My way = big losses

At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise, and disguise yourself, that it not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who said of me that I should be king over this people. Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall happen to the child.” . . . .  
Ahijah could not see. . . . The Lord said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you say to her.” When she came, she pretended to be another woman. But when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another? For I am charged with unbearable news for you. Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: “Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes, but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking me to anger, and have cast me behind your back, therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free in Israel, and will burn up the house of Jeroboam. . . . When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something pleasing to the Lord. . . . The Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today. And henceforth, the Lord will strike Israel. . . .   And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.” 
Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed and came to Tirzah. And as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. And all Israel buried him and mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet. (1 Kings 14:1–18)

I had an early appointment today with time to only read this sad story. Imagine being told your child would die because his father sinned even though he knew not to. Not only that, this was that man’s only heir so he also lost the throne that he had inherited from his father. 

That the child would be buried rather than slaughtered was “because in him there is found something pleasing to the Lord” is a startling statement to those who tend to think of death as a punishment, but that child must be trusting God, and that would please Him. His mother may have taken comfort in that later.

This backs up the importance of NT teaching for wives: “. . . .  let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (Ephesians 5:33) This isn’t just an attitude. Respect has a way of making someone desire to be respectable. It means an attitude of regard that would not encourage sin, or go along with it trying to trick a prophet. Being submissive to someone does not mean obedience that disobeys God. Being a helper includes encouragement to do right.

Jesus, You have convinced me that I am free to make choices but cannot choose the consequences. How foolish to go against Your plain teaching as this father did and lose his child, his throne and legacy, and having his enemy win over him. Worst of all, making You angry enough to release his enemy against him. Therefore I’d like to read more about the positive side of obeying You.

Praise God, not me…

And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day. For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day. One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, just as he promised you. Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you. (Joshua 23:3–13)

Before opening my Bible, I sing worship songs. Today, one of them was “Count Your Blessings” and this reading tells me how to lose them and how to retain them.

Losing them has been easy. Disobedience does it. So does being more aligned with the goals and ideals of this world than with God. Instead of clinging to Him, if I think those gods are more important, or even if I assume I can be ‘godly’ by my own efforts, the blessings slip away. Not that they are gone completely, but my ability to enjoy them or even count them alludes me. I’m thinking more about what I don’t have than what I do have.

Last night someone told me of presenting an unusual solution to a difficult problem. He was surprised that it was accepted and that it worked. I asked what would happen if no one wanted to try it. He said that he would have to come up with something else.

In my life, when no one listens to me, I pout, feel inadequate, quit, and feel sorry for myself. Clearly, it is possible to count blessings when they seem to be missing, but I’ve not learned that yet. Not that the solution is hidden — the psalmist knew it:

All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. (Psalm 73:13–17)

This one and other passages tell me to remember and dwell on what God says, not on what people do. It is easier when people do bad things to other people, but when I am treated as if I don’t know anything or no one listens (and I know I spoke truth) that is my challenge. 

Joshua’s words are a diagnosis. He warned about the idols of this world and one of them is recognition, being respected, appreciated, put on a pedestal. This is the rub — for one other song that I sang this morning was “Let Jesus Christ be praised” and this is the response that ought to come from my heart when I feel neglected or ignored.

Jesus, I tell others to praise the Lord and not boast about themselves as if I have this response to life myself. But that is a vain thought. Help me honor You all the time, even when others do not, even when I am dishonored. Who am I to be listened to anyway? It is You who deserve all glory and praise. For shame that I want it for myself.