1 Kings 14:7 says, Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, Ahijah told her to return to Jeroboam with a message from God. We as Christians need to make sure that what we say is from God. Ahijah then begins by telling Jeroboam what God had done for him. Verse eight adds, And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes; Ahijah told her to tell Jeroboam that even though He had taken the kingdom away from the house of David and given it to Jeroboam, that Jeroboam had not been faithful to Him as David was. If God does give us some special spiritual blessing, we need to remain faithful to Him in utilizing it. Verse nine continues, But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: Ahijah told her to tell Jeroboam that he had created idols to worship while ignoring God. We need to pray that we never allow something to become an idol in our lives as Christians, but if we do, we can be certain that God will know about it and I believe make us aware of it as well. Verse ten states, Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone. God said that because of Jeroboam's idolatry that all the males in his family were going to die. He would not leave an heir to reign over Israel. If we worship idols instead of worshipping God today, it does not mean that our descendants are condemned, but it may make it more difficult for them to ever accept Jesus Christ themselves. Of course, even if it does, we are ultimately responsible for our own relationship with God. Verse eleven adds, Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the Lord hath spoken it. God said that Jeroboam's descendants would not even be buried but would be eaten by dogs if they died in the city and by fowls if they died in the field. They were to find no honor or glory even in their death. Even though no one wants to think about their body being desecrated after they die, what happens to the body really isn't important from a spiritual perspective. We are promised that God will resurrect us to live with Him forever with a new body, but the spirit is really what matters. Verse twelve continues, Arise thou, therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. Ahijah told Jeroboam's wife to arise and go home. He also told here as soon as her feet entered the city that the child would die. This had to have been hard for a mother to hear, and she probably had less to do with the worship of idols than Jeroboam did, but we are not told that she had remained faithful to God either. We may not be openly professing other gods, but if we do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we are just as condemned as those who do. Verse thirteen says, And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. She was also told that this child would be the only one of Jeroboam's children to be buried and mourned, because he had a true relationship with God. Once we are old enough to know right from wrong, we become responsible for our own relationship with God. We are neither saved nor condemned because of the actions of our parents. Verse fourteen adds, Moreover the Lord shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now. She was told that God was going to raise up a king who would cut off the house of Israel, much as He had called Jeroboam to rule over Israel instead of Rehoboam. Had Jeroboam been faithful to God, there would have been a different outcome. God calls all people to salvation, and I believe He has a purpose for all of us in His kingdom, but He allows us to make the choice of whether or not to accept His gift of salvation. If we don't, we are forever condemned, and He will call another to fill our position. She was also told that this was going to happen soon. Verse fifteen continues, For the Lord shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the Lord to anger. This was not going to affect only Jeroboam and his descendants, but all of Israel was going to be defeated and scattered because of their worshipping other gods. We who call ourselves a Christian nation may be defeated and scattered if we turn our back on God and start worshipping other gods. Verse sixteen continues, And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin. God said this was going to happen because of Jeroboam sinning and leading the nation of Israel to sin. Still, though our sins may cause others to sin, we are each ultimately held accountable for our own sins. Verse seventeen states, And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died; The mother got to the threshold of the door before the child died, but after she left on her mission for Jeroboam, she never saw her child alive again in this lifetime. Still, if she had put her faith in God, she would see him again in his heavenly home. If we have a child die when they are really young or after they are old enough if they have accepted salvation through putting their faith in Jesus Christ and we have done the same also, one day we will see them once more in our heavenly home. Verse eighteen adds, And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet. As Ahijah had foretold by God's revelation to him, the child was buried and all of Israel mourned his death. Still, this didn't really matter in terms of his soul's destination. Likewise, once we die, our everlasting destination is already determined based on our relationship with Jesus Christ. Verse nineteen continues, And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. We really aren't told about the reign of Jeroboam after this, but he died soon afterward. There was a book of chronicles that contained more about Jeroboam's reign. The things that we do in this world really are not the important thing, and people may never know about them, whether they were good or bad, but our relationship with God through either accepting Jesus Christ our personal Savior and Lord or rejecting Him is all that matters spiritually. Verse twenty concludes, And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead. Jeroboam died, and his son Nadab ruled in his place, but we know this could not last because God had taken the kingdom from Jeroboam and his descendants. People who are not Christians may rule in the world today and even be followed by their children who are not Christians, but their reign will one day be cut off by God, after the return of Jesus Christ if not before.
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