Wise Counsel
“And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom may return to the house of David: If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their Lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.” Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!”” I Kings 12:26-28
Jeroboam’s reign began with energy and opportunity. He had a significant promise from God through the prophet Ahijah: "that if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you" (1 Kings 11:38). Jeroboam had a God-given promise, just like David (!!!), to build a dynastic kingdom and yet fear crept into his heart and led to idolatry.
Fear is a primitive emotion hardwired into the human brain and is like an alarm system constantly scanning our environment for potential threats. Emotions are intended by our creator to make life rich and vibrant and they play a key role in our memory. A healthy dose of fear is a sign of maturity; without it we remain childish - a danger to ourselves and others. God wants us to have simple childlike faith (Matthew 18:3), not childish recklessness (James 1:19-20, 1 Cor 10:13). Fear can destroy a legitimate calling from God by choosing to trust in ourselves instead of the Lord. In this text, Jeroboam correctly identifies a real potential threat in the Jewish religious requirement for all men to travel to Jerusalem three times a year for joyous celebrations called feasts (Passover, Shavuot (Feast of Weeks), and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) (Exodus 23:14-17). Biblical history has shown that Israel is notoriously capricious with their leaders - one minute loyal and the next rebellious, ready to kill them (Ex 17:4, Num 14:4, 1 Sam 30:3-6, 2 Sam 15).
The threat of a slow rebellion caused by religious pilgrimage to Jerusalem is real but it's a test for Jeroboam to have faith in the promise of the Lord. Five words are the hinge to success or failure: "Therefore the king asked advice" Jeroboam knows Abijah the prophet who gave the original (unsolicited) prophetic word, is available because later he will send his wife in disguise to seek his counsel regarding his seriously ill child (1 Kings 14:1-3) but here he just "asked advice" of those nearby, likely people who were close friends and family. As a rule, wise counsel is extremely rare and takes effort to seek out. Foolish counsel is plentiful and we don't need to seek it out because it is readily volunteered without our asking. The buddy at work or the fellow spectator at a sportsball event is all-to-ready to offer advice on life's most delicate decisions if we give them ear (or even if we don't!).
In Christian circles, the danger of unwise counsel is even more pronounced because the opportunity for close contact is greater than for those outside the church. There is also an illusion of wisdom that goes with more Bible knowledge (Colossiana 2:23, Mark 7:6-8) or years in the faith but these are very different, albeit related things. Bible knowledge and church experience does not necessarily lead to wisdom. We need a rock-solid process on life's important decisions that should always include a trusted spiritual (ideally prophetic) voice and a requirement for deliberate (means act of weighing and examining, root word in deliberation), prayerful thinking. Jeroboam made a fatal mistake of seeking counsel from the wrong places in a time of fear and it doomed his reign and Israel to destruction. May the Lord help us grow into better decision-makers who walk by faith and not fear today.
Jeroboam’s reign began with energy and opportunity. He had a significant promise from God through the prophet Ahijah: "that if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you" (1 Kings 11:38). Jeroboam had a God-given promise, just like David (!!!), to build a dynastic kingdom and yet fear crept into his heart and led to idolatry.
Fear is a primitive emotion hardwired into the human brain and is like an alarm system constantly scanning our environment for potential threats. Emotions are intended by our creator to make life rich and vibrant and they play a key role in our memory. A healthy dose of fear is a sign of maturity; without it we remain childish - a danger to ourselves and others. God wants us to have simple childlike faith (Matthew 18:3), not childish recklessness (James 1:19-20, 1 Cor 10:13). Fear can destroy a legitimate calling from God by choosing to trust in ourselves instead of the Lord. In this text, Jeroboam correctly identifies a real potential threat in the Jewish religious requirement for all men to travel to Jerusalem three times a year for joyous celebrations called feasts (Passover, Shavuot (Feast of Weeks), and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) (Exodus 23:14-17). Biblical history has shown that Israel is notoriously capricious with their leaders - one minute loyal and the next rebellious, ready to kill them (Ex 17:4, Num 14:4, 1 Sam 30:3-6, 2 Sam 15).
The threat of a slow rebellion caused by religious pilgrimage to Jerusalem is real but it's a test for Jeroboam to have faith in the promise of the Lord. Five words are the hinge to success or failure: "Therefore the king asked advice" Jeroboam knows Abijah the prophet who gave the original (unsolicited) prophetic word, is available because later he will send his wife in disguise to seek his counsel regarding his seriously ill child (1 Kings 14:1-3) but here he just "asked advice" of those nearby, likely people who were close friends and family. As a rule, wise counsel is extremely rare and takes effort to seek out. Foolish counsel is plentiful and we don't need to seek it out because it is readily volunteered without our asking. The buddy at work or the fellow spectator at a sportsball event is all-to-ready to offer advice on life's most delicate decisions if we give them ear (or even if we don't!).
In Christian circles, the danger of unwise counsel is even more pronounced because the opportunity for close contact is greater than for those outside the church. There is also an illusion of wisdom that goes with more Bible knowledge (Colossiana 2:23, Mark 7:6-8) or years in the faith but these are very different, albeit related things. Bible knowledge and church experience does not necessarily lead to wisdom. We need a rock-solid process on life's important decisions that should always include a trusted spiritual (ideally prophetic) voice and a requirement for deliberate (means act of weighing and examining, root word in deliberation), prayerful thinking. Jeroboam made a fatal mistake of seeking counsel from the wrong places in a time of fear and it doomed his reign and Israel to destruction. May the Lord help us grow into better decision-makers who walk by faith and not fear today.
Posted in 1 & 2 Corinthians, 1 & 2 Samuel, Colossians, Exodus, James, Mark, Matthew, Numbers, 1, 2 Kings
Posted in Wisdom, Obedience, Faith, Fear
Posted in Wisdom, Obedience, Faith, Fear