Ahijah Foresees a Divided Kingdom

GOLDEN TEXT: “And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in My ways, and do that is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as David My servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.” —I Kings 11:38

I KINGS 11:29-38

THERE were prophets in Israel whom the Lord used to forecast developments within the nation who were not moved by the Holy Spirit to write concerning the out-working of the divine plan of salvation through a coming Redeemer and Messiah. One of these lesser prophets was Ahijah, who for told the breach which would occur in the kingdom of Israel following the death of Solomon.

God has the ability to foresee events without the necessity of controlling them. The only way our finite minds could be sure of what will occur tomorrow would be to have absolute control over those events. But the great Creator of the universe is not thus limited. He knew that all the circumstances were ripe for the coming division of Israel, when ten of the tribes would revolt against King Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, and acclaim Jeroboam their king instead.

The groundwork for this rebellion was laid before Solomon died, his own sin of idolatry being the principal cause. In I Kings 11:9 we read, “The Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice. And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord had commanded.”

King Solomon had placed considerable responsibility in the hands of Jeroboam, recognizing him to be a mighty man of valor. “He made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.” Then the prophet, Ahijah, meeting the young man as he was leaving the city of Jerusalem, prophesied that upon the death of, Solomon he would become ruler over the ten tribes. “Thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth,” was the prophet’s assurance to Jeroboam.

Our Golden Text contains the words of the Lord to Jeroboam. While he was to be permitted to rend the ten tribes away from Solomon’s son Rehoboam, he could not expect the Lord’s blessing to continue with him unless he obeyed his commands, walked in his ways, and kept his statutes. Some students of the Bible claim that since this division occurred, all of God’s promises to Israel are being fulfilled through the ten tribes and their descendants; but they overlook the conditions attached to having it work out this way, conditions which were laid down even before Solomon died, and these conditions were not met.

Jeroboam himself was not faithful to the God of Israel. I Kings 12:28-31 reveals that he disobeyed the commandment given him in our Golden Text. One after another of Jeroboam’s successors followed his example of unrighteousness and finally God withdrew his protecting hand from the ten-tribe kingdom and the people were taken into captivity in Assyria.

Nor did the separation of the ten tribes from Judah and Benjamin mean that the “sceptre,” or right to rule, had departed from Judah. Verse 36 of the lesson informs us that the tribe of Judah would not be wrested from Solomon’s son, the reason being “that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.”

Centuries before this, in Jacob’s death-bed prophecy he said, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh [one of the Old Testament titles of the Messiah] come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. (Gen. 49:10) The arrangement of the Lord for the tribe of Judah to keep a “light” burning in Jerusalem even when the ten tribes rebelled against Rehoboam is in keeping with Jacob’s prophecy.

The practical application of today’s lesson is its reminder that God’s promises to his people are conditional upon their faithfulness in doing his will. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering in to his rest, any of you should seem, to come short of it.” (Heb. 4:1) God will never “come short” in the fulfillment of his promises if we remain zealously alert, and not fail to live up to the conditions attached to his promises.

QUESTIONS

Is God able to foresee events without the necessity of controlling them?

Who was most responsible for the rebellion of the ten tribes of Israel against Rehoboam?

Did the division in Israel in any way change God’s original design concerning the tribe of Judah?

What practical application may Christians make of today’s lesson?

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