In recent weeks, I have had several conversations with those who claim men are so reasonable, that any obvious demonstration of God’s power would convince them of His existence and their need to follow Him. Their view mirrors that of the rich man of Luke 16, who begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his five brothers so that they wouldn’t lose their souls as well. Abraham answered in part, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (31).
The truth is, most men are sufficiently self-willed to reject truths of every type, no matter how obvious they may be. We see it everyday in politics, medicine and daily life. (Note: We can be guilty of the same, and need to be careful ourselves).
An object lesson that illustrates this point is found in the reign of King Jeroboam, as alluded to in 1 Kings 11. King Solomon was nearing the end of his reign over all of Israel, and had disappointed God. He had allowed his many wives to lead his heart away from God to the worship of idols. Because of this, Ahijah the prophet told Jeroboam that God was going to take away the large part of Solomon’s kingdom, and give it to Jeroboam. (We know that Jeroboam took control of the 10 northern tribes, forming the nation of Israel, in fulfillment of this prophecy).
The sin of Solomon was idolatry. The Lord through Ahijah told Jeroboam, “So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel. Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and 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, and will give Israel to you” (1 Kings 11:37-38). Note the conditional nature of that promise to Jeroboam. “If you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments…”
So, what happened? Solomon died, Rehoboam alienated the people, and Jeroboam received the ten northern tribes just as God had promised. But then, Jeroboam made two mistakes.
First, he doubted God’s promise to give him an enduring house. Immediately upon taking the throne, he began to worry about the stability of his reign, and took steps to solidify it without God’s guidance.
Second, the means by which he sought to establish that stability was to immediately introduce idol worship to the northern tribes. In other words, the very thing that wrested the kingdom from Solomon, was adopted by Jeroboam, (cf. 1 Kings 12:25-33).
How could this man, having received this prophecy from Jehovah, and having seen it fulfilled exactly as promised, immediately turn from God to serve idols? It was his self-will. He depended upon himself rather than God.
The fact that men reject God today is not surprising. The fact is, if God revealed Himself through miracles and divine demonstrations today as He did in the past, it would make little difference. The evidence of God’s existence and preeminence is clear and sufficient. People don’t believe it because they don’t want to believe it.
We should heed God’s statement to Jeroboam. Our salvation depends upon our “doing what is right in [His] sight, to keep [His] commandments and [His] statutes.” Just as Israel’s rebellion had consequences, any departure from God’s commandments will bring God’s judgment upon us.
(Note: The image is cropped from an original image titled “King Jeroboam and the godman in front of the altar.” It references the events of 1 Kings 13. This image originated from Amsterdam in 1708 -Jan Luyken, print maker).
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