2 Chronicles 12:1
“When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the Law of the LORD.”
This is so sad. Unfortunately it shows the propensity of the human heart. When need and necessity lifts, when our hearts go toward ease we can drift. David’s sin with Bathsheba occurred at such a time. “In the spring, at the time when kings march out to war, David sent out Joab and his servants with the whole army of Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem”, (2 Samuel 11:1). David was taking a break, thus he was vulnerable.
Jesus shares the problem in Mark 7:21, “For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery.” Yes, we’ve been born again and we have a new heart. Unfortunately, we still have our fleshly nature with us until we die (Romans 7:22-24). Our old nature is an evil we are to be aware of. If we understand our propensity toward sin, then we will be aware and act accordingly.
This is what Jesus meant when He said, “Blessed are those that are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, (Matthew 5:3). We all are sinful and have a strong pull. If we know that we are halfway towards being blessed. What’s next?
When Israel was delivered from Egypt He rained down manna every morning. They were to gather this bread daily. What many gather from this is the devotional practice of reading the bible daily. There’s a journal called Daily Bread. This practice is saying good morning to the Lord. Jesus modeled the Lord’s Prayer telling us to ask for daily bread. We are to bring our needs to Him each morning.
That’s how we are blessed. We know we are sinful and go to God daily. He meets us and blesses us. This was His intent for our creation to have a relationship with God. To awake and say good morning. To spend time with Him, getting to know Him. That’s when the real blessings come in.
Solomon prayed a wise prayer in Proverbs 30:8b,9 says, “Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.”
The king and all Israel abandoned the Law of the Lord. God, help us not to do such. Help us to be aware of our poverty of spirit and stay close to You. Thank You!