Monday, August 11, 2014

He Didn't Believe God's Promises (I Kings 12:25-33)


2/11/2011 7:13:55 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus: He didn’t believe God’s promises PT-1

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  1Kings 12:25-33

 

            Message of the verses:  Today’s SD begins a new chapter in Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on 1Kings, and he entitles this chapter “A New King, An Old Sin.”  The first section has four sub-sections in it of which I will begin them this morning and see how far I can get.

            Fear (verses 12:25-28) “25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. 26  Jeroboam said in his heart, "Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. 27  "If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah." 28  So the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt."  29  He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30  Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31  And he made houses on high places, and made priests from among all the people who were not of the sons of Levi. 32  Jeroboam instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast which is in Judah, and he went up to the altar; thus he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. 33  Then he went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised in his own heart; and he instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and went up to the altar to burn incense.”

 

            Jeroboam, the first king of the northern tribes of Israel, was told by a prophet that the Lord would make a dynasty of his kingdom if he served the Lord, but Jeroboam became frightened that the people would go to worship the Lord in Jerusalem so he set up his own religion, a religion that was similar to that of the Jewish faith, but was not the same and became idol worship and was what brought down the northern tribes of Israel.

            Jeroboam did not believe the promises of God that were given to him and so the whole thing fell apart because of his unbelief and because he cared more about the kingdom that their relationship with the Lord.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There are times when it is hard to believe the promises of the Lord and so I become fearful and go off and do something else in order to get the desired results even though they are not what the Lord wants.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Give myself to the Lord for worship and service.

2.      Trust the Lord to direct my path.

3.      Remember the battle that I am in and put on the armor.

 

2/11/2011 8:40:33 AM

                       

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