Using God
1 Kings 14:1-6
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBOsnQH5bDE
This story on the life of King Jeroboam is one that no one should ignore. In fact, it’s impossible to understand the history of the Jewish people and the nation of Israel without knowing it, and that’s because every king that followed came into judgment because they followed in King Jeroboam’s footsteps. It says that they did evil in the eyes of God because they walked in the ways of Jeroboam and his sin.
Of Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, it says, “He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father (Ahab) and in the way of his mother (Jezebel) and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin.” (1 Kings 22:52 NKJV)
What exactly that sin entailed, however, is not so easily discerned.
The story begins in 1 Kings: 12, when King Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, didn’t listen to the advice of his elders, causing a rift between the 10 tribes up north, and the 2 tribes down south, causing the northern tribes to break off and start their own nation, with Jeroboam as their king.
Immediately Jeroboam was confronted with a possible kingdom buster, a problem that could cause the eventual downfall of this new kingdom and of his being its king.
The problem was the people had always gone to Jerusalem to offer their sacrifices and worship the Lord at the feasts as commanded by God in His word. The problem was Jerusalem lay in the Southern kingdom under Rehoboam’s control.
Jeroboam’s thought was if they continued going to the Temple, then their hearts would return to Rehoboam and they would defect, and possibly kill him (1 Kings 12:26-27).
So, Jeroboam developed a plan and started an alternate form of worship by placing a golden calf at each end of the nation telling the people that going to Jerusalem to worship God was too difficult, so he set up these golden calves to make it easier for them to worship God. Further, Jeroboam set up a new priesthood and feast days.
Basically, it had the name of God within it, but it had absolutely nothing to do with God and the worship of Him.
This was the sin of Jeroboam, and because of this, Israel sinned by worshipping God in way God never prescribed. You could say that Jeroboam led them into idolatry.
But there is another incident in Jeroboam’s life that is more illuminating and helpful in understanding Jeroboam’s character and speaks even more to this sin of Jeroboam. And while the sin of idolatry is what Jeroboam led Israel into, it wasn’t the sin that was at the heart of it.
Let’s look at our story. It’s found in 1 Kings 14:1-6.
“At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, ‘Please arise, and disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that I would be king over this people. Also take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what will become of the child.’ And Jeroboam's wife did so; she arose and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were glazed by reason of his age. Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, ‘Here is the wife of Jeroboam, coming to ask you something about her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman.’ And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, ‘Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news.’” (1 Kings 14:1-6)
Everything revolves around what it says about Jeroboam’s son, Abijah.
“At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick.” (1 Kings 14:1 NKJV)
With these words a drama unfolds worthy of our attention. Jeroboam wasn’t a gentle and loving soul by nature. He was terrible and violent, but he loved his son so much he does something completely out of character for him, asking God for help.
For Jeroboam, God and religion was a matter of convenience, not belief. Jeroboam didn’t make those two golden calves because he stopped believing in God; rather he saw this as just another religion, one that was a likely cause for him to lose his power and prestige, not to mention his kingdom.
Jeroboam wasn’t an atheist who gave up belief in God; rather his sin was deliberately modifying and changing God’s commandments to suit his purposes. Jeroboam didn’t cease to be religious; he didn’t cease believing in God; rather he manipulated God’s laws to suit his own plans and purposes.
He never told the people that the Lord wasn’t God; rather he said God didn’t need to be worshiped in the way prescribed in His word, which was to be at the temple, which happened to be in Jerusalem. Although he led the children of Israel into idolatry, this wasn’t his real sin; rather it was the changing and ignoring God’s word which led them into idolatry.
But now his son becomes ill, and he knows the religion he set up was a fake, so he goes to God. But still, God and religion are purely a matter of convenience. And it’s this same sin that finds its way into today’s society, and sadly even into the church.
People say they believe in God, and this belief increases dramatically when times of trial and crisis come. You know the old saying; there are no atheists in foxholes. People believe what the Bible says about love, mercy, grace, kindness, and compassion. They readily accept the teachings about God’s forgiveness and pardon. They desire and hope to go to heaven and are pleased when they hear sermons on God’s amazing grace.
But they ignore and avoid those areas and aspects of God’s word that speaks of our need to be holy, or when God’s truth doesn’t line up with what they believe. They accept all that the gospel of Jesus Christ gives, but rejects what the gospel demands. They want God, but on their own terms.
And so many follow the kings of Israel, doing evil in the sight of God by walking in the ways and sin of Jeroboam.
This reality came crashing down on me when I visited a friend who was dying. I talked about the commitment he had made when he accepted Jesus into his heart, but his commitment waned. He’d come to church occasionally, but thought I was too long winded (Don’t know where he got that idea).
While he knew he wasn’t living the life he was supposed to, he believed he was still a good man. And no matter how much I talked about his need to believe by faith, he went back to the theme of being good enough.
This is the sin of Jeroboam. He never disbelieved in God, but rather he worshipped God according to his own set of standards, which the Bible says comes up short.
Today I’d like to talk about what is implied in this value system set up by the world that perpetrates the way and sin of Jeroboam.
1. It Devalues God
If people would just understand what’s at stake and the consequences of this sin, and what God thinks about it, then they’d repent faster than the speed of light, and stop living such a life of hypocrisy.
It’s not only outright disobedience, but it’s also an act of rebellion and it insults God in two major areas.
a. It Insults God’s Goodness
The sin of Jeroboam possesses an attitude that cares little about God.
· It’s an attitude that only cares about what God can do, not who God is.
· It’s an attitude that doesn’t desire God; it only desires God’s help.
· It’s an attitude that has no interest in the Giver of every good and perfect gift, but rather it’s only interested in the gift.
Jeroboam couldn’t care less about God and His ways, that is, until his son got sick. And even then, he disguises his wife to get from God what he desired. He didn’t go and repent, rather he continued in his deception.
When crisis hits, it’s usually because God is trying to get our attention, to get us to turn from our own ways, and back to His word and His ways. But many people just don’t get it. They try to do good; they come to church and do good things, but what motivates them is not a sincere desire to get right with God, but rather it’s to get something from God that they can’t get for themselves. In essence: They’re using God.
Most of us know this feeling of being insulted when someone proclaims liking us, only to find out they’re more interested in what we can do for them.
And it’s the same thing when we turn to God only in our time of need. But it not only insults God’s goodness, but it insults His holiness.
b. It Insults God’s Holiness
This is seen in how people defend their sin and say God will forgive them, without ever repenting. It’s those who quote how God covers a multitude of sin but continue to walk in their sin while ignoring God in the process. This insults the holiness of God.
This sort of thinking believes that God isn’t serious about His word.
· It’s believing God really doesn’t care if we obey or not.
· It’s believing God really doesn’t mean what He says.
· It’s believing there won’t be any consequences for sin.
And so, what they are doing is playing God’s love against His holiness.
When we think like this, we’re saying we’re better at judging ourselves than God. We’re saying we know what is right and wrong for our own lives. It’s saying we make a better boss than God. It’s saying we know what is best for our lives.
This was Adam and Eve’s downfall. After eating from the tree of good and evil, that which was forbidden, they decided for themselves what was right and wrong for their own lives. When God came looking for them, they hid themselves. When God asked why, they said it was because they were naked. And God said, “Who told you that you are naked?”
God never said their nakedness was bad; they determined it all on their own, and that’s because instead of following God’s word, they followed their own ideas.
Take a moment and ask on what grounds can we say that one part of God’s word is correct while the other part is not; that one part of God’s word is important, and another part isn’t? Are we a better judge than God on what matters and what doesn’t matter? Are we the master of God telling and using Him as we will and want?
I think it’s better that we just say we don’t believe than to say we believe and then insult His goodness and holiness by doing what we want the way we want it.
Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.’” (Matthew 7:21 NKJV)
And now look at what Jesus says when they stand before Him at the end.
“I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:23 NKJV)
And so not only does the sin, and attitude behind the sin insult God, but it is also self-deceptive.
2. It’s Self-Deceptive
It’s amazing how deceived we can be. Jeroboam knew all along what he was doing was wrong. But he persuaded himself and the people that it was okay. And that’s because at the time it allowed him to keep his power. In other words, it suited his purposes.
But then his son gets ill, and he shows what he really believes. He doesn’t go to the places of worship he set up, nor to the priests he appointed. Instead, he sends his wife to God’s prophet, the very man who told him he would be king.
How true and typical this is. People go along with religion and with those things we want to hear, although they know there is more.
We know the difference between right and wrong. We know the difference between morality and immorality. But we still end up doing what we know isn’t right, because what is right doesn’t suit our purposes or desires. We go the way of Jeroboam persuading others and ourselves that it’s okay, because it allows us to do what we want.
What we end up doing is like Jeroboam, making up our own religion, a religion that lets us do what we want. And we argue and try to persuade others and ourselves that what we believe is right. But with all of our justifications we only end up deceiving ourselves.
And unfortunately, this is the story of many churches and denominations. They know that what they are promoting is sin, but with the way our society and our culture is going, they are afraid of speaking against it. Instead, what they are doing is going with the flow and changing God’s word to fit society, rather than allowing God and His word to change the society back to Himself.
How else can we explain the church’s stance of the acceptance of the sins of homosexuality, even to the point of appointing pastors who are living in a lifestyle that God calls sins. It’s like Jeroboam who set up his own priests to perpetrate this false religion, saying it is of God when it clearly is not.
Now, as tragic as this story is, it gets worse.
Jeroboam now tries to manipulate God. Up to this point he manipulated others, but now he’s trying to manipulate God. What do I mean? When his son gets sick and the doctors can’t help, he turns to God, but still on his own terms.
Not wanting to be confronted by the prophet for his obvious sins, Jeroboam dresses up his wife and tries to fool the prophet into thinking it was someone else. And the really funny thing about this is that the prophet is blind. How would he know if she came in royal robes or in a peasant dress?
But Jeroboam’s plan failed, because God told the prophet Jeroboam was sending his wife dressed up like someone else. So, as she approached the prophet’s door, he called out to her.
“Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news” (1 Kings 1:6 NKJV)
We think we’re so cleaver. We persuade ourselves we can play fast and loose with God’s word and live our lives as we think. And then we think when a crisis comes, we can put on a new face, shed some tears, put on our mask of religiosity, give an offering, or do something good, and that this will fool God.
But God knows the heart of man, and nothing is hidden from His sight, and on top of that His word cuts through all lies and deceits.
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit … And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:12-13 NKJV)
No one can fool God. We cannot pick and choose the type of salvation or the type of relationship we want. It’s all or nothing. No one can work their way to heaven, and no one can fool God through good works or being religious. Anyone who thinks they can is only deceiving themselves.
Conclusion
Let me give this conclusion.
The End’s Inevitable
Jeroboam never repented. If he had, if he went to the prophet himself and confessed and repented, then maybe his son would have lived, and it would have been a happily ever after story.
I think the same can be said for us. If we will confess and ask for God’s forgiveness, and if we will repent, that is turn away from our lies and self-deceptions, and live our lives in accordance with God’s word, will, and way, instead of our own; then God’s promise is that He will forgive and abundantly bless.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 NKJV)
That is why Jesus came, so that by His death God can pardon and deliver all who come to Him. Jesus gave His life so we might be forgiven and have the hope of heaven once this life is over. Therefore, the end doesn’t have to be a loss, but rather it can be a large gain.
The Saturday Evening Post had as its cover a Norman Rockwell painting. It shows a woman buying a Thanksgiving Turkey from the butcher. Both are looking at the scale with a satisfied look on their faces. But when we look closer at why they’re smiling what we see is that the butcher is pressing down on the scale while the lady is pushing up.
Too many people think they can change the scales of God in their favor with a little deception. But the finger of God’s justice is a lot stronger than our most artful deception.
And so, if we want to tip the scales of God in our favor, then we need to obey God’s word, confess and repent, and then His blessings will be ours.
