1 Kings: Walk Before Me FaithfullySample

You cannot manipulate the word of God. When Jeroboam’s son is ill, he sends his wife in disguise with gifts of food in order to try to get a favourable word from the prophet Ahijah. But God is never fooled; he sees the heart and speaks through his blind prophet. 

Even before the queen speaks, Ahijah issues God’s judgment against the house of Jeroboam. Because Jeroboam has failed to emulate David and has committed idolatry, his own line will come to an end (vv. 10–11). Even more, God will eventually give up the nation of Israel because of the sins Jeroboam committed and caused Israel to commit (vv. 15–16). (As you continue to read Kings, notice the frequent references to the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat. Jeroboam sets the pattern for the nation’s sad history.) 

Jeroboam’s wife is also told that their ill child will die. He will be the only child of Jeroboam to be buried because God finds something pleasing in the boy (vv. 12–13), though we are not told what that is. Why does God allow a child who pleases him to die? Sometimes we do not fully understand the ways of God. 

Jeroboam’s wife returns home and their child duly dies (v. 17). As in the previous chapter, this immediate fulfilment of the short-term prophecy guarantees the reliability of the longer-term prophecy regarding Jeroboam’s line. 

The queen’s attempt to ‘buy’ a favourable response from God is not uncommon. In some churches, you might hear it said that if you do such and such or give such an amount, God will reward or bless you in a particular way. Humans can be sucked into thinking we can treat God like this. But as Kings and the Bible, in general, keep saying, God wants hearts of integrity and uprightness, with people walking in his ways. There is no way round the moral standards God expects of his people. God cannot be manipulated, but at the same time we know his character and purposes and can trust his response to us will always be for our best.

Reflection 

Are there times when you have thought you can obtain or manipulate a favourable response from God on some matter?