Year 1, Day 356: 1 Kings 15

We have two tough lessons here in 1 Kings 15.  One lesson deals with how God’s people treat each other.  The second lesson deals with how God’s people understand the definition of the word “family.”  Let’s look at both of these issues in that order.

God’s People and Internal Conflict

First, as we go through the list of kings – often flipping between Israel and then Judah – we hear about war between the two nations.  At first blush, this makes sense.  After all, they were once a single country.  Because of the rivalries created under David and the taxation created under Solomon, the rest of the country split away from Judah.  So it makes sense that there would be some bad blood between them.  It makes sense that they should have an innate antagonism.

But if we quit thinking like the world for a second, this should make no sense to us at all.  These are God’s people.  These are the people to whom God gave the Law.  These are the people whose history proclaims the very real presence of God.  These are a holy and special people – chosen by God’s own hand.  What have they come to?  Civil War.

Civil war comes to these people because they do not stop and humble themselves in God’s presence.  They care more about themselves than God’s ways.  Their selfish pursuit of their own national agendas forces their perspective onto anything but God’s ways.  When they refuse to look at God’s ways, they cannot see the way to peace and life together.  They cannot see community.  They cannot see anything but the hatred that lies inside of themselves for the other.

Christians should really stop and pay attention here.  So many churches are kept from doing God’s will because they are too busy fighting inside of themselves.  So many churches are kept from doing good work in the community because they are too busy competing with the other churches around them.  When we fight amongst ourselves, when we celebrate a gain in membership because someone left their home church to come to “my” church over a personal dispute, when we feel the need to speak lowly about another denomination’s perspective on faith – then we are not working for Christ.  We are squabbling like children. 

That being said, I do feel the need to say that we should be critical of false teaching.  But we should not be critical of teaching that is simply different but still theologically sound.  If a person believes something different but it is supported by God’s Word, we should make room for them.

Family Among God’s People

Second, let’s look at a particular definition of family that we see here in this passage.  It starts with an anomaly: King Asa of Judah is faithful to the ways of God.  Do you see what Asa did that found favor in the eyes of the Lord?  Asa dealt with cult prostitution, he removed the idols that the prior kings – his own fathers! –had established, and he not only removed his mother from power but also cut down her image.

Stop there for a moment.  Imagine what happened to Asa.  The home that he grew up in was no doubt corrupt.  His mother and father were interested in the cult religions of the Canaanites, Egyptians, and other nations.  Wherever it was that he learned about God, it certainly wasn’t at home!  So when Asa becomes king, he doesn’t even have the family support network when he goes about instituting the changes in a push to go back to God.  Imagine making all of this change – and not only doing it without your family support but doing it in the face of your family!

Asa deserves some pretty serious credit for what he does in this chapter.  I know the Bible does say the high places weren’t taken away – but I don’t hold it against Asa any more than the Bible does.  The Bible says that in spite of this he still followed the ways of the Lord and deserves the credit.

But what really jumped out at me was this bit about Asa doing it against the pattern of his family.  In fact, by removing his mother from power and tearing down her images he is essentially cutting himself out of the family.  Asa redefines family for himself based on something other than genealogy.  He defines family based on faithfulness to God.

I find this absolutely refreshing.  I understand the pain that this caused Asa and I respect him all the more for it.  I wonder what the Hebrew people could have been had more people had the faith to define family based on connection to God (like Asa) rather than genealogy?  For that matter, I wonder what the Christian church could become if we would be willing to do the same?

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