Jeroboam was rewarded by God with the 10 tribes which made up the northern kingdom of Israel. He became their king, according to the prophet Ahijah, because the reign of Solomon led to Israel forsaking Jehovah, and engaging in idolatry, cf. 1 Kings 11:29-39. His tenure as king was conditioned upon his obedience to God. The prophet Ahijah shared with Jeroboam these words from God, “Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in my ways, do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, I will give Israel to you” (38).
Jeroboam responded to Jehovah’s gift of the northern kingdom by rebelling against Him. Just as Solomon led Israel into idolatry, Jeroboam encouraged the northern Kingdom he ruled to worship gold calves he had fashioned for them.
1 Kings 14 reveals that Jeroboam’s son Abijah had become ill. He told his wife to go to the prophet Ahijah to inquire about his son. She was to disguise herself, as Jeroboam seems to think that such deception might bring a positive prophecy from the prophet. Jeroboam said, “Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, [at Shiloh], who told me I would be king over this people.”
The wife took an offering to the prophet, but the Lord had spoken to Ahijah, telling him exactly what to say. When she came through the door, Ahijah was ready. He said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news” (14:6). Because Jeroboam had done “more evil than all who were before you” (14:9), God determined to bring disaster to his family, including taking the life of Jeroboam’s son. When the wife crossed the threshold of Jeroboam’s house, the child died. Eventually, the kingdom of Israel was taken away into Assyrian captivity, as God had foretold through the prophet Ahijah.
Can you imagine Ahijah’s feelings in sharing this harsh message from Jehovah? If he were to remain faithful to his God, he had to say what he said. “Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, ‘Here is the wife of Jeroboam, coming to ask you something about her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman’” (14:5). “Thus and thus you shall say to her.” No other message was acceptable. His purpose as a prophet of God was to share the message that God ordained.
This is what God requires today as well. There will always be teachers who are willing to scratch the itching ears of the ungodly (cf. 2 Timothy 4:3-4). But, Paul told Timothy, “But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5).
The work of an evangelist is to tell people what God says, rather than what they want to hear. It is to “declare the whole counsel of God” (cf. Acts 20:27). This must be done, even when the message is not pleasant to the hearer.
Is it enjoyable to be the bearer of bad news? Not at all. The message is severe, and it is often met with opposition. There is a reason why some will plead, “Don’t kill the messenger”, as often the messenger gets blamed for the content of the message. As Stephen accused his Jewish tormentors, “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers” (Acts 7:52). Stephen was stoned to death for his trouble.
The next time you are convicted of sin by the truth of God, consider that the one doing the convicting is simply doing what God expects. Don’t kill the messenger. Repent!
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