A LITTLE TURNING, A LITTLE DELIVERANCE

God has His ways with His children. He longs to give us Himself and His blessings in full measure. But this is a great deal to be entrusted with.

Rehoboam was a compromising King. He would walk with God, then turn away. In his final days, he realized his sin and humbled himself before the Lord. We read this odd account.

⁷ When the Lord saw that they had humbled themselves, the Lord’s message came to Shemaiah: “They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them but will grant them a little deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. ⁸ However, they will become his servants so that they may recognize the difference between serving me and serving the kingdoms of other lands.” (2 Ch 12:7–8)

It would seem, on face value, that the level of blessing was determined by the level of obedience. But then, we would be misunderstanding the nature of God’s disciplining, training hand. His discipline IS a blessing. We all must be shown that there is a vast difference between “serving God and serving the kingdoms of other lands.”

The Psalmist said that “Justice and righteousness are the foundation of Your throne” (Psalm 89:14). His judgments are always right. What He was giving Rehoboam and the people was exactly what they needed and designed to bring them back to full surrender to the God who loved them, chose them, and had great plans for them. Their continual wandering was a sign that they didn’t see this and needed to.

C.S. Lewis said, “Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.”

When will we learn?