1 Kings 14-15
Why did God choose Jeroboam to rule Israel? Surely He knew what Jeroboam would do! Why not choose someone He knew would be faithful? One could fall down a rabbit hole of thought on such concepts. All I can say is that God’s ways are not our own. Ultimately, Jeroboam’s unfaithfulness was part of God’s Plan. While it may seem that His choice doomed a lot of people to destruction, it is God’s Plan that allows salvation for those who accept it. Without that, we were all doomed.
When Jeroboam’s son, Abijah, fell sick, he sent his wife to the prophet Ahijah for word from God. He, of course, sent her in disguise. Did he think Ahijah wouldn’t know who she was? Or was that so nobody else would know that she went? God took the opportunity to deliver His curse on the unfaithful Jeroboam. In doing so, He said a very intriguing (at least to me) thing in 1 Kings 14:13. Though Abijah was to die, God said that this child alone, of all of Jeroboam’s house, would be buried in a grave, “because in him there is found something pleasing to the LORD”.
How old was Abijah? The Bible has a habit of referring to someone as “the child” when they are actually even up well into their 20’s. So he may not have been all that young. It seems he was old enough to have turned away from the ways of his father and mother, even as Asa, king of Judah in 1 Kings 15, did. I also wonder at the significance of the grave burial. Why was it considered a curse to lay where you die and be eaten by the dogs or the birds? Was this a symbolic thing for the hope of a resurrection? Or was it more symbolic of being loved and cared for? Or maybe something else? In any case, I hope that no matter what I am surrounded with, God will say of me, “in her there is found something pleasing to the LORD.”
As for Asa, he comes in after a sharp decline in faithfulness to God in Judah. After Solomon’s heart strayed from God, the next two generations got progressively worse. But something got to Asa and made him different. We know it wasn’t his mother. It seems his mother was also his father’s mother (did he call her “mom” or “grandma”??). No wonder Asa removed her from being queen mother. She was clearly not a righteous woman! But I marvel at the boldness it took for Asa to do that.
So who was it that stepped into Asa’s life and, in the midst of all the depravity going on around him, redirected his heart to God? My guess is that he had a nanny; someone who raised him other than his parents or siblings. So let that sink in. Some young Jewish woman in the king’s court with the lowly job of caring for one of the king’s no doubt many sons….look at the impact she had! I can’t say for sure that it happened that way. But somebody must have lived a bold life in front of Asa, teaching him to do the same. God has blessed me with a family that loves and serves Him. Still, I pray that I would let examples like Asa inspire me to boldly stand firm if ever I find myself in an environment that is hostile to God.
Acts 12
Why did God allow Herod to kill James but rather dramatically rescued Peter? This takes me back to the second half of John 21, where Jesus told Peter three times to feed His sheep. After that conversation, Peter asked Jesus about John. Jesus’ reply was, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (Jn 21:22). The point is, God has a different plan for each of us. The ‘other man’s’ plan is not our concern.
It is hard when one person’s loved one is taken away while another’s is healed or delivered. But I think asking why God chooses to take one and let another remain is the wrong question. I think this is one case where focusing on ‘yourself’ rather than on others is the right thing to do. So rather than asking why God does what He does with another’s life, I need to be asking if I am allowing Him to do what He wants with mine. It does not matter if God does something grand and flashy with my life, as He did with Peter’s, or if I am more like that quiet, unnamed person who influenced a would-be king. What matters is that I remain in God so that He can bear His fruit in me in whatever way He pleases.