“You have heard it said; but I say unto you…”—Jesus, (Matthew 5-7)

Every person on the planet as done it more than once—followed our own hearts! Yes, this is the popular mantra of worldview thinkers, but it is a lie. We discover quickly that when we follow our own hearts; life falls into confusion and chaos. We blame others first for not jumpy on the bandwagon of our hearts leading.  Then we wonder why our plan fell apart.

Jesus, who is the Word made flesh teaches a different way to think and live.  He says to seek God first and follow His heart.  This truth makes perfect sense!  God knows what we need at just the right time—most times before we even know what we need it! God created the uniververse and everything in it. I’m sure He who is all-knowing, all-seeing, all powerful will have the answers we need!  “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”—Jesus, Matthew 6:33

“All these things” are the compassionate pursuits of our hearts.  So, who or what are we pursing to fill our emptiness?  God’s heart or our own?  Mm.  God, in his unfailing faithfulness and relentless love for us is ready to guide us with His wisdom.  We just need to ask. Jesus goes on to say; “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) If our pursuit is God; we have “all these things” He knows we need for Life! God never fails, never gives up, and can fulfill every need in good times and challenging times. Truth: God is faithful even when we are not.  His will and purpose prevail through it all as our faith in Him matures.  We are overcomers when we trust in Jesus who Overcame death and removed our sin by His sacrifice!

But when our human eyes, like Rehoboam the king, see what possibilities lie ahead; fear rears its ugly head. We might panic first then try to muster up courage driven by our own pride and decide for ourselves what we must do about these imagined impending dangers that could serve to destroy us and those we love. We imagine all possible outcomes before the circumstances are even formed!

It is this faulty human thinking with fallible minds with even weaker resolve that lead us to shift our thinking from God to self which leads to more trouble than we had imagined!  Fortunately, for believers, God steps in to correct and divert us back on His path of Life. God’s Voice of reason and direction will always provide the wisdom we need.  If we listen to Him, trust and obey what He says to be and do; we can avoid the traps set by evil. In King Rehoboam’s case in point—war is avoided.

2 Chronicles 11

When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered Judah and Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam.

² But this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God: ³ “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, ⁴ ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your fellow Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the words of the Lord and turned back from marching against Jeroboam.

Rehoboam Fortifies Judah

⁵ Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built up towns for defense in Judah: ⁶ Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth Zur, Soko, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. These were fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin. ¹¹ He strengthened their defenses and put commanders in them, with supplies of food, olive oil and wine. ¹² He put shields and spears in all the cities, and made them very strong. So Judah and Benjamin were his.

¹³ The priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel sided with him. ¹⁴ The Levites even abandoned their pasturelands and property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had rejected them as priests of the Lord ¹⁵ when he appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goat and calf idols he had made. ¹⁶ Those from every tribe of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. ¹⁷ They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam son of Solomon three years, following the ways of David and Solomon during this time.

Rehoboam’s Family

¹⁸ Rehoboam married Mahalath, who was the daughter of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab. ¹⁹ She bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham. ²⁰ Then he married Maakah daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Maakah daughter of Absalom more than any of his other wives and concubines. In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

²² Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maakah as crown prince among his brothers, in order to make him king. ²³ He acted wisely, dispersing some of his sons throughout the districts of Judah and Benjamin, and to all the fortified cities. He gave them abundant provisions and took many wives for them.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

King Rehoboam showed wisdom after Israel and Judah split. He sought to honor God as his father and grandfather had done. But after becoming well established, Rehoboam stopped depending on God.  His thinking shifted from God to self because of the pride that plagued many kings then as it destroys the effectiveness of leaders today.

Max Lucado writes—

“No matter what circumstance or temptation causes us to drift away from God, he still loves us and wants us back. God forgives us and calls us back to himself. Sometimes God uses a difficult situation to call us back, as in the case of Rehoboam. When we repent, we may still bear the consequences of our sin, but God forgives and restores us.

A lot of us live with a hidden fear that God is angry at us. Somewhere, sometime, some Sunday school class or some television show convinced us that God has a whip behind his back, a paddle in his back pocket, and he’s going to nail us when we’ve gone too far. No concept could be more wrong! Your Savior’s Father is very fond of you and only wants to share his love with you.

Could you use the genuine fresh air of God’s forgiveness? Would you love to stand in the approval of God again? How do you do it? By genuinely admitting to God that you’ve made a mistake, knowing that God loves you more than he hates your mistakes. And knowing that he will forgive those mistakes.

Does the Word of God say, “There is limited condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”? No. Does it say, “There is some condemnation”? No. It says, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1, emphasis added). Think of it—regardless of our sin, we are not guilty!

By his nature God wants to forgive and restore you. He wants to meet your deepest longings. He is fond of you. What does it mean to you that your Father is very fond of you? Think about that through the next day. Then, think of at least one person with whom you can share this good news.” –Lucado Encouraging Word Bible

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” John 8:11

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

Let us pursue the One who loves us most and died to save us.  Be blessed by “all these things” God will do in and through us for our good and His glory!

Lord,

Thank you for teaching us your word with your thoughts guiding us to all that is truth. Cleanse our hearts, renew our minds, refresh our souls, as you continually restore the joy of you in us and us in you.  Help us today to pursue You and your Kingdom thinking!  You make everything new and our relationships with each other better because of knowing your love.  I’m Yours and I’m listening for You.

In Jesus Name, Amen