daily bible readings

The book of 1 Kings sheds some light on what is happening in 2 Chronicles 10-12.Towards the end of Solomon’s life, his heart was lured away from God towards idols and false gods. We read in  1 Kings 11:9–13, “The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12 Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.””

We also read that God allowed Jeroboam to rebel against Solomon because his heart had grown hard towards the Lord God Almighty. We read in 1 Kings 11:26–35 about Jeroboam and his rebellion. “Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon’s officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah. 27 Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the supporting terraces and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father. 28 Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labour force of the house of Joseph. 29 About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, 30 and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. 32 But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. 33 I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molech the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did. 34 “ ‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who observed my commands and statutes. 35 I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes.””

And so, back in Shechem, the people confronted the king and humbly demanded a lessening of the work load upon them. Rehoboam answered them somewhat harshly, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.”

The people, in turn rejected the king and went off to their own homes.

So that we are not left bereft of hope and so that we know that God is still sovereignly in control, the Chronicler adds verse 15, “So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from God, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.”

The division of the nation caused by the rejection of the king at Shechem was God’s work in consequence to Solomon’s heart being led astray. God’s plan was in full swing. Nothing or no one can thwart God’s plan.

Prayer: 

Adoration:

• Adore God that He is totally sovereign and that no one or no thing can thwart His plans.
• Adore the Lord Almighty that Hs Word can always be trusted and that He does whatever pleases Him. He is not subject to any of us nor is He in need of our counsel.

Confession:

• Take time to confess your sins to the Lord and to ask for His forgiveness.

Thanks:

• Thank God that even in times of difficulty, God is still at work.
• Thank God that He works all things for the good of those who love Him, even the bad and negative things around us.

Supplication:

• Pray that those in your congregation who are going through tough times will be able to see the hand of God at work in their lives and that they would have the peace and security of knowing that God is with them.
• Pray that God would work powerfully among us and through us as the body of Christ Jesus. 

Discussion Questions

1. The book of Chronicles omits much of the sinful and negative aspects of Solomon’s reign. Why is his?
2. What does verse 15 do in the text for the original readers?