1 Kings 12 Devotional

When Fear Rewrites Worship

“So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word He had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.”1 Kings 12:15 (BSB)

The northern tribes come to Rehoboam asking for relief from the heavy labor Solomon had laid on them (12:4). He rejects the elders' advice to serve them, chooses threats instead, and ten tribes walk away (12:6-16). Yet this turn of events came from the LORD, fulfilling his word through Ahijah (12:15). Even a proud king's folly serves God's purposes, and God stops Judah from going to war (12:24).

Jeroboam had been promised a lasting house if he walked in God's ways (11:38). But he fears his people will return to Jerusalem, so he sets up two golden calves and echoes Aaron's words in the wilderness about gods who brought Israel out of Egypt (12:28; Exodus 32:4). Fear led him to trust what he could make instead of what God had said. Jesus invites the weary to take his yoke, because he is gentle and his load does not crush (Matthew 11:29-30). You do not have to secure your place with your own inventions. He holds it.

To think about: What fear has been pushing you to secure your life your own way, instead of trusting what God has promised?