How Do You Make Big Decisions?

Reflection:  For  any great leader in history, we can look back at the one thing they had in common. They had great advisers!  They were smart enough to surround themselves with good people that gave them good advice when they needed to make critical decisions affecting not only their lives but the lives of others.  Sometimes these key decisions define someone’s tenure and the legacy they leave.  Even Jesus surrounded himself with three men who became his confidants, although when he needed them the most they were asleep. 

Today, we see the great transition from King Solomon, to his son King Rehoboam.  Jeroboam, one of King Solomon’s key foremen on his work projects, was a big favorite among the people.  At a key point Solomon sent for Jeroboam, who gave him the advice to lighten the load on the people.  This would have been a good move that would have engendered the support of the people for their new leader.  Rehoboam asked for time to make the decision.  A good move, as it is wise before any big decision to have time for discernment.

Rehoboam starts on a good path, as he consults the elders for the right course of action.  They tell him to be kind to the people, and this will ensure that they would be his servants just like his Father.  Instead of heeding their wisdom Rehoboam goes to his buddies, who tell him to make the yoke even heavier on the people.  So Rehoboam has a choice, who is he going to listen to?     

Rehoboam listens to the young guns and tells the people of his decision.  This begins the split of the kingdom of Israel into two kingdoms, the Southern and Northern kingdom.  And it fulfills the prophecy Jeroboam had made earlier about a torn nation.  Israel will never again be in unison, in terms of the twelve tribes being together, and it all resulted from a leader who didn’t listen to the right advice. 

How do you make important decisions, and probably more importantly who do you consult as you make those decisions?  First of all, as we learned yesterday, we should consult God’s Word which leads us into all truth in every situation.  But there are times when we will have to interpret what is the right thing to do, and at those times having faithful and true advisors, who seek God first, will be of ultimate importance.  Pray today for God to reveal to you those whom you would trust in matters of eternal significance. 

Psalm 20

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;

    may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

2 May he send you help from the sanctuary

    and grant you support from Zion.

3 May he remember all your sacrifices

    and accept your burnt offerings.[b]

4 May he give you the desire of your heart

    and make all your plans succeed.

5 May we shout for joy over your victory

    and lift up our banners in the name of our God.

May the Lord grant all your requests.

6 Now this I know:

    The Lord gives victory to his anointed.

He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary

    with the victorious power of his right hand.

7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

8 They are brought to their knees and fall,

    but we rise up and stand firm.

9 Lord, give victory to the king!

    Answer us when we call!

2 Chronicles 9:13-10:19

Solomon’s Splendor

13 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,[a] 14 not including the revenues brought in by merchants and traders. Also all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the territories brought gold and silver to Solomon.

15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels[b] of hammered gold went into each shield. 16 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three hundred shekels[c] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

17 Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 19 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 20 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day. 21 The king had a fleet of trading ships[d] manned by Hiram’s[e] servants. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

22 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. 23 All the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 24 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and gold, and robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horses,[f] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all other countries.

Solomon’s Death

29 As for the other events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat? 30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.

Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam

10 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. 3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and all Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: 4 “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

5 Rehoboam answered, “Come back to me in three days.” So the people went away.

6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.

7 They replied, “If you will be kind to these people and please them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.”

8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. 9 He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

10 The young men who had grown up with him replied, “The people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. 11 My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’”

12 Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” 13 The king answered them harshly. Rejecting the advice of the elders, 14 he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from God, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.

16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

“What share do we have in David,

    what part in Jesse’s son?

To your tents, Israel!

    Look after your own house, David!”

So all the Israelites went home. 17 But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.

18 King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram,[g] who was in charge of forced labor, but the Israelites stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

Acts 19:32-20:3

32 The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. 33 The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. 34 But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

35 The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Fellow Ephesians, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? 36 Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash. 37 You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. 38 If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges. 39 If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. 40 As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.” 41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

Through Macedonia and Greece

20 When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia. 2 He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, 3 where he stayed three months. Because some Jews had plotted against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia.

The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it – you have founded them. The north and the south – you created them. Psalm 89:11-12

For us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 1 Corinthians 8:6

Holy Parent, we pray in Jesus’ words and Jesus’ name that you will protect us and make us one with each other and with you, just as you and Christ are one. Amen.