December 30, 2024 1 Kings 14:1-20
December 30, 2024 1 Kings 14:1-20
14 At that
time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. 2 And
Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise, and disguise yourself, that it not be known
that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the
prophet is there, who said of me that I should be king over this
people. 3 Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and
a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall happen to the
child.”
4 Jeroboam's
wife did so. She arose and went to Shiloh and came to the house
of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of
his age. 5 And the Lord said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam
is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus
shall you say to her.”
When she came, she pretended to be
another woman. 6 But when Ahijah heard the
sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of
Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another? For I am charged with unbearable
news for you. 7 Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says
the Lord, the God of
Israel: “Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader
over my people Israel 8 and tore the kingdom
away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not
been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with
all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes, 9 but
you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and made
for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking me to anger,
and have cast me behind your back, 10 therefore
behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from
Jeroboam every male, both bond and free in Israel, and will burn up
the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone. 11 Anyone
belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who
dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the Lord has spoken it.”’ 12 Arise
therefore, go to your house. When your feet enter the city, the child
shall die. 13 And all Israel shall mourn for him
and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in
him there is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. 14 Moreover,
the Lord will raise up
for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today.
And henceforth, 15 the Lord will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the
water, and root up Israel out of this good land that he gave to their
fathers and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made
their Asherim, provoking the Lord to
anger. 16 And he will give Israel up because of the
sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.”
17 Then
Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and came to Tirzah. And as she
came to the threshold of the house, the child died. 18 And
all Israel buried him and mourned for him, according to the word of
the Lord, which he spoke by
his servant Ahijah the prophet.
19 Now the
rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred and how he reigned, behold,
they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 20 And
the time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. And he slept with his
fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place.
It amazes me how so many
times we see stories of those in the Bible that turn their back on God over and
over and then turn to Him and ask for help from God and His prophets when they
get into trouble. I have personally seen
many times in today’s world where someone finally hits rock bottom and turns to
God, but what is sad is that just as often people hit rock bottom because of
their own choices and then blame God for their situation.
God desires a relationship
with us and so often all He gets is our begging for Him to fix what we
broke. Go to God today and thank Him for
all He has done and continues to do for you.
Even in the worst of times, God is on His throne.
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