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He Prepared Not His Heart

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He Prepared Not His Heart

6 minuten leestijd Arcering uitzetten

“And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord” (2 Chronicles 12:14).

Rehoboam is a curious figure among Judah’s kings. Many things can be said against him, but there are also things which plead in his favor. Let us trace them together.

His beginning was bad, very bad. At a national assembly at Shechem where, after the death of his father Solomon, discontent was brewing, fired up by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the young and inexperienced Rehoboam spoiled everything with his tactlessness. “My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.” Verily, it is not a word which testifies of wisdom. Thus Rehoboam brought about the terrible split (should we not say: church split?) between the two tribes and the ten tribes. We have to add immediately, however, that in all this the rebel Jeroboam was guilty as well, and, above all, that in this sad event, the Lord’s displeasure over Solomon’s gross sins became manifest.

It also testifies against Rehoboam that he did not bring the shameful personal defeat at Shechem before God’s countenance, but that he wanted to avenge himself on the ten northerly tribes (his brothers!) by sending an army of a hundred and fourscore men against them. What man will not do when his self-esteem is hurt! Only the warning words of Shemaiah, the man of God, kept Rehoboam back from this foolish way.

Rehoboam’s personal life also testifies against him. God’s Word is so honest, so relevant. Passion was his bosom sin — “and he desired many wives.” He finally had seventy- eight wives and concubines, and how telling is the fact that, of all those, he loved most the satanical granddaughter of Absalom. Although we also read that the Bible saints sometimes had more than one wife, this aspect of Rehoboam’s life does not really testify of a life in the fear of God.

However, with all this, not everything has been said about Rehoboam. There are also things in Scripture which plead in his favor. After all, he did obey the prophet Shemaiah when he admonished him regarding his aggressive plans. Of King Asa, whom we do take to be a child of God, there is written that he rewarded such a pro-phetical admonition with a sentence of imprisonment! Moreover, we also read of Rehoboam that he humbled himself when Egypt’s king besieged Jerusalem and brought nation and people in great distress. Yes, at that occasion the words, “The Lord is righteous,” even crossed Rehoboam’s lips, which calls to mind Psalm 51. Thus Rehoboam did know a certain, albeit outward, bowing under the Lord. Let us be honest; with many of us such a word of humbling never crossed our lips when in distressful circumstances. Finally, Rehoboam was also a man who was willing to give something to the church. When Egypt’s king took away the golden shields of Solomon from the royal palace, Rehoboam took care to replace them as soon as possible with brazen ones.

Now what must we think of all this? What kind of man was Rehoboam? Oh, let us put it somewhat more pointedly. Do you not recognize Rehoboam? Art not thou that man? Is it I, Lord? To be sure, also in our lives there are black marks. Also in the book of our life there are pages which are so black that we can only think of them with shame. We also have our bosom sins — passion, love of money, alcohol, pride, etc. But we also are willing to give something to the church. We are not indiiferent to religion. Perhaps we can even speak of moments in our life in which confession of guilt and lamentations of sin crossed our lips, saying, “The Lord is righteous.”

But now, as a tremendous rock in the quiet pool of our contemplations, the word of this meditation falls, “He did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord”! Here we have God’s judgment about Rehoboam’s life. Even if in our balance, in which we weighed Rehoboam’s fickle life, the scale remained somewhat counterbalanced, in the holy scale of God’s pure justice the balance fell horribly to one side. He did evil!

Rehoboam is not a “doubtful case.” They do not exist before God. In the final analysis he missed that which counts for life and death for each person, namely, true regeneration. Whoever misses regeneration also misses faith, which is planted in the heart in the hour of regeneration. And whoever misses this faith cannot please God, because only true faith makes one a partaker of Christ and all His benefits. Therefore no matter how much good can be said of us and of Rehoboam in a natural sense, our whole life is sum-marized by the omniscient God in those few terrible words: he did evil!

“The Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Of that heart of Rehoboam is written that he prepared not, he aimed not, his heart to seek the Lord. The image which is used is that of an archer who lays the arrow on the string and gazes along the arrow to the mark which he wants to hit. A striking image! Does it not become the life’s goal of all God’s children from the moment of regeneration to seek the Lord? Are they not seeking God and His communion?

To that Rehoboam was a stranger. Never did he know the yearning which flows forth from the sorrow after God. A nice outward appearance was enough for him. Very telling in this connection are the brazen shields with which he armed his guards. Compared to Solomon’s golden shields, they were only a poor imitation, but it was good enough for Rehoboam. It was the glittering that counted.

This gripping description of Rehoboam which Scripture offers us should cause us to ask before the countenance of God, “Am I a Rehoboam, Lord? Is a beautiful appearance good enough for me, or was it ever Thee for whom I yearned? Turn me, and I shall be turned.”

When Were the Angels Created?

To this question, Matthew Poole gives the following answer:

“I conceive the third heaven to be included under the title of the heaven (Genesis 1:1), and to have been created and perfected the first day, together with its blessed inhabitants the holy angels, as may be collected from Job 33:6-7. But the Scripture being written for men, and not for angels, the Holy Ghost thought it sufficient to comprehend them and their dwelling-place under that general term of the heavens, and proceedeth to give a more particular account of the visible heavens and earth, which were created for the use of man.

“In the Hebrew it is, the heavens and the earth. For there are three heavens mentioned in Scripture: the aerial — the place of birds, clouds, and meteors (Matthew 26:64, Revelation 19:17, Revelation 20:9); the starry— the region of the sun, the moon, and stars (Genesis 22:17); and the highest or third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2) — the dwelling of the blessed angels.”

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Bekijk de hele uitgave van zondag 1 januari 1995

The Banner of Truth | 28 Pagina's

He Prepared Not His Heart

Bekijk de hele uitgave van zondag 1 januari 1995

The Banner of Truth | 28 Pagina's