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Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted Isa 53:4 |
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Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Thursday, May 1, 2025
Today's Passage : Today'sPassage:Israel after Solomon (1): Rehoboam, King of Judah BibleVerse1 Kings 12:1-20 "Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. 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 his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, and they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.” But he took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him. “Thus shall you speak, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s thighs. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’” So the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him. And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, Israel went to their tents. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only." Message:
God had told Solomon that, because of his apostasy and idolatry in later life, his son would lose the throne; and here, the prophecy is realized. (1 Kings 11:9-13) This begins the story of the divided kingdoms, which is extremely long (11 chapters of 1 Kings and 25 of 2 Kings) and replete with unreadable names. It spans about 400 years, @ 940 B.C. to 538 B.C.
Jeroboam of wine
We will pick and choose carefully, since few people want to wade through very much of it. In fact, the only two difficult names that should probably be remembered are the primary actors in today’s lesson, Rehoboam and Jeroboam. (Certain people — and you know who you are — will find these names familiar, as they are names for large-size bottles of champagne. A “jeroboam” is equal to four standard bottles of wine, and a “rehoboam”, six.)
We will, however, study (and hopefully remember) several important prophets. So look forward to knowing (or at least having heard) about all those books with odd names, as well as a couple of important prophets who do not have books, particularly Elijah, one of the three great prophets of Judaism and a really colorful character.
Rehoboam was Solomon’s eldest son and the heir apparent to the throne of Israel, but he lost his entire kingdom except for Jerusalem and the lands around it, in the south, the “Kingdom of Judah.” Note that he actually ruled two tribes, not one, as the tiny tribe of Benjamen always went with Judah. From this point on, Judah will be the rightful line of David, while the Kingdom of Israel will be breakaway rebels. Although Judah is one tribe, versus ten in Israel, Judah is large, powerful, prestigious, and again, the house of the rightful king. No matter how badly Rehoboam alienated the Hebrews, he was Solomon’s chosen successor.
We see how quickly everything goes terribly wrong. Jeroboam will not want his people traveling to Jerusalem for feasts, as the law requires, because he fears the grip it will give Rehoboam over the populace; and so he slowly abandons Judaism. Rehoboam does not seem to have inherited any of his father’s renown wisdom and makes the fatal error of promising even harsher forced labor; but it matters little, as God had ordained the loss of Israel from David’s son, no matter what he did.
Meditation : Prayer : Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. |
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