My family and I visited the ancient ruins of Hazor in Israel. We discovered what was left of Solomon’s three thousand year old buildings located in the fortified city mentioned in the Bible reading. What an experience!
Read More obedience, priorities, faithfulnessThis Bible passage is another demonstration of an answer to the prayer Solomon made at the beginning of his reign. He had asked God: “Give me an understanding heart, to govern your people and distinguish right from wrong…” (1 Kings 3:9). The Lord made him the wisest man on earth and, as a bonus, the richest man as well.
Read More greatness, abundance, wisdomAlthough the Lord is merciful and patient, he is also just and altogether wise. If he sets limits to our freedom, it is because we need them.
Perhaps Solomon considered himself wiser than he was? He did not obey God and his foreign wives eventually led him to turn away from the source of his prosperity and to prostrate himself before idols. God was right and the results were disastrous.
Read More idolatry, obedience, consequencesThe Lord had set before Solomon the path of blessing and the path of disfavour. Solomon did not choose the path of blessing, and God put his plan into action before Solomon’s death. God had foreseen that Jeroboam would be king over ten of the tribes of Israel. He now sent the prophet Ahijah to prepare Jeroboam.
Read More salvation, faithfulnessThe consequences of Solomon’s idolatry came to pass just as God had declared through the prophet Ahijah. Rehoboam thought that he was the only one who decided on the path to take, but it was not so. Verse 15 explicitly tells who had established his plan: “…for it was a turn of events from the Lord…” We can learn a few lessons from this.
Read More service, leadership, luxuryOut of love for his people, God intervened in this difficult political situation in order to avoid a civil war. Rehoboam did not understand that the Lord had caused the division of his people and he himself, could do nothing about it. Through the ages, humans have been too quick to wage war and their motives are almost always selfish.
After hearing the message of the prophet Shemaiah, all the Israelites and Rehoboam accepted the division of the kingdom.
Read More faithfulness, abundance, idolatryThe author of this book notes that, as his great-grandfather, David, Asa did what is right in the eyes of the Lord. This was not said of his father, nor of his grandfather, in spite of the fact that both of them accomplished some things in the name of God. But God knows the hearts of men and women and discerns their thoughts. Asa served the Lord with his whole heart, even if he, like each one of us, was not perfect.
Read More faith, glory, God’s interventionAs we see in this story, the kings of Israel went from bad to worse as they moved away from the Lord altogether. They led the Israelites into some increasingly terrible heathen practices, like those of the Canaanites whom God chased away under the leadership of Joshua. Not only did they separate themselves from the Lord, they started building temples to idols worshipped by foreign people.
Read More choices, idolatryElijah is an unforgettable bible figure who is part of eight chapters in the narrative of the kings of Israel. All that the Bible reveals of his background is that he is from the village of Tishbe in Gilead. Elijah is recognized as the greatest prophet after Moses. He appeared with Jesus at his transfiguration as the one who represents the prophets, along with Moses who represents the law (Matthew 17: 3).
Read More compassion, mercy, salvationWhat a wonderful story!
The worst king of Israel had Obadiah as his palace administrator. Obadiah was a man who had respect for the living God. At the risk of his life, he had hidden and fed 100 prophets of the Lord, in spite of the famine which was striking Samaria.
Read More trust, power, spiritual reality