“You have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes.”

1 Kings 14:8
In 1 Kings the prophet Ahijah confronts Jeroboam, ruler of the Northern Kingdom. Jeroboam did more evil than all who lived before him, and the Lord would bring disaster on his house (v. 9-10). I wonder if Jeroboam shuddered to be told God would not stand to be thrust behind his back.
We also may wonder at Ahijah’s glowing reference to David. Years before Jeroboam, David ruled in Israel. His life, with its high and low points, is told of in 1 and 2 Samuel. How is it that the Lord can declare someone who deceived, murdered, and committed adultery to be one who “kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right”? The simple truth is that when God washes away our iniquity and cleanses us from our sin (Psalm 51), we stand before Him blameless. He creates a pure heart in us as He did with David.
Isn’t that good news? It doesn’t have to be complicated. The difference between Jeroboam and David was not their list of sins; the difference was their hearts, only one of which chased hard after the Lord.



Scripture Focus

1 Kings 14:1-9

Insight

Put all your heart into following Jesus. Corrie ten Boom said we need “never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

Bible In A Year

  • Job 11-12
  • Psalm 48
  • Luke 11

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