Wisdom and the Faith to Walk it Out.

We left off in 1 Kings 12 where the kingdom of Israel was in transition.

Read 1-17

Rehaboam
Sought from the elders. But didn’t like what he heard. He turned instead to his friends who stroked his ego and scratched his ears.

When coming to others for advice

1) Examine the character and life of the advisor.

-You shall know a tree by its fruit. Are grapes gathered from thistles Matt 7:16

2) Surround yourself with trustworthy people.
-There is safety in a multitude of counselors. Prov 11:14

3) Beware of yes men.
People who are under your authority or dependant on you for promotion or gain will not give you truthful advice.

-It may sometimes be beneficial to hear from someone who is not influenced directly by your position or finance.

4) Do not look to have your ears scratched.

-Often people will keep seeking advice until finally another agrees with them.
(Itching ear syndrome)
-Instead, be ready to hear and position yourself to listen.

2 Tim 4:3 According to their own desires they will multiply teachers for themselves.

5) Let their words weigh in on your heart.

-Don’t let your “in the moment feelings” get in the way of logic.

James 1:19-20 Be quick to listen slow to speak and slow to anger.

-Give a place for pondering and weighing trustworthy advice.

Colossians 3:15 let the peace of Christ rule in your heart

-Pray on it and let the Holy Spirit give you His peace or His conviction.

6) Hold all advice up to the authority of Gods word.

The ultimate authority and place to seek wisdom will always be found in the word of God. For God is our ultimate authority and His word is truth.

Ultimately Reheboam’s decision making led to the 10 tribes of Israel abandoning him and his household.

It’s a sad thing to see the state of both the king and his people.

-Their main focus was on worldly political issues. Taxes and labor.
-No one was seeking the Lord.
-No one was lamenting over the idolatry that has overtaken Gods chosen.

-Rehaboam took 3 days to seek counsel but never once did he seek after the Lord’s counsel as David often did.

(Personal Challenge) are you being a Rehaboam or a David with our life decisions.

-Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding

The only time we even hear from the Lord is through this profit in more like the speech of a narrator saying this was all God’s plan in the grand scheme of things.

The amazing thing is that there were always options or choices for the people and those in power, but whatever they chose to do …. the will of God still prevailed!

It is a comfort even in our time with world leaders making all kinds of bad decisions to know that our King is on His throne and He has already won the victory over sin and death and has overcome this world. AMEN!

Read 25-28

Here we see Jeroboam becoming paranoid as if he did not receive this amazing promise from God previously.

The promise God made Jeraboam

1 Kings 11:38-39 CSB
[38] “‘After that, if you obey all I command you, walk in my ways, and do what is right in my sight in order to keep my statutes and my commands as my servant David did, I will be with you. I will build you a lasting dynasty just as I built for David, and I will give you Israel. [39] I will humble David’s descendants, because of their unfaithfulness, but not forever.’”

-Out of fear he sought advice one can only see that he found wisdom that was not from above, but the wisdom that the book of James speaks of.

James 3:13-18 CSB
[13] Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct he should show that his works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom. [14] But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and deny the truth. [15] Such wisdom does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. [16] For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice. [17] But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense. [18] And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.

-He headed demonic wisdom from whomever gave him advice because we are about to see a very demonic plan unfold as we look at the evils Jeraboam puts in place as part of His paranoid power grab.

Read 28-33

2 Golden Calves
It was already bad that these golden calves appeared again and that he reinforced more idolatry by setting up shrines in the high places, but the worst part of this whole thing was he was making the effort to totally erase God by making his own false religion.

Here are your gods who brought you up out of Egypt.

-Exodus 20:2 And God spoke all these words: 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

-Yahweh identified himself by this very act. Jeroboam was stripping it away and placing it upon a familiar idol.

-He allowed anyone who wanted to be a priest to be allowed to no matter if they were qualified or not. No regard to the qualifications that God had set in place by his commands.

-This office was only to be reserved for those of the priestly tribe of Levi by the command of the Lord.

Deut 18:5
For the LORD thy God hath chosen him (LEVI) out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons forever.

-He then made his own festival in place of a high holy festival of booths or better known now as sukkot.

Leviticus 23:41-44 CSB
[41] You are to celebrate it as a festival to the Lord seven days each year. This is a permanent statute for you throughout your generations; celebrate it in the seventh month. [42] You are to live in shelters for seven days. All the native-born of Israel must live in shelters, [43] so that your generations may know that I made the Israelites live in shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.” [44] So Moses declared the Lord’s appointed times to the Israelites.

Jeraboam was erasing the true faith out of fear that he would lose everything.

Reminds me of what Jesus is found in every gospel account saying.

Luke 9:24 CSB
[24] For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it.

HE HAD THE PROMISE!!!!!
So sad that he did not have the faith to receive it. He trusted not in God but trusted his own ability, hard work ethic, and ambition to deliver him.

-At the end of chap 13 it shows how well that worked out for him.

-1 Kings 13:34 CSB
[34] This was the sin that caused the house of Jeroboam to be cut off and obliterated from the face of the earth.

-Instead of being established he was obliterated!

-What can we learn from these men who had access to great wisdom, great promises but no faith to walk it out and submit to the true King of Kings?

-Let us open our eyes before us and see the great wisdom and great promises that are set before you in His word.

Promise scriptures

Romans 8:31-32 CSB
[31] What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? [32] He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything?

Hebrews 12:22-25 CSB
[22] Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels, a festive gathering, [23] to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to a Judge, who is God of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect, [24] and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel. [25] See to it that you do not reject the one who speaks. For if they did not escape when they rejected him who warned them on earth, even less will we if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven.

Isaiah 41:10 CSB
[10] Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.
What will you do with them?
We

2 Corinthians 1:20-22 CSB
[20] For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in Christ Jesus. Therefore, through him we also say “Amen” to the glory of God. [21] Now it is God who strengthens us together with you in Christ, and who has anointed us. [22] He has also put his seal on us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.

Jesus is the fulfilments of every promise God has made.

Have you put your trust in Him completely?

Final points to take away:

1) Head godly wisdom.
2) Trust in God’s promises.
3) Have faith to walk both out.