Monday, June 9, 2014

Abijam

Would you like to read James McNaught’s novel Sinking Sand”? click here: Sinking Sand
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
1 Kings 15:1–8, “Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah. Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. Nevertheless for David’s sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem: Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead.”

David was a godly man who, even though he committed adultery and murder, confessed his sin to the Lord and was forgiven by the grace of God. Solomon had a good start because he followed the example of David, his father. However, Solomon loved many women and, in his later years, began to worship many other gods. No doubt Rehoboam heard all about the Lord and he lived in Jerusalem with the Temple and the God appointed priesthood. Not only did Rehoboam go his own way, he didn’t teach his son Abijam to obey the Lord either and Abijam went his own way as well. Even though these kings lived in Jerusalem and didn’t take notice of the Temple and all that the Lord had done for their ancestors the Lord still didn’t invoke all the penalty clauses of the contract that He had made with David. The Lord was patient and gave these kings time to repent of their sin and come back, in submission, to the Lord. The Lord was patient with David’s descendants because David was true to the Lord till the end of his life.

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