jeroboam – Page 2 – Praying Pint

148. Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences

1 Kings 13:33 After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Any who would, he ordained to be priests of the high places. And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.

At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise, and disguise yourself, that it not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who said of me that I should be king over this people. Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall happen to the child.”

Jeroboam’s wife did so. She arose and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age. And the Lord said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you say to her.”

When she came, she pretended to be another woman. But when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another? For I am charged with unbearable news for you. Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: “Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes, but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking me to anger, and have cast me behind your back, therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free in Israel, and will burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone. Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the Lord has spoken it.”’ Arise therefore, go to your house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. Moreover, the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today. And henceforth, the Lord will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and root up Israel out of this good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger. And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.

Isaiah 44:20 a deluded heart has led him astray

Psalms 50:17     For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you.

Nehemiah 9:26    “Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies.

Ezekiel 23:35   Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences

Not listening to a warning does not end well. Rejecting the word of God and its application in your life does not end well. Closing your heart and mind to things of God does not end well. Leaning on your own understanding, knowledge, wisdom does not end well. Living with God at arm’s length away does not end well. Not spending time in God’s word each day does not end well. Thinking God is only there for you to call on Him when in trouble and not needing Him other times does not end well. Not being intentional each day with the choice to humbly serve, honor, follow, trust, and obey God does not end well. Thinking there is another time in the future where you will commit more, serve and trust more fully does not end well. Thinking you are good enough does not end well. Thinking you can find satisfaction apart from God does not end well. Being lukewarm in your walk with God does not end well. Being neglectful and complacent does not end well. All of these lead us down false paths of hope and peace but they are able to give nothing. They all encourage you to cast God’s word behind your back.

Stay in His word. Choose to keep it in front of you. Do not cast it behind your back. Choose to seek him in the morning, mid-day, and evening. Keep His word close to your heart and live to honor and glorify Him.

147. He sought to silence the messenger rather than respond to the message.

1 Kings 13:1 And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings. And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’” And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’” And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it was before. And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” And the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, for so was it commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.’” So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.

David Guzik; “This is a sad commentary on the spiritual state of Jeroboam’s kingdom. This anonymous man of God was used in an important way. He demonstrates that one does not need to be famous to be significantly used by God. Jeroboam’s reaction was immediate – he sought to silence the messenger rather than respond to the message. The prophecy from the man of God was like most every message of coming judgment – an implicit invitation to repentance. Jeroboam obviously did not accept this invitation. Under the evident judgment of God, Jeroboam had no use for golden calves or their altars. He knew that his only hope was in the LORD and in His representative. As the subsequent chapters will show, Jeroboam didn’t really repent here; or if he did, it was only for a moment. Wanting to receive something from God is not the same as repentance. Jeroboam quickly – and naturally, given the circumstances – embraced the man of God as a friend. He wanted to refresh and reward him, without any repentance from the sin the man of God had denounced.”

How many times do we go down paths without a single thought of being on a path that is God led, God, purposed, and God planned? If there is no intentional choice (desire) to seek out God’s leading for each day then we leave an opening for influences other than God to slip in and guide us. Therein is the problem. We seem to condone walking through life with an occasional glance in God’s direction rather than intentionally choosing to keep our eyes fixed on Him, our heart committed to Him, and our mind ever thinking about Him.

When we are in His word each day there is a refreshing that comes to our soul. This refreshing comes in different forms. Conviction and subsequent refreshing repentance and forgiveness. Courage, peace, and rest in the face of trials. Hope in the midst of troubles. The clarity in times of confusion. Light in darkness. Strength in weakness.

If God is not first and foremost in our every day lives then what is first and foremost will not be honoring, serving, following, and serving Him.

146. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

1 Kings 12:25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one. He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings.

Psalms 14:1    The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good

Mark 2:6  Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?

2 Corinthians 10:5    We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

1 Peter 1:14-15    As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

Jeroboam had a thought and it was heart deep. Since this happened, then this will happen, and because of that, I must do this. All of these thoughts took place in his heart. They took root and he acted upon them. He replaced God with two golden calves and set times of feasting and sacrificing and placed priests who were not of the tribe of Levites. He started down a path because of a thought in his heart and then continually took action in-line with that original errant thought.

Nothing has really changed in man over the years. Thoughts still come into our heart and mind. Many of these thoughts have a sin origin and unless we take them captive they will lead us on paths to make decisions that capture our heart, mind, and soul and not in line with honoring or following or obeying or trusting God.

We believe the lie or deception or illusion because the word of God is not in our heart and mind. Our desire for His word has been replaced. It is not as though we were given a black and white choice in this matter. It is just not that clear cut. What happens is we allow the busyness of life and cares of this world to seep into our heart. It starts with a little neglect of His word and this soon becomes a habit that changes how we see things, how we make decisions, how we think, and what we allow ourselves to think about and dwell on.

Paul gave us “Take every thought captive to obey Christ”. To understand our thoughts in light of His word we must have His word in our heart with a desire to have it expose wrong thoughts and keep our feet on the path that humbly serves, honors, follows, obeys, and trusts in Jesus Christ.