“And Jeroboam said to his wife,
‘Please arise, and disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the
wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh.
Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that I would be king
over this people. Also take with you ten
loaves, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what
will become of the child.’”
Previously, Jeroboam worshipped and consulted his golden
calf idols at his altars with his personally selected
priests. Yet when a real problem arises,
one apparently unsolvable, he turns to the one true God for the truth. It seems ironic that Jeroboam would be so
silly to imagine that the very prophet from whom he sought a word about the
future would somehow be fooled by a physical disguise. “Do not
be deceived, God is not mocked…” (Galatians 6:7a) God will judge men according to what they
are, not what they seem.
This hiding from God while appearing to seek Him is something
seen within many congregations today.
This type of person is seeking something other than an intimate
relationship with God. In this case,
Jeroboam is not trying to learn what has caused this illness or even to ask the
prophet to pray for his son. He only
asks what the future will hold. Will his
son live or die? Matthew Henry comments
“It would have been more pious if he had desired to know wherefore God
contended with him, had begged the prophet’s prayers, and cast away his idols
from him; then the child might have been restored to him, as his hand was. But most people would rather be told their
fortune than their faults or their duty.” What action would then be taken based upon the
knowledge gained about the future?
None. If the son is to live,
nothing is done for the son. If the son
is to die, nothing can be done for the son.
The entire quest loses all meaning.
There are many folks that will attend a Bible study about
the book of Revelation. They are
curious. They seek information. They want to know the future. Yet they are not willing to participate in studies
of other books of the Bible that teach of repentance, of the cleansing blood of
Jesus Christ, or of the dangers of sin such as envy, pride, lust, and the love
of money. They are not interested in
endeavoring to live a life that glorifies God, that serves Him in reaching the
world for Christ, and that serves the community of believers.
Do not misunderstand.
The book of Revelation does promise a blessing to those who read and
hear it. But there is a condition: the
reader must also obey what is read. “Blessed
is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those
things which are written in it for the time is near.” (Revelation 1:3) Indeed the second and third chapters are
bursting with corrections needed in the churches. Repeatedly it is told to the reader what
blessing will come to ‘he that overcomes,’ as well as the alternative outcome if
the reader does not overcome.
We must seek a close personal relationship with God our
Father through Jesus Christ His Son by surrendering to Christ and allowing the
Holy Spirit to reign in our lives. If we
seek God in this way, we will hunger for all of God’s Word, for the whole
counsel of God. Only then can we
overcome. “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He
who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) Only then will we have peace. As Jesus tells us “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace, in
the world you will have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
What good is it to know the future, if you do not know the
One who holds the future in His Hands.
May you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
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