UNREALIZED POTENTIAL

Have you ever heard of Jeroboam?

His story is one of the saddest in the entire Old Testament, and yet he had SO MUCH POTENTIAL!  His main problem? 

At a critical moment when God directly intervened in his life, he did not listen carefully and believe God!

[To read his whole story, see I Kings 11:26 - 14:20.  All quotes from the NCV]]

The following is a summary of what happened:

>   Jeroboam was an officer in Solomon’s army.  He was an Ephraimite [one of the twelve tribes of Israel]. Solomon observed that he was a good worker and promoted him to be over all the workers from the tribes of Ephraim and Manesseh. 

>   One day Ahijah the prophet approached Jeroboam on a country road.  Ahijah took off his new coat and tore it into twelve pieces [representing the twelve tribes of Israel].  He told Jeroboam to take ten of the pieces, then explained that God was about to take the kingdom away from Solomon because:

(he) has stopped following me and has worshipped the Sidonian god Ashtoreth, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Molech. Solomon has not obeyed me by doing what I said is right and by obeying my laws and commands, as his father David did.”  [11:33]

>   The prophet then proceeded to explain that Solomon’s son would rule over two tribes [Judah and part of Ephraim] to honor David and his faithfulness.  However, Jeroboam would rule over all of Israel [the northern kingdom’s ten-and-a-half tribes]. 

>   Then came the part of the message that Jeroboam didn’t listen to carefully enough:

[God speaking through the prophet] I will always be with you if you do what I say is right.  You must obey all my commands. If you obey my laws and commands as David did, I will be with you. I will make your family a lasting family of kings, as I did for David, and give Israel to you.

>   Shortly after this, Solomon realized that Jeroboam was a threat and sought to kill him, but he escaped to Egypt where he stayed until Solomon died.

>   He returned when Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, became king.  Rehoboam made some foolish decisions [an interesting story: 12:1-24] and the ten northern tribes walked away from him – refusing him as their king!

>   The northern tribes made Jeroboam their king – as predicted by the prophet!

>   When Jeroboam realized that his people would still faithfully return to Jerusalem for celebrations and to make sacrifices, he made two golden calves and declared them to be the people’s gods!  He set up worship sites in Bethel and Dan, started new festivals, selected priests to serve in these cities and set new festivals.

>   God sent a prophet to warn Jeroboam about his evil ways [chapter 13], but Jeroboam continued to sin and failed to correct his ways.  As a result, God sent him a prophet who declared:

[Speaking for God] Jeroboam, I chose you from among all the people and made you the leader of my people Israel. I tore the kingdom away from David’s family, and I gave it to you. But you are not like my servant David, who always obeyed my commands and followed me with all his heart. He only did what I said was right. But you have done more evil than anyone who ruled before you. You have quit following me and have made other gods and idols of metal. This has made me very angry so I will soon bring disaster to your family.  [14:7-10]

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FACTS:

Ø   Jeroboam was king of Israel for twenty-two years.

Ø   God pronounced every king of Israel who followed Jeroboam as evil!

Ø   In comparison, God announced that some of the kings of Judah [the southern kingdom] were pleasing to him – such as: Asa, Jehosaphat, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, Micah, and Josiah.

Ø   In the same way that David is praised throughout the Old Testament because of his faithfulness, Jeroboam is persistently remembered as a model of disobedience and rebellion throughout the biblical record:

o   I Kings 14:16  -   Jeroboam sinned, and then he made the people of Israel sin. So the Lord will let the people of Israel be defeated.”

o   I Kings 15:30  -  King Jeroboam had sinned very much and had led the people of Israel to sin, so he made the Lord, the God of Israel, very angry.

o   I Kings 15:34  - ...and [Baasha] did what the Lord said was wrong. Jeroboam had led the people of Israel to sin, and Baasha sinned in the same way as Jeroboam. 

o   I Kings 16:2  -  The Lord said, “You were nothing, but I took you and made you a leader over my people Israel. But you have followed the ways of Jeroboam and have led my people Israel to sin. Their sins have made me angry,

o   I Kings 16:7  -  The Lord spoke his word against Baasha and his family through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani. Baasha had done many things the Lord said were wrong, which made the Lord very angry. He did the same evil deeds that Jeroboam’s family had done before him. The Lord also spoke against Baasha because he killed all of Jeroboam’s family.

o   I Kings 16:19  -   So Zimri died because he had sinned by doing what the Lord said was wrong. Jeroboam had led the people of Israel to sin, and Zimri sinned in the same way as Jeroboam.

o   I Kings 16:26  -  Jeroboam son of Nebat had led the people of Israel to sin, and Omri sinned in the same way as Jeroboam. The Israelites made the Lord, the God of Israel, very angry because they worshiped worthless idols.

o   I Kings 16:31  -  [Ahab] sinned in the same ways as Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he did even worse things. He married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal, the king of Sidon. Then Ahab began to serve Baal and worship him.

o   I Kings 22:52  -  [Ahaziah] did what the Lord said was wrong. He did the same evil his father Ahab, his mother Jezebel, and Jeroboam son of Nebat had done. All these rulers led the people of Israel into more sin.

o   II Kings 3:3  -  But [Joram] continued to sin like Jeroboam son of Nebat who had led Israel to sin. Joram did not stop doing these same sins.

o   II Kings 10:31  -  But Jehu was not careful to follow the teachings of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not stop doing the same sins Jeroboam had done, by which he had led Israel to sin.

o   II Kings 13:2  -  ...and [Jehoahaz] did what the Lord said was wrong. [he] did the same sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had done. Jeroboam had led Israel to sin, and Jehoahaz did not stop doing these same sins.

o   II Kings 13:5-6  -  [The LORD] gave Israel a man to save them, and they escaped from the Arameans. The Israelites then lived in their own homes as they had before, but they still did not stop doing the same sins that the family of Jeroboam had done. He had led Israel to sin, and they continued doing those sins. The Asherah idol also was left standing in Samaria.

o   II Kings 14:23-24  -  Jeroboam son of Jehoash became king of Israel in Samaria during the fifteenth year Amaziah was king of Judah. (Amaziah was the son of Joash.) Jeroboam ruled forty-one years, and he did what the Lord said was wrong. Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to sin, and Jeroboam son of Jehoash did not stop doing the same sins.

o   II Kings 15:18  -  ...and [Menahem] did what the Lord said was wrong. Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to sin, and all the time Menahem was king, he did not stop doing the same sins.

o   II Kings 15:24  -  ...and [Pekahiah] did what the Lord said was wrong. Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to sin, and Pekahiah did not stop doing the same sins.

o   II Kings 15:28  -   ...and [Pekah] did what the Lord said was wrong. Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to sin, and Pekah did not stop doing the same sins.

o   II Kings 17:21-23  -  When the Lord separated them from the family of David, the Israelites made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam led the Israelites away from the Lord and led them to sin greatly. So they continued to do all the sins Jeroboam did. They did not stop doing these sins until the Lord removed the Israelites from his presence, just as he had said through all his servants the prophets. So the Israelites were taken out of their land to Assyria, and they have been there to this day.

o   II Kings 23:15  -  Josiah [a righteous king] also broke down the altar at Bethel—the place of worship made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had led Israel to sin. Josiah burned that place, broke the stones of the altar into pieces, then beat them into dust. He also burned the Asherah idol.

WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THIS?

1.    When God speaks, we should listen carefully!

2.    Obeying God brings rewards here and in Heaven!

3.    Disobeying or disregarding God brings punishment here and for all eternity!

MAKE YOUR CHOICES…