Okay, I confess I have sinned. I fell victim to the blogging craze and then let it die. My last post was in November! That was before we knew Jen was pregnant again (yes you heard it here first)! Well I'm back and plan on writing more often, not because anyone actually reads these musings, but because its good medicine for me.
Recently, I have been reading in the Kings during my personal devotional time and I began to notice a pattern with the kings of Israel. In I Kings 11, the LORD sends Ahijah a prophet to Jeroboam. Ahijah told Jeroboam that the LORD would give control over 10 of the tribes of Israel to Jeroboam because of Solomon's disobedience. In v.38 the LORD makes a promise to Jeroboam that if he obeys the LORD's commands and statutes that Jeroboam will receive an enduring house like David's. After Solomon's death the kingdom is split with Solomon's son Rehoboam ruling over Judah (and Benjamin) and Jeroboam ruling over the northern ten tribes.
In chapter 12, Jeroboam fears that the people will return to Jerusalem to worship the LORD and will also choose to serve the house of David instead of him, so he builds two gold calves and places them within his territory, declaring that these gold calves are the gods who brought their ancestors out of Egypt (v.28). Thus Jeroboam led the people of Israel into idolatry and away from worshipping the LORD their God. In chapter 14, the LORD sends Ahijah to pronounce judgment upon Jeroboam and his household because Jeroboam practiced more evil than any before him and he actually led the people of Israel into the sin of idolatry. Its amazing to think that Jeroboam would have a prophet give him the message that he would be king, then it happens, and he goes off and worships other gods?
Throughout the rest of the book Jeroboam continues to be brought up after every king of Israel until their captivity. He's mentioned because every single king Israel follows in his ways. They did evil in the sight of the LORD as Jeroboam had sinned, and made Israel sin. Jeroboam's example was not just bad for his sons, it wasn't just bad for his grandsons, it wasn't just bad for his friends, Jeroboam's bad example influenced the nation for hundreds of years. Regardless of the dynasty of the monarch, the king of Israel continued to follow Jeroboam's example and lead the people further and further away from the LORD. In each of these cases the king follows Jeroboam's example; I Kings 15:30, 16:3, 16:13, 16:19, 16:26, 16:31, 22:52, 2 Kings 3:3, 10:29, 13:2, 14:24, 15:9, 15:18, 15:24, 15:28.
Now I realize that none of us will serve as monarchs in the near future, but I think there is a principle to be learned from Jeroboam. He serves as a great example for us as we consider that the more responsibility or authority we have, the more influence or impact we can have in a person's life. Whether it be our children, students in our youth groups, sunday school attendees or the kids we serve in the nursery, we need to be so very cautious that our actions, our words, and our behavior is pointing them to engage in a closer relationship with the LORD. We also need to keep in mind we are not just ministering to the kids who show up, we are impacting their friends, their siblings, their children and grandchildren for generations to come. What a grave responsibility, any volunteers???
