Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
If you’ve ever traveled much, it’s amazing how you can gain a fresh perspective on your life, your priorities, your values, and even your homeland from a far distant place. My time in Israel with a group of pilgrims has been having that fresh perspective effect on me.
In my homeland a prolonged season of political elections is beginning to ramp up. It’s going to be an ugly time as our world will be deluged with American political rhetoric which will border on slander, and it will require great effort to find any truth in all the political noise.
Having been in Israel these many days, we have been reminded over and over of the uniqueness of God’s design for a people of God to model for the world what it can be for a people to live their lives; run their businesses, politics and education; define their morality and their truth; and build their relationships all as guided by God.
One of the most interesting places we visited was an archeological project in the extreme north of Israel near the Lebanon border. The old city walls still stand, as does the massive gate entrance to the city. At the main city gate is a special area of large stones forming a raised platform. It was here the city leaders sat every day. From this vantage point they could view all who entered their city and could easily stop and question anyone unknown to them. Any person in the city needing an audience with the city leaders knew right where to find them and could approach them with their question, their problem, their request for help. This particular city was known in the Old Testament as DAN, the extreme northern point in the nation of Israel.
May I give you two significant Biblical events which took place in the gateway to cities like this, which help us understand the significance of this raised platform area for city leaders? Abraham had settled in the land God had promised him near the city of Kiriath Arba, which became known as Hebron. His wife Sarah died there at the age of 127. Abraham went to the city gate platform and negotiated with the city leaders who were sitting there, for a plot of land to bury his wife. (Gen.23)
He bought ‘the cave of Machpelah and the field surrounding it.’ That place eventually became the burial place for Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah and Jacob, (Gen. 49:29-32) and for about 4000 years has been revered as one of the most significant pieces of real estate in the world, for both Jews and Muslims.
About 900 years later, the businessman Boaz met with the city leaders at the gate to Bethlehem to negotiate for the land of Elimelek who died leaving a debt. Boaz became the ‘kinsman redeemer’ of Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth, that day, and Boaz married Ruth and took financial responsibility for widow Noami. (Ruth 4) Soon after, God blessed Ruth and Boaz with a son. “And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” (Ruth 4:17)
While standing on that raised platform area it caused me to think of the cities in which you and I live. Our cities are far more complex now. A small handful of people are not capable of leading the major aspects of modern cities, and fancy offices have replaced the raised platform at the city gate. But pause for a moment and consider this:
* Who in your city are those most responsible for the moral and ethical condition of your city?
* Who are those most responsible for the lawfulness or lawlessness in your city, for the safety and security of your city?
* Who are those most responsible for the economic health and vitality of your city? What about the educational capacity of the people of all ages in your city?
* Who are those most responsible for the sanctity of life and the health care for people of all ages in your city?
* Who are those most responsible for looking out into the future to discern what great challenges your city may face 10 or 20 years from now and preparing the plans needed to avoid disaster for your city?
And so, I have this thought: If you have questions about any of these issues for your city, are you free to go to the offices of your city leaders and ask them, as citizens in these ancient cities asked their leaders at the city gate?
The long history of this ancient city of Dan is primarily marked by one major, catastrophic, leadership decision during a strategic period of time in Israel’s history. As King Solomon’s life and reign drew to a close, so closed the wonderful, glorious 80 years of the United Kingdom of Israel under the leadership of King David and then his son King Solomon. Sadly, Solomon had failed badly as king in his later years, succumbing to his insatiable appetite for the love of women. (1 Kings 11)
God’s judgement raised up adversaries to Solomon, which resulted in the nation of Israel dividing with the majority of the people and land of the north coming under the leadership of a man named Jeroboam. Amazingly, this man had been one of King Solomon’s faithful officials, and this verse describes his reputation: “Now Jeroboam was a man of standing and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, Solomon put him in charge of the whole labor force of the tribes of Joseph. (1 Kings 11:28)
1 Kings 11:29-40 describe one of the most amazing, unexpected encounters between a human being and God that you’ll find in the entire Bible. One day Jeroboam was minding his own business, going out of Jerusalem, perhaps to check on one of the many construction projects he was overseeing. Suddenly, he was approached by a man named Abijah identified as ‘the prophet of Shiloh.’ Shiloh, you’ll remember was where the Tabernacle of God had been, and young Samuel had grown up there and become the leader of God’s people before God led Samuel to anoint Saul as Israel’s first king. This man Abijah would have been highly regarded as a man of God and thus Jeroboam would have listened very carefully when Abijah told Jeroboam that God had a very special message for him! The message was shocking!
“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you 10 tribes of Israel! I will do this because Israel has forsaken Me and worshipped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the Ammonites, and they have not walked in obedience to Me nor done what is right in My eyes, nor kept my decrees and laws as David, Solomon’s father did.” (1 Kings 11:31-33) None of us can imagine how terrifying this message would have been! God Himself was going to tear apart the kingdom of Israel in judgment for Solomon’s failed leadership!
But even more shocking, God said He was raising up Jeroboam to be king over the 10 northern tribes and forming a new nation of God’s people! Before Jeroboam could catch his breath, Abijah continued: “This is what the LORD says: ‘I will take you, and 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 obedience to Me and do what is right in My eyes by observing My decrees 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 I will give Israel to YOU! (1 Kings 11:37-40)
Now, I don’t know exactly where this conversation took place but since these two men had met as Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, it’s probable to me that as Abijah walked away, Jeroboam looked for a quiet place to sit and reflect, with his eyes looking at the great city of Jerusalem and the magnificent Temple King Solomon’s workforce had built. Stunned, Jeroboam could only sit and reflect on what he had heard! How seriously does God take the role of leadership and influence in the human race? What price was Solomon and this great city of Jerusalem about to pay for Solomon’s failed leadership? What is this remarkable offer God is making to Jeroboam and what future does God have in mind for Israel and Jeroboam?
And what about today in Israel and America and every other great nation of the world? What does God see as He looks at LEADERS? What is God about to do that shake nations and shape the future? I want us to pause right here and pray. Pray for Leaders. Pray for God’s guidance for you my friends, and those whose lives you influence. And I’ll meet you right back here tomorrow to see what happened to shape the national story of Israel with Mr. Jeroboam.
Today’s Scripture is 1 Kings 11.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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