Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick

  

1 Kings 14:1-18

 

June 6, 2021

 

 

 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.   And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise, and disguise yourself, that it is not known that you are the wife of Jeroboam and go to Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who said of me that I should be king over this people.   Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall happen to the child.”  Jeroboam's wife did so. She arose and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age.   And the Lord said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus, and thus shall you say to her.”

When she came, she pretended to be another woman.   But when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another? For I am charged with unbearable news for you.   Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: “Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes,  but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking me to anger, and have cast me behind your back,  therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free in Israel, and will burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone.   Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the Lord has spoken it.”’  Arise therefore, go to your house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die.   And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.   Moreover, the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today. And henceforth, the Lord will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water and root up Israel out of this good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger.   And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.”

Then Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and came to Tirzah. And as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died.   And all Israel buried him and mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet.

Are you such a man, a man like Jeroboam, who God had blessed with many skills and talents, and place him over a people who he fears if they worshipped the God of their fathers, they would get a new leader, so he leads them into idolatry?  Why the king of Israel listened to the wrong channel, he turned off Channel two and listen only to channel one.  Let me remind you we only have two channels, channel one is the deceptive channel, its spokesperson is the evil one, and the voice always sounds just like your voice, you're never aware that it is the voice of the destroyer.  Channel Two, is a much quieter voice, and it the Holy Spirit of God, it will never lead you to do evil, but it requires one to sit quietly in a place to hear it clearly.

Many a person have been given amazing talents, and skills but in that they have not been taught otherwise believe Channel One is who they are.  Falsely they believe those skills and talents are their doing, and the wealth that is from them also is for their use to make them happy.  

My pastor has been talking about upside-down living and using the Beatitudes to teach on this subject.  Jeroboam did not have the Beatitudes to refer to and reflected on but you and I do.  Each week Pastor Ray Sill has made sure we understand this truth, Jesus’ disciples  needed to be taught.  All of us are ignorant about many things and we will not learn them in this upside-down culture we find our world in at this time.  Yesterday in the sermon the Pastor refers to Luke 12:32, it's one of the verses on Fear not, that carried Jan and me in victory through this pandemic of fear over the virus.  “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”  As followers of Christ, the only one to fear is God.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice