Spare Your Children

1 Kings 14:1

At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill.

My dad was a drunkard before he became a pastor. Nope, not before he heard the truth, but even after he knew God’s grace and salvation. He was already serving as a deacon in church when a member caught him in one of the intersections of Ortigas Avenue extension, mimicking a traffic enforcer, heavily drunk. It was his most embarrassing moment. But it did not stop him from sneaking some more beers. Not even discipline from his leaders. Guess who did? God sent the little me to the hospital -  with bronchopneumonia - to shake my father’s core. Many said I was then a cute, chubby, cheerful girl to everyone’s delight. It was seeing me helpless and heavily breathing that pushed my dad to come to terms with God. He vowed to give up everything, and give his life to Him, in exchange for my healing. God did! And there was no turning back for my father since then.

Jeroboam was at the peak of his sin when we closed chapter 13. He continued leading Israel to idol worship and consecrated a-n-y-o-n-e who wanted to become priests. If in Eli’s time, we see the desecration of the temple by the sins of the supposedly pure ones, here we read the unpure ones leading. Imagine the implication :< It was so detestable that God sent a message of the coming destruction of that altar and all who attends to it. But that did not stop Jeroboam. Neither did the death of that man of God for o-n-e disobedience. Now we read of his son’s illness. That caught his attention. He sent his wife to Ahijah the prophet, with some gifts, but in disguise. Funny that Jeroboam thought a makeover would be relevant to an already blind prophet. Foolish too, for thinking that God could not make Ahijah recognize the queen. What is sad, aside from his should-be personal appearance, is that the visit was not in any way to come to terms with God. Jeroboam would just want to know what God has to say regarding his son, period. It’s like calling God to aid in our financial burdens, but blocking His hand in our career issues.  What is more sad is that even after hearing death for his son and destruction for his line, he neither repented nor pleaded at least. He was far worse than Pharaoh’s hard heart for in the death of his son, he yielded to God’s will to let His people go. Jeroboam continued to sin and took all Israel with him. He was said to be the prototype of an evil king. I say, he was the worst father too :<

Our children are our soft spots. They are the ultimate test of life’s contentment, hopes and priorities. No ransom is too high as payment for their safety. No name or influence matters in defending their cause. If only possible, we’d trade places in their sickness and pains. But how come all of us still live sinful lives? God did make it clear that He will punish the children for the sin of their fathers to the third and fourth generations. We are directly accountable for our individual sins, but guess who first gets affected when debts, immorality or addiction haunts us? You want some consolation? Jeroboam’s sick son was an upright one. God’s grace saw it fit to take him first and be honored with a state burial before every male was cut off in Jeroboam’s line. No loving parents would find that comforting - - and so would change their ways. I wonder if Eve would reconsider taking that bite if Abel was alive that time? Moreso if she knew how sin would take hold of Cain too.  It was a choice of raising her kids inside the garden or out in the wastelands. Oh please think a hundred times before that bite! Do spare the children from reaping those bad seeds :<

Sustain That Note

1 Kings 13:18

The old prophet answered, "I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the LORD: 'Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.'" (But he was lying to him.)

Controlled breathing is so important to singers. In sustaining a good tone, they need to achieve the perfect balance of holding back while letting go. Sounds crazy. But so difficult too. I wish singing would just be blurt outs and staccatos.  Maybe, I'd pass with that, haha :> But  my muscles are so lazy to hang on. You wouldn’t believe I signed up for Voice as my minor in the College of Music. In the middle of the semester, my teacher advised me to consider switching to flute. I didn’t. That needs a lot of air too, haha. I managed to finish the semester, and the next, and then I pulled myself out of that school. For a different reason though.

Here’s the second part of the story about that man of God. We now find him under an oak tree, possibly worn and famished. The encounter with the king was more than stressful and the idea of a long walk back home – without food and water - was unimaginable. Then an old prophet arrived with an invitation to dine at his home. God’s order was still clear to him at this time and so he refused. But the old man was persistent. Suggesting food to a hungry man makes him hungrier, right? Mentioning it again, that will make him drool. The man of God is now very vulnerable. Flesh is now taking over his spirit. The old prophet completed his goal when he tapped his mind, his will. He lied that an angel sent him. Coming from an old prophet, that’s quite believable. With no further inquiries and confirmations, he dropped his defenses and took the offer. He was halfway the finish line. He may have accomplished the bulk of the assignment in Bethel, but it was not yet over ‘til he’s home. The old prophet bothers me too. How could he, at his final lap of ministry, deceive his co-worker and cause his destruction?

When God calls us to a faithful and steadfast commitment, it means He expects us to be unwavering, persevering, and fixed ‘til the end. It’s sad that even after being used by God mightily in Egypt and in crossing the Red sea, plus enduring the company of thousand of complainers, Moses would not be allowed to enter the Promise Land because he once angrily struck the rock and dishonored God. Yes, just one unguarded moment. Just one meal for Esau and this man of God. Just one lie for the old prophet. We sure have vulnerable times. Thorns in the flesh. But we also have a God who promised grace sufficient and strength perfect in weakness. Hide His Word in your heart. He never contradicts His own assignment. Sustain that note. Don’t ever let go.

A Soldier’s Call

1 Kings 13:1

By the word of the LORD a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering.

My husband recently browsed through Discovery Channel’s World Ward 2 series in full color. He said it was amusing to watch war documentaries like it happened just a few years past. I sat down with him one night, and although I prefer war dramas than the narrative clips, I’d say they did a good job in making this part of our history come alive. What caught my thoughts was the sight of so many soldiers, lined up, marching, and ready to receive orders - - difficult orders. Whether forcibly recruited or at will,  the call was towards all dangers and even death. They were soldiers of their nation. ‘Twas their identity, not their names nor their faces. And once dropped in the field, there was no turning back.

A man of God was called from out of Judah to deliver a hard message to Israel’s king up north. It was a difficult, dangerous call. Possibly on foot, he traveled towards the high place in Bethel. Add to the perilous journey was the order to not eat or drink anything while he’s there.  As if on cue, he arrives while Jeroboam, not a priest, was burning incense at the altar. If it was me, I think this part was the most difficult. Shall I do a bit of coughing at least, or look around for an easy face for some rapport? This is the king and this is his homecourt! But the man was direct. And God merciful. The message of destruction was for the altar. The sin. God was opening a door for Israel to repent of this idolatry. Next  scenes were action-packed: Jeroboam stretched out his hand with orders to seize the man; instantly his hand became paralyzed in that position; he asked the man to intercede for his healing; the man prayed; the hand was restored; the king invited the man to eat with him; the man refused and left.  Just in case you missed two difficult struggles there, let me zoom in again: (1) praying for someone who seconds ago threatened to harm him, and (2) saying No to dining with the king when his tummy was shouting a big YES. That forgiveness was not mentioned in his sign up sheet. Food looks trivial compared to the big message already delivered. But the man of God faithfully kept his call, even exceeded his JD. At least up to verse 10. We don’t know his name, but we know who he works for. He was a good soldier.

It’s a delight reading verses about love, blessings, joy, promise, hope, rewards. It makes life sun shiny-ish and warm and singable. I have a good friend who recently asked for prayers in deciding whether or not to accept a humongous job. God gave her Isaiah 51:3 ‘The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD..’ Comfort, compassion, Eden and garden all looks appealing. But note that achieving those means working alongside words like ruins, deserts, wastelands. Quite a call for second thoughts right? Abraham, Moses, David, Daniel, Peter, Paul - - big names with big achievements for God. But we’re they called for comfortable tasks? Was the end goal for their comforts either? Life is hard because we’re against the world’s high walls of sin. Doing right means going against that flow. That’s our call. To stand up for what is God’s, even if it means standing up alone. Our identity now is in Christ, not our names nor you faces. We’re His soldiers now.

Pause to Play

2 Samuel 22:36

“You gave me Your shield of victory; You stoop down to make me great.”

Music is not all about sound. The beautiful melodic patterns are mostly formed in the inclusion of pauses and holds.  We have the rest symbols, equal to the duration of its counterpart notes; the breath mark, assisting in the production of a smooth phrase; and, the fermata, directing a sustained hold longer that its note value. Some markings are required, others are suggestive. Soloists have the liberty of choice, while a conductor decides for his choir, depending on their abilities and his interpretation. Okay, so that’s the music educator in me. What am I pointing here? Rest, whether short or held long, instructed or at will, for aesthetics or survival (haha!), is what makes beautiful music. A complete package. A perfect cycle.

This song of David in chapter 22 is music in its truest sense. We may not have the notation in print, but its inclusion to the book of Psalm meant this was a part of Israel’s repertoire for praise. The lyrics wonderfully knitted notes and rests together. The first four verses resounded in his declaration of praise to God His deliverer, followed by the heavy beats of his enemies confronting him with death. Next we see his solo performance at the temple face to face with the audience of One, followed by the thundering voice of the Almighty, scattering the enemies with His power and presence. Then we see heaven’s curtains open, taking him from centerstage for the intermission. All quiet, but far from over. David takes this time to reflect on Act One. Oh yes, he did see the Conductor’s pleasure that he kept His every cue. Act two has bigger challenges, but grander because God brought him to the heights. He cascades toward his enemies, they were crying for help but no one to save them. The entire hall was awed and many were dumfounded. David ended with a fermata of praise - - exalting God for His unfailing kindness to him and his descendants forever.

Life rests sound the same. Some offs are for vacation, others because of unemployment. Sometimes we’re grounded, other times for our personal retreats. Some have the luxury of beauty rest, others are just glad to find a bed. It is but part of the natural process, and a necessary one. It refreshes, refuels and revives us anew. But it’s definitely not a stop. It may seem to end a phrase, but it intends to prepare us for the next. We may sing solo at times, or taken aside for the intermission, but it’s part of His grand plan. What we do during those breaks is the point here. David did not use it to sleep, or blame his co-actors, or complain about the props, not even pack his bags. Every second he devoted to prayer and praise. It’s what kept him fired up and ready for the next act. It’s why he was rewarded with victory. It’s why we God made him great. Still on hold? Just breathe and praise the Lord :>

My Thoughts, or Yours?

1 Kings 12:26

Jeroboam thought to himself, ‘The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David’.

If there’s one movie that kept us talking for days after watching it, it’s the Leonardo DiCaprio’s Inception. It was about a man with the expertise of extracting an information from someone via dream state. Then came this chaiman from Geisha (haha!), now a client, asking him to implant an information instead. A traumatic  past haunts Jack (from Titanic of course :>) in this pursuit, for it was because of an implanted suicide idea that he lost his confused-with-reality wife. Good thing, Juno was there to walk with him for a closure with Edith Piaf, leading to the successful implant in the scarecrow’s mind, leading to his homecoming with Alfred (from Batman again :>). Oh did I tangle your thoughts?  

Re-reading the closing verses of this chapter, I was caught up with these words, ‘Jeroboam thought to himself’. More translations wrote ‘He said in his heart’.  Uhm,  so was it the mind or the heart? Lexicon explained that the heart is also used very widely for the feelings, the will, even the intellect. Our whole being then. My picture of Jeroboam here is how us girls do self-talk and resolve issues with the mirror. The problem is, the Bible warns us that the heart is deceitful and that its every inclination is evil, which leads us to the obvious conclusion: it will lead us to a God-displeasing act! For Jeroboam, it’s what caused his infamous leading Israel to sin: he carved two golden calves, built shrines, appointed unlawful priests, instituted a festival of his choosing, and went up to the altar to personally make offerings. All birthed from his thoughts, his idea-concepts, his personal preferences.  Did he make inquiries? Yes, but with likeminded peers I guess :<  It was just one seed idea: a replica of Jerusalem worship. He could have first consulted his Scepter-Giver, the God, whom he ought to honor with this project. I’m sure he wasn’t thinking of surprising God.  But because Jeroboam acted independently from God’s thoughts, from His heart, from His will, it’s not surprising He did not grace those detestable high places with His holiness.

What projects are we working on lately? Are those in consultation with God’s word or we just thought it’s a good, big thing to be busy with? Is it for our advancement? To make us wealthier? More comfortable? Ey, nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with cruising unless Niniveh is on the other side. Nothing wrong with preparing great meals for thirteen plus men unless Jesus said it’s better to sit down and listen. We may have been given free will, but unless it submits to the Lordship of Christ, we are in bondage to the enemy. True freedom is when we’re free from sin. It’s in living God’s Word, walking His ways, beating His heart. It’s taking captive our E-V-E-R-Y thought, desires, plans, and our being and make it obedient to Christ.  His thoughts are definitely higher than ours. He sees eternity past and future. He created all and sustains everything.  Isn’t  it but wiser to let Him do the thinking? Unless you have a better idea?  My thoughts exactly (*wink :>)

That's Different

1 Kings 12:32

He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made.

It’s a joy that God brought me back to leading kids in worship. It has been more than six years, so admittedly, all the workshops I handled within that time frame, including two big seminars last year, were all in theory. But grace pulled those off. Now I have the chance to practice what I preached. Last night, I browsed through Kathleen Chapman’s book again, ‘Teaching Kids Authentic Worship’.  Her main idea is to make sure kids time is focused on God alone - - to discover the million fascinating things about Him and to stand in awe of Him. Then I realized how little I actually lead the kids in worship that morning. July’s theme is about perseverance and I became so caught up in making them understand the big word that I failed to highlight the big God. Oh how often do we serve in His kingdom but never talk about the King? Worst, if we never talk TO the King :<

It was just the previous chapter that God spoke to Jeroboam through Ahijah, giving him the leadership of the bigger, ten tribes with a promise that if he will walk uprightly, he can have a dynasty as enduring as David’s. He did nothing  to earn nor deserve the claim but it all conveniently landed on his lap. Now we read on verse twenty five his primary project, the fortification of Shechem and Penuel, then on twenty eight, his next priority, the altars in Bethel and Dan. All were intended to secure his kingdom - - from outsiders and from his southern brothers. His being part of dividing the kingdom made him paranoid to the same idea. The grandeur of Jerusalem’s temple (especially the truth that God’s Name resides there) threatened him and so he pursued copying the religious system, with a twist. Instead of one God, he offered the people two calves (calves!!! seriously?) ; instead of one place of worship, he  opened two (can’t beat quality? go quantity!); instead of tapping Levites, he allowed all sorts of people to priestly duties (hmm, vote buying?); and he scheduled their tabernacle feast a month later than God’s appointed date (for distinction sake?).  Oh how tiring, vain pursuit! All he need was to trust God to keep His promise.  He who began a good work in him will be faithful to complete it.  Obviously, Jeroboam became so absorbed in kingdom concerns, it consumed him into thinking it was his to keep. He forgot the King who rules above him and it all.

We have been taught the greatest commandment. I think most of us memorized the Ten. We know the most important thing and yet we live our lives, daily, disregarding it. Solomon, the wisest who ever lived, after a list of all meaningless pursuits, ended his book with this: ‘Fear God and keep His commandments’.  But how come his declared-meaningless are the very things that occupy our schedules: wisdom, pleasures, toil, advancement, riches.  The least we can allot God is some quiet time in the morning and a Sabbath once a week. Have we been faithful? Guess what? Shall we compartmentalize our lives and give Him just a portion? Shall we categorize worship under religion when He’s calling us into a relationship? It’s the sad line in Don Moen’s Praise Looks Good On You:  ‘You lift your voice in singing, but your heart seems far away’.  Yes, not even working in His kingdom equates with worshipping the King.  His works may be a reflection of His character, but it’s still not Him. Knowing the law doesn’t make us law abiders either. How about you? Can you spot the difference?

God's Doing

1 Kings 12:24

This is what the LORD says: ‘Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.' So they obeyed the word of the LORD and went home again, as the LORD had ordered.

It has been a restless week for me.  My parent’s eight-day-visit meant hosting overload and cooking double than usual. For a young homemaker, that’s quite overwhelming. Add to that a major work invitation I received before they came which needs my decision TODAY. Busyness has always been an opponent of spiritual disciplines. Finding a quiet place to hear God’s word became a real struggle. My heart was pounding hard in anticipation of today’s verdict. ‘Twas a battle between good and His best. But which is which? I submitted myself to His Word and the counsel of two godly men. While pondering on today’s text, the expected call came from my boss, and sharing it with my husband, he likewise agreed.  Peace soothed my soul for it was clearly wisdom from God Himself. Then I went back to my reading and His confirmation surfaced in seemingly highlighted, bold prints: ‘This is My doing’. 

Rehoboam mustered a hundred and eighty thousand men from Judah and Benjamin to reclaim the whole Israel for himself. It was a war response for the rebellion of setting up another king in the northern, ten tribes. If they have no idea it was in punishment for Solomon’s idolatry, they have reasons to see it as a noble and just task. Israel was dividing the kingdom. That was treason! Out of nowhere came Shemaiah, a man of God, telling them to disband and go home - - for it was a fight against their own brothers, and because it was the Lord’s doing.  Interestingly, Rehoboam, who was just verses ago disregarded the plea of Israel and discarded the counsel of the elders, complied. Shemaiah sure did was a man of integrity and credibility for this king and all the men there to take his words as from God Himself. It was refreshingly commendable too that Judah obeyed God’s orders. Despite the idolatry Solomon left them with, they still recognize God’s authority over them. 

Sola Scriptura or the Bible alone is our final authority for faith and practice. Psalm 119:160 says ALL of His words are true and righteous and eternal. 2 Timothy 3:16 backs it up saying ALL scripture is God-breathed and is useful to thoroughly equip us for every good work. It is the solid rock in our ever changing world. People who have been trained by it we can regard as men of integrity whose walk matches God's talk. They are credible for their wisdom is not their own. It was with the same confidence when Paul said ‘Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ’. It will do us well to listen to Pauls and Shemaiahs and be like them. Besides, we do have the Word to cross check their claims. And like the Bereans, we can confirm if 'it is His doing' :>