YouTube Lesson: https://youtu.be/2dTykpYcT1k
Living within a culture of affluence.
Kick off Videos:
Bible Project Yahweh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLrGM26pmM0
Bible Project Overview 1-2 Kings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVFW3wbi9pk
Bible Project Character in Bible Narrative https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EQDGax19xk
YouTube Lesson https://youtu.be/2dTykpYcT1k
Character Study I: Lessons from the life of Rehoboam
Rehoboam: 1 Kings 12 & 14; 2 Chron. 10 & 11
1 Kings 3:12 (NLT) Solomon’s wisdom
“I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have!”
Jeroboam: (God’s anointed) Jeroboam was 1 of 3 adversaries the Lord set up in judgment of Solomon’s for his unfaithfulness.
Deuteronomy 17:14-20 (NLT) God’s commands for Kings
14“You are about to enter the land the LORD your God is giving you. When you take it over and settle there, you may think, ‘We should select a king to rule over us like the other nations around us.’ 15If this happens, be sure to select as king the man the LORD your God chooses. You must appoint a fellow Israelite; he may not be a foreigner.
16“The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the LORD has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’ 17The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the LORD. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.
18“When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the LORD his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. 20This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.
Kings 11:1-5 (MSG) Solomon’s Unfaithfulness
King Solomon was obsessed with women. Pharaoh’s daughter was only the first of the many foreign women he loved—Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite. He took them from the surrounding pagan nations of which God had clearly warned Israel, “You must not marry them; they’ll seduce you into infatuations with their gods.” Solomon fell in love with them anyway, refusing to give them up. v3He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred concubines—a thousand women in all! And they did seduce him away from God. v4As Solomon grew older, his wives beguiled him with their alien gods and he became unfaithful—he didn’t stay true to his God as his father David had done. 5Solomon took up with Ashtoreth, the whore goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the horrible god of the Ammonites.
David married within Israel, he also put away his wives.
Genesis 2:24
Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh.
God didn’t anoint Rehoboam but left him 1 tribe to rule as un-anointed King because of his promise to his grandfather David
(We can inherit a spiritual covering and material blessing, but ultimately we make our own choices)
Here we see that God is protecting David’s legacy in his grandson. (David a rapist and murderer! David worshiped God and sought a relationship with Him) God looks at the heart.
1. Why did Rehoboam act so brashly? He listened to his young advisors who were trying to curry favor. Maybe He liked bossing people around? Was it low self-esteem because God anointed Jeroboam? Did he see himself as a “King Saul”, whom the anointing of GOD left. Did he fear he’d lose his wealth, the lifestyle he had become accustomed to? Perhaps he was terrified of not living up to his father and grandfather’s legacy. A person is accountable for his or her own actions.
Genesis 4:6-7 ESV
The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13
13There isn’t any temptation that you have experienced which is unusual for humans. God, who faithfully keeps his promises, will not allow you to be tempted beyond your power to resist. But when you are tempted, he will also give you the ability to endure the temptation as your way of escape.
2. Ultimately he went along with the young crowd (“the young
Turks”) who were self-serving and jockeying for position for themselves by playing to his baser instincts. You are the boss in charge Rehoboam! Instead God says:
(The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language)
This is God’s word: Don’t march out; don’t fight against your brothers the Israelites. Go back home, every last one of you; I’m in charge here.” And they did it; they did what God said and went home.
3. What did Rehoboam fail to do that could have saved him from making these mistakes? Deuteronomy 17:14-20 Could Solomon have done the same?
4. What can we see that God is doing behind the scenes? 1 Kings 12:25-33 (Jeroboam) Do we need to have prophets reach out to us to tell us how to live when we have the law? Why in this context did the prophets come? God was being faithful to His promises to David and Abraham despite the individual kings disobedience to worship Him and follow his instruction. David a rapist and a murderer.
5. Ultimately Rehoboam can’t read the crowd. All his time spent in the royal court under the golden age of Solomon’s wisdom he learned nothing of God’s character. He did listen to the prophet Shimea.
Types and Shadows
The old exists in the new.
Examples:
Sarah was barren. Gen. 11:30.
Mary was a virgin. Matt. 1:18-20.
Both are called an ONLY SON. Gen. 22:2 (Heb. 11:17). John 3:16.
Both mocked and persecuted by their OWN KINDRED. Gen. 21:9-10. Gal. 4:28-29. Matt. 27:29.
Neither Isaac nor Christ had BROKEN THE LAW that they should be offered up. Gen. 22:2. Matt. 27:24.
As Isaac carried the wood on which he was to die, so Christ carried His OWN CROSS. Gen. 22:6. John 19:17.
As Isaac went willingly to the "altar," so Christ went willingly to the "CROSS." Gen. 22:9. John 10:17.
Both apparently given up or FORSAKEN BY HIS FATHER. Gen. 22:12. Matt. 27:46.
Both rose from the place of death in RESURRECTION. Heb.11:17-19. Matt. 28:6.
Jhn 3:14-15 KJV - 14
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Rehoboam is a character that inherited a good name potentially and found himself living in a in a culture of affluence. He inherited both things that God intended and things that men did.
Did God give Rehoboam a fair shake?
Prov. 19:17, 21:13, 22:9,16, 28:22,27
-God is not mocked
-Raise you children in the way they shall go and they will not depart from it
Solomon’s son did as Solomon did, not said.
The scripture testifies no one as wise before or after.
We understand that our battle is against principalities and thought patterns
In our culture of affluence we sacrifice to the same FALSE GOD’s.
(every song written is expressing something within the framework of Ecclesasties)
Religion is a cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that relates humanity to supernatural, transcendental, or spiritual elements. However, there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion
Catalyst: Irrational decisions in time of pressure
Molech: On critical occasions a human sacrifice was considered necessary to secure his favor (compare II Kings iii. 27), and when deliverance came, a sanctuary might be built to him (Moabite Stone, line 3). An ancient poem, twice quoted in the Old Testament (Num. xxi. 27-30; Jer. xlviii. 45, 46), regards the Moabites as the children of Chemosh, and also calls them "the people of Chemosh."
Solomon is said to have built a sanctuary to Chemosh on the Mount of Olives (I Kings xi. 7, 33), which was maintained till the reform of Josiah (II Kings xxiii. 13). This movement by Solomon was no doubt to some extent a political one, but it made the worship of Chemosh a part of the religious life of Israel for nearly 400 years.
Astarte: describes in some detail her worship at Gebal (Byblos), in which the wailing for Tammuz was a prominent feature. As a part of this ritual, women were obliged to sacrifice either their hair or their chastity. A shrine of this goddess was found also in the city of Askelon in Philistia (Herodotus, i. 105), in which the armor was hung after the battle of Gilboa (I Sam. xxxi. 10).
Astarte worship (Heroditus 199.)
The foulest Babylonian custom is that which compels every woman of the land to sit in the temple of Aphrodite and have intercourse with some stranger once in her life. Many women who are rich and proud and disdain to mingle with the rest, drive to the temple in covered carriages drawn by teams, and stand there with a great retinue of attendants. [2] But most sit down in the sacred plot of Aphrodite, with crowns of cord on their heads; there is a great multitude of women coming and going; passages marked by line run every way through the crowd, by which the men pass and make their choice. [3] Once a woman has taken her place there, she does not go away to her home before some stranger has cast money into her lap, and had intercourse with her outside the temple; but while he casts the money, he must say, “I invite you in the name of Mylitta” (that is the Assyrian name for Aphrodite). [4] It does not matter what sum the money is; the woman will never refuse, for that would be a sin, the money being by this act made sacred. So she follows the first man who casts it and rejects no one. After their intercourse, having discharged her sacred duty to the goddess, she goes away to her home; and thereafter there is no bribe however great that will get her. [5] So then the women that are fair and tall are soon free to depart, but the uncomely have long to wait because they cannot fulfill the law; for some of them remain for three years, or four. There is a custom like this in some parts of Cyprus.
Genesis 5:1 (The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language)
This is the family tree of the human race: When God created the human race, he made it godlike, with a nature akin to God. v2 He created both male and female and blessed them, the whole human race.
Judges 2:22-23 (New Living Translation)
20So the LORD burned with anger against Israel. He said, “Because these people have violated my covenant, which I made with their ancestors, and have ignored my commands, 21I will no longer drive out the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died. 22I did this to test Israel—to see whether or not they would follow the ways of the LORD as their ancestors did.” 23That is why the LORD left those nations in place. He did not quickly drive them out or allow Joshua to conquer them all.
Judges 2:22 (The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language)
I’ll use them to test Israel and see whether they stay on God’s road and walk down it as their parents did.” v.23 That’s why God let those nations remain. He didn’t drive them out or let Joshua get rid of them.
Acts 17:16 (God's Word)
While Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens, he saw that the city had statues of false gods everywhere. This upset him.
Acts 17:16-33 (The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language)
16 The longer Paul waited in Athens for Silas and Timothy, the angrier he got—all those idols! The city was a junkyard of idols.
17 He discussed it with the Jews and other like-minded people at their meeting place. And every day he went out on the streets and talked with anyone who happened along. 18He got to know some of the Epicurean and Stoic intellectuals pretty well through these conversations. Some of them dismissed him with sarcasm: “What an airhead!” But others, listening to him go on about Jesus and the resurrection, were intrigued: “That’s a new slant on the gods. Tell us more.”
19 These people got together and asked him to make a public presentation over at the Areopagus, where things were a little quieter. They said, “This is a new one on us. We’ve never heard anything quite like it. Where did you come up with this anyway? 20 Explain it so we can understand.” 21 Downtown Athens was a great place for gossip. There were always people hanging around, natives and tourists alike, waiting for the latest tidbit on most anything.
22 So Paul took his stand in the open space at the Areopagus and laid it out for them. “It is plain to see that you Athenians take your religion seriously. 23 When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across. And then I found one inscribed, to the god nobody knows. I’m here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you’re dealing with.
24“The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines 25 or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn’t take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don’t make him. 26 Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living 27 so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; he’s near. 28 We live and move in him, can’t get away from him! One of your poets said it well: ‘We’re the God-created.’ 29 Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?
30“God overlooks it as long as you don’t know any better—but that time is past. The unknown is now known, and he’s calling for a radical life-change. 31 He has set a day when the entire human race will be judged and everything set right. And he has already appointed the judge, confirming him before everyone by raising him from the dead.”
32 At the phrase “raising him from the dead,” the listeners split: Some laughed at him and walked off making jokes; others said, “Let’s do this again. We want to hear more.” 33 But that was it for the day, and Paul left. 34 There were still others, it turned out, who were convinced then and there, and stuck with Paul—among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris.
Romans 1:18 (God's Word)
18 God’s anger is revealed from heaven against every ungodly and immoral thing people do as they try to suppress the truth by their immoral living. 19 What can be known about God is clear to them because he has made it clear to them. 20 From the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly observed in what he made. As a result, people have no excuse. 21 They knew God but did not praise and thank him for being God. Instead, their thoughts were pointless, and their misguided minds were plunged into darkness. 22 While claiming to be wise, they became fools. 23 They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for statues that looked like mortal humans, birds, animals, and snakes.
24 For this reason God allowed their lusts to control them. As a result, they dishonor their bodies by sexual perversion with each other. 25 These people have exchanged God’s truth for a lie. So they have become ungodly and serve what is created rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen!
26 For this reason God allowed their shameful passions to control them. Their women have exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 Likewise, their men have given up natural sexual relations with women and burn with lust for each other. Men commit indecent acts with men, so they experience among themselves the punishment they deserve for their perversion.
28 And because they thought it was worthless to acknowledge God, God allowed their own immoral minds to control them. So they do these indecent things. 29 Their lives are filled with all kinds of sexual sins, wickedness, and greed. They are mean. They are filled with envy, murder, quarreling, deceit, and viciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, haughty, arrogant, and boastful. They think up new ways to be cruel. They don’t obey their parents, 31 don’t have any sense, don’t keep promises, and don’t show love to their own families or mercy to others. 32 Although they know God’s judgment that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do these things but also approve of others who do them.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Relativism is the idea that views are relative to differences in perception and consideration. There is no universal, objective truth according to relativism; rather each point of view has its own truth.[1]
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Justice is relative to local norms.
Truth is relative to a language-game.
The measurement of temperature is relative to the scale we use.
Wikipedia
Cultural relativism is the idea that a person's beliefs, values, and practices should be understood based on that person's own culture, rather than be judged against the criteria of another.
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