I Kings 15:1 – 16:34

August 19, 2010

Because of Solomon's sins, Israel was divided into two kingdoms: Northern (Israel) and Southern (Judah). Jeroboam was the first king of Israel. Rehoboam was the first king of Judah. Of the eventual nineteen kings who ruled in the Northern Kingdom not one was godly! Not even one! Of the twenty kings who ruled over the Southern Kingdom only eight followed God.

Here is what struck me in these two chapters.

• How the sins or obedience of the "fathers" impacted generations; and 
• How God's "I will" promises do come true.

Sins (or blessings) of the fathers passed down. Jeroboam did his own thing. He created two golden calves. He decided when to have the festivals/worship. He picked whoever he wanted as priests. The decisions Jeroboam made totally went against the Sovereign LORD. Every single king of the Northern Kingdom (Israel) that came after him made decisions against the Sovereign LORD as well. And every single time, the wrong actions of the king is traced back to Jeroboam. "He (the king who was ruling) did what the LORD said was wrong...Jeroboam had led the people to sin." Jeroboam's choices and actions impacted many generations. 

On the Southern Kingdom (Judah) side, every king is compared to King David. Each Southern Kingdom king went down in history as either following the LORD as David did, OR, he went down in history as disobeying the LORD and not following in the steps of David. The decisions we make matter. Our actions impacts generations! We must leave a legacy of being people who followed God. It will still be the future generations choice on whether or not they choose to follow in our footsteps, but they have been given a firm foundation from which to build upon.

God's "I will" promises. When God says "I will"—He does. His promises, both the good and bad, DO come true. Jeroboam is told in Chapter 14 what will happen to his family because of his choices, and in Chapter 15 it happens. In Joshua 6:26, Joshua says what will happen to anyone who tries to rebuild Jericho. In I Kings 16:34 it happened. I wish I knew exactly how many years passed between the time Joshua told the people what would happen if anyone tried to rebuild Jericho and when God's promised result happened. I'm sure Bible scholars have it figured out, but from what I can tell it had to be at least 500 years. God's promises are true. When He says "I will"—it is a fact. Time is of no importance. When God says it—it WILL happen.


Next Entry: I Kings 17:1–24