April 17th

April 17th -- 1 Kings 12:1-24 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%2012:1-24&version=NLT)

The northern tribes revolt ; Shemaiah's prophecy

We're looking at a time after Solomon has died, to clarify.

So Rehoboam goes to Shechem where Israel had gathered to make him king. Jeroboam hears about this, though, and returns from Egypt (where he fled to escape Solomon). He is summoned and he and Israel's whole assembly goes to speak to Rehoboam. They ask him to be kinder to him than their father, in regards to the labor demands and taxes, saying if he is, they'll be his loyal subjects. Rehoboam goes to others for advice. He first asks some older counselors, who tell him to listen to the people, saying being favorable to them will bring their continued loyalty. He does not listen, though, and goes instead to some of his peers. His peers tell him to tell the people he's going to be even harder on them than even his father was! So he tells the people this, paying no attention to their requests. This fulfilled a message to Jeroboam from God. Israel, though, realizes that their king is not listening, and basically refuse to ever let someone from the house of David rule them again, and they leave. Rehoboam keeps ruling over those in Judah (the north). When Rehoboam sends Adoniram, the head of the labor force, to try and restore order, the people kill him. The Israelites then hear of Jeroboam's return, and make him king over Israel. So only the tribe of Judah was still loyal to the family of David.
When Rehoboam arrives at Jerusalem, he gathers a force (of Benjaminite and men of Judah) to take back Israel and restore the kingdom to him. God tells Shemaiah, though, to tell Rehoboam and his men that God is telling them not to fight their relatives, but go home instead. They listened.

Rehoboam had two pieces of advice. One was good and one was bad. He took the bad advice, and it got him into trouble. We get advice often from people. Sometimes they intend to give bad advice and cause harm, but other times they mean well but are simply mistaken. However, we tend to listen to those closer to us - our peers. We let down that filter when we listen to them. Because we favor them as people, we do not tend to consider that their advice may be unfavorable when compared to that of others. Bad advice, even from a well-meaning person, when acted upon can lead to trouble. How well do you think on the advice you are given before acting on it? Do you really ponder it, thinking on what seems more practical, and particularly Godly? Or do you just take what you get from your friends? It is easy to take advice and think, at first, it is good. We want help, and so when we are drawn to ask for advice, we are truly seeking aid. This means we tend to accept what we get. Sometimes we may not like the answer, though, so we look for one we like. Both are dangerous. We need to be very conscious of who we go to for advice -are we looking to people more than God? We should be looking to God more than people. Get into His word instead of asking a friend. See what He has to say before/instead of anyone else. His word is truth, and when we do as He commands us we are obeying Him and He will bless us for that. So filter your advice, and be careful which you take and which you leave.

Well, that's all! God bless! Shalom!