2 Chronicles 10:13, 15
“The king answered them harshly, and King Rehoboam ignored the advice of the elders”, and “So the king did not listen to the people, because it was a turn of events from God so that the LORD might establish His word, which He spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.”
These are profound verses. Shock goes through my mind as I read them. These were the kings first acts. Little does he know that they will split the government, not in half, but 1 to 11. Things will never return. He will have the one. The other 11 become the northern kingdom.
This storm has been brewing for a while. God blessed Solomon for David’s sake. Solomon started out well. He asked God for help and He gave it. Probably the wisest one in history. However, he strayed from God by taking a foreign wife, then more wives, then concubines. I Kings 11:4 says, “For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been.”
The new king seems to act as if God weren’t a factor. All of the sudden 11 tribes break away and become their own nation. Verse 15 from today’s passages calls it a “turn of events from God”. He was doing something. God was writing a redemption story. Israel was a disobedient child. Eventually a Messiah will come and redeem all mankind.
I Corinthians 10:11 says, “Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.” What are we to take away from these verses? The first message is about Solomon’s disobedience. He took a foreign wife. We are to obey God in all things. It starts small. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
The next take away is God works His will. “The turn of events was from God”. We are to trust His sovereignty. These two things go together, obedience and trust. To obey is to get into His current. Let it take us where it will. It’s a wonderful life. Proverbs 3:5,6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”
Either way He will direct our paths, either with Him or against Him. Obey Him and go with Him or disobey and go against Him. Solomon and Rehoboam were against Him and they were taken away.
I Corinthians 2:9 says, ‘Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”‘ As I look back I am so grateful and humbled at what God has done. What first comes to mind is the sin I was spared by following Him. My gut goes empty to think where I may have ended without Him. But then filled with elation to see where He’s brought me. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.” This isn’t just good fortune, but design.
We are all specs that are part of a giant whole. It’s so enormous that we seem insignificant, but not to God. He is so great that He can hear us all. In a sense He sees us as if we are the only ones. He loves us better and He can focus one each of us. David said in Psalm 56:8, “You have taken account of my wanderings. Put my tears in Your bottle—are they not in Your book?” How amazing. He notes our tears and sorrows.
I look back and see how God was faithful with my mother. She loved and served God her whole life. At 44 years of age her husband died, leaving her a widow with eight children. How sad. As far as I know her siblings didn’t help. They looked at her as an old fashioned one who had too many kids with an inability to learn modern ways. Then a childhood friend proposed and took us all to California. Then at 61 years of age she goes deeper in her faith and changes churches. Here earlier church wasn’t much into the bible, so it was as if she were looking in a mirror dimly, but Calvary Chapel taught her God’s ways and blessed her deeply as if seeing face to face. She walked with God for 24 more years. She blessed her family and church.
As we follow Him we are getting into His current. His river of blessing brings us to wonderful lands. He equips us to share His message to bring others along. Thank You, Lord for Your goodness and Your ways. Help us to stay on Your path.