King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Thursday, June 23, 2022
Chapters: I KINGS 12-14
Study: Knowing The Right God
Hello My Friend,
Sometimes, probably more often than we realize, we question things that God allows or I should say, orchestrates. While we may not understand why we are placed in certain places at the time, we will learn later on why God did what He did. At the least, we will come to understand why we can have peace that surpasses any understanding that our human mind can comprehend, [Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.]
God never denies anyone salvation that truly comes to Him by faith, but to say that He will save you because you are a Jew or Catholic, or Muslim, would be a complete lie because all that trusting in family heritage or religion will do is send you straight to hell. There is only one God, one way to God, and that is Jesus Christ, [John 14:6-7 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.]
Any religion, faith, or person, who tells you that God accepts those who follow their rules and not what is written in the Word of God is false, and there will be hell to pay for it, and for both the orchestrator and the believer. As we return to the reading of 1 Kings, Solomon died, and his son, Rehoboam reigns, and it did not take long for Rehoboam to get Israel to turn on him, and it all started with Jeroboam who had ran away to Egypt fearing Solomon, but learned that he was dead.
[1 Kings 12:1-5 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. 2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) 3 That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, 4 Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. 5 And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.]
[Thy father made our yoke grievous:] By heavy taxes and impositions, not only for the temple and his magnificent buildings, but for the expenses of his numerous court, and of so many wives and concubines. And Solomon having so grossly forsaken God, it is no wonder why he oppressed the people. Rehoboam, consults with two different groups of people, first the old men who had walked with Solomon, and then his friends.
[1 Kings 12:6-8,10,15 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people? 7 And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. 8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him: 10 And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins. 15 Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.]
[for the cause was from the LORD,] Why did God really want to separate the tribe of Judah and He did Benjamin as well from the rest of Israel? In fact, the very first thing they did when Rehoboam attempted to collect taxes was stone the guy collecting them.
[1 Kings 12:16-20 So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. 17 But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. 18 Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. 20 And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.]
[but the tribe of Judah only.] They were the light that God had left in Israel that would one; give the ones that did remain faithful to God hope, and two; pave the way for the true Light, Jesus Christ, to become king as He would descend in the flesh through Judah, [1 Kings 11:13 Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.]
Judah, was not alone though, (Remember, God told Jeroboam that it would be ten tribes?) the tribe of Benjamin would also remain and this goes all the way back to when they first got onto the promised land and Benjamin was given part of their inheritance between Judah and Ephraim, who are of Joseph, [Joshua 18:11 And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families: and the coast of their lot came forth between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.]. And as we read further, we learn of why God separated them as Jeroboam turns the rest of the tribes away from God all together.
[1 Kings 12:25-29,32 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: 27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. 28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. 30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. 32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.]
[then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord,] Jeroboam, was referring to their returning to Rehoboam, not God, but apparently he and a bunch of people that were just as faithless in God as he was, decided to have two golden calves made, of all things. And how quick were they to turn their backs on God and start worshiping these idols? Can you see how false religion starts? All gods except for the Almighty God Himself, are man made, but sure have a way of mimicking God as that is the only way they can get people to follow them. This is why we are to make sure that the doctrines being taught are from the Word of God.
[2 Corinthians 11:3-4,13-14 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. 13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.]
Can you also see why God had separated them from Judah? Although Judah was no much different from Israel, at least, the temple was still their and gave them some hope. Well, of course, God was not at all pleased with all this, even though He knew exactly what was going to happen, He did have something to say about it.
[1 Kings 13:1-4 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee. 3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. 14 And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.]
[Josiah by name;] Josiah, would be born until over three hundred and fifty years later, nevertheless, he was the only king to attempt to get all of Israel to return to God, [2 Kings 23:16 And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.]
Jeroboam, took his hand from off the altar, on which he was burning incense, then touched the man of God and his hand became withered and was unable to move it, and watch how Jeroboam reacts.
[1 Kings 13:5-9 The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. 6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. 7 And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. 8 And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: 9 For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.]
[Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me,] They all want the freedom of worshiping their own gods, yet are quick to seek God’s mercies when they know their false gods can do nothing. Sooner or later, all will learn the hard way that God means what He says. The man of God, also learned that as he allowed himself to be deceived by a foolish prophet who lied to him in order to get him to return to his home.
[1 Kings 13:11,14-18 Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. 14 And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. 15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. 16 And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: 17 For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. 18 He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.]
[nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.] There is only one way to God, and that is through Christ, any other way and it will be eternal death upon the souls of those who refuse to believe that, [Matthew 25:41,46 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.]
God has a lot of mercy upon us, but we cannot by any means alter His Word, nor can we say that God says something when He does not. It appears that the old prophet did not believe what the man of God had told Jeroboam, but also would find out the truth when the man of God was killed as he headed back home.
[1 Kings 13:24-25,29,31-32 And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase. 25 And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. 29 And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him. 31 And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones: 32 For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.]
[shall surely come to pass.] Remember, no church or honest Christian will tell you to go against the Word of God. That foolish prophet now knew what he did was wrong and that everything would come to pass just as the man of had warned Jeroboam. And once again, Jeroboam finds himself at the mercies of God.
[1 Kings 14:1-3 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. 2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people. 3 And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.]
[he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.] Let me tell you, they may not worship the one true God, but when something happens to threaten their lives or their loved ones, they are sure to seek God’s help. They will worship their god their way until something happens, and only if they humble themselves to Him will He hear them. Jeroboam was content to worship his false god, until his son got very sick. Jeroboam knew only God could heal him, but was too proud to go to Him himself, instead he sent his wife into Judah disguised as someone else to get help. It was then told to his wife that not only was her son going to die.
[1 Kings 14:6-8,12-13 And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. 7 Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, 8 And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes; 12 Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. 13 And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.]
[because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD] Do you see what God did here? Jeroboam’s entire family was about to face judgment for turning away from God, but his son, who did not, was being spared. Sometimes death is the only solution to save someone. Why? To be absent from the body means that we are present with the LORD. Let me tell you, we are all here for a purpose, and if Jesus chooses us, then He will keep us here until we fulfill that purpose. All the pain and sorrow we face will be worth it when we see Jesus, [2 Corinthians 5:8-10 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.]
[1 Kings 14:14-16 Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now. 15 For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger. 16 And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.]
[who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day:] Baasha, would be the one to fulfill this prophecy, [1 Kings 15:29 And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the saying of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite:]
[who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.] God never denies anyone the opportunity to repent, He told Jeroboam these things so that he could have the opportunity, since he nor any of the other members of his family refused to turn from their faith to God, none of them were saved. Likewise, the same to anyone who denies Christ, [Matthew 10:32-33 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for Your mercy and grace to accept me and make me a part of Your church when I put my faith and trust in Your Son for my salvation. In this corrupt world that is only getting worse by the minute it is comforting to know that You are watching over me and protecting me no matter what earthly king is in charge. Lord, keep my eyes and faith on You, let me not get corrupted by the false teachers of the world and religion, let me boldly proclaim Your truths, and not be afraid to speak them, and let me not compromise with those who are trying to change Your Word I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://readytofollow.com/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/welcome/
Read Today’s Bible Reading: http://kingjamesbible.imfollowingjesus.com/
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/readytofollowJesus/
Copyright © 2022 I’m Following Jesus, All rights reserved.