The Meaning Of Life

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/2_chronicles/10.htm

So, Rehoboam is the King of Judah, and Jeroboam is the King of Israel after the kingdom was torn in half. They both had sons named Abijah. Jeroboam’s son Abijah, not the Abijah who was the son of Rehoboa, became ill, so Jeroboam sent his wife to find the prophet Ahijah. Ahijah is like the name Abijah except it has an h instead of a b. Got it?

I told you keeping these names apart are difficult for me; you may find it easy, but I don’t. Just this morning, I had two browser tabs open, one was to the Book of Kings talking about Rehoboam, the other to the Book of Chronicles taking about Jeroboam, and I could switch back and forth between tabs to keep everything straight.

Now please understand; I don’t believe on Judgment Day we’ll be sitting at a table with a written test asking, “Abijah was the son of a) Rehoboam, b) Jeroboam, c) All of the above.” Memorizing names is not important, but knowing the lessons behind each one is important. After all, the Bible isn’t simple a history book, it contains lessons on how to, and how not to, live our lives.

And in Chapter 12, we learn the same lesson over, and over again. Most of the time, God can’t tell us once; we are a “stiff-necked” people and have to be told over and over again. During the reign of Solomon, the wisest king, Israel had peace for 40 years. Solomon was close to God, and because of that, he was protected from Satan. It was only when he strayed from God and began marrying pagan women and worshiping idols that his problems began.

But Rehoboam and Jeroboam immediately distanced themselves from God, Jeroboam even crafting golden calves to worship, and since they withdrew from God, it was only natural they withdrew from God’s protection. As a result, Egypt attacked Judah. The lesson here is to keep close to the Lord. All of the stories in the Bible show that when you stay close to God, you remain within his circle of protection; when you distance yourself, you put yourself out of that circle.

Most importantly, I don’t think God has one thing to do with it. It’s like life on earth. If you love your earthly mother and father and remain in their secure home with their love and protection, you’re fine. But if you sneak out in the middle of the night and head out into the world to do things you shouldn’t be doing, you’re at the mercy of the world. Your earthly parents can’t protect you out there. Your only protection is to stay close to them.

It is the same with God. Is is nature, as God Himself designed it. It simply a fact, like the trees give off oxygen we need for life, and we exhale carbon dioxide the trees need for life. It is all God design, His utterly perfect world. As a renown psychiatrist has said, “we can put a plastic bag over our head and hoard all of our carbon dioxide, a practice that is contrary to God’s design of a perfect world, but what will be the result of our actions?”

And once again, scripture talks about “God’s Wrath”, “Destroying Israel”, and such, but when the leaders of Israel humble themselves and turn back to God, He forgives them. How can God be so vicious and wrathful when He forgives so easily? That is just one more reason why I don’t feel the authors of the Bible are being objectives when they write about events. They are human beings, just like you and I, and they are subject to making mistakes just like I make everyday.

And you can say that “God’s word is inspired”, but who made that determination? Man did, another fallible creature.

Whether I’m right or I’m wrong, I could be very wrong, the lesson remains the same. Stay close to God, regardless of who is telling the story, and you’ll be fine.

Now, Rehoboam’s story has ended. The story was very short, only a few chapters, and the Book of Chronicles says that he only reigned for 17 years as opposed to the 40 years that both David and Solomon reigned. This will be the norm for the rest of the Books of Kings. Some kings reign a long time, some very short. Some are faithful to God, most are not. And like Rehoboam and Jeroboam, some have names that are confusing. The fourth time I read the Bible, I finally sat down and made a chart of the Kings of Judah and the Kings of Israel and the time they reigned with each other, which obviously the lengths were different, and that helped me keep them straight as I was studying them. But whatever works for you, I simply urge you to study for yourself, ask for God’s help in understanding, and pray.