WEEKLY REFLECTION by Pastor Lap Dinh on ‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭12‬:‭26‬-‭31

And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their Lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” So the king consulted, and he made two golden calves; and he said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.” And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. And he made houses on high places, and appointed priests from all the people who were not of the sons of Levi.” ‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭12‬:‭26‬-‭31‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

King Jeroboam was afraid of losing people, so he invented a "liberal" idea, making it convenient for people. This is a classic way to keep people staying. He made and stationed two golden calves in two strategic locations, Bethel and Dan. This seemed to work as people now had a choice between the two and would forget Jerusalem. He didn’t stop there; he syncretized people’s expectations by making houses of worship in high places and openly disdained God’s instruction by appointing priests who were not from the Levites. From one liberal idea, it led to a whole sinful and deceitful plan that led the people of Israel into idolatry and brought destruction later.

When we have a moment of having clever or good-sounding ideas, we must remember that though they might seem good, they are not always God’s ideas (even if we might not fully understand at the time). How do we know? The only solution is to know His Word and instruction. But how? Just read and reflect faithfully. Our hearts and minds will be saturated with His Word and attuned to God’s thoughts. And when Jesus is the center of our being, what we think and feel will be at the center of God’s ideas for our life and the life of our church. May this be our endeavor in our walk with the Lord. Amen.