“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 obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees 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.”
Testimony
The whole course is exceptional very relevant to me. I have gone away with a lot to think about. I have learnt that I don't have just to cope and be so independent. God is good & loves me, even me!.... Read More...
Jeroboam
by Sue Griffiths
1 Kings 11:37-38, NIVUK
Today's Scripture is God’s promise to a man called Jeroboam.
How sad that King Solomon – David’s son– fell away from following God during his reign. Solomon left his kingdom to a weak godless son and the country came to a crisis. Civil war threatens – and this is when God commissions Jeroboam to become king over God’s people.
Jeroboam is hugely successful, hard-working, popular. He had known king Solomon’s favour and had everything going for him. And now God calls him to be king over Israel! God promises Jeroboam a dynasty like that of King David! The condition is simple: that Jeroboam should be obedient to God.
Jeroboam has God’s blessing, God’s mandate to be king over Israel. He is God’s man. And he is also the people’s choice. But, for David’s sake, the tribe of Judah remains as a separate kingdom. Jeroboam rules over eleven of the tribes.
Tragically … out of his fear, Jeroboam disobeys God. He becomes afraid of losing the support of his people. He fears that, if they return to Jerusalem to worship at the temple, they will soon want to return to their old allegiances and their old kingdom; the people will rebel against him and he will be rejected.
His solution: He sets up idol worship in Israel so that the people shouldn’t return to Jerusalem. When the crunch came, he couldn’t trust God. And he led the people into idolatry:
‘After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, ‘It’s too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel’.
This was a turning point in the history of God’s people.
This is such a sad story.
And I think to myself: What promises has God made to me? Have I been obedient to His promises, His calling to me – or have I turned away in fear? In unbelief?
Sue Griffiths Sue found deep inner healing through the teaching and ministry at Ellel ministries and is now part of the associate ministry team at Ellel Grange. Previously, Sue was a specialist in English Literature and a vicar’s wife. Her passion is to see others coming into freedom in Christ in their personal lives. Sue’s an outdoors person, loves gardening, walking, and many creative things. She and Richard, her husband, now live in Northumberland and enjoy a great family of 3 grown up kids and some grandkids.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
