The Kings and Prophets of Israel and Judah Introduction + Sunday 1 st January 2017 Often we find Prophets speaking to the Kings. Sometimes the Monarch reacts well and listens and obeys what God says. Often they don t. 2 useful bits of paper: Reading Plan What do you know about different Monarchs? Background Paper Can you recognise any? Queen Victoria of Great Britain (1837-1901) Napoleon I of France (1804-1814, 1815) Introduction + 1
King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy (1861-1878) Sunjong, the Emperor Yunghui of Korea (1907-1910) King Henry VII King of England (1485-1509) Reading: 1 Kings 12:1-17 Background The three Kings before Rehoboam: Saul, David and Solomon 1 Kings 12,14 2 Chronicles 10-12 all reigned over a united Israel. Samuel had anointed Saul as King in 1 Samuel 9 after the Israelites had asked for one in order to be like all the other nations around them. It was these other nations (esp the Introduction + 2
Philistines) that were starting to put pressure on Israel by invading their territory. David managed to extend their territory, making Jerusalem their capital and Solomon is well known for his building programme in Jerusalem, Megiddo and Hazor. These three Kings reigned for around 120 years between them, but the country isn t really unified and David s family certainly isn t unified! Rehoboam was 41 when he became King and he reigned for 17 years (possibly c.931-913bc). His mother was Naamah and she wasn t an Israelite, but from Ammon [1 Kings 11:1-6]. His father had carried out lots of building work during his reign. This meant his people were oppressed through giving lots of taxes and through having to work really hard. How did Rehoboam grow up? What was he used to? There was so much material wealth around [2 Chronicles 9:13-28]. He had 18 wives, 60 concubines, 28 sons and 60 daughters (2 Chron 11:21). He was arrogant and cared more for himself than his people. United Israel was already disintegrating near the end of Solomon s reign. The northern 10 tribes split from the southern 2 tribes in around 931/930BC and Rehoboam ruled Judah, the southern portion. There was a civil war on and off between the Israel and Judah for most of Rehoboam s reign. At the beginning of Solomon s reign he showed great wisdom (1 Kings 3: 16f 2 ladies with 1 dead child and 1 living child). At the beginning of Rehoboam s reign he showed no wisdom at all! What the Israelites said to Rehoboam in 1 Kings 12:16 is a repeat of what was said to King David in 2 Samuel 20:1. 1 Kings says how he allowed bad things to happen in Judah [1 Kings 14:22-24]. Solomon had gained much glittery gold and treasures. Rehoboam s sinfulness had made those treasures really tarnished and not as they were. The King of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took much of the treasure away. Sin makes us morally poor. [2 Chronicles 12:1] Summary of Rehoboam: He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the LORD (2 Chronicles 12:14]. How can I make any of this apply to my life? Life can hurt us badly sometimes are our hearts set on seeking God no matter what our circumstances? Rehoboam s heart wasn t! Introduction + 3
Some people in authority definitely listen to God or have advisors that do, some possibly do and some don t. Do any of the following listen to God: Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, Theresa May, Marcus Jones, Justin Welby, Chris Cartwright, Paul Wood, François Hollande, Hwang Kyo-ahn. Have you every prayed for any of them? Be more sensitive to others There are 18 people listed on our website who we could pray for or it might inspire you to pray for someone else. If you see your MP or Councillor in the street, say Hello and smile at them! People in authority need us to pray for them. The leaders of NCF need us to pray for them regularly too. Try to imagine wearing someone else s shoes for a day. What are they going through? What challenges are they facing? How can I help them to face each day in a brighter way? How can I lessen the metaphorical load they are carrying? Be more sensitive to others Be more sensitive to God Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [centre your mind on them, and implant them in your heart]. Philippians 4:8 [Amplified Bible] The disciples were often a bit thick. They didn t always understand what Jesus was talking about. They were sometimes selfish. So are we! Sometimes in cartoons you can have a character with a person on either shoulder arguing what the real person should do. It can be like that for us, just like it was for Rehoboam. Focussing on God and absorbing His life and love will surely help us to get things right more often than if we didn t! Introduction + 4
So, if God is speaking: what is He saying to me and to us? God often speaks to me by using objects: A(n) Chair An EMPTY Chair Where is it? A Secret Room Recently a person who attends NCF regularly was talking to me after a morning service. We were standing at the front behind the lectern. Suddenly he tapped his foot on the ground and said Is that a secret room? One of the most glorious and symbolic places in our church building is hidden and empty and has been for many years. How terrible is that? We keep a lot of our chairs stacked up at the back out of the way and only used two or three times a year. Most of our chairs are empty every week. They are unused. How terrible is that? What is God calling us to do? Sell them or give them away because we don t use them? No!! How should we respond to an empty chair? Introduction + 5
An EMPTY Chair An empty and hidden chair An empty and hidden baptistry Our response in 2017 Our response in 2017 Don t ignore the empty chairs! Our response in 2017 Don t ignore the empty chairs! We can t do nothing Our response in 2017 This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: You will not succeed by your own strength or by your own power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord All-Powerful. Zechariah 4:6 [New Century Version] Our response in 2017 Don t ignore the empty chairs! We can t do nothing Pray and listen to God Fast Open ourselves to God Talk to others Continue to pray and fast (Individually and corporately) 2 Chronicles 20 King Jehoshaphat a vast army coming to attack Judah from Moab and Ammon. The people came together and fasted. V12: We do not know what to Introduction + 6
do, but our eyes are on you. Acts 12 James killed by Herod Antipas (Herod the Great s son) and Peter put in prison. V5 the Church was earnestly praying ( fervent & persistent in Amp, most strenuously in Message). Jesus taught about fasting in Matthew 6. He didn t start his comments with if you fast, but when you fast! Should we be fasting and praying? Should we come together to seek God much more regularly? Should we start counting the cost for being a disciple of Jesus? Seeking God is always the right thing to do! Would we grumble if God starting disrupting our nice worship times and polite easy-going Sermons by getting new people to come in and make some noise or ask appropriate questions at an inappropriate time? Do we as NCF exist to have times of blessings and keep them to ourselves or to look outward, to pray, to evangelise and to disciple? Can you look around now and imagine maybe 90-100 people meeting here every Sunday? Can you imagine us needing to have the doors back so that we can fit more people in? Can you imagine non-christians coming here regularly, getting saved and then being discipled and baptised? That is exactly what is happening to many dozens of churches around the UK. An EMPTY Chair We face serious times in the months ahead. We can say to God, Yes I love You and will follow You quite a lot of the time, but often I ll only be interested in me or my family. Or we could say, God, I give You everything. Lead me and help me to be part of the community that impacts many people in this town this year. I choose to focus my eyes on you. I choose to train my ears to listen to You. I choose to will my heart to follow You. Here I am Lord! Introduction + 7