The Consequences of Sin and Righteousness

1 Kings 14

Take your Bibles with me and turn to 1 Kings 14. 1 Kings 14 tonight. We are going to look at a very interesting passage and we are going to talk about the consequences of sin and the consequences of righteousness.

Background: The Divided Kingdom

If you remember, the kingdom has split. God told Solomon that as the consequences of his disobedience and idolatry, that God was going to split the kingdom and God raised up one of Solomon's servants, a promising young man named Jeroboam to lead Israel - the northern kingdom.

God had a prophet go to Jeroboam and let him know he was going to be king. Then Rehoboam, Solomon's son, foolishly decided to listen to the wrong counselors and to try to be a strong man, and the kingdom split.

So Jeroboam was off to a great start. God had chosen him. But Jeroboam quickly went bad. One of the first things he did as king was to setup not one, but two golden calves and setup them up in the north and south of Israel. He didn't want people going to his rivals in Jerusalem. So he setup alternative temples. He also created a false priesthood and even made himself a priest.

Last week, brother Adam preached about the prophet who came up from Judah to decry what Jeroboam was doing, and Jeroboam pointed at him and said "arrest that man" and how Jeroboam's arm froze up and he couldn't pull it in.

So Jeroboam asked the prophet to pray for him and when the prophet did - his arm healed. But even this wasn't enough to get Jeroboam's attention and to get him to repent. Because of his sin and continuation in sin, God consistently said Jeroboam led Israel into sin.

So that brings us to chapter 14.

Jeroboam's Sick Son (1 Kings 14:1-4)

Let's read verses 1-4:

[!bible] 1 Kings 14:1-4 - KJV

1. At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.
2. And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people.
3. And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.
4. And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.

So here is what happens, Jeroboam has a son who is sick. Most likely, the boy is around Noah's age, and it doesn't look like he is going to make it.

So that snaps Jeroboam to attention (having a sick kid will do that) and he comes up with a plan. He's going to find the old prophet who told him he would be king, and ask this prophet to pray for his son.

So he gets his wife (this would have been the queen of Israel) and tells her to put on a disguise and to get some food gifts together, and go see the prophet named Ahijah. And the text tells us that Ahijah is kind of blind because of old age.

God's Revelation to the Prophet (1 Kings 14:5-6)

Let's keep reading:

[!bible] 1 Kings 14:5 - KJV 5. And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman.

So this old prophet is praying, and God tells him "Listen, the wife of Jeroboam is going to come to you and ask you to pray for her son, and she is going to pretend to be someone else."

So look what happens:

[!bible] 1 Kings 14:6 - KJV 6. And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.

So Jeroboam's wife comes in and Ahijah is like "Come on in Jeroboam's wife, why are you disguised?"

So that kind of ruins the whole plan. But then he says "I have bad news for you."

God's Judgment on Jeroboam (1 Kings 14:7-16)

Let's keep reading:

[!bible] 1 Kings 14:7-13 - KJV 7. Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, 8. And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes; 9. But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: 10. Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone. 11. Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it. 12. Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. 13. And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.

This is really bad news. Listen, the prophet told this woman that God was going to rip the kingdom away from Jeroboam, and give it to someone else, God was going to kill everyone who "pisseth against the wall" or everyone male in his family, and they were going to be taken away like garbage and their bodies were going to be eaten by dogs and birds.

Oh, and this boy you want me to pray for. He's going to die too. He's the only boy in your whole family who is going to get a normal death and burial - because there is some good in this boy toward God.

That's pretty bad news. That's terrible news. Not at all what Mrs. Jeroboam wanted to hear.

But it isn't over, look at verses 14-16:

[!bible] 1 Kings 14:14-16 - KJV 14. Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now. 15. For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger. 16. And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.

So not only is Jeroboam's whole family going to die violent deaths and be thrown out like garbage, but the prophet tells her that all of Israel is going to be destroyed and taken over the river because of Jeroboam's sin.

By the way, all of this stuff is exactly what happened. Jeroboam's sons were cut off and destroyed. His whole family was wiped out. Then, a few hundred years later, the Assyrians - one of the most brutal armies in human history - marched into Israel and destroyed the whole country, taking the survivors over the river to their own land - and Israel was no more.

The Consequences of Sin

So what is the lesson of this first half of this chapter? I think it is the consequences of sin.

Jeroboam had been warned. God had sent the prophet. He had seen the miracles. He still hardened his heart and went deeper into sin. He refused to repent. He refused to make it right. And because of that - there were consequences.

1. The Consequences of His Influence

First, there were the consequences of his dreadful influence. He didn't just sin personally, he led Israel into sin.

One of the things we can be sure of is that when we sin, we will lead others into that sin. Sin, like most sicknesses, is contagious. You may think your sin is no big deal, you may think "it isn't hurting anybody." But there is some kid watching today who will do more than you do. You will have influence on others, whether you want to or not.

2. The Personal Consequences

A second form of sin's consequences we see in Jeroboam were the personal consequences on him and his family. God took his hand of blessing off of Jeroboam, and traded it for His hand of judgement.

Jeroboam learned what all rebels learn eventually -

[!bible] Hebrews 10:31 - KJV 31. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

He learned that

[!bible] Proverbs 13:15 - KJV 32. Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.

He learned that

[!bible] Proverbs 15:10 - KJV 33. Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.

or maybe a more familiar verse:

[!bible] Romans 6:23 - KJV 23. For the wages of sin is death;

Sin brings consequences - and Jeroboam thought he was getting ahead, but he lost everything. He thought he was securing a kingdom, but his name became a byword and his kingdom was destroyed.

3. The Consequences on All of Israel

And that's the third consequence of Jeroboam's sin. There was the consequences on all of Israel. Israel never had a good king. Not one. They were wicked all the way down and eventually they were wiped out by the cruel Assyrian conquerors and taken away as captives.

Why? A lot of it was because of the hard heartedness and sin of one man who refused to repent.

Sin brings consequences. Many of you could raise your hands and tell us about the awful consequences of sin in your life or those around you's life. It's awful.

Jeroboam wasn't the exception and You will not be the exception either.

Rehoboam's Story (1 Kings 14:21-28)

But this chapter is only half about Jeroboam. The other half is about the other "boam boy" - Rehoboam. Let's keep reading:

Skip down to verse 21:

[!bible] 1 Kings 14:21-24 - KJV 21. And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. 22. And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. 23. For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. 24. And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

Rehoboam was Solomon's son with an Ammonite queen. And he was a pretty wicked king actually. It tells us here that he brought in high places and idols and groves and that there was idolatry performed under every tree and on every hill.

Then it tells us that there was a sexual element to this. There were sodomites - temple prostitutes that were brought in.

It was a wicked, wicked time and God judged Judah and Rehoboam too. Let's keep reading:

[!bible] 1 Kings 14:25-28 - KJV 25. And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: 26. And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. 27. And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king's house. 28. And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.

Remember that under Solomon - Israel was a powerhouse. They controlled the known world. They were on the top. But under Rohoboam - the Egyptians just come in and wreak havoc. They go into the temple and steal all of the gold out of there.

And Rehoboam is so vain, he has fake bronze shields made to replace them, and he has the people make a big deal about him when he comes in and out with these bronze shields.

It's worse. If you read about this in 2 Chronicles 12, it tells us that they took the fenced cities. Egypt just walked all over Israel. They even went into their fortress at Megido and made a monument.

Why Judah Fared Better Than Israel

But Judah didn't fare as badly as Israel. They were judged, yes - there were consequences for their sin - but not nearly as badly as Israel. Why is that?

I want to give you four reasons as we close:

1. Because David Had Been Righteous

First, I believe one reason was that David had been righteous. The prophet even said it in verse 8. Look at that verse again:

[!bible] 1 Kings 14:8 - KJV 8. And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes;

That doesn't sound right to me - does it to you? I mean David was a flawed man. A sinful man. A man who killed and who took other's wives and who was a bad father.

But I think the difference is that when David was confronted by the word of God - He ran to the cross. He threw himself on God's mercy. He repented.

2. Because Rehoboam Repented

I think a second reason why Rehoboam's evil ways didn't bring God's judgment in the same harsh was as Jeroboam's was because Rehoboam repented, even if just temporarily.

Listen to the parallel passage for this in 2 Chronicles 12:5-7

[!bible] 2 Chronicles 12:5-7 - KJV 5. Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak. 6. Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous. 7. And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.

Judah and Rehoboam, when they heard the word of God - humbled themselves. Jeroboam hardened his heart.

Listen, when God brings conviction - do you humble yourselves and repent, and do you stiffen up and push on in your sin - that's the difference between Jeroboam and Rehoboam, between judgment and discipline.

3. Because of God's Promise

And the third reason why I think God took it kind of easy on Judah compared to Israel was because of God's promise.

God had promised David that his sons would sit on the throne, and so God preserved his sons. God had made a covenant and God was going to keep his covenant.

And you might be tempted to look at this and think - yes, but Judah didn't deserve it. And you are right. David didn't deserve it either. It was an act of grace, of god's unmerited favor.

4. Because of Jesus

And do you want to know the fourth reason - which I think is the ultimate reason why God didn't destroy Judah like He did Israel. It is because it was through Judah that God had ordained for Jesus to come. So - because of Jesus.

Ultimately, God's mercy was given to these people because they were covered in a way by Christ. And ultimately, the only way for us to escape God's judgment and to be disciplined as beloved sons instead of judged like enemies is to be under Christ.

Any grace we have isn't because we deserve it either - it is all through Christ.

Conclusion: The Consequences of Sin and Righteousness

So here's what we learn tonight: There are consequences for sin, and there are consequences for righteousness.

Jeroboam's consequences were destruction - his family wiped out, his kingdom destroyed, his name becoming a curse word in Israel's history.

But David's righteousness had consequences too -

• God's mercy extended to his descendants generations later.
• Rehoboam's brief repentance had consequences - deliverance instead of destruction.
• God's promises had consequences - preservation instead of annihilation.

And Jesus' righteousness has consequences - eternal salvation for all who trust in Him.

Listen, some of you are living like Jeroboam tonight. You're hardening your heart. You're pushing deeper into sin. You think you're getting ahead, but you're heading for destruction. You're not just hurting yourself - you're leading others into sin too.

But it doesn't have to end that way.

Some of you need to humble yourselves like Rehoboam did. Some of you need to repent like David did. Some of you need to throw yourselves on the mercy of God through Jesus Christ.

Because here's the amazing thing - the same God who judged Jeroboam is the same God who showed mercy to Judah. The same God who brings consequences for sin also brings consequences for righteousness.

And the greatest consequence of Christ's righteousness is that when you trust in Him, God doesn't see your sin anymore - He sees Christ's righteousness. You don't get the judgment you deserve - you get the mercy Christ earned.

That's the gospel. That's the good news. There are consequences for sin - but there are also consequences for righteousness. And Christ's righteousness covers all who believe.