As I read 1 Kings 14, about the reign of evil King Rehoboam, the son of King Solomon, grandson to the well-known King David, my spirit was disturbed, not angry nor judgmental. I had this heighten awareness that God gives us foreknowledge, to warn & guide us from sin, and possibly judgment, even though we may not see Him this way. God spoke through Moses what we see unfolding in the life of this King and those after him. The outcome was told to Israel beforehand, so that they could understand why they should choose wisely when they crossed over the Jordan to possess Canaan, [the Promise Land]. Each person’s decision would affect every generation after them.
In this story, Rehoboam king of Judah reigned 17 years, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to jealousy, sinning more than his fathers before Him did. These sins included a high level of different types of idol worship, and male prostitution [who were called sodomites].
- Whenever you see the word sodomy, or sodomites, it is speaking about men whose sexual intercourse involves anal or oral copulation sex, not intended for reproduction [getting pregnant].
As I continued reading, puzzled as to how King David’s bloodline came so far from the worship David had for God, I saw that Rehoboam’s mother was not an Israelite, but an Ammonite [ people who worshipped other gods]. And I thought about Solomon, that he was guilty of beginning this downward spiral. Despite the wisdom God gave Solomon, obedience was not automatic, nor was controlling his lust. Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, many of them foreign women [not Israelites]. He clung to them in love, despite God’s command not to intermarry with other nations, and his wives turned away his heart from God, just like God had told Israel in 1 Kings 11:1-9
From these idol worship wives would come a generation of children who grew up in a culture that was used to idolatry. From them came many more kings, a few good but most were evil.
In a nutshell this is what God told Israel through Moses, Deut 7:3-4
- Do not intermarry with the people of the land [for they serve other gods].
- For surely, they will turn your son’s heart away from following Me, and they [your sons] will serve other gods.
- But destroy their idols, altars, and those places they have set up for their idols.
The story of king Rehoboam and other serves as a warning that God is merciful, but ignoring His wisdom could lead to bad outcomes. Not that we do not know what they are because He has laid them out for us clearly. And because we have freewill, we could make a choice to obey or ignore. Surely, if up ahead a road sign says do not enter, Cliff Ahead, why would we take that road knowing it would lead to peril.
The question we must ask ourselves is why would God give us foreknowledge, and what does this saying about Him? For me, God’s foreknowledge is a sign of His desire for us to prosper and be in good health, He wants to be good to us.
I’m Just Sayin