God had warned Solomon that because of his unfaithfulness he was going to tear the kingdom away from his son (1 Kings 11:9-13). Jeroboam, one of Solomon’s officials was the one to begin the rebellion. When Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, refused to lighten the burden his father had placed upon the people, Jeroboam led the tribes of Israel away and the people made him king (1 Kings 12:20). Then we read this in 1 Kings 12:21-24:
When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand fighting men—to make war against the house of Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon. But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to the whole house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, ‘This is what the LORD says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the word of the LORD and went home again, as the LORD had ordered.
I was thinking about this passage from the perspective of the army, the officers and the soldiers, who were gathered to go to war against their brothers from the northern tribes. They all knew Rehoboam was the rightful heir to the throne in Jerusalem. He was the son of King Solomon who was the son of the great king, David. Solomon had built the temple of Jehovah in Jerusalem. God had richly blessed him with wisdom and wealth. Their armies had conquered vast territories while defeating all their enemies. From the perspective of the army of Judah, their northern brothers had no right to rebel against their king and break up the kingdom that had been established by God! They must have been absolutely confident in the righteousness of their cause! They marched in the name of Jehovah and in the names of David and Solomon and their heir, Rehoboam. There could be no doubt that they were doing the right thing.
So imagine their surprise when Shemaiah, the prophet, came to them with the word of God and commanded them to go home and abandon this fight! Imagine how shocked they were to hear God say that this split of the kingdom was his doing! It made no sense! The men of Judah had made a mistake. Even though all the evidence of the situation showed that they were doing the right thing, they were going against God! What they had failed to do was to seek the guidance of God before they acted!
It’s almost frightening to think about how often something like this can happen to us. How many times have I marched off to do something “for God” without first seeking his guidance and direction? How many times have I made a mistake and done the wrong thing because I have acted on what the preponderance of the evidence indicates? What this passage says to me is that I need to be in very close communication with the Lord all the time. That’s the only way to ensure that I don’t do what I think is the right thing only to find out that I’ve acted against something God is doing.
God’s message to me is that I need to slow down and wait upon him to show me what he is doing before I rush off to do what seems to be the best thing in my own eyes. If I don’t take the time to listen to his voice I will surely cause more damage than that which I’m trying to correct!
As human we are given faith, intellect, courage, etc. to navigate our world, our reality. God reveals his truth and "will" in many ways. Scriptures being the key to all of this.
ReplyDeleteWe have to make decisions in many different time lines. Some require soon, rather than later. Some require patience and much prayer. Rehoboam and co. seemed to be acting in good faith, with good evidence , in real time. Perhaps they failed to seek God's guidance, I do not know. But it seems they acted in good conscience.
What is most amazing to me is when the prophet speaks God's "voice" they do in fact listen. Every last one of them! They obey. Given what we know about the psychology of group dynamics this is utterly astonishing. It seems plausible they were at least open to what God had to say into their lives. Were they disobedient to begin the campaign? making decisions using the relative freedom of decision necessary on a daily basis to live in reality??
When do we wait on God and THEN move?in very fluid moments? When a decision needs to be made now?? When do we NOT move in moments of ambiguity of clear choices, directives and outcomes???
Maybe one of the lessons is sometimes we do right things for right reasons and THEN God tells us to stop and we DO NOT!
I am in awe of this group, 180,000 of them, for hearing and listening to the voice of God and then obeying. Imagine being on the receiving end of this view as they marched into town, then left. The opposition being told,"God told them to turn around and go home, so they did."
Imagine that!!
I like your thinking about this passage, Gregory. I am of the mind that these soldiers were acting in good faith on behalf of God's nation and God himself. I agree, I don't know if they sought the word of the LORD before they gathered or not. Beside the point. They felt they were doing the right thing by going after the rebels and bringing them back into the fold. It IS astonishing that they held the prophet in such high regard that they did not doubt his word when it God gave it! All the more reason for us to carefully seek God's direction lest we run off on our own.
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