1 Kings 12-14
Let me begin by giving you a little background to this title. We will be using the life of Jeroboam as our example. Jeroboam was a servant of king Solomon but the Lord used him to rebel against Solomon because Solomon had turned against Jehovah to serve the false gods of his heathen wives. The Lord made a prophetic promise to Jeroboam that he would rip ten tribes away from Solomon and raise him up as a leader. But the promise was as good as Jeroboam’s willingness to walk in obedience to Jehovah. You’ve got to understand that kingship was always handed down to the next son in line. But because of what Solomon had done, the Lord was basically insulting Solomon by raising up a servant to take what was rightfully Solomon’s heirs to possess. Rebellion has never sat well with God.
I shared over two years ago in one of our Bible studies, that Satan was ticked off at Adam for replacing him. That’s why he went after what was closest to him, Eve. Solomon was ticked off at Jeroboam and tried to kill him. Rebellion makes us look at the wrong person. We see our replacement as a threat, when we are the real threat, we are the problem. Had Satan given some thought to his rebellion instead of being arrogant and angry, maybe things would’ve been different, had Solomon taken responsibility for his sin against Jehovah, maybe his story would’ve ended differently. God takes no pleasure in replacing us, but He will never tolerate rebellion anywhere in His Kingdom. This was God’s promise to Jeroboam:
“And I will place you on the throne of Israel, and you will rule over all that your heart desires. If you listen to what I tell you and follow My ways and do whatever I consider to be right, and if you obey My decrees and commands, as My servant David did, then I will always be with you. I will establish an enduring dynasty for you as I did for David, and I will give Israel to you. Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but he fled to King Shishak of Egypt and stayed there until Solomon died.”
1 Kings 11:37-38, 40 NLT
You know by now that I encourage you to read the chapters in their entirety. Solomon rejected correction and in his pride tried to prevent what God was going to do. But how many of you know that it’s pure stupidity to try and override GOD? I shudder every time I hear a politician or preacher say something stupid. But humans never learn. Balaam’s donkey had greater discernment and eyesight than most people. Anyway, After Solomon died the Lord followed through on His plan. He allowed Solomon’s son Rehoboam to retain a tribe to keep His promise to David and that boy wouldn’t take wise counsel, instead he listened to his peers and was worse than his father in the treatment of the people. Here’s something I told my daughter about taking advice from her peers about life issues. They know no more than you, because they haven’t lived longer than you. All he and his peers saw was power. That’s the squad in Washington right now, but God is about to make some adjustments and replacements. We are, whether you choose to believe it or not, living in the days of Noah and Lot. You mark my words. September 11, 2021 11:50 A.M.
Back to Jeroboam. Read 1 Kings 12:1-14. And I’ll pick it up in verse 15. The will of man will never thwart the plan of God. He stopped believing the promises of God, and instead began to believe the thoughts of his mind.
“So the king paid no attention to the people. This turn of events was the will of the Lord, for it fulfilled the Lord’s message to Jeroboam son of Nebat through the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh.”
1 Kings 12:15 NLT ( see 1 Kings 11:27-39)
“When the people of Israel learned of Jeroboam’s return from Egypt, they called an assembly and made him king over all Israel. So only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the family of David. When Rehoboam arrived at Jerusalem, he mobilized the men of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—180,000 select troops—to fight against the men of Israel and to restore the kingdom to himself. But God said to Shemaiah, the man of God, “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the people of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not fight against your relatives, the Israelites. Go back home, for what has happened is My doing!’” So they obeyed the message of the Lord and went home, as the Lord had commanded.”
1 Kings 12:20-24 NLT
Fast forward to Jeroboam’s reign. God has kept His word and now he is king, but he made a critical error, he began to listen to his thoughts instead of following the words God had spoken to him through the prophet. He began to take his position too seriously and forgot that Israel belongs to one King. We’re mere stewards of the gifts of God. Satan had overthrown Solomon through his refusal to receive godly counsel and change, he had done the same with Rehoboam, and now he was about to do the same thing with Jeroboam because instead of listening they rebelled. Is he about to do that with you?
“Jeroboam thought to himself, “Unless I am careful, the kingdom will return to the dynasty of David. When these people go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the Temple of the Lord, they will again give their allegiance to King Rehoboam of Judah. They will kill me and make him their king instead.” So on the advice of his counselors, the king made two gold calves. He said to the people, “It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!” He placed these calf idols in Bethel and in Dan—at either end of his kingdom. But this became a great sin, for the people worshiped the idols, traveling as far north as Dan to worship the one there. Jeroboam also erected buildings at the pagan shrines and ordained priests from the common people—those who were not from the priestly tribe of Levi.” 1 Kings 12:26-31 NLT
The Warning:
“At the Lord’s command, a man of God from Judah went to Bethel, arriving there just as Jeroboam was approaching the altar to burn incense. Then at the Lord’s command, he shouted, “O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you.” That same day the man of God gave a sign to prove his message. He said, “The Lord has promised to give this sign: This altar will split apart, and its ashes will be poured out on the ground.” When King Jeroboam heard the man of God speaking against the altar at Bethel, he pointed at him and shouted, “Seize that man!” But instantly the king’s hand became paralyzed in that position, and he couldn’t pull it back. At the same time a wide crack appeared in the altar, and the ashes poured out, just as the man of God had predicted in his message from the Lord.”
1 Kings 13:1-5 NLT
The only reason people backslide is because they don’t really know God. Or they know Him but don’t believe what He says. Jeroboam saw what God did with his master and his master’s son. He received a prophetic word from the Lord, he rose to power in a most unusual way, yet he repeated the same detestable acts of the man he replaced. What part of God’s Word did he not understand? Let me repeat it for you.
And I will place you on the throne of Israel, and you will rule over all that your heart desires. If you listen to what I tell you and follow my ways and do whatever I consider to be right, and if you obey My decrees and commands, as my servant David did, then I will always be with you. I will establish an enduring dynasty for you as I did for David, and I will give Israel to you. Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but he fled to King Shishak of Egypt and stayed there until Solomon died.”
1 Kings 11:37-38, 40 NLT
God did exactly as He promised yet he allowed the enemy to sow fear in his heart that led to disobedience. The Lord sent the prophet to correct him. Instead of repenting and acknowledging that he had sinned Or Admit that he had allowed fear to cloud his judgment, he tried to do to the prophet what Solomon tried to do to him. Think about this for a moment. Israel was still standing with him, there was no revolt against him, the Lord had prevented Rehoboam from attacking him, life was good. That’s why we’re warned to guard our hearts and renew our minds. Godless thoughts allowed to run amuck will ruin dynasties. Whenever God sends a person, teaching, literature, sermon or whatever method He chooses to get our attention, We need to repent quickly like David. We need to admit to our faults and not get angry at the messenger. It’s an opportunity to save your life! We see that in the mercy shown after his hand became like steel.
“The king cried out to the man of God, “Please ask the Lord your God to restore my hand again!” So the man of God prayed to the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and he could move it again.” 1Kings 13:6
The Lord is more interested in His will being done, than in our destruction. He’s more interested in our obedience than our downfall. He understands the consequences because He’s just. That’s why promotion comes with instructions. “If you will harken,” if you will follow, if you are willing and obedient.“ God never gives an assignment without lending His support. David’s famous lines were, “my eyes are on You” “I will trust You. I will follow You.” That’s what made him a success. When his thoughts would play tricks on him, he’d turn to God. He always wanted to know what God thought. That’s why God told Jeroboam to follow his example. He told Solomon the same thing. Godly correction taken as criticism leads to pride and rebellion. Jeroboam mistook the prophetic warning for criticism. How many of us have made that error? He knew the prophetic voices that spoke to him, he knew it was a warning from the Lord, but he was too proud to accept the correction.
In chapter 14 Jeroboam sent his wife to the same prophet Ahijah who had given him his very first message. Isn’t it interesting that when he was having fearful thoughts he never consulted the prophet, but instead led Israel into sinning against God. But as soon as his son got sick he knew where to go for a Word. The prophet is now old and blind, but you don’t need natural eyesight when you have godly discernment. Oh that the Church would begin to walk like this again. God wasn’t finished with Jeroboam’s rebellion. He sent his wife to disguise herself and go to the prophet.I guess he didn’t want Israel to know that despite leading them to worship idols, he still knew that the only God with answers is still Jehovah. That’s how some Christians treat God, like he doesn’t know who we are. We wear our religious disguises to His house but He sees through the facade. You guys need to read all the chapters. I can’t write it all out. Stop being lazy for once🤦♀️ and dig deeper.
“At that time Jeroboam’s son Abijah became very sick. So Jeroboam told his wife, “Disguise yourself so that no one will recognize you as my wife. Then go to the prophet Ahijah at Shiloh—the man who told me I would become king. Take him a gift of ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and ask him what will happen to the boy.” So Jeroboam’s wife went to Ahijah’s home at Shiloh. He was an old man now and could no longer see. But the Lord had told Ahijah, “Jeroboam’s wife will come here, pretending to be someone else. She will ask you about her son, for he is very sick. Give her the answer I give you.” So when Ahijah heard her footsteps at the door, he called out, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else?” Then he told her, “I have bad news for you. Give your husband, Jeroboam, this message from the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I promoted you from the ranks of the common people and made you ruler over My people Israel. I ripped the kingdom away from the family of David and gave it to you. But you have not been like My servant David, who obeyed My commands and followed Me with all his heart and always did whatever I wanted. You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made other gods for yourself and have made Me furious with your gold calves. And since you have turned your back on Me, I will bring disaster on your dynasty and will destroy every one of your male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel. I will burn up your royal dynasty as one burns up trash until it is all gone. The members of Jeroboam’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures. I, the Lord, have spoken.’” Then Ahijah said to Jeroboam’s wife, “Go on home, and when you enter the city, the child will die. All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He is the only member of your family who will have a proper burial, for this child is the only good thing that the Lord, the God of Israel, sees in the entire family of Jeroboam. “In addition, the Lord will raise up a king over Israel who will destroy the family of Jeroboam. This will happen today, even now!” 1 Kings 14:1-14 NLT
Wow! This woman got more than she went for! You can’t bribe your way to good news. This isn’t a medium with tarot cards, this is the man of God. Our nation is at a crossroads right now. Our churches are in the same position. The prophets have been silent. But it’s on purpose. We’ve heard more calls for prayer but it hasn’t been a call for true repentance, it’s been for God to do what makes us comfortable in our rebellion. There’s no true prophetic voices because it’s about promoting ministry and self. God is about to expose what’s hidden behind the disguises. Ahijah is about to call the deceivers out. The Word will not be good for the nation or the church. False prophets will try to drown out the true voices as in the days of Jeremiah the prophet, but they will not stand. Those of you reading this message today take heed to yourselves. This is not for them, this is for you. What’s your disguise? What don’t you want people to see and know about you? Jeroboam tried to hide his wife behind disguises to get a secret word from the prophet, but before she could speak God did. He called her out. Like He’s about to do with some of you.
You have lived in rebellion long enough. You know what to do. Don’t wait until your entire family is destroyed before surrendering. Before she got back home the prophetic word was already in motion. I asked this question of the Lord a few years ago while visiting my aunt in Michigan before she passed. I was in prayer in the room she normally slept in. “Lord, what else can I do to let my family turn to serving you?” He said this. “nothing!” Then He continued with this verse.
“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;” Titus 2:11-12 KJV
He said “ they all know what to do, they’re choosing not to.” Is that you today? Are you Jeroboam, called from nothing to something yet choosing rebellion over repentance? Mistaking correction for criticism? Religion won’t work, listening to gospel music on Sunday morning won’t work, watching church television won’t work, reading religious books won’t work, going to church won’t work, quoting Bible verses won’t work, owning a Bible won’t work! They’re but disguises used to fool everyone and yourself. But a true prophet and the One who sees all things and knows all things will never be fooled. It didn’t end well for Jeroboam or his house, and it won’t end well for those who refuse to heed God’s Word. Today is all you’ve got, what will you do with it?
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant
September 13, 2021