I Kings Chapters 13-15

13:1 - Sorry guys, we know nothing about this man except that he is: male, a man of God and from Judah.

13:18 - When people know the truth of God, it is their responsibility to live by that. Yes, the man of God is lied to by the old prophet (Who I guess is testing him?), but the man also knows what God has told him and he should have stuck to the truth he knew...not the word of another human being. This is a great lesson for all of us. We must be discerning in what we hear...compare it to the word of God...seek God's wisdom in prayer, because we are the only people responsible for our actions.

13:24-25 - There is some really cool symbology here. At the beginning of the chapter we see Jeroboam standing helpless beside his false altar that God destroys...in these verses we see the donkey standing dumbly beside the body of the dead man of God, not knowing what to do. Jeroboam is the picture of a dumb animal. Then we have the lion who kills the man of God as God instructs him to, but does not eat the body. The lion stands beside flesh that it probably longs to devour, but the lion stays true to the instructions of God unlike the man from Judah. The moral of this story? Be a lion, not a donkey. Stand by the word of God and let His instructions guide your life - if you don't you'll end up on the side of the road in this life, lost and having no idea where to go next.

13:29-31 - The old man treats the prophets body with a great deal of respect, even instructing his sons to bury them together when he dies (I'm sure he has got to feel a little guilty about the lie!). This also gives us hope. Yeah, the man of God disobeyed Him and paid the price, but there is still hope for his soul. You and I will feel the sting of consequences when we reject the way of God, but His mercy is more vast than we could ever imagine.

14:10 - God rips the kingdom away from the house of David and gives Jeroboam a chance to make things right...a chance to lead as a man humble before God, but he allows pride and jealousy to lead him away from God. He brings destruction down on his entire household.

14:15-16 - Jeroboam instead of cleaning up Israel actually takes them another notch down. He introduces Asherah poles (phallic, fertility symbols of pagan Canaanite Baal worship - Asherah was, in theory only, the wife of El (chief Canaanite god) and the mother of Baal) and brings a pagan scourge into Israel that plagues the kingdom throughout their history. That is his legacy! What is mine?

14:29 - At the same time this is all going on, Rehoboam is doing a little terrible leading of his own. He introduces the kingdom of Judah to all the Canaanite idols. They go so far as to welcome in the Canaanite cult prostitution program where you can get whatever you want - male or female. Judah is becoming like Sodom. Again, what a legacy.

15:3 - This verse becomes a haunting theme in the history of the Hebrew kings. I wonder what are some of the haunting themes of western church leaders today. "And he walked in the way of materialism, making excuses for his congregations maniacal spending." "He walked in the ways of the world, allowing the message of Jesus Christ to be drown out by the promise of comfort." What do you think?

15:11ff - Asa is like finding an oasis in the middle of a desert! Finally a king who has the guts to stand up and fight for the honor of God. He starts cleaning house - even willing to kick his grandmother out of her position of power because she is heading up the pagan cult worship. Do you and I have the strength to stand up and speak out against the forces in this world that are directly opposed to the way of Jesus and the heart of God?

15:29 - Just like was prophesied to the wife of Jeroboam, ever living member of his family is butchered. The only person in his household that received an honorable burial, was the sick boy who the country mourned in chapter 14. That boy has found a better home and a father who will not teach him the ways of evil.