DEVOTIONAL
“It came about at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road.”
1 Kings 11:29 NASBS
My brothers and sisters in Christ, there are many seasons in our own lives when we become weary in doing good and discouraged in the ministry the Lord has given us. How quickly we can allow the circumstances of this world to creep into our lives, like an unnoticed spy, seeking to snuff out the light that God has placed within us. Therefore, we must always seek to build one another up in the most holy faith, always engaging in Godly fellowship, and encouraging one another as we eagerly wait for Jesus’s return. Although to the natural eye it may seem as if the world is falling apart and our labors seem meaningless, yet be assured, that Christ is upon His throne, and His word will never come back void.
Ahijah was a prophet who was set apart by God and called to speak the truth in a very dark day when Israel was about to be divided into two different kingdoms. The prophet had the great blessing of being the man whom God sent to speak to a young man named Jeroboam, telling him, “I will take you, and you shall reign over whatever you desire, and you shall be king over Israel. Then it will be, that if you listen to all that I command you and walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight by observing My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build you an enduring house as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.”
Ahijah’s prophecy came true just as he said it would and Jeroboam became the King over all of Israel.
Unfortunately, contrary to what Ahijah had prophesied, Jeroboam rebelled against the Lord sending the entire Northern Kingdom of Israel into idolatry to which they would never recover. How unbearable it must have been for the prophet to watch, what was once the greatest monarchy in the world under King David, descend to be an idolatrous nation that provoked the Lord to anger. As time went by, the man of God grew old, his eyes became dim until he could not see any more. And though blind with age, the eyes of his heart never grew dim, but shone forth the glory of God. Even though the next generation became worse than the first, the prophet of God never lost heart and finished the race set before him.
You, my brothers and sisters, those who have been decorated with the righteousness of Christ, regardless of your circumstances or the immoral condition our culture has fallen into, you have a great work to be done during this lifetime. So never leave your post, girding yourself with the truth. Remember as you press into the enemy’s camp, know this, that the promises of Christ stand true, that He will never leave you nor forsake you. For we have been commissioned by the great King, The Lord Jesus Christ, to go into all the world wielding the sword of truth with great love, as we pray for lost sinners who are under the wrath of a holy God. May the Lord give us the grace that He gave Ahijah to finish well, as we to watch the next generation seek to remove the sacred truths of the Bible, that are so very dear to us.
Rodney Nantz