Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. Earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom. Joab and all the Israelites stayed there for six months, until they had destroyed all the men in Edom. But Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with some Edomite officials who had served his father. They set out from Midian and went to Paran. Then taking men from Paran with them, they went to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house and land and provided him with food.
Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. The sister of Tahpenes bore him a son named Genubath, whom Tahpenes brought up in the royal palace. There Genubath lived with Pharaoh's own children.
While he was in Egypt, Hadad heard that David rested with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was also dead. Then Hadad said to Pharaoh, "Let me go, that I may return to my own country."
"What have you lacked here that you want to go back to your own country?" Pharaoh asked.
"Nothing," Hadad replied, "but do let me go!"
And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah. He gathered men around him and became the leader of a band of rebels when David destroyed the forces of Zobah ; the rebels went to Damascus, where they settled and took control. Rezon was Israel's adversary as long as Solomon lived, adding to the trouble caused by Hadad. So Rezon ruled in Aram and was hostile toward Israel.
Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon's officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah.
Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the supporting terraces and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father. Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph.
About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. Then he said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand and give you ten tribes. But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molech the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and laws as David, Solomon's father, did.
" 'But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon's hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who observed my commands and statutes. I will take the kingdom from his son's hands and give you ten tribes. I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. I will humble David's descendants because of this, but not forever.' "
Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon's death.
1 Kings 11:14-40
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As Chapter 11 opened, we saw the start of Solomon’s downfall, done in by the adverse influence of the foreign women he married…women who turned him toward their gods and in doing so, turning him to a sin that saw him fall out of God’s favor. You’ll recall that God promised to take away the kingdom…not from Solomon…but from his son, leaving but one tribe for the son to rule for the sake of David and Jerusalem. (1 Kings 11:11-13)
And so as the chapter continues, we see the Lord bring consequence on Solomon and set in motion the acts that will soon lead to the divided kingdom.
First, we read about two adversaries raised up by the Lord: Hadad the Edomite and Rezon, son of Eliada.
Scripture tells us that Hadad was from the “royal line of Edom” who had been attacked by Joab, David’s army commander, earlier during battle. We’re told that Joab “struck down all the men in Edom” except for some Edomite officials who fled with a young boy to Egypt via Midian and Paran. That young boy was Hadad,
Once in Egypt, Hadad was treated well by Pharoah who gave him a house and land, provided him with food and “gave him a sister of his own wife, Queen Tahpenes, in marriage”. From that marriage, a “son named Genubath” was born and was “brought up in the royal palace”, while living “with Pharaoh's own children”.
As Hadad grew older, word came to him in Egypt about the deaths of David and Joab and so Hadad went to Pharoah and asked him to “Let me go, that I may return to my own country."
Pharoah, seemingly surprised by the request replied, “What have you lacked here that you want to go back to your own country?" To which, Hadad said, “Nothing” before asking Pharoah to honor his request which he did.
The second adversary, Rezon son of Eliada,”had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah”, and “gathered men around him”, becoming “the leader of a band of rebels when David destroyed the forces of Zobah”. We read where “the rebels went to Damascus, where they settled and took control” and from that point on, “Rezon was Israel's adversary” and was “hostile toward Israel”…for “as long as Solomon lived”.
Those two adversaries would probably have been enough to afflict Solomon for the remainder of his reign but as we see, God wasn’t finished. For “Jeroboam son of Nebat” and “one of Solomon’s officials”, also “rebelled against the king”.
Scripture tells us that “Solomon had built the supporting terraces and…filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David”. With Jeroboam being “a man of standing” with a reputation for good work, Solomon placed him “in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph”.
One day as “Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem”, he encountered “Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh…on the way”. Ahijah, “wearing a new cloak”, took it and “tore it into twelve pieces” before saying to Jeroboam:
“Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand and give you ten tribes. But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molech the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and laws as David, Solomon's father, did. But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon's hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who observed my commands and statutes. I will take the kingdom from his son's hands and give you ten tribes. I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. I will humble David's descendants because of this, but not forever.' "
So essentially, God gave Jeroboam most of what he had promised Solomon and his sons, and then sealed the deal with the same promise given prior. As long as Jeroboam did whatever the Lord commanded, walked in His ways and did what was right by keeping His statutes and commands, then God would be with Jeroboam and would help him “build…a dynasty as enduring as the one (the Lord) built for David”. With this, Israel would be given to Jeroboam and the Lord promised to “humble David's descendants…but not forever."
And so the consequence was put into action. Jeroboam would soon rule over the 10 tribes of Israel once the kingdom divided and David’s descendants…Solomon and his sons to follow…would be humbled.
We read where Solomon then tried to kill Jeroboam only to find his attempts fruitless. For “Jeroboam fled to Egypt” where he took refuge under “Shishak the king” and remained “until Solomon's death”.
Is this not a sad story?
One who had it all in Solomon about to lose it all. But that’s what happens sometimes when we turn from the One who provides us every good and perfect gift from above. Just as easily as He imparted His gifts and blessings upon us, He can remove them if we don’t continuously honor Him with the way we live, use what He has granted us to His glory and show ourselves worthy of His continued provision.
Question: How well are you honoring God with the way you are living? Are you repaying His goodness with faithful loyalty and service to His will and way? Are you properly using the gifts He has bestowed upon you to help you answer His call to action and ministry?
Friends, these are all questions we need to be continuously asking ourselves. For the Lord will continue to rain down talents and gifts with accompanying opportunities to use them if we are focused daily on carrying out His expectations.
But if we have decided to do our own thing…to live our lives as we choose to live them and in doing so following what we want to follow, despite what God expects, then we can expect to suffer the same end as Solomon, throwing away everything and being left with little or nothing.
Friends, we can’t afford to have history repeat itself...can we?
Can you?
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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