Reading 1 Kings 14. God sent a horrible judgment on Jeroboam because he is not being obedient. God gave him half of the nation of Israel after Solomon died. Yet Jeroboam quickly fell away. He put up calf idols. Were these idol originally to take the place of the Temple in Jerusalem and people were supposed to worship Yahweh, the true God here? If so, why the idols? I don't think we are ever let in on why that was. We are told that he felt that if the people of Israel continued to go to Jerusalem pretty soon they would want to reunite with Judah and accept Rehoboam as king. Then they would reject him and he feared for his life. Do we think this would have been true? Would crossing the border to worship at Jerusalem caused the people to reject his rule?
Anyway Jeroboam chose not to trust God even after God gave him the kingdom.
Back to the horrible judgment. Jeroboam sent his wife to consult the prophet who told him he would be king. He had not forgotten that. Too bad he forgot so much else. The prophet explained to him that since he had sinned and led his subjects into sinning his son would die and his kingship would not last.
I am very glad God does not seem to treat me like that. I do not have horrible things happen to me and my family in order to punish or correct me for my disobedience. This is what happened to Jeroboam and to David before him.
Perhaps my willful disobedience is not as bad as there's. But it is sin after all. Jeroboam's disobedience caused a lot of other people to sin too. Many will follow his lead and worship other gods simply because he does. There may be some who follow after me, who can know? But not as many. Hopefully I do not teach people to sin.
And yet I do willfully sin. Does God punish me or set up circumstances to correct me? No, probably not. Certainly he does not do it in ways that are obvious to me. God sent prophets to tell Jeroboam and David why these horrible things were happening. They were told what they meant. That does not happen to me I don't think.
A trivia example: It always seems to me I get into the checkout line at the grocery store that takes the longest. God is teaching me patience. No that is not right. God is trying to do more. God is trying to get me to have a whole different attitude. Instead of seeing this as an ordeal, I can see it as an opportunity to pray for the people around me and maybe even strike up a conversation. (Thanks DG - you did tell me that once.) Yeah that's it - good share. heh
Have there been times for you when you felt God set up situation to correct or even punish you for disobedient behavior. Often the consequences of that behavior is enough to correct us, if we are wise.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
David learned from his punishment. It made him wiser and to fear and love God more. For Jeroboam it seems to have had no affect at all.God wished repentance from him. He wished to draw him back. We have seen from other stories, Jonah and Nineveh come to mind, where God's curses would be rescinded if the person is repentant. God relented against Nineveh. If Jeroboam would simply have repented and stopped worshiping other God and come back to Yahweh. God has always been willing to restore what he took away if the correction brings about repentance. God took away Bathsheba's son but then he gave them another son, which happened to be Solomon, after David repented.
A post script: between the time that I sketched out this blog and the time I typed it in I got to see another way God intervenes: God protects me from my stupid self many times. On Thursday the 15th I saw it at the post office, with all those people coming and going to drop off tax returns I managed to drop my check book right there in the parking lot. I do not know how I did it and I did not miss it. And on the way back to my car the spot next to my car was open so I could see it, still laying where I dropped it. God let me see it. It was just as I dropped it, either no one else saw it or people decided to leave it hoping the owner would find it, just as I did. God blesses and covers for me like that it little ways all the time. But I tend to forget about them soon after they happen. Yet, I do bless God for his graciousness in my life. Then I forget about it.
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