Compromising God’s Ways

Introduction

Good morning. If you will please open your Bibles to First Kings chapter eleven. First Kings chapter eleven this morning. If I s if I were to say we’re going to preach about the nation of Israel, there’s a whole lot of text, isn’t there? When you think about first Kings chapter eleven, though, we come towards the end of Solomon’s reign, and what comes with first Kings chapter eleven is God warning Solomon, Solomon not heeding that warning, and the kingdom dividing, as a result of Solomon’s actions, as a result of Solomon’s son Rehoboam’s actions, and then we’re introduced to the subject of this morning’s lesson, Jeroboam. But I think it’s important first to understand what was it that led to Solomon’s downfall. In many ways, Solomon was an excellent king.

He was exceedingly wise, far and above any other man. During Solomon’s reign the kingdom was rich about enjoying its best prosperity. And yet Solomon at the end was faced with the decision to obey God, to trust in God, and Solomon chose otherwise. And we see in First Kings chapter eleven, beginning in verse one, you immediately see the problem. Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh, Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, you shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you. For surely they will turn away your heart after their gods. Solomon clung to these in love. He had seven hundred wives who were princesses, and had three hundred concubines, and his wives turned away his heart.

For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Asheroth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chamash, the abomination of Moab, and for Moek, the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem, and so he did for all his foreign wives who made offerings and sacrifice to their gods. And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing that he should not go after other gods.

But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, Since this has been your practice, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. Yet for the sake of David your father, I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of David, my servant, and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen. We think about the Israelite history, as it precedes this great moment that God has told Solomon will come to pass, that the kingdom will be split, the majority of it would be handed into the hand of his servant.

But yes, one tribe would be left in the hands of his son, the heir that we know as Rehboam. But before we get there, you have Samuel reigning as a judge in Israel. And it’s at that point that the people of Israel approached Samuel, and what is it they tell it? Well, we want a king. We want to be like all those nations who are around us. And Samuel was disheartened and dismayed. But what was the Lord’s message to Samuel at that time? They have not rejected you. They have rejected me from being king over them. And so we saw Israel had picked its course in life. It was going to move farther away from God and closer to the nations that surrounded them. And they did.

And then Saul became the first king, and boy, was he a picture of a king. He was handsome, he was tall, he was a leader in many ways. And yet Saul, like the people who approached Samuel, chose his course in life. When God had specific instructions for Saul, he chose to go another way. And no excuse or lie that Saul told to weasel out of his disobedience to the God’s commands would clear him. And then David reigned in his place. I think 1 Kings chapter 11 of all places is an interesting reflection on how good a king David was. David was a man after God’s own heart, as we read later in our Bible text. And we understand that while David reigned, he committed many souls to God.

But David also fell short. David sinned with Bathsheba. And then we come to King Solomon. And you see how Solomon’s life was. Yes, he was prosperous. Yes, he built the grand temple that the Jews later would lament that their second and third versions of the temple weren’t anything to be compared with that temple that Solomon had constructed. But Solomon in his great wisdom turned against God when given the choice. And God allowed that choice. When you come to 1 Kings chapter 12, it’s at that moment that Israel is going to reap the consequences of their continued turn against God. And you see it with Rehoboam in a text we’ve we’ve covered. Rehoboam becomes king. And what do the people do? Well, in verse 3, they sent and called him, and Jeroboam, that servant of Solomon.

Now Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and has heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you. He said to them, Go away for three days, then come again to me. So the people went away. And you know how the story goes in first Kings chapter twelve. Rahboam then consults with two different sets of advisors, and that’s not a bad move. That’s a good move to seek counsel. And he actually gets what turns out to be good counsel. What are the older counselors, those who knew Solomon, what did they have to say? Do they say, make it harder? No, not at all. They said, Lighten the yoke, lighten the burden on them, and they will serve you.

The people of Israel will be yours. But Raboam, as you can tell, didn’t like that. He went to his peers, and their response was what? Make it harder. Show them you’re the Vosh, you’re the king, Rahoboam, you put them in their place. That will make them respect you. And as we know in 1 Kings chapter 12, through Rehoboam’s choice, in addition to the course that God had told Solomon that this nation of his would follow, the kingdom was torn away from Rehoboam. Pick up the reading with me in verse 12. After Rehobam has come back to the people, and he has given them this terrible news. We see what Jeroboam had to hear. In verse 12. So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, Come to me again the third day.

And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplines you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions. So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilanite to Jeroboam the son of the Lord. And when all of Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.

To your tents, O Israel. Look now to your own house, David. So Israel went to their tents. But Raboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. Then King Raboam said to Adaram, who was taskmaster over the force labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Raboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee Jerusalem to Jerusalem. So Israel had been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only. When Raboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin a hundred and eighty thousand chosen warriors to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Raboam, the son of Solomon.

But the word of God came to Shemiah the man of God. Say to Raboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin to the rest of the people, thus says the Lord, you shall not go up or fight against your relatives, the people of Israel. Every man returned to his home, for this thing is from me. So they listened to the word of the Lord and went home again, according to the word of the Lord. And what we have here is the tragic tale of a people who rejected God, and in reaping what they had sown, the kingdom had split into two. Now you might say at this particular point that Raboam’s the bad guy in this story.

He was the one who continued Solomon’s poor decision making. He’s the one who took the advice of his peers and made things worse on the people. Maybe Jeroboam will be good for the kingdom of Israel, because now you’re going to have the ten tribes in the north that we know as Israel, and the two tribes in the south that we know as Judah. And Jeroboam is going to be the king that restores the kingdom to its people. He is going to trust God, right? Read with me our text for this morning, 1 Kings chapter 12, beginning in verse 25, as we know how Jeroboam’s reign began and how it was marked throughout his reign. In verse 25, then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there.

And he went out from there and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their Lord. To Rehoboam, king of Judah, and they will kill me. And returned to Rehoboam, king of Judah. So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold, your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Little thing became a sin for the people who went as far as Dan to be before one.

He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people who were not of the Levites. And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priest of the high places that he had made. He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings. And thus, for those of you who knew about Jeroboam, your opinion is vindicated, Jeroboam was not a good king by any stretch.

In fact, if you continue reading the account of the kings, you will see time and again that the kings of Israel were not good kings, and they followed in the ways of Jeroboam. But I want to talk about those ways of Jeroboam this morning. When he takes over, he was made a promise that we will look at as we draw the lesson closer to a close. He was promised by God, if you will follow me, I will bless you. Jeroboam was in a unique place as king over the ten tribes of Israel. And no, Jerusalem was not in Israel. That’s the problem. Jerusalem was found in the kingdom of Rehoboam amidst the people of Judah. And yet Jeroboam was still over ten tribes of God’s promised people.

1. He Changed the Object of Worship

You see what Jeroboam did with that was compromised God’s ways. And we’re going to look at the ways he compromised what God had expected of his people, and also why he was motivated to do such. First of all, do you see in verse 28 and 32, he changed the object of worship. By the way, it’s interesting here in verse 28. So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. If there is the text in the Bible that makes this clear, 1 Kings chapter 12 is to the point. Not all counsel is good counsel. Just keep that in mind. Just because you asked someone for advice doesn’t mean that it’s good. In 1 Kings chapter 12 and verse 28, though, the text continues, and he said to the people, You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough.

Behold, your gods, O Israel, who took you up out of the land of Egypt. And thus he had changed the object of worship from directly God to the very thing that in the Ten Commandments that God had given his people, he told them not to do.

And so he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. There is no doubt, no matter how many scholars or people who study this text try to get around this fact. Jeroboam made golden calves or had them constructed, and they worshiped the calves. If there is any doubt, it’s found in verse 32 and cleared up. Who did they offer sacrifices to? Was it to God through the calves? That may be what they claimed. But the text in 1 Kings chapter 12 and verse 32 is clear. He did in Bethel sacrificing to the calves that he had made. You think this would be the most obvious of choices to not change. If you’re king of Israel and you’re afraid of your people going to Jerusalem where they’re supposed to be sacrificing, where they’re supposed to be worshiping God alone, the first and only thing that you would have to at least consider safe, that you would not change would be who you worship.

2. He Changed the Place of Worship

And yet Jeroboam changed that with an effective amount of policing. Secondly, we see he changed the place of worship. Now this one is more understandable from Jeroboam’s perspective, and this leads into why the object had to change. It’s found in verse 28. Where did he put the two golden calves? Well, he said one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Now, if you’re thinking of a map of the ten tribes of Israel and Judah, you have the ten tribes of Israel that we also refer to as the northern kingdom, because they are farther north. Here’s Judah down in the southern part. Here’s Jerusalem. And again, you can understand this part. It doesn’t make it right, but you can understand Jeroboam saying, I don’t want all my people parading to Jerusalem as they are supposed to do.

3. He Changed Who Could Be a Priest

So he’s going to make it easy for them. What he does is he puts a golden calf towards the northern tip of Israel’s kingdom in Dan. And then down near Jerusalem, but still within his kingdom, within the ten tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel, he puts the second golden calf in Bethel. And he tells the people, you go worship there. You make your sacrifices there. You don’t need to go all the way down there. I’ve set up these idols that you can worship God from here in my kingdom. There, there’s the convenient part, right? But it wasn’t enough just to change the object of worship or even the place of worship. He also changed who could be a priest. Did you see that in verse 31?

4. He Changed the Time of the Worship

He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people who were not of the Levites. Now, this would not be a problem if God hadn’t specifically appointed the Levites to be his people, to be his priests. You see, Jeroboam had no regard for what God truly cared about. And again, we’ll examine why in just a moment. But Jeroboam now has changed the object of worship, the place of worship, and frankly, the administrators of most of the worship. Then finally, you see in verse 33, he even changed the time of the worship. He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the 15th day in the eighth month. Now that would be no problem again if that’s what God had said.

I want to be clear about these points. The object of worship is a pretty hard one to defend, I have to be honest. But regarding the place and who could be a priest and the time of worship and sacrifices, this would be okay if God had not specifically pointed out where, when, and how worship to him was to be administered. Will you look in Leviticus chapter 23? When it comes to the date, this is this much is clear. In the book of Leviticus and chapter 23, you see what Jeroboam did, verse what God has said. God has said in Leviticus chapter 23, beginning in verse 26 beginning. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement.

It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the Lord. And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a day of atonement to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people. And whoever does any work on that very day, this person I will destroy from among his people. You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations and all your dwelling places. It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month, beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath.

Verse 33, though, is where we kind of get closer to the idea. And verse 33, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the people of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month, and for seven days is the feast of booths to the Lord. On the first day shall be a holy convocation, you shall not do any ordinary work. For seven days you shall present food offerings to the Lord. On the eighth day, you shall hold a holy convocation and present a food offering to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly.

And again, when it comes to Jeroboam’s choice in 1 Kings chapter 12, turn back there with me. You see that God said, I want this feast to take place on the fifteenth day beginning of the seventh month. And the reason I read the other text in Leviticus chapter 23 is that these feasts would have a purpose for being in this month. They were together in some senses. God had an expectation that his people would do as he decreed. And Jeroboam’s choice, while keeping the fifteenth day in mind, note what month it was in verse 33. On the fifteenth day in the eighth month. Jeroboam had changed not only the object of worship, perhaps most flagrantly, but also he had changed the place of worship. Who could be a priest?

Even the time of worship. And it’s easy to point to the first one and say, what a flagrant misuse of God’s blessings. How could you possibly, as King Jeroboam, who God had spoken to and said, If you will follow me, I will bless you as king. Then I would make golden calves and set them up and say, Everyone, worship your God. But you know the truth of the matter is. When God designates who is to be his priest, that is just as important as other aspects of serving him. When God says the feast is to be this day, and you are to do it in this way, that is just as important as any other command of God. Because if we reject God in one way, why not the other?

5. Selfishness and Fear

That’s hypocritical. That’s not pleasing to God. They rise and they fall together. And Jeroboam together, piece by piece, rejected what God wanted him to do. And you see the reasons why do make sense from a human perspective, but we’re going to have to make that choice ourselves. Do we follow what God says? How much do we care about what God has told us to be doing? You see, first of all, verse 26 through 28, perhaps the most human reason that Jeroboam offers is one of selfishness and fear. Did you see that back in verse 26? When Jeroboam was in his heart, he says, Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. That was the people of Judah. That’s where Jerusalem was. In verse 27, if this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their Lord to Rehaboam, king of Judah.

And they will kill me and return to Reboam, king of Judah. Do you see as he’s reasoning amongst himself? This gets worse and worse. First of all, he says, Well, they’re going to go to Jerusalem. Then they’re going to go to Jerusalem, and they’re going to turn back to Rehoboam. Then they’re going to go to Jerusalem, they’re going to turn back to Rehoboam, and they’re going to come back and kill me. That’s what Jeroboam was focused on. He was focused on what is the impact on me? What is my role in this? When we look at Acts chapter 13, I think this is obviously a very silly position to hold. I don’t think any Christian would be smart, uh wise in defending that type of view.

But in Acts chapter 13, we see jealousy is still among the Jews in the time of the New Testament. In Acts chapter 13, beginning in verse 42, when Paul and Barnabas had been reasoning in the synagogue, as they went out in verse 42 of Acts chapter 13, the people begged that these things might be told of them the next Sabbath. After the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God. The next Sabbath, almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him.

Undoubtedly, Paul’s message disagreed with their opinion of who is the Christ. What was the Christ’s purpose? But undoubtedly, as he turned the pages of the book of Acts in the New Testament, even just as soon as Acts chapter 15, you see that even among the ranks of quote unquote Christians, there were Jews who did not want to let go of their special status. They didn’t want to release the fact that these Gentile converts don’t have to keep the law of Moses. Of course they have to keep the law of Moses. They have to be like us. They don’t have to be Christians like Christ. They have to be Christians like Christ and us. Because we’re God’s people. You see, jealousy, though, is the key marker here.

Do you see in verse 45, it’s one thing. If they began to just contradict what Paul and Barnabas were saying. But you see in verse 45, they were filled with jealousy. Again, you could make this point on any numerous occasion in the New Testament. Why was it that the people, the leaders of the Jews, hated Jesus so much? What was it about these leaders that made them decide crucifixion is how we have to handle this Jesus guy? Well, the truth is he was gaining a following. And the people did not like that. Not only was he preaching that their kingdom, their reign would change, even in the interim, in the short term, Jesus was compromising their base, their leadership, their places of honor. If you’re all about honor, as the Pharisees were, as you look at Matthew chapter 23, what’s worse than when people stop following you and they follow someone else?

6. He Ruled As He Devised in His Heart

If I am honest with myself, I realize that like Jeroboam, like the Jews, sometimes I don’t like the idea of how my being a Christian will play out. I don’t like the way my choices might compromise me at work, in my family life, in my relationships. Sometimes it might not be worth it to tell a friend that they’re in error because I might lose that relationship. Jeroboam was worried he would lose his people to the Ray of Boam. He was worried he would lose his people to a different kingdom. What are we worried about? What are we willing to compromise the will of God for in our minds, in our hearts? I think secondly, you see, he ruled as he devised in his heart. Well, you look back at verse 33 in 1 Kings chapter 12.

I hope you put a marker there. That’ll make that a lot easier. In 1 Kings chapter 12 and verse 33. When he changed the date of worship, when he said that it was to be done, for example, here at Bethel, it was on the 15th day in the eighth month, in the month that he had, do you see the words there? Devised in his own heart. And here we’re at the problem of the matter. If there is something that God is clear on, it is over and again that God’s way goes. I’m going to share a lesson this morning on the home and on choosing God’s ways over society’s ways. But I want to share an example that I’m going to begin even the very next sermon with as well.

I was watching a YouTube clip on the show, What Would You Do? And recently there was a clip about a young boy who decided that he was gay, and there was going to be a pastor who was going to quote unquote pray the gay away. Now I have a whole lot of problems with a whole lot of that setup. But I had a biggest problem with one of the first groups of people to respond. When everyone had got up and left this boy at the table where they were in a local restaurant, these women turn these women turned to him and said, Don’t worry, God loves you. He will not judge you. He loves you, God will not judge. If there is anything wrong with that entire setup, it might be these people who say that God loves you and God will not judge.

God will not judge. What Bible are you reading? The Bible is full of the fact that God judges his people. Ask Nadab and Abaiu in Leviticus chapter 10. Does God care about details? Does God care about the way he’s worshipped? Ask Uzza, does God care about the procedures that he sets in place? Does God care about how we obey him and submit to his will? The answer is, of course, yes, God cares. And if the answer is that God cares, if I’m going to be a pleasing servant of his, the answer in my life must be that I care about that which God says he cares. The choice to follow God is clear. Do as God says or do as you will. Anytime we sacrifice what God has set up, what the Bible reveals to us, we are no better than Jeroboam, who picked an arbitrary date so that the people would not leave him because he devised it in his own heart.

And by the way, to be fair to Jeroboam, the two golden calves were not just his invention necessarily. I don’t know who was in that meeting and who thought of the idea and who thought of the number and who thought of the placement, but he took counsel and came up with creating those two golden calves. But it was his heart in verse 33 that said, to pick the dates of worship. He devised it in his own heart. It’s easy to say that that’s a flagrant misconduct when God says, here’s when the feast is to take place, and Jeroboam says, Nope, going to do it at this time, the way I choose. But is it really that different? It’s only different to me when I change God’s will, because my mind processes it differently.

Because what I’ll say is it’s not really a big deal. What’s the big deal if we just do this or do that when God hasn’t decreed? Well, what’s the big deal if we move forward where God is silent? What’s the big deal with changing the way that the New Testament church worshiped? But even beyond just this worship, beyond the use of musical instruments that are not authorized in the New Testament scriptures. How about just living life after God? Where does it say that I don’t have to be a Christian all the time? Where does the Bible say that it’s it’s unimportant to be a Christian 24-7? But as long as I’m there at least one hour on Sunday, and maybe a Bible study here and there, I’m all good.

Conclusion

If that’s our opinion, or if rather that’s not just our opinion, if that’s how our lives are lived, that’s something that we devised in our own heart. God will judge us, just as God did judge Jeroboam. And that’s where I want to kind of conclude this morning. When you look at 1 Kings chapter 11, we saw at the beginning of that chapter how Solomon basically blew it. Solomon went after foreign women, even when God said, Do not do this. They will turn your heart away from God. Solomon didn’t care. He pressed forward with the seven hundred wives. He went on with his three hundred concubines, and his heart was turned just as God said it would be. God’s word will always come to pass. In first Kings chapter eleven, beginning in verse twenty-six, you run into Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zaradah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother’s name was Zurah, a widow, also lifted up his hand against the king.

And this was the reason why he lifted up his hand against the king. Solomon built the millow and closed up the breach of the city of David his father. The name Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious, he gave him charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph. And at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah, the Shalonite, found him on the road. Now Ahijah dressed himself in a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the open country. Then Ahijah lay hold of the new garment that was on him and tore it into twelve pieces. And he said to Jeroboam, Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord the God of Israel.

Behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and he will give you ten tribes. But he shall have one tribe for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, because they have forsaken me and worshiped Astaroth, the goddess of the Sidonians, Shamash the God of Moab, and Mokam the God of the Ammonites, and they have not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my rules, as David his father did. Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David, my servant, whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes.

But read these verses closely with me, beginning in verse 35. But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and will give it to you, ten tribes. Yet to a son I will give one tribe, that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I’ve chosen to put my name. And I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires, and you shall be king of Israel. And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you, and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.

And I will afflict the offspring of David because of this, but not forever. Solomon’s out there for to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt. And you see, Solomon did not like that message. He didn’t like the idea that the kingdom would be ripped from the hands of his son, and that ten tribes would be given to his servant, who was Jeroboam. But did you see the clear promise of God in verse 38? If you will listen to all that I have commanded you, if you will walk in my statutes and my commandments, I will bless you. But even further than that, do you see at the end of verse 38? I will build you a sure house as I built for David. How many times in 1 Kings chapter 11 is God considerate of his servant David?

How many times is there a brief aside, but one tribe remains for the sake of David, but one tribe remains for the sake of David. Solomon didn’t serve God the way that David served God. He didn’t have the heart that David had. Jeroboam was promised, if you will follow me, if you will walk in my ways, I will bless you, even as I did David. And the Bible scholar knows David is a man that you would wish to emulate in standing with God. Maybe not every action he took, and definitely not every action he made. But to have a heart like David’s, who is called a man after God’s own heart, to have those promises, to see in the text over and over how God is considerate of his servant David.

You see that Jeroboam was not like David. Jeroboam wasn’t like that, even though God promised him that he could be made that way. Think about compromise. And you think about David in 2 Samuel chapter 24. What was it about compromise that David did? How did David react to the idea of compromise? Well, in 2 Samuel chapter 24, when he was to make an offering to the Lord, a man offered him all that he needed to make the sacrifice, and what was David’s reply? I’m not going to offer the Lord that which costs me nothing. David was unwilling to compromise. David knew what it meant to sacrifice and to please God. The truth is that we know what it’s like to sacrifice and to please God. We know the difference in Jeroboam and David, but I think you see it clearly in Hebrews chapter 11, the main difference, and it’s faith that drives us.

Well, you look at one final passage with me this morning. Please everyone turn with me to Hebrews chapter 11. And note this great chapter where it continues to say, by faith, by faith, and name these great characters from Abel to Enoch to Abraham to Moses. In Hebrews chapter 11, beginning in verse 13, after we’ve gotten as far as the mention of Abraham and Sarah, we find in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 13, tell me if this sounds like Jeroboam or if this sounds like David. Tell me if this sounds like you, or if it sounds like me. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 13, these all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country. That is a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. The truth is, we face the same choice that Jeroboam did. God has promised us that he will bless those who follow him. God promised Jeroboam, if he would walk in his ways, if he would follow in his steps, he would bless Jeroboam. The truth is God will judge us. Whether you seek to obey God and enjoy the blessings that come with that, whether you can be one of those in John chapter 14 that Jesus refers to, going ahead and preparing a place for you.

Or you choose to reject Jesus and say, I don’t care, I don’t want it, or your actions make that cry for you. The truth is God will judge. So the only question is, will I do as God says? Knowing that God is, and what God has said will always come to pass. Am I Jeroboam? Or am I David? Am I one in Hebrews chapter 11 who’s not living for an earthly country, but seeking that heavenly one above. Only we can decide that. But if we’re going to follow God, that means no compromising God’s ways. It means not devising in our own hearts how to please him. And certainly it means having no fear other than the fear of the Lord that drives us to be true, faithful servants of his.

Will you go to God in prayer with me? Our dear God and most gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you for your patience and your great mercy. We pray that you forgive us of whom we have sinned. We thank you so much for sending Jesus to die on the cross on our behalf to pay the brutal price, giving up his life so that we might live. We thank you for the example in the Old Testament, in the New Testament alike. We thank you for you revealing your words so that we might learn more about you. You learn your ways and understand what we are to do to be pleasing servants of yours. As we worship you this day, help us to do so in accordance with your will, focusing only on your will, not on ours.

Help us not to devise plans in our own heart, but to trust you, to trust your ways, and to walk in your paths. Help us to have a heart like David. Help us to reject compromise as Jeroboam failed to do. Help us to be pleasing in your sight. We pray all these things in Jesus the Christ’s name. Amen. We’re now dismissed to our Bible classes.