“Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place… Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, ‘How do you advise me to answer this people?..’ And they said to him, ‘If you will be good to this people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.’ But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him…
“When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him. In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.. Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, “You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak…”‘
“So King Rehoboam grew strong in Jerusalem and reigned… seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. And he did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.” 2 Chronicles 9:31; 10:6,8; 12:1-2,5,13-14
Rehoboam was a man conflicted, impetuous in decisions and impatient with conflict. His zeal drove some positive initiatives, but pride kept his devotion off-kilter. A heart untethered from the Lord wreaks havoc with thinking and actions. (2 Chronicles 10:6-19; 11:1-12)
It serves us well to know the state of our heart. Passion for a certain role or cause might spark excited, even bright ideas, but unless they are within God’s parameters and weighed with wisdom, they can lead us astray. Pomposity might afford success and famous feats, but prohibits humility before God and adherence to His laws.
Do I go about my days with wishy-washy, priorities, swaying to and fro in commitment and focus? Are any of my affections misaligned with the Lord’s? If my mindset is to serve self, and to satisfy my wants rather than fulfill God‘s plans, my heart will lead me astray from what is true and good. (Proverbs 4:23; Matthew 23:27-28)
What unsets my heart? What desires and enticements dissuade me from staying fixed in Christ? Do worry and fretting shake resolve to trust, or unchecked emotions or temper break me off from holy determination? Since we are raised in Christ in salvation, we are free to be unfettered from the world’s clutches and wholly fixed on Christ’s victorious, lofty, and good ways. Would we detach from self and fix our minds and hearts on Him today? (Colossians 3:1-2)
“What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man, I would do my part;
Yet what can I give Him?
Give Him my heart.” ~Christina Rossetti (1872)
Lord, keep my heart set on You and in Your perfect will, so all I say and do brings honor to Your fame and name.
As the rain and snow 