My topic today is "the influence of one man."
I want to tell you the story of the influence of one man - Jeroboam.
Jeroboam was from Zeredah in Ephraim. He was an upper class son of a widow who as a young man was already a proven warrior and military leader. He attracted Solomon’s attention with his work on the supporting terraces and the gap in Jerusalem’s wall.
Solomon made him one of officials and put him in charge of all conscripted labor from Ephraim and Mannaseh.
Shortly after his appointment while alone in the country the prophet Ahijah met him. Ahijah suddenly tore his robe into twelve pieces and told Jeroboam to take 10 pieces representing the 10 tribes God was going to tear from the hands of Solomon and give to Jeroboam.
That’s another story. But the short of it is that for the love of his foreign wives Solomon had done evil in the eyes of the Lord and had not followed God completely.
The Lord became angry with Solomon and swore to tear these tribes
away from him.
Ahijah continued:
"You will rule over all that your heart desires. If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways by keeping my commands and statutes as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you."
Well, when word of Ahijah’s prophecy about Jeroboam got out Solomon tried to kill him.
Jeroboam fled to Egypt and remained there until Solomon’s death.
Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, on the day he was to be confirmed king of all Israel, made the 10 tribes of Northern Israel furious. So when they heard that Jeroboam had come back they sent for him, then called and assembly of the people and made him their king just as God had said.
But that’s not the end of the story.
Jeroboam did not follow God as Lord with his whole heart. He did not heed the promises of the prophet.
But instead, Jeroboam became afraid that if the people went to Jerusalem they would again give their allegiance to Rehoboam and kill him - Jeroboam. He did not believe God would do what He said.
Jeroboam made two golden calves for the people to worship and placed them in Dan and Bethel.
He sold the people on it by saying, "It is too much for you to up to Jerusalem" and claiming these golden calves had brought them out of Egypt.
This new style worship and revised definition of God became a sin for the people - deadly first sin on God’s list in Exodus 20:2-6. The people wholly embraced the new worship and traveling as the land of Dan - further for many than it was to Jerusalem - to worship the golden calf Jeroboam put there.
He started a new celebration to replace Passover in Jerusalem with a glorious annual gathering at Bethel (the house of God) where Jacob has seen and wrestled with God and where the tabernacle had been taken when the people entered the land.
Further, yet, Jeroboam set up local worship centers. Convenient.
And in another direct sin that outlived him, Jeroboam rejected the people God had called and appointed to be His ministers. Instead he consecrated as ministers at these worship centers anyone who wanted to become a minister thus consolidating and supporting the new, convenient, feel good, form of Israel’s faith and what they accepted as God’s requirements and provision.
The people were still worshipping. Probably more than before he reinvented who God was and what He required.
All under the leadership, the influence, of Jeroboam and his new Jewish denomination.
And this time, through Ahijah, the Lord said, "I raised you up and made you a leader, but you have hot been like my servant David who followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes. You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have provoked me to anger and thrust me behind you back.
Of course there were consequences for Jeroboam and his family. They were all destroyed. But there were also terrible consequences for the people. Still neither Jeroboam, nor the people, repented or returned to following the Lord with all their heart.
Until he died, the influence of one man - Jeroboam - was huge.
But when Jeroboam died, his influence had only just began.
Listen to the role call of Israel's kings:
Nadab - He did evil in the sight of the Lord walking in the ways of his father and in his sin which he had caused Israel to commit.
Baasha - He did evil in the sight of the Lord walking in the ways of Jeroboam and in his sin he had caused God’s people to commit - provoking God to anger by their sins.
Elah - the same as his father Baasha.
Zimri - So he died because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the sight of the Lord and walking in the ways of Jeroboam and in the sin he had committed.
Omri - He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all before him. He walked in the ways of Jeroboam and in his sin which he cause Israel to commit so that they provoke God to anger by their worthless religious ways.
Ahab - Ahab the son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam but he married Jezebel and began to serve and worship Baal. He did more to provoke the Lord the God of Israel to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.
Ahaziah - He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, because he walked in the way of his father and mother and in the ways of Jeroboam. He provoked the Lord God of Israel just as his father had done.
Joram - He did evil in the eyes of the Lord but not as his mother and father had done. Nonetheless he clung to the sins of Jeroboam. He did not turn away from them.
Jehu - He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat.
Jehoahaz - He did evil in the eyes of the Lord by following the sins of Jeroboam and he did not turn away from them.
Jehoash - He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam.
Jeroboam II - he did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of Jeroboam’s sins.
Zechariah - He did evil in the eyes of the Lord as his fathers had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam.
Shalllum - assassinated in one month.
Menahem - He did evil in the eyes of the lord. During his entire reign he did not turn away for the sins of Jeroboam which he had cause Israel to commit.
Pekah - He did evil in the eyes of the Lord He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam.
Hosea (the last king of Israel) - He did evil in the sight of the Lord but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him.
The influence of one man - Jeroboam - 18 kings! - with only the last one not credited to be as evil as Jeroboam.
The influence of one man. Appointed by God but leaving an influence of unabated evil.
"These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings to us on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!" 1 Corinthians 10:11-13.
Call it generational curses if you want. The curse of hearts not being fully devoted to the Lord our God nor doing only what is right in God’s eyes.
The influence of Jeroboam.
The influence of one - it happens in families today.
The influence of one - it happens in churches today
.
The influence of one - it happens in whole cultures, even whole countries today.
You know the cases far too well, too personally.
Children of alcoholics become alcoholics.
Children of codependents become codependent and marry people who need that co-dependence.
Children of drug users become drug users - though the actual use by the parent may have ended years ago.
Children of emotional, physical, sexual, or spiritual abuse repeat the abuse in their generation.
Children, it has been shown, follow the religious example and values of the father despite what they may have done as habits with their mothers.
You come from a house where everyone yelled. You marry and repeat that yelling in the same situations in your own home even though you may hate it.
You disrespect your wife. Your children disrespect her and usually their own spouses or even all women.
You regularly put down your husband and the children put down their spouses or maybe even all men.
You cling to false ideas of God or follow the skewed teachings of men about what is right and it follows down in your children’s and grand children’s lives and often in the church you came from.
You fail to demonstrate healthy love between your wife and yourself and your children have an unhealthy foundation to build on.
And like Jeroboam you do not whole heartedly follow God, You do not do only what is right in God’s eyes though you are setting the stage for generation after generation of the same in your family, among your friends, in your church, in the futures of people you influence.
The influence of one - yourself.
Don’t ignore it!
Follow the Lord God whole heartedly.
Do only what is right in His eyes - not the imperfect eyes of men, of your parents, of your culture.
The influence of one - it’s never just about you.
You cannot escape personally being an influence.
In your life time - in the generations that come after you die - what will be your influence of one?
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
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