Read 1 Kings 14.
The LORD is good and gracious. He gives each person opportunities to use the
resources He has provided to accomplish His purposes. Think of those opportunities as tests. Success or failure depends on doing what God
wanted done. When a person refuses to
listen and obey God, He will eventually intervene to gain their attention.
Here we are told that it was God who divided the kingdom and
set Jeroboam as king over the ten northern tribes. These steps were meant to discipline
"the house of David" and to test Jeroboam. In spite of the prophet's warning, Jeroboam
used this God-given opportunity to pursue his made up religion and lead the
people to do evil. God then
intervened. Feeling totally hopeless,
the king sent his wife in disguise to seek God's help. And, indeed, God had a message waiting.
The very direct message explained the details of Jeroboam's
opportunity and failure. He did what was
right in his own eyes, praying to metal images that he had made, "and have
cast me behind your back" (v.9).
The prophecy includes the loss of the entire family of Jeroboam, the
total destruction of his kingdom, and the capture of the northern tribes by an
invading army from the north (Assyria ).
In the southern kingdom
of Judah Jerusalem , they had Solomon's beautiful Temple , priests and prophets. Yet, King Rehoboam led the nation to worship
false gods "under every green tree" v.23). So, God intervened. For them he used Shishak, Pharaoh of Egypt,
to take away the nation's treasured possessions.
If we understand who the Owner is and what He wants done,
then we will use the opportunities God gives us today to obey and please Him.
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