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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for August 25, 2009
“Are You Leaving God Out of the Process?”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
“Jeroboam thought to himself…”
We all do that, don’t we? We think to ourselves.
That’s how we solve problems, isn’t it? We ponder things. We go over them, over and over in our head.
And then we come up with a plan. We think to ourselves, then come up with a plan.
And that’s what Jeroboam did.
Now you need to know that Jeroboam was the new king of Israel. He was originally a top official under King Solomon, but at some point he rebelled, Solomon tried to kill him, and he fled to Egypt. Then when Solomon died, he came back, and the people made him king.
But part of the kingdom remained in the hands of Solomon’s son Rehoboam. And Rehoboam had his throne in Jerusalem, where the temple was, while Jeroboam, even though he ruled over most of Israel, was stuck out in Shechem.
And that’s where he started thinking to himself. I imagine him sitting there, looking off toward Jerusalem, and thinking.
He started thinking about all the sacrifices, the feasts and festivals, the Passover and the Day of Atonement – things that would cause people to go to Jerusalem. His people would be traveling straight to the capital of his rival!
And Jeroboam thought to himself, “If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to the king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”
Jeroboam is being very practical here, right? He’s just thinking through his problem and working on a solution, something we all do.
And he is doing something else we all are prone to do. He is leaving God out of the process.
If you are working on a problem today, whether it’s personal or business or whatever, I have one question for you. Are you leaving God out of the process?
Well there is no way that King Jeroboam should have left God out because it was God who made him king in the first place!
The story goes back to First Kings chapter 11. One day a young Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem and ran into the prophet Ahijah. There were alone out there in the country, and the prophet told Jeroboam, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes.”
The prophet went on to say that the Lord was going to take most of the kingdom away from Solomon’s family because they had, among other things, worshipped false gods.
Then the Lord made this guarantee to Jeroboam. “You will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you.”
That’s what the Lord told Jeroboam, long before he became king. So God told him he would be king, and he told him what to do when he became king.
And Jeroboam did become king, and now we come to First Kings chapter 12 verse 26: “Jeroboam thought to himself.”
Now what Jeroboam should have been thinking about is that word from the Lord. He should have stood on that word. He should have drilled it into his head, making it the foundation for all of his thinking.
The Lord had made him king, and the Lord would keep him as king – as long as he did what the Lord said.
But when Jeroboam thought to himself, he did not think about the Lord’s word. He only thought about practical, logical, realistic solutions to his problem.
And here was his solution. To keep people from rushing off to worship in Jerusalem, he set up two golden calves and told the people to worship them. He even said, “Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
What on earth? The Lord had made him king, even prophesied it before it happened. And all he had to do was keep the Lord’s commands, especially the command about not worshipping other gods.
God told him exactly how to remain the king, but Jeroboam started thinking to himself. He left God out of his problem solving, and the next thing you know he did exactly what God told him not to do.
Long story short, Jeroboam’s blatant disobedience ended up with the complete destruction of his entire family, and another family took over the kingdom.
And it all went back to that day that Jeroboam thought to himself.
Just a few thoughts bouncing around in his head, and yet they were absolutely critical to him and his whole family.
So what about you today? Do you find yourself thinking to yourself, trying to solve a problem, bouncing it around in your head?
Well don’t make the mistake Jeroboam made. Go back to your foundation, to the things the Lord has done in your life previously. Go back to the word of the Lord.
Yes, it’s fine to think to yourself, but whatever you do, do not leave the Lord out of the process.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2009 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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