The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Kings 14:14-16,
"The Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who will cut off the family of Jeroboam. Even now this is beginning to happen. And the Lord will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they aroused the Lord's anger by making Asherah poles. And he will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit."
The fate of the northern ten tribes of Israel is sealed with this prophecy. Not only will the throne be torn from Jeroboam's family, the northern kingdom of Israel will face its certain demise. This, because of the idolatry Jeroboam led the nation into.
Why this judgment from the Lord? We are told the Lord decreed this because Israel had "aroused the Lord's anger". Was he simply angry because his covenant people did not behave themselves? Is this the extent of the Lord's involvement with Israel? Behave and get blessings from the Lord, misbehave and get punished by the Lord?
Is this simple understanding all there was in Israel's relationship to God? Not by a long shot.
Israel, the descendants of Abraham, was chosen by the Lord to be his vehicle to bring his redemption to all mankind. It was due to Abraham's faith, which the Lord held up as a model for us all to see - the faith that would be the key for each of us to unlock the Lord's redemption for ourselves personally. Why did the Lord chose Israel to be his "chosen people"? Abraham's faith!
The Lord entered into a covenant with Abraham and his offspring to use the nation as his vehicle for redemption. When Israel ran off the tracks and became a liability rather than a useful vehicle for the Lord's redemption of mankind, the Lord made necessary corrections to Israel's fortunes.
God's judgment for sin takes place following the resurrection. This prophecy of doom for the northern ten tribes was not simply a "do bad, get bad" exercise on the Lord's part, but the next deliberate step in the Lord managing his agenda of redemption through a people ambivalent and recalcitrant toward his intentions, his plans.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
"The Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who will cut off the family of Jeroboam. Even now this is beginning to happen. And the Lord will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they aroused the Lord's anger by making Asherah poles. And he will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit."
The fate of the northern ten tribes of Israel is sealed with this prophecy. Not only will the throne be torn from Jeroboam's family, the northern kingdom of Israel will face its certain demise. This, because of the idolatry Jeroboam led the nation into.
Why this judgment from the Lord? We are told the Lord decreed this because Israel had "aroused the Lord's anger". Was he simply angry because his covenant people did not behave themselves? Is this the extent of the Lord's involvement with Israel? Behave and get blessings from the Lord, misbehave and get punished by the Lord?
Is this simple understanding all there was in Israel's relationship to God? Not by a long shot.
Israel, the descendants of Abraham, was chosen by the Lord to be his vehicle to bring his redemption to all mankind. It was due to Abraham's faith, which the Lord held up as a model for us all to see - the faith that would be the key for each of us to unlock the Lord's redemption for ourselves personally. Why did the Lord chose Israel to be his "chosen people"? Abraham's faith!
The Lord entered into a covenant with Abraham and his offspring to use the nation as his vehicle for redemption. When Israel ran off the tracks and became a liability rather than a useful vehicle for the Lord's redemption of mankind, the Lord made necessary corrections to Israel's fortunes.
God's judgment for sin takes place following the resurrection. This prophecy of doom for the northern ten tribes was not simply a "do bad, get bad" exercise on the Lord's part, but the next deliberate step in the Lord managing his agenda of redemption through a people ambivalent and recalcitrant toward his intentions, his plans.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
No comments:
Post a Comment