May the mumbling commence!
We spent over a week in Proverbs, and one of the things that I remember clearly is the wisdom of listening to and accepting advice. It seems that this wisdom is elusive not just for you and me but also for the kings of Israel and Judah. Yes the kingdom of Israel splits into two pieces in 1 Kings 12-13. Read about how Solomon’s son Rehoboam responded to advice that he sought.
So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: "Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you."
Rehoboam answered, "Go away for three days and then come back to me." So the people went away.
Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. "How would you advise me to answer these people?" he asked.
They replied, "If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants."
But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. He asked them, "What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, 'Lighten the yoke your father put on us'?"
The young men who had grown up with him replied, "Tell these people who have said to you, 'Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter'-- tell them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.'"
Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, "Come back to me in three days." The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, he followed the advice of the young men and said, "My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions." So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the Lord, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite. (1 Kings 12:3-15)
Going to the wise counselors of your father and listening to them are two different things. But the outcome was what the Lord had ordained. In fact, when Rehoboam gathered forces to fight Jeroboam, the Lord spoke through a prophet to prevent the brothers of Israel from fighting one another. This split was of the Lord. Read about it below:
When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin – a hundred and eighty thousand fighting men – to make war against the house of Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam, son of Solomon.
But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: "Say to Rehoboam, son of Solomon, king of Judah, to the whole house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 'This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.'" So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered. (1 Kings 12:21-24)
At least the people listened! And it wasn’t only Rehoboam who had trouble listening to the Lord. Jeroboam also fell in listening to the Lord. He feared that the people would leave him to return to Rehoboam, because they were to go to Jerusalem for worship. Jeroboam also asked for advice in what to do. We do not know who he asked. We do not know what the advice was. We only know what he did, and by his actions we can tell that he didn’t consult the Lord:
If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam."
After seeking advice, 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, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people went even as far as Dan to worship the one there.
Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. (1 Kings 12:27-31)
Idols and priests for the high places – priests not from the tribe of Levi, Oh my! How did Jeroboam convince himself that God would condone these things? In fact, when God did speak through a prophet (who was ironically from Judah), Jeroboam wanted him seized! Read about it below:
By the word of the Lord a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. He cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord: "O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: 'A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.'" That same day the man of God gave a sign: "This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out." (1 Kings 13:1-3)
God is speaking. Who is listening?
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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