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1Kings 12 - God Behind The Details
1Kings 12 - God Behind The Details
In your reading of Kings, take note of how many times God is mentioned as bringing about situations of life. “So the king did not listen to the people; for it was a turn of events from the Lord, that He might establish His word, which the Lord spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat” (1 Kings 12:15). [A few examples include 1Kings 12:24; 2Chron. 10:15; 22:7; 25:16, 20].
This is difficult for us today as we have become more and more ‘deistic’ in our world view: God created and wound things up like a clock and ‘let it go’. Now, he sits on the sideline somewhere and just lets it unwind.
The problem for me is that we wouldn’t have known of God’s dealings here except that He revealed it to us. Today we are not being told about His actions. This leads us to begin thinking that He does not act / interact with our world.
· This Is my Father’s world, it is HIS by right of creation.
· God still cares and provides, He is still GOD.
· God hears our prayers and cares for His people.
But how about all the evil and trouble that our current world is facing? Keep reading and see that the world of Rehoboam and Jeroboam were filled with evil and trouble even though we are told some of the times that God inserted himself into the affairs of men! God also DID NOT step in to stop men from rebellion, sin, and doing evil.
Recall Paul’s condensed version of the Gentile world progression in Romans 1: “Even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks” (21); “therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their heart” (24), “God gave them over to degrading passions” (26), and finally “God gave them over to a depraved mind…” (28). We yet live in a world of depraved minds.
It is easy to say ‘I trust in the LORD’. We can even print ‘In God We Trust’ on our money and include ‘under God’ in our pledge of allegiance, YET actually trusting Him is often another matter altogether. One measure of our actual trust is our prayers.
With all the turmoil we face, it is important to take note of Paul’s admonition:
“1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
Brethren, are you ranting and complaining or praying?
Hugh DeLong
