Fri.’s Devo - Identities

Read: 1 Kings 14:1-15:24; Acts 10:1-23a; Psalm 133:1-3; Proverbs 17:7-8
Jeroboam did everything his way, but when his son, Abijah got sick, he was ready to do it God’s way. He sent his wife to find the prophet, Ahijah, that had prophecied that he would be the next king. Ahijah gave Jeroboam another prophecy. Since he had disobeyed the Lord so adamantly, his kingdom would be taken from him and given to another. Every male in his line would killed through disaster and the son they were asking about would die. His son would be the only one in his family who would receive a burial because he was the only one that God had found any good in.
Rehoboam wasn’t doing much better in Judah. They fell into idolatry and sin so God sent Shishak king of Egypt to attack Jerusalem. He took all the treasures of the temple and the gold shields that Solomon had made. These shields represented their faith. They replaced them with brass ones which means they had replace real faith with fake faith.
At least Rehoboam got a burial. His son, Abijah ruled in his stead. Interestingly his name was the same name of Jeroboam’s son that died. He didn’t do any better than his father in following the Lord. He spent his life fighting with Israel. When he died, his son Asa ruled. Finally, someone who did it right!
He threw out the male shrine prostitutes and got rid of all the idols his fathers had made. He even brought down his own grandmother, Maacha because she had set up an Asherah pole. Asa began conquering Israel and making Judah strong.
When he died his son, Jehoshaphat became king.
In Acts we have the salvation of the first Gentile, Cornelius. Peter was given a dream showing him that it was kosher now to eat things he would normally have thought of as unclean. Gentiles were normally considered unclean, but now God was making them clean. Cornelius was a centurion which means that he was in charge of 100 men making him important by the world’s standards. Peter was a Jewish fisherman making him seem small in the world’s standard. Both Peter and Cornelius had to jump over cultural hoops in their minds to connect and embrace one another but that is what the love of God does. He puts us all on the same playing field at the same level.
Lord, help us to walk in the identity you have given us and not the one the world thinks we are.