TOPIC: GOD IN THE DIVIDED KINGDOM
Memory Scripture
And tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes (1 King 14:8).
God graciously adjudged David, a man after His own heart, and made him the standard for evaluating others. So many of the kings after him didn’t meet up. What is God saying about your leadership, today?
BRIEF COMMENT
God reveals Himself in this passage as the principal actor in the breakaway of the Northern Kingdom from the entire Israel. The Holy Lord had to express His disappointment in Jeroboam who was privileged to be the beneficiary of the breakaway of the Northern Kingdom. Due to his unfaithful lifestyle and idolatrous acts, God was left with no option than to express His displeasure in the failed, pioneer king of the northern kingdom. God’s measuring rod for Jeroboam was the godly legacy of King David… Yet you have not been as my servant David. God testified of David: who kept My commandments, and who followed Me all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes. What a lifestyle for God! This is a challenge to us today. God expects us to be men and women who strive by His grace to meet His holy standard. He expects us to appreciate His grace and goodness in our lives and endeavour, to reciprocate with a godly and exemplary living. Unto whom much is given much is expected. The office, position you currently occupy is not your making, God placed you there for a purpose, which is basically to show forth His praise and glory. Will you fail Him? Be like David who God adjudged faithful in comparison with all others. Never you rate your present status higher than God who placed you there because He needs not to consult anyone before removing you effortlessly. This is the doom of Jeroboam.
Devotional Bible Readings For Week One
Mon. 1: God’s Guidelines for Kings in Israel (Deut. 17:14-20)
Tue. 2: Amaziah Honours God, His Installer (2 Kgs. 14:1-7)
Wed. 3: Amaziah Wants to Show Power (2 Kgs. 14:8-14)
Thur. 4: God Causes Amaziah to Die Shamefully (2 Kgs. 14:17-20)
Fri. 5: Uzzah Successfully seeks YAHWEH, His Installer (2 Chro. 26:1-15)
Sat. 6: Uzzah’s Pride Invokes God’s Wrath (2 Chro. 26:16-23)
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS
1. God allowed Israel’s division into two kingdoms, but continued as one Lord, Yahweh, superintending the activities of each kingdom. He is Lord!
2. No situation or circumstance is beyond God. In fact, He is the Lord of all, superintending over all situations, including the one you are in. Whatever happens, He still remains Lord of all. If He still continues to be Lord even after the slip of the united kingdom into two, then, what situation can stop Him from being Lord, and of all.
BACKGROUND SCRIPTURES: Psalms 2:1-12
AIM AND OBJECTIVES
AIM: To show that even after allowing the split of the united kingdom, God sovereignty continued to superintend the two different nations.
OBJECTIVES: At the end of this two-week lesson, the readers should be able to:
i. show that God always has a holy standard that must be met;
ii. explain that no leader, king or authority, comes to power without God’s appointment and approval;
iii. discuss the attitudes of kings in the northern administration to the holiness of God; and
iv. discuss the attitudes of kings in the southern kingdom to the holiness of God.
INTRODUCTION
TEXTUAL SOURCE: 1 KINGS 14-22; 2 KINGS 1; 3; 10; 11; 13; 14-23
We can’t but give praise to our God who has continued to furnish us with his timely messages. The previous lessons have really ignited our hearts and prepared us for all that God has in stock for us, as His people. The last lesson really did our lives good, in all ramifications. God helped us to see how the united kingdom of Israel became divided, and the part God played in the process, as well as after the division. May God’s Word keep helping us in all our endeavours, to fulfill His purposes in Jesus’ name. Amen.
The current lesson is eleventh and second to the last in the series. We praise God for thus far He has led us, through the instrumentality of His infallible Word. We shall be studying from the point of view of GOD IN THE DIVIDED KINGDOM. Israel as a nation, had been divided into two Kingdom:The Northern and Southern. God sovereignly orchestrated the division, which came as a punitive measure for the adulterous and idolatrous acts of Solomon.
In the lesson under review, God is helping us to see His administrative attitude and actions in the operations of the Northern kingdom, as well as in the southern administration. The lesson spans through the whole book of kings and chronicles, where there are accounts of kings. God continued to make the legacy of David, a yardstick for all the monarchs. Some of the kings failed God’s holy standard while some actually followed God in righteousness. The point is, none of these monarchs lived without the touch of God in at least, one way or the other, because He controlled their affairs, in spite of the fact that some chose wickedness.
May they Holy Spirit assist us to fulfill God’s expectations for our lives, in Jesus’ name.
INTRODUCTION TO EACH DIVISION
This lesson is divided into two sections, I and II, with a further division into A and B, respectively.
DIVISION I: GOD IN THE NORTHERN ADMINISTRATION
This section has two sub- headings that border on how God made David a yardstick for kings after him in the two kingdoms, and how almost all the kings in the northern kingdom fell short of God’s measuring rod. The holy standard of God currently is His Word, with which everyone and actions must be measured.
DIVISION II: GOD IN THE SOUTHERN ADMINISTRATION
This division borders on the righteous and wicked kings in the land of Judah, which is the southern kingdom. Some kings decided to follow Jeroboam’s wicked acts, while some others were assisted by God to consistently and wholeheartedly follow Him, like David did, during his godly reign. It is better to follow God who has a great destiny for man than to follow the ways of the devil who has failed and is doomed forever.
LESSON OUTLINE
I. GOD IN THE NORTHERN ADMINISTRATION
A. MAKES DAVID’S LEGACY THE YARDSTICK
B. MOST KINGS CANNOT MATCH IT
II. GOD IN THE SOUTHERN ADMINISTRATION
A. THE RIGHTEOUS KINGS
B. THE WICKED KINGS
LESSON EXPOSITION
I. GOD IN THE NORTHERN ADMINISTRATION (1 Kgs. 14-21; 2 Kgs. 1; 3; 10; 13; 14)
The Sovereign Lord made and manages the whole universe and everything therein, effortlessly. He chose to break Rehoboam’s monopoly by carving out the northern kingdom from the entire twelves tribes He bequeathed to Israel. It pleased Him to start a new administration in the north, comprising ten tribes of Israel, out of the original twelve. Yet, He remained Lord of all.
A. MAKES DAVID’S LEGACY THE YARDSTICK (1 Kgs. 14:7-9)
And tore they kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes (v. 8).
i. God had permitted the division of the kingdom of Israel into two (the north and the south), because of Solomon’s penchant for women and their idols (11:1-13). He also stopped the bloodletting that would have ensued after Jeroboam’s and the northern people’s revolt (12:15-24). Nothing can be beyond God’s control.
ii. vv. 7-9: Was the beneficiary of the breakaway any better? Jeroboam was worse than one could imagine (cf. 13:1ff). God had to compare him with David, who was matchless, compared to the godless Jeroboam.
iii. v. 8: God’s testimony of David. Was it an exaggeration? Does it showcase Him as an angel? God is just. Only He has the right assessment of every man (cf. 1 Sam. 13:14; 1 Kgs. 15:5). You can wrongly or hypocritically assess yourself; God, the righteous Judge, can’t.
iv. v. 9: … you have done more evil than all who lived before you reveals Jeroboam’s godlessness and devilishness. God was too disappointed in him. Hope you are not disappointing Him regarding the resources committed to your care?
v. After Jeroboam, God continued to measure the performance of other kings (both of the south and north), a against the godly legacy of David (1 Kgs. 15:11; 2 Kgs. 14:3). Can God boast of you where you are? (Heb. 11:16).
vi. No one has the capacity to follow God, with his/her own power (volition). God must have graciously chosen and left godly legacy for other kings to follow, because God graciously helped him. It is important that you ask God for the grace to do His will alone, and be a shining example of godliness to others.
B. MOST KINGS CANNOT MATCH IT (1 Kgs. 15-21; 2 Kgs. 1; 3; 10; 13; 14)
And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walking in the way of his father, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin (1 Kgs. 15:26).
i. 15:25-34, 16:1-7: Nadab and Baasha were the two kings who came after Jeroboam, respectively. They fell into his sin, doing evil in the Lord’s sight, who is no respecter of any man, no matter how highly placed they are.
ii. 16:8-28: Here are the accounts of Kings Ela, Zimri and Omni of Israel, respectively. They were equally sinful in God’s sight and led the people astray.
iii. 16:28-21:29: Ahab was another terrible king who did so many terrible things in collaboration with His devilish wife. God showed him that He can deal with anybody, unquestionably in His capacity as the King of the universe.
iv. 19:16,17: We see God demonstrating His sovereignty in the choice and eventual installation of Jehu as Israel’s king (2 Kgs. 9:1ff). Nothing happens without His knowledge and permission (cf. Amos 3:6).
v. 2 kgs 1:1-18; 3:1-3; 10:28-31: Ahaziah and Joram were divinely privileged to reign as kings, but they refused to follow David’s godly example. Even Jehu, that one thought would be different for God, wasn’t better.
vi. 13:1-25; 14:15,16,23-29: Other kings like Jehoahaz, Jehoash, and Jeroboam II did not live for God nor followed the legacy of David. Isn’t that our situation today? This saddening trend continued among the kings of the northern kingdom until the exile (cf. 15:8ff).
vi. God has given man the will — power to choose either good or bad. These kings could have chosen God above wickedness, but they chose to be for the devil, God’s enemy. It was apparent that they could not come to terms with godliness God’s enemy. It was apparent that they could not come to terms with godliness and righteousness. What a total drift into apostasy!
LESSONS DERIVED
1. God has standard not too high to meet, even in leadership. Man, in every capacity, must be humble, and cooperate with God to meet it.
2. Failure and avoidable disaster are inevitable, when any man chooses to live without recourse to God and His holiness.
WORK TO DO
God has expectations and holy standard. Why is it very difficult for people, some Christians inclusive, to meet God’s demands?
SUGGESTED ANSWER TO TO WORK TO
i. God’s standard is not too high to meet. His standard is holy.
ii. Micah 6:8 spells out what God’s demand are.
iii. Deuteronomy 6:1-7 commands believes to love God wholeheartedly. This is a way to meet His standard.
iv. Exodus 20:1ff fulfilled in New Testament, is God’s standard.
v. The Bible is God’s standard. Why then is it difficult to meet God’s standard?
vi. Many people cannot meet it, not because it is too high or can’t be met, buy many have not received the new (spiritual) birth. Not accepting the lordship of Jesus is the number one barrier to meeting God’s standard.
vii. It takes God’s Spirit to do His will; not by power or by might, i. e. human struggling (Zech. 4:6).
viii. End time syndrome is affecting people and causing them to oppose God’s will, and break His holy rules.
ix. Many people do not seek God because of the desire to get money and amass material wealth (Matt. 6:24).
x. Only few people are lovers of God; people love darkness more than light.
xi. Carnality: Many people are ruled by their fleshy desires (Gal. 5:19).
xii. Operation of the devil seeks those to devour (1 Pet. 5:8).