In the case of Solomon and his son Rehoboam, unfortunately the apple fell way far away from the tree. Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. Rehoboam, on the other hand, was not.
Apparently, Rehoboam didn't even have much common sense. Common sense would tell you that the elders who had served Solomon (who had been the wisest, most successful and powerful King that had ever lived) would give wise advice. Common sense would tell you to listen to what they had to say, and to strongly consider their advice.
But Rehoboam had neither wisdom nor common sense - but he had a wealth of pride. He wanted power. And he thought the best way to demonstrate that power was to rule with an iron fist. Instead of taking the advice of his father's elders he allowed the younger men to stroke his ego and feed his pride. And so he lost 11/12 of the kingdom his father had ruled. (I'm making some assumptions here as the text does not give us the motive behind his poor judgment)
Of course, God was in control of all of this and it happened to fulfill the prophecy He had just given.
Which brings us to another man who also did not have much wisdom - Jeroboam. God spoke with Jeroboam (through His prophet Ahijah) and told him that he would be as successful as Solomon, if only he would follow God and serve Him with all his heart. After seeing the success of Solomon's reign, after seeing 11/12 of the kingdom practically handed to him on a silver platter in fulfillment of God's prophecy which had been spoken to him personally he ..... rebelled against God. He rebelled against God?! That is NOT the response you would expect.
Or is it?
When we receive blessing after blessing from God, what is our natural response? Is it to follow God even more wholeheartedly? I pray so. But so often, instead, I fear that our response is to give ourselves the credit for our blessings, to become unsatisfied with the blessings we already have and long for more, to focus on ourselves and our blessings, instead of the Source of our blessings.
Friends, let us not lose sight of wisdom - no matter how difficult or easy the decision seems to be.
Let us not lose sight of common sense - no matter our circumstances..
Let us not fall into the trap of pride - whether we are rich or poor, powerful or common..
Instead, let us search for wisdom, pray for understanding and focus on the Word Himself. That is the only path to true success.
Tomorrow's passage: 1 Kings 14-15, Acts 12
1 comment:
Great post. I think you are absolutely right that in our success we often turn from God and take credit for our own work but it is in times of trouble that we seek God more fully.
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