1 Kings 14:19-31 - Sinful Assimilation of God’s People

1 Kings 14:19-31

Death of Jeroboam

19 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he made war and how he reigned, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 20 The period that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. So he rested with his fathers. Then Nadab his son reigned in his place.

Rehoboam Reigns in Judah (2 Chronicles 11:5—12:16)

21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king. He reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. 22 Now Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 23 For they also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree. 24 And there were also perverted persons in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

25 It happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house; he took away everything. He also took away all the gold shields which Solomon had made. 27 Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house. 28 And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards carried them, then brought them back into the guardroom.

29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 31 So Rehoboam rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. Then Abijam his son reigned in his place.

The sinful assimilation of God’s people into the ungodly cultures around them is seen in the reign of idolatrous Jeroboam in the northern nation of Israel, but even more in the southern nation of Judah led by Rehoboam into every sort of abomination to the LORD from idolatry to immorality to ritual prostitution and homosexuality.  The nations which the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel became their role models of sinful living.  The things which our current western world are pursuing are those that ancient Israel did in their pursuit of denying God and loving for perverted pleasure and serving gods of self and self-gratification.  For the people of God then, this led to defeat by foreign powers such as Egypt who took away all the temple treasures dedicated to the LORD and left them with cheap imitation shields kept locked away instead of on God-honoring display.  How long until our churches become similarly sold off and taken away by compromise and corruption (1 Corinthians 5:6-7) of pure and pure worship?  Will we continue to allow what the Lord plainly calls blasphemy and immorality infiltrate by cultural assimilation of all the scriptures say we are to avoid in the name of relevance or to avoid cultural conflict?  We would do well to remember Jeroboam and Rehoboam who led the people into such sinful association and immoral assimilation with those the LORD had commanded to be driven out of the promised land and not followed into judgment as a people and a nation.  Solomon’s sins of adultery and murder festered in his son Solomon and culminated in the rottenness of his son Rehoboam seen here in this account.  What sinful behavior and acceptance of cultural assimilation with such disobedience to compromise God’s word we accept, these things we pass to our children and cause great spiritual and social harm to all unless we drive it out of (1 Corinthians 5:9, 11,12-13) the congregation with accountability and church discipline.  We are to keep godliness intact (John 17:15, 17) by the teaching and preaching of the whole counsel of God’s word to one another in a holy union with Christ and one another to avoid the disastrous consequences of sinful assimilation with the world we live in, having been called out of such darkness into the light of righteousness (Acts 26:18) and obedience in devotion of our worship.  If we call ourselves by His name (2 Timothy 2:19), we will keep living in the light (Ephesians 5:8, 1 John 1:7) instead of darkening with the world.