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Our episode begins with a retelling of the insulting manner in which Rehoboam addresses Jeroboam, only this time the account is from 2 Chronicles rather than 1 Kings. Recall that it was the prophet Ahijah who tore a new robe into 12 pieces and gave 10 pieces to Jeroboam, symbolizing the number of tribes he would rule over. After Jeroboam leads a revolt, he became king over those 10 tribes. Despite the Lord's kindness to Jeroboam, he also turned away from God and immediately set up two sanctuaries, each with a golden calf. As we read from 1 Kings 14, the same prophet who once declared God's favor now declares God's wrath upon the house of Jeroboam, for the king has acted wickedly. 2 Chronicles 10 - 1:08 . 2 Chronicles 11 - 5:04 . 2 Chronicles 12 - 9:21 . 1 Kings 14 - 13:01 . Psalm 118 - 20:04 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org
In marrying wives from surrounding nations, he has disobeyed the direct command of the Lord and fallen into idolatry. As such is the case, the Lord vowed to take the kingdom away from Solomon's family after he is gone. Sadly, the wisdom that Solomon had passed on to his sons doesn't take root, and the foolishness of his son Rehoboam causes a revolt and a division in the nation of Israel. Today, we'll be introduced to Jeroboam, a man who Ahijah prophesies will rule over ten tribes of Israel. If Jeroboam walks in the ways of the Lord, God promises that he will be with him and build a lasting dynasty for him. Sadly, Jeroboam attempts to establish a center for worship outside of Jerusalem that is not ordained by God. 1 Kings 11:26 - 1:10 . 1 Kings 12 - 5:05 . 1 Kings 13 - 13:04 . Psalm 116 - 20:36 . Psalm 117 - 22:51 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org
In this episode of Fed by the Fruit, host KB continues her July Bible deep-dive with the cautionary story of two bad kings—Rehoboam and Jeroboam—whose pride and disobedience split Israel into a northern and southern kingdom. Learn how Rehoboam's harsh, foolish leadership drove ten tribes to rebel, how Jeroboam traded God's promise of an enduring dynasty for golden calves and idolatry, and how the prophet Ahijah's warning ultimately came true. Through their downfall, KB unpacks timeless lessons on consistent devotion, the danger of seeking God only in seasons of trouble, and the sobering truth of Galatians 6:7—“God cannot be mocked; a man reaps what he sows.” Anchored in July's memory verse, Romans 12:12, this episode challenges you to seek the Lord wholeheartedly and build your life on a firm foundation of faith.Reach out to KB on Instagram and share your thoughts.
How do you pass on your faith to the next generation? You can spend a lifetime building something good, a family, a career, a walk with God, and still watch it unravel in a single generation. If you have ever wondered why kids walk away from faith, or why the things that matter most to you do not seem to stick with the people you love, this message is for you.In this teaching, Pastor Brian opens up the story of King Rehoboam in 2 Chronicles 10. Rehoboam inherited the most successful kingdom of his day. His father Solomon was the wisest man alive, wealthy beyond description, respected by rulers around the world. And in Rehoboam's very first leadership decision, all of it split in half. Not after years of slow decline. One decision, one moment, and a civil war that Israel never fully recovered from.But here is the twist Pastor Brian draws out of the text. This is not really the story of Rehoboam's failure. Scripture repeats one small phrase about the young men Rehoboam listened to instead of the elders: they had grown up with him. The people who shaped Rehoboam were the people who walked with him. And the one person you never find walking with Rehoboam is his own father. Solomon built palaces, cities, and storehouses, but there is no record of him ever investing in his son the way David once invested in him.That is the heart of this message. Faith, wisdom, and character do not transfer by osmosis. They are not passed on through lectures, events, or even success. According to Deuteronomy 11, they are passed on through relationship, when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. Only what is passed on through relationship actually gets passed on.Pastor Brian speaks honestly to every generation here. To young people drowning in the noise of peer influence, who have to fight harder than any generation in history for the voices of experience. To parents wondering if what is in their own heart is what they want to see in their kids, because Proverbs 22:15 says foolishness is bound up in a child's heart, and love is what unbinds it. And to grandparents who have believed the lie that their most relevant years are behind them, when research and Scripture both say the opposite.And it all points to the gospel. Jesus did not send us information from a distance. He entered our lives, walked with us through failure, and loved us before we ever asked for it. Then, like every great leader, he told his followers in John 14 that they would go on to do even greater things.So the question Pastor Brian leaves us with is simple and searching: who are you walking with, and how are you walking?
Every life is represented by a tiny dash between two dates on a gravestone, but the influence of that dash can last for generations. The lives of Solomon, Rehoboam, Jeroboam, and David remind us that our choices never affect only us. Compromise leaves behind a legacy of brokenness, while faithfulness leaves behind a legacy of blessing. The good news is that through Jesus—the true and faithful King—we are no longer bound to repeat the failures of those who came before us. In Christ, we can begin.
Every life is represented by a tiny dash between two dates on a gravestone, but the influence of that dash can last for generations. The lives of Solomon, Rehoboam, Jeroboam, and David remind us that our choices never affect only us. Compromise leaves behind a legacy of brokenness, while faithfulness leaves behind a legacy of blessing. The good news is that through Jesus—the true and faithful King—we are no longer bound to repeat the failures of those who came before us. In Christ, we can begin.
Every life is represented by a tiny dash between two dates on a gravestone, but the influence of that dash can last for generations. The lives of Solomon, Rehoboam, Jeroboam, and David remind us that our choices never affect only us. Compromise leaves behind a legacy of brokenness, while faithfulness leaves behind a legacy of blessing. The good news is that through Jesus—the true and faithful King—we are no longer bound to repeat the failures of those who came before us. In Christ, we can begin
Every life is represented by a tiny dash between two dates on a gravestone, but the influence of that dash can last for generations. The lives of Solomon, Rehoboam, Jeroboam, and David remind us that our choices never affect only us. Compromise leaves behind a legacy of brokenness, while faithfulness leaves behind a legacy of blessing. The good news is that through Jesus—the true and faithful King—we are no longer bound to repeat the failures of those who came before us. In Christ, we can begin
Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week. 2 Samuel 22 Matt Freeman Download TranscriptIt's good to see you guys this morning. If you would go ahead, grab a Bible and turn to 2 Samuel 22. If you don't have a Bible, I want to encourage you to grab one of the black ones that are under the seats right in front of you. We're going to be on page 313. I'm going to put some of the extra passages and verses on the screen for us, but the bulk of our time is just going to be walking through this passage together. So, we want you to have a Bible in your hands.If we haven't met yet, my name is Matt Freeman. I get the opportunity to serve here as a lay pastor. And most Sundays you'll see me up here with a guitar in my hands or maybe playing piano and leading worship. But I am thankful for the times where I get the opportunity to teach our church family when it makes the most sense for our team. The truth is I'm usually just called in for the passages that Chet and Spencer find too difficult. But today is a little bit more in my wheelhouse.And so we're coming to the end of our time in 1 and 2 Samuel and we're bringing our study on the life of David to a close. And Chet mentioned this last week, but we have left the chronological flow of things and we've really just entered into the epilogue where the writer of 1 and 2 Samuel is just highlighting specific vignettes in David's life for us to focus in on to learn something from. But part of what's interesting here is that the books of 1 and 2 Samuel are historical narrative, meaning that they're just giving us a historical account of the people of God. And we've been tracing that through the lives of Samuel and then Saul and now David.But in this epilogue, we're given a song, which is crazy because we've been walking through all of this history, but now we're given a song. In fact, in the ESV, the title is David's Song of Deliverance. And so, it's at least curious enough for us to lean in and go, why a song? Why here? And for me, I love music. So, I'm pumped about the fact that it's a song.I listen to music constantly. I am either playing or singing all the time. People who know me well know my life is like I'm a walking musical. But music has this incredible power about it. It has the ability to make us feel things more deeply than we could without it. Just imagine your favorite movie without the musical score behind it.Imagine Jaws without the two notes getting faster and faster and faster. Imagine the opening of a Star Wars movie without the fanfare. It's just words suddenly going across your screen at an awkward angle. Think about it. Think about going to a wedding. The doors open.The bride walks in and it's just shuffling feet. Music helps us feel that moments matter. Music also helps us remember things way more easily. Some of you have a very deep bank of song lyrics. Some of those songs you wish you could forget, but you just remember songs. Let's play a game.[He prompts the congregation with a brief Bon Jovi lyric, and they sing the response in harmony.] That wasn't just melody. It was harmony. Like, also, I bet you didn't have singing Bon Jovi on your bingo card for this morning. But we could play that game all morning long. Music's also a part of how we learned. Nearly half of everything you learned in elementary school was set to a song.It's part of how we give honor and celebrate. It's why we sing happy birthday. We do the national anthem. You know, over the course of your life, music is how you got through your first breakup. Music's how you got pumped up for a game. You know that if you're at a college football game and the band kicks in, it's go time.Music helps us feel these things. And here's the reality. God created music. He beautifully and intentionally and creatively baked all of this stuff into it, and he made it important in the life of his people. Roughly one-third of the Old Testament is divinely inspired poetry. The book in the Bible with the largest number of chapters and one of the largest books in the Bible is the book of Psalms.John Piper says in the Psalms you can find 27 different human emotions and how they're given expression in relation to God. The people of God are a musical people. We're singing people. We're commanded over 50 times in the Bible to sing to the Lord. And here we are at the end of historical narrative and we're given a song. And it's not just any song.It's a song that's so important that it's not just put in the Bible once, it's in the Bible twice. We have a near verbatim replica of this song given to us in Psalm 18 that we started as our call to worship this morning. And so, knowing that God's the creator of music and knowing all that he's put into it, why do we get this song here? So at this season of David's life, after decades of war and strife and danger and hundreds of deliverances, it says that David now has rest from his enemies and from Saul. He's now a successful and powerful king. And what does David do?He worships God. In the ancient world, when earthly kings came to the end of their lives and they wanted people to celebrate their victories and conquest, they would build monuments to themselves. They wanted future generations to look at their strength, their power, their accomplishments, but not David. David doesn't say, "Look at me." He says, "Look at God." The song is not a monument to David's victories.It's a testimony to David's God. And so its placement here in the epilogue is to teach us that it's all about God. So in some ways this morning, David's going to teach us about worship. We're going to walk through this song together, and we're going to let David fix our eyes on the Lord. Hopefully by the end of it, we're going to see how this song extends to us, into our lives and into our story as well. So let's ask the Lord to help us do that.Would you pray with me? God, we know that you have intentionally placed this song in the epilogue after we've seen so much of David's story for a reason. So, I pray that you would help us let David fix our eyes on you this morning. That we would see why David worships you his whole life long. And that would extend into our story as well. In Jesus' name, amen.So, let's take a look at it together. 2 Samuel 22. Again, this is mirrored in Psalm 18, meaning it's not just David's personal song. It is meant to be a song of deliverance for all of God's people. And what we're going to see here is that this song is all about David's God, not David's victories. But verse one gets us into it. It says this:> And David spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. (2 Samuel 22:1 ESV)It just sets the context for the song. We're not actually into the song yet. And it says that David spoke these words to the LORD. So LORD, if you're looking in your Bible, it's capitalized.It's L O R D. This is the personal covenant name of God that he gave to his people. This is Yahweh. And so David is singing this song to his personal God, Yahweh. And again, we've left chronology here. We don't know exactly when this sits in David's life, but we've read 1 and 2 Samuel, so we know a lot of things.We know the kinds of deliverances that he's been delivered from. We know at least we can go back to one of our first encounters where God delivers David from Goliath and then battle after battle with the Philistines and then from Saul. But we've also seen that once he becomes king, he's delivered from his son Absalom, who rebels against him. He goes on the run. Most recently, we looked at the rebellion of Sheba. And so David, looking back over a lifetime of deliverance with gratitude in his heart, can't help but erupt in praise to the Lord.And so let's pick it back up in verse two. We'll go through seven:> He said, “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,> my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,> my shield, and the horn of my salvation,> my stronghold and my refuge,> my savior; you save me from violence.> I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,> and I am saved from my enemies.> For the waves of death encompassed me,> the torrents of destruction assailed me;> the cords of Sheol entangled me;> the snares of death confronted me.> In my distress I called upon the LORD;> to my God I called.> From his temple he heard my voice,> and my cry came to his ears. (2 Samuel 22:2–7 ESV)You can just feel the language of an old, battle-worn warrior here.David has continually found his strength in the Lord. And so he reaches for every word that he can find. Look back at it. It says rock, fortress, deliverer, shield, horn, stronghold, refuge. But notice, David is not just teaching us to praise God only when life feels good and settled.He's teaching us how to praise God in the middle of every season. He remembers the waves of death, the torrents of destruction, the days when he felt alone and afraid, surrounded and desperate for rescue. And yet in all of it, he cries out to the Lord and he praises the Lord. So he praises God in the midst of his strength and in his weakness, in his victories and in his fears. In the midst of the battle and when he's been delivered, he turns all of it into worship. And let me step to the side for a moment and go into worship leader mode. Again, David's teaching us about worship. This isn't the main point of the passage, but I do think there are a couple of things that help highlight for us why corporate worship matters.Okay, first one is this. We sing to God in every season of life. So, it matters that we sing songs like that on Sunday morning. When we come into this room, we're going to sing songs of praise like we've done this morning. We have sung “Cornerstone” and “The Rock Won't Move,” high songs of praise to God. But we also need songs in the midst of pain and grief and lament.Songs like “Lord, I Need You” or “He Will Hold Me Fast.” We need songs for all of it on Sunday morning because we all come into this room in different seasons of life. And we have a God who can relate to us in all of it. So, we want those songs to be reflected.It also means that we sing to God, but also for the benefit of everyone else in the room. This morning, when our vocalists pulled the mics down and you could just hear the room singing, it was incredible. This is one of my favorite verses. This is from Ephesians 5:19. This is Paul talking to the church, giving them some instructions.It says, “Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.” So, we sing for God, to God, but it's also for the benefit of everyone else around us. And so, there have been times, guys, where I've walked into this room and I've been struggling. I've been hurting. I wasn't leading worship. I was just in a seat. And we start singing songs, and I'm looking at the screen and having a hard time believing the words that are up there.But I start looking around the room at my brothers and sisters, and I see them singing. I see the couple who's just lost a child. I see the marriage that is struggling. I see the brother or sister who is currently walking through a battle with sin. And they're standing, and with faith and hope and trust they're praising the Lord. Suddenly I'm encouraged because I'm looking at their faith, and I'm back to my feet and singing, which kind of makes the third point obvious. It highlights why it's important that we regularly gather and participate on Sunday mornings. It's not just enough to come into this room.God has intentionally put something in the times where we are singing to him and singing for the benefit of others that is meant to teach us how to walk the journey of faith with him in all seasons. And again, David's teaching us about worship here. We're seeing God for who he is. And then he continues back in the passage. He's going to paint this picture for us a little bit more here. He's going to use even more colorful and descriptive language for us to describe how the Lord has delivered him time and again.Let's pick it back up in verse 8:> Then the earth reeled and rocked;> the foundations of the heavens trembled> and quaked, because he was angry.> Smoke went up from his nostrils,> and devouring fire from his mouth;> glowing coals flamed forth from him.> He bowed the heavens and came down;> thick darkness was under his feet.> He rode on a cherub and flew;> he was seen on the wings of the wind.> He made darkness around him his canopy,> thick clouds, a gathering of water.> Out of the brightness before him> coals of fire flamed forth.> The LORD thundered from heaven,> and the Most High uttered his voice.> And he sent out arrows and scattered them;> lightning, and routed them.> Then the channels of the sea were seen;> the foundations of the world were laid bare,> at the rebuke of the LORD,> at the blast of the breath of his nostrils. (2 Samuel 22:8–16 ESV)The reality here is that we have such a finite capability to comprehend the glory and the magnitude and the majesty of our Creator God. And there's something about this type of poetic and metaphorical and descriptive language that just plainly saying it does not get across.Let me give you an example of this. Someone could say, “I would like to travel to my hometown in the mountains because I have a positive emotional connection with it.” That's technically clear. That's communicating information. Or someone could do this.[Sings a brief excerpt from “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”]And now what could have been a plain sentence is emotion and longing and geography and family and home. The plain sentence may be true, but the song engages us in a completely different way. And that's exactly what David's doing right here. David's not giving us a weather report. He's not saying that smoke literally came out of God's nose or that God physically flew on a cherub through the clouds. He's reaching for language that's big enough to help us picture and feel what ordinary language cannot: that when the God of the heavens and the earth chooses to move to rescue his servant, it's as if the whole world were laid bare.Plain language can tell us that God delivered David. But there's something about this type of language that helps us feel the majesty of the God who does the saving. So, David reaches for earthquakes, fire, smoke, thunder, darkness, and lightning. Because when God comes to save, he doesn't come lightly. And he continues on with some of this kind of metaphorical language. Again, he's trying to help us picture it. He continues in a similar way back in verse 17.Let's read a few verses here:> He sent from on high, he took me;> he drew me out of many waters.> He rescued me from my strong enemy,> from those who hated me,> for they were too mighty for me.> They confronted me in the day of my calamity,> but the LORD was my support.> He brought me out into a broad place;> he rescued me, because he delighted in me. (2 Samuel 22:17–20 ESV)I mean, it's just beautiful, right? It's this picture of David drowning beneath the waves, and God pulls him out and rescues him. It's similar language to what we see used to describe the Israelites coming out of Egypt: they come through the water. He rescues them.Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like you were drowning? Like literally drowning. It's terrifying. I actually have a couple of these stories from growing up. So, when we were growing up, we used to go to the state park in my hometown. It's not in West Virginia; it's in South Carolina. We would go to the lake.They had this nice swimming area. There was a beach. There was a part where you could swim that was kind of partitioned off with buoys so that you knew that you could touch. And we had gone there with some friends. But out beyond the buoys, there was this dock. It was about 40 feet from the shore. And on this dock was a high dive.And so, you know, we're there with friends. It's like, let's go. All right. So, we're going to swim beyond where our feet could touch. And we're going to swim past the buoys out all the way to this dock. We're going to clamor up on the dock.And then, you know, we've seen people jumping. My friends go to jump. And so I ascend the ladder and get to the top of this high dive. And most people were just kind of jumping off. Well, I thought I'm going to do a flip. And a flip I did.And so I did that flip and then I just kept going. So guys, I hit the water and all the air left my body and my body froze and I started going underneath the water. And then my body woke up and so I thrashed to the surface and I'm screaming and crying and I'm disoriented because I don't know where I'm at. And thankfully there were lifeguards in canoes because obviously this has happened before. And so they come over to me and they pull me from the water into this canoe. And if everybody had not been watching just by the sheer sound of me hitting the water, they're watching now because I am screaming and crying.And now they've got to canoe me the 40 feet back to the shore. And you know, my friends still love to tell this story. They laugh about it all the time. They think it's super embarrassing. And I just remind them it's not a big deal. I'm sure that happens to a lot of 17-year-olds.To be fair, I was in third grade, but it was still super embarrassing, and it does come up in stories a lot. But all jokes aside, guys, there was a moment where if they're not there and they don't pull me from the water, I don't know. And that's what the king of Israel is saying. David's saying, “If not for God, if God had not pulled me from the water, I was sunk.” It's beautiful, just incredible language. And again, he's given us a picture here.He continues on. Verse 21 says:> The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness;> according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.> For I have kept the ways of the LORD> and have not wickedly departed from my God.> For all his rules were before me,> and from his statutes I did not turn aside.> I was blameless before him,> and I kept myself from guilt.> And the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,> according to my cleanness in his sight. (2 Samuel 22:21–25 ESV)This is where the song gets a little difficult to process. David says, “The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness.” And immediately we want to stop him and be like, “David, buddy, we've read the story. We've read 2 Samuel.” And again, we don't know where this falls in David's life, but we know where the writer of 2 Samuel put it after we've already read all of this mess.We know about the adultery with Bathsheba. We know about the murder of Uriah and all the chaos that ensues from that, the failures in leadership. There's deep mess that marks parts of David's life. So when David says, "I was blameless before him," it feels out of alignment to us. And part of the reason it feels strange is because we tend to only have two categories for this type of claim. Perfection or failure.So either you get it all right or you fail. You don't. You're disqualified. So when David talks about righteousness and blamelessness, we hear him claiming perfection. But that's not actually what David's doing here.David's not saying, "I never sinned." We know that he sinned. He knows that he sinned. He's saying he kept the ways of the Lord. In verse 22, it says, "I have not wickedly departed from my God." When David sinned, he repented.When Nathan confronted him over Bathsheba and Uriah, David didn't harden his heart like Saul had done. He broke before the Lord. David knew that he sinned. Psalm 51 is David's repentance from his sin. And I think that's part of why Scripture can describe David in such unique terms. Maybe you'll remember this from 1 Samuel.This is after Saul had sinned, and Samuel comes to him and says this to Saul: “But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart. And the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” The difference between Saul and David is that David repented when he was confronted in his sin. And so the righteousness here is not sinless perfection.It's covenant faithfulness. It's loyalty to the Lord. It's why David can be described as a man after God's own heart. Not because David never failed. It was because even in his failure, he kept coming back to the Lord. And that's extraordinarily good news for us: part of keeping the ways of the Lord and the decrees of God is that he has made provision for sinners to come to him.And part of how we follow faithfully is that we own it. We confess our sin to the Lord. We confess our brokenness and we repent and we turn from it. And so again, David's teaching us about worship. He shows us that the faithful life is not a sinless life. The faithful life is a repentant life.The life that keeps returning to a God who saves, to a God who gives grace. And he keeps describing that God in the next few verses. Pick it back up in verse 26:> With the merciful you show yourself merciful;> with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;> with the purified you deal purely,> and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.> You save a humble people,> but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.> For you are my lamp, O LORD,> and my God lightens my darkness.> For by you I can run against a troop,> and by my God I can leap over a wall.> This God—his way is perfect;> the word of the LORD proves true;> he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. (2 Samuel 22:26–31 ESV)Isn't that so good? It's what we read out loud together just a little while ago. He shows himself merciful. He saves a humble people who know that they need it. He's a shield to those who will run behind the shield to seek refuge in him.He's a lamp that lightens the darkness. This is why it's important that the songs that we sing tell us the full counsel of God as revealed in his word. We can look back at verses 8–16 and see a God who's mighty and big and in majesty and thunders and can lay the world bare, who's also merciful and gracious and patient. And so we've proclaimed with David, “This God—his way is perfect.” It's incredible. And so we're going to continue on in verse 32.And this time we're going to read a little bit larger section. And I want us to be looking for who's the main player, who's the focus of the passage. You're going to see all kinds of pictures, so many of the stories that we've already read about David, but I want you to look for who's the focus as we walk through this. Pick it up in verse 32:> For who is God, but the LORD?> And who is a rock, except our God?> This God is my strong refuge> and has made my way blameless.> He made my feet like the feet of a deer> and set me secure on the heights.> He trains my hands for war,> so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.> You have given me the shield of your salvation,> and your gentleness made me great.> You gave a wide place for my steps under me,> and my feet did not slip;> I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,> and did not turn back until they were consumed.> I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise;> they fell under my feet.> For you equipped me with strength for the battle;> you made those who rise against me sink under me.> You made my enemies turn their backs to me,> those who hated me, and I destroyed them.> They looked, but there was none to save;> they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.> I beat them fine as the dust of the earth;> I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.> You delivered me from strife with my people;> you kept me as the head of the nations;> people whom I had not known served me.> Foreigners came cringing to me;> as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.> Foreigners lost heart> and came trembling out of their fortresses. (2 Samuel 22:32–46 ESV)Notice who's the most important.Who's the focus? God trains, strengthens, enlarges, makes, sets, protects, subdues enemies, and establishes David. The message is simple. David fights, but it's God who wins. This is one of Scripture's clearest pictures of divine sovereignty working through human responsibility. David acts, but God is ultimately the one who's in control of all things.And so in this song, it becomes clear who gets the glory. Who's the focus? It's God. David may be telling his story, but David's not the hero of the story. God is the hero of David's story. And David knows this.I think it's why it's included here in the epilogue. This is the king telling his people, “Look to God. He's the deliverer.” David never takes the credit. He says it's about God. This is one of the reasons why on Sunday mornings, the large majority of the songs that we sing are either about God or to God, versus what we do or what we're going to do for God.There's a place for the latter, but this psalm reinforces that if we're talking about what we've done or what we're going to do, it's all because the Lord is sovereign over all of it. We act, but he's in control. He's the one who gets the glory. And at this point, David kind of reverts back to where he was at the beginning of the song. He just explodes back into praise. Let's finish the song.Verse 47 to the end:> The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock,> and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,> the God who gave me vengeance> and brought down peoples under me,> who brought me out from my enemies;> you exalted me above those who rose against me;> you delivered me from men of violence.> For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations,> and sing praises to your name.> Great salvation he brings to his king,> and shows steadfast love to his anointed,> to David and his offspring forever. (2 Samuel 22:47–51 ESV)The song ends where it began with praise, but now the praise expands. David says, “I will praise you among the nations.” He understood that the blessings of God were meant to extend to all peoples of the earth. Which is really good news for us because David was a Hebrew, and this song is in the Hebrew songbook.So it's good news that it was meant to extend to the nations because that's most of us, right? This becomes missionary theology in the New Testament. Paul quotes this verse in Romans 15, talking about the mission of God, God's glory going to the nations, going everywhere. And so this song has been driving. It's been in a slow, big build and crescendo to the finale, which is really this final verse. And so, we're going to look at the final verse again and focus in on it because there are some key words here that should really pull our minds towards covenant language.Let's look at it again. It says, “Great salvation he brings to his king and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.” It says, “Great salvation he brings to his king.” That's the first time that word has shown up in this entire psalm: king. And we think about God establishing David as the king. It says he shows steadfast love. This is the Hebrew word hesed.We see it show up in Moses. We see it show up around 200 times in the Old Testament alone. This is God moving and working. It's a reminder of his covenant love to his people. He shows steadfast love to his anointed. We know that David's the anointed king, but the word for anointed here is Messiah. Then there's offspring.We see that it's coming through a line, and this is a throne that's going to be established forever. And these are not just random words. All of these are echoes of God's covenant with David. And so to refresh our minds for this, I want us to look back at 2 Samuel 7, where God has given this covenant to David, because I think it's going to help us see it. It says this:> When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. (2 Samuel 7:12–16 ESV)And here's what we know. The kingship passes to Solomon, and Solomon fulfills some of this. He does build a temple, but then he also makes some terrible decisions, and then he dies. The kingdom passes to his son Rehoboam, and almost immediately everything goes sideways. The kingdom splits, and it's never reunited.So the question remains, how will this kingdom be established forever? What kind of king can receive all of the promises of David and never lose them? What kind of son can reign forever? And as we read verse 51 and this section in 2 Samuel 7, I hope for the Christians in the room, all of the light switches have just started to turn on because it's all pointing to Jesus. The answer is Jesus. Look back at it here: “Great salvation he brings to his king.”It's the kind of king who would step off his throne and come down to his people in the greatest act of steadfast love. He comes as the one who is anointed, the long-awaited one, the Messiah. He comes in the line of David, and he comes to establish a kingdom that will last forever. Not an earthly kingdom but an eternal kingdom. This song ultimately belongs to the greater son of David. David can sing this song as a repentant king upheld by grace. But Jesus can sing it as the perfectly righteous king whose hands were truly clean, who perfectly kept the ways of the Lord, who never sinfully departed from his God, who was truly blameless.And here's the wonder of the gospel. The only king who was worthy to be rewarded for his righteousness traded places with us. At the cross, the righteous king was treated as the guilty one so that guilty people could be made righteous in him. He came and entered the storm of judgment for us. He bore the wrath that we deserved. He died the death that we should have died. And he rose again in victory as the deliverer.So this song is fulfilled in Jesus. And because it's true of Jesus, it gets to be true for everyone who belongs to Jesus. When David says, "The Lord is my rock," we know even more fully that Christ is our rock and our firm foundation. When David says, "The Lord is my fortress," we know even more fully that we are safe and secure in Christ.When David says, "The Lord is my deliverer," we relish in the fact that Jesus delivered us from sin and from death and from hell. When David says, "He rescued me because he delighted in me," we know that even more in Christ because the Father delights in the Son. And by faith, we're united to the Son. And so David writes this song about his life, but the song's not ultimately about David. It's about David's God. The story of David's life is God's faithfulness to David through every season—in danger, in deliverance, in weakness, in victory, in sin, in repentance, in sorrow, and in joy.David looks back over his life and he says, "Don't look at me. Look at the God who's been faithful." And because this song is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, it gets to be true for us as well. The band's going to come back up, and they're going to lead us in a final song. But I want you to focus here for just a few more moments because I have a question I want to ask you and I want you to consider. If you were to write a song about your life, what would it be about?What would the lyrics be? Who would the song be about? Would it be a song that's about striving or achieving, building, trying to make a name for ourselves? Would it be a song that's about anxiety or worry or seeking to be in control or trying to white knuckle our way through life as if everything depended on us? Or would it be a song like David's a testimony that through every season God has been faithful? And the good news for you this morning is that in Jesus, this song gets to be your song.It gets to be my song. That his rescue becomes my rescue. That his refuge is my refuge. That this king is my king. And one day, every song of deliverance will roll into the new song of eternity. Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.So until that day, let's keep singing like David. Let every rescued sinner echo this refrain from verse 47. The Lord lives and blessed be my rock and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation. Let's pray. God, you have been faithful and good throughout my life. Help me use every breath to sing of your goodness. In Jesus' name, amen.
In 1 Kings 12 and 13, Pastor Gerrit looks at the story of Rehoboam and Jeroboam, the two kings who split Israel after Solomon's death. Rehoboam ignores wise counsel and rules harshly, losing ten tribes in the process. Jeroboam, ruled by fear rather than faith, sets up false worship sites so the people won't return to Jerusalem. Even after a clear warning from God, he refuses to turn back. Together their choices show how ignoring godly counsel and letting fear win out can slowly harden a heart against repentance.
Smart Moves – Week 7The Smart Move of Wise Counsel (Proverbs 12:15; 1 Kings 12)Wise people understand they don't have to learn every lesson the hard way. God often provides direction, protection, and clarity through the counsel of others who know Him and walk in wisdom. Rehoboam's story shows the danger of surrounding yourself with voices that simply affirm what you already want to hear. As we cultivate a desire for godly counsel, pursue people marked by faith, love, objectivity, and experience, and humbly receive their guidance, we discover that the right voices can keep us from making the wrong choices.
When Elijah stood on Mount Carmel, he challenged an entire nation: "How long halt ye between two opinions?" In a world pulling us in a thousand different directions, are we trying to keep one foot in Zion and the other in Babylon, or are we ready to let God prevail? Summary: In this episode, we explore the dramatic events of 1 Kings 12-22 . We transition from the massive building projects of Solomon to the fractured, divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah, uncovering the crucial role of the prophets in calling a drifting people back to their covenants. The Division of the Kingdom: We analyze the critical leadership mistakes of Rehoboam, who rejected the wise counsel of the elders to double down on burdens, and Jeroboam, who created a convenient, counterfeit religion to keep his people from the Temple. The Test of Exact Obedience: We study the sobering and tragic story of the unnamed younger man of God in 1 Kings 13, discovering why resisting temptation once doesn't mean the trial is over. The Widow of Zarephath: We look closely at Elijah's interactions with a starving widow in Zidon, learning how her willingness to put God's prophet first turned a final, meager meal into a continuous source of life. The Fire on Mount Carmel: We break down Elijah's epic confrontation with the 450 prophets of Baal, analyzing how Jehovah systematically dismantled and discredited the Canaanite pantheon. The Still Small Voice: After the fire, wind, and earthquake, Elijah finds God not in the spectacular displays, but in the quiet, inner whisper. We talk about the loneliness of leadership and how the Lord reminds us that we are never as alone as we think. Call-to-Action: Elijah repaired the broken altar of the Lord before he called down the fire. What is one "broken altar" or spiritual habit in your life that needs to be repaired this week? Share your thoughts in the comments below! If you are ready to stop halting between two opinions and build an "Unshaken" faith, please like, subscribe, and share this video! Chapter Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 2:54 Rehoboam's Lack of Wisdom 25:10 Jeroboam's Lack of Faith 1:02:06 Visions of a Blind Seer 1:23:10 Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath 2:03:08 Elijah and the Priests of Baal 2:44:02 Hearing the Still, Small Voice 3:06:27 Ahab and Jezebel 3:24:00 Conclusion
Set Apart - Pt 2 - Break the Cycle - We've all seen cycles of hurt, poor decision-making, or brokenness passed down through families, organizations, or cultures. Breaking those cycles is incredibly hard work—but it's entirely possible when we choose a different path. In this message, we are diving deep into 1 Kings 12–14 to look at a tragic turning point in ancient history. Two newly crowned kings, Rehoboam and Jeroboam, both stood at a massive crossroads. Both inherited a fragile kingdom, and both had a golden opportunity to break the destructive cycles of the past, humble themselves, and lead their people toward true healing through repentance. Instead? Both completely missed their moment. Join us as we unpack the heavy, centuries-long impact their pride had on two entire nations, and explore what their stories teach us today about our own blind spots. We'll discuss the liberating power of personal repentance and how choosing humility can alter the trajectory of your life, your family, and your legacy for generations to come. Grab your Bible, open up to 1 Kings, and let's dive into the Word together!
Group Guide Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week. 2 Samuel 19:40-20 Spencer Cary Download TranscriptGood morning. My name is Spencer. I am one of the pastors here. We are continuing to walk through the book of 2 Samuel. We'll get towards the end, you guys. We're going to be in chapter 19, verse 40.We're going to go all the way through chapter 20 today. It's on page 310 in those black Bibles. And to 311, I encourage you to follow along with us as we walk through 2 Samuel. We are kind of having a moment in our country right now because the World Cup is here. And it's not just, which if you didn't know, that's soccer, you guys. It's not just that we're actually winning and it seems like we're pretty good.It's that people from all around the world have come to America. And they love it here. I've watched so many of these videos, it's ridiculous. There's so many videos of people from Europe, from Africa, from Japan, that are just so excited about Buc-ee's, about free refills, about Costco, and ranch. Ranch dressing is having a moment. But it's wonderful because there's all these things that they love.It's like, you know what? We've got some good things going on. We're just kind of celebrating a moment as a country. We're all united joyously for the first time in a long time. And the reason that it feels like it's the first time in a long time is because I don't know if you've been paying attention. The last decade plus has been a lot.It's been a lot of hostility. It's been a lot of disunity. I mean, it's been a lot of just tribalism and hate. And man. And I just want to capture that. I want to read some quotes.And these are from public figures, political leaders. But this kind of captures the last 10 years of kind of what we've been in. It's been just at each other's throats. There's a few different quotes from a few different people. We will root out the communist, Marxist, fascist, and the radical left thugs that live like vermin. That's talking about fellow citizens.Live like vermin. There's another one. If you see anybody from that cabinet, that political cabinet, in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gas station, you get out and create a crowd. You push back on them. You tell them why they're not welcome anymore anywhere. That's another one.The third one. We need a national divorce. We are two completely different countries living under one flag. And one side is trying to destroy the other. Straight up calling for it. A national divorce.Last one. You could put half of his supporters into what I call a basket of deplorables. So half of someone's supporters deplorable. Now, you can say, well, that's politicians. And many of them are like the worst of us. And I'm not going to fight you super hard on that because there might be some merit to some of that argument.But it's not just leaders like that. That's trickled down and been reposted and been recirculated on social media and break rooms and shop floors at family get-togethers. We've seen this over and over again. So much to the point where the word Nazi and commie has almost lost its meaning entirely. We've heard destroying America, threat to democracy, enemy from within, fascists, on and on and on and on and on. If you've been insulated from this, brother or sister, blessed are you.It's kind of hard to miss it. But if you've had any touch points with people, the Internet, there's a lot of angry people right now with a lot of alarmist, heightened, extremist rhetoric that is symptomatic of a deeper problem of deep disunity that many of us have observed and felt for a long time at this point. And we're getting ready to celebrate our 250th birthday. And I think the story we have in 2 Samuel is timely because it's going to highlight what happens when you have unresolved conflict that weaves its way through a nation. And that, paired with heated, intensified rhetoric and words, brings about consequences that we should be careful to take notice of.And as Christians, we should consider on a national level, on a local level, and within our own church, that we are called to live differently than many who are trying to tear each other apart today. And as we take a big step back from this, as we walk through this story, my hope is that we see Christ as our ultimate hope in the widening rift that we are currently living in. So let's pray, and then we'll walk this together. Heavenly Father, I thank you that our hope is in Christ alone. And that message resounds in beautiful, wonderful, unifying ways against the backdrop of history that is filled with broken people fighting for their own interest.God, I pray that you'd help us see the truth of the Scriptures, the hope of the Gospel, and that we leave here in faith and obedience and repentance. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay, so last week when Chet ended, where he ended, it was a moment after the civil war between Absalom and David where there was a lot of good happening. There was the pardoning of enemies. There was the rewarding of individuals.And this is exactly where Chet ended last week in verse 40. It says, The king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him. All the people of Judah and also half the people of Israel brought the king on his way. Okay. So that last sentence is really important context here.And it's a problem. Because after the civil war, they should be coming together, unified, and taking David back. But what's happened is, is it says, All of Judah and half of Israel. And what that is, is political positioning. All of Judah to put influence, to gain influence with David as he's being reestablished in Jerusalem. And half of Israel.That's a problem, y'all. If the American civil war ended, and afterwards the north said, You know what? We're going to give the south, I don't know, five to ten senators. And we're going to have forty to fifty. It would have restarted. Because that's not unifying.That's how you have unequal representation. That's not how it's supposed to go. And the people of Israel see this, And they are upset. Verse 41. Then all the men of Israel came to the king, And said to the king, Why have our brothers, the men of Judah, stolen you away?All right, pause there. Israel sees this, And they go to David, And they're like, Why have the people of Judah, our brothers, stolen you away? Now that kind of gets lost on us in the English. But in their language, in their context, With this being used throughout the scriptures, That's fighting words right there. That is a massive accusation. You are stealing our king.Why are they stealing you away? And it says, And brought the king and his household over the Jordan, And all of David's men with him. So, They level this accusation. Verse 42. All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is our close relative, Why then are you angry over this matter? They say, Because we're related to him.Like more than you. Like you're a distant cousin. We're close cousins. This is David we're talking about. Of the tribe of Judah. So, Why are you angry about this?They continue. Have we eaten at the king's expense? Or has he given us any gift? Have we taken advantage of the situation in a way that promotes us? Have we taken bribes? Have we taken favors?Why are you angry? Verse 43. And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, We have ten shares in the king. And in David also, We have more than you. Why then do you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king?All right. Pause there. They're saying, We have ten shares. We have ten tribes. What are you doing? How do you as one tribe get all this influence with David?Why do you hate us? Why do you despise us? And they just keep going. It says, But the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel. And you can see them devolving into a shouting match. And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer.Fiercer. Harsher. Louder. Intensified. Talking. Yelling.Over. One another. And what's happening here is the widening of an ongoing rift that is never going to heal in this nation. Wounds are not going to be healed that come out of this. And it shows that words matter. They matter.Israel comes in hot. They say, Why are you stealing our king? And Judah doesn't slow down. They answer back. Israel answers back. The words get more fierce.More intensified. And now they're at it again. In conflict. Raging. Now. Pick up in chapter 20 verse 1.There's somebody present. Who is going to take advantage of the anger in this moment? Verse 1. Now there happened to be there a worthless man whose name was Sheba. The son of Bichri. A Benjaminite.Okay. So. While they're all shouting at each other. There's a man named Sheba from the tribe of Benjamin. Son of Bichri. Okay.And he is an opportunist. Now he's described as a worthless man. We're going to see why in a moment. He's an opportunist. Who is going to seize on all the anger that is happening right here. It says, And he blew the trumpet and said, We have no portion in David.And we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tents. Oh, Israel. So as they're shouting and yelling and the words are fiercer and fiercer and fiercer. He blows the trumpet. Gets everyone's attention.And declares independence. He says, We have no share in this mess. No share in Judah. Done with this. We're going to our own tents. Who's with me?Verse 2. So all the men of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba the son of Bichri. But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem. So in the heat of this argument, an opportunist steps in, declares independence. And because they're so angry, they're like, Yeah! And we're going home free!And that signals to the people of Judah, Oh no, we might be back in a civil war again. And they get around David, escort him all the way back to Jerusalem, keeping him safe. And when David gets back to Jerusalem, he has to both put together his household again, that's been broken, and also put down another rebellion. Verse 3. And David came to his house at Jerusalem, and the king took the ten concubines, whom he had left to care for the house, and put them in order, put them in a house under guard, and provided for them, but did not go into them. So they were shut up until the day of their death, living as in widowhood.So you want to get this little explanation that kind of finishes up this part of the story. It goes back to when Absalom was starting his rebellion, and it's very sad. Remember the events of Absalom, and what he did with David's concubines with his wives? After all of this, when David gets back, because of some prohibitions in the law, what he does is he cannot maintain this relationship with these wives in the way that he had before, so he puts them in houses, makes sure they're provided for, but they live in practical widowhood the rest of their lives, which is just sad. Women that were abused, women that now have to live in that shame and widowhood for the rest of their days.That is what happens in war, and it is awful. And that once he does this, he has to begin to put down this rebellion, starting in verse 4. Then the king said to Amasa, Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself. So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed him. Okay. So Amasa, if you remember from last week, is now the commander of David's army, right, of the military.He replaced Joab. David is still upset with Joab because Joab killed his son Absalom in battle. Okay. So Amasa is now in charge. And y'all, Amasa doesn't seem to be a very competent general, doesn't seem to be very competent at all. Amasa, if I'm honest, kind of just fails up.It's like a lot of U.S. politicians that, I mean, you see sometimes they lose an election, and then they get elevated to a position of power in their political party. Or they commit an offense, and they rise in the polls. They just, this happens. It's not unique to American history. It's all over history. People just fail up all the time.But what's happened is, is Amasa led the rebellion with Absalom against David. That should be a strike against him. Another strike should be a failed rebellion. He didn't even win. He lost. So he fails at that, and now he's elevated to be the commander.And it's like, then he's given this job where it says, you need to go. You have three days time. Go. Let's gather the men of Judah together. We have to go and fight. And it says, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed to him, which means he didn't get it done in time.You might think, well, that's a lot to ask to gather troops in three days. You know what? It's not. Because Judah is about the size of Lexington and Richland County. Okay? Not a very massive area.So you've got a bunch of men under you. You've got a thousand soldiers that are right near you. Just get them. Go. Go to every town, every neighborhood. Bring them back.He doesn't. And now David can't wait any longer. So it says in verse 6, and David said to Abishai, now Sheba the son of Bichri will do more harm than Absalom. Take your Lord's servants and pursue him lest he get himself to fortified cities and escape from us. All right.It's a lot of names in 1 and 2 Samuel. So Abishai, if we remember, is Joab's brother. So he looks at Abishai and says, all right, I don't know what Amasa is doing, but we don't have time for this. You need to go. Take some men. We need to put down this rebellion before it gets any worse.And Abishai isn't going out alone. Verse 7, And there went out after him Joab's men and the Cherethites and the Pelethites and the mighty men. They went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba, the son of Bichri. So Abishai is loyal to his brother and says, Hey, come on. Let's go.So he takes them, the mighty men, the mercenaries and said, We're going. We're going out together. And that isn't good because if you've been around with us for a bit, you know that Joab is an unsavory person to say the least. Pretty violent, gruesome person. Verse 8, When they were at the great stone that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now Joab was wearing the soldier's garment and over it was a belt with a sword and its sheath fastened on its thigh.And as it went forward, it fell out. And Joab said to Amasa, Is it well with you, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. But Amasa did not observe the sword that was in Joab's hand. So Joab struck him with it in the stomach and spilled his entrails to the ground without striking a second blow.And he died. So Joab, being a very violent man who holds grudges, has a plan of revenge and he assassinates and murders another threat. He keeps doing this. And this is not like, Oh, the sword spilled out. Oh, a moment. This was planned.He goes up to do a traditional greeting, which is like kiss on both cheeks. That's their equivalent of dapping him up. And the sword spills out on purpose. He picks up the sword and he violently thrusts it into him. One shot kill. And this is, listen, Amasa, I'll be honest, should have seen this coming.The moment he sees Joab, he should have said, Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. He should have had men surrounding him. But he isn't very competent. He's very unsuspecting. He's very naive. And he goes up to a man with a history of violence, with a history of wanting to be in control and just unsuspectingly is murdered.It says, Then Joab and Abishai, his brother, pursued Sheba, the son of Bichri. Verse 11. And one of Joab's young men took his stand by Amasa and said, Whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab. That's a key part for me that just lets you know, Oh, this was planned. So he murders him and then he has one of his men come by and say, If you're with David, you're with Joab.If you're with Joab, you're with David. Joab's in charge now. Let's go. You're following. And they all, the men who just were following Amasa are kind of stunned at what's happening. Verse 12.And Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the highway and anyone who came by seeing him stopped. So you got to think this is happening very quickly. All of a sudden, there the general of the army is lying. It was a one-shot kill, but he's not dying immediately. He's wallowing in his blood in the ground and they're all seeing this. A man that just, who was just their leader, they're looking at this and they're hearing the call.They're following Joab and that's a lot to absorb. And the people who are with Joab realize this. The man who just yelled that says, And when the man saw that all the people stopped, he carried Amasa out of the highway into the field and threw a garment over him. And it's like, all right, don't be confused. He's gone. Whoop.All right, we're going. Follow us, Joab. Here we go. And those men are going to fall in line or you'll die. And they do. Verse 13, When he was taken out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba, the son of Bichri.Verse 14, And Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of Beth-Maacah and all the Bichrites assembled and followed him in. Okay. We've got to read that very carefully because it's very good context for what's happening here. Remember, Sheba was an opportunist and he yelled, Everyone to his own tent! Declaring independence! But then, as we can see, he goes through all the tribes of Israel and Abel of Beth-Maacah is up in the north.It's about as far north in the promised land before you leave the promised land. So it looks like he's gone through all the different tribes trying to say, All right, you coming with? And what does it say? And all the Bichrites assembled and followed him. Y'all, that's his cousins. That's his clan.He's gone through all the promised land all the way of Israel trying to gather steam and everyone's like, Ah! I don't know about that. Which, listen, if you're a man, this makes a lot of sense. You really, I understand this. There are times where you get very angry and testosterone's flowing and all of a sudden someone says something that you think seems reasonable in the moment. It's like, Oh yeah, they did disrespect us.You know what? This can't stand. Oh, we gotta take care of this. Yeah, we should. Let's go.We're gonna go take them out. We're gonna go show them they don't do that again. And then you hop in the truck and you're going and you're like, once it starts to settle down and you're like, Ah! I don't know about this. I'm an adult now. This is assault.I now have a job. I don't, you know, honestly, I think I'm just gonna get off to the next stop. I don't really wanna, I don't wanna do this. And it just, it's what happens. Everyone at first is like, Yeah! We're going to our tents.And then they have some time to think about it. It's like, Well, I'm kind of tired of Civil War. I'm tired of death and dying. And, you know, honestly, I don't even know this guy, Sheba. So, it's got a weird name anyways. You know what?I'm out. And it doesn't work. And listen, that's just some free advice for the men in this room. Sometimes you just need a few minutes to calm down. You know, go on a walk, pray, breathe, let oxygen flood the brain again, and then come to reason. Also, for the women in this room.Wives, friends, just let them have some space for a minute. It's on us to calm down. But that's what happens. They calm down. They don't join them. And now, it's just Sheba and his cousins.Verse 15, And all the men who were with Joab came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-Maacah. So, they catch up. They're ready to fight. And it says, They cast up a mound against the city and stood against the rampart. And they were battering the wall down, wall to throw it down. So, they engage in some ancient tactics of war.They show up to the city, which they are in. They start building a mound against the rampart. They start getting a battering ram, ready to take this out. They're ready to tear this city apart. when a wise woman realizes what's happening and steps up to the plate. Verse 16, Then, a wise woman called from the city, Listen, listen! Tell Joab, come here that I may speak to you.And he came near her. And the woman said, Are you Joab? He answered, I am. Then she said to him, Listen to the words of your servant. And he answered, I am listening. Then she said, They used to say in former times, Let them but ask counsel of Abel.And so they settled a matter. I am one of those who are peaceable and faithful in Israel. You see, to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel, why will you swallow up the heritage of the Lord? She says, Joab, you know the reputation of our city. We are a peaceable city. We settle disputes.We don't fight. Why are you trying to kill us? Can we have a conversation about this? Why would you destroy the heritage of the Lord? Don't destroy us. What's going on?Joab answers. Verse 20, Joab answered, Far be it from me, far be it, that I should swallow up or destroy. That is not true. But a man of the hill country of Ephraim called Sheba, the son of Bichri, has lifted up his hand against King David. Give up this man alone. I withdraw from the city.So Joab says, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. We don't have a problem with you. There's somebody in your city that we have a problem with. He's a problem. We're here for him. Now you might think, well, why did they let him in the city in the first place?And this is a Middle Eastern cultural thing that we don't understand here. In the Middle East, even into today, when you have someone who comes to you, you're hospitable, you take them in. And then they become your responsibility. So when they come to the city, it's just immediately, hold on, you're not, this is our responsibility. So it's a lot in the Iraq and Afghanistan war that some of those families would take in U.S. soldiers and protect them and care for them.That's what's happening here. It's, oh, oh, oh. But then she's like, wait a second. This is the most violent leader and all the mighty men. Can we have a conversation? Then she hears, oh, oh, he's a terrorist.Oh, he's a traitor. Okay. Now I understand why you're so upset. And the woman said to Joab, behold, his head shall be thrown to you over the wall. She doesn't hesitate. She's like, oh, okay.We're going to toss the head over. It'll be good, right? And Joab's like, ha ha. And then she goes to her people. Verse 22. And the woman went to all the people in her wisdom and they cut off the head of Sheba, the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab.So he blew the trumpet and they dispersed in the city every man to his home. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king. So she successfully persuades the people. Sheba gets his head cut off and the fighting is over. Everyone goes home. And the chapter ends with really a summary of the leadership that's really going to stay in place that we're getting towards the end of David's reign.This is the leadership list that's in place throughout the rest of David's reign. Verse 23. Now Joab was in command of all the army of Israel, which that just tells us, y'all, Joab, David's not fighting Joab anymore. He's done with this. He is going to keep him in power.Joab is going to get what's coming to him, but it ain't right now. And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was in command of the Cherethites and the Pelethites. And Adoram was in charge of the forced labor. And Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the recorder. And Sheba was secretary. And Zadok and Abiathar were priests.And Ira the Jairite was also David's priest. And that's how chapter 20 concludes. Now, at the beginning, I said that this would be, what we would see is the widening of a rift between Judah and Israel. But the fault lines were there. Influence in the nation was being fought over. And this widening is continuing.Now, as this split is coming many decades later, one of the people we just read about, Adoram, is going to be the first casualty in that civil war. So I want to skip to 1 Kings chapter 12 because this helps us see where this is going. So let me give some context before we read this together. This will be on the screen, but stay with me for a moment. This is David's grandson, Rehoboam. So David has Solomon, who's the king next, and Solomon's son, Rehoboam, takes over.Rehoboam immediately doesn't recognize the situation because Israel and Judah, this widening has continued and continued. Even through Solomon's reign, it's continuing. And Rehoboam listens to some foolish younger man's advice on, you know what? You need to be strong and you need to enforce more harshness on the Israelites. He doesn't read the room at all. And this division is widening and not coming back.So that's where we pick up in 1 Kings. When it is widened so far, verse 16, And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, hear this, What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel, look now to your own house, David. Now, what does that sound like? That's what Sheba said.That's almost a verbatim quote. They remember what he said and his rebellion didn't work, but they bring it back and they quote him. That's intentional. And they say, No, we are done with this. What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance of this.To our own tents, Israel. They're declaring independence. So Israel went to their tents, verse 17, But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, that's who David put in place, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee Jerusalem. So Adoram later receives the first violence in a civil war that never heals.This nation is never the same again. From this point forward, it is not the 12 tribes of Israel. It is the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. It never heals. And you can trace it throughout history and you can see it in the story we saw today, just this widening that happens. And from this point forward, there's only violence, there's only hatred, there's only disunity.And this is the result of it that goes forward. They could have at any point slowed down, could have at any point hurt each other, could have at any point reconciled, but they choose harsh words, fierce words, which we read. They speak fiercely, they choose their sides, they dig in their heels, and all the people that were once unified as children of the covenant of Abraham. They're now enemies for centuries to come. Now, what I want to do is I want to help picture what's happening in this division over time and ultimately the only hope that shows up in fixing this. So, as I said, around 930 B.C. is when Israel and Judah permanently divide.That's the situation with Rehoboam. So, they divide at this point and you have the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. And they're never the same, never with each other again. Now, Israel quickly devolves into a lot of pagan practices. They mix their faith with some idolatry and they quickly over the next two centuries start to really fall apart to the point where God brings judgment on the northern kingdom of Israel and sends in the Assyrians over a period of time to completely destroy their kingdom. And, next slide, 720 B.C. that's what happens.Israel is completely destroyed. The northern kingdom is done. So, they destroy them. It's never a national kingdom again. And then, they send, they bring people out, they bring some foreigners in and they leave some of the Israelites behind and those Israelites end up marrying with those people and many of them settle down into a region called Samaria. And, in Samaria they have some of the old faith mixed in with these idolatrous practices and they stay there for centuries to come.So, the descendants of Israel, the northern tribes, are there while Judah keeps going. And, over time, Judah has its own judgment that comes upon them but the people of Judah stay together and they later are called the Jews. So, the people, the descendants of Judah is where we get Judaism from, the Jews. So, the descendants of mostly Judah and Benjamin but the kingdom of Judah. So, the people of Judah continue but then they're still living side by side with Samaritans and they hate them. They hate them.They hate Samaritans. They hate that they share some bit of faith. They hate them for their old differences, this widening rift that continued for so long. They hate them. They're racist towards them. I mean, you have to, if you live both in northern Galilee to get through Samaria or to get to Jerusalem, the straight line is to go through Samaria but they wouldn't do that.They go all the way around Samaria because they don't want the dust of that people on them. They don't want to see them. They don't want to deal with them and that continues with that kind of hatred and that kind of division for centuries. So, you can trace what happened in our story and it continues and it continues and it continues over time where these people are just hating each other. And then, centuries later, Jesus comes and Jesus begins to speak of a kingdom that's not of this world. He begins to speak of a kingdom that is going to last for eternity.He begins to describe and picture what this kingdom is going to be like and one of the things that Jesus does in His ministry is instead of going all the way around Samaria, He goes straight into it. And when Jesus begins to minister around 27 AD, He goes into Samaria and He meets a Samaritan woman in John chapter 4 and He has this wonderful conversation. If you've never read it, you should sit in it today. It's beautiful as He articulates the gospel to a lost woman and He declares to her that He is the Messiah and He hints at that this old division is going away. And then Jesus takes that ministry to the cross where He dies for hostile, angry, disunified people and He resurrects creating a new people that are no longer to reflect the divisions of this present world.And then He commissions His church. He ascends at the right hand of God the Father. And then when you get to the book of Acts, which, by the way, that's our next book. We get done with this book at the end of this month. We're going to be in the book of Acts for the next season. So, spoiler alert.When you get to the book of Acts, one of the things that we're going to see is that as the church begins to spread, they go into Samaria just like Jesus did. And then when they minister in 33 to 35 AD, when they start ministering to Samaritans and they start bringing the gospel to them, the people that had been disunified for almost a thousand years are now finally unified again. And it doesn't stop there. The gospel continues to spread and it starts reaching other Gentiles, Romans, Greeks, Ethiopians, Ephesians. And then you see that this household of faith is going to have a whole bunch of different people.But what unifies this people is Christ primarily. And when you hear the book of Ephesians as they're addressing some of these differences between Gentiles and Jews, God through His servant Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2, for He Himself, this is Jesus, is our peace who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that He might create in Himself one new man and the place of two, so making peace that Jesus Christ through His redemptive work breaks down walls of hostility, breaks down differences that we cling to in this present world because it's in Him that we are unified. The most important thing about Christians is Christ Jesus and it says and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross thereby killing hostility that through the cross of Jesus Christ every petty difference, every temporary difference, everything that we make primary in this present life that separates us goes to die because the primary expression of unity is found in Christ in His people. And that gospel continues to spread.It spread and spread and spread. And then, as God's people unified in Him, caring most about what we have in Him, not caring about the racial differences, ethnic differences, political differences, philosophical differences because the most important thing about us is Christ. We have a different way of speaking. And in James chapter 3, ministering to a church, teaching them how they might speak, verse 5 and following, it says, so also, the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire.And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. But that is a reminder that your tongue, that our speech, is powerful in a way that when it is used for ungodly purposes, can set communities on fire, can destroy unity amongst peoples. And then when you skip to verse 10, it says, from the same mouth flow blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not be so. Now, that leads us back to where we started.We live in a culture that only blesses their friends and curses their enemies. That's the way we do this today in our culture. You bless your friends, you curse your enemies. Enemies now are defined by us and them. And them is defined by not from our tribe, not from our political party, not from our region of the country, not from our race, not from our sex, not from our people. It's them.They're the problem. And that's how our culture rages right now. And that leads to violence, to dehumanization, to evil prevailing. And the more the culture rages, the more angry it gets. We of all people who belong to Christ, a God who reconciles us who was once enemies of him to make us friends in him, to see Jesus as most primary about us, descendants of Israel, Judah, Rome, Ephesus, Ethiopia, and beyond. All of us should be the people who understand what it means to be on the same page.The most important person is Christ in us. And therefore, everything that this world is clinging to, all the power plays, all the frantic energy, it's like, we don't, it's not us. We're not doing that. We're going to choose love. We're going to choose peace. We're going to choose to bridle our tongues and to restrain our speech.We're not going to engage in other-side-is-evil business. We're not going to do that. We're not going to dehumanize people. We're not going to be people of tribes of this world because we belong to the most beautiful, wonderful tribe that is Christ Jesus. And that means we change the way we operate in this culture. Listen, I love America.I love America. This Saturday, I'm going to go so hard. I'm going to America 250 so hard. I'm serious. I do love, I love this country. As Jeremiah prophesied to the people he was prophesying to, he said, seek the good of the land that you are in.I want to seek the good of the land that I'm in and I'm thankful for all of our bright spots and I'll seek to evangelize through everyday mission and all the parts that are broken. But not for a moment should we forget where our main citizenship is. It is not here. It is in heaven. And from it, we wait a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who would transform these broken bodies to be with him in glory for eternity. That's where our hope is.So, that means that the present divisions that we see everywhere around us, if you have gotten wrapped up in them in any way, shape, or form, you need to repent. I have had to do the work of repentance. I'm having to repent. If you have gotten caught up in the frantic nature of everything's falling apart, no, no, no. We need to be grounded in what is eternal and what is true. That the vile language that is unbecoming of Christian living has to go.It cannot be reposted. It cannot be said in jokes. It cannot be said in conversations and shops, rooms, and break rooms, and community groups. And it's got to go. It has to go. So, may we be a people that are salt and light and a culture filled with darkness that if this continues in a direction that it is going, will breed more violence and more violence and more violence and more hate.May we be a people that stands in the middle of it and says, no, there is a better way and that better way is Jesus. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray that you might help us compel us to gospel hope that doesn't put hope in all the present divisions that are at play right now that we would as Christians repent where we've spoken harshly and fiercely about other people. As that's trickled down into how we think about each other in our own church, may we repent that we speak kindly, speaking the truth in love, that we embody wise speech that flows out of a primary allegiance to you. And Lord Jesus, if there's anyone here that's put their hope in this present world and all of its political forces and all of its temporary hope, may you compel them to primary faith and allegiance to you.In Jesus' name. Amen.
The story of the division of Israel and Judah really begins during Solomon’s reign, when he turns away from the Lord and follows the gods of his many wives. The Lord promised to tear away the kingdom from Solomon’s son, a promise that was fulfilled soon after Rehoboam became king. Teacher: Justin P. Sivley
→ Watch on YouTube → Detailed Show Notes(00:00) An overview of these chapters. The kingdom of Israel divides when Solomon's son Rehoboam refuses to reduce the burden on the northern tribes.(06:55) A brief history of the Lost Ten Tribes in the north and Judah in the south.(10:48) Jeroboam, worried that his people will turn their hearts towards the leaders in the south when they go to the temple in Jerusalem, decides to build rival sanctuaries in Dan and Bethel.(13:25) Do not take counsel from your fears or be fooled by an imitation.(19:18) A man of God warns Jeroboam against false worship, prophesying of a future day when Josiah will destroy it.(22:17) What happened to the Ark of the Covenant? Could Shishak of Egypt have taken this treasure from the Jerusalem temple?(29:13) Elijah, an embodiment of great power, is a type of many prophets. All prophets are types of Christ. (31:49) Elijah seals the heavens and is fed by a raven. He goes to Zarephath and asks a widow woman for her barrel flour and jar of oil, promising they will never become empty during the famine.(40:30) Elijah raises the widow's son from the dead. Jesus duplicates the miracles of Elijah.(43:28) Obadiah, part of Ahab's court, saves 100 prophets from Queen Jezebel and also helps Elijah.(47:29) Obadiah and Elijah's “50” can be seen as part of a bigger picture, as members of a choral arrangement that were connected to the temple and the sacred drama in many ancient cultures.(52:37) Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal to call down fire from heaven. They fail.(57:14) At times the Lord will manifest miracles to show his might and prove that he is God. The Book of Mormon is that proof for us today.(1:03:40) The famine ends and Queen Jezebel seeks the life of Elijah. In his loneliness, Elijah experiences deep sadness, believing that the prophets are dead. At times, we may feel as Elijah did. Being with the Saints and remembering the truth of the gospel message can bolster our resilience.(1:11:44) Elijah's experience with the still small voice of the Lord.(1:18:17) Ahab, king of Israel, is attacked by the Syrian army. A prophet tells Ahab that Israel will win. Ahab later desires the vineyard of Naboth, who refuses to sell his land. Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, orchestrates a conspiracy to frame Naboth for blasphemy, and Ahab acquires the land through deceit. Elijah comes to inform Ahab that Ahab’s line will cease, that Jezebel will be eaten by dogs, and that Ahab’s blood will be licked up by dogs in the very spot where Naboth was killed. Time vindicates the prophets. → For more of Bryce Dunford’s podcast classes, click here. → Enroll in Institute → YouTube → Apple Podcasts → Spotify → Amazon Music → Facebook The post Ep 378 | 1 Kings 12-22, Come Follow Me 2026 (June 29-July 5) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.
Every mom needs advice from time to time.Whether you're navigating parenting decisions, marriage struggles, homeschooling, friendships, anxiety, or simply trying to discern God's will, the question isn't whether you'll seek counsel—it's who you'll listen to.In this episode of Faith for Anxious Moms, Lynn explores the story of King Rehoboam in 2 Chronicles 10-12 and the costly consequences of rejecting wise counsel. Rehoboam sought advice from two groups of people, but ultimately chose the voices that affirmed what he wanted to hear rather than what he needed to hear.As Christian moms, we're surrounded by opinions—from social media, parenting experts, friends, family members, and online communities. But how do we know which voices are helping us move closer to God's wisdom?Together we'll discuss:✔ Why seeking godly counsel is a biblical principle✔ The difference between advice that feels comfortable and advice that is wise✔ Titus 2 and the importance of older women mentoring younger women✔ How Proverbs 15:22 and Proverbs 3:5-6 guide our decision-making✔ Why God's Word must remain our ultimate source of truth✔ Practical encouragement for moms who feel like they don't have a trusted mentorWe'll also talk about the beauty of studying the Old Testament and why these ancient stories continue to provide wisdom for modern motherhood.If you're looking for biblical wisdom, encouragement, Bible study tools, and practical help for growing your faith while raising godly kids, this episode is for you.Need help creating a consistent quiet time with God? Learn more about Quiet Time Coaching at LynnNitcher.com/QuietTimeCoach.ENJOY friends and HAPPY WEDNESDAY!Quiet Time CoachLeave a ReviewBecome an InsiderLynn's DevotionalBLOGInstagramLYNN's Amazon StorefrontLinktree
If we are open to improve, the Scriptures will guide us and God's family will help by providing the example and godly reproof and correction as needed. There are two types of mourning or shame; (1) Godly and healthy, and (2) Worldly and toxic. The first inspires change and the second causes resentments, guilt, condemnation and escapism. 2 Timothy 3:15-17 doctrine – reproof – correction Proverbs 12:1; 15:10 the person who hates reproof is stupid Matthew 19:16-22 the rich man was not open to improve 1 Kings 12:1-19 Rehoboam did not receive wise counsel 2 Corinthians 7:8-11 the Corinthians received reproof and correction and changed. Right sorrow can cause transformation and change. Two kinds of sorrow – (1) Godly sorrow causes godly change and (2) Worldly sorrow causes guilt, isolation, condemnation and usually escapism. Biblical education and godly community are important to develop conscience and character. 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3, 9, 15, 16 Paul taught them during the 18 months he was with them so why the negative lifestyle change? The culture of Corinth continued to exert a strong influence on the believers. Rather than transforming their society, many of the saints were being shaped by it. The values, practices, and attitudes of the surrounding pagan culture had begun to infiltrate the church, producing the very problems that Paul was compelled to confront in his letter. How do we help others to change? Two kinds of shame – toxic and healthy 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 he built them up, did not belittle, tear down, reject; rather he loved them and reminded them of who they really are in Christ. Luke 10:17-24 Jesus is the example Luke 10:38-42 Martha, Martha Hebrews 10:22-25 we need the word and each other If we are open to improve, God will help through His Word and people. Rev. Vince uses the Bible version NASB-95The post Transformation 4: Openness to Improve first appeared on Living Hope.
In this episode of Don't Miss This, Dave Butler and Grace Freeman study 1 Kings 12-13; 17-22 and explore the divided kingdom of Israel, the ministry of Elijah, and the many ways God shows up in our lives. Through stories of kings, prophets, miracles, and personal struggles, these chapters remind us that faith is not about choosing the easiest path, but about trusting God enough to keep moving forward even when we cannot see the outcome. As the kingdom divides under Rehoboam and Jeroboam, the discussion highlights the danger of choosing convenience over covenant commitment. The temptation to make discipleship easier often comes at the cost of sacrifice, growth, and devotion. Dave and Grace reflect on how spiritual strength is built through consistent faithfulness, reminding us that some of the deepest blessings come not from avoiding difficulty, but from remaining dedicated when the journey requires effort. The heart of the episode follows Elijah's remarkable experiences during a time of drought and uncertainty. Whether being fed by ravens, helping a widow whose oil never fails, or witnessing God's power on Mount Carmel, Elijah learns again and again that the Lord provides exactly what is needed. These stories invite us to get off the bench and step into faith, trusting that God can work through unlikely circumstances, unexpected people, and miracles that often begin with simple acts of obedience. The episode concludes with Elijah's moments of exhaustion, discouragement, and renewal. Under a juniper tree and later on a mountain, he discovers that God does not always appear through dramatic displays of power. Sometimes He comes through a meal, a moment of rest, a small cloud on the horizon, or a still small voice. Together, these chapters testify of a God who is both powerful and personal, who keeps His promises, strengthens His people, and remains present through every season of the journey. Chapters: 00:00 INTRO 04:01 Jeroboam's Prophecy and Kingdom Split 06:45 The king's misguided counsel 10:52 Types of athletes and mindsets 15:45 Introduction to Elijah's Stories 18:10 Unexpected ways God provides 22:35 Fetching water and asking for bread 26:06 Elijah's promise and the sick son 27:08 Faith before evidence 30:54 Biblical story and themes discussion 36:03 Elijah's Sacrifice and Miracle 36:59 Miraculous biblical fire story 40:39 Holding onto faith through doubt 45:40 Discussing Biblical Verse Interpretation 48:16 Elijah's time in the cave 51:15 God's appearances in scripture 53:50 Social media handles and sign-off Sign up for the Don't Miss This newsletter at www.dontmissthisstudy.com #dontmissthis #comefollowme NEWSLETTER LINK: The Don't Miss This video, the prayer poster, and tip-ins for kids, teens, couples and individuals can all be found in this week's newsletter. Sign-up link in bio if you haven't had a chance yet!! www.dontmissthisstudy.com Instagram: @dontmissthisstudy Podcast: Don't Miss This Study Facebook: Don't Miss This Study Follow Grace Instagram @thisweeksgrace Follow David Instagram: @mrdavebutler Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrdavebutler/ Subscribe to the Don't Miss This App https://www.dontmissthisstudy.com/app
Jason Seville, Pastor of Del Ray Baptist Church
Daily Dose of Hope June 18, 2026 Scripture: 1 Kings 14 Prayer: Holy God, We come before you today with humility and gratefulness. We praise your powerful name. Thank you, so much, Lord, that you came to earth to dwell among us and show us a different way of being. Help us to pay attention to your example. Help us to be more loving and more merciful in all we do. Help us to be even but a small reflection of you. You are King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope daily Bible reading plan. Just a reminder, it's VBS week at New Hope. There are a lot of amazing children and volunteers on our campus. Please keep them in prayer. We are currently working our way through 1 Kings. Today's reading is 1 Kings 14. It becomes clear that Jeroboam will face the consequences of his sin. His son gets ill and Jeroboam sends his wife to seek the wisdom of a prophet. The prophet is clear – because Jeroboam was so sinful, his son will die, and the entire house of Jeroboam will be obliterated. No matter how important or untouchable someone things they are, sin has consequences. While Jeroboam ruled in the Northern Kingdom, Rehoboam reigned in the Southern Kingdom, Judah. Things aren't going well there either. They also worshiped other gods, set up altars in the high places, had shrines with male prostitutes, and did things absolutely detestable in the eyes of the one true God. We see God lifting his hand of protection and allowing the king of Egypt to successfully attack Jerusalem and carry off treasures from the temple. Things are going really bad in the north and the south. What has happened to God's people? How did they get to this place? I think sometimes we can ask ourselves the same questions. Blessings, Pastor Vicki
In this Bible Story, Abijah rules with a brutal fist and sinful arrogance. His son, Asa, rules with the fear of God and a righteous heart and is able to topple the idols in Judah and bring the people of God back to their first love. This story is inspired by 1 Kings 15 & 2 Chronicles 13-16. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is 1 Kings 15:12 from the King James Version.Episode 121: Abijah was harsh, like his father Rehoboam, and his reign was filled with war and strife. Constantly fighting against his brothers in Israel. Yet in all this despair God was faithful to His promise to David that there would always be a king from his line on the throne. After Abijah died, his son Asa came to rule. His heart was turned toward rescuing the people from the idolatry in Judah and with God's help, he galvanized the people of Judah into a spirit of unity.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In this Bible Story, we learn about the downward spiral of Judah and Israel. Their kings, Rehoboam and Jeroboam, lead their people into an era of idol-worship, war, and cynicism. The past glory of David and Solomon seems like a distant memory, and the people of Israel grow accustomed to sin and shame. This story is inspired by 1 Kings 14, 15:33-34 & 2 Chronicles 12. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is 2 Chronicles 12:6 from the King James Version.Episode 120: King Jeroboam's son Abijah was sick, and as he sat at the boy's bedside, he called for his wife to disguise herself and seek out the prophet Ahijah. When she arrived, his message for her was not one of hope but of judgment and of recompense for her husband's sins. And as she rode home in heartbreak, her son Abijah died.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Daily Dose of Hope June 16, 2026 Scripture: 1 Kings 12 Prayer: Lord, We need you. Our world is unstable and unjust. It is a place where innocent people die and power and control take precedent over mercy and compassion. While we know that sin and brokenness are everywhere, it is still hard to take it in. We don't know which way to turn. So, we need you. We need your peace, your justice, and your wisdom. Help us be the people you have called us to be, even when it's hard. Fill us with your courage to speak truth and grace. More of you and less of me. In Your Name, Amen. Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan. This summer, we are making our way through the Old Testament books of 1 & 2 Kings. We have read about the death of David, seen Solomon take the throne, read about the building of the Temple and royal palace, watched Solomon grow in wisdom and wealth, and then read as he gradually lost his way. In response, God raised up adversaries to come against Solomon. And then, Solomon dies at the end of chapter 11. Today's reading is 1 Kings 12. Rehoboam, the king who succeeded Solomon, has the ability to unite his people but his own arrogance gets in the way. Listening to poor counsel and his own ego, he instead decides to rule with a heavy hand and oppress the people. When those in the Northern regions hear about this, they decide it's time to separate from Judah. They want nothing to do with Rehoboam and reject his rule over them. They boldly state that they will not have a descendant of David in authority over them. What an avoidable mess. With one bad decision, Rehoboam tears down what David and Solomon worked so hard to build. The truth is that it's a lot easier to break apart what belongs together than restore what's already broken. Can you think of examples of this in your own life? Relationships, families, organizations, churches–it is so much harder to restore than it is to dismantle. Friends, what broken things in your life need restoration? Take a moment and pray for that right now. Jesus Christ is the only true way to restore and rebuild. Lean into Jesus. Blessings, Pastor Vicki
Fr. Mike explains why it's better to seek counsel from those who don't necessarily always agree with us, using the experience of Rehobo′am as an example. He also touches on the failed leadership of Jerobo′am as he leads his people into false places of worship and idolatry. Today's readings are 1 Kings 12, 2 Chronicles 10-11, and Song of Solomon 1. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.
In this Bible Story, we witness the splitting of Israel. Solomon's sin causes God to strip him of his legacy. Rehoboam, Solomon's son, uses the throne as an opportunity to be cruel. Jeroboam is named king in place of Rehoboam. So Rehoboam ruled over Judah, while Jeroboam ruled over the other ten tribes of Israel. This story is inspired by 1 Kings 11:26-12:24 & 2 Chronicles 10-11:1-4. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is 1 Kings 11:34 from the King James Version.Episode 117: Solomon's lust for foreign women eventually led him to foreign worship as well. This idolatry not only tore apart his relationship with God but would tear the kingdom from his hands as well. During the reign of his son Rehoboam, Jeroboam, one of his servants who had fled from him, returned. He came to confront the new king about the injustices of his father, hoping he would change. However, when Rehoboam refused the wise counsel of his elders and gave a harsh message to the people, the ten tribes of the north left him and followed Jeroboam instead.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Now that King Solomon has died, the prophecies of God spoken through his prophet Ahijah have come to fruition. In our last episode, Ahijah tore a new robe into 12 pieces and gave 10 pieces to Jeroboam, symbolizing the number of tribes he would rule over. Remember that Solomon's son Rehoboam insults Jeroboam, who formerly worked under Solomon as a supervisor over forced labor. After Jeroboam led a revolt, he became king over those 10 tribes. Despite the Lord's kindness to Jeroboam, he also turned away from God and immediately set up two sanctuaries, each with a golden calf. Today, God's wrath and impending destruction are announced by an unnamed prophet. 1 Kings 13 – 1:09 . 1 Kings 14 – 9:06 . 1 Kings 15 – 16:06 . Psalm 91 – 22:20 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org
Even though Solomon's life is marked by the goodness and grace of God, even though Solomon has built the Lord's temple in Jerusalem, and even though Solomon's wisdom is unsurpassed, his devotion to the Lord and to his statutes wanes in his latter years. Why? Because in his power and in his lavish wealth, he has accumulated hundreds of wives for himself. In marrying wives from surrounding nations, he has disobeyed the direct command of the Lord and fallen into idolatry. As such is the case, the Lord vows to take the kingdom away from Solomon's family after he is gone. Sadly, the wisdom that Solomon had passed on to his sons doesn't take root, as the foolishness of his son Rehoboam causes a revolt and a division in the nation of Israel. 1 Kings 10 - 1:10 . 1 Kings 11 - 7:31 . 1 Kings 12 - 17:08 . Psalm 90 - 24:30 . :::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Biblefacebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org
In this insightful episode of the Who's Who in the Bible series, Fr. Shiju Mulasseril C.Ss.R., examines the life and leadership of Rehoboam, the son and successor of King Solomon. Set against the backdrop of a kingdom at the height of its power yet burdened by heavy taxation and forced labor, the episode explores the critical decisions that shaped Israel's future.When the northern tribes appealed for relief, Rehoboam rejected the wise counsel of experienced elders and instead followed the advice of his younger companions, choosing a path of greater severity. This fateful decision led to the division of the United Kingdom of Israel into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah, fulfilling the prophecy spoken by Ahijah.Beyond the historical narrative, Fr. Shiju draws valuable spiritual lessons about responsible decision-making, the influence of the company we keep, and the importance of listening to the voices of the poor and marginalized. This episode invites viewers to reflect on leadership, humility, and justice, and challenges us to make choices that promote unity, compassion, and faithfulness to God.
In this insightful episode of the Who's Who in the Bible series, Fr. Assisi Saldanha, C.Ss.R., explores the life, leadership, and legacy of Jeroboam, the first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The video traces Jeroboam's journey from a capable and respected leader under King Solomon to the central figure in Israel's division following Solomon's death. It examines his role in challenging oppressive policies, negotiating with Rehoboam for justice, and leading the northern tribes to independence.Fr. Saldanha highlights how Jeroboam was initially seen as a liberator and even a “new Moses” for his people. However, the episode also reflects on the decisions that ultimately shaped his legacy, particularly the establishment of golden calves at Bethel and Dan, which became a lasting symbol of Israel's religious unfaithfulness. Through a balanced appraisal of his achievements and failures, viewers are invited to consider the challenges of leadership, faith, and responsibility.Watch this fascinating episode and explore the entire Who's Who in the Bible series to discover the lives and lessons of other influential Biblical figures.
To remain faithful to God, we must commit ourselves to Him fully with humble and sensitive hearts. When Jeroboam (northern king) was confronted with his sin, he was totally unrepentant and God didn't show him any mercy. On the other hand, when Rehoboam (southern king) and the leaders of Judah were confronted with their sin, they humbled themselves, admitted that they had done wrong, and submitted themselves to God's righteous judgment. So, God showed them mercy but He also reminded them why they should serve Him faithfully. Unfortunately, Rehoboam didn't remain faithful because He hadn't prepared his heart to follow the Lord continuously.
Some of the costliest financial mistakes are made in isolation. When big decisions come our way, pride and pressure can convince us that we need to figure everything out ourselves. But God designed us to walk in community, and His wisdom often comes through trusted voices. Seeking wise counsel is not a sign of weakness—it is a key part of faithful stewardship. Have you ever faced a financial decision that felt heavier than your confidence could carry? Maybe it was whether to buy a home. Perhaps it was changing careers, helping aging parents, navigating a difficult season in marriage, or deciding how to prepare for retirement. In those moments, the questions come quickly: What if I get this wrong? What if I overlook something important? What if I regret this later? And often, beneath all of those questions is the assumption that you should be able to figure it out by yourself. But God never intended for you to walk through life's biggest decisions alone. Wisdom Often Comes Through Community One of the clearest themes in Scripture is that wisdom often comes through community. Proverbs 11:14 says, “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” That is not only a proverb about leadership. It is a principle for everyday life—including our finances. Sometimes we think wisdom is found only in personal research, spreadsheets, calculators, or online content. Those tools can certainly be helpful. But biblical wisdom is more than information. It includes discernment, humility, perspective, and the willingness to receive insight from others. That is why Proverbs 12:15 says, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” Notice the contrast: foolishness is not always recklessness. Sometimes it is simply refusing to listen. Wisdom begins when we acknowledge that we may not see the whole picture. And that takes humility. Humility Opens the Door to Wisdom Proverbs 9:10 tells us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” To fear the Lord means recognizing that God is God and we are not. We submit our plans, our preferences, and even our financial assumptions to Him. We stop asking only, “What do I want to do?” and begin asking, “Lord, what would You have me do?” That kind of humility also opens us to receive the people God may use in our lives. Sometimes that person is a mentor who has walked through a season you are now entering. Sometimes it is a trusted friend who knows you well enough to ask hard questions. Sometimes it is an older believer whose experience can spare you from avoidable mistakes. And sometimes it is a professional advisor who brings technical expertise shaped by biblical values, such as a Certified Kingdom Advisor® (CKA®). But ignoring wise voices can have destructive consequences. Rehoboam's Warning Scripture gives us a sobering example in Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. In 1 Kings 12, when Rehoboam became king, the people asked him to lighten the heavy burdens placed on them. At first, he sought counsel from the older men who had advised his father. They urged him to lead with humility and serve the people. But Rehoboam rejected their wisdom. Instead, he turned to younger voices that echoed his pride and ambition. Their advice was simple: be harsher, be stronger, demand more. He followed their counsel, and the result was devastating. The kingdom was split in two. What began as a leadership decision became a national tragedy. Why? Because Rehoboam preferred affirmation over wisdom. He chose voices that told him what he wanted to hear instead of what he needed to hear. That temptation is still with us today. Wise Counsel Does More Than Validate Us When making financial decisions, we can easily look for voices that justify our desires, reinforce our fears, or confirm what we have already decided. But wise counsel does not merely validate us. It helps us see what we cannot see on our own. Sometimes, wise voices serve as guardrails. They keep us from drifting into the ditches of greed, fear, impulsiveness, or self-reliance. They help us slow down, think clearly, and align our choices with God's purposes. That may mean someone helps you recognize that a purchase is moving too quickly. It may mean an advisor helps you see the long-term impact of a financial decision. It may mean a trusted friend reminds you that generosity, contentment, and faithfulness matter just as much as the numbers. Ultimately, wise counsel leads to wiser decisions. Don't Carry the Decision Alone So, what financial decision are you carrying right now? Maybe it is time to stop carrying it alone. Ask God to show you who He has already placed around you. Make a list of trusted people you can reach out to. Invite wise voices into your decision-making process. Do not isolate. Do not assume asking for help is a weakness. Often, it is one of the strongest acts of stewardship you can make. Faithful stewardship is not just about making the right financial choice. It is about making decisions with humility, wisdom, and dependence on God. And one of the ways God often gives us wisdom is through the people He places around us. If you would like to explore this idea further, you can read more in our new devotional, Our Ultimate Treasure: A 21-Day Journey to Faithful Stewardship. Order your copy today at FaithFi.com/Shop. On Today's Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions: My identity was stolen about five years ago, and I'm still receiving notices for debts and accounts I never opened. I've frozen my credit and disputed the fraudulent charges, but banks and lenders continue turning me down. What else can I do to clean this up? I receive Social Security and a pension. How should I think about giving tithes and offerings from that income? My wife owes me a little over $40,000 from a 0% loan I gave her to help save her late mother's house from foreclosure. We put the agreement in writing, but the repayment period has long passed, and she would have to wipe out her retirement to repay me. I can afford to forgive the loan, but she hasn't asked for forgiveness. From a biblical and marital standpoint, should I forgive it anyway? What's the difference between a living trust and a will, and how do I know which one is better for my estate plan? Resources Mentioned: Faithful Steward: FaithFi's Quarterly Magazine (Become a FaithFi Partner) IdentityTheft.gov (Federal Trade Commission) Equifax | TransUnion | Experian LastPass | 1Password | iCloud Keychain Our Ultimate Treasure: A 21-Day Journey to Faithful Stewardship by Rob West Wisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on Money Look At The Sparrows: A 21-Day Devotional on Financial Fear and Anxiety Rich Toward God: A Study on the Parable of the Rich Fool Find a Certified Kingdom Advisor® (CKA) FaithFi App Remember, you can call in to ask your questions every workday at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. You can also visit FaithFi.com to connect with our online community and partner with us as we help more people live as faithful stewards of God's resources. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
2 Chronicles 12:1-12 // Gabe CoyleIn this sermon, we walk through the account of Rehoboam's abandonment of the faith and the subsequent arrival of the Egyptian army. We discuss the message from the prophet Shemaiah, which forced the leaders of Israel to recognize their own role in the crisis. We analyze the exchange of the golden shields for shields of bronze, illustrating how sin often results in a loss of glory and a cheapening of what was once precious. By studying these twelve verses, we see a pattern of grace: even after a period of unfaithfulness, God responds to a humble heart, reminding us that he does not seek to destroy us, but to bring us back into a right relationship with him.SERMON NOTES (YouVersion): https://bible.com/events/49607689 PRAYER REQUESTS: https://ccefc.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/2542/responses/new26.05.17
2 Chronicles 12:1-12 // Caleb JenkinsIn this sermon, we walk through the account of Rehoboam's abandonment of the faith and the subsequent arrival of the Egyptian army. We discuss the message from the prophet Shemaiah, which forced the leaders of Israel to recognize their own role in the crisis. We analyze the exchange of the golden shields for shields of bronze, illustrating how sin often results in a loss of glory and a cheapening of what was once precious. By studying these twelve verses, we see a pattern of grace: even after a period of unfaithfulness, God responds to a humble heart, reminding us that he does not seek to destroy us, but to bring us back into a right relationship with him.SERMON NOTES (YouVersion): https://bible.com/events/49607690 PRAYER REQUESTS: https://ccefc.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/2509/responses/new26.05.17
2 Chronicles 12:1-12 // Jacob NannieIn this sermon, we walk through the account of Rehoboam's abandonment of the faith and the subsequent arrival of the Egyptian army. We discuss the message from the prophet Shemaiah, which forced the leaders of Israel to recognize their own role in the crisis. We analyze the exchange of the golden shields for shields of bronze, illustrating how sin often results in a loss of glory and a cheapening of what was once precious. By studying these twelve verses, we see a pattern of grace: even after a period of unfaithfulness, God responds to a humble heart, reminding us that he does not seek to destroy us, but to bring us back into a right relationship with him.SERMON NOTES (YouVersion): https://bible.com/events/49607691 PRAYER REQUESTS: https://ccefc.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/2553/responses/new26.05.17
2 Chronicles 12:1-12 // Bill GormanIn this sermon, we walk through the account of Rehoboam's abandonment of the faith and the subsequent arrival of the Egyptian army. We discuss the message from the prophet Shemaiah, which forced the leaders of Israel to recognize their own role in the crisis. We analyze the exchange of the golden shields for shields of bronze, illustrating how sin often results in a loss of glory and a cheapening of what was once precious. By studying these twelve verses, we see a pattern of grace: even after a period of unfaithfulness, God responds to a humble heart, reminding us that he does not seek to destroy us, but to bring us back into a right relationship with him.SERMON NOTES (YouVersion): https://bible.com/events/49607692 PRAYER REQUESTS: https://ccefc.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/2546/responses/new26.05.17
2 Chronicles 12:1-12 // Paul BrandesIn this sermon, we walk through the account of Rehoboam's abandonment of the faith and the subsequent arrival of the Egyptian army. We discuss the message from the prophet Shemaiah, which forced the leaders of Israel to recognize their own role in the crisis. We analyze the exchange of the golden shields for shields of bronze, illustrating how sin often results in a loss of glory and a cheapening of what was once precious. By studying these twelve verses, we see a pattern of grace: even after a period of unfaithfulness, God responds to a humble heart, reminding us that he does not seek to destroy us, but to bring us back into a right relationship with him.SERMON NOTES (YouVersion): https://bible.com/events/49607687 PRAYER REQUESTS: https://ccefc.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/2574/responses/new26.05.17
In 2 Chronicles 10–13, the kingdom is divided after Solomon's reign, with Rehoboam leading Judah, facing conflict with Israel and threats from surrounding nations.Read the WHOLE Bible with me! Subscribe so you don't miss an episode. If you appreciate what is happening on this channel, please like, comment and most importantly, share this everywhere you can so we can bring as many people as possible with us on this Bible reading journey. GOD IS SO GOOD!Here is a link to all of the worship songs I have finished the Bible readings with. Worship with me!https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv0l3ExigVUcMr6ja88bC607BoR1EaQuF&si=e1HfJdRXr4LSdU7WHere is the link to read the WHOLE Bible with me on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLv0l3ExigVUdyHEiJ2X2tFvXNINmLMs7O&si=FM_Od_qVefeWU1kYDo you want a Bald Headed Country Boy t-shirt? You can find them on my website with the link below.https://baldheadedcountryboy.com/
Mike McCoy 4-26-2026 PM As Brother Mike continues his series on Lessons From the Kings, we take a look at the first king to preside over a divided kingdom. Crossville First Free Will Baptist Church www.crossvillechurch.com
To become a follower of Jesus, visit: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Jesus ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ⇒ Join the MMM Prayer Team: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/PrayerTeam ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: 1 Kings 12:12–16 - So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, “Come to me again the third day.” [13] And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, [14] he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” [15] So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the LORD that he might fulfill his word, which the LORD spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. [16] And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents. (ESV) ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ FINANCIALLY SUPPORT THE MORNING MINDSET: (not tax-deductible) -- Become a monthly partner: https://mm-gfk-partners.supercast.com/ -- Support a daily episode: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/daily-sponsor/ -- Give one-time: https://give.cornerstone.cc/careygreen -- Venmo: https://venmo.com/CareyNGreen ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ NON-ENGLISH VERSIONS OF THIS PODCAST: SPANISH version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Spanish CHINESE version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Chinese ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ CONTACT: Carey@careygreen.com ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ THEME MUSIC: “King’s Trailer” – Creative Commons 0 | Provided by https://freepd.com/
Understanding what Moses was trying to tell us; Relating Leviticus to today; "Israel"?; Jacobe before Israel; Idolatry = covetousness; Rituals?; What is God telling you?; Witchcraft; Descriptions for "God"?; Misinterpretation; Seeking truth; Two trees; Spiritual inspiration; Breastplate; Weaving - warp and weft; Connecting to Tree of Life; Loving the light; Revealing who we are; "Gather"; "Congregation"; Christ's commands; What's Leviticus about?; Asking better questions; Confusion about Kingdom of God; Baptism?; Effectual doer's of the Word; 1 Cor 16:9; Pentecost; Baptism of Jesus; "No king but Caesar"?; Rehoboam; Accepting other kings; Was Paul a Roman citizen?; Becoming Israel; 2 Cor 1:6; Sacrifice; Gal 5:6; Charity; Rebuke; "Works"; Eph 2:2; Children of disobedience; James 5:16; The Way of Israel; Human resources; Shearing; Genocide; Repentance to Idolatry; Government of God; Righteousness; Altars?; Free society; Leaven?; Biting one another; Addiction to benefits at the expense of neighbor; "Burnt" offering; Laying down OUR lives; Rejecting God; "Red Button" story; Socialism; Tax vs Tithe; Freewill offerings; Charity; nun-dalet-biet; Unhewn stones; Exercising authority; Welfare snares; "Born again"?; "Big toe"?; Ex 29:20; Government of, for and by the people; Seeking His kingdom and righteousness; Waiving your rights; Christian checklist; Lk 22:25; Lev 9:1 Eighth day hey-shen-mem-yod-nun-yod; Legal charity; Bondage of Egypt; Individuals coming together; "Aaron" = bearer of light; Walking in faith; Thanksgiving; Deception; Recognizing love vs covetousness; Your abundance; "Worship"; Knowing your minister; Taking back your responsibilities; Perfect law of liberty; Investing in the Kingdom; Period of abundance (completeness); Straying from the kingdom; Degenerating society; Making the word of God of none effect; Social security; Life in the blood; Lord of the flies; Rightly dividing the offerings; Where do you go for your daily bread?; Create the Living Network; Children of Israel?; The Way of Christianity; vs the World; Allegory and metaphor; Simplicity of the gospel; The seed of Abraham; "Community"; Wave offering; Repent and seek The Way.
This chapter highlights the legacy of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon.
This chapter highlights how Rehoboam learned from his mistakes and did some positive things under his leadership of the southern tribes.
This chapter highlights the poor leadership of Rehoboam that led to the division of Israel.
1 Kings 12:1–16 As Christians, our private life must match our public life, our words must match our promises, and our whole life must be integrated. No double standards or inconsistencies! In this message, Pastor Chuck Swindoll journeys through Rehoboam's life, revealing the dangerous effects of hypocrisy (1 Kings 12). Avoid any masks you might be tempted to wear. Strip away the veneers. Let God forge real character and strength in you. Live a genuine life with integrity!
1 Kings 12:1–16 As Christians, our private life must match our public life, our words must match our promises, and our whole life must be integrated. No double standards or inconsistencies! In this message, Pastor Chuck Swindoll journeys through Rehoboam's life, revealing the dangerous effects of hypocrisy (1 Kings 12). Avoid any masks you might be tempted to wear. Strip away the veneers. Let God forge real character and strength in you. Live a genuine life with integrity!