Can you do something that is wise in the world’s eyes but foolish in God’s? Yes, you can and Jeroboam is proof of this.
God gave Jeroboam a chance to follow Him and be His king over Israel, but with his first major act Jeroboam dishonored the Lord and set Israel on a course away from the Lord!
Jeroboam assessed the worldly situation practically; if the people returned to Jerusalem 3 times a year to sacrifice, they may very well returned to Rehoboam. But if God was in the separation, then God could have protected Jeroboam. However, instead of trusting the Lord and living faithfully by attending to the pilgrim feasts at the temple, Jeroboam set up rival sanctuaries and rival feasts and rival priests to lead the people at the rival sanctuaries. In other words, Jeroboam set up his own god who looked like the Lord but was really a counterfeit! Jeroboam directly disobeyed God’s Word and by doing so sealed his fate and worse… led the people astray!
God forbid that I or any Christ-following leader would do that today…
Lord, when I am tempted to go my own way, bring me to my knees! Please, Lord, I want to remain faithful to You and lead faithfully in Your church.
I am reminded of yesterday’s devotion… help me to do those things so I finish well. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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