Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

A Daily Devotional by Kenton Cheek

23 June 2024

Reading From II Chronicles 10-12

“Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” The king answered them harshly. Rejecting the advice of the elders, he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from God, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.”

–II Chronicles 10:12-15

     We cannot find a record of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, asking for wisdom from God as his father had.  While it is commendable that he sought advice with regards to how to govern from a multitude of counselors, the new king did not heed the wisdom from older men with more experience.  Instead, he gave in to the peer pressure coming from his young friends with disastrous results.  Rather than governing with the consent of his people in justice and mercy, he continued the harsh and despicable practices of the latter reign of Solomon.

     Here in II Chronicles 10 we have a prime example of how God uses the free moral agency of mankind to weave events of history according to His plan.  No one was forcing Rehoboam to choose the path of tyranny that he did, but his course of action set in motion the fulfillment of the Lord’s prophecy concerning Jeroboam and his judgment on Israel for their descent into idolatry.

“God, I pray that You would give me the strength I need to resist temptation and remain faithful to You.  Bless me with the discernment I need to distinguish between good advice and bad.  May Your people value the wisdom of the elders among them as it aligns with the truths of Your Word the Bible.  Amen.”

Plans fail for lack of counsel,
    but with many advisers they succeed.

–Proverbs 15:22

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

–I Peter 5:5

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

–James 1:13-15