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First Kings Chapter 12 beginning
here in verse 16. 

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If you were here last week, then
you are fully aware that we took

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our time through the 
introduction of this character 

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named Rehoboam, who is the six 
succeeding king to Solomon, his 

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father, to absorb these life 
preserving, relationally 

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flourishing God, glorifying 
promises that wisdom, biblical 

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wisdom provides. 
And unfortunately, it wasn't 

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through Rehoboam's positive 
example that we glean much of 

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these truths and these insights 
about wisdom, but through his 

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failures. 
And unfortunately, the sad 

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pattern of Rehoboam's thinking 
is only going to grievously 

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continue in these next set of 
verses. 

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And if that's not upsetting 
enough, then you and I are also 

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going to encounter the nation of
Israel as a whole, making tragic

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decisions to their own harm and 
injury for generations to come. 

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And if that's difficult to 
stomach, I'm sorry, there's even

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more. 
Because we are also going to be 

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introduced to Jeroboam, not as a
character, not as a person in 

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the Bible, but as the first king
of the northern tribes of 

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Israel. 
And he too will make 

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dramatically foolish decisions 
that will also add to the harm 

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of the people for generations to
come. 

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All in all, for the rest of this
chapter, we're almost going to 

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get a sense that there's like a 
competition here. 

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Who can be the most foolish? 
There's this foolishness 

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everywhere, and we know what 
foolishness will produce in a 

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life that is unrepentant and 
unwilling to change and be 

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humbled before the truth of God.
So to introduce a Bible study in

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this way, I wouldn't be 
surprised if it's disheartening 

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and not the most exciting thing 
to uncover in the next hour. 

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But if there's any hope in 
digesting this together, it is 

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that this is good for us. 
This is good for us in that it 

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will contribute to your personal
growth in the area of wisdom. 

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And so be encouraged in that 
because the Bible speaks about 

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what serious observation can 
produce in the life of a person 

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who desires wisdom, or who may 
not even know their need for 

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wisdom. 
The verse that comes to mind is 

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Proverbs 21, verse 11, and 
here's what it says in the first

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part of Proverbs 21, verse 11. 
When the scoffer is punished, 

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this simple become wise. 
A scoffer is somebody who has 

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become stiff necked, who mocks 
at the idea of correction, who 

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rejects the idea of counsel, who
is set in their own ways even 

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though those ways are 
destructive and wrong. 

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And a scoffer, according to the 
Bible, through divine 

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sanctioning or just because of 
the world today that we live in 

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that has somewhat of a grasp of 
right and wrong. 

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At least it should. 
A scoffer is susceptible to much

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punishment consequences for his 
foolishness, and here's what the

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Bible says following that When a
scoffer experiences the outcome 

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of their own disregard for truth
and biblical wisdom, the simple 

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the simple is not the same as a 
fool. 

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The simple can become a fool. 
But the simple in the Bible 

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speaks of the naive, the 
gullible, the uninformed, the 

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immature. 
This simple becomes wise. 

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The simple becomes wise. 
And seeing, oh, that's what 

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happens when a person lives 
foolishly. 

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Oh, that's what happens when a 
person lives as a scoffer. 

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That's what happens when a 
person implements human wisdom 

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above God's wisdom. 
And through that they learn 

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through what observation you and
I are observing. 

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We're observing what foolishness
can produce in a life, not just 

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in a life in society, not just 
in society to a nation. 

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And we are to become more wise 
as a result of it. 

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So let's begin here in verse 16.
And when all Israel saw that the

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king did not listen to them, the
people answered the king. 

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What portion do we have in 
David? 

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We have no inheritance in the 
son of Jesse. 

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To your tents, O Israel. 
Look now to your own house, 

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David. 
So Israel went to their tents, 

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but rail bomb reigned over the 
people of Israel who lived in 

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the cities of Judah. 
What's happening here? 

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Well, you and I learned it last 
week. 

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That rail bomb was counseled to 
approach the people who had a 

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request and a negotiation. 
That if they were going to 

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submit under his leadership, 
then he would have to lighten up

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on the taxes, lighten up on the 
hard labor that his father 

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exercised during his reign. 
Rehab rejected their desire, and

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he decided to go the 
authoritarian approach, You're 

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not going to mess with me. 
You think that you can determine

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how this nation is going to 
function. 

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You got another thing coming. 
And so he implements an iron 

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fist and it backfires. 
As we read here, all Israel now 

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chooses to disassociate, not 
just from rehab but from the 

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dynasty of David. 
Can I ask you a question? 

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How many years did it take for 
both David and Solomon to 

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establish their monarch? 
How many years did it take in 

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total for these two to build 
this Kingdom so to speak in 

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honoring of God's covenant with 
David? 

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It's very simple. 
How long did David rule and 

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reign for 40, So total how many 
years? 

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80 with Solomon? 
80 years to get to this point, 

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and he had. 
The last moments of Solomon's 

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life were quite shaky, but we 
can just generally say it took 

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80 years and after 80 years it 
took Rehoboam 3 days to 

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dismantle it. 
It took this man less than a 

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week to topple all that was 
built through the toil of his 

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father's. 
Can you imagine that? 

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We wish it wasn't so, but such 
is the reality of what our 

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decisions can do, such as the 
reality. 

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And don't worry about that, 
guys. 

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If it's not going to operate, 
don't worry about it. 

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It's not that bad. 
So you have here a man who makes

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these kind of decisions, very 
few, but significant enough to 

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do what? 
To bring it all down to nothing.

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And what we're supposed to take 
from that is that you and I have

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to understand the significance 
of our choices in life. 

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And that is not meant to 
paralyze you in the advancements

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that you have to make in this 
life. 

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And through those advancements, 
you have to make major 

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decisions. 
It's not meant to cripple you at

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all, but what it is meant to do 
is encourage you to stay near to

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God. 
Stay close to God. 

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Always be needy before God. 
Plunge every plan, every desire,

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every decision in prayer. 
Receive the counsel of His Word 

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continually in the counsel of 
God's people who submit to this 

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Word, and you'll be more than 
safe. 

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You will actually flourish. 
This is not a man who innocently

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made a mistake. 
This is a man who blatantly 

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chose to turn away from God's 
will, God's Word, God's 

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provision of guidance through 
other people, and He's paying 

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for it. 
And not just him, but you. 

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Think about what his Father's 
invested up to this time and 

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what will take place following 
Rehoboam. 

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And as we look at this, we think
to ourselves how? 

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How did this happen? 
How is this now Kingdom for the 

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first time divided? 
Listen, this is such a calamity 

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and a stain to Israel's history 
that the scriptures will even 

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use this moment as a benchmark 
to measure future catastrophes 

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that this nation will face. 
Let me give you an example of 

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that and Isaiah 7 verse 17. 
The Lord speaks to the prophet, 

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and this is what he says, and it
provides great insight to just 

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how profound this moment is. 
In our study of the Old 

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Testament, says here in Isaiah 
7, verse 17, the Lord will bring

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upon you and upon your people 
and upon your Father's house. 

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Such days as have not come since
the day that Ephraim departed 

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from Judah, the king of Assyria,
the king of Assyria. 

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I'm going to release the king of
Assyria upon you, Israel, and 

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you're not going to see these 
days. 

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They're going to not even be 
able to come close to what you 

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experienced in recent issue. 
The only thing I can compare it 

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to is First Kings chapter 12 
when Ephraim, which is the 

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largest tribe of the northern 
tribes divorcing from Judah. 

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So this is serious. 
This is massive. 

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And we're supposed to feel the 
weightiness of this? 

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One man's choice would put a 
dent in Israel's history and 

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future now. 
Israel's severely divided, 

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right? 
They expressed this. 

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We have nothing to do with the 
House of David. 

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We're removing ourselves from 
him, and we see what Rehoboam 

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will do as a response. 
In verse 18. 

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Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, 
who was taskmaster, over the 

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forced labor, and all Israel 
stoned him to death with stones.

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And King Rehoboam hurried to 
mount his chariot to flee to 

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Jerusalem. 
This is like it's almost 

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unimaginable, you would think, 
if you took the counsel of your 

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companions and it backfired like
this. 

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The 10 tribes say we we want 
nothing to do with you. 

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We're going our own way. 
You deal with your own tribe. 

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We're going to deal with our 
own. 

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That you would learn and realize
that the counsel you received 

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was way off. 
You would be humbled by that. 

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And if you're going to flee to 
anything, you would flee to the 

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prayer closet and then return to
the drawing board and say, Where

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did I go wrong? 
How can I make this right? 

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I've learned from my own 
mistakes. 

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God, please help me. 
Instead, what does he do? 

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He sends a taskmaster, the same 
taskmaster that was employed by 

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Solomon. 
In other words, what this man is

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doing is even though the people 
denied his authority, he double 

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S down. 
He double S down. 

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He still tries to play that 
tough guy card. 

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He double S down. 
Though the system was condemned,

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he says no, I'm going to 
implement it whether you like it

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or not. 
Is this foolishness or what? 

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How much more of a fool can you 
be? 

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And I step back when I read this
last night and I study this and 

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I thought, How can you be so 
idiotic? 

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How can you not just see the 
plane writing on the wall? 

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How can you not see the fruit of
your decisions? 

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How can you think you know what 
this needs me to pursue with 

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greater aggression. 
How? 

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And then a verse came to mind. 
It's in Proverbs 11, verse 2, 

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where it says when pride comes 
then comes disgrace. 

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But with the humble is wisdom. 
What is this man illustrating? 

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A lack of humility. 
A man who could not admit he was

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wrong. 
A man who could not admit 

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defeat. 
A man who could not return to 

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his former understanding of what
the truth was when it was 

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advised to him and say, this is 
the way I went the wrong way. 

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And when you do not have 
humility, you also forfeit 

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wisdom. 
Humility must be pursued and 

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secured if wisdom is going to be
realized. 

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No humility, no wisdom. 
And if you don't have humility, 

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there's no neutrality. 
There's pride. 

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And when you have pride, you 
inherit disgrace. 

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And the longer you hold on to 
that pride, the greater the 

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disgrace will be in your life 
and in mine. 

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So why is why is rehab doing 
this? 

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It's because he lacks 
humbleness, and because of that 

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he forfeited wisdom. 
Even in the plain sight of the 

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obvious thing to do, he still 
was headlong, stiff, necked, 

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determined to pursue what he saw
to be right. 

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How do I grow in wisdom? 
Just set the bedrock of humility

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in your heart. 
Express continuing your need of 

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him and his guidance, and that 
also includes admitting and 

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confessing you're wrong so that 
light can come in and that you 

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can receive the insight you need
to avoid that mistake. 

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Again, Rehoboam lack that and it
came to his own harm. 

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As we see here, A man died 
because of his foolishness. 

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Relationship dies because of a 
lack of humility. 

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Ministries die because of a lack
of humbleness. 

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So many things die when humility
is not priority. 

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Look at this common verse 19. 
So Israel has been in rebellion 

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against the House of David to 
this day for the rest of the 

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landscape of the Old Testament. 
From this point on, we're going 

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to see a shift in the terrain of
Scripture. 

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And this is the verse that 
pivots it, saying what do you 

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mean? 
Because from now on, generally 

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whenever you see the word Israel
or Israel being mentioned, it's 

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not speaking about the entirety 
of the 12 tribes of the sons of 

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Jacob. 
Israel from this point on will 

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reference the 10 northern 
tribes, whereas Judah will 

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represent the southern Kingdom 
and Judah will not stand alone. 

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Judah, the southern Kingdom, 
will also be comprised with and 

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connected to which other tribe? 
Benjamin. 

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Correct. 
So you have the 10 who represent

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00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:32,320
Israel, the Kingdom of Israel. 
That's not the whole nation, the

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10 tribes, the northern tribes. 
And then you have the Kingdom of

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00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:39,280
Judah, which is Judah primarily,
but also Benjamin partnering 

230
00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:42,600
with him. 
And sometimes you'll read about 

231
00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:46,200
Ephraim and that's one tribe, 
but in some context. 

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00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:50,600
Actually in many contexts that 
tribe represents the 10 northern

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00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:53,560
tribes you just read it in in 
Isaiah 717. 

234
00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:57,360
Since Ephraim departed from 
Judah, well it was more than 

235
00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:00,240
Ephraim. 
So Ephraim also in many context 

236
00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:02,880
of the Old Testament represents 
the 10 northern tribes as a 

237
00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:03,280
whole. 
Why? 

238
00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:04,480
Why Ephraim? 
Any idea? 

239
00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:11,280
Ephraim is the largest tribe. 
It's as simple as that. 

240
00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:15,000
Ephraim is the largest tribe. 
Judah out of the two is also 

241
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:17,240
larger than Benjamin. 
So just a simple way of 

242
00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,640
identifying these two different 
kingdoms now and we're going to 

243
00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:23,520
see that for the rest of our 
study in the Hebrew scriptures. 

244
00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:27,240
Verse 19 indicates that. 
But we read on what do we see in

245
00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:29,760
verse 20? 
And when all Israel heard that 

246
00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:33,880
Jeroboam had returned, they sent
and called him to the assembly 

247
00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:36,560
and made him king. 
Over all Israel. 

248
00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:41,200
There was none that followed the
House of David but the tribe of 

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00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:47,320
Judah only. 
So Rehoboam is not the only fool

250
00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:53,200
in this chapter, Israel. 
Those 10 tribes are also 

251
00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:56,800
foolish. 
Any idea why this demonstrates 

252
00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:03,520
their foolishness? 
They made Jeroboam their king. 

253
00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:11,520
Why is that important? 
Who is God's chosen king? 

254
00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:15,520
Was it just David? 
Or would it be his descendants 

255
00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:17,840
forever? 
His descendants forever? 

256
00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:24,440
So the mark of God's favor was 
upon David and his descendants. 

257
00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:28,680
They were the chosen lineage to 
operate as monarchs for the 

258
00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:31,240
Kingdom of God, the reflection 
of the glory of God. 

259
00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:35,920
And here's this people saying we
want nothing to do with David's 

260
00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:39,560
line. 
We want Jeroboam. 

261
00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:44,240
Jeroboam, though he was called 
by God to work in this way. 

262
00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:49,240
We also learned that the people 
here made a drastic mistake in 

263
00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:53,920
separating themselves from God's
original choice for the king of 

264
00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:58,880
Israel. 
And as we looked at this, we 

265
00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:02,840
think to ourselves, well, what 
is this going to cost them? 

266
00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:06,440
What We're going to find out in 
a moment, and we see here that 

267
00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:10,520
the folly of Israel's only met 
with greater folly, and that's 

268
00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:12,599
with this man, Rehoboam once 
again. 

269
00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:15,560
Look at verse 21. 
When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem,

270
00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:19,200
he assembled all the House of 
Judah and the tribe of Benjamin,

271
00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:24,599
180,000 chosen warriors to fight
against the House of Israel, to 

272
00:17:24,599 --> 00:17:27,480
restore the Kingdom of Rehoboam,
the son of Solomon. 

273
00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:31,640
So Rehoboam now, right? 
He sends a taskmaster. 

274
00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:34,280
He's killed. 
He learns that what the people 

275
00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:40,160
said early on in verse 16 wasn't
just, you know, shallow talk. 

276
00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:42,200
This was real. 
They actually said we're cut 

277
00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:43,480
off, We're disconnected from 
you. 

278
00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:46,840
They made someone a king, real. 
One senses the seriousness of 

279
00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:47,840
this moment. 
So what does he do? 

280
00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:51,680
Humble himself before God. 
You know, he wants to declare 

281
00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:54,800
war. 
Round up the troops. 

282
00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:57,640
And now we sense there's a 
boiling point. 

283
00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:01,880
We sense the tension now, 
reaching a breaking point and we

284
00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:04,680
we think to ourselves, this is 
this is getting ugly, this is 

285
00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:07,800
getting horrific so quickly, so 
fast. 

286
00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:13,920
And what's about to take place 
here is so amazing. 

287
00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:17,480
And verse 22. 
But the word of God came to 

288
00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:21,240
Shamaya, the man of God. 
We haven't seen a prophet in our

289
00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:27,560
study in a long, long time and 
now all of a sudden appearing on

290
00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:31,080
the scene is this man of God. 
He flashes on the scene, and he 

291
00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:33,240
will be removed from the scene 
just as quickly. 

292
00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:36,720
But what a pivotal moment for 
him to appear with a word from 

293
00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:38,600
the Lord. 
And this is what he says in 

294
00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:41,720
verse 23. 
Say to Rehoboam the son of 

295
00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:44,760
Solomon, king of Judah, and to 
all the House of Judah and 

296
00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:46,960
Benjamin, and to the rest of the
people. 

297
00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:51,000
Thus says the Lord, you shall 
not go up or fight against your 

298
00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:54,680
relatives, the people of Israel.
Every man returned to his home, 

299
00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:59,720
for this thing is from me. 
So they listened to the word of 

300
00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:02,320
the Lord and went home again 
according to the word of the 

301
00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:06,320
Lord. 
What moves you about that? 

302
00:19:10,120 --> 00:19:13,000
Peace. 
But how did peace come about? 

303
00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:19,840
OK, the prophetic word, yes, 
that was the way peace could be 

304
00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:23,040
achieved. 
But was the prophetic word over 

305
00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:27,400
ruling? 
OK, that's another thing that 

306
00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:29,560
we're going to look at as well. 
There's the sovereignty of God 

307
00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:31,560
in this. 
It's very simple. 

308
00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:38,120
They obeyed him. 
Finally, some obedience. 

309
00:19:38,120 --> 00:19:42,960
In this downward spiral of 
rebellion, you see something 

310
00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:47,120
that's almost like this cold 
glass of water to your soul as 

311
00:19:47,120 --> 00:19:50,040
you're trying to endure this. 
What do we read here? 

312
00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:54,720
So they listened to the word of 
the Lord and went home again. 

313
00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:57,360
According to the word of the 
Lord. 

314
00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:00,520
It's like a breath of fresh air.
Wow. 

315
00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:08,480
If only Rehoboam had done this 
way back when he started out as 

316
00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:11,280
a king. 
Only he prized the word of the 

317
00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:14,240
Lord in such a way. 
All the disasters that could 

318
00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:18,240
have been dodged, all the pain 
that could have been prevented, 

319
00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:22,440
all the life that could have 
been saved, all the unity 

320
00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:24,160
perhaps that could have been 
kept. 

321
00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:30,760
But you can't go back, can you? 
He couldn't have you and I can 

322
00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:33,680
either. 
And so here's the lesson from 

323
00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:37,400
these verses. 
It is never too late to obey 

324
00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:41,480
God. 
It is never too late to step 

325
00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:44,040
outside of the lane of 
disobedience and enter into the 

326
00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:47,200
lane of consecrated obedience to
the Lord. 

327
00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,160
You know, I've talked to some 
people throughout the years and 

328
00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:52,080
they've approached me after a 
message, whether that be on 

329
00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:54,120
purity, whether that be on 
living for the Lord, whether 

330
00:20:54,120 --> 00:20:56,760
that be on your prayer life, 
worship, serving, whatever it 

331
00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:59,040
may be. 
And some people are so convinced

332
00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:02,200
that they are so invested, so 
steeped into a mindset or a 

333
00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:06,600
lifestyle of sin that they don't
see any point of escaping it and

334
00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:10,400
living for the Lord. 
That's a lie. 

335
00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:15,360
That's a lie. 
God is always waiting. 

336
00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:20,160
God is always willing to redeem,
to reverse, to recycle, even 

337
00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:24,920
your failures, what you have 
done to yourself and to others. 

338
00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,880
And only is He waiting because 
he is worthy to receive that 

339
00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:31,000
obedience. 
But He is waiting to also reward

340
00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:34,640
you for that obedience. 
Do you understand what was 

341
00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:37,400
prevented because these people 
obeyed the word, the Lord. 

342
00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:41,240
How many lives again could have 
been sabotage, could have been 

343
00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:44,160
slaughtered if they had just 
ignored what the Prophet said? 

344
00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:47,280
But so many things were 
prevented, so many things were 

345
00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:50,760
avoided. 
Yes, even if you are on a fast 

346
00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:55,880
track, 100 miles an hour away 
from the will of God, Into 

347
00:21:55,880 --> 00:22:00,960
Darkness, into sin, things can 
stop the moment you and I 

348
00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:04,120
repent. 
The moment we call upon the name

349
00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:06,200
of the Lord, even though we feel
like we don't have the strength 

350
00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:08,320
within ourselves, even though we
feel like the brake pad is 

351
00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:13,680
broken, God can intervene and 
stop you from committing greater

352
00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:17,400
mass, greater tragedy, and to 
actually more than that, lead 

353
00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:19,600
you on a path with greater 
fruit, greater life, greater 

354
00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:22,200
hope. 
It's never too late to obey God.

355
00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:23,720
That's what we learned from 
this. 

356
00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:26,680
You may feel that it is, but 
according to Rahel Bohm story, 

357
00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:30,120
it's not. 
And as you read this, you also 

358
00:22:30,120 --> 00:22:32,800
see something else. 
Her brother mentioned it. 

359
00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:38,360
The Prophet says here every man 
returned to his home for this 

360
00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:43,320
thing is from me. 
He's speaking on behalf of God. 

361
00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:48,520
So there's something about the 
sovereignty of God in this 

362
00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:52,120
exhortation that also 
contributed to their willingness

363
00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:55,040
to step back from their ways and
to obey God. 

364
00:22:56,760 --> 00:23:01,480
Now you read this and you think 
to yourself, what does this 

365
00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:05,160
mean? 
Well, we know from verse Chapter

366
00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:10,360
11 rather that the prophet Ah 
Heja prophesied to Jeroboam that

367
00:23:10,360 --> 00:23:14,360
there would be a division and 
that he would be made king, and 

368
00:23:14,360 --> 00:23:17,080
that there would be a tribe 
preserved for the line of David.

369
00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:19,920
So everything went according to 
the prophesied script. 

370
00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:22,560
We're seeing the fulfillment of 
that prophecy right here, right 

371
00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:26,320
now. 
But for him to say this thing is

372
00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:32,920
from me is that is that Shamaya 
here saying that God was the one

373
00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:36,520
who pulled the strings of the 
moral actions of these different

374
00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:40,400
parties to commit these 
atrocities, to commit this 

375
00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:45,000
rebellion, this foolishness in 
order to accomplish his will. 

376
00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:50,120
Some would say that is the case,
but I believe there is a higher 

377
00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:53,520
view of God's sovereignty than 
him playing both sides of the 

378
00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:56,640
chess board. 
I believe that the higher view 

379
00:23:56,640 --> 00:24:00,280
of God's sovereignty is that 
though he has permitted and 

380
00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:04,720
granted men to be able to choose
and make their choices, whether 

381
00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:08,320
that be to surrender to the to 
God or to live their own way, he

382
00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:13,280
will still have His way. 
God will still have His purposes

383
00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:18,480
be performed, regardless of the 
attempts of men to thwart it, to

384
00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:25,480
challenge it, to contradict it. 
God's way will prevail always, 

385
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:29,640
and men will still be held 
accountable and responsible for 

386
00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:33,960
their decisions. 
No one can rewrite history. 

387
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:39,280
God himself declares it, and God
himself will have His way, 

388
00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:42,520
regardless of men's agreement 
with it. 

389
00:24:44,120 --> 00:24:48,040
This thing is from me. 
I allowed this to happen. 

390
00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:50,440
He could have got intervened. 
Absolutely he could have 

391
00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:53,800
intervened. 
But he allowed these parties to 

392
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,720
pursue their foolishness. 
And through that, the folly 

393
00:24:57,720 --> 00:24:59,880
didn't cause things to fall 
apart. 

394
00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:03,560
They fell according to plan. 
This thing is from me. 

395
00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:06,720
I'm in charge here. 
I'm still in charge here. 

396
00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:10,000
And though you think that you're
running your own little show, 

397
00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,640
this is going according to how I
desire it to go. 

398
00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:17,720
This is you experiencing the 
consequences of your own sin. 

399
00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:19,360
You're going to be held 
responsible for it. 

400
00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:23,400
But don't you worry, I'm still 
in charge. 

401
00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:26,400
That's the view of God's 
sovereignty in this picture. 

402
00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:29,200
So they listen to the word of 
the Lord because they were 

403
00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:33,160
exposed to just how big God is. 
I'm sure that played a part in 

404
00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:35,320
it. 
But there's a side note here 

405
00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:37,920
from this text. 
I would use it to instruct the 

406
00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:40,560
believers, the community of 
faith, of how you and I can 

407
00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:44,600
avoid a civil war. 
Do civil wars happen in churches

408
00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:50,440
all the time? 
Christians have really good aim 

409
00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:55,280
at shooting other Christians. 
I wish they were just as good as

410
00:25:55,280 --> 00:26:00,240
picking up wounded soldiers. 
But what you have here is a 

411
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:05,280
civil war ready to ensue. 
And there is a language that the

412
00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:09,920
Prophet uses that I believe 
unlocks another factor that can 

413
00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:14,000
help us remain unified and less 
fearful. 

414
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,440
Worrisome that there can be a 
civil war in our midst. 

415
00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:18,880
Let's read it again, shall we? 
Look at verse 24. 

416
00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:23,800
Thus says the Lord, you shall 
not go up or fight against your 

417
00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:26,960
Who? 
Your relatives? 

418
00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:30,560
Other translations? 
Your brethren? 

419
00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:34,360
Your brothers. 
So even in the way that the 

420
00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:38,800
prophet addresses the situation,
he reintroduces a lens that is 

421
00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:41,040
necessary. 
Are you actually going to go up 

422
00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:44,160
against your own brothers and 
kill each other? 

423
00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:49,480
It reminds me of that verse that
I briefly introduced you a 

424
00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,960
couple Sundays ago. 
If you were here about love 

425
00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:56,840
being the secret ingredient to 
Christian unity and the verse, 

426
00:26:56,840 --> 00:26:58,800
if you remember that I brought 
forward, I think it's so 

427
00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:01,040
fitting. 
For this moment is Romans 1210. 

428
00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:03,640
But I have another verse that I 
didn't bring up to add to this. 

429
00:27:04,360 --> 00:27:06,000
What did Paul say in Romans 
1210? 

430
00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:09,200
Love one another. 
With what kind of affection? 

431
00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:11,560
Brotherly affection. 
He could have just said. 

432
00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:14,400
Love one another. 
He says no, love each other with

433
00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:19,040
Philadelphia. 
Love, the natural affection that

434
00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:21,880
you would feel for somebody who 
has the same blood as you. 

435
00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:24,800
It's something that's almost 
indescribable, right? 

436
00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:28,400
And what I shared on on that 
evening, on that Saturday 

437
00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:30,760
evening with those Romanian 
brothers and sisters, I share 

438
00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:34,080
with you that although there are
scrimmages at home, are there 

439
00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:35,680
not? 
Although there are disagreements

440
00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:39,600
at home, although there is war 
sometimes at home, there is 

441
00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:44,120
something that takes place in 
your heart when something 

442
00:27:44,120 --> 00:27:46,000
happens to a loved one. 
Is it not true? 

443
00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:51,280
I can speak as an older brother 
that I have throughout my 

444
00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:53,480
history with my brothers and 
even my sister. 

445
00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:58,040
Spoken to them, maybe corrected 
them, tried to rebuke them, 

446
00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:01,400
instruct them, maybe in my 
flesh, especially when I wasn't 

447
00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:05,760
saved, maybe a little bit more 
unnecessary approaches. 

448
00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:09,440
And as a brother, you feel 
justified in that to some 

449
00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:12,080
regard, right? 
But as a brother, you know this.

450
00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:15,160
If you're older, if somebody 
outside of your home is somebody

451
00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,600
on the school play field or 
somebody at work where you both 

452
00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:23,600
work, speaks to your sibling in 
a way that only you should speak

453
00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:25,960
to your sibling, what happens to
your blood? 

454
00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:29,720
Oh, there's a protective rush 
that comes through. 

455
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:31,400
You have no right to speak to my
brother. 

456
00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:32,720
Only I can speak to him like 
that. 

457
00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:34,960
Right. 
What is that? 

458
00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:41,680
That's Philadelphia affection. 
Or when you hear some some bad 

459
00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:45,600
news, some tragedy that happens 
to your sibling, to your parent,

460
00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:48,320
to your sister, something comes 
over you. 

461
00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:54,800
There's this natural inherited 
set of feelings that is a gift 

462
00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:57,200
from God. 
But in Paul's language here in 

463
00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:00,280
Romans 12/10, he wants you to 
understand that those natural 

464
00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:03,600
affections for your family are 
translated spiritually with your

465
00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:06,400
family in Christ. 
In other words, what you 

466
00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:09,720
experience with your natural 
household, you should have a 

467
00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:14,680
mirroring set of convictions and
longings and passions for those 

468
00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:19,680
who share the same spirit. 
So love with brotherly 

469
00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:21,040
affection. 
You know what that tells me? 

470
00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:24,400
Love toward my Christian 
brethren is more than just duty.

471
00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:29,560
All right, I got to love them. 
I got to love them. 

472
00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:32,240
And all these different 
personalities and all these 

473
00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:35,600
different backgrounds. 
And you're calling me to love? 

474
00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:37,080
OK, I'll love them. 
Love what? 

475
00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:38,000
OK, agape. 
Love. 

476
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:41,640
Serve them as sacrificial love. 
There's a higher call to love. 

477
00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:46,040
Love with feeling. 
How is that OK? 

478
00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:49,280
You think your challenge there, 
This is, this is a verse that I 

479
00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:52,640
remember reading it at one 
point, and it shot out like an 

480
00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:57,920
arrow and pierced my heart and 
it caused me to bleed for quite 

481
00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:01,400
a long time. 
So he tells us in Romans 1210. 

482
00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:02,960
Love one another with brotherly 
affection. 

483
00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:05,560
That's a high call. 
Thank God for the Holy Spirit's 

484
00:30:05,560 --> 00:30:09,320
help, but look what the Saint 
Paul says to the Philippian 

485
00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:13,360
Church and Philippians. 
One verse 8. 

486
00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:19,960
Brace yourselves, Philippians 
18. 

487
00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:26,280
Look at this, for God is my 
witness. 

488
00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:28,240
He calls God to bear witness on 
this. 

489
00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:34,640
God is my witness. 
How I yearn for you all with the

490
00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:39,440
affection of Philadelphia love. 
Look at the quality of affection

491
00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:43,200
here. 
The affection of Christ Jesus. 

492
00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:49,800
Agape love, sacrificial love. 
Yes, it's the highest form of 

493
00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:53,480
love, but I argue there's a 
higher thing that we should 

494
00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:55,760
achieve, and that's, yes, agape 
love being the foundation, but 

495
00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:58,880
love one another with brotherly 
affection and we have even a 

496
00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:01,160
higher call. 
Paul exemplifies us. 

497
00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:06,320
I love you with the affection of
Christ Jesus. 

498
00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:11,000
How strong is the love of 
Christ? 

499
00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:14,480
And here's Paul is bearing 
witness and calling God, 

500
00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:17,720
invoking the name of God to the 
validity of this testimony in 

501
00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:19,280
the introduction of his letter 
to the Philippians. 

502
00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:25,480
I love you with the affections 
that Jesus has, for you can't 

503
00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:28,440
call this man a liar. 
He means it. 

504
00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:32,080
Now you can read that and be 
like, oh, that's why he's the 

505
00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:36,200
apostle Paul and I'm not. 
But you read later on in 

506
00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:38,120
Philippians where he says what 
you've seen in me, what you've 

507
00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:39,920
heard in me, what you've seen 
exemplified in me. 

508
00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:45,320
Imitate it. 
Imitated, I'm called to the high

509
00:31:45,320 --> 00:31:49,400
call of love with the affections
of Jesus Christ. 

510
00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:52,720
Let's be honest now, don't 
answer, just answer in your 

511
00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:56,440
heart before the Lord. 
Do I have the qualities of the 

512
00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:58,640
affections of Christ for my 
brethren? 

513
00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:02,760
It's very difficult to go to war
when you have that pumping 

514
00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:06,840
through your veins. 
So I don't present that to you 

515
00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:09,280
to just see this clever 
connection in the Bible. 

516
00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:11,320
I want you to see it so you can 
feel it. 

517
00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:17,200
That is what I am to pursue. 
And if everybody's convinced 

518
00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:19,640
that in a local church, I 
guarantee you you have heaven on

519
00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:23,920
earth, you have heaven, at least
a fragment of heaven on earth. 

520
00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:27,960
Every single time we gather, 
Every time a member is added 

521
00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:31,960
loving and yearning for one 
another with the affection of 

522
00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:36,120
Christ Jesus. 
What would churches look like if

523
00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:40,600
that was in the atmosphere? 
I can tell you one thing for 

524
00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:42,560
certain. 
There would be no wars, or very 

525
00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:45,680
few of them, at least 
unnecessary wars. 

526
00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:50,960
Rehabalm has proven to be more 
foolish than we imagined, and 

527
00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:55,240
thankfully his mention in this 
chapter ends on a relatively 

528
00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:57,920
good note. 
Israel also foolish. 

529
00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:04,120
And we still have Jeroboam. 
Let's read verse 25 then. 

530
00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:09,200
Jeroboam built Shechem in the 
Hill Country of Ephraim and 

531
00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:12,840
lived there, and he went out 
from there and built Penuel. 

532
00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:16,160
So what's happening here? 
Well, Jeroboam is now the new 

533
00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:18,560
crown king of the northern 
tribes, and he wants to secure 

534
00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:20,680
two things. 
The first first thing that 

535
00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:23,160
Jeroboam wants to do is secure 
headquarters, a commanding 

536
00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:25,680
center. 
And he does so here in Shechem 

537
00:33:26,560 --> 00:33:31,280
and also here in Penuel, his 
palace, his primary abiding 

538
00:33:31,280 --> 00:33:33,280
place. 
And here's the second thing that

539
00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:38,360
Jeroboam wants to protect, and 
that is the loyalty of the 

540
00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:41,920
people. 
And we see how he's going to do 

541
00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:46,120
this in verse 26. 
And Jeroboam said in his heart, 

542
00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:49,720
Now the Kingdom will turn back 
to the House of David. 

543
00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:53,600
If this people go up to offer 
sacrifices in the temple of the 

544
00:33:53,600 --> 00:33:56,520
Lord at Jerusalem, then the 
heart of this people will turn 

545
00:33:56,520 --> 00:34:00,040
again to their Lord, to 
Rehoboam, king of Judah, and 

546
00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:03,520
they will kill me and return to 
Rehoboam, king of Judah. 

547
00:34:04,880 --> 00:34:09,880
So Jeroboam understood that the 
capital city of worship was 

548
00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:14,040
where Jerusalem. 
And he also understood that how 

549
00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:17,800
many times out of the year were 
the Jews supposed to travel to 

550
00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:20,920
Jerusalem to honor the feasts? 
Not all the feasts. 

551
00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:22,840
There were seven of them. 
But how many out of the seven 

552
00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:24,440
were they to travel to 
Jerusalem? 

553
00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:29,480
3 three times in the year they 
were to make way to the House of

554
00:34:29,480 --> 00:34:33,360
God to worship God. 
This is concerning to Jeroboam 

555
00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:37,280
because in his mind he's 
thinking, well, if you have the 

556
00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:39,920
people now travelling there and 
there in the territory of 

557
00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:42,760
Roboam, then perhaps they're 
more susceptible and vulnerable 

558
00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:47,320
to be influenced by Roboam. 
And so I need to do something to

559
00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:52,159
minimize that possibility. 
And I also believe that Jeroboam

560
00:34:52,159 --> 00:34:56,800
here is suffering from great 
fear, not just because of the 

561
00:34:56,800 --> 00:35:01,440
obvious, but also because the 
the, the fickleness and the 

562
00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:05,520
vacillating loyalty of the 
people that played in his favor.

563
00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:07,520
By saying we're divorcing from 
David, we're going with 

564
00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:10,400
Jeroboam. 
I'm sure he knew that that could

565
00:35:10,400 --> 00:35:12,720
quickly, just as easily turn on 
him. 

566
00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:19,240
And so he wants to again, try to
strategize and think of a way to

567
00:35:19,240 --> 00:35:21,520
eliminate as much of that as 
possible. 

568
00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:23,400
And so he comes up with this 
scheme. 

569
00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:28,040
And the scheme here is quite 
conniving. 

570
00:35:28,840 --> 00:35:33,720
It's so destructive to the 
spiritual state of the nation. 

571
00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:37,320
But he could care less. 
There's so many things to say 

572
00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:39,480
about what Jeroboam is 
meditating on. 

573
00:35:39,720 --> 00:35:41,880
But let me make this one 
comment, and let me ask you this

574
00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:45,600
question. 
What is the root of this 

575
00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:47,680
foolishness that's brewing in 
his heart? 

576
00:35:48,480 --> 00:35:52,800
What is the root of the 
irrational anxiety? 

577
00:35:53,240 --> 00:35:55,000
Notice what he's saying? 
They're going to kill me. 

578
00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:57,880
They'll go back to Robo and 
they'll turn back on me. 

579
00:35:58,720 --> 00:36:02,920
That is an extreme view, but 
what's the reason for it? 

580
00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:05,280
There's something down deep 
inside, something that you and I

581
00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:06,880
have heard of. 
Something you and I are warned 

582
00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:14,160
about constantly. 
Any idea this belief is the 

583
00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:17,200
right answer? 
Do you remember what I hate? 

584
00:36:17,240 --> 00:36:19,480
I told him in First Kings 11. 
Let me remind you, go to your 

585
00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:22,240
Bibles and turn to verse 38 at 
First Kings 11. 

586
00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:29,720
Here's what the Prophet here's 
what the Prophet told the same 

587
00:36:29,720 --> 00:36:32,200
person. 
And if you will listen to all 

588
00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:35,880
that I command you and will walk
in my ways and do what is right 

589
00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:40,200
in my eyes by keeping my 
statutes and My commandments, as

590
00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:45,760
David my servant did, I will be 
with you and will build you a 

591
00:36:45,800 --> 00:36:50,640
sure house as I built for David 
and I will give Israel to you. 

592
00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:56,440
That's a promise from God, And 
for him to think in this way 

593
00:36:56,440 --> 00:36:58,280
shows that he didn't believe 
God. 

594
00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:03,120
Listen. 
Your heart and mind will never 

595
00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:06,960
be short in coming up with 
sinful alternatives to pacify 

596
00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:14,160
our fears and our worries. 
The only way that you and I can 

597
00:37:14,160 --> 00:37:22,840
defeat deceitful thoughts from 
sucking the life out of our walk

598
00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:29,560
with God is by taking every 
object of your worry to arrest 

599
00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:36,560
it and then to release it into 
the ocean of God's Word and to 

600
00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:39,400
let it drown in it. 
And I can tell you, as you are 

601
00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:44,040
fully aware, that those creeping
things will try to crawl back on

602
00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:47,480
the shore of your faith. 
But it is your duty and mind to 

603
00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:52,640
identify it and to restart the 
process if need be, apprehend it

604
00:37:53,160 --> 00:38:01,440
and launch it back into God's 
Word, and to submerge it, and to

605
00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:05,360
let it drown under it until it 
dies. 

606
00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:09,840
It has no more life or strength 
to even visit your heart again 

607
00:38:13,080 --> 00:38:15,240
if you fail to be so familiar 
with the truth, and more than 

608
00:38:15,240 --> 00:38:18,160
just familiar, but to believe 
this truth, your heart will 

609
00:38:18,160 --> 00:38:21,360
never be short in stock of 
coming up with crazy ideas to 

610
00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:24,680
try to help you navigate through
life or to respond to certain 

611
00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:28,000
situations. 
Unfortunately, this man had no 

612
00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:29,920
grasp of the truth. 
He was told the truth, but he 

613
00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:32,320
didn't cling to the truth. 
He didn't rehearse the promises 

614
00:38:32,320 --> 00:38:34,400
of God, and what was he left 
with? 

615
00:38:34,720 --> 00:38:37,240
The scariest thing you can be 
left with in this life, your 

616
00:38:37,240 --> 00:38:42,640
heart, your heart governing your
own life is a nightmare. 

617
00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:45,640
Who has betrayed you more than 
you? 

618
00:38:47,480 --> 00:38:48,680
Who has lied to you more than 
you? 

619
00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:52,160
Who has convinced you of things 
only for you to look back and 

620
00:38:52,160 --> 00:38:55,440
think an embarrassment? 
How did I get to that point? 

621
00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:59,280
How did I think like that? 
And so God in his mercy and 

622
00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:04,240
goodness, gives us something to 
chain our hearts and for 

623
00:39:04,240 --> 00:39:07,080
something else to instead be the
heartbeat behind all that we 

624
00:39:07,080 --> 00:39:11,840
say, think, or do His word. 
This man abandoned all of that. 

625
00:39:13,240 --> 00:39:16,360
And So what is he going to do? 
You know, it reminds me of what 

626
00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:18,720
we read in First Samuel 27. 
Do you remember the story of 

627
00:39:18,720 --> 00:39:20,680
David when he thought he would 
be better off going to the 

628
00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:24,400
Philistines? 
In verse one, it says, And David

629
00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:28,480
said in his heart. 
Now Saul will kill me, and 

630
00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:31,040
there's nothing better for me to
do but to go to the land of the 

631
00:39:31,040 --> 00:39:33,360
Philistines. 
You know what David's problem 

632
00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:35,800
was? 
What began in his heart as a 

633
00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:39,360
lie, as a temptation, stayed in 
his heart. 

634
00:39:40,840 --> 00:39:43,560
He never brought it and spilled 
it out before the Lord. 

635
00:39:43,640 --> 00:39:46,360
He never sought counsel from 
people to bring light to it. 

636
00:39:46,480 --> 00:39:50,760
He kept it in the chambers of 
his own thinking, and it led him

637
00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:54,080
into disaster. 
It led him into backsliding, and

638
00:39:54,080 --> 00:39:57,400
here we see kind of a similar 
statement, Jeroboam said in his 

639
00:39:57,400 --> 00:39:59,400
heart. 
And now he's seeing all these 

640
00:39:59,400 --> 00:40:02,560
crazy ideas, and we're hoping 
you're not going to stay there, 

641
00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:04,200
right, Jeroboam? 
You're going to do something 

642
00:40:04,200 --> 00:40:06,840
about this, bring it to the 
light, expose it with truth. 

643
00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:10,120
And the first few verses of 
verse 28 bring some kind of hope

644
00:40:10,120 --> 00:40:13,040
to us. 
So the king took counsel. 

645
00:40:13,040 --> 00:40:17,320
Yes, you got it, man, And made 
two calves of gold. 

646
00:40:17,320 --> 00:40:21,920
Hold on for a second. 
What kind of counsel did you 

647
00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:26,000
get? 
He took counsel, something David

648
00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,840
didn't do. 
But which counselors did you go 

649
00:40:28,840 --> 00:40:30,120
to? 
Do you remember one of the 

650
00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:32,240
things that wisdom teaches you 
from last week? 

651
00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:36,000
Wisdom teaches you to seek, not 
just counsel, specific counsel. 

652
00:40:36,720 --> 00:40:39,160
Wisdom is not just being 
counseled and being open to 

653
00:40:39,160 --> 00:40:40,920
instruction. 
It's about getting it from the 

654
00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:44,760
right source. 
Many people make foolish 

655
00:40:44,760 --> 00:40:47,640
decisions because of counsel. 
Isn't it amazing here that 

656
00:40:47,640 --> 00:40:49,920
Jeroboam mirrors the mistake of 
Rehoboam? 

657
00:40:50,360 --> 00:40:53,160
Rehoboam took counsel from his 
fellow companions, those who 

658
00:40:53,160 --> 00:40:55,680
grew up with him and stood 
before him, and it led him to 

659
00:40:55,680 --> 00:40:57,160
this mistake. 
And now here's Jeroboam 

660
00:40:57,160 --> 00:41:01,560
repeating that he took counsel 
from who knows who, and now it's

661
00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:05,520
going to lead him to making a 
tragic mistake for generations 

662
00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:08,320
again to come. 
Why is the Bible repeating this?

663
00:41:08,440 --> 00:41:10,240
To get it through our thick 
heads, that's why. 

664
00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:12,800
Be careful who you surround 
yourself with. 

665
00:41:13,840 --> 00:41:16,160
Be careful which voices speak 
into your life. 

666
00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:20,000
Be careful what your source of 
motivation in his life and how 

667
00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:23,400
to frame your view of the world.
Especially in this day where so 

668
00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:28,080
many people are willing to speak
freely with podcasts and ideas 

669
00:41:28,080 --> 00:41:31,880
and books and blogs, more voices
and more accessibility to voices

670
00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:34,960
than any point in history. 
So we, you and I, need to be 

671
00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:38,160
extra guarded. 
Extra guarded with the truth. 

672
00:41:38,160 --> 00:41:42,240
This man took counsel good. 
No, not good, and made two 

673
00:41:42,240 --> 00:41:47,240
calves of gold. 
What kind of counsel is this? 

674
00:41:49,240 --> 00:41:52,200
When we read on and we see what 
he's going to do with these two 

675
00:41:52,200 --> 00:41:55,640
calves of gold, And he said to 
the people, you have gone up to 

676
00:41:55,640 --> 00:41:59,080
Jerusalem long enough. 
Behold your gods, O Israel, who 

677
00:41:59,080 --> 00:42:01,040
brought you out of the land of 
Egypt. 

678
00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:06,680
Does this sound familiar to you?
Tell me where it's from. 

679
00:42:08,560 --> 00:42:14,640
This is from Exodus 32. 
This is how diabolical this 

680
00:42:14,640 --> 00:42:17,520
council is. 
Whoever gave it to him was very 

681
00:42:17,920 --> 00:42:20,920
strategic, satanically 
strategic. 

682
00:42:22,760 --> 00:42:27,640
So I don't know how it happened,
but perhaps Jeroboam heard it 

683
00:42:27,640 --> 00:42:30,200
this way. 
You remember the people of 

684
00:42:30,200 --> 00:42:33,560
Israel when they first came out 
of Egypt and how all it took was

685
00:42:33,560 --> 00:42:38,200
a golden calf for them to cut 
away from their allegiance to 

686
00:42:38,200 --> 00:42:42,320
Moses and Yahweh Jeroboam. 
If it worked then surely it can 

687
00:42:42,320 --> 00:42:45,840
work now. 
And here's how wicked Jeroboam 

688
00:42:45,840 --> 00:42:47,720
is. 
Does he build 1 Golden calf? 

689
00:42:48,720 --> 00:42:52,000
He builds 2. 
He builds 2. 

690
00:42:53,360 --> 00:42:55,200
So he's telling himself and he's
telling others. 

691
00:42:55,200 --> 00:42:59,520
I'm going to make sure that this
works, and it almost seems 

692
00:42:59,520 --> 00:43:03,240
unimaginable, but remember, 
Jeroboam here is not operating 

693
00:43:03,240 --> 00:43:07,160
under honoring God, is he? 
You know, he wants to secure and

694
00:43:07,160 --> 00:43:09,920
maintain his throne, his 
governance, his rule. 

695
00:43:10,320 --> 00:43:14,600
And when you put anything, 
listen so closely to this. 

696
00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:22,000
When a man puts anything above 
God, anything, then he or she is

697
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:26,520
willing to use God as a means to
achieve that thing that they 

698
00:43:26,520 --> 00:43:31,280
love more than God. 
You and I have seen it. 

699
00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:34,400
We've seen it with our own eyes.
We see it on online. 

700
00:43:34,400 --> 00:43:36,960
We see people using the name of 
God, using the truth of God. 

701
00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:41,120
No problem declaring things 
about their faith in God when 

702
00:43:41,120 --> 00:43:42,760
everything about their life 
contradicts it. 

703
00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:46,040
How is a person able to do such 
a thing? 

704
00:43:47,160 --> 00:43:50,360
It's very easy. 
When you have idolatry in your 

705
00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:53,400
life. 
You're willing to use God to 

706
00:43:53,400 --> 00:43:57,320
serve your idol, manipulate 
God's word to serve your idol, 

707
00:43:58,240 --> 00:44:00,880
to trick people about the truth,
and with the truth of God to 

708
00:44:00,880 --> 00:44:03,960
serve your idol. 
And this is the horrific thing 

709
00:44:03,960 --> 00:44:07,560
about Jeroboam's actions here. 
But notice what he does in 

710
00:44:07,560 --> 00:44:10,160
telling the people what he said.
And he said to the people, you 

711
00:44:10,160 --> 00:44:12,800
have gone up to Jerusalem long 
enough, Who here has a New King 

712
00:44:12,800 --> 00:44:15,920
James or King James or a new 
American standard? 

713
00:44:16,560 --> 00:44:18,480
Can you read how it reads in New
King James? 

714
00:44:18,480 --> 00:44:22,080
Because all these other word for
word translations spell out 

715
00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:24,240
Jeroboam's words slightly 
differently. 

716
00:44:24,240 --> 00:44:26,320
And I think it really captures 
what's happening here. 

717
00:44:28,120 --> 00:44:42,450
Yes, stop. 
It is too much for you to go up 

718
00:44:42,450 --> 00:44:46,330
to Jerusalem. 
What is Jeroboam doing here? 

719
00:44:46,570 --> 00:44:51,730
He is enticing the people and 
preparing them to compromise in 

720
00:44:51,730 --> 00:44:57,890
this way by appealing to what 
you and I understand. 

721
00:44:57,890 --> 00:45:04,680
And that is convenience. 
There's an allurement here. 

722
00:45:04,680 --> 00:45:08,040
There's an attraction here to 
worship these gods. 

723
00:45:08,240 --> 00:45:12,800
And the gateway for these people
to remove any hesitation or to 

724
00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:17,480
let down their arms of defence 
is convenience. 

725
00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:21,000
It's too much for you to go up 
to Jerusalem. 

726
00:45:22,640 --> 00:45:24,000
You don't want to travel all the
way down there. 

727
00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:26,040
You don't have to book time off.
You don't want to have to bring 

728
00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:27,320
your family. 
You don't have to bring the 

729
00:45:27,880 --> 00:45:30,480
it's. 
I'm about to give you an easier 

730
00:45:30,480 --> 00:45:38,400
way to worship. 
Compromise loves to feed off of 

731
00:45:39,560 --> 00:45:43,200
convenience. 
It's not the only reason for 

732
00:45:43,200 --> 00:45:47,400
compromise. 
But convenience is a seduction, 

733
00:45:48,200 --> 00:45:52,320
and much compromise is justified
by what convenience can offer. 

734
00:45:52,360 --> 00:45:54,440
I mean, it's true for this 
moment. 

735
00:45:54,440 --> 00:45:58,960
It's true for people in the 
Church today doing what the Lord

736
00:45:58,960 --> 00:46:01,280
asked me to do in this area or 
not in that area. 

737
00:46:01,480 --> 00:46:07,160
It's not convenient. 
It's not convenient to my 

738
00:46:07,160 --> 00:46:11,800
schedule. 
It's not convenient to my social

739
00:46:11,800 --> 00:46:15,160
life. 
I know what God is asking of me.

740
00:46:15,280 --> 00:46:17,800
Like basic things of the 
Christian walk. 

741
00:46:18,120 --> 00:46:21,440
But it's not convenient to my 
career path. 

742
00:46:21,440 --> 00:46:24,080
It's not convenient. 
It's not convenient. 

743
00:46:25,760 --> 00:46:31,480
A consecrated life crucifies the
nagging of convenience. 

744
00:46:32,360 --> 00:46:36,480
Convenience with many other 
things are nailed to the cross. 

745
00:46:36,480 --> 00:46:41,280
When Christ becomes your 
treasure, the Christian who is 

746
00:46:41,280 --> 00:46:44,440
filled with the Spirit is no 
longer operated by convenience. 

747
00:46:45,040 --> 00:46:49,360
He is now under the operation of
the Lordship of Jesus Christ. 

748
00:46:51,520 --> 00:46:56,920
Convenience as a justification 
to disobey dies when a man or 

749
00:46:56,920 --> 00:47:02,240
woman carries his cross. 
And with all our advancements 

750
00:47:02,240 --> 00:47:05,640
today, convenience is a greater 
allurement to a diluted 

751
00:47:05,640 --> 00:47:09,440
Christianity more than at any 
time in church history. 

752
00:47:11,440 --> 00:47:13,680
So this is this is how Jeroboam 
is tempting the people. 

753
00:47:13,920 --> 00:47:17,520
It's easier. 
It's more convenient. 

754
00:47:19,400 --> 00:47:21,680
Oh yeah, we have to think 
rightly about how we go about 

755
00:47:21,680 --> 00:47:24,400
life. 
We can't be foolishly radical 

756
00:47:24,400 --> 00:47:25,760
even in our pursuit of 
spirituality. 

757
00:47:25,760 --> 00:47:27,760
But I'm not talking about that. 
I'm talking about what God 

758
00:47:27,760 --> 00:47:30,400
plainly asked of us and for us 
to look at it. 

759
00:47:30,560 --> 00:47:32,840
And then to look at our own 
lives, look at our comfort, look

760
00:47:32,840 --> 00:47:38,000
at our goals, look at our man 
made convictions and say this 

761
00:47:38,000 --> 00:47:41,800
isn't really convenient to 
support these other things that 

762
00:47:41,800 --> 00:47:46,000
I prize more dangerous way to be
a Christian. 

763
00:47:48,200 --> 00:47:50,600
So what do we see here? 
Verse 29. 

764
00:47:51,120 --> 00:47:55,320
And he set one in Bethel and the
other he put in Dan. 

765
00:47:57,480 --> 00:48:01,960
Then this thing became a sin for
the people went as far as Dan to

766
00:48:01,960 --> 00:48:06,000
be before 1. 
So here's the Holy Spirit's 

767
00:48:06,000 --> 00:48:07,880
commentary and something that's 
obvious to us, right? 

768
00:48:07,880 --> 00:48:09,800
God doesn't approve of what 
Jeroboam did. 

769
00:48:10,400 --> 00:48:13,080
And why this is mentioned here 
is because though there is this 

770
00:48:13,080 --> 00:48:16,480
division that took place, 
Jeroboam had no right, no 

771
00:48:16,480 --> 00:48:20,280
liberty by disconnecting from 
the line of David to also 

772
00:48:20,280 --> 00:48:23,560
disconnect from the covenantal 
requirements that he was bound 

773
00:48:23,560 --> 00:48:27,160
by as an Israelite connected to 
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

774
00:48:29,400 --> 00:48:32,080
And so God plainly says this 
thing became a sin. 

775
00:48:32,080 --> 00:48:36,200
This is not right. 
And notice this additionally, 

776
00:48:36,320 --> 00:48:41,520
for the people went as far as 
Dan to be before one of these 

777
00:48:41,520 --> 00:48:47,120
golden calves. 
And what's mentioned here is 

778
00:48:47,120 --> 00:48:53,040
that these people, though 
initially invited into this 

779
00:48:53,040 --> 00:48:56,000
through convenience, we're 
actually willing to make great 

780
00:48:56,000 --> 00:48:58,280
sacrifices to worship one of 
these false gods. 

781
00:48:59,000 --> 00:49:02,480
Do you see that language here? 
Some of these guys went as far 

782
00:49:02,480 --> 00:49:04,600
as Dan. 
Evidently, Dan wasn't as close 

783
00:49:05,720 --> 00:49:08,440
to some of these neighboring 
tribes, but they were still 

784
00:49:08,440 --> 00:49:11,960
willing to go that way. 
What an accurate example, an 

785
00:49:11,960 --> 00:49:15,840
illustration of how idolatry 
works. 

786
00:49:17,400 --> 00:49:21,000
Willing to give more sacrifice, 
more love, more. 

787
00:49:21,000 --> 00:49:26,000
Set your affections on 
something, more on anything than

788
00:49:26,000 --> 00:49:27,680
what God deserves. 
That's what it is. 

789
00:49:27,880 --> 00:49:32,120
They're willing to go that far 
to worship a false God, but they

790
00:49:32,120 --> 00:49:34,080
weren't willing to go to 
Jerusalem to worship the true 

791
00:49:34,080 --> 00:49:35,200
God. 
That's what we're what we're 

792
00:49:35,200 --> 00:49:43,680
being told here are the people 
today who have their investments

793
00:49:43,680 --> 00:49:46,000
and who have their longings and 
other things more than the Lord 

794
00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:47,120
Jesus. 
You know the answer to that. 

795
00:49:47,160 --> 00:49:49,320
I don't have to stay on that 
point too long, do I? 

796
00:49:50,600 --> 00:49:54,920
And it's as old as the story 
going as far as then. 

797
00:49:55,720 --> 00:49:58,640
But when God and his goodness 
and his mercy and love set some 

798
00:49:58,880 --> 00:50:01,240
relational requirements with us,
I don't know. 

799
00:50:01,240 --> 00:50:05,560
It's not very convenient. 
But that I'll go as far as I 

800
00:50:05,560 --> 00:50:09,560
need to go. 
This is this is a real 

801
00:50:09,800 --> 00:50:13,560
confronting Bible study. 
Is it not good? 

802
00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:19,120
It's good for us. 
If you thought that this man's 

803
00:50:20,640 --> 00:50:25,760
calamity ends here, It doesn't. 
Verse 31. 

804
00:50:26,200 --> 00:50:29,160
He also made temples on high 
places and appointed priests 

805
00:50:29,160 --> 00:50:32,960
from among all the people who 
are not of the Levites. 

806
00:50:33,960 --> 00:50:37,800
So not only this is this man. 
Establish places of worship to 

807
00:50:37,800 --> 00:50:41,720
replace the House of God. 
He now comes up with his own 

808
00:50:41,720 --> 00:50:48,120
line of priests. 
God had consecrated one line, 

809
00:50:48,360 --> 00:50:51,320
Aaron's line to be set apart for
the ministerial work in the 

810
00:50:51,320 --> 00:50:54,160
temple. 
Jeroboam thought to himself, You

811
00:50:54,160 --> 00:50:56,440
know what, this is going to be a
problem. 

812
00:50:56,480 --> 00:51:00,040
So I'm going to make up my own 
roster of ministers, and he 

813
00:51:00,040 --> 00:51:06,360
creates this mixed inclusive 
group to be ministers under his 

814
00:51:06,640 --> 00:51:11,040
self-made religion. 
Why do you think Jeroboam came 

815
00:51:11,040 --> 00:51:12,440
up against the Levites in this 
way? 

816
00:51:14,640 --> 00:51:17,000
I have a hunch. 
Personally, I'm just curious to 

817
00:51:17,000 --> 00:51:22,680
know if you have insight on it. 
Let me ask you a question in 

818
00:51:22,680 --> 00:51:25,360
connection to the golden calf in
Exodus 32. 

819
00:51:25,360 --> 00:51:29,520
Moses comes down from the 
mountain and he sees this, this 

820
00:51:29,520 --> 00:51:34,200
gross idolatry, this orgy, this,
this festival of the flesh. 

821
00:51:34,800 --> 00:51:37,480
And he stands at the gate, and 
he makes one final call before 

822
00:51:37,480 --> 00:51:40,040
God's judgment comes. 
Whoever is on the Lord's side, 

823
00:51:40,040 --> 00:51:41,440
come to me. 
Who comes to him? 

824
00:51:42,200 --> 00:51:48,720
Levi and only Levi. 
Levi, awakened from what was 

825
00:51:48,720 --> 00:51:52,000
taking place, was sobered up by 
the confrontation of a man of 

826
00:51:52,000 --> 00:51:54,160
God and pledged their allegiance
to the Lord. 

827
00:51:54,320 --> 00:51:57,560
And more than just verbally 
affirming it, Moses puts a sword

828
00:51:57,560 --> 00:51:59,280
in each of their hands. 
And he says, Now run back and 

829
00:51:59,280 --> 00:52:02,440
forth and kill whoever you see 
on site for this idolatry of 

830
00:52:02,440 --> 00:52:04,680
worshipping this golden calf. 
And they did it without 

831
00:52:04,680 --> 00:52:09,400
blinking. 
I wonder if Jeroboam understood 

832
00:52:09,400 --> 00:52:11,680
the history of the Levites. 
And now that he has these golden

833
00:52:11,680 --> 00:52:15,160
calves on site, he's concerned 
that these Levites will be up to

834
00:52:15,160 --> 00:52:16,920
no good to his new found 
program. 

835
00:52:17,320 --> 00:52:19,480
So let's get rid of them, not 
even include them to begin with.

836
00:52:20,760 --> 00:52:22,600
And guess what? 
He was right. 

837
00:52:24,200 --> 00:52:26,440
Look at the parallel accounts in
our Bible study in Second 

838
00:52:26,440 --> 00:52:28,880
Chronicles. 
And look here at verse 11, 

839
00:52:29,440 --> 00:52:31,440
Chapter 11. 
Excuse me, verse 16. 

840
00:52:32,720 --> 00:52:38,920
We can begin in verse 14 rather 
Second Chronicles Chapter 11, 

841
00:52:39,160 --> 00:52:44,600
verse 14. 
This is in the same context of 

842
00:52:45,560 --> 00:52:49,000
what's taking place in the 
Kingdom of Israel, and the 

843
00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:53,240
Chronicler writes by the Spirit 
Second Chronicles, 1114. 

844
00:52:53,240 --> 00:52:57,320
For the Levites left their 
common lands and their holdings 

845
00:52:58,640 --> 00:53:02,800
and came to Judah and Jerusalem 
because Jeroboam and his sons 

846
00:53:03,120 --> 00:53:06,400
cast them out from serving as 
priests of the Lord. 

847
00:53:07,000 --> 00:53:10,280
And he appointed his own priest 
for the high places and for the 

848
00:53:10,280 --> 00:53:12,640
goat idols. 
So we don't just have calves, we

849
00:53:12,640 --> 00:53:16,040
have goat idols and for the 
calves that he had made. 

850
00:53:16,440 --> 00:53:20,240
Do you see this? 
Not everybody was pleased with 

851
00:53:20,240 --> 00:53:22,600
Jeroboam's decision, though they
appointed him as king. 

852
00:53:22,960 --> 00:53:27,080
Once he start flirting with 
idolatry and being very obvious 

853
00:53:27,080 --> 00:53:29,720
with it and flaunting it, there 
was a group that said we're not 

854
00:53:29,720 --> 00:53:31,520
going to take place of place in 
this. 

855
00:53:31,720 --> 00:53:34,400
The Levites. 
No part in this. 

856
00:53:34,920 --> 00:53:38,160
And here's a man who persuaded a
majority of the people through 

857
00:53:38,160 --> 00:53:40,440
convenience. 
And yet you have a people here 

858
00:53:40,440 --> 00:53:44,240
now who did not budget with this
request because they were 

859
00:53:44,240 --> 00:53:47,200
consecrated. 
Talk about a cost for being 

860
00:53:47,200 --> 00:53:50,040
consecrated. 
Talk about not being convenient 

861
00:53:50,040 --> 00:53:51,920
to them. 
Look what happens verse 14. 

862
00:53:51,920 --> 00:53:57,360
The Levites left their common 
lands and their holdings. 

863
00:53:57,600 --> 00:54:02,520
They moved. 
They left their familiarity. 

864
00:54:02,520 --> 00:54:03,920
They left their their 
livelihood. 

865
00:54:03,920 --> 00:54:05,760
They left their jobs. 
They left their ministry 

866
00:54:05,760 --> 00:54:09,400
positions. 
They weren't going to surrender 

867
00:54:09,640 --> 00:54:12,280
their allegiance to the Lord, no
matter how much it costs. 

868
00:54:12,280 --> 00:54:15,960
This is the opposite of 
worshipping through convenience.

869
00:54:17,000 --> 00:54:20,480
This is what consecration looks 
like, no matter what it costs 

870
00:54:20,480 --> 00:54:22,640
me. 
I want to be where God is 

871
00:54:22,640 --> 00:54:24,880
worshipped. 
I want to be where God is truly 

872
00:54:24,880 --> 00:54:26,320
served. 
I want to be where God 

873
00:54:26,320 --> 00:54:29,920
prescribed true worship. 
And if it means you and I 

874
00:54:29,920 --> 00:54:32,640
packing up and leaving. 
Honey, let's get going, because 

875
00:54:32,640 --> 00:54:35,880
we're going to honor God even if
it costs us our convenience. 

876
00:54:38,360 --> 00:54:41,920
Can I tell you something? 
This attitude, demonstrated by 

877
00:54:41,920 --> 00:54:49,200
the Levites, is absolutely vital
and necessary for God to use 

878
00:54:49,200 --> 00:54:55,480
you. 
When convenience dominates a 

879
00:54:55,480 --> 00:54:59,280
heart, it's very difficult for 
the Lord to find somebody to 

880
00:54:59,280 --> 00:55:02,360
recruit. 
But when you have people like 

881
00:55:02,360 --> 00:55:06,480
this who are willing to pay any 
price to honor God, the 

882
00:55:06,480 --> 00:55:09,520
possibilities of being used for 
the glory of God are endless. 

883
00:55:10,280 --> 00:55:13,320
Can I prove that to you? 
You remember this from our study

884
00:55:13,320 --> 00:55:15,000
in Deuteronomy. 
But let me remind you, in 

885
00:55:15,000 --> 00:55:19,600
Deuteronomy 33, verse 8, here is
a prophetic declaration that is 

886
00:55:19,600 --> 00:55:23,160
made over every single tribe. 
And in that verse you have the 

887
00:55:23,160 --> 00:55:27,840
tribe of Levi, and the tribe of 
Levi had the honor of being who 

888
00:55:27,840 --> 00:55:30,680
they were as Levites priests and
ministers and mediators. 

889
00:55:30,840 --> 00:55:32,920
Because of what? 
Let me remind you from 

890
00:55:32,920 --> 00:55:36,840
Deuteronomy 33, verse eight and 
nine, here's what the scripture 

891
00:55:36,840 --> 00:55:40,920
says. 
And of Levi, he said, Give to 

892
00:55:40,920 --> 00:55:45,520
Levi your Thummim and your Urim,
to your godly one, whom you 

893
00:55:45,520 --> 00:55:48,680
tested at Messiah, with whom you
quarreled at the waters of 

894
00:55:48,680 --> 00:55:51,360
Meribah. 
Who said of his father? 

895
00:55:51,360 --> 00:55:52,800
This is what Levi said of his 
father? 

896
00:55:53,000 --> 00:55:54,520
Who said of his father and 
mother? 

897
00:55:54,520 --> 00:55:57,600
I regard them not. 
Huh. 

898
00:55:59,360 --> 00:56:03,360
I regard them not. 
He disowned his brothers and 

899
00:56:03,360 --> 00:56:07,680
ignored his children, for they 
observed your word and kept your

900
00:56:07,680 --> 00:56:11,440
covenant. 
What is that consecration? 

901
00:56:12,120 --> 00:56:16,000
What is that? 
I uphold the word of God above 

902
00:56:16,000 --> 00:56:19,800
the opinions and above even the 
threats of those who are closest

903
00:56:19,800 --> 00:56:23,080
to me. 
If obeying God in love, yes in 

904
00:56:23,080 --> 00:56:25,800
humility, yes in gentle, not in 
legalism, not in self 

905
00:56:25,800 --> 00:56:29,000
righteousness, in genuine good 
heartedness. 

906
00:56:29,240 --> 00:56:33,800
If me obeying God in that regard
will cost me, even my brothers, 

907
00:56:34,200 --> 00:56:38,040
my sisters, even for my children
not to love me, then so be it. 

908
00:56:40,760 --> 00:56:42,920
What's their reward? 
For they observed your word and 

909
00:56:42,920 --> 00:56:47,240
kept your covenant in verse 10. 
They shall teach Jacob your 

910
00:56:47,240 --> 00:56:52,960
rules and Israel your law. 
They shall put incense before 

911
00:56:52,960 --> 00:56:55,560
you and hold burnt offerings on 
your altar. 

912
00:56:56,440 --> 00:57:00,920
Because you honor my word above 
everything and everyone, I'm 

913
00:57:00,920 --> 00:57:04,280
going to use you. 
I'm going to use you in the most

914
00:57:04,640 --> 00:57:08,440
intimate way possible, in 
closest proximity to my 

915
00:57:08,440 --> 00:57:10,440
presence. 
You will now forever be my 

916
00:57:10,440 --> 00:57:15,120
priests and the attitude that 
the Levites displayed early on 

917
00:57:15,120 --> 00:57:18,360
in their history is still alive 
and well in the days of 

918
00:57:18,360 --> 00:57:23,720
Jeroboam. 
If we have to go away, if we 

919
00:57:23,720 --> 00:57:26,040
have to move, if we have to go 
down to Judah, then so be it. 

920
00:57:26,040 --> 00:57:30,680
We will honor God. 
What a refreshing display of 

921
00:57:30,680 --> 00:57:32,680
obedience in a very dark 
chapter. 

922
00:57:34,160 --> 00:57:38,280
But notice this in verse 16 of 
Second Chronicles. 

923
00:57:38,280 --> 00:57:40,720
I hope you're still there. 
Something else happens. 

924
00:57:43,240 --> 00:57:45,720
There's an important lesson here
for leaders who are tempted to 

925
00:57:45,720 --> 00:57:48,560
compromise, to achieve or 
maintain something that their 

926
00:57:48,560 --> 00:57:52,120
flesh desires or equates with 
true success and fulfillment. 

927
00:57:52,520 --> 00:57:55,040
I want you to see what happens 
after Jeroboam established these

928
00:57:55,040 --> 00:57:59,040
calves and these high places and
his carnally appointed 

929
00:57:59,040 --> 00:58:01,360
ministers. 
Not only did the Levites leave, 

930
00:58:01,360 --> 00:58:04,680
what else happens In Second 
Chronicles 1116, You read it of 

931
00:58:04,680 --> 00:58:08,800
another group of people who 
leave and those who had set 

932
00:58:08,800 --> 00:58:12,840
their hearts to seek the Lord 
God of Israel came after them 

933
00:58:13,200 --> 00:58:16,520
from all the tribes of Israel to
Jerusalem to sacrifice to the 

934
00:58:16,520 --> 00:58:19,760
Lord the God of their fathers. 
So it wasn't just the Levites. 

935
00:58:19,960 --> 00:58:22,520
You had a remnant of people in 
the northern tribes of Israel 

936
00:58:22,760 --> 00:58:24,800
who had their hearts set on 
seeking God, who said we're 

937
00:58:24,800 --> 00:58:33,680
going with the Levites leaders, 
especially in spiritual context 

938
00:58:33,680 --> 00:58:38,840
and spheres, who attempted to 
compromise concerning God's 

939
00:58:38,840 --> 00:58:42,320
standard, God's protocol for 
worship, God's blueprint for the

940
00:58:42,320 --> 00:58:46,840
local church in every regard. 
I never, personally, I never 

941
00:58:46,840 --> 00:58:53,440
understood the temptation to 
bend what God had made so clear.

942
00:58:55,680 --> 00:58:57,400
I never understood that 
temptation. 

943
00:58:58,000 --> 00:59:01,000
Do you know why? 
Because no matter what you think

944
00:59:01,000 --> 00:59:05,240
you're going to win with 
compromise, you will always lose

945
00:59:05,240 --> 00:59:07,440
something of true value and 
substance. 

946
00:59:07,960 --> 00:59:10,520
Always. 
So what do you have here? 

947
00:59:10,520 --> 00:59:14,960
You have Jeroboam, who was able 
to win the northern tribes 

948
00:59:14,960 --> 00:59:20,040
allegiance to him by introducing
idolatry in the land. 

949
00:59:20,680 --> 00:59:24,360
And who did he lose as a result?
He lose the true priesthood. 

950
00:59:24,360 --> 00:59:27,480
He lost the true priesthood and 
the people who really wanted 

951
00:59:27,480 --> 00:59:29,800
God. 
You know, the same thing happens

952
00:59:29,800 --> 00:59:31,280
in ministries that compromise 
today. 

953
00:59:31,560 --> 00:59:34,000
OK, who do you win? 
Who do you win? 

954
00:59:34,000 --> 00:59:35,640
When you when you tiptoe around 
the truth. 

955
00:59:35,800 --> 00:59:38,120
Who do you win when you placate 
and give into what the culture 

956
00:59:38,120 --> 00:59:39,560
wants to hear? 
Who do you win? 

957
00:59:39,640 --> 00:59:42,000
Who do you bring in people who 
want the truth? 

958
00:59:42,640 --> 00:59:45,200
No. 
And what else happens? 

959
00:59:45,400 --> 00:59:47,240
You push away the people who 
want the truth. 

960
00:59:48,200 --> 00:59:51,760
You always lose. 
Never forget the example of 

961
00:59:51,760 --> 00:59:54,400
Jeroboam. 
OK, what did he gain? 

962
00:59:54,520 --> 00:59:57,360
But what did he lose? 
And it's no different today. 

963
00:59:57,360 --> 00:59:58,840
I don't. 
I I'm honest. 

964
00:59:58,840 --> 01:00:01,960
I don't get it. 
Because when you give people the

965
01:00:01,960 --> 01:00:03,920
truth. 
What's going to happen? 

966
01:00:04,400 --> 01:00:06,400
Well, one, you honor God. 
One, you please God. 

967
01:00:06,760 --> 01:00:10,680
But two, you win The people who 
want the truth, You you win the 

968
01:00:10,680 --> 01:00:12,720
people who want all of what God 
has to say. 

969
01:00:12,840 --> 01:00:14,480
Isn't that? 
Isn't that what you want? 

970
01:00:15,120 --> 01:00:18,160
Isn't that what you desire to 
make up this ministry in the 

971
01:00:18,160 --> 01:00:20,880
name of Jesus Christ? 
I I'm telling you, man, this is 

972
01:00:20,880 --> 01:00:22,840
confession time. 
Maybe I don't get it. 

973
01:00:23,400 --> 01:00:26,480
I don't understand. 
It just doesn't make sense to 

974
01:00:26,480 --> 01:00:30,520
me. 
The loss will be much greater 

975
01:00:30,520 --> 01:00:34,640
than whatever you win, and 
sometimes people don't see it 

976
01:00:34,880 --> 01:00:39,240
because they're so intoxicated 
by different idea of success, as

977
01:00:39,240 --> 01:00:42,360
Jeroboam was. 
So we come back to our text as 

978
01:00:42,360 --> 01:00:45,520
we close. 
If you thought the compromise 

979
01:00:45,520 --> 01:00:51,800
ended there, it didn't. 
The dagger only goes deeper into

980
01:00:51,800 --> 01:00:57,160
our hearts in verse 32, And 
Jeroboam appointed a feast on 

981
01:00:57,160 --> 01:01:02,000
the 15th day of the 8th month, 
like the feast that was in 

982
01:01:02,000 --> 01:01:04,960
Judah. 
And he offered sacrifices on the

983
01:01:04,960 --> 01:01:08,280
altar. 
So he did in Bethel, sacrificing

984
01:01:08,280 --> 01:01:11,880
to the calves that he made, and 
he placed in Bethel the priests 

985
01:01:11,880 --> 01:01:16,080
of the high places that he made.
He went up to the altar that he 

986
01:01:16,080 --> 01:01:21,040
had made in Bethel on the 15th 
day, in the eighth month, in the

987
01:01:21,040 --> 01:01:23,160
month that he had devised from 
his own heart. 

988
01:01:23,360 --> 01:01:26,160
And he instituted A feast for 
the people of Israel and went up

989
01:01:26,360 --> 01:01:29,520
to the altar to make offerings. 
There's a phrase that repeats. 

990
01:01:29,800 --> 01:01:37,000
What is it he made, he made, he 
made he made? 

991
01:01:39,000 --> 01:01:43,000
This is self-made religion. 
This is what it is. 

992
01:01:44,080 --> 01:01:46,240
But before we get into the 
ingredients of self-made 

993
01:01:46,240 --> 01:01:49,440
religion and our closing 
thought, what's the other 

994
01:01:49,440 --> 01:01:51,320
violation that Jeroboam 
performs? 

995
01:01:51,520 --> 01:01:55,080
He sets up a place of worship 
where it's not supposed to be 

996
01:01:55,080 --> 01:01:58,000
two places of worship. 
On top of that, he sets up high 

997
01:01:58,000 --> 01:02:01,680
places for localized expressions
of worship. 

998
01:02:02,960 --> 01:02:05,680
He raises up his own priesthood 
and then he does something else.

999
01:02:05,680 --> 01:02:09,080
Did you notice it? 
He comes up with his own feast. 

1000
01:02:10,600 --> 01:02:15,920
You don't do that. 
God had raised up a calendar 

1001
01:02:15,920 --> 01:02:19,160
already where several feasts, 7 
in particular feasts, would be 

1002
01:02:19,160 --> 01:02:22,600
honored. 
Those feasts point to the person

1003
01:02:22,600 --> 01:02:26,240
and work of Jesus Christ. 
Here's a man now who wants to 

1004
01:02:26,240 --> 01:02:28,560
compete with the feast, because 
what? 

1005
01:02:28,600 --> 01:02:30,440
What kind of reason are you 
going to get people to come to 

1006
01:02:30,440 --> 01:02:33,280
these places of worship? 
And so he sets up a feast on the

1007
01:02:33,280 --> 01:02:35,120
15th day. 
Of what month? 

1008
01:02:35,720 --> 01:02:42,280
Of the 8th month? 
What's the closest feast to 

1009
01:02:42,280 --> 01:02:43,360
that? 
According to the Hebrew 

1010
01:02:43,360 --> 01:02:47,320
scriptures? 
How many feasts were observed on

1011
01:02:47,320 --> 01:02:51,440
the 7th month? 
Out of the seven, there was 3. 

1012
01:02:52,560 --> 01:02:57,000
The last one is what, on the 
15th day of the 7th month? 

1013
01:02:57,360 --> 01:03:02,200
In the Hebrew calendar, it's the
Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast 

1014
01:03:02,200 --> 01:03:05,200
of Booths. 
It was a celebratory feast. 

1015
01:03:05,760 --> 01:03:07,880
It was the way to sign off on 
the year. 

1016
01:03:09,400 --> 01:03:12,400
And that was one of the feasts 
where the people of Israel would

1017
01:03:12,400 --> 01:03:15,280
have to make way toward 
Jerusalem to celebrate an honor.

1018
01:03:15,760 --> 01:03:18,760
And so, in order to compete 
against that, he sets up a feast

1019
01:03:18,760 --> 01:03:21,120
on the 15th day, not on the 7th 
month, but on the 8th month. 

1020
01:03:24,120 --> 01:03:27,280
He made, He had made, He had 
made. 

1021
01:03:27,720 --> 01:03:31,080
And look at this dangerous 
phrase here in the month that he

1022
01:03:31,080 --> 01:03:35,960
had devised from his own heart. 
This didn't come from God. 

1023
01:03:36,760 --> 01:03:38,960
This didn't come from his word 
doesn't come from a prophetic 

1024
01:03:38,960 --> 01:03:43,000
revelation. 
It came from the cesspool of a 

1025
01:03:43,000 --> 01:03:45,560
heart that is not surrendered to
the Lord. 

1026
01:03:47,520 --> 01:03:50,800
Let me tell you based on this 
the ingredients of self-made 

1027
01:03:50,800 --> 01:04:00,800
religion #1. 
Oftentimes it puts a great 

1028
01:04:00,800 --> 01:04:06,920
emphasis on convenience. 
How does this benefit me the 

1029
01:04:06,920 --> 01:04:09,400
most? 
Even at the cost of clear 

1030
01:04:09,400 --> 01:04:13,800
obedience? 
Convenience is the goal for 

1031
01:04:13,800 --> 01:04:18,560
self-made religion, but not just
that, a disregard for God's 

1032
01:04:18,560 --> 01:04:23,880
credentials, for ministers and 
for his standards of worship. 

1033
01:04:26,160 --> 01:04:27,800
You know worship is about God, 
right? 

1034
01:04:29,440 --> 01:04:34,200
What does God want to hear? 
What does God want us to do? 

1035
01:04:35,280 --> 01:04:37,320
What does God require? 
That's worship. 

1036
01:04:38,160 --> 01:04:43,360
The will surrender to the wishes
of God. self-made religion has 

1037
01:04:43,360 --> 01:04:47,440
no regard of God being the 
priority aim of our pleasure. 

1038
01:04:51,360 --> 01:04:53,640
Lastly, though there may be 
other things we can include, 

1039
01:04:54,000 --> 01:04:57,320
self-made religion includes the 
ingredient of a liberty to bend 

1040
01:04:57,320 --> 01:04:59,400
what God has made so clear in 
his word. 

1041
01:05:01,120 --> 01:05:05,280
I want to be worshipped on the 
15th day of the 7th month. 

1042
01:05:06,920 --> 01:05:10,120
We're going to worship on the 
15th day of the 8th month. 

1043
01:05:13,160 --> 01:05:17,960
It's so clear what God has 
revealed many cases and all 

1044
01:05:17,960 --> 01:05:21,160
we're called to do is to receive
it, understand it and give 

1045
01:05:21,160 --> 01:05:25,320
ourselves to it. self-made 
religion does not do that and 

1046
01:05:25,320 --> 01:05:29,920
we're going to see that God does
not tolerate self-made religion 

1047
01:05:31,240 --> 01:05:36,200
for too long. 
Let's pray, Lord, we do thank 

1048
01:05:36,200 --> 01:05:40,560
you from the bottom of our 
hearts with a difficult chapter 

1049
01:05:41,040 --> 01:05:44,160
to dissect. 
Yet we remember how we opened 

1050
01:05:44,160 --> 01:05:49,000
our time together, that when the
scoffer is punished, the simple 

1051
01:05:49,000 --> 01:05:52,800
become wise. 
So we believe that you have 

1052
01:05:52,800 --> 01:05:59,400
instilled in US a greater 
nourishment in the place of 

1053
01:05:59,400 --> 01:06:03,720
discretion, in the place of 
consecration, in the place of 

1054
01:06:03,720 --> 01:06:09,800
true worship. 
Thank you, Lord, that week after

1055
01:06:09,800 --> 01:06:11,400
week we've come here to know 
what you want. 

1056
01:06:12,520 --> 01:06:16,640
And Father, we confess that is 
our desire more than anything 

1057
01:06:16,640 --> 01:06:28,040
else. 
Lord, please fill us with your 

1058
01:06:28,040 --> 01:06:31,240
spirit. 
We want to love you more. 

1059
01:06:32,160 --> 01:06:33,760
We want to love one another 
more. 

1060
01:06:34,440 --> 01:06:35,880
We can't do it in our own 
strength. 

1061
01:06:37,960 --> 01:06:43,040
And what as we sang tonight, as 
people see a power working 

1062
01:06:43,040 --> 01:06:44,920
through us to obey your 
commandments, may they know that

1063
01:06:44,920 --> 01:06:46,840
that power does not come from 
us. 

1064
01:06:48,240 --> 01:06:52,800
So inspire this love, this love 
that Paul could say with 

1065
01:06:52,800 --> 01:06:56,560
confidence was real in him the 
affection of Christ Jesus for 

1066
01:06:56,560 --> 01:07:02,800
one another, inspiring us a 
ferocious zeal for true worship.

1067
01:07:04,320 --> 01:07:08,000
That, Lord, when convenience 
gnaws at us, and when the heart 

1068
01:07:08,000 --> 01:07:13,000
devises its own plans contrary 
to your will, that we would be 

1069
01:07:13,000 --> 01:07:17,240
quick to take every thought 
captive with the authority of 

1070
01:07:17,240 --> 01:07:21,800
Christ, but to declare even in 
that spiritual warfare in the 

1071
01:07:21,800 --> 01:07:25,720
heart and the mind trust that 
you are glorified in it, and 

1072
01:07:25,720 --> 01:07:35,440
that you are pleased by it. 
Lord, tonight we afresh declare 

1073
01:07:35,440 --> 01:07:40,160
that you are everything to us. 
And Lord, our desire to serve 

1074
01:07:40,160 --> 01:07:43,360
you and to live for you does not
come from a fear of being 

1075
01:07:43,360 --> 01:07:47,920
rejected by you or fear of being
punished by you. 

1076
01:07:49,240 --> 01:07:52,040
But, Lord, our obedience is 
built on grace. 

1077
01:07:52,880 --> 01:07:57,400
You have first loved us. 
You, the Creator of all things, 

1078
01:07:57,400 --> 01:08:01,400
extended your heart toward us 
and invite us to live in it. 

1079
01:08:02,720 --> 01:08:07,640
Lord, we pray that whatever we 
need to do, even if we are faced

1080
01:08:07,640 --> 01:08:11,680
with the pressures to 
compromise, what would stimulate

1081
01:08:11,680 --> 01:08:14,760
us to stand our ground, and like
these Levites, even to make the 

1082
01:08:14,760 --> 01:08:19,120
moves we need to make, but would
encourage us, Is I love my 

1083
01:08:19,120 --> 01:08:26,880
master more than these? 
And so, Lord, in this place, in 

1084
01:08:26,880 --> 01:08:30,359
our homes, in our marriages, in 
the, in the babies that are 

1085
01:08:30,359 --> 01:08:35,040
coming through the families of 
this house, may we reflect the 

1086
01:08:35,040 --> 01:08:41,279
attitude of those Levites who 
allow the word of God to be 

1087
01:08:41,279 --> 01:08:48,319
supreme and who live by that 
standard for generations. 

1088
01:08:49,439 --> 01:08:51,080
We pray that that would be true 
of us. 

1089
01:08:51,840 --> 01:08:53,560
We pray that would be true of 
this ministry. 

1090
01:08:54,399 --> 01:08:56,720
We pray that we would never be 
fooled by the lies of 

1091
01:08:56,720 --> 01:09:00,000
compromise. 
But we remember that we always 

1092
01:09:00,000 --> 01:09:05,279
win when we stand with you. 
And for you, Lord, we worship 

1093
01:09:05,279 --> 01:09:08,439
you tonight, in great honor of 
your name, in Jesus name we 

1094
01:09:08,439 --> 01:09:09,960
pray. 
Amen. 

1095
01:09:10,279 --> 01:09:12,120
Amen. 
Let's stand together.