by Gary Kneezel

Good start. Mediocre ending. Solomon had built the temple. He had asked for and received great wisdom from God for ruling his people. His reign was characterized by peace and prosperity. Yet because he had worshiped other gods, the Lord had told Solomon in verses 9-13 that the kingdom would be torn from his son—except for one tribe. In today’s passage we see that warning beginning to come to pass. Jeroboam seems to have been a hard worker and a good leader. His efforts were rewarded by Solomon with a promotion that put him in charge of the labor force of two tribes (Ephraim and Manasseh). A prophet met Jeroboam and told him quite graphically that God planned to give him ten tribes of Israel to rule, and that Solomon’s son would only get one tribe to rule. Solomon reacted poorly. He tried to kill Jeroboam, much as King Saul had tried to kill David years before. It is not difficult to understand Solomon’s anger against Jeroboam. However, he had been warned by God that this was coming. Jeroboam was rebelling against Solomon, but in some ways, Solomon was rebelling against God by trying to thwart what God said would come to pass in response to Solomon’s sin.

It’s tough to receive a message that we have blown it. A personal calling to account for sin or failure can be hard to acknowledge and accept. In this case, Solomon didn’t even have the option of saying that the one finding fault was mistaken. It was God who confronted Solomon. Remarkably, we see no sign of repentance from Solomon after he was confronted by God. Instead he tries to avoid God’s discipline by eliminating Jeroboam. How do I respond when I am made aware of sin in my life, either from God’s Word or from a friend? Do I ignore it? Do I rationalize it? Do I resent my friend and retaliate by finding fault with his life? Do I become angry at the consequences of my sin and try to avoid them? Or do I humbly repent of my sin and seek God’s mercy and cleansing (Psalm 51:1, 2, 17)? Do I ask God to create in me a pure heart (Psalm 51:10)? Do I desire to have my relationship with God restored (Psalm 51:12), or do I let my sin drive me further from God? God values relationship with us. He wants us to return to Him. In fact, the reason He became angry with Solomon is that his heart had turned away from God.

A fellow traveler,
Gary