Devotion • September 28
Today’s Scripture Reading
1 Kings 12:21–33
When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand chosen troops to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon. But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: Say to King Rehoboam of Judah, son of Solomon, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, “Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against your kindred the people of Israel. Let everyone go home, for this thing is from me.” So they heeded the word of the Lord and went home again, according to the word of the Lord.
Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and resided there; he went out from there and built Penuel. Then Jeroboam said to himself, “Now the kingdom may well revert to the house of David. If this people continues to go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, the heart of this people will turn again to their master, King Rehoboam of Judah; they will kill me and return to King Rehoboam of Judah.” So the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold. He said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. And this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one at Bethel and before the other as far as Dan. He also made houses on high places, and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not Levites. Jeroboam appointed a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the festival that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar; so he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he alone had devised; he appointed a festival for the people of Israel, and he went up to the altar to offer incense. (NRSV)
Reflection
Although these verses do not name it explicitly, the important backdrop to today’s passage from 1 Kings 12 is that a civil war had broken out in Israel in the wake of King Solomon’s death, which led the country to fracture into a northern (Israel, confusingly) and southern (Judah) kingdom with two separate rulers: Jeroboam and Rehoboam.
Rehoboam was prepared to lead an army from Jerusalem against their northern kin, but in 1 Kings 12:24, God asks them to relent, saying “Let everyone go home, for this thing is from me.” Left to their own devices, Jeroboam and the northern kingdom soon decide to create two golden calves as idols to worship (if you’ve ever read Exodus 32, you know that’s a big no-no!) — setting the stage for the rest of 1 and 2 Kings in which both kingdoms have numerous challenges adhering to God’s commandments, eventually leading to their temporary downfall in the Exile.
God’s decision to allow the kingdom to split into two can be hard to reconcile, yet it also speaks to the relationship God has with us: a covenant built on invitation rather than compulsion. God does not do us the disservice of forcing us to follow, to obey, or to love. Instead, recognizing and accepting our flawed capacity for each of those things, God has nonetheless covenanted to call to each of us again and again — even going so far as to embrace our humanity in Jesus Christ.
This continuing act of true love is both awe-inspiring and unsettling because we are all too aware of how easy it is to stray from God’s path. Yet, trusting in God’s love and grace, we commit ourselves to once again “heed the word of the Lord” (1 Kings 12:24).
Prayer
Holy God, you have embraced me completely — even in those times when I stray from your path. May your Spirit inspire, guide, and empower me today, as I do all I can to witness to your love. Amen.
Written by Matt Helms, Associate Pastor for Children, Family, and Welcoming Ministries.
Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church
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