A Kingdom Divided in Two - Chapter 14

A yoke is a powerful tool. It takes the power of two individual animals and increases their ability to carry a load. The yoke takes of different imagery throughout the Bible. The last time we encountered the word “yoke” was in Exodus 6 about being enslaved by Pharaoh. At the end of last week’s chapter, we see Solomon move from a King of God-given wisdom to a tyrant in the image of Pharaoh enslaving his own people for the sake of building his empire. Chapter 14 of The Story begins with Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, being visited by the leaders of Israel asking for the harsh conditions brought on by Solomon to be rectified. Rehoboam does the wisest thing we will see him do in his reign. He sends them away for three days while he seeks counsel. From this quick scene in the story we learn two lessons on leadership. Win people’s hearts and they will choose to be yoked to you forever. Or, you can force a heavy yoke on them and they will be forced to be your slaves. When the heavy yoke of slavery is placed on the unified nation of Israel, the ten northern tribes find a new leader: Jeroboam.

Jeroboam is promised the ten tribes by God. This split in the kingdom was intended as discipline, not as a divide. God is intent on keeping His covenant with Abraham, His promise to David, and continues to look fondly on Jerusalem…which is now located in the southern Kingdom of Judah. In 1 Kings 12:26-27, Jeroboam realizes that if the people continue in their YHWH worship, they will look to stay connected to the line of David (Rehoboam) and he will lose his position of authority. The purpose of every leader is to point the people towards God. Jeroboam is not a good leader. He exchanges the yoke of slavery for the yoke of idolatry. He sets up gods for the people in the same image of that of Exodus 32 and cuts off their connection with the House of David. Jeroboam takes what was supposed to be a political division and turns it into a religious one! Religion for Jeroboam is a political expediency, a means of manipulating Israel’s loyalty in his direction instead of pointing them in GOD’s direction.

The yoke of slavery to the state and the yoke of slavery to an idol are equally heavy. Both yokes force you to carry something that will not carry their end of the load. The yoke in this case is a burden. Isaiah 46 points to these gods having to be carried by the people and set in place. The people must carry the burden of these gods so that they can worship them. We have a God who says, “You do not carry me on your back, I carry you on my back!”

You will always be yoked to something. Even the person who refuses to be yoked to anything yokes themselves to themselves and the burden is too heavy. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus gives this promise, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Be intentional in what or who you yoke yourself to or you will always carry a heavy burden.

What are you yoking yourself to that needs to be placed at the foot of the cross? National identity? Sexuality? Race identity? Gender identity? Finances? Your job? The image you project of yourself? What can we as a church help you lay down so that you can pick up the cross of Christ?

Take a moment to reflect on Romans 8. I want to end this reflection on our reading with verses 31-39. I’m continually ministering to people who are carrying heavy burdens in their lives. This passage is the one I keep coming back to for the Hope we find in Jesus Christ:

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

From Shepherd to King - Chapter 11

David’s character and virtue are contrasted with Saul’s vice and downfall. David is insignificant to his family and to Israel. The opening scene of chapter 11 is Samuel going to Bethlehem in search of a new king. The prophet life must be a lonely one. The elders of Bethlehem trembled when they met Samuel asking if he has come in peace. The stage is set from the beginning as God says to Samuel, “Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

David was a “man after God’s own heart.” This doesn’t mean that God created him differently than he created Saul, or anyone else. He did not especially design him in the form of his own heart. David’s desire in life was God’s heart. Everything he did, was evaluated and viewed through the lens of God’s heart. He refuses to kill Saul because he was anointed by God even though Saul was trying to kill him. He danced in the streets in his underwear before the ark because he was so overcome by God’s glory. He waited on God’s timing for him to be king when he could have easily started a coup and led the people to overthrow Saul. He, even at a young age, refused to stand by and allow an uncircumcised Philistine to continue to defile the ranks of the LORD, God!

When reading the story of David and Goliath we can take it in a few different directions. On one hand, God’s power is manifested in the arm of David as he fell the giant with a rock from a sling. On the other, David used the abilities God blessed him with, which he developed over time, to bring honor God. The first telling of the story can quickly turn the narrative into a miraculous one of God intervening. The second telling is about recognizing the gifts you have developed and turning them toward God to bring Him honor. I believe the second telling deserves the greater emphasis. You have been blessed with talents and abilities. What are you doing to bring honor to God with them?

David points us to Christ in the kind of king he is. We’ll talk more next week about all the Davidic references to Jesus. David was not the perfect king but he did point to the perfect King. David killed Goliath. This is more than an underdog story. This is a story about how a life, that has been dedicated to following the heart of God, develops and strengthens to the point of standing off with a giant. With the conquering of Goliath, we know there will be other giants in David’s life. Christ stood before the Goliath called death and conquered it for good (1 Cor. 15:26).

Because Christ conquered death, the giants we face are diminished. As the body of Christ, we’ve been given power through the Holy Spirit to overcome the Goliaths in this world. While our minds quickly jump to the Goliaths we personally face (insecurity, worthiness, relationship issues, etc.), what does it look like for us as a church to look at the Goliaths of the world around us and work towards conquering them (race issues, poverty, broken families/marriages, hunger, etc.)?

As the Body of Christ, how do we come together and stand on the battle field before Goliath with confidence? Take time to read 1 Corinthians 12-13 at some point. This whole section is about unity in the Body of Christ. Here are verses 7-14:

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

Your gifts are for the common good of the Body of Christ, the church. We are all baptized by the same Spirit so we are all part of the same Body. How are you developing your gifts so that Queen City church of Christ can be a stronger Body facing Goliath in our corner of Charlotte? How are you getting better acquainted with the other parts of the Body so that we are stronger together? Get involved with a Small Group, in a Bible class, host a game night, help with events, etc. Find ways to invest in the Body of Christ at QCC so that we can be stronger together and have confidence in the face of Goliath through the Holy Spirit.