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Idol Threats Cornerstone Connections real.solid.stories CORNERSTONECONNECTIONS FEBRUARYFEBRUARY06062016 Scripture Story: 1 Kings 11:14-43; 12:1-24; 2 Chronicles 9:29–12:16. Commentary: Prophets and Kings (or Royalty in Ruins), chapter 6. idol threats cornerstone connections 25 keytext Photo by Bill Wolf “After sheRehoboam’s had given positionhim a drink, as flashlight kingshe said,was established‘I’ll draw water and forhe yourhad camels too, until they have fin- “The twelve tribes of Israel were divided, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin composing the become strong, he and all Israel ished drinking’” lower or southern kingdom of Judah, under the rulership of Rehoboam; while the ten north- with him abandoned the law of the ern tribes formed and maintained a separate government, known as the kingdom of Israel, (Genesis 24:19, NIV). with Jeroboam as their ruler. Thus was fulfilled the prediction of the prophet concerning Lord.” the rending of the kingdom. ‘The cause was from the Lord’” (Prophets and Kings, p. 91). (2 Chronicles 12:1, NIV) “But as time passed, the king put his trust in the power of position and in the strongholds he had fortified. Little by little he gave way to inherited weakness, until he threw his influence wholly on the side of idolatry” (Prophets and Kings, p. 93). www.cornerstoneconnections.net heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will what scourge you with scorpions.’” do you think? “So all the Israelites went home. But as Rank the following items below in order of importance to the for the Israelites who were living in the average teenager (1 is most important, 10 is least important). towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled ___ A sizable bank account ___ A loving family over them. ___ Good looks ___ A hot boy/girlfriend ___ Good grades ___ Low stress “King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, ___ Musical abilities ___ Good health who was in charge of forced labor, but ___ A strong relationship with God INTO the Israelites stoned him to death. King ___ A good reputation Rehoboam, however, managed to get THE into his chariot and escape to Jeru- salem. So Israel has been in rebellion STORY against the house of David to this day.” “When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusa- did you “Rehoboam went to Shechem, lem, he mustered Judah and Benja- for all Israel had gone there min—a hundred and eighty thousand know? to make him king. When able young men—to go to war against ehoboam’s mother was Jeroboam son of Nebat heard Israel and to regain the kingdom for Naamah, an Ammonite. Her this (he was still in Egypt, where Rehoboam. name means “pleasant” or he had fled from King Solomon), “sweetness,” but her actions he returned from Egypt. So they “But this word of the Lord came to connections against the true God of sent for Jeroboam, and he and the Shemaiah the man of God: ‘Say to Israel were abominable. whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of She was one of Solomon’s many wives Rehoboam and said to him: ‘Your Judah and to all Israel in Judah and who influenced Solomon toward idolatry. father put a heavy yoke on us, but Benjamin, “This is what the Lord says: Because she was the first lady of the now lighten the harsh labor and the Do not go up to fight against your kingdom, Solomon erected in her honor a heavy yoke he put on us, and we fellow Israelites. Go home, every one cornerstone statue to her god, Moloch. will serve you. .’ of you, for this is my doing.”’ So they 26 Moloch was a god to whom children were obeyed the words of the Lord and often sacrificed. The law given to Moses “Three days later Jeroboam turned back from marching against prohibited the Jews from sacrificing children to and all the people returned to Jeroboam.” Moloch; nevertheless, King Solomon introduced Rehoboam, as the king had Moloch into Israel. Moloch’s shrine was located at said, ‘Come back to me “Because Rehoboam humbled himself, a site outside Jerusalem named Gehenna. in three days.’ The king the Lord’s anger turned from him, and Gehenna (first mentioned in the Bible in Joshua answered the people he was not totally destroyed. 15:8), in Jewish eschatology, is harshly. Rejecting the a fiery place where the wicked advice given him by “King Rehoboam established himself are punished on judgment the elders, he fol- firmly in Jerusalem and continued as day. Originally it referred to a lowed the advice king. He was forty-one years old when garbage dump in a deep, narrow of the young men he became king, and he reigned seven- valley right outside the walls of and said, ‘My teen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord Jerusalem where fires were kept father made had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel burning to consume your in which to put his Name. His mother’s the refuse and keep yoke name was Naamah; she was an Ammo- down the stench. It is also the nite. He did evil because he had not set location where bodies of executed his heart on seeking the Lord.” criminals, or individuals denied a proper burial, would be dumped. Gehenna is sometimes (1 Kings 12:1-4, 12-14; 2 Chronicles translated as “hell.” 10:16-19; 11:1-4; 12:12-14, NIV) punch lines OUT “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24, NIV). OF THE “Why do the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’ Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. But their idols are silver and gold, made STORY by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot Read all of the texts listed in Scripture Story at the begin- smell. They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, ning of this lesson, and write down the roles played by the nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who following people: make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them” (Psalm 115:2-8, NIV). Adoram _________________________________________________ “They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God; they have moved Me to anger by their Shemaiah ____________________________________________________ foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation” (Deut. 32:21, Hadad ___________________________________________________________ NKJV). cornerstone Jeroboam ___________________________________________________________ Ahijah ________________________________________________________________ other connections Shishak _______________________________________________________________ eyes Maacah _______________________________________________________________ “The person who does not seek the kingdom first 27 What can we learn from each of these people in Rehoboam’s story? With whom do you identify the most? Why? does not seek it at all. Wor- thy as all other concerns may be, the moment they become the focus of our efforts they After reading Rehoboam’s story in the Bible, make a graph of his become idolatry.”—Richard J. Foster, life, indicating those times when he was strong spiritually as well as those times when he experienced great spiritual failure. What 20th-century Christian theologian and author in can we learn from his experience that can help to strengthen the Quaker tradition. our relationship with the Lord? “The man who tries to walk two roads will split his pants.”—West African proverb. “Idolatry is worshiping anything that ought to be used, or using anything that is meant to be wor- shiped.”— Augustine of Hippo, 4th-5th-century church leader. makingitreal Sabbath the following questions: “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we n the What Do You Think? section, you should not think that the divine being is like I were asked to prioritize what the average When have you felt “strong” in the Lord? gold or silver or stone—an image made by teen values the most. Are your personal values What factors led to Rehoboam’s collapse? In human design and skill” (Acts 17:29, NIV). any different from what you perceive to be the what ways are you vulnerable to these same values of the average teen? If so, in what way? temptations? Thursday ow do you know when something is a high Review the list, then think about how we can Rehoboam’s spiritual compromise impacted H priority to you? Check the top action below turn any of these things into an idol. What is an “all Israel.” Who might be negatively influenced that you feel best indicates what someone’s idol? Consider the following definitions and then in your life should you drift away from God? most treasured value or object is: write your own. ___ Spends heaps of money on it. Rehoboam’s downfall came when he “aban- ___ Invests a lot of time in it. i·dol·a·try: “Blind or excessive devotion to doned the law of the Lord.” What specific ___ Thinks of it often. something” (Online American Heritage Dic- aspects of God’s law do you struggle with the ___ Talks about it often. tionary). most? Why? ___ Has dreams at night about it. i·dol·a·try: “Anything that comes before God.” Tuesday Is there any difference between treasuring My definition: ote the final paragraph in the Flashlight something (or someone) and making it an idol? i·dol·a·try: ______________________ N section. Rehoboam’s spiritual collapse Explain.
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