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Praying In Disguise
1 Kings 14:1-17 [Judgment on the House of Jeroboam]
“At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick. 2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please arise, and disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that I would be king over this people. 3 Also take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what will become of the child.” 4 And Jeroboam’s wife did so; she arose and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were glazed by reason of his age. 5 Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Here is the wife of Jeroboam, coming to ask you something about her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman.” 6 And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news. 7 Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you ruler over My people Israel, 8 and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes; 9 but you have done more evil than all who were before you, for you have gone and made for yourself other gods and molded images to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back, 10 therefore behold! I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male in Israel, bond and free; I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as one takes away refuse until it is all gone. 11 The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field; for the Lord has spoken!” 12 Arise therefore, go to your own house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. 13 And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he is the only one of Jeroboam who shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something good toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. 14“Moreover the Lord will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam; this is the day. What? Even now!”
(Normally I would not show much text, but this time I felt a need to do it this time around)
“Prayer against his absolute decree,
no more avails then breath against
the wind, blown stifling back on him
that breaths it forth. Therefore to his
great bidding I submit” - Milton
I’ll be looking at 4 elements from 1 King 14 They’ll be . . .
- Knowledge of God ..
- Feeling a need ..
- Disguising of Character ..
- Complete failure ..
The more deeply imbued with spirit of prayer the more simple and child like shall we become. ‘Sublimity always is simple’, is how *Longfellow once wrote. Eloquent prayers may be the haughtiness of the Human heart in disguise. The wife of Jeroboam is not the only one who has put on the mask whilst making their requests known unto God. Purity of Worship was at a very low ebb while King Jeroboam made the lowest of people priests and consecrated ‘who ever would be one’ .. [1 Kings 13:33] ..is by no means the only qualification for the service of God. It’s not like he had not sent warning cry against this Holy alter ..
1 Kings 13:2 “Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you”
… now the jealous God of Israel visits the iniquity with judgement. The attempt to out wit and elude the prophet of the Lord has it’s lessons for us.
*Henry Longfellow lived in America 1807–1882 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was one of the most widely known and best-loved American poets of the 19th century. He achieved a level of national and international prominence previously unequalled in the literary history of the United States and is one of the few American writers honoured in the Poets’ Corner of Westminster Abbey.
1 Kings 12:33 “So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in his own heart. And he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense”
. . . there may be a knowledge of the ways and will of God, while the daily life is a presumptuous denial of the divine revelation.
They were very anxious to know .. “what shall come of the child” [V3] Our dearest, and our best are never beyond the withering touch of God’s finger. Every sorrow disappointment may be to us as goals to drive us nearer to God, if our hearts right with Him. There is a bitterness of heart that cannot be spoken into the ears of ordinary mortals, that needs the touch of the Eternal. The yearning of the soul at such times is to know what the will og God is concerning us.
The main thing is not to miss, is Jesus will be our comforter, our shield against all of the devils trials for us. Young or old, fit or disabled, God will be waiting, to take up against your foes, He only asks 3 things from us are .. Praise .. Worship .. Faith.
1 Kings 14:2&3 “And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please arise, and disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that I would be king over this people. 3 Also take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what will become of the child”
Perhaps the King knew that the prophet Ahijah was blind by a reason of age, but both he and his wife seemed to forget that God was not blind. It was utterly needless for anyone to come to God feigning themselves to be different from what they are, and yet this disguising of the true character, while making requests known unto God, is a common pious friend. On our knees we may pretend to believe all that the Lord has spoken, then among our fellow man we put on our self-magnifying glasses, and forget what the Lord that bought us.
Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he”
Luke 18:14 “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted”
*feign:- feigned, Simulated or Pretended
1)False impression 2) ‘He feigned that he was not feeling to well so that he could leave the party early.
Jeroboam and his wife desirous of knowing the mind of the Lord about their child, but they were afraid to face the will of God concerning themselves and their ungodly lives. The disguise was evidently an attempt to avoid the dreaded prediction of the man of God, in the preceding chapter. Is there anything in the background of our own lives that we are afraid of God should deal with, thing that make us put on a mask whilst we venture to seek divine light or guidance?
For 20 plus years I was a night-club DJ. Every time whilst I out on my mask, called the fun time guy, I was smiling ~ mixing ~ making ones have fun dancing. Yet at home I was the complete opposite, a very quite man. Every day we pull on some resemblance of a mask, for some reason or another. In the presence of God, it will NOT improve matters it we try to hide them, as God will deal with us accordingly to our deal life before Him. Therefore come to the light that the evil deeds may be reproved, confessed, and cleansed for be sure youe sins will find you out.
John 3:19-21 “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practising evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God”
1 Kings 13:2 “Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you”
… now the jealous God of Israel visits the iniquity with judgement. The attempt to out wit and elude the prophet of the Lord has it’s lessons for us.
*Henry Longfellow lived in America 1807–1882 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was one of the most widely known and best-loved American poets of the 19th century. He achieved a level of national and international prominence previously unequalled in the literary history of the United States and is one of the few American writers honoured in the Poets’ Corner of Westminster Abbey.
1:~ Knowledge of God
Jeroboam could not be a stranger to the great things Jehovah had wrought for His people Israel, and had not the prophet of the Lord not foretold him that should be King .. “King of this people” .. But the revealed will of God had been set aside. His acts of worship were new according to his own thoughts and convenience, so he made Israel to sin by the substitution of his own ways for the ways of the Lord ..1 Kings 12:33 “So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in his own heart. And he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense”
. . . there may be a knowledge of the ways and will of God, while the daily life is a presumptuous denial of the divine revelation.
2:~ Feeling a Need
V1 “At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick”They were very anxious to know .. “what shall come of the child” [V3] Our dearest, and our best are never beyond the withering touch of God’s finger. Every sorrow disappointment may be to us as goals to drive us nearer to God, if our hearts right with Him. There is a bitterness of heart that cannot be spoken into the ears of ordinary mortals, that needs the touch of the Eternal. The yearning of the soul at such times is to know what the will og God is concerning us.
The main thing is not to miss, is Jesus will be our comforter, our shield against all of the devils trials for us. Young or old, fit or disabled, God will be waiting, to take up against your foes, He only asks 3 things from us are .. Praise .. Worship .. Faith.
3 :~ Disguising of Character
The wife of Jeroboam changed her appearance and went to inquire of the man of God.1 Kings 14:2&3 “And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please arise, and disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that I would be king over this people. 3 Also take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what will become of the child”
Perhaps the King knew that the prophet Ahijah was blind by a reason of age, but both he and his wife seemed to forget that God was not blind. It was utterly needless for anyone to come to God feigning themselves to be different from what they are, and yet this disguising of the true character, while making requests known unto God, is a common pious friend. On our knees we may pretend to believe all that the Lord has spoken, then among our fellow man we put on our self-magnifying glasses, and forget what the Lord that bought us.
Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he”
4:~ Complete Failure
As soon as she came to the door of the prophet she heard these scathing words .. “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person?” [V6] .. The veil of disguise was rent [ripped] from the top to the bottom, and the light of Gods presence shone in upon her. Saul had his ripped off on the road to Damascus. The Pharisee that went up to the temple to pray *feigned himself a righteous man, but he went away as he came, with his mask untouched and his soul unblessed ..Luke 18:14 “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted”
*feign:- feigned, Simulated or Pretended
1)False impression 2) ‘He feigned that he was not feeling to well so that he could leave the party early.
Jeroboam and his wife desirous of knowing the mind of the Lord about their child, but they were afraid to face the will of God concerning themselves and their ungodly lives. The disguise was evidently an attempt to avoid the dreaded prediction of the man of God, in the preceding chapter. Is there anything in the background of our own lives that we are afraid of God should deal with, thing that make us put on a mask whilst we venture to seek divine light or guidance?
For 20 plus years I was a night-club DJ. Every time whilst I out on my mask, called the fun time guy, I was smiling ~ mixing ~ making ones have fun dancing. Yet at home I was the complete opposite, a very quite man. Every day we pull on some resemblance of a mask, for some reason or another. In the presence of God, it will NOT improve matters it we try to hide them, as God will deal with us accordingly to our deal life before Him. Therefore come to the light that the evil deeds may be reproved, confessed, and cleansed for be sure youe sins will find you out.
John 3:19-21 “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practising evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God”
Prayer
Heavenly Father thank you for your living Word, to guide yes, to help show us the right ways to live our lives in your presence, We live our lives a s a sacrifice to you. You know all our ways. Thank you Father God, amen,
