December 5, 2021
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in 1 Kings? Here’s today’s reading:
1 Kings 12 (NIV)
Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam
1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. 2When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. 3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: 4“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.”.........Continue Reading
Like many of us when we are young in age or experience Rehoboam rejects the wisdom of elders or those who know better to listen to stupidity of youth. We have all fallen victim to thinking our way is better then that of a way tried and true and this decision leads him into a dark time for his kingdom.
In the like Jeroboam make the foolish decision to appease man instead of God and falls into idolatry and leads his people down that disobedient path with him.
1 Kings 11-12
1 Kings: 8-12
Today I opened up and read a little of the book of Exodus. Chapter 3 when God called Moses made me feel that aura for reverence and fearing the Lord.
“There the angel of the Lord appeared to him as a flame coming from the middle of a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire but that it was not burning up.”
Exodus 3:2 GNTD
https://bible.com/bible/69/exo.3.2.GNTD
A chapter that is full of bad decisions. It is interesting that the Word tells us it is God orchestrating these things so as to make sure the Northern tribes abandon Rehoboam. But it cautions us to be discerning in who we listen to for advice. How prideful and selfish Rehoboam and his younger cohorts are. It is good that Rehoboam heeds God’s counsel to not go to war with the Northern tribes. God shows His capacity to control the course of human events by making the wrong advice seem good, and then make the counsel that is along the same vein seem wrong. But maybe the worst decision here, and one not influenced by God, is Jeroboam setting up idols and the Northern tribes following them. Jeroboam follows sight, fear and human reason rather than believing God’s promise. And how reprehensible is the picture of 2 golden calves being put before the people and saying these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt. There should have been a public outcry, wait we have been through this before..remember the stories of the earth swallowing people. May our hearts never be so hard or never so willing to follow anyone into idol worship.
1 Kings 13
Foolish Rehoboam rejecting the advice of the elders. Interesting, I was just reading about the human brain and how part of it is not developed until after the age of 25. Studies show that teen/young twenties have difficulty discerning and identifying feelings of others because they are using their amygdla (sp) to make those decisions rather than the higher functioning prefrontal cortex. Not sure how old these Kings were…. At least he obeyed the word of the Lord and didn’t go up to fight against Israel.
Foolish Jeroboam thinking that he can keep the people by making “gods” for them so that they won’t go to Jerusalem and follow Rehoboam.