Seize the Moment – Day 827

HomeDevotionsSeize the Moment – Day 827
22
Jun '22

Seize the Moment – Day 827

Posted on Jun 22, 2022 by Jerry Ingalls in Devotions, General |

22
Jun '22

Remain Faithful to God!

1 Kings 14

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, June 22.

 

In our secular-humanist culture, with the wall between religion and state, it is hard for us to imagine how religion and politics were yoked in Israel. God’s prophets would foretell the rise and fall of kings and kingdoms. We see this in the prophetic ministry of Ahijah the Shilonite and the rise and fall of King Jeroboam.

 

Ahijah was introduced during the reign of Solomon, immediately after Jeroboam was first introduced in 1 Kings 11:28 as a “valiant warrior” and “industrious.” In verses 30-40, Ahijah, reminiscent of the prophet Samuel’s anointing of David during Saul’s reign, endorsed Jeroboam as the next king and spoke of him tearing away ten of the tribes from David’s household. Just like when Saul ripped Samuel’s cloak, Ahijah ripped his own cloak into twelve pieces to symbolize the tearing of the kingdom (30-31). Additionally, he used dynastic language, similar to Nathan’s prophecy to David (38).

 

In 1 Kings 14, fast forward to the end of Jeroboam’s 22-year kingship, and his son Abijah was sick. Jeroboam turned to Ahijah, now an old man who had gone blind, and God gave him a final prophetic word for Jeroboam and Israel, a heart-breaking reversal of his first word. In 1 Kings 14:16, he proclaimed,
 
“He will give up Israel on account of the sins of Jeroboam, which he committed and with which he made Israel to sin.”

 

Ahijah remained faithful in his role as God’s prophet, but can you imagine how he must have felt since his ministry was intimately yoked with the rise and fall of Jeroboam? His ministry was filled with moments of hope and exaltation when Jeroboam was coronated king, then with grave disappointments as he watched God’s man rebel against the very one who put him into office. Yet, Ahijah himself remained faithful to God regardless of these circumstances, and Jeroboam’s bad choices.

 

Seize the moment and be faithful to God regardless of your circumstances, and the bad choices of others.

 

God bless you!
 
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

^