22 CityLight.org
april 2012
Let's look to Bible history as found in I
Kings for the answer. God never intended
for His chosen people, the Israelites, to be
burdened with a king like other nations.
He warned them over and over not to be
like the Canaanites whose kings taxed
the people heavily and took their sons
to serve in the military and daughters to
serve in the palace. God wanted Israel to
be a theocracy relying on Him for bless-
ings and protection from their enemies. To
choose God meant
to be blessed. Not to
choose God meant
to be cursed. It's as
simple as that. The
first king of Israel,
Saul, did not choose
righteously
and
was removed from
the throne. God
kept repeating His
requirements for
leadership... choose
Me, choose blessing
or...choose self and
choose cursing. God
promised David that
there would always
be one of his heirs to sit on the throne...IF
David chose to follow God's command-
ments all the days of his life. King David
did just that, except for the matter of Uri-
ah the Hittite, for which he repented and
was forgiven allowing God to say of Da-
vid, "He is a man after my own heart." The
third king of Israel, Solomon, disobeyed.
He chose the curse...for himself...andthe
nation. Are you beginning to see the dif-
ference a leader makes? Solomon's reign
brought God's curse upon Israel. Israel
was divided in 930 BC when Solomon's
son, Rehoboam, became King of Judah.
Jeroboam from Ephraim became king
over the Northern Kingdom composed
of ten tribes of Israel. Israel would never
be united as a kingdom of twelve tribes
again. Both Rehoboam and Jeroboam had
to make leadership decisions. Would they
honor God and his commandments? Each
had the opportunity to decide for the di-
rection of a nation!
God's desire to lead His people is eternal.
Because He is faithful, He sent his proph-
et, Ahijah, to Jeroboam with these words
from I Kings 11: 36 39, "I will give one
tribe to his son (Rehoboam) so that David
my servant may always have a lamp before
me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to
put my Name. How-
ever, as for you, I will
take you, and you
will rule over all that
your heart desires;
you will be king
over Israel. If you
do whatever I com-
mand you and walk
in my ways and do
what is right in my
eyes by keeping my
statutes and com-
mands, as David my
servant did, I will be
with you. I will build
you a dynasty as en-
during as the one I
built for David and will give Israel to you.
I will humble David's descendants because
of this, but not forever."
With so much opportunity for blessings,
which way did Jeroboam go? Sadly to
say, he did not spend much time think-
ing about it. He took the selfish road and
abandoned religious principles for politi-
cal expediency and in so doing forfeited
the promise given to him by the prophet
Ahijah. Jeroboam set up two golden calves
at Bethel and Dan, foolishly opening the
door for Israel to practice idolatry, offer-
ing the people gods of comfort and con-
venience so that they would not have to
What a Difference a Leader Makes
By Gladys Grimaud
Continued from pg 6
"God's desire
to lead
His people
is eternal".