Context No. 3724 of 4322 · 1 Kings

1 Kings 14:17-24: in context

17Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed, and came to Tirzah. As she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. 18All Israel buried him and mourned for him, according to the LORD’s word, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet. 19The rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he fought and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 20The days which Jeroboam reigned were twenty two years; then he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place. 21Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. 22Judah did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, above all that their fathers had done. 23For they also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 24There were also sodomites in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD drove out before the children of Israel.

This passage records the sad state of both kingdoms after Solomon. In the north, Jeroboam's son dies as the prophet had foretold, judgment on a dynasty founded on idolatry. And in the south, Judah, which had the temple and God's chosen city, does evil, building high places and idols on every hill and under every green tree, provoking God more than their fathers had.

Even Judah, with all its advantages, sank into idolatry. What is sobering is that having God's temple and city did not keep Judah faithful; they turned to idols just as the north had. Outward advantages, a great heritage, sacred places, do not guarantee faithfulness; the heart can turn even when everything external seems in place. There is a warning here against presuming on our spiritual heritage or privileges. Judah had every advantage and still went astray. Faithfulness is finally a matter of the heart, not of privileges possessed or a heritage inherited.

Do I presume on my spiritual heritage or advantages, or do I understand that faithfulness is a matter of the heart, which can turn from God even amid every outward privilege?

Sources

1 Kings 14:22: "Judah did that which was evil in the LORD's sight, and they provoked him to jealousy... above all that their fathers had done."
1 Kings 14:23: "They also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree."
1 Kings 14:18: "All Israel buried him and mourned for him, according to the LORD's word."