There is a lot happening in these next two chapters, 1 Kings 12-13. The kingdom is divided.
Rehoboam rejects wise counsel and loses ten tribes. And Jeroboam becomes king over Israel but he allows fear to shape his decisions instead of trusting God's promise. He sets up golden calves for the people to worship, and God sends a prophet to confront him. Then we read the story of the man of God who listens to another voice instead of obeying the word God had already given him.
There are so many lessons we could pull from these chapters. But there is the one I couldn't stop thinking about. I couldn't help but think back to when churches used to do so much together. We had community revivals. Youth rallies. Women's meetings. Men's breakfasts and more.
Churches opened their doors to one another. We worshipped together, prayed together, and celebrated what God was doing across the community not just inside our own four walls.
But somewhere along the way, that started to change. Instead of asking, How can we reach more people together, we started fearing, What if we lose our people.
As I read about Jeroboam, thats what hit me. God had already promised Jeroboam the kingdom. He didn't have to fight for it. He didn't have to protect it. He just had to trust God. But he let fear take over instead.
The Bible says Jeroboam thought, "If these people keep going to Jerusalem to worship... they'll return to the house of David." (1 Kings 12:26–27) So instead of trusting God's promise, he built a substitute. He made worship more convenient for the people. He created something that would keep people close to him.
And in doing so, he led an entire nation away from God's design.
Fear can make us hold too tightly. Whether it's churches, ministries, relationships, or even our own ideas, we can become so afraid of losing what God has trusted to us that we stop trusting the One who promised it.
The truth is, people have never belonged to us. They belong to Jesus. The Church was never meant to compete. It was meant to be one Body with one Head. Christ. That doesn't mean every church is the same or that doctrine doesn't matter. Scripture calls us to guard the truth. But when brothers and sisters faithfully preach the gospel, our first response shouldn't be fear that someone might leave our church. It should be joy that people are meeting Jesus.
Jeroboam's fear built walls. Jesus came to build His Church and break down walls.
Are we building God's Kingdom or are we just protecting our own Kingdoms.
When we truly trust God, we don't have to control people. We just point them to Jesus.
Love Pastor Mandy
Ark of Hope Ministry
Daily reading 12-13
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