Jeroboam – Failure at Liftoff
(Discussion Notes Below)
From the years 1050-930BC, 3 Kings who ruled over the undivided kingdom of Israel: Saul, David, Solomon – 120 years of the Monarchy. In 930BC the Kingdom splits in two because Solomon did not walk in God’s ways. The split occurs between the larger Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the smaller Southern Kingdom (Judah)
{I Kings 11} Several years prior to Solomon’s death Solomon took notice of a very ambitious worker and promoted him to oversee the entire labor force. His name was Jeroboam. One day – Jeroboam had an unusual encounter with the prophet Ahijah. Ahijah took the cloak Jeroboam was wearing and tore it into 12 pieces. Jeroboam was instructed to take 10 of the pieces for himself – which would represent his leadership over the larger territory of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
- Promises to Jeroboam: I Kings 11:37-38 (READ)
- You will rule over all your heart desires
- You will be king of Israel
- (If you walk in God’s ways) God will be with you
- God will build a dynasty as enduring as David’s – WOW
- I will give Israel to you
Imaging how stunned Jeroboam must have been. In this one encounter he had been promised more than he could have imagined.
Fast forward to the end of Jeroboam’s life – I Kings 14
Jeroboam did become king of Israel, yet he drifted away from God. In Chapter 14 Jeroboam found himself in a leadership crisis. His son was ill and he and his wife were wondering what was going to happen.
Jeroboam remembered the old prophet Ahijah but his relationship with Ahijah had gone sour…. So he sends his wife in disguise.
(14:6) – There was no reason for the disguise because Ahijah had gone blind. However, Jeroboam was right, Ahijah would tell him what would happen. (Read vs. 6-16) – OUCH! Jeroboam’s wife must have been as stunned by the news. Listen to the new set of promises:
- I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam
- Your son will die
- God will give up the entire nation Israel and they will be scattered.
Fast Forward one more time: 200 years later: The end of the Northern Kingdom of Israel – Listen to Jeroboam’s Legacy:
II Kings 17:6a, 7-8, 15-16, 21-23
What a legacy – after so much promise – 200 years later – Jeroboam is the one who is pointed back to as the cause of the entire nation’s destruction.
Question: How does someone start with so much promise yet end in disaster? What Happened? Answer: Jeroboam blew up like a rocket exploding on a launch pad……
3 Lessons from Jeroboam – I Kings 12:26-33 (Read)
- Jeroboam: Relied on his own wisdom.
Background: One day Jeroboam got to thinking about his territory – although he had become King by the promises of God and he was the King of the larger and more powerful northern territory – Jeroboam was fearful of his losing position and the loyalty of his people.
The Israelites were given very specific instructions on worship: They were to go to Jerusalem (Southern Kingdom of Judah) 3 times a year & offer sacrifices. J. was worried they would give their allegiance to their king, Rehoboam, and kill Jeroboam — So (vs. 26) “Jeroboam said in his heart — Thought to himself” – Jeroboam devised a plan for worship “from his own heart” – No prayer, no outside consultation by the prophet Ahijah — Nope: just Jeroboam and the thoughts of his own heart…DANGER!!
ILL – Reminded me of my old football coach: “Phillips what are you doing” – Uh…well…I thought – (SLAP Helmet) – “No one is asking you to think!!”
Now, I don’t believe the leadership lesson is to NOT THINK – but the reason Jeroboam explodes on the launch pad:
- He drifted from God’s word to his own word: Dt. 17 –Instructions to Kings “When the King takes the throne, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law…It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law…”
- He foolishly failed to get wisdom from others – Prov. 15:22
“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”
Leaders – O how many leadership mistakes are made when your holy trinity is “Me, Myself & I” – You drift away from God’s Word, you drift away from godly advice…you are headed for explosion!
- (vs. 27) – When Jeroboam took his focus off God – He traded in faith for fear and was directed by the people and not by God.
Notice: how fears and insecurities spill out, and paranoia sets in once Jeroboam makes himself the center – “They will give their allegiance to Rehoboam and will Kill Me!” — J. becomes fearful God might not come through on his promises….so J. takes matters into his own hands.
Consequently – Jeroboam is driven to do whatever it takes to please the people – the people become the controlling factor – instead of God.
Bible ILL: How easily it can happen to even the bravest follower….
- Peter: Jesus – I will follow you, even if it means my own death!! No Fear…then in 26 – All of his confidence quickly drains away in the face of a servant girl, a person of absolutely no standing in the culture. “Weren’t you with Jesus?” — One small voice derails the great apostle.
APP: I wonder if one voice has ever captured your attention. One voice: girlfriend, boss, spouse, parent, peer – like a snake that has slithered up a tree and whispered in your ear – can you really trust God, perhaps it would be better if you took matters into your own hands?
Jeroboam explodes on the launch pad because he trusted his heart over God’s word & He feared the people over fearing God.
- (vs. 28-33) – Jeroboam made a fundamental shift in worship
(Read vs. 28-29) – “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough – (NIV) “It is too much for you” – No need to make the difficult journey to Jerusalem – I have set up two convenient places for you to worship and even provided a shiny golden experience for you to worship. Then in (vs. 33) Jeroboam created his own feast…….
I want you to see the enormous shift – Through the prophet Ahijah God had promised to build Jeroboam and everlasting Kingdom – but he must follow God. —- Instead: Jeroboam builds a nation which says – “We still want God but we want Him in a way that will be convenient for ourselves. Worship should now center around what is easiest and most convenient for the us” Can you imagine….?
This shift in worship (God-centered to Man-centered) eventually brings down an entire Nation! What a Legacy…..
Jeroboam’s explosion on the launch pad doesn’t just affect himself or his family…it affects an entire nation…that’s the power of Leadership.
Questions:
- You will leave a Legacy….{especially if you are a father}….if it had to written in one phrase on your tombstone – what would you want it to be? Why?
- There were 3 main reasons Jeroboam exploded on the launch pad:
- He relied on his own wisdom rather than God’s Word or Godly Advice
- He traded faithfulness for fear. In Jeroboam’s world people were BIG & God was small so he was directed by the people rather than God.
- He had a fundamental shift in Worship. Worship became man-centered rather than God-centered. Worship had to be easy and convenient for him.
Talk about these three lessons and what you can learn from them.