First, as a sidenote, my brother Ron left to teach and preach in Russia yesterday. Please pray for his safety and health. As I told you at the beginning of these lessons, he wrote detailed outliness about attitudes and decisions from which my blogs are issuing forth to you! I'm simply taking his scriptures and expanding on some of it in my own style. I'd love for something said to be of help to you in living your best life--a godly life.
Today I thought it might be helpful--after looking at ways to make the right decision--to look at some people who made the wrong decision, to see what can happen when we don't listen to God's will for us. No matter how strongly God puts His guidelines before us, we often choose to do what we prefer. Let's see how this worked out for some familiar characters in the Bible.
Today I thought it might be helpful--after looking at ways to make the right decision--to look at some people who made the wrong decision, to see what can happen when we don't listen to God's will for us. No matter how strongly God puts His guidelines before us, we often choose to do what we prefer. Let's see how this worked out for some familiar characters in the Bible.
In I Kings 12:1-19 you can read about one of the most blatant refusals to follow God's law with Rehoboam. Remember how Rehoboam had become king after his father Solomon's death? And remember how arrogant he was? His downfall began when Jereboam brought a group of people before him to ask that their taxes be lessened from the heavy burden which Solomon had placed on them. Rehoboam told the people that he'd consider their request and get back to them. And he first asked Solomon's counselors what to do. They advised Rehoboam to follow the lead of the people and be kind to them. But then he asked his friends--young men who had grown up with him--what to do. And the young men advised him to let the people know that even though Solomon had been a hard taskmaster, he would be harder. Rehoboam made the decision to follow the advice of the young men and let the people know that he would be the hardest master they had ever known.
Rehoboam's decision left the people feeling that their king didn't care about them, and that they had no stake in the future of the kingdom which David had built. So they went to their tents in anger. And when Rehoboam sent his tax collector to take their money, they stoned him to death. This scared Rehoboam and he went running back to Jerusalem in a hurry. Then the 10 Northern tribes made Jeroboam their king. Thus the kingdom of Israel was divided into two kingdoms: the Northern Kingdom called Israel, and the Southern Kingdom called Judah.
What had seemed to Rehoboam to be a choice he could make freely because he was king turned into his losing 10 tribes! Making a decision was serious business for Rehoboam, who in his arrogance made the wrong one. And making decisions is serious business for you and me. Decisions often change the course of lives--ours and others! A wrong decision cost King Rehoboam 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel; it cost his nation its powerful and important position in the world forever!
And I want to mention that after Jeroboam was made king of the Northern Kingdom, he too was faced with decisions which led to his downfall. God had chosen Jeroboam to rule the 10 tribes, and it looked as though he was going to be a good leader--he had all the qualifications for it. But he began to worry because the people were still going to Jerusalem to worship in Solomon's great temple with its golden doors. His concern was that they would reunite with the people there. So he closed the road leading to Jerusalem and set up places of worship with golden calves closer to home. This wasn't pleasing to God, partly because the kingdom had been divided physically and politically, but not spiritually. And partly because this began the worship of idols that continued as long as Israel was a nation. But Jeroboam paid no attention to God's law, even when Ahijah the prophet was sent to tell him he was doing wrong.
Jeroboam continued his evil ways of making priests from every class of people and having the people worship golden calves. God's displeasure was shown in the death of Jeroboam's young son, and in the judgment spoken against his house by Ahijah the prophet, which you can read about in I Kings 14:1-18. Jeroboam brought disaster on his own house, so that if a king thereafter was said to have followed in the ways of Jeroboam, it meant that they were evil. Wrong decisions cost Jeroboam God's support, and the house of Jeroboam was eventually destroyed.
The story of Jeroboam shows that he made decisions based on his own fears and wants, not on God's will. And as the story continued, you could see that just like Rehoboam and Jeroboam, we may fall into the same pattern of deciding to follow our own way. Very often a small decision begins our walk down the road of disaster.
The story of Jeroboam shows that he made decisions based on his own fears and wants, not on God's will. And as the story continued, you could see that just like Rehoboam and Jeroboam, we may fall into the same pattern of deciding to follow our own way. Very often a small decision begins our walk down the road of disaster.
These are just a few thoughts from the book of I Kings, using two great kings to show how decisions can change the course of many lives. Both kings continued on their way as kings, but both suffered severe setbacks in leading their people. Eventually Rehoboam's kingdom was a shadow of its former self, and Jeroboam's people disappeared from the face of the earth. Perhaps a look at these kings will help you consider your own decisions more closely. God bless you as you think about His will for you and your family.
Blessings...Mimi
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