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

o   I Kings 15:30

o   I Kings 15:34

o   I Kings 16:2

o   I Kings 16:7

o   I Kings 16:19

o   I Kings 16:26

o   I Kings 16:31

o   I Kings 22:52

o   II Kings 3:3

o   II Kings 10:31

o   II Kings 13:2

o   II Kings 13:5-6

o   II Kings 14:23-24

o   II Kings 15:18

o   II Kings 15:24

o   II Kings 15:28

o   II Kings 17:21-23

o   II Kings 23:15

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…