2 Chronicles 11:1-4 - When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem,
he mustered the house of Judah and Benjamin--a hundred and eighty thousand
fighting men--to make war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for
Rehoboam. But this word of the LORD came
to Shemaiah the man of God: "Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of
Judah and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin, 'This is what the LORD says: Do not go up to
fight against your brothers. Go home, every one of you, for this
is my doing.' " So they obeyed the words of the LORD and turned back from
marching against Jeroboam.
Rehoboam had taken the poor advice of the men his own age. The
kingdom had split…and Rehoboam’s heart was bitter and outraged. He gathered his troops to go and reclaim his
people…by force…and make good the promise he had made to be a tough…harsh
ruler. But God stopped him…and told him
not to fight…to go home….so he listened and went back to Jerusalem.
It’s hard to understand why God would allow Jeroboam to succeed
at pulling God’s people into a situation where they would be tricked into
following idols. Jeroboam even fired the priests…and hired new priests that
would offer sacrifices to the idols he wanted to worship. He built a kingdom
around him that did whatever Jeroboam wanted…without even considering God.
But as I read on…I realized that you just can’t force some things. People have to make their own choice. The
people that stayed with Jeroboam had already made their choice…they wanted what
Jeroboam wanted…not what God wanted. The ones who still loved God…they left in
small units to travel back to Jerusalem…even the priests returned….hoping that
Rehoboam would take them in…and allow them to join the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
God desires all Christians to be unified. But the reality of our world is much like
that of Rehoboam’s reign. We have settled in our denominational pods…and shout
theology back and forth …as people are dying left and right without any
knowledge of God’s ability to heal and save them. We argue over the correct way
to pray and praise God. We try to put
rules and restrictions on how people are to offer up their love and
thankfulness for what God has done in their life….never even hearing God yell
at us to stop fighting over meaningless details…and get to work saving the
people who have never learned the healing power of God’s love.
I found these wise words in my Life Application Bible
Commentary….it said… “True unity cannot be forced! It is the free response of
willing hearts.” Oh how we need to open up our ears to hear his voice once
more. Oh how we need to open up our eyes
and see that God is love…not some version of religion that a few people are
comfortable with. Oh how we need to examine our hearts…and examine our motives
for everything we do in his name.
Thank you God for this story that reminds me to always keep
my ears and eyes focused on you…so I can hear you clearly if I get off
track. Thank you for my wonderful church…that
accepts everyone who walks in their doors….whose open altars provide a way for
people to come to know his love…whose many ministries touch the lives of all
people in all walks of life….so we can model the unity that God desires for all
people. Help me this morning to stop and
examine my own heart…and make sure I am not building any ideals into my
understanding of who you are….so I can share your love with everyone that you
place in my path. Amen.
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