Why Israel Failed: They Adapted God's Commands I. Introduction A. Recognition of Israel's failure 1. Israel in the flesh, overall, a failure 2. They did not keep their obligation in the covenant 3. God first punished them, exiled them, and then entirely destroyed their religious system in 70CE (cf. Matthew 24:1-36) 4. Parable of the Vineyard shows what happens (Matthew 21:33-44, Mark 12:1-11)-- original occupants (Israel) removed, new inhabitants (Christians) enter 5. Failure of Israel due to many reasons together-- perhaps a few failures could be endured, but the combination caused downfall 6. Nevertheless, we can learn from each instance of failure B. 1 Corinthians 10:6 1. Failure of Israel is designed to be a lesson for us 2. We must learn so that we may not fall into the same temptations! C. Many failures can be listed 1. In the wilderness, Egypt never left them 2. When conquering the land, they did not fully conquer 3. They did what was right in their own eyes 4. They rejected God's form of government E. Let us continue to examine failures of Israel II. The Kings A. One of the great failures of Israel was the rejection of God's form of government and the establishment of kings (1 Samuel 8) 1. As opposed to being directly governed by God, the people now had the intermediary of the king 2. If the king followed God, well and good... 3. ...but what if the king did not? B. The kings, being men, did disobey God and His direct commands at times 1. Saul did not thoroughly destroy the Amalekites, despite God's command (1 Samuel 15) 2. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed Uriah the Hittite (2 Samuel 11-12) 3. Solomon married foreign women and served their gods (1 Kings 11) C. They did have to suffer consequences for their misdeeds 1. The kingdom was taken from Saul and would be given to David (1 Samuel 15:26-28) 2. David suffered the loss of the child and some of his other children (2 Samuel 12:9-12) 3. 10 tribes were taken from Solomon and given to another (1 Kings 11:9-12) D. Considering what will come, however, these sins are not nearly that presumptuous and their consequences not as severe III. The Sins of Jeroboam A. The sins of the previous kings are not like the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat B. While the kings before him directly disobeyed God, they at least did not to change His commands! C. Jeroboam was given the ten tribes taken away from Solomon (1 Kings 12:20) 1. This was from God (1 Kings 11:26-39, 12:23-24) 2. Jeroboam, then, was given the authority over the Kingdom of Israel by God Himself D. It is manifest by what he does, however, that he does not really trust in God E. 1 Kings 12:26: "said in his heart" 1. While David also thought to himself, he consulted a prophet and modified his intention when God through the prophet redirected him (1 Chronicles 17) 2. David also thought in honor of God, ashamed that he had a house of cedar and God did not 3. As we will see, however, Jeroboam has no concern about what God wants or expects in his reasoning 4. What Jeroboam is going to do is not from God F. 1 Kings 12:26-27 1. Jeroboam's motivation is concern that the kingdom will return to Rehoboam 2. All the events regarding going up to the Temple 3. A fear understandable in human terms 4. But it shows little trust that God would preserve his kingdom! G. 1 Kings 12:28-31 1. Result: Jeroboam builds two temples, one in Bethel to the south and one to Dan in the north 2. Builds, installs two golden calves to represent YHWH, echoing the golden calf of Exodus 32:1-4 3. God did not command any temples to be built save in Jerusalem, where the Ark remained (1 Kings 9:1-3) 4. God not only did not command Israel to build an image of Him, He expressly forbade it (Exodus 20:3-5) 5. The Israelites in the wilderness committed a great sin by making one (Exodus 32:7-10, 21, 31) 6. Jeroboam did it anyway, incurring sin H. 1 Kings 12:31-33 1. Not content to just change the location and object of worship, Jeroboam makes other changes 2. Priests are installed of other tribes than Levi, against the command of God (Numbers 3:12) 3. The Feast of Tabernacles, which God had established on the fifteenth day of the seventh month (Leviticus 23:34), Jeroboam moves to the fifteenth day of the eighth month 4. On that day he himself, an Ephraimite (1 Kings 11:26), goes up and offers sacrifice on the altar he made! IV. Consequences A. Jeroboam faced consequences for his actions B. The eventual destruction of the Kingdom of Israel and the altars Jeroboam built are prophesied (1 Kings 13:1-3) C. His own son Abijah died of illness, and the destruction of Jeroboam's house was prophesied (1 Kings 14:1-20) D. Nadab the son of Jeroboam rules two years and is brought down by Baasha, who also destroys the whole house of Jeroboam as predicted by the prophets (1 Kings 15:25-31) E. The temples remain, however, and every king of Israel is said to "walk in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat who made Israel sin" F. The Israelites are cast into exile because of following in this sin (2 Kings 17:21-23) G. Nothing good, then, and much evil came from Jeroboam's deeds! V. Application A. We have seen how the sins of Jeroboam were severe and long-lasting, and their consequences were severe and long-lasting B. We ought not walk in them! C. We must not, as Jeroboam did, reason in our own minds without faith! 1. Proverbs 14:10: the way that seems right to man is death! 2. James 1:5-8: need to not doubt God but to have faith 3. If we reason in our minds and do not trust that God is on our side, we will end up reasoning ourselves into sin! D. We must not think that we can change God's commands and be fine! 1. How many times have people made small modifications to God's plan and assume that all is well? 2. Jeroboam did not change everything-- he added a couple more places, put in a statue, opened up the priesthood, changed a date 3. Such are little compared to many of the changes we see around us! 4. How often is it tempting to try to mentally modify a command because it is inconvenient to us? 5. How often do we try to minimize the value of a command to justify not doing it? 6. Do we really think we will avoid the same fate as Jeroboam and Israel? E. Just because a belief system calls itself right does not make it right! 1. Remember: Jeroboam made two golden calves and called them YHWH! 2. If you asked Jeroboam, he would say that he believed that YHWH was God; in fact, he might have said that YHWH was the only God! 3. They would consider themselves just as much following YHWH as Judah to the south! 4. Nevertheless, God did not see it that way! 5. How many today would claim and profess to be Christians but do not do everything God says as God says to do it (cf. 1 John 2:4-6)? 6. Do we think that we can change the Lord's Supper from Sunday to Saturday, or add instrumental music, or some other such thing, and still be fine in God's eyes? 7. Consider what Jeroboam did and the consequences of it! F. Just because something has been done for years does not make it right! 1. Jeroboam's calves stayed in place for about 200 years 2. The Kingdom of Israel always went to those temples and worshiped those statues 3. Was it somehow more right under Jeroboam II than Jeroboam I? 4. By no means! 5. Likewise, just because a given practice has been done in churches or by people for a long period of time does not make the practice right! VI. Conclusion A. We have seen that the path of the apostasy and exile of the Kingdom of Israel was paved by Jeroboam the son of Nebat 1. For political purposes he changed the location and object of worship 2. He also modified the priesthood and a festival 3. For this he was condemned with his whole house and nation B. Let us not walk in the same path! C. Let us make sure that we are following God's will as God has established it, and that we are not modifying it D. Let us obey Him as He has decreed E. Songbook/invitation