AP

1 Kings 13:33-34  Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways, but once more appointed priests for the high places from all sorts of people.  Anyone who wanted to become a priest he consecrated for the high places.  This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth.

Our Old Testament serves very important purposes for us in the Canon of Holy Scripture.

Firstly it sets out the framework of Salvation History, starting with God’s perfect Creation (Genesis 1, 2), Man’s total spoiling of Creation and alienation from his Creator by his deliberate disobedience, and God’s Promise of restoration by grace through the shedding of blood (Genesis 3).

Secondly, it demonstrates through countless historical examples how impossible it is for Man to find his way back to God by his own efforts, and how dire is his need for God’s gracious intervention on his behalf, thus preparing the way for God to send his Only Son to rescue sinful Man through his death on the cross  (cf Ephesians 2:1-10).

Thirdly, it provides these historical examples to warn us of the fatal outcome of rejecting God’s Word (cf 1 Corinthians 10:6).  King Jeroboam is a good bad example of this!  1 Kings 13 is the account of God’s demonstrating how serious the consequences were if one failed to comply with his clearly revealed word.  Not only was Jeroboam’s own ‘house’ (his progeny) wiped out, but he set a pattern that less than two centuries later, in 722 BC, would bring down the whole Ten Tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel!

This chapter is a very sad and telling account of what happens when sinful Man chooses to live by his own rules, claiming the right to define ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ for his own convenience, and adopting a worldview that has no place for God and his revealed truth.  Sadly, if our own society happens to experience the outpouring of God’s wrath in a dramatic way, we could never plead that he didn’t warn us!

Let us pray earnestly for his mercy, and for a gracious outpouring of his Holy Spirit in revival, so that through our witness he might bring many people to repentance-and-faith while there is yet time.
– Bruce Christian