Passionate Grace

Reading today in I Kings 11 and 12

Due to Solomon’s sin of going after other gods, God says his kingdom will not endure. And the prophet Ahijah says this to Jeroboam: “Behold I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes…”

But how will he do that? After all Rehoboam, son of Solomon – the greatest king ever – is the king over all Israel.

Well, basically Rehoboam ignores the pleas of the people and the advice of his older advisors to lighten the yoke on his people. He instead says to the people. “My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” (Note to self: not a good campaign message)

And then this verse in the Holy Writ:

“So the king did not listen to the people, FOR it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the Son of Nebat.”

What “a turn of events!” Young counselors had to give the bad advice to the king – Rehoboam had to ignore the advice of his wisest advisors and the pleas of his people – And the people had to chose to revolt just days after the death of the wisest king in their history and most prosperous years of their existence.

God is not passive in the affairs of men. He does not surrender his sovereignty nor bow at the altar of man’s free will. Man chooses as his sin-oriented nature desires and God’s sovereign will is not in the least thwarted. He will accomplish what he desires. His will reigns supreme!

Isaiah 55:8-11                                                                            

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Being convinced of God’s sovereignty and being convinced of God’s goodness and being convinced that by the blood of His son you are His child – is a powerful trinity of truths that I have found to be a strong anchor in the midst of my darkest days. They are like bright rays of the most beautiful and compelling light penetrating to the depths of my grey-clouded world. Let these truths be fastened firmly in your heart and you will find you have the ballast in your boat to weather any storm. So let it be.