Wed.’s Devo - Bondage and Freedom

Read: 1 Kings 12:20-13:34; Acts 9:26-43; Psalm 132:1-18; Proverbs 17:6
The kingdom was split. Judah and Benjamin followed Rehoboam and became known as the land of Judah. The rest of the tribes became known as Israel and they made Jeroboam their king. Both kings were evil but none compared to Jeroboam. He was afraid that if the people went to Jerusalem to worship the Lord they might become allegiant to Rehoboam so he built Shechem and Penuel for places of worship. He had two golden calves made and put them in Bethel and Dan. He told the people that these were the gods that delivered them from Egypt. He moved Passover to the eighth month instead of the seventh and allowed anyone to become priests. He built up high places all over Israel for the people to worship false gods.
One day, a prophet of the Lord came to Bethel and prophesied against the altar Jeroboam had made. He said it would split and the ashes would pour out. When Jeroboam heard what he said he raised his hand to have the man killed and his hand withered and stuck. At the same time, the altar split. King Jeroboam had to beg the prophet to pray for his hand to be healed. He asked the prophet to eat with him but he refused because God had told him not to eat or drink in Bethel but to go out a different way than he came in. A false prophet heard what the prophet of God had said and took off to deceive him and curse him. He used lies and deception and caused the prophet to disobey God. It cost him the prophet’s life.
The Bible warns us many times about how in the last days there will be many prophets who will try their best to deceive us. We have to have discernment and not believe every word we hear but test the spirits to see if they are of God or not.
In Acts, Paul escaped to Jerusalem as a new convert. He tried to join the disciples there but they were afraid of him. When he preached boldly about Jesus, Paul put his own life in jeopardy. The disciples had to help him escape to Caesarea helping them trust him. He ended up in Joppa where a devoted disciple named Dorcus had just died. The people were so sad Peter prayed for her and she rose from the dead. All Joppa heard of this extraordinary miracle.
We read about two extremes today. In one, the nation was moving toward idolatry and judgment, in the other they were coming out of idolatry and beginning to walk in the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit is so much more fun and prosperous.
Lord, help us to choose to walk out of bondage and into freedom.