READING: 1 Kings 12-14
TEXTS AND APPLICATION: These chapters deal with false worship under Jeroboam, king of Israel, and the failure of Rehoboam, king of Judah — who allowed idolatries to return to Judah. Note how far the nation of Judah fell:
1 Kgs. 14:22-24 Judah did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes. They provoked Him to jealous anger more than all that their ancestors had done with the sins they committed. They also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree; there were even male cult prostitutes in the land. They imitated all the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites.
What is evident in this text is the power and pervasive spread of sin, even in a country that had once sought God under a godly king. With this description in 1 Kings 14, both Israel and Judah had turned to false worship — and judgment would eventually come. The word ought to be an alarming reminder to contemporary nations that we cannot reject God without consequences.
PRAYER: Spend time today praying for our government leaders.
TOMORROW’S READING: 2 Chronicles 10-12
