​Day 166 – June 15, 2021

​Day 166 – June 15, 2021
Scriptures: 1 Kings 12-13, 1 Corinthians 12
 
AS the nation of Israel divides in our 1 Kings 12-13 reading, and essentially turns its heart and worship away from the Lord, our 1 Corinthians 12 reading leads us towards unity in the body of Christ.
 
1 Kings is about to get really confusing, and it will take careful reading to keep things sorted out. My tendency is to read it and lose track of names. Why do the first two kings of the divided kingdoms have to be Jeroboam and Rehoboam? I get them mixed up all the time!
 
What we need to know is that as the Lord yanks away the majority of the kingdom away from Rehoboam, God’s covenant promise to David will hold true. Kings will come and go, and be evaluated for their faithfulness. The Northern Kingdom of Israel will have no good kings, and the southern kingdom of Judah will have 8 out of 20 that are declared good. 
 
I’ll say that again, only 8 out of 20 kings are “good” in the southern kingdom. Which leads us to wonder how in the world God’s covenant to David will survive? Won’t the people be so far drawn away from the worship of God, it removes all hope of a continuation of David’s line and his kingdom? This covenant won’t hold true because of the faithfulness of the kings, but because of the steadfast covenant faithfulness of the Lord God. Because he is in on the agreement, there is always hope in the future of a coming King. God is Faithful!
 
We know that King to be King Jesus. He will unite all people under his reign, in His Kingdom. Jesus is the answer to the hope set forth in the Davidic Covenant. Jesus is the king we are looking for. As Solomon ended up looking more like Pharoah at the end of his life, wealth, any wives and forcing slave labor on his citizens. Jesus will be drastically different. A true worshiper and lover of the Lord, who takes not up wealth and women for his bride but lays it all down. He doesn’t invoke slavery on his citizens but sets them free from slavery to sin and death! There is no sin in him. So therefore, no reason why His kingdom would ever be taken from him or compromised. 
 
For Paul, in our Corinthians reading says of you, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a part of it.” You have a part in Jesus Christ. You are the church, and you belong under the reign of this King Jesus.
 
Tomorrow, Paul will teach us what to do with this belonging to Christ, a most excellent way, LOVE!
 
Jordan