1 Kings 12:24 “Thus says the Lord, ‘You must not go up and fight against your relatives the sons of Israel; return every man to his house, for this thing has come from Me.’ So they listened to the word of the Lord, and returned and went their way according to the word of the Lord.”
RASH DECISION
Here we are! The kingdom of Solomon has been passed down to Rehoboam, but because of Solomon’s sins God had told him his kingdom would be divided. Jeroboam rises up against the new king, and 10 tribes follow him. Rehoboam, after taking the bad advice of the young men, wants to go to war to get back his kingdom. But God stops him.
Have you ever rushed to judgment and gotten angry before you knew all the facts? Of course not. You are more spiritual than me! Lol. Boy, I have. I have started to “retaliate” against someone for a wrong committed, only to find out it wasn’t true. How embarrassing. We need to be sure before we act.
TEACHING MOMENT
Boy oh boy! This is something that we have to be so careful to NOT teach our kids! They will respond the same way we do, if we are hot headed. Teaching restraint and patience is hard. It’s practically impossible. It requires that we practice it ourselves in front of our kids. Count to ten (or maybe 1000) before reacting. Don’t start plotting your response before you have sought the Lord.
If you will go back and read all of chapter 12 in 1 Kings, you will notice that Rehoboam never sought the Lord’s counsel. Do you think that’s because the wisest man in the world, his father Solomon, had stopped seeking the Lord and had begun to follow false gods? Solomon had NOT set the example for his son to follow.
Stop right now, if you are contemplating some type of revenge. Make sure you have really been offended and then let the Lord handle it. Forgive! Extend grace. After all, think of all the wrong you have done against the Lord. He still loves you and extends you fresh grace every day.
A Moment In Time 