1 Kings 15 -- Waiting On Gravity

Reading this chapter was a lot like watching two old biplanes falling from the sky in death spins.  The conclusion is inevitable, but I kept wanting to hold out hope for a recovery.

 

On Judah’s side, Abijah became king after his father Rehoboam died.  “He did all the same sins his father before him had done.”  He’d emulated his father’s walk – that should be a stern warming to all of us dads!

 

Abijah died and his son Asa became king.  “He began his reign with a heart like that of David, but though a good king for most of his life, during the last five years of his reign, he rebelled against the Lord,” my commentary said.  Still, the dynasty of David continued in Judah.

 

But in Israel it was quite another thing!  Jeroboam finally died, but his son Nadab kept up his sinful ways.  He was assassinated by Baasha, who wiped out all of Jeroboam’s heirs, ending that dynasty.  Although used by God to fulfill the prophecy against Jeroboam, Baasha did not choose to follow God.

 

The one thing that stood out to me was Asa’s apparent willingness to follow the Lord, yet he later took the treasures from God’s Temple to use to bribe a Gentile king, Ben-Hadad of Syria, to help in his wars with Israel rather than trusting the Lord.  My commentary said, “Asa’s heart was divided – one day trusting the Lord and the next day trusting in the arm of the flesh.  A perfect heart isn’t a sinless heart but a heart wholly yielded to the Lord and trusting Him fully.”  I hadn’t thought about it quite like that before, but we are all sinners and far from perfect.  Yet the most important thing we can do is to keep our trust in the Lord.

 

Father, You’ve been taking me through some faith-building exercises over the last 3 years.  I continue to trust in You to help me through them.  My heart isn’t sinless, but I pray that You see it as one wholly yielded to You and trusting You fully.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

1 Kings 14 -- The End Begins

Back in the Northern Kingdom, Jereboam’s son had become very ill.  Though he was not apparently praying to God or worshiping Him, Jereboam knew that God’s prophet Ahijah would know the truth about his son.  Too proud to admit that there might be a problem in the kingdom, Jereboam told his wife to dress down and take a peasant’s offering to the prophet.

 

Though old and blind, Ahijah was still in touch with God, and was told all that was about to happen.  Jereboam’s idolatry would led to his son’s immediate death, despite the fact that his son Abijah pleased the Lord.  So why would God kill a boy who pleased Him when hardly anyone else did?  God used the words of Isaiah to tell us:  “No one understands, for the righteous man is taken away from evil.”  God was calling Abijah away from all the sin that was happening in Israel.  That in itself showed God’s love for him.  Yet what a disaster Jereboam had caused for himself!  His son would be the only male member of the royal line to receive a proper burial.  All others would suffer a fate which was terribly humiliating to Jews – their bodies would never be buried.

 

But God wasn’t done.  Because Jeroboam’s sin of idolatry had led the people to sin, God would “pull up Israel from the Land” and He would scatter them beyond the Euphrates River at the hand of Assyria.  Once man, Jereboam, had chosen to sin after God had chosen him to lead, and he had led his nation to sin rather than to worship the One true God.  It would cost his nation everything.

 

Thomas Jefferson was quoted in my commentary regarding something he wrote in 1781:  “Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God IS just; that His justice cannot sleep forever…”   Chilling words….

 

Wow, Father!  That sounds all too familiar now.  You’ve already shown that one man’s sin and apostasy can take down a great nation.  Please let it not happen with America.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

1 Kings 13 -- NOW It Gets STRANGE ...

A very strange chapter that seems to drive home what my evangelist friend Ronnie Hill says:  “95% obedience equals 100% disobedience.”

 

Jeroboam, the new king of the just-formed northern 10 tribes, felt that he had to break all religious ties with Jerusalem and set up a substitute religion if he was going to be able to retain control.  Breaking every command of the Mosaic law, he set about to do just that, including making himself a priest.

 

So God sent a faithful “man of God” from Judah to deliver a message.  God’s message wasn’t specifically for the king, but for the altar where he was presenting sacrifices.  “This altar will break apart, and the ashes on it will fall to the ground.”  Jeroboam pointed at the prophet and ordered him seized, but instantly his arm became paralyzed.  Then the altar did what God had said would happen.  Concerned more for his arm than for his spiritual condition, Jeroboam asked the man to pray to God for ehaling, and God graciously granted it.

 

Jeroboam offered him a meal and a gift, but the prophet refused, because God had warned him not to eat or drink anything, and to return home by a different route.  (In Middle Eastern custom, sharing a meal indicated acceptance of the host’s actions and beliefs.) 

 

Here comes the strange part – An old prophet was for some reason still living in Bethel when all the other priests and Levites had left for Judah.  He went after the young prophet, who had stopped under an oak tree (remember this).  The old prophet asked him to come share a meal, but the young prophet refused, stating his instructions from God.  Telling a lie, the old prophet claimed an angel from the Lord had sent him to bring the man to his home to eat.  Apparently bowing to perceived seniority, the young prophet agreed.  God then stepped in and used the old lying prophet to tell the young prophet he’d disobeyed, even though he’d been deceived.  On his way home, he was killed by a lion!

 

The whole scene could upset our sensibilities, but my commentary said, “The young prophet’s ministry is very important in this account, for all that he said and experienced, including his death, were a part of God’s warning to King Jeroboam … We must not forget the main message:  if the Lord punished a deceived prophet for his disobedience, how much more would He punish a wicked king who was sinning with his eyes wide open?  … The young prophet did his work well and got out of town.  Had he kept going and not lingered under the tree he would have escaped the tempting offer of the old prophet.  God’s servants often face great temptation after times of great success and excitement … The younger man shouldn’t have hastened to accept the older man’s words.  If God gave the man from Judah the message and the instructions for delivering it, then God could also give him the changes in the plan … Beware of letting other believers tell you God’s will for your life.”

 

Despite all this, which God was using to speak to Jeroboam about his sin, Jeroboam refused to change, and God’s next warning to him will hit close to home.

 

Father, thanks for reminding me that until I hear differently from You, I must keep doing the last thing You’ve directed me to do, and that I can’t let others open my mail from You and read it to me.  Again You’ve emphasized the importance of 100% obedience.  Thank You for the reminder!

 

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

1 Kings 12 -- Stepping Into A Mess

With Solomon gone, Rehoboam stepped into the kingship and right into a mess.  People were fed up with his father’s spending, taxing, and forced labor, and said it was time for a change.  Rehoboam acted like he was considering their request, but there’s no mention of him consulting God, a prophet, or the high priest.

 

Instead, he’d amassed a cocky group of young hangers-on who told him he’d better prove his mettle quickly or be seen as weak.  Rehoboam agreed and spoke harshly to the people, ignoring what his own dad had written:  “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

 

My commentary said, “Leaders who try to impress people with their skills, but take no time to seek God, only prove that they don’t know the most important thing in spiritual leadership:  they are second in command.”

 

I also read something about what to do when our wisest decisions turn out to be not so wise:  “We make our decisions, and then our decisions turn around and make us … If the path we choose turns out to be a detour, then let’s admit it, confess our sin, and ask the Lord to lead us back to the right road.”

 

Father, what a blessed nation we would have if all leaders in all areas consulted You for their decisions and followed Your commands!  Please help me to know the correct path to take, and if I hear wrongly or just end up being detoured as part of Your will, guide me not to let pride keep me from admitting it and turning to the way You will show me.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

1 Kings 11 -- Ending Badly

God didn’t waste any time laying out for Solomon the path he’d followed that had led to his idolatry.  Solomon’s actions revealed his unbelief, starting with his marriage to an Egyptian princess to gain a peace treaty and his fanaticism in collecting horses and chariots.  “He didn’t really believe that Jehovah could protect the land,” my commentary said.  “Solomon’s compromise wasn’t a sudden thing, for he gradually descended into his idolatry … His sensual love for his many wives was more compelling than his spiritual love for the Lord … He was a man with a divided and disobedient heart … and gradually his heart turned from the Lord.”

 

God had spoken to Solomon twice and sent extra warnings when His own warnings had done no good.  Yet Solomon refused to change course.

 

Father, I don’t want to do what Solomon did.  I don’t want to have a divided and disobedient heart.  Examine me and warn me of anything You find that I must change.  Then help me to not refuse Your Word as Solomon did, but instead to accept Your gracious advice and act upon it, for You love me more than I could ever love myself!

 

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

1 Kings 10 -- The Decay Continues

The queen of Sheba came “to test Solomon with hard questions.”  The intellect loves to be tested and grows prouder with each successful contest.  For the queen of such a highly civilized nation to be so amazed must have sent Solomon’s ego through the roof.  Aside from her compliments though, I saw more trouble brewing:

 

“King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted and asked for, in addition to what he had already given her of his wealth.”  The one-upsmanship of entertaining royalty from other nations was a heavy load on the economy.  “Solomon had to maintain a huge budget and he needed as much money as he could get,” my commentary said.  He was building a house of cards economically, for there was little value added by his significant trade – it was all for his own consumption.  The foreign trade also brought with it “foreign ideas, including ideas about religion and worship; and eventually Solomon himself, influenced by his foreign wives, succumbed to idolatry,” my commentary added.

 

Solomon’s pursuit of his various goals resulted in disobedience to God’s Word:  the horses, the wives, the pride and lack of humility, and finally the idolatry.  Just the effort of keeping up appearances would cause him to have less and less time for God.

 

Father, don’t ever let me become so blinded by goals that I allow myself to slip away from You and Your Word.  Keep me grounded in Your wisdom and not my own.  Remind me often that, but for You, my life would be miserable.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

1 Kings 9 -- More Disturbing Things

God once again appeared to Solomon.  That can be a scary thing, depending on what transpires.  God’s first comments sound goo:  “I have heard your prayer and what you have asked me to do.  You built this Temple, and I have made it a holy place.  I will be worshiped there forever and will watch over it and protect it always…” (So far so good, but wait for it …)

 

“But you …”  (Here it comes)  “… must serve Me as your father David did … You must obey all I have commanded and keep My laws and rules.  If you do, I will make your kingdom strong …”

 

(I kind of imagine Solomon weighing all this in his mind, probably thinking, “Okay, that’s do-able, but could crimp my lifestyle somewhat.”) 

 

God continues:  “But you and your children … (there’s that ominous ‘but’ again) must follow Me and obey the laws and commands I have given you.  You must not serve or worship other gods.”

 

I almost bet Solomon felt a twinge here.  After all, he had to have known that his collection of wives had come with some idols packed in their baggage, and he was certainly concerned with keeping those wives happy.  That part about children also likely caused a twinge, for he was busy being a diplomat more than a dad, and those wives would likely be doing most of the child-raising.  God knew his weakness and graciously warned him ahead of time.

 

With the brand new Temple still gleaming with polished gold, I wonder if Solomon choked when God said next, “If you do [serve or worship other gods] … I will leave this Temple… If the Temple is destroyed….”  (That really got his attention.  After all, he’d just spend seven years building it.)

 

I saw something else in here that made me wonder about Solomon, and my commentary came up with it, too.  We’d known that Hiram provided lumber and workers to help build the Temple, but there’s mention of 4.5 tons of gold as well here.  Had Solomon’s plans gotten so extravagant that he’d overspent on the Temple and his palace?  It sounds like he had to offer 20 Israelite cities as collateral until the “loan” could be repaid.  But when Hiram inspected his collateral, he declared it worthless.

 

Solomon had no right to give away Israelite land, for even land that was “sold” had to be returned to the tribe and family during the Year of Jubilee.  Also, what does it say about Solomon’s character that he gave such poor collateral to someone who’d been such a generous friend?

 

Father, success is no guarantee of obedience, and it sure seems like that applies to Solomon here.  Help me to always obey You, especially in business matters, because my character is reflective of You and I don’t want to represent You poorly.

 

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford