Pastor’s Bible Reading Schedule:
2 Chronicles 11-15
We read that the Lord sent a prophet, a man named Shemaiah, to command Rehoboam to turn back from his military campaign. Rehoboam obeyed, the army disbanded, and everyone went home, but the kingdom was permanently divided. From this point on, there would be two kingdoms. The two kingdoms would never get back together again, but would rather be dispersed through capture. Of the two divisions, Israel was less stable and became more steeped in idolatry, and was carried into exile earlier than Judah.
Since the chronicler throughout his book wishes to remind us of the importance of the temple worship and the people responsible for it, he now emphasizes the faithfulness of the Levites in this time of national crisis. Jeroboam had turned the political issue into a religious one as well. Or, more accurately, he recognized the religious angle of the political question. Jeroboam realized that if he wanted his new kingdom to survive, he had to provide it with its own religious centers. What good would it do to carve out impenetrable borders if the people crossed into Jerusalem three times a year to observe the festivals? Could he ever command the loyalty of his subjects if they could go to the temple any time they felt the need to sacrifice and be exposed to anti-Jeroboam propaganda? How would he maintain an independent realm if its religious backbone was supplied by a class of priests and Levites who were loyal to the temple in Jerusalem? Therefore, Jeroboam created his own new religion, modeled loosely after the worship of God, but with some major modifications. He established two new sanctuaries, conveniently located on the northern border (Dan) and close to the southern border (Bethel) of his kingdom, so that all Israelites would have easy access to religious sites without having to go to Jerusalem. He also insisted that his religion would not tax the people’s intellect with the idea of some kind of invisible God hidden behind an impenetrable curtain. Jeroboam gave his grateful citizens gods they could see and touch, gods with a historical heritage. He made for them two golden calves, one for each location, reminding them perhaps of the ancient Israelite tradition of worshiping a golden calf.
Most importantly for the chronicler’s purpose, Jeroboam dismissed the Levitical priesthood and replaced it with a group of men who felt called to a religious vocation in service to calf and goat idols. These new priests would be loyal to the king and not clutter the heads of the people with ideas about the importance of Jerusalem, the temple, and worship of the one True God. Sounds very similar to the secular humanism of our day and the way it is promoted in America.
Prayer Requests:
Personal
- Lord, please help me to only point people to you as the only True God.
- Lord, please help me to discern the popular propaganda of materialism and the secular humanism that empowers it.
- Lord, please help me to realize that selfish agenda always ends in division.
Political
- Representative Nate Shannon – District 25 – Warren
- Representative Jason Sheppard – District 56 – Temperance
- Senator Mike Shirkey – District 16 – Clarklake