Living Water Community Church

We worked our way through the summary of Rehoboam’s reign in Judah. The section begins and end with the mention of Rehoboam’s mother and the fact that she was an Ammonite. The Moabites and Ammonites were descended from Lot and they did not help Israel when they came up out of the land of Egypt. To the contrary Balak the king of the Ammonites paid Balaam to try to curse them. Because of these things Israel was to maintain a separation from them. But Solomon married a woman from this tribe. Not only that but this marriage happened before he became king so this was not a marriage alliance this was Solomon being disobedient. This disobedient marriage produced Rehoboam and gave Naamah an Ammonite undue influence on the king. Rehoboam led Judah into more sin then all their fathers had committed. Because of this God began to bring judgement on Judah. Shishak the king of Egypt came up and took away all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the kings house. There was also ongoing war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. In spite of Rehoboam’s unfaithfulness God remained faithful to His promises to David to establish his throne forever and Abijam Rehoboam’s son became king after Rehoboam died. 

We looked at the final recorded event of Jeroboam’s reign. Abijah his son becomes sick. Jeroboam sends his wife in disguise to Ahijah the prophet who had declared he would become king of Israel. When Jeroboam faces a real trial he doesn’t turn to the false gods he had set up but to the true prophet of the true God. But the fact he sends his wife disguised with a common offering of bread, cakes and honey, tells us he was trying to hide from God. He felt guilt but he was not repentant. Ahijah even though he is blind sees right through the deception. He gives Jeroboam’s wife the kind of news she did not want to hear. All the descendants of Jeroboam’s family who could lay claim to the throne will die and be eaten by dogs or birds. Only the son who is sick will die and be buried and mourned because he alone was pleasing to God. The fact that he was pleasing to God indicates he had faith in God. Because to please God you must have faith in Him. Ahijah also prophecies that God is going to scatter Israel to lands beyond the Euphrates because of the worship of false gods which Jeroboam has caused them to follow. He also basically tells her she will never see her sick son alive again because he will die when she returns. Everything happens exactly as Ahijah said it would. Jeroboam does not repent and turn from his sinful ways. He died and Nadab his son reigned in his place. Ahijah is there to declare Jeroboam’s kingship and there to declare the demise of his kingdom because of his disobedience to the God who had made him king. It is a tragic story of rebellion against God. It is also a clear declaration of how impossible it is to hide from God. You cannot deceive Him. 

The results of speaking boldly for Christ, even at the peril of ones' life, can bring about an abundant harvest if the Holy Spirit brings remarkable change to bear. Even before rulers and authorities it is important to look to Christ, not to man, for the way in which we should walk. We got to see some of the sweet fellowship of the early church here.

We will look at the strange story of the prophet who announced the judgement of God on the house of Jeroboam and the coming cleansing of Israel by Josiah a future king of Israel. This prophet was supposed to give the message of God and the sign of God and leave Israel returning to Judah by a different path then he came. He was also instructed not to eat or drink anything until he returned to Judah. There was however another prophet who lived in the area who had sons or apprentices attending the sacrifice Jeroboam made and this prophet crashed. Their attendance indicates they were probably complicit in Jeroboam’s defection from the true God of Israel. This prophet seeks out the prophet of Judah and declares that an angel appeared to him and told him to have the prophet from Judah come to his home for a meal. The prophet from Judah listened to this false prophecy and during the meal God spoke through the false prophet declaring the impending death of the prophet of Judah for his disobedience. As the prophet journeyed home he was killed by a lion who stood guard  over his body along with his donkey until the prophet came and took his body to have it buried. This book was written to people in exile. To them this message would have held a poignant meaning. They would have been reminded that being mostly obedient was not enough. God required complete obedience and perfect obedience. They would have been reminded that they needed God’s promise of a messiah. That promise was fulfilled in Jesus. He was the greater and better prophet. He was the one who was tempted to turn stones into bread and he did not. He was the one who offered his body as our source of nourishment and his blood as the seal of the new covenant. A better covenant. One which has been fulfilled for us and given to us as a free gift if we will just follow Jesus with all our hearts. The failure of the prophets just reminds us of how much we needed Jesus. Jeroboam sadly did not change but continued to lead the people away from God.

We examine more of the beginning of Jeroboam’s reign. It was a reign started and rooted in rebellion against God. He really set out to subvert the law which God had established for Israel. Jeroboam set up idols and commanded the people to worship them. He set up anyone who wanted to be priest except for the Levites. He established false feast days for the people to gather and worship the idols he had established. This of course angered God. The very God who had established the kingdom for Jeroboam. The total insanity of Jeroboam’s actions seems crazy when we consider how he came to be king. Yet this is the path he has headed for. We actually see him making an offering to a false god during a fake festival then a prophet from Judah shows up. This prophet declares the destruction of the worship of false gods in Bethel by a future king of Judah named Josiah. This is the very place the king is making offerings. So the prophet declares they will know this will surely happen because God will give a sign by the destruction of the altar which appears to split right after the prophet declares the prophecy and right after Jeroboam tells the people to seize him. When he points at the prophet his hand withers and he cannot draw it back. Jeroboam asks the man of God to pray to God to restore his hand and the prophet prays and Jeroboam’s hand is restored. Now Jeroboam asks the man of God to come to his house for dinner. This he refuses to do because God commanded him not to eat or drink and to return home another way. Jeroboam is left with a clear message that judgement from God is coming to his kingdom. This all came about because Jeroboam failed to embrace loving God and following God’s commands. He did what he wanted the way he wanted instead of doing what God wanted the way God wanted. The worship of God really matters to God. 

We explored the beginning of Jeroboam’s reign in contrast to the beginning of Rehoboam’s. Rehoboam in Shechem witnessed the devastating breaking of the kingdom as 10 of the tribes rejected his rulership. He sent Adoram his task master to deal with them and they stoned him to death. Rehoboam fled to Jerusalem and began to call together and army to go fight against the rebellious tribes and restore the kingdom. God sent word through Shemaiah the prophet that this rebellion and split in Israel was from the Lord and they should not fight it. The king and all the people listened to Shemaiah and returned home. By contrast Jeroboam had been given the promise if he would follow God and trust Him like David did, God would establish his throne. Jeroboam immediately took unwise counsel and created 2 calves of gold placing one at the southern border and one at the northern boarder. He made temples on hight places and appointed priests from anyone except the Levites. Jeroboam in one quick series of events shows complete rebellion against God instead of following Him. He really becomes and anti-messiah or anti-christ. He is the opposite of Moses. He comes out of Egypt. He frees the people from the potential enslavement by Rehoboam. He breaks God’s laws about worship and establishes false gods before Him. He makes anyone a priest except the tribe God set aside to be priests. And finally he establishes feast designed to keep the people from going up to Jerusalem. Instead of following God he literally opposes God at every starting point of his reign. 

We worked through the first 15 verses of chapter 12. The crowning of Rehoboam and the start of his reign is recorded for us in this chapter. It is remarkably different from his father Solomon’s anointing as king. As a matter of fact there really does not appear to be any anointing going on for Rehoboam. The people had all gathered at Shechem to make him king. Jeroboam returns from Egypt and appears to represent most of the tribes as they come to Rehoboam to lay down some conditions. They ask for Rehoboam to make their work load lighter to receive their loyalty and support. Rehoboam asks the old men who advised his father what to do and they suggested he listen to the people. Rehoboam did not like that answer and so he asked young men he had grown up with what to do and they told him to basically show the people he is going to be even tougher on them then Solomon had been. Rehoboam chose to listen to the young men and display how tough he was going to be. We wrapped up with verse 15 where it explicitly states this poor choice on Rehoboam’s part was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord. God did this because He had spoke through Ahijah the prophet that Jeroboam would become king of 10 of the tribes. The thing which this passage is really highlighting is how even things like civil disunity are brought about by God. In this case He is bringing this about because the people had been caught up in worshipping other gods under Solomon. The passage is really highlighting how God is in control even when things seem out of control or negative. Jesus death is a perfect example of this. It was God’s plan that Jesus would become our substitute and ransom us. But the means of Jesus becoming our substitutionary sacrifice was through betrayal and unjust judgement. Things which were sinful and evil brought about Jesus death and people will face judgement for those things. But at the same time God ordained for these things to happen and He removed the grace which would have restrained men and kept these things from happening. 

We explored what our relationships will be like according to what we see in scripture. We explored how the scripture speaks against false beliefs about relationships in eternity even held by great spiritual giants of theology in history. In 1 Thessalonians Paul talked about looking forward to recognizing and interacting with those who have gone before us into eternity. The followers of Jesus all recognize him after the resurrection. While it appears Jesus could keep some from recognizing Him, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Mary Magdalene and the twelve clearly know Him when they see Him. God created us to love relationships and at His core God has always existed in relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit forming the Trinity. Since God is relational at a very fundamental level He has created us to love relationships. This is not something God will take away in heaven but rather something which will be deeper and richer because we now know and see God. We also explored the idea of children who God could have chosen from conception like He did Samson. This means miscarriages or children who died very young or in childbirth could indeed be people we meet and come to know in eternity. We also considered the implications of people we love here who do not put their faith in Jesus not being in heaven. The reality is while we do not fully understand how we will not grieve their absence, the truth is God will somehow help us to have a different perspective on their rebellion against Him. While last time we dealt with question related specifically to relationships and eternity.

We wrapped up chapter 11. It is such a sad chapter because in it we see the seeds planted which will lead to the division of the kingdom of Israel. The real driving force for this break up is found in how Solomon fostered and introduced idol worship in the land. Solomon lacked a real fear of God like David his father possessed. He embraced the false worship introduced by his many wives and this is ultimately the thing which brought about the judgement of God. He calls His people to be faithful to Him. When His people are not faithful He brings correction and judgement. God is always working to bring His people into faithful pursuit of Him. He is faithful even when we are not and He is always working to bring us what is best for us which is the gift of a relationship with Him. There is nothing in this world better for us then this. At the risk of sounding overly simplistic the truth of the matter is: every single problem which we have in this world finds its truest answer and solution in Jesus. 
• Are you sick? Jesus is the great physician and the ultimate healing of every disease is found in Him. One day He will wipe away the effects of all sin and pain.
• Are you anxious? God tells us not to be anxious about anything because He is our provider.
• Are you weary? Jesus tells us to take His yoke upon us because His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
• Are you broken hearted? Jesus binds up the broken hearted and he comforts us with a supernatural comfort so we can comfort others in their distress.
This is just a short example of the reality of how every problem we face finds its ultimate answer in Jesus. Our problem is how easily and quickly we turn to something other then Jesus.

We explored what is essentially the detailing of Solomon’s kingdom declining. It starts with his disobedience to God’s command to not multiply wives. This led to him being introduced to the many gods of these wives. Ultimately the text says Solomon loved these gods. This is a dramatic departure for the man who started out in Kings with the declaration that he loved God. In a nutshell this really highlights Solomon’s decline. He went from loving God to loving many other gods. Yet there is a very real warning for us in Solomon’s decline. If the wisest man who ever lived can move from loving God to loving many gods what hope do we have. 
• The hope we have is found in Jesus. 
• The hope we have is found in continuing to pursue Him. 
• The hope we have is in cultivating a passionate pursuit of Him in our hearts.

We explored a section which in one way foreshadows the kingdom of God and in another way is a warning to the people in exile of how the kingdom of Israel’s decline began. In the section we witness Solomon gaining a super-abundance of wealth. His wealth in his time would have made him by today’s standards a multi-billionaire. Given the lack of true capitalistic economies in Solomon’s day he would have no doubt been the richest man in the world. The wealth and abundance of the kingdom really foreshadows the greater and better kingdom of God which is coming. In God’s coming kingdom there will never be want. God will be supplying our needs in a sinless environment. It will be magnificent in every way. The problem in Solomon’s kingdom can be found in the fact that his was not a sinless environment. The massive build up of wealth would prove to be a corrupting influence on Solomon and all Israel. Silver was so abundant in Jerusalem it was said to be as common as stone. This would have driven the value of silver down in the city and surrounding area. This super common silver was used to purchase chariots and horses. This means these items cost Solomon very little because they used silver in the trade. We also see Solomon engaging in trade with Egypt which was expressly forbidden in Deuteronomy. In a variety of ways the exultation of Solomon and his wisdom is overshadowed by the wealth and power he acquires. The trade with forbidden foreign nations and the accumulation of wealth are items expressly forbidden for the kings of Israel in the book of Deuteronomy. 

The early Church was united and devoted to prayer. A united pursuit of 
God and a seeking after wisdom from God on the path forward after Jesus Ascension. A 50 day period takes place after the resurrection before we come to Pentecost. A brief overview of corporate prayer is a part of this study.

We explored the first 13 verses of chapter 10. In this section we have the record of the Queen of Sheba’s visit to Solomon. She came because of all she had heard. It was such astonishing reports she simply had to see it for herself. What she found was greater than what she had been told. The scale and scope of what she saw simply took her breath away. But even greater than what she saw was the fact she perceived this was from God. She encountered not just Solomon and his wisdom but she encountered the God who had granted Solomon wisdom. Jesus declared that the queen of the south the queen of Sheba will be at the judgement condemning those who do not believe. The only way she can be there in that capacity is because she saw and believed. We get to know God even better then the queen of Sheba did. We are called to be ambassadors of the kingdom of God in an even more explicit way then Solomon was.

We looked at God’s promise of blessing and also warning to Solomon of what would happen if he turned aside from following God. This happened when God appeared to Solomon a second time after the dedication of the temple. The warning even extended to his children. But there was also the promise of blessing if Solomon remained faithful and followed God like David his father did. God promised to extend the same blessing He had given David to establish his throne forever. The warning came with the promise of judgement on the nation of Israel and the temple building itself if the people go and serve and worship other gods. This was done to be a declaration of the importance of fidelity to God to all the surrounding nations. That the world would know they faced judgement because they abandoned God. This same type of warning extends to the church. We looked at how passages in James and Hebrews speak to the importance of being true to God and not playing a game of externalized religion. God is the same yesterday today and forever and He will not be mocked by people who claim to follow Him as Lord. 

We worked through the end of chapter 8. In this section Solomon rises from the prayer of dedication and the passage tells us he blesses the people. It is really interesting that it states this is a blessing on the people because what Solomon does is bless God for giving rest to His people as He promised. Then Solomon blesses the people with God being with them and inclining their hearts to Him to keep His commandments, statutes and rules. He charges them to keep their hearts true to God. Basically if you consider the content of this blessing even though it is really directed at God and being true to Him then you have the best possible blessing Solomon could give to the people. He is blessing them with a pursuit of God and obedience to Him. There is quite literally nothing better we could wish for anyone in this life. The passage then turns from Solomon’s blessing to the sacrifices offered and the feast which they held. We noted the fact that one of the sacrifices was a peace offering. The peace offering was asking for peace with God. The idea was for God to forgive them for their sins. In this offering the fat of the animal being sacrificed was offered to God. Some of the meat was given to the priest and the rest of the animal was to be consumed by the one offering the sacrifice and their family within 2 days. It was to celebrate the promise of God forgiving them of their sins. In essence the offering was a meal shared with God celebrating the reconciliation they were to enjoy through the sacrifice. After the week of dedicating the temple and making sacrifices the people left on the eighth day joyful and glad of heart. This all took place during the feast of tabernacles. All of these things really foreshadow the ultimate sacrifice and reconciliation which was to come to be found in Jesus when He came and tabernacled in the body God prepared for Him. 

We worked through the end of chapter 8. In this section Solomon rises from the prayer of dedication and the passage tells us he blesses the people. It is really interesting that it states this is a blessing on the people because what Solomon does is bless God for giving rest to His people as He promised. Then Solomon blesses the people with God being with them and inclining their hearts to Him to keep His commandments, statutes and rules. He charges them to keep their hearts true to God. Basically if you consider the content of this blessing even though it is really directed at God and being true to Him then you have the best possible blessing Solomon could give to the people. He is blessing them with a pursuit of God and obedience to Him. There is quite literally nothing better we could wish for anyone in this life. The passage then turns from Solomon’s blessing to the sacrifices offered and the feast which they held. We noted the fact that one of the sacrifices was a peace offering. The peace offering was asking for peace with God. The idea was for God to forgive them for their sins. In this offering the fat of the animal being sacrificed was offered to God. Some of the meat was given to the priest and the rest of the animal was to be consumed by the one offering the sacrifice and their family within 2 days. It was to celebrate the promise of God forgiving them of their sins. In essence the offering was a meal shared with God celebrating the reconciliation they were to enjoy through the sacrifice. After the week of dedicating the temple and making sacrifices the people left on the eighth day joyful and glad of heart. This all took place during the feast of tabernacles. All of these things really foreshadow the ultimate sacrifice and reconciliation which was to come to be found in Jesus when He came and tabernacled in the body God prepared for Him.

we explored what our lives will be like according to what we see in scripture. Will we be ourselves in the sense of being unique individuals? We explored things like how the Bible indicates we will know specific individuals in eternity like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Bible indicates we will have emotional responses in heaven. There are good indications we will learn things in heaven. We will still be decision making beings but we will not want to sin or go against God, because of this we will be safe from ever sinning. We explored a bit of what our daily lives might be like. We will probably have meaningful work much like Adam had work in the garden of Eden before the fall. We will have a place God has prepared for us as individuals, which implies we will be able to invite people to our place and go to the place of other people.

Jesus was a living man, not a spirit or some kind of allusion. The Resurrection was testified to over and over by the disciples of Christ. Jesus wants His people to know that He is indeed raised and is with us now and also at God's right hand. 

The Resurrection of Jesus shows the power of Christ over death. Jesus was the perfect man who was sacrificed so that we could have life abundantly. The sacrificing of lambs at Passover is a picture that has been pointing forward to the person of Christ since it began in the book of Exodus. Christ's Death and Resurrection is the complete work that defeats every foe. All we need because of His resurrection is to recognize Jesus as our Lord. Everyone who was resurrected eventually died again, but Jesus never died again and never will. He is our forever hope and salvation.

We were looking at the end of Solomon’s prayer of dedication of the temple. What we saw as we worked through his last 3 petitions was Solomon interceded for the gentiles who would be coming to worship the God of Israel. This had to be a radical idea to the Jews who saw themselves as God’s chosen people. They were quick to point out their superiority and part of this was the history of God’s intervention on their behalf even against other people. But God’s promises to Abraham included the promise to draw all the nations to God through Israel. Solomon’s prayer really reinforces this idea and sees it at least being fulfilled in part through worship at the temple. Then Solomon turns his attention to God granting them victory in battle if the people turn to God and call on Him. And finally Solomon ends his prayer by pointing out how the people are bound to sin because we all sin. He asks God to grant them forgiveness even if they are carried away to a foreign land. He asks God to hear them and to grant them favor with their captors if they seek Him and repent. This of course is what we all need to do on a regular basis. We are the foreigners who have gathered to worship today, and part of our gathering is to bring Him glory and to point people to Him.