Who is in Control

Looking out my office window, I wonder what’s going on “out there?” I’m not talking about the squirrels running all over the place or the birds flitting around the bird feeders. I’m talking about the whole wide world out there.

I do not understand the intricacies of the way the world works. I know I am not an eyewitness to all that is happening. But, things – miracles even – are happening. Everyday the sun comes up. The rain or the sunshine blesses us. And doctors and scientists discover new treatments, cures and preventatives. I have to remember that all this is happening under the influence of a Mighty God.

I was impressed by these thoughts as I read and studied 2 Kings 2, and looked back on the things Elijah, the prophet of God, was able to do because of God’s empowerment. In 1 Kings, I read that he withheld the rain and created a drought in the lands of the 10 northern tribes of Israel. Then God told him to end the drought and a deluge fell upon the area. Elijah challenged the false prophets by making a sacrifice for their gods to consume, which never happened. Then Elijah prepared his sacrifice for God including drenching it all with buckets and buckets and buckets of water. God consumed the soggy mess right down to the ground, which was dry at the end. God protected Israel, in spite of their lack of faithfulness, from invading armies. Now in 2 Kings, Elijah is able to confront an evil and angry king with God’s full protection. He divided the water of the Jordan River with his cloak (reminding me of the Red Sea being parted by Moses’ staff). And he trained up a successor, Elisha. And finally, Elijah was taken into the heavens on a wind being escorted by a blazing chariot, to be seen no more.

What does all that have to do with what I see (and don’t see) out my window? I need to sit in amazement at the wonderful things God has done, is doing, and will do. He’s a powerful God whose plans are not yet fulfilled on this earth or in the heavens. As Habakkuk encouraged the people during his time as prophet:

“Look among the nations! Observe!
Be astonished! Wonder!
Because I am doing something in your days—
You would not believe if you were told.” (Habakkuk 1:5)

So, I will look out my window expecting to see God’s handiwork, but I will also be looking for what God is doing on a much bigger scale. Just as He has always done, He is doing things we cannot imagine, and we should be amazed.

I Don't Want To

I don’t want to!! Someone gives me a command (or even just a suggestion) and I instantly fall into thinking, “Don’t tell me what to do!” Today as my Bible study partner and I reviewed our notes and the commentator’s notes for 2 Kings 1, I saw that I am not the only one who thinks like that. Maybe you also fall into that line of thinking when someone “tells” you what to do.

As part of the introduction to the book of 2 Kings, the commentator reviewed the history of Israel, starting with Moses on Mount Sinai getting the Ten Commandments. He actually cited two other commentators:

In a new book produced by Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. called Recovering the Unity of the Bible, he calls upon [David Noel] Freedman’s astute observation that essentially all the Biblical books occurring after Mt. Sinai and leading up to 2
 Kings record Israel’s breaking all of the 10 Commandments that are essentially the founding principles that forms the basis for Israel’s existence as a Kingdom of God.

He goes on to assert that as a nation, Israel, sequentially, and in the order on the tablets Moses received, broke every one of the commandments by the time they got to the point in history of 2 Kings. The first two commandments were actually broken at the very moment the commands were given. Exodus 20 gives a list of the Ten Commandments starting in verse 3. Verses 3-4 say,

You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.

The whole story of how they broke the first two commands is in Exodus 32:1-10. The people became impatient waiting for Moses to end his private conference with God, so they took things into their own hands. They formed the molten calf (Exodus 32:4), thus placing another god before Jehovah God and having an image/likeness of something on the earth as their god.

My thoughts: this is human nature then and now. Remember my opening paragraph? For the most part, we don’t like to be told what to do. Even though I profess to be a follower of Christ and diligently try to apply the commands I get from the Holy Spirit, I often fail. In order to truly be a follower of Christ I need to make specific applications that, little by little, lead me to be changed into the character of Jesus. Yet, I often rebel and disobey God of the exact commands He’s giving me.

For instance, for over a year now, I’ve frequently come across in my Bible reading, studying, and highlighting the command to pray – specific and consistent prayer. Yet, each day as I set about my activities for the day, I do not put on my schedule specific and devoted time to pray. I am praying short and pointed prayers throughout each day, but there are some long-term, ongoing requests I tend to forget about. (They are written down in a notebook, which I should also be regularly adding to.)

It’s just too easy to rebel and say to myself either, “Don’t tell me what to do!” or “I don’t want to do that!” Fortunately, even though God’s desire is for us to obey every command in the Bible (Old and New Testaments), He forgives those who fail when they confess to Him and try again. Unfortunately, the nation of Israel was led by men who did not make following the Ten Commandments (or any of God’s commandments except when convenient) a priority for them or their nations. So, one by one (and repeatedly) they broke all Ten Commandments, which we will see in 2 Kings led to God’s judgment. We will begin to look at some of that judgment next week.

Seek the Lord Jehovah

Picking back up in 1 Kings, some time has passed. The Scriptures do not explain the hows or whys but at the beginning of chapter 22, King Ach’av (Ahab) of Israel and King Y’hoshafat (Jehoshaphat) of Judah had become allies. They met to form plans for battle against the occupiers of Ramot-Gil’ad that was in the ancestral lands God had given Israel.

The two kings agreed to fight together, but Y’hoshafat had a request before they finalized the plans. Verse 5 (CJB) explains: “But Y’hoshafat said to the king of Isra’el, ‘First, we should seek the word of Adonai.’” Ach’av assembled the prophets (who were not Jehovah followers) and they all did their song and dance rituals. They determined God would provide a great victory for the joint armies of Israel and Judah. But Y’hoshafat was not satisfied.

But Y’hoshafat said, “Besides these, isn’t there a prophet of Adonai here that we can consult?” ⁸ The king of Isra’el said to Y’hoshafat, “Yes, there is still one man through whom we can consult Adonai, Mikhay’hu the son of Yimlah; but I hate him, because he doesn’t prophesy good things for me, but bad!” Y’hoshafat replied, “The king shouldn’t say such a thing.” (Verses 7-8)

So Mikhay’hu (Micaiah not to be confused with Micah) was summoned, probably from a dungeon where Ach’av had him for safekeeping and out of his way. Micaiah gave the kings God’s message, which was unfavorable for Ach’av, predicting he would go up to battle and be killed. Y’hoshafat was actually spared being harmed, while a random arrow struck Ach’av “between his lower armor and his breastplate” (verse 34). There is much more to these events, but I’m going to focus on one aspect, an aspect we can and should all do.

What did Y’hoshafat do that was different than Ach’av? Why was he spared while Ach’av was not? I’m not sure of all of the possible answers, but one thing stood out to me. Y’hoshafat sought the true God’s (Jehovah’s) words. He did not settle for words from the wise men of his era. He did not read every note from the people. He did not rely on anything but God. I’m also trying to not rely on Facebook or TV news or rumors for my information. All I really need to know is what would God have me do next.

So we also need to seek the one true God’s will and commands when we are getting ready to go to battle. Our battles these days have to do with the uncertainty of the future, both immediate future and long-term future. Who would have thought that the state of the United States (even the world as a whole) would be what it is today. Very little is “normal.” There is fear, social distancing, economic worries, and so, so much uncertainty. Even the “experts” in the fields of medicine cannot agree on the facts about the coronavirus sweeping the world.

I can easily let a sense of unrest and fear overwhelm me, however, I daily (and moment to moment) pray to God. I especially acknowledge His greatness, power, and plans for victory. It’s the most and the least we can do. We can approach major decisions as Y’hoshafat did. Seek out God and His Word for direction. Turning to God will be our salvation from the worries of these times. I don’t assume to understand His answers, and I don’t even know what tomorrow holds for us, but I rely on the One who does.

Dumpster Diving

This week for my blog, I’m going to talk about something God showed me in a Quiet Time about my mental health recovery. Please join me on this path before I get back to finishing up 1 Kings.

I read Philippians 3:4-9 and something stood out to me about Paul’s description of himself (vs. 4-7) and his conclusions in vs. 8-9. In the NLT verses 4-9 say

⁴ though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!⁵ I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. ⁶ I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.⁷ I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. ⁸ Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ ⁹ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

So in looking at verses 4-7, I evaluated my skills, concepts, tools, credentials, pride, and education that I relied on to handle my life. As I looked back, I saw that much of what I relied on, maybe all I relied on – coping mechanisms, education, certificates, diplomas – were either unhealthy or unhelpful as I try to live a productive life as Christ’s servant, or even as an healthy adult person. In many ways I’ve been able to develop new approaches to living that are helpful. But what have I done with the dysfunctional aspects of my life?

Verses 8-9 tell us what Paul did with all his credentials and thoughts that did not coincide with his new faith in Christ. Paul considered all his credentials, degrees, birthrights, and qualifications as garbage in light of the new revelation of Christ. Most garbage was useful for a time, but became useless over time. The usefulness of what Paul now considers junk, was in knowing the Scriptures and seeing how they lead to Christ. Obeying the Old Testament was the only measure they had for righteousness.

But Paul says in this passage that all of that is garbage to him because he now sees the fulfillment through Jesus Christ, and his righteousness is not based on the law but on faith. This reminded me of all those things (coping mechanisms) I held onto so tightly as a child and into my adulthood. They were useful, but as I grew and was no longer in the same situations or danger, they only confused what my adult behaviors should and could be. To me, they are worthless and useless (most of the time) as I’ve learned new coping strategies and matured in dealing with my emotions in adult ways. I never really thought of them as garbage before. However, in learning new ways, new ideas, and identifying feelings I’d long stuffed, they have become useless (and they were never all that helpful). As a result, I am closer to Christ and recognize that my “goodness,” “righteousness” is solely dependent on my faith in Christ. 

So as I was thinking about that more during the next few days, I felt ashamed because in a recent session with my therapist, I tried to cover myself in garbage when things got tough. Useless, worthless and obsolete coping behaviors don’t really match up with God’s plan or with my being an adult. I regret all the times when I hop into the trash bin and try to pull out the things that I have, for the most part, done away with. I picture myself, digging in the filth and rotten food, smearing myself in it, trying to regain what I thought I had lost. However, the rotten banana peel I’m rubbing myself in is no longer functional. I think that looking at the old coping skills as trash (obsolete, worn out, useless thoughts and behaviors) is a new perspective and may help me in the future to not fall into using them.

This imagery of dumpster diving is so vivid in my mind, that when I’m tempted to use the old, outdated, and worthless tools for coping with life, I think twice. I find that there are many things I rely on to navigate through life that need to be put in the trash so I can be more effective in this world for the sake of Christ.

·      What are you doing with the old creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) and its ways of doing things?

·      Are you also dumpster diving?

·      How can you change that to be more effective for Christ, and to live a productive life?

·      Is it time to let your faith be the primary coping mechanism in your life?

God Keeps Calling

We come to 1 Kings 20, which takes a break from the Elijah and Elisha story lines. The situation is that Israel (referring to the northern 10 tribes) is in a relative time of peace from surrounding nations. However, the king, still Ahab, and government leaders have let down their guard and have not paid attention to the political and military climates of those surrounding nations.

There are several reasons that the king of Aram (modern day Syria) takes this opportunity to challenge and threaten Israel. Most of them had to do with Aram’s position in the region, and having a chance to take over Israel as they have wanted to do for many years, they gave it a try. Ahab’s alliances were soft. He essentially had no trained military. So Ben-hadad of Aram sent messengers to Ahab telling him that Ahab would have to turn over everything of value – land, gold, silver, crops, wives, children, servants – to him to avoid a deadly battle. Ahab was willing to give up a lot, but when Ben-hadad’s demands cut so deep it was humiliating, he refused and Aram moved into position to attack.

Then God stepped in. God sent a prophet to Ahab and told him that, in spite of the vast army assembled outside the gates, He would give Ahab the victory. Of course, Ahab was skeptical since God told him to gather only a few young men (232), none of who were soldiers or military men in any way. The newly formed army moved out to meet Ben-hadad’s armies and caught Ben-hadad thoroughly drunk and unprepared. Even as Ben-hadad was hosting 32 kings who were his allies, God’s small army moved in. Of course, as we would expect from remembering how God always provided the victory when He said He would, the 232 in Israel’s “army” soundly defeated the vast army of Aram.

The point of this story is two-fold for me. First, it showed that in spite of Ahab and Israel’s continued disobedience and grave sinfulness, God would again act out of His great mercy. I would say His never-ending mercy. In the last chapter, God was rebuking Elijah for his desires to bring wrath down on Israel because of their disobedience. But that is not God’s way with His people (then or now). Here, God again calls to Israel for repentance with an act of mercy by protecting them from Ben-hadad and his army. A gentle calling, an announcement that the God of Israel is a loving and longsuffering God, continually waiting on His people to become obedient. God never stops calling out to sinners attempting to draw them to Himself.

The second point for me, based on the first, is that God is still calling. He is calling for His people in the church to repent and return to worshiping Him. We as a people have continued to go astray from His commands and His wishes. Individually, we continue to sin and rebel against God’s laws and try to do things our own way. God’s calling also extends to everyone. He hasn’t stopped calling people to Himself and no matter how grave the sin or disobedience, He does not write people off as unable to be saved. He asks us to mirror His character by also mercifully, gently, and persistently calling to others to repent, turn to Him, and honor Him.

Are there people or groups of people you have given up on? 

What would God say about that? 

Are we acting as He would have us act – loving, merciful, gentle, and persistent? 

I intend to keep loving people however they behave and however they think, as that is what God is doing.

Besides, only God knows what’s going on in the hearts and minds of people. Since I don’t know and you can’t always tell by their behavior how desperate, lonely, frustrated, angry, despairing, or confused they might be, I will keep calling to them. My job is not to judge. My job is to be God’s voice to the world, mirroring His gentle, loving, and forgiving call to everyone.

Burnout

Pastors need sabbaticals. Not necessarily to recover from burnout, but to prevent burnout. They work long weeks, often interrupted by “emergencies.” There are few professional jobs that require the same amount of commitment, flexibility, and people time as those involved in full time ministry. Along with extended sabbaticals, pastors and missionaries need regular time off to connect with family and God in different ways than the usual.

Elijah needed such a time out. He was burnt out on trying to get the northern tribes comprising Israel to repent and return to the worship of Jehoveh God. While much of his burnout was the result of trying to do things on his own, without God’s direct commands, the result was the same as many who are obedient to God: lots of effort, little hoped for results.

Elijah experienced depression, despondency, exhaustion, fear, and doubts. He was no longer sure of his role and mission that Jehoveh had planned for him. I’ve experienced all those emotions along with a lot of questions about my self-worth, purpose, and even, why I am even alive. I believe those feelings are the natural outcome of getting our eyes off God and His plans for us.

God measures success differently than we do. Our success or failure is not based on achieving tremendous outcomes. Success in God’s eyes is not about getting a promotion at work. Success according to God is not the act of accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior (although that’s the beginning). God measures our success by how obedient we are.

In some ways, Elijah was as unsuccessful as he thought he was. This is because he attempted to correct the Israelites apart from God’s plans. As much as I thought that Elijah was a great man of God, I was taken aback by a deeper study of the Scriptures. In 1 Kings 17:1 (CJB) it says,

Eliyahu [Elijah] from Tishbe, an inhabitant of Gil‘ad, said to Ach’av [Ahab], “As Adonai the God of Isra’el lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither rain nor dew in the years ahead unless I say so.”

This is a vow Eliyahu (Elijah) made to Ach’av (Ahab) the king of Israel. Notice Elijah says that there will be no rain or dew unless he says so. There is no record of God sending Elijah to the king to tell him this. Elijah did it on his own. God did give powerful gifts to Elijah – to use as He instructed – but Elijah took things into his own hands and decided what needed to be done. (Don’t we often do the same with our gifts and talents? Every Christian has been given spiritual gifts but I know I have at times used my gifts for my own glory or to seek worldly success.)

Elijah was trying to reshape Israel back into a kingdom that worshiped the God Almighty. He thought his wrath and attacks would do that. He thought that creating a drought and famine would get the people to recognize the one true God. Yet that’s not God’s way. If Elijah was in tune with God, and had been obedient, the efforts to turn Israel back to God would’ve coincided with God’s character. God’s plan has always been to change people’s course by showing mercy. Elijah missed that point.

So Elijah’s lack of success, his lack of obedience to God, and his working so hard and in dangerous situations, led to his burnout. We need to be praying for our pastors and missionaries (and anyone else in full time ministry for God’s sake). We need to pray they would know when to take time off. We also need to pray and work towards our individual churches knowing the importance of time off for our pastors and full time workers in ministry. And we need to give them, and not grudgingly, the time they need.

Choices

I’ve heard it said, “You can’t serve two masters.” That’s the basic message I found in 1 Kings 18.

The people in the northern tribes comprising Israel during the time of Elijah the prophet thought they could serve both the idol god, Ba’al, and the true God, Jehoveh. While we can’t be too critical of the average person in Israel, we can evaluate the religious leaders – the teachers of religion for the people. King Ahab had built false altars and had encouraged worship at those altars of the idols that Jezebel, his non-Hebrew wife, worshiped.

The false priests Ahab appointed were primarily worshipers of Ba’al, but they tried to appease the people by implying they were worshiping the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) as well. The people followed blindly along, but the leaders and teachers are the ones God penalized.

The chapter tells a story about Elijah calling the people together after a three-year drought in order to have them decide which god they were going to follow. He had the prophets of Ba’al build an altar, put their choice bull on the wood on the altar, and call upon Ba’al. These prophets begged and pleaded with their “god,” with all kinds of shenanigans, to consume the offering. The prophets of Ba’al danced, shouted, and cut themselves from morning until late in the afternoon. Nothing happened. At one point, Elijah mocked them and said that perhaps their god was occupied in the bathroom. They feverishly picked up their attempts to get Ba’al to perform.

Late in the day, Elijah told them that that was enough and called to the people. He called out to the people, “How long are you going to jump back and forth between two positions? If ADONAI is God, follow him; but if it’s Ba’al, follow him!” (Verse 21). So Elijah told the people to look to the altar he had built. He had them pour buckets and buckets full of water all over the offering (the bull the Ba’al worshipers had given him), all over the wood, filling a trench around the altar.

At the time of the evening offering, Elijah simply prayed to God.

“ADONAI, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Hear me, ADONAI, hear me, so that this people may know that you, ADONAI, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back to you” (1 Kings 18:36-37, CJB).

God was calling them to repentance. When God’s fire fell upon the offering, it consumed everything, even the stones on which the offering had been laid. There was not a drop of water left anywhere. The people responded by falling on their faces and crying out, “ADONAI is God! ADONAI is God!” (Verse 39).

It’s the same for us today. We can’t worship idols and God at the same time. We have to choose. We can’t have our earthly desires and lusts and self-righteousness and be true worshipers of God. Many times people in Christian circles choose what parts of Scripture they are going to apply to their worship. Many times people in Christian circles listen to the leaders and teachers who construe Scripture to their own agendas. God will hold the leaders accountable, but He will also hold each person accountable to choose what it actually says in His Torah. We have to choose. We can’t say we follow Christ and then stretch Scripture to say what we think it should say or what we want it to say.

Droughts

Elijah pronounced a severe drought from God throughout the northern country of Israel, Sidon, and Tyre as evidence that God was not pleased with their idol worship. The drought rapidly became severe; there wasn’t even the evening or morning dew.

Of course, Elijah was not exempt from the consequences of the drought. God sent him to a wilderness area away from people. Elijah went. He didn’t know how he was going to survive. The drought became a learning experience for Elijah where he learned to trust God for his every need. There was a little stream that didn’t dry up right away. God did a remarkable miracle in ordering the ravens to bring Elijah food fit for human consumption each and every day. Have you ever tried to get a raven to do your bidding? Of course not! We just know they are not readily trained to even care about people. As a matter of fact, they are more likely to snatch seeds from our fields preventing a harvest.

Elijah grew to trust and rely on God in new ways during the drought. I’ve also experienced droughts. I’ve been emotionally isolated, away from people, distant from God, and away from the joy, happiness, love, and care of others (or at least it felt that way to me). During such times, I pleaded with God for the things I thought I needed. I was often wrong and God gave me exactly what I truly needed. Much like Elijah, God used the droughts in my life to deepen my trust in Him. Over time I’ve seen how He’s given me exactly what I needed, and many of the things I wanted. He used the droughts to drive me closer to, and more dependent,d on Him.

God gives another example of how a drought can work to draw us to Him. In Genesis, where I’ve been reading in my daily Quiet Times, an earlier drought is talked about. This drought drove Jacob and his sons to Egypt for their sustenance. They found Joseph, who they assumed was dead after the brothers sold him into slavery, in charge of Egypt’s vast resources. The drought would’ve wiped them out, but that was not God’s plan. He provided for them, by orchestrating the series of events (read Genesis 37-50) that allowed for them to be reunited with Joseph and to survive the drought. As the brothers repented before Joseph, they were also repenting before God, restoring relationships.

I’m thinking I do not want any more droughts. However, I’m also thinking if they drive me to depend more heavily upon the Almighty God for my care and sustenance, I welcome the hardship into my life. I hope I remember to turn to God with my whole heart and learn more deeply the depth, and the breadth of God’s power and love.

Dreams

The color was the deepest blue. The rays coming through the clouds dazzled my eyes. I was anticipating a great day. My life long companion was keeping step with me as we leisurely strolled through the crowd. Some were waiting in line and some were sitting and eating lunch. I couldn’t decide what to do first.

Out of nowhere, the sky became darkened and the clouds bunched together. They were ominous and my visions of a beautiful day rapidly dissolved. I instinctively turned to ask my husband what we should do, but he wasn’t there. Was this the beginning of a horror story? Looked around and everything was swirling around me. My feet lifted and set down but I did not know where to go or how to get there. Sheets of water were pummeling me so I took the first shelter I could find: a house of mirrors. I was swallowed up by the hallways, and when I turned around the entrance was no longer in my sight. There was screaming. Or was it in my head? My heart was galloping away within me. I tried to ask for help, but no one even turned to me when I tried to speak.

Then I was alone, running, ever running through the maze of mirrors, colliding headlong into panes of the silvery glass. My own reflection terrorized me; I thought it was a monster. After what seemed like hours, days, months I fell and was shaking. It was hopeless. I was trapped, alone. I reached for my purse with my diabetes supplies. It wasn’t there. In fact, I had no bag of any kind.

Where was my husband? Where was my protector? I withdrew inside myself; I don’t know how much time passed. Two men were grabbing me, forcing me to stand. I cried out for my companion, but he was not there. They forced me outside the maze then set me free. I was standing on hot black asphalt – an empty parking lot. I started running and screaming. I just knew my blood sugars were dropping with every step but I didn’t know what else to do. No money, no food, no credit card, no diabetes kit, and no phone. My face was wet, but it wasn’t raining anymore.

I sat up and heaved a sigh. Where was my husband? Lying beside me. I should’ve felt safe but didn’t.

That was a recurring dream I had often for many years. Sometimes in the dream (or should I call it a nightmare?) I would run helter-skelter through a shopping mall or a mountain resort looking for my husband. I felt that he had left me and didn’t care what happened to me. I was tormented by the thought, even once I was awake.

In talking with my therapist about these dreams, I came to realize that they were reflecting my thoughts and feelings about the world. I felt alone. I felt there was no one willing to help me. These dreams happened during the time I was struggling the most with my bipolar disorder and was convinced that nobody was going to stay by me or cared what happened to me.

I cannot remember having such a dream in a few years. My waking hours are crowded with people who care about me and are here to help me. And, I accept that love and concern. I’m thinking, as my recovery is ongoing, I have become less afraid of people leaving me. I’m especially more confident that my husband would not only never leave me, but he won’t leave me even for a short while without making sure I have what I need to survive (mentally and physically) while he’s gone. I am also more confident in myself and generally can appropriately take care of myself.

God created us to have dreams to tell us something. In Genesis 40, God gave the king’s deposed cupbearer and baker dreams. They also needed help to “interpret” them. Joseph enters the scene and gives them both an interpretation. My dreams, hopefully, do not reflect a future for me as the cupbearer’s and baker’s did, but enlighten my past and my present. And sometimes they are just bizarre things my mind comes up with during sleep. 

God Does Not Give Up On Us

It isn’t very far into 1 Kings 16 that we are reminded that God, in spite of Israel’s evil kings, does not give up on His people. Even though the people of Israel blindly followed the evil practices of their kings, God did not give up on them. And, Israel’s kings were evil.

(By the way, when I use the name “Israel” in reference to this time in history, I’m referring to the 10 northern tribes that broke away from the unified kingdom. Judah remained separate and actually had a few good kings mixed in with some evil ones.)

So, even though God does not give up and He will keep His promises, He will hold each world leader and each individual accountable to adhering to the Scriptures. The people during this time had to rely on their “learned” leaders, those with access to the Holy Scrolls, for their information. They were slowly indoctrinated into the worship of idols. They were told that various practices were in keeping with what God wanted. They had no idea they were worshiping idols. These extra-Biblical practices and rituals led them to believing they were still worshiping Yahweh God. However, they were as I said above,  reliant upon the leaders to tell them what was what. They did not have access to the Holy Scrolls and even if they did, many would not have been able to read them.

There’s a warning to us in this passage. Yes, our governmental leaders and even our church leaders may slowly incorporate non-Biblical concepts, ideas, policies, practices and rituals into our spiritual lives. God will hold them responsible for those sins. However, before we jump too fast into blaming our leaders, let’s look at ourselves. We do not have the excuse of not having the Sacred Scrolls available for us to read and adhere to. We will be held responsible for knowing and following the Scriptures on an individual basis. We will also be held accountable for not objecting to the misuses of power and prestige and the pulpit. We should not be condemning each other since no one is without fault of disobeying some portion of Scripture, but we should hold our leaders and ourselves accountable to the basics – even just to Ten Commandments.

Let’s review the Ten Commandments. My hope is that we will take a serious and thorough inventory of ourselves as we look at these commandments. How are we doing? How are our leaders doing?

1.     You should have no others gods before Me.

2.     You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath. You shall not bow down to them or worship them.

3.     You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.

4.     Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

5.     Honor your father and your mother.

6.     You shall not murder.

7.     You shall not commit adultery.

8.     You shall not steal.

9.     You shall not give false testimony.

10.  You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, wife, servants, or animals.

One last word. You cannot know whether you are following God or human leaders unless you are daily and thoroughly reading and studying His Word. Our leaders, religious or political, can be just as wrong as the evil kings of Israel. (In Acts 17:11 the Bereans were upheld as the example for all of us: “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.”)

What Is Wholeheartedness?

I’m starting with a review of the kings of Judah after the division of the nation following Solomon’s reign. Solomon’s son, Rehoboam reigned (poorly) for a few years. Then Rehoboam’s son, Abijam, “ruled three years in Jerusalem and he committed all the sins his father had committed before him; he was not wholehearted with Adonai his God, as David his forefather had been” (1 Kings 15:2-3, CJB). After Abijam, his son, Asa, ruled in Judah (verses 8-24). It is said of Asa: “But the high places were not removed. Nevertheless, Asa was wholehearted with Adonai throughout his life” (verse 14).

So, if you haven’t guessed by the italicized word, my focus today is on what made Asa wholehearted, while Abijam was not. They both were not perfect. They both behaved poorly and different than God had instructed in His Torah. What was the difference? Why was one deemed wholehearted and one was not?

The answer, I found out from my study, is really quite simple, yet so hard to determine in our culture today. Humans will sin. Abijam sinned by keeping the idol worship in place as his father, Rehoboam, had instituted it in Judah. He encouraged the people to worship gods other than Adonai. He did whatever he could to build himself up, even if that meant worshiping other gods at “high places” other than the Temple in Jerusalem.

Asa also sinned. He failed to remove the “high places” scattered all over Judah. He also failed to turn to Adonai at a time when they were under attack from a neighboring nation. Early in his reign, he did turn to God and God provided a miraculous victory. He, however, failed to recall that incident, and therefore failed to trust God again.

Human failings. Sins. Not going all the way in pursuing God. Yet Scripture says one was wholehearted as David was, and the other was not. Again, what makes a person wholehearted in God’s perspective? Remember, David is also called wholehearted, and yet he committed sexual immorality and murder. I focused on four aspects of what it means to be wholehearted to God.

·      We must refrain from ever worshiping other gods.

·      We must have a fierce and exclusive loyalty to the one true God.

·      We must never be an idolater or give approval of idolatry.

·      We must remain Torah compliant in regards to our worship of God.

Some of those overlap a bit and the last one, remaining Torah compliant, can be a large task. Fortunately, since the day of Christ, we can exercise our wholeheartedness in having a fierce and faithful loyalty to Christ. Trusting Jesus and believing in His humanity and His deity is being wholehearted.

This does present a series of problems with many mainline Christian communities (and even to those who say they are compliant with Scripture to some degree). Are we, like Judah in Asa’s time, mixing pagan worship or manmade traditions with our attempts to worship Adonai? Do we construct our own ideas of who God is and what He’s like? I’m not going to answer those questions. I’m not even going to point out times and places we do behave in that manner. Each of us needs to educate ourselves about what activities we have adapted that began as pagan rituals. We need to study the Scriptures as thoroughly as possible to determine exactly what God has ordained. I want to be seen as wholehearted before the Lord so I will examine my beliefs and actions carefully.

1 Kings 14: Two Short Ideas

This chapter covers more about the decline of the northern tribes of Ephraim-Israel under Jeroboam’s leadership as the people just followed along. One side note the commentator brought up was about how mankind was made in such a way that they looked to leaders to guide them. The whole book of Judges records the consistent problems Israel had without a designated (God-anointed) leader.

According to the commentator, Judges shows we need a “king.” As a follow up to that idea we have the two books of Kings to show us that not any king will do. We need the Lord’s idea of a king. Kings need to serve the people instead of forcing the people to serve the king’s needs, desires, or coffers. We saw, starting in 1^st and 2^nd Samuel, that the God-appointed kings struggled to be servants of the people. Other characteristics of the right type of king are justice, love, power, mercy, kindness, and appropriate severity when called for. Are there truly any such good and godly leaders or nations left on earth? I’d say no, but that doesn’t mean we have to go along with what our leaders say. Appropriate opposition, based on Biblical principles, is needed, but let’s not fool ourselves. No matter what changes are made, no single person or nation will live up to God’s standards.

Starting in 1 Kings 14:21, the focus switches from the northern kingdom to the country called Judah, which is still ruled by Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. In verse 22, it says,

Judah did what was evil from ADONAI’s perspective; they made him angry because of their sins, which were worse than any their ancestors had committed.

In other words, they did not fare any better than Ephraim-Israel. Again, poor and ungodly leadership would lead to destruction there as it did in the north. In 2 Chronicles 12:1, 14 there’s further description of Rehoboam:

But in time, after Rechav‘am [Rehoboam] had consolidated his rulership and had become strong, he, and with him all Isra’el, abandoned the Torah of Adonai. . . He did what was evil, because he had not set his heart on seeking Adonai.

A key problem, maybe the most important problem, is that Rehoboam had decided not to follow the Scriptures. His grandfather, David, had this problem also, but David did not abandon (renounce allegiance to God). David did not use his freewill to walk away from God and become eternally separated from God. The wording in 1 Kings 14 is different and indicates that Rehoboam, without much struggle, gave God the heave-ho.

Again, even the people who still followed the true God in Judah, and I’m not sure there were many of them, did not hold Rehoboam accountable. Likely, the people did not know the Torah since the leaders usually were responsible for proclaiming it, and Rehoboam’s “priests” and leaders weren’t doing that. The ritualistic practices of the people were not even seen as wrong. They probably thought they were actually honoring God.

How can we avoid the decline into evil? We are without excuse because we have God’s commands all written out for us. God doesn’t necessarily hold those who have not had the chance to know the “law” accountable for their sins. Romans 4:15 (in the Amplified Bible) says, “ For the Law results in [God’s] wrath [against sin], but where there is no law, there is no violation [of it either].” There are people groups in the world that have not heard the gospel, and there are people who do not understand the Word because they are not yet saved in Christ. I can’t say for sure, but I think God will take that into account when He judges people at the end of time. It’s like a child; until they’ve been told what is bad, to blame them (and punish them) is cruel. But, once explanation has been given, there should be appropriate consequences, and when we come before Jesus on the judgment seat, we will also have consequences for our sins.

The best way to prevent harsh judgment is to know, truly study, God’s Word and obey it. This is the only way any kind of change can happen in our world or leadership.

God's Word is Not Amendable

There once was a man of God (not named), a prophet, who proclaimed a message to the king of the northern tribes in Ephraim-Israel. Jeroboam had received a calling from the Almighty God to rule the 10 northern tribes (while Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, ruled over Judah in the south) (1 Kings 12). Jeroboam rather quickly violated all the conditions the Lord had given him to ensure his descendants would rule for a long time. God noticed. However, while there’s a point to made there, that’s not where I’m going today.

Today we look at what God sends this certain man of God to do (1 Kings 13). Basically, God gives this man a message for Jeroboam and the false priests he’s appointed. Jeroboam’s violation of God’s conditions and laws would lead to the burning of all the people who honored the false gods (golden calves) that Jeroboam had set upon false altars. The man of God’s message delivered, the destruction of the altars occurs. The rest of the punishment would be realized several years later and is recorded in 2 Kings 23:16.

So the man of God follows God’s command to him to not eat, drink or return along the same path while in the north. He begins to leave, but an old prophet hears about all that happened, and goes after the man of God to fellowship with him. Here’s a caution: there were many people in Scripture called prophets who were not men/women of God. This old prophet was probably a prophet of the false god, Baal. By lying to the man of God, telling him God had given him instructions to bring him back to his house and feed him. The man of God, for whatever reason (there are several interpretations), goes with him and eats and drinks from the food of the people who honored the false gods.

We are told shortly that that was a violation of God’s command to the man of God and the man of God would suffer grave consequences for going against the words of the Lord. The commentator we are using for our study of 1 Kings, tells us about one of his pet peeves – which so happens to be one of mine. There are people, professed believers, who say to others something along the lines of, “I have a word from the Lord for you.” That’s what the old prophet did. And, it was a lie. When God gives a commandment to follow through the reading of Scriptures or during intense times of prayer, we are to keep that command. Often the word others say they have for you contradicts what, up to this point, you’ve felt God was saying to us or doesn’t agree with the specific commands of the Bible.

We are responsible to carry out what God has instructed us, and if He changes it, He will tell us personally – not from someone else. I’m not saying that someone shouldn’t share a passage of Scripture with us, correcting anti-Biblical behavior or thoughts, but great caution must prevail. God, through the Holy Spirit, is fully capable of giving us His Biblically verifiable commands without the help of another person. It may take some searching of the Scriptures and an incredible amount of focused prayer, but He will communicate to us through the Word, not from someone else’s thoughts or feelings.

Again With the Idols

I know I’ve discussed this topic before, but in 1 Kings 12 it comes up again in a big way. It is the beginning of the demise of Israel as a unified nation. Hence forth in history as recorded in the Scriptures, Israel will be divided as it was before David came on the scene.

It’s tempting to think of that as a long time ago and that Israel as one kingdom lasted for a long time; however, Israel was unified for a mere 80 years. People who were born at the beginning of David’s rule may still have been alive to see the end under David’s grandson, Jeroboam. It had not even been two whole generations.

God divided Israel because of Solomon’s idolatry. We saw that in 1 Kings 11:29-33 as the prophet, Achiyah, explained to Jeroboam the reason for promoting him to king over 10 tribes. God also told Jeroboam that he and his descendants would rule for a long time IF they worshipped and obeyed God’s commands as David had. So after a time, God allowed for the separation between the northern 10 tribes and Judah. This area, to avoid confusion about what “Israel” we are talking about, became known as Ephraim-Israel. Ephraim was the dominant tribe in the north.

Unfortunately, Jeroboam did not do that. He made decisions based on the best way to promote himself, prevent a reunification of Israel by Solomon’s heir (Rehoboam), and to bolster his own power position. He went to an extreme. He established a new religion in the Ephraim-Israel. He built new temples, one in the northern part of his kingdom and one in the southern part. He established new festivals and holidays. He ordained priests that were not descendants of Levi. He made two golden calves just like Aaron had done during the exodus from Egypt. He even went as far as to tell the people that these golden calves had “brought you out of the land of Egypt.” Not God, but a couple of statues!

Before we get too critical of Jeroboam, we have to consider what idols we’ve systematically promoted over our worship of God. They may not be as blatant as gold calves, but they are there. It may be doing whatever it takes for a healthy lifestyle like eating and exercising. We may believe that education is supreme and lifts those who have advance degrees to a higher plane. For some others, it could be trusting other people or submitting to their wishes more than, or instead of, God. Also, politics, sports, and always having to be right misdirect our devotion to the only One who we should be worshipping.

Basically, putting any ideology, idea, behavior, or person before knowing and obeying God’s Word is idolatry. As we enter a new year, let’s evaluate what our focus for life is. Instead of making resolutions, be resolved in your pursuit of God.