Thursday, December 21, 2017

Year 7, Day 355: 1 Kings 14


Theological Commentary: Click Here



I have two thoughts as I read through this chapter: one from each section of the chapter.



First, let’s look at the nation of Israel.  I find it interesting to see how long it takes for the nation to completely erode.  The country has fallen into God’s wrath during the first king after Solomon.  Perhaps even more interesting is the focus of God’s wrath.  God s wrath burns against the leadership.  It is King Jeroboam that has earned the wrath of God.  Jeroboam has led the people into the worship of other gods, and that is about the worst offense that you can commit against God.  One leader after Solomon and the people have already turned their back on God.



The news doesn’t get much better when we consider Judah to the south.  The Bible is clear that under Rehoboam the people are also doing evil. They begin worshipping other gods in high places.  There sin is no better than their kin to the north!  As a result, God sends the Egyptians up to plunder Judah.  We see once more that sin leads to consequences.



There is a deeper lesson to be learned through the consequences given to Judah, though.  Notice that neither the people of Judah nor its leadership repents.  They don’t turn back to God.  In fact, Rehoboam puts the mindset of the people on display when he makes bronze shields to replace the gold ones that the Egyptians took as plunder.  Rather than repent, they accept lesser quality.



This is the danger of sin.  Once we fall into its temptation, we disobey God.  In our disobedience, we end up settling for less and convincing ourselves that we happier.  So often, we’re even blind to the fact that we are settling for less!  That’s a huge lesson to learn.



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