Suppose your boss treats you poorly and often says harsh things. At this moment, you face a battle: to please him or to ignore him? If you truly have the confidence to trust in the Lord Jehovah, you will discover that God puts your enemies under your feet!
Questions for Reflection:
Do you agree with the statement, Life is like a battlefield, full of various struggles? What battles have you experienced in your life?
When you encounter struggles, what differences do you perceive between relying on God and relying on yourself? Share a personal example.
What battles did David and Jeroboam respectively face in their lives? What differences were there in their approaches to these battles? What different outcomes did these lead to in their lives?
Emulate David, Trust in Jehovah and Surely Triumph
The one who wrote the Book of 1 Kings did so after the nation had fallen. In writing these things after the fall, the author already had an answer in his heart. This answer is: Do not do what is evil in the eyes of Jehovah, but do what is right in the eyes of Jehovah. In the Bible, the author found two typical examples: one is David, and the other is Jeroboam. Later people would say, Someone walked in the way of Jeroboam, and led Israel into sin. Or, This king emulated his ancestor David, and brought God's blessing.
Today, we must understand that these authors of the Bible, whether it was Moses who wrote Genesis or John who later wrote Revelation, give us a key concept: after writing about these figures, they want you to know whom you should emulate. If you emulate David, your days will be like David's; if you emulate Jeroboam, your days will be like Jeroboam's. In 1 Kings chapter 15, what words are mentioned most often? They are: constant warfare, and doing what is evil in the eyes of Jehovah. These two things are greatly related.
What does a person rely on when he is constantly at war? Some learn to emulate their ancestor David, doing what is right in the eyes of Jehovah, and then they will see victory when they are at war. But those who emulate Jeroboam, when they fight against those who emulate David, are not likely to win. However, those who emulate Jeroboam and fight against others who emulate Jeroboam may occasionally win one time.
A person's mindset is crucial when they are in the world. Some people, as soon as they go to war, feel unsure. If their hearts have no foundation, that is troublesome; they are anxious, not knowing whether they will win. This situation is very similar to when we encounter difficulties. Suppose your boss is not good to you and often says harsh things. Then you face a battle. At this time, you have to make a decision: whether to please him or simply ignore him. If you trust in the Lord Jehovah, you will discover that God puts your enemies under your feet. But if you emulate Jeroboam, you will find that there are wins and losses. Sometimes you will fear him, sometimes you will not, and sometimes you will be bullied even when you are not afraid. Sometimes you can even win once. The whole situation is completely out of your control.
A person's faith in God, whether it is real or fake, is most evident when they are at war. If he can still maintain his faith in times of war, that is called emulating David. David was a remarkable man. During his thirteen years of exile, he often trusted in God. How many times was he in mortal danger, yet he trusted in God, prayed and called on God, and step by step, walked through those dangerous situations. He did not walk through those dangerous situations for a day or two, nor for a month or two, but for thirteen years. He often prayed to God with tears in his eyes, not relying on anything else, but solely relying on God.
We know that David had two opportunities to kill Saul, and he refused to kill Saul each time. You should know that although the Bible does not write it, those who followed him did not necessarily agree with his approach! Those who followed him also wanted to live a stable life: David, if you become king, we can also get an official position and live a stable life. What's the point of running around like this all day? How good it would be to end this fugitive life sooner! Who doesn't want to end it sooner? But David was remarkable precisely because he was not afraid of his subordinates opposing him, nor was he afraid of his subordinates running away. But Saul was the opposite example. He was afraid of people running away, so he disobeyed the Lord Jehovah. Therefore, if a person fears God in his life, he will not fear war, nor will he fear people. Because if you fear people, you will certainly not fear God. You always look at your visible enemies, but you cannot see the invisible enemies. What is visible is worldly, and what is invisible is spiritual. Therefore, this battle is almost inextricably linked with trusting in God.
Those who trust in God triumph time and again. Is the history of David, the things David did, not known to the people of that generation? How could Jeroboam not have known about David's affairs? How could he not have known about Solomon's affairs? How could he not have known that these people obtained these graces by trusting in God? He knew all of it. But he still went to do these things, which we cannot comprehend. As a result, we will see two incompatible systems. You are either in the trust of God or in the trust of the world; trusting in the world is trusting in yourself. In the end, we can see, When Baasha became king, he struck down all the house of Jeroboam. He left to Jeroboam not a single person with breath, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite. (1 Kings 15:29)
The author who wrote 1 Kings shows us that a person who does not trust in God is like this. If God lifts you up and has given you grace, then you have become the people of Jehovah God, you are called the people under God's name. If you are a person who does not know God, and you still go and do those things, and finally die and fall into hell, God does not care much. But if you are called under God's name, and you still turn away from God, your end will be like Jeroboam's end, and you will die a very miserable death. So, brothers and sisters, from this, we see that the author of 1 Kings is actually highlighting two examples: one is the example of imitating David, and the other is the example of imitating Jeroboam. In chapter 16, Baasha is mentioned again. How did Baasha become king? It was a prophet, the word of God came to Jehu the son of Hanani, and said to Baasha: For I exalted you out of the dust and made you leader over my people Israel, but you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger by their sins, behold, I will sweep away Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone belonging to him who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat.” (1 Kings 16:2-4)
This family of Jeroboam was killed by Baasha. I am really surprised. Was he not clear about how the family of Jeroboam died? Was he not clear about the judgment that God had given to the family of Jeroboam? He was clear! If he was clear, how could he still walk in the ways of Jeroboam? I cannot understand. In my ministry in the past few days, I often meet people like this: they receive God's grace, and then they turn around and do not recognize God. Such things are repeated again and again. I really do not understand what they are thinking in their heads. Later, I often said, even if you are stupid, look at the blessings God has done among us. Which of those who follow me well and believe in the Lord live badly? Not one!
A child who used to come among us was a classmate of Sister JY in our midst. At that time, I advised her to examine carefully and see how the days of those among us who fear God and do what is right in God's eyes are going. But after she saw it, she still went her own way and lived in corruption. As a result, I heard from Sister JY today that she has lost her job and it is hard to rent a house, but she does not feel it is hard. I am really surprised. So the author wrote so much to let us know: Whether you trust in God or not, the battle is inevitable.
Since the matter of battle is inevitable, then let us be determined that no matter what kind of battle comes before us, no matter what kind of devilish enemy we face, let us be determined to overcome it and imitate David. If we belong to the name of Israel and become spiritual Israelites, and imitate our ancestor David to do what is right in God's eyes, we will triumph!
What this author has written is to tell us such a thing. If you examine carefully, what is the end of a person like David, and then examine what is the end of a person like Jeroboam. If you have not received God's grace and blessings, nor experienced God's power, and you live like the people of the world, I think judgment will come sooner or later, but it will not be like those who have received God's grace and turn away from God's way; that kind of judgment is very, very serious!