1 Kings 11:26-43 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 1 Kings 11:26-43. As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first. See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
1 Kings 11:26-30 (NIV)
26 Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon’s officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah.
27 Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the supporting terraces and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father.
28 Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph.
29 About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country,
30 and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces.
On verses 26-30: Here we read of Solomon’s greatest human adversary, Jeroboam. Jeroboam came from a tough background. His mother Zeredah was a widow, probably meaning that Jeroboam’s father Nebat was not around for significant parts of Jeroboam’s life (v26). Nonetheless, Jeroboam was a leader, becoming one of Solomon’s officials (v26). He was a man of standing, meaning he had power and influence among his peers (v28). He excelled in his work, so much so that Solomon promoted him to be in charge of the entire labor force of the tribe of Joseph (v28).
But God had even bigger plans for Jeroboam: though Jeroboam was not a son of David, God planned to promote Jeroboam to be the next king of Israel (v29-31). God would even make the same offer to Jeroboam that He did to David and Solomon: “obey my commands and I will build a dynasty as enduring as David.” (v38)
What can we learn from this? God is sovereign. He can make royalty out of anyone He pleases. As Psalm 75:6-7 says “No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another.”
Like Jeroboam, most of us did not come from a royal line. Naturally speaking, we had no right to become kings and queens. Yet God, in His sovereignty and mercy, made us royalty through His Son Jesus Christ. Just as the prophet Ahijah took off his cloak (which represented the tribes of Israel) and gave it to Jeroboam (v30), Jesus took off his royal robes and gave them to us. Now through Jesus Christ we are a royal priesthood and co-heirs with Christ (1 Peter 2:9, Romans 8:17).
1 Kings 11:31-39 (NIV)
31 Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes.
32 But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe.
33 I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molech the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did.
34 ” ‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who observed my commands and statutes.
35 I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes.
36 I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name.
37 However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel.
38 If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you.
39 I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.'”
On verses 31-39: As the prophet Ahijah would illustrate in dramatic fashion by tearing his cloak and giving 10 pieces to Jeroboam (v30), God would take the 12 tribes of Israel and give 10 of them to Jeroboam. So as to stay true to His promise to David, God would let Solomon’s son Rehoboam keep the remaining two tribes of Judah and Benjamin and which together were often regarded as one tribe (v31-32, 36).
Why would God take the ten tribes away from David’s line? It’s because Solomon had led Israel in worshiping other gods (v33).
What can we learn from this? God has a great territory to give you. But if in your lifetime you insist on worshiping other gods instead of following the Lord, much of that territory will be taken away from you and given to someone else to rule and to manage.
Also, as we see from God’s words to Jeroboam in verses 38-39, God is looking for people who will do right with a heart to honour Him, and He wants to bless them. May you be among the kind of leader God is looking for.
1 Kings 11:40-43 (NIV)
40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon’s death.
41 As for the other events of Solomon’s reign–all he did and the wisdom he displayed–are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon?
42 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.
43 Then he rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.
On verses 40-43: In all the Bible, no one had a more awesome start followed by a more awful finish than Solomon. Solomon went from very humble at the beginning of his reign to very prideful by the end. He went from living for God and obeying His commands to living for himself and persistently disobeying Him in the areas that counted the most. In verse 40, Solomon’s last recorded act is his attempted murder of Jeroboam. In 40 years Solomon went from being a self-proclaimed “little child” (3:7) to a priestly king who built the temple to an attempted murderer.
What can we learn from this? What matters most is not how you start, but how you finish. As you continue on in your relationship with Jesus, beware of pride and rebelling against God’s commands. Follow God’s Word, seek His kingdom first, and (as Solomon in his prime would have said) guard your heart (Proverbs 4:23).
Father, the reason I can be a child in Your royal family is all because of Your sovereign grace and mercy. May I never take Your amazing grace and mercy for granted. May I trust You in every area of my life, especially in the area of relationships. May the way I finish this life be better than how I started it, such that truly the best is yet to come. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
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