Tag: Jeroboam

When Truth Becomes Inconvenient

*1 Kings 13-14

Psalm 61

1 Corinthians 13

-Devotion by Brian Froehlich (IL)

These chapters are strange, tragic, and deeply sobering.

1 Kings chapter 13 introduces an unnamed “man of God” sent to confront King Jeroboam. Jeroboam had established false worship in the northern kingdom, creating golden calves and counterfeit religious practices to keep people politically loyal to him.

God sent a prophet to warn him.

And at first, the prophet stood courageously.

He delivered God’s message directly to the king. When Jeroboam stretched out his hand against him, the king’s hand shriveled instantly until the prophet prayed for his healing. It should have been a moment of repentance.

But Jeroboam’s heart remained unchanged.

Then comes one of the most heartbreaking twists in the story.

God had specifically commanded the prophet not to eat or drink in that place and not to return the same way he came. But an older prophet lied to him, claiming an angel had given new instructions. The younger prophet listened to the false message instead of obeying the clear word God had already spoken.

And it cost him his life.

It is a difficult story, but its lesson is painfully relevant.

Not every spiritual voice is trustworthy simply because it sounds religious.

People can speak confidently and still be wrong.
People can claim spiritual authority and still deceive others.
Even sincere believers can drift if they stop carefully testing what they hear against what God has already revealed.

That is why truth matters.

Not harshness.
Not arrogance.
Not winning arguments.

But truth.

The world often pressures believers to reshape God’s commands into something more convenient, popular, or culturally acceptable. Jeroboam did exactly that. He created a religion that was politically useful and easier for people to embrace.

And many people gladly followed it.

Counterfeit worship is often attractive because it asks less of us.

But convenient religion cannot save us.

Chapter 14 continues the tragedy. Jeroboam’s household faced judgment because he continually led the nation into sin. Yet even in the middle of judgment, Scripture notes something remarkable about Jeroboam’s sick child:

“In him there is found something pleasing to the LORD…”

Even in dark times, God notices sincere hearts.

That truth still matters today.

Our culture is filled with competing voices claiming to represent truth. Some are loud. Some are persuasive. Some are comforting. But faithfulness requires more than emotional reactions or popular opinion.

It requires humble obedience to God.

And ultimately, these chapters remind us why humanity desperately needs a better King than Jeroboam, Solomon, or any other flawed ruler. Human leaders repeatedly fail. Human religion repeatedly drifts.

But God’s future King will lead with perfect truth and righteousness.

One day false worship, deception, and divided hearts will finally end when God’s Kingdom fully comes and the earth is restored under His rule.

Three Things to Remember
  1. Not every spiritual voice speaks truth.

The prophet was deceived when he ignored God’s clear instruction.

  1. Convenient religion is spiritually dangerous.

Jeroboam created worship that was politically useful but spiritually corrupt.

  1. God still notices sincere hearts.

Even in a corrupt generation, God recognized what was good in Jeroboam’s child.

Faithfulness is not always easy.

Sometimes obeying God means standing against culture, pressure, convenience, or even respected voices around us.

But truth does not become false simply because it is unpopular.

And error does not become true simply because it is persuasive.

Reflection Questions

  1. How can you tell if you are listening to lies or to the truth from God? How can you tell if you are speaking lies or the truth from God?
  2. When were you led astray by listening to someone who was not speaking the truth? What happened?
  3. What can you think of today that may be politically useful but spiritually corrupt?

Prayer

Dear God, You are giver of all truth. Help me to discern what is truth coming from You and what is not. Teach me what is Your voice and what is deception. May I not fall for what is convenient or popular but strive to always please You with authentic, sincere love, worship and truth. Please give me Lord, a true, undivided, faithful heart loving and serving You the only true God and Your Son Jesus, til his glorious return.

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The Error of Innovation

1 Kings 12-14

If you’re like me, you’ve purchased an “assembly required” item and unpacked the contents without thumbing through the instructions. “How hard could it be to turn a few screws and boards into a bookshelf?” Halfway through the build, you realize you used the wrong board in one section, another is fitted upside down, and in your haste, you’re now down at least one screw. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but sometimes innovation comes from darker places—with consequences far greater than a shoddy IKEA build. Pride and fear can quickly lead us into folly as we try to adjust and adapt without seeking counsel. Likewise, our spiritual life was never meant to be self-driven, self-led, or self-defined. To build our relationship with God, we are called to be faithful to His instructions and selfless in their pursuit.

In today’s reading, King Jeroboam is appointed as the new leader of Israel. As he takes the reins, he surveys the political pieces of a recently split kingdom. His people had long worshiped in Jerusalem, which remained part of the rival kingdom of Judah. Jeroboam feared that his people’s loyalty would ultimately shift back to Rehoboam, king of Judah, from the anointed house of David. Instead of consulting the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob or one of His prophets, Jeroboam devises his own solution to keep the people close to home.

“Jeroboam thought to himself, ‘The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David…'” So the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.'” (1 Kings 12:26, 28)

Jeroboam took up his place as both the political and spiritual leader of Israel, but motivated by fear and a desire for control, he led God’s people astray. He created false idols, counterfeit altars, and bogus festivals—all in an attempt to keep his people from returning to the holy city of Jerusalem. Leaving behind the moral clarity of God’s commands, it became easier and more accessible to engage in a made-up religion that appeared similar on the surface to what they knew to be true. They were working with the same pieces, but some were flipped upside down, some placed in the wrong spot, and others lost along the way. As their worship moved farther from Jerusalem, the distance between Israel and God grew greater.

There is a stark warning here for the adjustments and innovations we see in the Church today. We must be careful that our worship, ministry, and evangelism do not favor convenience over obedience or comfort over conviction. If we fail to heed this warning, we may end up with well-developed systems that contain many of the same pieces—but are no longer building the Kingdom of God. Instead, we risk creating idols and events that offer no eternal hope. Granted, we may not be fashioning golden calves, but when we prioritize comfort over truth, we risk building spiritual lives rooted in fear, insecurity, and pride—lives that are void of God’s instruction.

It has never been about innovating what works for us or embracing a “you do you” mentality. God demands surrender and faithfulness in our daily worship, which means we will likely find ourselves worshiping in the city of our enemies from time to time. Resist the urge to craft a god who fits us. Instead, let us be molded to fit His purpose and to build His Kingdom according to His Gospel instructions.

-Aaron Winner

Reflection Questions

  1. What problems do you think God saw in Jeroboam? Do you think God ever sees these same problems in you?
  2. What does God desire from us – in our worship and in the way we live our lives?
  3. What are your thoughts about the following: “If we fail to heed this warning, we may end up with well-developed systems that contain many of the same pieces—but are no longer building the Kingdom of God” ? Have you seen this occur? How can we better heed this warning for our lives and for our church and for the Kingdom of God?
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Following God not Man

Don’t Be Deceived!

1 Kings 12 28c NIV sgl

1 Kings 12-14

Perhaps we will be able to learn a thing or two about unity and peace and not being deceived and the supreme importance of following God’s purpose and plan as we read the historical accounts of the break-up of the Old Testament country of Israel.  What a sad and difficult time it must have been.

Remember back to those who had insisted that they wanted to have a king in order to be a real nation like all the neighboring tribes and countries.  Samuel told them they didn’t need a king if they had God, but they didn’t listen.  They wanted to be just like everybody else.  So, sure enough, they got themselves a king – and all the heartache and turmoil that comes with trying to follow man instead of God.

As we begin our reading today Israel had survived almost 100 years under 3 kings (Saul, David and Solomon).  And, as Solomon’s son Rehoboam is poised to take the reigns, the split comes and Jeroboam takes control of most of the country.  The land previously given to the tribe of Judah (home to Jerusalem and the beautiful temple Solomon built for the whole nation to worship the one true God in) remains as Rehoboam’s territory.  Jeroboam quickly decides he must build something for all the rest of Israel to worship, so that they don’t return to Jerusalem.  Two golden calves were created.  If the people knew God and their history a little better this should have sent all sorts of red flags.

God sent one new, large, red flag for the people.  A man of God came from Judah to speak God’s Word and reveal God’s power against this new idol worship.  He turns down King Jeroboam’s invitation to dinner because the word of the Lord said he must return home without eating or drinking in this land he was speaking against.  However, when an old prophet lies and says that an angel appeared to him and told him to have the man of God come to his house….the man of God goes.  But that same day judgement is prophesied against this man of God (from God through the previously lying prophet of God).  And sure enough while traveling home the man of God is killed by a lion (who “strangely” enough, does not eat him, just kills him).

I must say I have had some trouble with this story.  Here’s the man of God on special assignment from God – and doing it quite faithfully.  Speaking God’s word, showing God’s power, turning down even the King’s attempt to wine and dine him.  He seems totally devoted to what God wants him to do.  And, then, someone lies to him.  Someone who calls themself a prophet – should be a good person to listen to, right?

Not always!

Don’t believe every word from one who says they speak for God — without consulting what GOD has to say about it!  God had not changed what He had said to the man of God.  And, so that is what the man of God was responsible to be listening to and following.  The man of God was deceived because he listened to the lie – and it cost him his life.  God is serious about people following Him and His Word, rather than what man says about God.

So, too, today I fear there are many who, like the man of God in 1 Kings 13, are trying to speak God’s word – who are at the same time being deceived – and it just might cost them their lives – as it did for the man of God.   2 Timothy 3:13 lumps both the deceivers and those who are being deceived together in one sad group.   It seems harsh.  But, God has revealed himself as a jealous God who requires obedience to Him, and not to man and man’s ideas.  There is a price to pay for turning from His life-giving words of truth to the lies man (and even kings or “prophets”) have said about God and what He requires.

There are countless voices speaking today.  It can be hard to know what to believe and listen to.  The truth is not always spoken by the one who speaks loudest or longest or believed by the largest crowd.  But the truth is always in God’s Word.  Seek It!   And ask yourself – is it actually GOD’s Word you are following, or just someone who says they are speaking for God?  Are you following man-made traditions that have been handed down about God – or are you following GOD?  Do a little research and find out where the religious traditions you believe come from.  Do they come from God’s Word or from human traditions?  Did we get the idea of going to heaven when we die from the Bible or from Plato?  Did God, Moses, Jesus, the disciples and Paul teach about One God or about a triune God theory that developed centuries after Jesus’ life on earth?

How will you make sure you are not following a man-made religion – perhaps one just as dangerous as the golden calves Jeroboam set up in his country?  Not all lies and false gods are as blatantly obvious as a golden calf crafted by the king.  Sometimes it may come in the form of a seemingly harmless new word from the prophet, a slight contradiction or addition to God’s eternal Word.  Remember God is the perfect teacher – His words do not need to be added upon to be enhanced or explained better.   You are responsible for not listening to the lies.  God gave us the Bible – His Word that is full of truth.  Let’s dig in deep and find what it says and follow it with our whole being so we will not be led astray with a lie like the people who followed a golden calf built by a king or like the man of God who listened to the lie of the prophet rather than the word given to him by God.  There are consequences for what you believe and who you listen to and follow.  Take it seriously.  God does.

Marcia Railton

 

Today’s Bible passage can be read or listened to at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Kings+12-14&version=NIV

Tomorrow we will read 2 Chronicles 10-12 as we continue seeking God’s truth and how it affects our lives today in the 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan

A Price to Pay (2 Kings 15-17)

Thursday, November 10

2-kings-17-all-this-occurred-because-the-people-of-israel-had-sinned-against-the-lord-their-god

2 Kings chapter 15 includes multiple assassinations of rulers, a one month rule, a 6 month rule and a twenty year reign of an evil king. . . makes our U.S. terms of office and system of voting look pretty good – far from perfect – but better than the political system of the Divided Kingdoms.

Of the 7 kings listed in Chapter 15, only two of them are said to have done what is right in the eyes of the Lord: Azariah and Jotham.  It is curious that those are the only two kings listed here in which the author gives the name of the king’s mother.   Young women – never underestimate the importance of the job of raising up a new Godly generation.  Yes, young men – your children will need a Godly daddy, too!!

There is a repeated phrase that we have heard over and over again describing the kings of Israel: “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord…he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam.”  I think it is worth reminding ourselves what were the sins of Jeroboam?  When Israel divided after the reign of Solomon, Jeroboam became the ruler of the larger 10 tribes in the north, who would keep the name Israel.  However, they lost the two southern tribes which would be called Judah – as well as the holy city Jerusalem, the home of God’s special temple.  Jeroboam didn’t want his subjects trying to travel to Jerusalem to worship, as prescribed by God.  So he (not God) created new “holy places” for Israel which included golden calves and he selected new priests not from the tribe of Levi.  God’s whole system of worship (which had been carefully laid out in the books of Law) were replaced by Jeroboam – for convenience and ease.  But there would be a price to pay.

In Chapter 17 God sends the Assyrians to capture Israel.  They have used up their chances.  God is fed up with their disobedience.  Scripture says,”They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, ‘Do not do as they do’.” (17:15)  There is often great ungodliness – and danger – in blending in with those around us.  God’s people are to stand out as different – dedicated to His Word and commands rather than to what others are doing or what is currently convenient and accepted.  Who are you following?  Any guesses what the consequences (good or bad) are going to be?

Marcia Railton

 

A Second Chance Squandered (I Kings 13-15)

Tuesday, November 1

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written by: Melissa New
It is amazing how kind our Father is. Previously, we saw that Solomon deliberately disobeyed God and because of his sin, which in turn led many others to sin by worshipping idols, God did what He said He would do. He would “tear the kingdom away from you (Solomon) and give it to one of your servants.” (I Kings 11:11) He sent the prophet Ahijah to tell Jeroboam of some spectacular news for his future.  God was making a new covenant promise for Jeroboam! Solomon broke his covenant promise from God, and now Jeroboam is given the opportunity to enjoy a covenant promise. Could he learn from the mistakes he saw Solomon make? If he would be wholeheartedly devoted to God, as David was, then Jeroboam could have the benefits of a similar promise!
We find in these chapters that Jeroboam’s god was “power.”  He was unwilling to risk losing any of it. He didn’t trust the promise of God. He thought he could better rule the people of Israel without God. So he made golden calves for the Israelites to worship. He led the people into idolatry. But God gives Jeroboam a second chance! Just as he warned Solomon, he sent a man of God to tell of his demise.  Jeroboam’s life would come to a nasty end because of his sin.  He didn’t listen to the man of God even though he proved that what God says comes true. In chapter 13 we see that another prophet learns that what the “man of God” said was, indeed, true, but Jeroboam would not “turn from his evil ways.” In chapter 14 we see that Ahijah no longer has good news for Jeroboam. His prophecy for Jeroboam is dishonorable death and a future dispersing of the Israelites.
The legacy of Jeroboam is wickedness. Israel will have 20 kings until they are taken over by Assyria, and all of them will be BAD. Many times Christians think that a little sin in their lives only affects themselves. And it’s true that leaders, like Jeroboam, have a lot more influence, but sin has consequences for any who see or are around it. In some cases, it could have an impact on people not even born yet.