Jeroboam’s sons, Nadab and Abijah (ironically similar names to Aaron’s oldest sons who died when they offered “strange fire” (Leviticus 10:1-3 KJV)) die young, and the result of idolatry is the loss of kingship in Israel for Jeroboam’s family line. Subsequent families of Israelite kings never leave the golden calf worship introduced by Jeroboam (1 Kings 12:28), and the writer of Kings reports mediocre devotion to God among the Judahite kings.
The prevailing theme of these chapters is the truthfulness of God’s word. The blessings of righteous living, and the curses of godless choices, are borne out in the kingdom. The prophecies of Moses in Deuteronomy, and the prayers of Solomon at the dedication of the temple, are manifested in the lives of the people. While the nation suffers the consequences of apostasy from God, the word of God stands true, and one family of kings after another is terminated under the judgement of God.
This is the history of a nation that is supposed to be under the rule of God. This is God’s historic kingdom on earth, whose anointed leaders were to be His representatives to the nation and the world at large. This is the kingdom where God has chosen to sit, enthroned among the cherubim; One whose footstool is in the holiest of all in the temple at Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 28:2; Psalm 132:7). How has it come to this? How can God’s word be so ignored by His own subjects?
Almost a millennium later, God’s chosen Messiah (Matthew 12:18), the King of the Jews, is found in a little boat offshore in northern Israel. The people have gathered on the hillside to hear Him speak. The message He has for them has taken a different tone on this occasion. The kingdom ethics of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) are absent as its King has been refused. The emphasis, although still on obedience to the word of God, has taken on the form of a parable. His call to those with ears is “hear!” (Matthew 13:9). If the ear is hearing, the message will make sense; if the ear is closed, the message will not be understood. A nation with 1,500 years of familiarity with the Word of God had largely stopped listening to it!
The Messiah tells parables of the kingdom of heaven, and similar themes to those in 1 Kings 14-16 are evident. He tells of a kingdom whose good beginnings go awry. Of a horrible mixing of good and an inextricable evil. Of true and false. Of surprising growth and great value. Of a judgement day when the good will finally be separated from the evil. Of a king who would be rejected by His own people; a prophet whose words would not be received (Matthew 13:57).
It seems that the rule of God, in the hands of men, is doomed to failure. How does God tolerate this mixing of good and evil? Of true and false? The Old Testament example shows a kingdom that is divided, fraught with internal feuds and external struggles. The picture painted by the parables of Matthew 13 is similar. The rule of God, in the hands of men in New Testament times, cannot hope to be any better than it was for those kings of old. The nation refused to acknowledge Christ as God’s chosen King, but the seed He planted – the Word of God (Matthew 13:19) – will produce its effects in accordance with the soil in which it lands.
We live in this kingdom; the kingdom awaiting the rule of the rejected Man. The sphere of God’s rule in our day may be a mixed-up mess – a catalogue of mismanagement in the vein of 1 Kings 14-16. But God isn’t worried. He isn’t at a loss. These parables give heart and hope to open-eared people. The kingdom will grow, even in these less than ideal conditions. The King is coming. The good will be separated from the bad (Matthew 13:36-43; 47-50). The false will be exposed and the truth vindicated. Wrongs will be judged. The stories of the kings show us that the God who seems to be absent and ignored is very much alive and interested in both His people and the fulfilment of His purposes. And He is much more patient than we could ever imagine!
Our responsibility? The stories of the past should warn us of our propensity to have unseeing eyes, unhearing ears and undiscerning hearts. Therefore, we need to hear the Word and understand it (Matthew 13:23). Obedience to the Word of God has always been the soil of God’s blessing and true kingdom growth. Those who hear and obey are “trained for the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 13:52 ESV).
[1] Editor’s Note: To get the best from this article, unless you are very familiar with the text, we would recommend reading 1 Kings chapters 14-16 and Matthew chapter 13 before reading it.
