Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20030622.htm

1 AND 2 KINGS: ENJOYING GOD'S BLESSINGS IN AN APOSTATE ERA
Part XIII: Blessing In AVOIDING Harmfully Ungodly Partnerships
(1 Kings 14:21-31)
  1. Introduction
    1. When Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 6:14a that Christians must not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, he gave the basis for this order as the incompatibility of righteousness with darkness, 2 Cor. 6:14b-16a.
    2. Such incompatibility is apparent in the life of king Rehoboam, Solomon's son as we can verify from the overview of his life in 1 Kings 14:21-31. This passage reveals the need to avoid harmfully ungodly partnerships if we would desire to be blessed by God in our lives and ministries (as follows):
  2. Blessing In AVOIDING Harmfully Ungodly Partnerships, 1 Kings 14:21-31.
    1. When Rehoboam, David's grandson and son of Solomon ruled on the throne of David in Jerusalem, the potential for DIVINE BLESSING was great as signaled by the author of I Kings as follows:
      1. The author of 1 Kings stressed the wealth of spiritual heritage Rehoboam had in ruling at Jerusalem as it was "the city which the Lord did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there," 14:21.
      2. Also, this author thus contrasted the disadvantage that Jeroboam of the Northern Kingdom had in comparison to Rehoboam as Jeroboam was left selecting a man-chosen location for his capitol versus the divinely-chosen capitol of Jerusalem where Rehoboam ruled.
      3. Also, the author of 1 Kings noted Rehoboam was "the son of Solomon," a man who was the son of the great and godly king in David, so the lineage of Rehoboam offered him a great advantage both spiritually as well as materially in view of God's rich blessings to Solomon, cf. 1 Kings 3:11-13.
    2. However, TWICE in the 1 Kings 14:21-31 section summarizing Rehoboam's life and times does the author of 1 Kings mention Rehoboam's mother was Naamah, and Ammonitess , cf. 1 Kings 14:21c, 31c. This fact underscores the violation to the Law by Rehoboam's father, Solomon, in that he thus chose to wed a foreign, idolatrous woman to the demise of God's blessing on his reign and lineage, Deut. 17:17a.
    3. We can trace how this happened in Rehoboam's life: his mother heavily influenced him toward idolatry, and so began the long, sad decline of God's blessings on Rehoboam as 1 Kings 14:21-31 reveals:
      1. According to the author of 1 Kings as he mentions the fact twice, due to the influence of the godless Ammonitess in Naamah who bore Rehoboam to Solomon, Rehoboam led the nation of Judah into idolatry to a degree not reached by his ancestors, 1 Kings 14:22-23.
      2. In fact, male cult prostitutes were used in these worships, deteriorating family life in Judah with its influence to break down spousal faithfulness in marriage unions, 1 Kings 14:24.
      3. God then permitted Shishak of Egypt, the man who at one time had protected Rehoboam's nemesis in Jeroboam to invade the land of Judah, taking many of its treasures, 1 Kings 14:25-26b with 11:40.
      4. As a significant symbol of Judah's deteriorating loss of holiness and blessing, Solomon's gold, decorative palace shields were replaced with portable, bronze ones, 1 Kings 14:26c-28:
        1. Of the treasures Shishak took from Judah, the most painfully humiliating to Rehoboam were the 300 solid gold, decorative shields that hung in his private palace, the house of the forest of Lebanon, 1 Kings 14:26c with 1 Kings 10:17. These shields weighed about 5 lbs. apiece (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, ftn. To 1 Kings 10:17) so these 300 shields were worth 7.2 million dollars in today's dollars!
        2. To ease his humiliation while protecting himself from further exploitation, Rehoboam replaced these confiscated gold shields with 300 bronze ones of lesser luster and value; he kept them locked up in a guard room to be hung out for display only as he traversed to the temple in public before the crowds so as to impress his subjects and possibly even delude himself of his greatness, 14:27-28!
      5. Rehoboam's days were filled with constant war with Jeroboam until his eventual death, 14:29-31.
Lesson: Regardless of the GREAT ADVANTAGE Rehoboam possessed due to his SPIRITUAL HERITAGE, the INFLUENCE of a godless, pagan MOTHER whom Solomon had sinfully wed helped impact Rehoboam to SIN and thus MISS God's great blessing in his role as Judah's king.

Application: From Rehoboam's life, WE learn the VALUE of watching the COMPANY we keep, for "bad company corrupts good character," cf. 1 Corinthians 15:33 NIV. May we be courageous enough to LIMIT our FELLOWSHIP to UPRIGHT folk so we might be INFLUENCED to do GOD'S WILL!