Faithful Redeemer

Today's Through the Bible Reading: 1 Kings 12-13; 2 Chronicles 10-11:4

Abbreviated Reading: 1 Kings 12-13

“This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall…” 1 Kings 13:34 niv

Today we head back into the history of Israel where we read about an oppressive king, a divided nation, and counterfeit worship. What a mess! But read carefully because you and I have the great privilege of looking back through the tunnel of time and seeing the full picture, from the proper perspective, and ultimately, the final outcome. During this time, Israel was a divided nation because King Jeroboam, in an unrighteous rebellion, had taken over the ten northern tribes of Israel. Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, ruled the two remaining tribes (Judah and Benjamin) in Jerusalem. Neither Jeroboam nor Rehoboam were righteous and both kingdoms were fraught with wickedness.

In the North, Jeroboam was filled with jealousy toward the Lord and in a deliberate attempt to keep the people’s hearts far from the Lord, he created a false religion with a fake form of worship (1 Kings 12:27-28).

In the south, Rehoboam was filled with pride and arrogance and refused the wise counsel of the elders. Instead, he created a kingdom based on the advice of haughty young men (1 Kings 12:13-15).

You’d think this would be enough to justify God moving on and choosing another nation. But despite the idolatry, pride, rebellion, and refusal to listen and obey His Word, God remained faithful to His chosen people and to the promises He had made to them. God had made a covenant with both Abraham (Gen. 15) and with David (Jer. 33:17) and it was God’s faithfulness that was to be praised, not Israel’s.

Like today’s reading, may we look back and see God’s faithfulness to you and to me regardless of our own faults or failures. God kept His covenant with David and sent the Redeemer. That Redeemer, Jesus Christ, covered all of our sins on the cross. He is the perfect fulfillment of God’s faithfulness – both to Israel and to you and me, too!