Today’s Scripture Reading (November
18, 2019): 1 Kings 14
There
is a reality that we don’t want to admit is accurate, and it is this: Tomorrow
is built on the ashes of today. In the Christian Church, we would prefer to
ignore that fact, and somehow believe that God will do a miracle in our lives
and change that reality. We hope that God will somehow allow tomorrow to be
miraculously disconnected from today. But that is not the normal progression of
our lives. Tomorrow is always built on the ashes of today, just as today was
built on the ashes of yesterday.
And
what concerns us is that the Bible seems to stress this point. A case in point
is found in the teaching of Jesus as he spoke about the lost. Luke 15 presents
us with three stories of the lost, and the last story presented in that chapter
is the story of the lost son. In that tale, Jesus tells of a younger son who
demands from his father his inheritance early. Dad decides to give in to his
son’s demands and gives him his inheritance. The boy then goes out and
squanders his newfound wealth. The son goes from a life of abundance to a life
bound in poverty, and he finally decides that he will return to his father’s
house and ask him for a job. He understands that he is not worthy of being
called his son, but he hopes that, in memory of what once was, Dad might give
him a job on the farm.
Of
course, Dad still recognizes the young man as his son. He has searched for him
and hoped that the day would come when his youngest child would return home to
the place where he belongs. He sees his son on the horizon and runs to him,
embraces him, and throws a party for him. It is proof that Dads are forgiving
and want, more than anything else, to have a relationship with their children.
What this is not is proof that, in the Kingdom of God, there is a disconnect
between yesterday and today. We sometimes miss it, but Jesus adds this comment
to a conversation between the father and his eldest son. “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is
yours” (Luke 15:31).
Today is built on the ashes of yesterday. And the time would come when the
father would die, and everything that the father owned would go to the eldest
son. The youngest son had already squandered his, and there would not be a
second chance for an inheritance, not even in the forgiving Kingdom of God.
The
prophecy about the House of Jeroboam was that the lineage of Jeroboam would not
continue. The foundation laid by Jeroboam made the continuation of the rule of
Jeroboam not possible in the eyes of God, especially in the light that Jeroboam
remained unrepentant. And the process had already started. For a time, the rule
of Jeroboam would continue. This was not indicating an immediate judgment on
Jeroboam. His government would continue for a time, but the end of the reign
had now been set. Jeroboam had built his today on the ashes of yesterday, and
that meant that tomorrow would continue to be built on the ashes of today.
Jeroboam
died soon after this prophecy. And he was succeeded by his son Nadab. And Nadab’s
reign was short; he reigned for only two years. After that time, Nadab was
assassinated by a general in his army named Baasha. Baasha became King in
Nadab’s place and put to death every member of the house of Jeroboam. It is
important to note that the prophecy did not say that the next King would better
than Jeroboam. Baasha cannot make that claim. It was only prophesied that the
House of Jeroboam would end. This was Baasha’s job and a job that he accomplished
very efficiently.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1
Kings 15
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