There’s probably no better example of the deep divisions between the two parts of Israel than what are displayed in these chapters
Our reading begins with a review of the kings in the northern kingdom. I can see the rapid disintegration of polite society in the ruthless way these kings came to power, led their people and eventually died. The kingdom was becoming more and more brutal and ruthless….neither of which God approved of. Several times here we see that God was angry because of the way the new leader assumed power. Specifically, how they killed innocent people trying to cut off any claims to the throne. This alone testifies to their lack of trust in God’s power, and their ruthlessness tells me that they weren’t truly concerned about pleasing God in the first place. David could be ruthless, but he wouldn’t dare to touch the king, since he was God’s anointed. That concept has “flown out the window” with this crew.
The first problem (and the greatest) is their failure to connect with God. They have designed golden calves to worship, and Asherah poles to bow before, and they have created new feasts and festivals that have nothing to do with their genuine spiritual history. All of this has prevented them from appearing before God, and has kept God from being pleased with them. At it’s worst, it probably opened them up to hear from evil spirits about what they should do. Their rejection of God and His framework for life and worship has taken them completely off the rails.
It seems that every king in the north becomes a little more evil than the last. On the other hand, in the south, the kings are in power longer, and in the case of Jehoshaphat, the word of God is being distributed to the surrounding towns to be taught to the people. Jehoshaphat is “knowing God and making Him known”….which just happens to be the mission statement of the Free Methodist Church. That’ s pretty cool. At the moment, the southern kingdom, although much smaller, is clearly the part that is still serving God correctly, and worshipping the way they were told.
I would think that their neighbors in the north would look down and say “why are things going so well for them?” I wonder if any of the people realized the difference between a land God blesses, and a land that He doesn’t. I mean, they are side by side. The political climate alone screams out the differences. In the south the people love and support the king, and the surrounding nations are sending in tribute to make sure they live in peace with him. In the north, it’s constant fighting…internal and external. I don’t know if the conditions on the ground would have resembled the differences we see between North and South Korea, but in a spiritual sense that’s exactly what they were.
I also notice today how the town of Samaria was founded, and got it’s name. Omri, the captain of the guard who became king purchased it from a a local farmer and built a home there. The next king, his son Ahab, built a temple and installed false idols and worship of Baal. This is the beginning of Samaria as a detestable place in the eyes of the “faithful” Jewish people. In years to come, the righteous Jews wouldn’t even walk through Samaria, since it was place dedicated to the worship of false Gods. Jesus would shock his disciples by sitting beside a well there and asking a local woman to draw him some water from the town well. This same woman pointed out the differences between the north and south, by saying “you ancestors say we must worship in Jerusalem, but my ancestors say we worship here”. Jesus would tell her that time as passed, and now we worship in Spirit and in truth.
Further proof that what the prophets said was correct is given in the account of the rebuilding of Jericho. “the person who rebuilds it will lose two sons in the construction”. And, so it came to be. When we don’t know our spiritual history we make bad decisions. I wonder if this man knew of the prophecies about Jericho. Did he know them and scoff, and build anyway? In that case, he deserves his fate. However, what if he didn’t know because the words of the prophets weren’t being shared? How must he have felt when we realized that this could have been avoided if someone would only have told him in advance?
We have similar challenges in our own lives. I have them in mine. Today I notice that the righteous king is the one who is blessed, and that God blesses by sending peace, prosperity and wisdom. No amount of cunning and oratory skill will suffice to keep a church moving forward if the ministers and lay leaders aren’t being obedient to the Lord. God has told us in advance what will happen if we decide to worship other gods, or if we don’t worship Him correctly. He has said that His blessing will be withdrawn, and then the interlopers, looking to topple the kingdom will begin to appear.
“Lord, keep me so close to you. I want to press into your presence so that I cannot be distinguished apart from you. I want nothing to do with trying to do it on my own, fighting my own battles or any of the other temptations that satan uses to distract a leader. Help me today to be completely focused on what you want, and to do whatever will make the best end result for the kingdom of God. Fill me with joy while I do your work, your way, for your glory.”
Faithfully,
PR