1 Kings 15:25

1 Kings 15:25 says, And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years.  Nadab, Jeroboam's son, succeeded him on the throne of Israel in the second year of Asa's rule in Judah, but he only reigned for two years.  Matthew Henry says that the evil kings as a rule did not reign as long as the good kings, but I don't believe that we can make that statement about rulers in the world today.  Sometimes, it seems that the evil rulers have very long reigns.  Verse twenty-six adds, And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin. We are told that Nadab did evil in God's sight, just as Jeroboam his father had, and he caused Israel to sin.  The death of his brother Abijah had not caused him to turn to God in obedience.  Again, I don't believe that anyone can cause us to sin, but they can tempt us.  Yet, our sins our own responsibility.  Verse twenty-seven continues, And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon.  Baasha, another who would rule Israel, killed Nadab, which ended the rule of the house of Jeroboam as God had foretold.  Nadab was attempting to retake Gibbethon from the Philistines when he was killed.  This may have been a good goal, but he was doing so without God's direction and protection.  People may be trying to do good things today, but if they are not doing so under God's guidance then they will not have His protection.  Verse twenty-eight states, Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him, and reigned in his stead. By the third year of Asa's reign in Judah, Israel had their third different king.  As stated earlier, Matthew Henry said that the bad kings didn't seem to reign as long as the good kings, and I stated that this was not necessarily true in the world today. The one exception is Jesus Christ. Who is really the only good ruler, and He will reign forever.  Verse twenty-nine adds, And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the saying of the Lord, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite:  We had already learned that Nadab had been killed by Baasha, and now we learn that he destroyed all of Jeroboam's descendants which ensured his family would never rule again in accordance with God's prophecy to Ahijah.  There are still rulers today who kill other family members to keep them from being a threat to their rule, and if they don't kill family members, they certainly often kill political rivals to ensure that they stay in power.  In God's kingdom, we can never act out of jealousy toward others, but we need to support them if they have been called to their position by God.  Verse thirty continues, Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.  The permanent end to Jeroboam's rule was because of his sin toward God in which he provoked God.  Jeroboam did this by making and worshipping false God's, and if we worship false god's today and refuse to accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we are going to provoke God.  Verse thirty-one says, Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?  The statement was made again that the acts of Nadab were written in the chronicles of the king.  Our acts are written in God's book and that is all that will ever matter.  Verse thirty-two adds, And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.  It seems that no matter who was king in Israel, they were at war with Judah.  These were all a part of God's chosen people, and yet they were constantly at war with each other.  As Christians today, we cannot afford to be at war with other Christian's, but if they are Christian in name only and are still worshipping the things of this world, we cannot really unite with them either.  Verse thirty-three adds, In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty and four years.  Baasha was an exception to the fact of bad kings only having short reigns as Matthew Henry had stated.  Baasha reigned for twenty-four years.  As I have already stated, there is no assurance today that those rulers who do not follow God are going to only rule for a short period of time.  Verse thirty-four continues, And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.  Baasha also continued to worship idols as Jeroboam had and he led Israel into the temptation to do so as well, and it would seem that they did.  We cannot allow anyone to lead us away from worshipping God, which has to begin by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.

1 Kings 15:16

1 Kings 15:16 says, And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.  The war between the people of Israel and the people of Judah, all part of God's chosen people continued while Asa was king of Judah and Baasha was king of Israel.  Verse seventeen adds, And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.  Baasha went against Judah and built-up Ramah so he wouldn't have to come or go into Asa.  Matthew Henry says Baasha reigned for twenty-four years and was constantly in conflict with Asa.  Instead of helping each other, they weakened each other by their constant fighting between themselves.  If we as Christians fight each other today, for whatever reason, we are only going to weaken our witness for God.  Verse eighteen continues, Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,  Asa took all the remaining silver and gold from the treasury of the temple and from the king's palace and sent them to the king of Syria.  We should never give away the things of God that have been brought into the church collectively and to us individually unless we know beyond a doubt that God has directed us to.  We certainly cannot do so just to bring peace and security in this lifetime.  Verse nineteen concludes, There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold; come and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.  Asa told Benhadad that there was a league between his father and Asa's father and that he had sent him a gift to get him to continue to be in league with him against Baasha.  Asa did not trust God to keep him safe, but actually used the things of God in order to buy safety.  We must look to God alone for safety in the world today and we certainly should never misuse the things God has blessed us with simply for our own benefit.  Verse twenty states, So Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelbethmaachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.  Benhadad did as Asa asked and went to war with Israel.  We should never attempt to get the people of the world to try to destroy other Christians even if we don't agree with them about everything.  Verse twenty-one adds, And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah.  When Baasha heard about Benhadad going to war with him, he quit building up Ramah and lived in Tirzah instead.  Asa may have gotten what he wanted, but it came at the cost of others of God's people being killed.  We as followers of Christ should never do things simply because they benefit us if what we are doing harms other Christians, and we certainly shouldn't ally ourselves with non-Christians who are out to destroy other Christians.  Verse twenty-two continues, Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.  Asa then made a proclamation, and the people took away the stones and timber of Ramah and used them to build up Geba and Mizpah instead.  This might seem to be a good thing, but Asa had not consulted God in any of this that we are told of.  Even if we are successful in the world today as Christians, to be successful spiritually, we must make sure that we are following God's plan and not just our own.  Verse twenty-three says, The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet.  We are told that the rest of the accomplishments of Asa are written in the chronicles of the kings of Judah.  We have a side note that in his old age, Asa was afflicted in his feet, which Matthew Henry says was with gout.  Asa is known to be one of the good kings of Judah, but he wasn't perfect, and he wasn't spared physical ailments.  We as Christians may be known as good Christians, but we are not perfect, nor are we spared physical suffering.  Verse twenty-four adds, And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead.  After Asa died and was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat his son became king of Judah.  One thing we can be sure of is that if Jesus Christ doesn't return first, one day we will die and someone else will take our place in doing God's work in the world today.  We need to pray that whoever does so will always put God's will first.

1 Kings 15:9

1 Kings 15:9 says, And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah.  Asa, the son of Abijah and the grandson of Rehoboam, became the king of Judah.  God was still fulfilling his promise to David and He will always fulfill His promises to us, no matter what is going on in the world.  Verse ten adds, And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.  He ruled longer than either Rehoboam or Abijah, who had not followed God's guidance.  Matthew Henry says there seemed to be an alternation between good kings and bad kings and that the reign of the bad kings was generally shorter.  Of course, there is really only one good king, Jesus Christ, and He will reign forever, and no matter who may be in power in the world, their reign, whether good or bad in God's sight, will always be temporary.  Verse eleven continues, And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did David his father.  We are told that Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did David his father, but David was his father in the terms Asa being a descendant of his and not his immediate father.  Still, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we become the sons or daughters of God, and we need to be obedient to Him as David was with God.  This does not mean that we become perfect, but that we never lose our faith in God and the salvation that He gives us.  Verse twelve states, And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.  Asa began to remove the Sodomites, who were people that practiced acts performed in Sodom and not a group that were that by any fact of birth and he began to remove the idols that Abijah had made.  We cannot condemn a group of people simply by the fact of their birth, but we must condemn the sins of individuals instead.  Verse thirteen adds, And also Maachah his grandmother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.  Asa also removed his grandmother Maachah, even though she is referred to as his mother, from being queen because she had made an idol in the grove.  It was based on her actions and not just on the fact that she was Rehoboam's wife.  We will be held accountable for our sins only.  Asa also burned the idol she had made.  We need to totally destroy any idol that we have in our life if we are to effectively serve God.  Verse fourteen continues, But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the Lord all his days.  Though Asa did not remove all the high places of worship that had been established, we are told that his heart was perfect with the Lord all his days.  Matthew Henry says that not destroying the altars in the high places was a fault in Asa's rule, just as not destroying everything that could come between God and us is a mistake today.  We cannot stop short of total obedience to God and that means removing everything associated with idols from our lives.  Verse fifteen concludes, And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into the house of the Lord, silver, and gold, and vessels. Asa also brought all the things dedicated to God by both his father and him into the house of God.  We today must likewise bring everything that we have dedicated to God, to be used as He sees fit.

1 Kings 15:1

1 Kings 15:1 says, Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah.  Abijam ruled in Judah during Jeroboam's eighteenth year of ruling over Israel, since Rehoboam had only lived to rule seventeen years.  The people were going by the right of earthly succession, even though Jeroboam had not come to power that way but had been anointed king by God to replace Rehoboam.  We can never just go by the right of earthly succession in the church but must always look to God to call people to be leaders in the church.  Of course, Jeroboam then failed to follow God.  Those that God calls I believe are always the right people for the position as long as they follow His leadership, but at times they do not.  Verse two adds, Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. and his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.  Abijam ruled for only three years.  He was the son of Maachah, and she was the daughter of Abishalom, who was David's son also, so she would have been his cousin.  We are to marry other Christians, but that doesn't mean that they are to be blood relatives.  Verse three continues, And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father.  Abijam followed in the sins of his father and his heart was not perfect before God as David's had been.  David, we know had not been perfect, but his faith in God remained so. We are never going to be perfect before God, but our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and lord must remain so.  Of course, sometimes it is easier to just follow the sins of our fathers.  Verse four states, Nevertheless for David's sake did the Lord his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem:  For the sake of David and God's promise to him, God provided an heir to succeed Abijam to rule over Judah and establish the throne in Jerusalem.  We today have the eternal King, Jesus Christ, Who was the ultimate fulfillment of God's promise to David, to rule over us forever if we accept Him as our personal Savior and Lord.  Verse five adds, Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.  David followed God's leadership in all matters related to the kingdom of Israel, except for the matter of having Uriah the Hittite killed after he committed adultery with his wife and got her pregnant.  Of course, I would add that on a personal note David did not follow God's law on marriage, and this led to many problems.  I believe that we should always attempt to follow God's law in everything we do.  Verse six continues, And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.  The war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continued during all of the reign Rehoboam.  Matthew Henry says this wasn't all out war but was continual skirmishes.  We as Christians cannot afford to be constantly fighting against other Christians.  Verse seven says, Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.  The question was again asked was not all that Abijam did written in the book of the chronicles of the kings.  What we do may not be noted by the people of the world, but it will be remembered by God.  Verse eight adds, And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead.  When Abijam died after ruling for three years only, Asa his son, still a descendant of David began to rule over Judah.  When we as Christians die, we need to pray that our children will continue to do God's work faithfully, even if we haven't always.  Rehoboam and Abijam had not done so but were only left in power because of God's promise to David.  We of course cannot be saved by the faith of our parents or grandparents. 

1 Kings 14: 21

1 Kings 14:21 says, And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.  Rehoboam ruled over Judah in Jerusalem, God's chosen city, for seventeen years.  He was born while David was still alive and grew up under the wisdom of Solomon, but he still failed to follow God.  Matthew Henry says that the fact that his mother was an Ammonite and that Solomon began to worship false gods at last seemed to have influenced Rehoboam more than God's truth had.  We cannot allow false ideas to enter our lives as Christians.  Verse twenty-two adds, And Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done.  Like the people of Israel, the rest of God's chosen people under Jeroboam, the people of Israel angered Him by doing evil in His sight.  Just because we call ourselves a Christian nation does not mean that we can do things that are against His will without provoking His anger.  They were even worse than their fathers in sinning.  Sin does seem to get worse the longer it is allowed to go on.  Verse twenty-three continues, For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.  They built places of worship to false gods in the high places.  They had God's temple, that was built by Solomon, the most magnificent temple ever built, but they weren't satisfied to worship there.  No matter how beautiful our houses of worship may be today, if we aren't there simply to worship God in them, then we are not going to be satisfied.  Veres twenty-four concludes, And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.  They were also influenced by the practices of the Sodomites living in the land, even though God had destroyed Sodom because of their sinful actions.  The people of Judah had become totally corrupt in their relationship of God.  We should never allow corrupt practices or teachings into the church today.  Verse twenty-five states, And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem:  In the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign, Shishak the king of Egypt went to war with Judah.  They no longer had God's protective hand on them, and neither will we today if we turn away from God.  Verse twenty-six adds, And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.  Shishak took away all the golden vessels that Solomon had made, both from the temple and from the king's house.  When we as followers of Christ stray away from Him, He will remove His protective had from us and we may lose everything of value in our life.  Verse twenty-seven continues, And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king's house.  Rehoboam didn't repent and ask God to help him reclaim all he lost but built inferior substitutes to replace them.  We should never be satisfied with anything less than a real relationship with God.  Verse twenty-eight says, And it was so, when the king went into the house of the Lord, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.  The guards had been given these brass shields brought them whenever Rehoboam went into the temple.  We should never rely on substitutes for what God has blessed us with and view them as being just as good.  Verse twenty-nine adds, Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?  We are told that the rest of what Rehoboam did was written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah, though it is posed as a question.  What we need to know is that anything done for God will be kept track of by Him and if no one else knows about it, that is okay.  Of course, He also knows the bad things we do, but as Christians, they will be covered by the blood of Christ.  Verse thirty continues, And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days.  Rehoboam and Jeroboam were at war for all their lives after they split God's kingdom.  We cannot afford to split the church today and be at war with other Christians.  Verse thirty-one concludes, And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.  After Rehoboam died, his son Abijam ruled in his place.  We can be certain that church leaders are going to die today and need to be replaced, and we need to pray that they will be replaced by people devoted to doing God's will.

1 Kings 14:7

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. 

1 Kings 14:1

1 Kings 14:1 says, At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.  At this time, which I would assume was shortly the prophet of God had denounced his idolatry, Jeroboam's son fell sick.   People in power are not exempt from sickness themselves or in their families.  Verse two adds, And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people.  Jeroboam told his wife to disguise herself and go to Shiloh where the prophet of God, Ahijah, lived.  Ahijah was the one that told him he would be king, so he may have put more faith in him since this came to pass.  Still, he had all his false prophets with him, so he must not have put much faith in them.  I believe that instead of sending his wife in disguise, he should have gone openly to Ahijah himself confessing his sins and repenting and seeking God's forgiveness.  Of course, he should have confessed his sins to God first and personally asked his forgiveness.  If we are out of God's will or if we have never accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord to start with, we must go to Him personally, confess our sins, and ask His forgiveness.  Verse three continues, And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.  Jeroboam told his wife to take some gifts for Ahijah with her.  I don't know if he was doing this in an attempt to get Ahijah to give him a good answer about his son or not, but it seems that he might have been.  I do know that we should never attempt to bribe God or His appointed leaders in order to get what we want.  Verse four states, And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.  Jeroboam's wife did as he asked and came to Ahijah.  I am sure that she was concerned about the son as well, so this may have motivated her even more.  We should always be concerned about the sick people our family, including our spiritual family, but we need to go not just to a church leader to seek their healing but to God Himself.  Ahijah was old and blind by this time.  His physical sight might have been gone, but that doesn't mean that his spiritual sight was.  Physical limitations should never stop us from serving God.  Verse five adds, And the Lord said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman.  As just stated, Ahijah's physical sight may have been gone, but spiritually his spiritual sight was still good.  If we as followers of Christ are following the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we should never be deceived by anyone.  God also told Ahijah what he as to say to Jeroboam's wife.  Whatever we tell people today, it should be based on the truth of God.  Verse six continues, And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.  Ahijah told her to come in, acknowledging that he knew that she was the wife of Jeroboam.  He asked her why she was pretending to be someone else, and then told her he was sent to her with heavy tidings.  He was following God's instructions to him, and so must we today.  Like Jeroboam's wife, it will do us no good to pretend to be someone or something that we aren't when we come to God.