two golden calves, one at Bethel and the other at Dan in the far northeast corner of the territory.

The argument Jeroboam uses is a sly satanic one. ““Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” Given the opportunity to do something simple and cheap, Jeroboam’s people are more than ready to follow his lead. In addition, since Hathor is a fertility goddess, there are probably lots of opportunities for ritual sex as part of the worship. Jeroboam does a complete job, building shrines on every high hill and setting up his own priests from all classes of people. One wonders how many men buy their way into the priesthood, thereby enriching Jeroboam.

Ever since Solomon built that incredible temple in Jerusalem, shutting down temples in other parts of Israel, the people whose temples were closed have been simmering with resentment. Now Jeroboam is giving them precisely what they want, even if it is in a perverted form. No thanks to Solomon’s 1,000 wives and concubines, there are plenty of idol worshipers left in the kingdom, and now is their chance to shine.

This is what is left of Jeroboam’s temple at Tell Dan in the northeastern tip of Israel. The metal frame indicates how enormous the altar was. Given the opportunity, the citizens of the Northern Kingdom swiftly revert to idol worship.

APPLICATION: Jeroboam’s argument echoes down the centuries. “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you…” Appealing to self – pity is one of Satan’s most effective ploys. Rather than bestir himself to seek God’s face, Jeroboam settles for something he can do himself. Jeroboam becomes his own amateur providence, and this never works. Jeroboam has the opportunity to do something truly magnificent, and he fails completely. Jeroboam could have begged God to send him someone to guide him as he sets up his kingdom and God would have freely done so. But God is waiting to see what Jeroboam will do, and Jeroboam follows the terrible example of Aaron, Saul, and everyone else who has settled for the expedient rather than the holy.

Jeroboam then turns around and practices the same thing on his followers. What a prince! Rather than demanding we struggle to go to Jerusalem, Jeroboam is setting up local places of worship. And this new religion is very simple and appealing. No more Ten Commandments! No more extensive sacrifices. Whee!

Each of us chooses daily whether to worship God or to do something less. True worship demands a sacrifice of time, of effort, and occasionally of money. Harold Hill, a Christian in an earlier generation, was fond of saying that “It isn’t a sacrifice of praise until you are pushing it out through clenched teeth.” Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that “God is a spirit and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” God knows our hearts, and He doesn’t like fakes. Worship does not have to be complicated, but it does have to be sincere. Let us worship God in spirit and in truth!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to worship you every moment of our lives. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.