Old Sandals

“Asa did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight, as his ancestor David had done. He banished the male and female shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made. He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down her obscene pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley. Although the pagan shrines were not removed, Asa’s heart remained completely faithful to the LORD throughout his life….The rest of the events in Asa’s reign—the extent of his power, everything he did, and the names of the cities he built—are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. In his old age his feet became diseased.”

in his old age his feet became diseased.  This is a curious bit of information about King Asa that appears in the text almost as an afterthought.  The Bible is a very real book—real people, real struggles.  The real God in Heaven takes notice.

So when Ahijah heard her footsteps at the door, he called out, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else?” Then he told her, “I have bad news for you. Give your husband, Jeroboam, this message from the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘I promoted you from the ranks of the common people and made you ruler over my people Israel. I ripped the kingdom away from the family of David and gave it to you. But you have not been like my servant David, who obeyed my commands and followed me with all his heart and always did whatever I wanted. You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made other gods for yourself and have made me furious with your gold calves. And since you have turned your back on me, I will bring disaster on your dynasty and will destroy every one of your male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel. I will burn up your royal dynasty as one burns up trash until it is all gone. The members of Jeroboam’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures. I, the LORD, have spoken.’”  Then Ahijah said to Jeroboam’s wife, “Go on home, and when you enter the city, the child will die.

The LORD is merciful, which makes his anger all the more terrible.

Then he said to the man of God, “Come home with me and eat some food.”
“No, I cannot,” he replied. “I am not allowed to eat or drink anything here in this place. For the LORD gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’”
But the old prophet answered, “I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this command from the LORD: ‘Bring him home with you so he can have something to eat and drink.’”  But the old man was lying to him. So they went back together, and the man of God ate and drank at the prophet’s home. Then while they were sitting at the table, a command from the LORD came to the old prophet. He cried out to the man of God from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: You have defied the word of the LORD and have disobeyed the command the LORD your God gave you. You came back to this place and ate and drank where he told you not to eat or drink. Because of this, your body will not be buried in the grave of your ancestors.”  After the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the old prophet saddled his own donkey for him, and the man of God started off again. But as he was traveling along, a lion came out and killed him. His body lay there on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it.

This is a difficult chapter to read.  The prophet was a good man, and apparently a faithful servant of God.  But his disobedience resulted in death.  To whom much is given, much is required. 

But Rehoboam spoke harshly to the people, for he rejected the advice of the older counselors and followed the counsel of his younger advisers. He told the people, “My father laid heavy burdens on you, but I’m going to make them even heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!”

1 Kings 12:13-14 NLT

Rehoboam blew it here.  His pride and arrogance proved to be his downfall.  But it was of the LORD.

“God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.”

How much better would we live each and every day if we took this verse to heart.

“Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.”

God is infinite, transcendent, and inscrutable. And yet, the whole purpose of life is to know Him—to rejoice in His self-revelation.

“It seems so tragic that everyone under the sun suffers the same fate. That is why people are not more careful to be good. Instead, they choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway.”

Old King Solomon may have been given divine wisdom as a young man, but you wouldn’t know it from a verse like this one. This is no more than you might hear in a bar or a brothel.

“I realized that no one can discover everything God is doing under the sun. Not even the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim.”

On that Silent Night so long ago, there were only two groups of people who were privy to what God was doing: the shepherds and the wise men. And what a contrast! The shepherds knew they knew nothing. The wise men knew they didn’t know everything. God is mindful of the humble.

“I have always tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, “I am determined to be wise.” But it didn’t work. Wisdom is always distant and difficult to find.”

In response to Solomon’s request, God had blessed Solomon with wisdom. So much so, in fact, that representatives from many nations came to hear him. And yet, Solomon turned from the Lord and set his affections on foreign women; that proved to be his downfall.

A consequence in turning from the Lord is self-deception. Solomon is apparently self-deceived when he says, “I have always tried my best to let wisdom guide me.” Another consequence in turning from the Lord is despair—a troubling sense of meaninglessness to it all. This is just the sentiment that Solomon is expressing.