spiritual battle, Gullibility of People (1 Kings.12-14)

Because of Solomon's sin, after his death, his kingdom would be split into two.  It was also because of Rehoboam's sin that this happened.  Solomon's son, Rehoboam, began his reign as king over all Israel.  He had wise counsel given to him, but instead he sought out "wisdom" that he wanted to hear...

(1 Kings 12:6-11)  King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, “How do you counsel me to answer this people?” 7 Then they spoke to him, saying, “If you will be a servant to this people today, and will serve them and grant them their petition, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” 8 But he forsook the counsel of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who grew up with him and served him. 9 So he said to them, “What counsel do you give that we may answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?” 10 The young men who grew up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you shall say to this people who spoke to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, now you make it lighter for us!’ But you shall speak to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins! 11 Whereas my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”

People are not that stupid.  People want to hear what they want to hear.  So ten of the twelve Israelite tribes rebelled against Rehoboam.  He escaped to Jerusalem where he remained king over the territory of Judah (and the two smallest tribes).

Meanwhile, Israel (the rest of the territories with the ten bigger tribes) turned to Jeroboam who had been acting as their spokesperson.  Jeroboam had once been a servant of king Solomon's, but had fled to Egypt at some point.  When he had heard that Solomon was dead, he returned to find the people needing, first a spokesperson, and then leadership.  After Rehooam had fled, they made Jeroboam their king, thinking that he understood their needs (or rather, they "wants").

Jeroboam knew that if the people went to worship the Lord (in Jerusalem) as they should, their hearts would be changed and they would want their rightful king back.  Jeroboam didn't want that, so he manipulated the situation to his favor, while still appeasing the people.  So Jeroboam encouraged Israel to worship in their own territory and look to molten images that he had made - to remind them of their "gods"...

(1 Kings 25-29)  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.

Perhaps at first these molten images could have reminded the people of God and what He had all done for them, but the people started to worship the actual images.  And Jeroboam continued to create his own religious institution, infiltrating the priesthood with non-Levites and making up religious holidays and rituals, in order to continue gaining the people's trust and favor...

(1 Kings 12:33-33)  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.

A man of God was sent to Jeroboam to warn him (and the people).  Part of the prophecy would happen 300 years later, but some of it happened right away...

(1 Kings 13:1-5)  Now behold, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord, while Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. 2 He cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’” 3 Then he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign which the Lord has spoken, ‘Behold, the altar shall be split apart and the ashes which are on it shall be poured out.’” 4 Now when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” But his hand which he stretched out against him dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. 5 The altar also was split apart and the ashes were poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.

Jeroboam saw that this prophet had power from God.  And after asking the man of God to get the Lord to heal his hand, Jeroboam got the idea to buy off the prophet.  This would have been a great "source" to have and use in order to keep getting what he wanted. 

But this man of God remained obedient to the Lord...at first...

(1 Kings 13:6-10)  The king said to the man of God, “Please entreat the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” So the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and it became as it was before. 7 Then the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” 8 But the man of God said to the king, “If you were to give me half your house I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. 9 For so it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way which you came.’” 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way which he came to Bethel.

Another prophet heard about what had happened and decided to trick the man of God.  Now, did this old prophet have true prophetic gifts>  We are not told.  But the old prophet was definitely guilty of self-promotion, which was demonstrated when he lied to the man of God in order to earn the king's favor....

(1 Kings 13:11-19)  Now an old prophet was living in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the deeds which the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words which he had spoken to the king, these also they related to their father. 12 Their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” Now his sons had seen the way which the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 13 Then he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he rode away on it. 14 So he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak; and he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” 15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” 16 He said, “I cannot return with you, nor go with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. 17 For a command came to me by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall eat no bread, nor drink water there; do not return by going the way which you came.’” 18 He said to him, “I also am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him. 19 So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house and drank water.

Because the man of God had disobeyed and listened to and believed the lie, he got word from God that he was going to die in this strange land.  Because of the lower case "h" in "he" - it looks like an actual angel came to deliver this message to the old prophet in order to then relay the message to the man of God...

(1 Kings 13:20-22)  Now it came about, as they were sitting down at the table, that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back; 21 and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have disobeyed the command of the Lord, and have not observed the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you, 22 but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water”; your body shall not come to the grave of your fathers.’”

From this we see:
- angels deliver messages
- messages from angels will support what God says, they will never go against what God says
- angels always support what God says
- demons and people lie

Personal experience:  so often people make relics in order to remind themselves about God and what He stands for or what He has done.  But it is so easy for these articles to become objects of worship.  Even with statues of Jesus, people can forget the actual Son of Man - who is God, and start to think of the statue as more of a good luck charm.  And thus the focus on the statue becomes an empty religion.

People can be also very easily and conveniently distracted.  They will latch onto things that they only WANT to believe.  I remember people were even questioning the Bible because of the Tom Hank's movie, "The Da Vinci Code."  Really?  Because a person made up something and wrote a movie, people are going to doubt what God wrote?

Recently I saw a TV special on a product called Jilly Juice.  An uneducated woman invented a cabbage juice with a dangerous level of sea salt - and without any experimentation - claimed that it could cure EVERYTHING.  It could even help a person grow back a severed limb.  And while the host was debunking this claim and this product, a man rushed the stage, desperate to try the juice.

Even in politics, people have to figure out whom to vote for based on campaign promises.  Many of these promises are only said in order to get your vote!  Fortunately our hope is not in our government, but in God.  And so we can ask God for guidance in order to figure out who is the best person for the job.

Today's takeaway:  king Rehoboam listened to counsel that he WANTED to hear and ignored the wise advice from the elders.  The consequence out of that (and his father's sins) was rebellion and the nation splitting into two.  Rehoboam only got to keep a tiny portion.

King Jeroboam did what he thought the people WANTED in order to gain and keep their support.  Ultimately, (in chapter 14) when Jeroboam didn't change his ways, he was told that his son would die, and after his own death, God would cut off his house from the throne and raise up another king.

The man of God had received word from the Lord, Himself.  But when someone said, "Oh, by the way, an angel just came to tell me that what God just told you - is no longer valid!" - he decided that the lie sounded better than what God, Himself had told him.  The man of God should have known better.  And if he had any doubts or questions, he should have consulted God!

Fortunately, we are able to consult God anytime by reading His word found in the Bible.  And we can consult Him at anytime by praying and waiting for an answer.  And we should know, God's answers will never contradict anything in the Bible...

(2 Peter 1:16-21)  For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”— 18 and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

19 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. 20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

(Hebrews 6:16-20)  For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. 17 In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

(Psalm 86:1-17)  Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me; for I am afflicted and needy.
2 Preserve my soul, for I am a godly man; O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You.
3 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to You I cry all day long.
4 Make glad the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; and give heed to the voice of my supplications!
7 In the day of my trouble I shall call upon You, for You will answer me.
8 There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like Yours.
9 All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and they shall glorify Your name.
10 For You are great and do [b]wondrous deeds; You alone are God.

11 Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name.
12 I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and will glorify Your name forever.
13 For Your lovingkindness toward me is great, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

14 O God, arrogant men have risen up against me, and a band of violent men have sought my life, and they have not set You before them.
15 But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.
16 Turn to me, and be gracious to me; oh grant Your strength to Your servant, and save the son of Your handmaid.
17 Show me a sign for good, that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, because You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.