Objective of the lesson: To emphasize the serious bad consequences of placing our source of security in ourselves instead of in our God.

Among the bigger spiritual problems facing today's Christian is the problem of our source of security. The question: what makes us feel secure? Our education? Job? Financial worth? Health? Lifestyle? Opportunities? Connections? Status in the community, state, or nation? Relationship with God? In crunch situations, what makes us feel secure?

Using the wrong source and gauge of security in our lives as Christians is a primary source of many of our problems. If you wish to illustrate the reality of this statement, use the declaration, "Everything would fall into place in my life if ..." Have your students complete that statement as they have heard others say or they themselves would say. Many would say if they won the lottery, if they could pay off bills, if they had a house, if they had a car, etc. Many answers are money-centered or things-centered. In other words, my life would be secure if I had money or had things.

This is a real, immediate question most of us face. If we are transitioning from a lifestyle that indulged physical desires to a lifestyle that focuses on spiritual values, this transition often produces feelings of insecurity. Why? We leave the known and comfortable for the unknown and therefore uncomfortable. Consider these thoughts: after a few years it is the exception to find a male in a job that is the literal outgrowth of his training. Money disappears. Jobs vanish. Health evaporates. The migration from "somebody" to "has been" is frequent. Necessity changes lifestyles and status. Relationship with God seems hypothetical. Increasingly it feels as if we exist in a world of rapid transition. So what makes us feel lasting security? Do we find what we think is security only to feel insecure?

The immediate physical need tends to cause us stress. It deceives us into believing all would be okay if that particular need were met. We think that our difficulties are caused by that one need we see. We rarely (1) see how complex needs are or (2) recognize how our mess was produced. The causes of our messes tend to repeat themselves if we do not understand how we got in the bind.

Solomon at first pleased God (1 Kings 3:3; 9:1-9; 2 Chronicles 7:11-18). Later Solomon deeply displeased God (1 Kings 11:9-13). As a result, God intended for Jereboam to become king over the nation of Israel (ten of the tribes) after Solomon died, and God told Solomon of His plans. God promised Jereboam He would make Jereboam's descendants Israel's continuing kings if Jereboam would obey God and keep God's statutes.

Solomon had incredible opportunity and squandered it. Jereboam had a great opportunity and did not recognize it.

Soon, Jereboam faced a security problem. Time passed, Solomon died, and Israel (the ten tribes) made Jereboam their king. As king, would he trust God to manage the impending situation, or would he trust himself to manufacture solutions to what he regarded to be impending problems?

The problem created by many good opportunities is that such opportunities demand you make decisions about your core values. Do you trust your own judgment? Do you trust God's values?

The dilemma Jereboam faced was real. In Deuteronomy 16:16, all Israelite men were required to appear en masse at the place God would chose three times a year to present God sacrifices (also see Deuteronomy 12:1-14 and note verses 5, 11, 13, 14). While Jerusalem had been the political capital of the nation since David captured and settled it, and the spiritual capital of the nation since Solomon built and dedicated the temple (see 2 Chronicles 7:12), Jerusalem was not in the territory ruled by King Jereboam. Thus if King Jereboam's people remained faithful to God, the men would travel out of his territory to his enemy's (Rehoboam, Solomon's son) territory to worship God.

Stress that Jereboam faced a truly real decision. Help your students see that sending the men to Jerusalem seemed a stupid thing to do in his circumstances.

If this occurred, King Jereboam feared his people (the ten tribes he ruled) would choose to return to the rule of Rehoboam. King Jereboam feared that the result of Israelites returning to Jerusalem to worship would be a national eruption of patriotism ending in two things: (1) a reuniting of Israel and (2) King Jereboam's violent death. Would he feel secure to trust his dilemma to God? Or, would he take matters into his own hands? Is that not our dilemma also? Do we trust God to care for the situation, or do we trust ourselves? The stress increases as we "know" what will happen, and what we "know" will happen is NOT acceptable.

Eventually, all hard choices become pragmatic decisions. In pragmatic decisions it is much easier to trust "my gut feeling" than it is to trust God's values. In hard decisions, we prefer to trust ourselves instead of God's values or God's involvement.

What did Jereboam do? (1) He consulted with people. From his actions, I conclude he consulted with people who shared his anxiety. (When an anxious person consults anxious people, the result is increased anxiety, not insight and wisdom.) (2) As a result of his consultations and his anxiety, he built two golden calves, and he erected one in Bethel and one in Dan. (3) He told the people that the journey to Jerusalem was too hard for them to make. (4) He said these golden calves were responsible for delivering their ancestors from Egypt, and they should be honored as their gods. (5) He made priests from people in his kingdom. (6) He instituted worship forms familiar to the people.

Stress to your students that we tend to consult with people who agree with us so we can have the comfort of telling ourselves, "They agree with me." A wise person gets input from many perspectives. He/she is seeking the best thing to do, not "ego support" in an unwise decision.

What Jereboam did was extremely offensive to God.

In other words, he had more confidence in himself than in God. He liked his solutions. The results were astounding and filled with far-reaching consequences! He succeeded in replacing the God of Israel with idolatry. (1) Never was there a king over those ten tribes who returned to God. Once Jereboam set idolatry in motion among those ten tribes, the generations that followed did not forsake idolatry officially. (2) They not longer existed as a nation after they were conquered and displaced by Assyria. They deserted God to their own destruction

We tend to do what we like. Therefore, we should be urged to like the right values. We also need to understand that others who follow after us will be affected by our choices.

In matters of your personal sense of security, choose wisely! How do I choose wisely? You take all factors into consideration! You do not let the immediate distress make the decision--look for more than immediate relief! Make a serious effort to distinguish between a spiritually destructive short term solution and a problem-solving longer term solution even if it means there will be an immediate distress. Be certain to make God your #1 priority in your decision. Consider the impact of your decision on the generation to follow you.

You neither want to carelessly hasten or to inactively drag your feet when making choices. Individually, don't drag your feet. Collectively, think about what moves God's purposes forward. Do not be held hostage by a minority. Yet, be well informed when you decide. Choose for the right reasons. Always remember more is involved than just your desires.

Before you die, it is quite possible that lifestyles will change radically in America because the middle and poor classes cannot endure the economic pressures exerted by numerous factors. This is no attempt to sound a warning of doom and gloom! It is an attempt to distinguish between the temporary and the eternal. Physical things and situations may be stressful and uncomfortable, but they are temporary. Godly things and situations may be stressful and uncomfortable, but they are eternal. Never allow physical things or situations to blind you to godly things and situations. Be very careful not to neglect God as you determine your source of security!

People urgently need examples of men and women who trust God and His values in difficult situations involving hard choices.

For Thought and Discussion

1. In this lesson, what is one of the bigger problems facing today's Christian?

   The problem of Christians' source of security is one of our bigger problems..

2. In this lesson, what is the question? Why is it a real question?

   The question is, "What makes us feel secure?" Everyone has to decide what gives him/her a sense of security.

3. What promise did God make to Jereboam?

   God promised He would make Jereboam's descendants a continuing dynasty in Israel just as He did with David in Judah.

4. Illustrate the fact that Jereboam's dilemma was real.

   1. To send your men out of your territory was risky.

   2. The possibility of patriotic feelings changing your men's loyalty and commitment is a risk.

5. What two things did Jereboam fear would happen if the men of his kingdom returned to Jerusalem?

   1. His men would reunite the kingdom under Rehoboam.

   2. He would be killed as a result of his men's desire to reunite the kingdom.

6. Name six things Jereboam did in reaction to his problem.

   1. He consulted with people (who likely shared his anxiety).

   2. As a result of his consultations and anxiety, he built two golden calves as idolatrous objects of worship.

   3. He told his people the Jerusalem trip was too hard for them to make.

   4. He told his people the golden calves were responsible for their ancestors' deliverance from Egypt.

   5. He made priests from his people.

   6. He instituted worship forms that were familiar to the people.

7. Give two results that were consequences of Jereboam's decision.

   1. There was never a king over those ten tribes who returned to God.

   2. Eventually Assyria destroyed them as a nation.

8. Discuss how a Christian chooses wisely.

   1. You consider all factors.

   2. You do not let distress make the decision.

   3. Distinguish between a short term solution and a problem solving solution.

   4. Be certain to make God your # 1 priority.

   5. Consider the impact of your decision on future generations.

9. What does this lesson attempt to distinguish between?

   It attempts to distinguish between the temporary and the eternal.

10. What should never be neglected in determining one's source of security?

    Never neglect God!

Link to Student Guide Lesson 13

Copyright © 2008
David Chadwell & West-Ark Church of Christ

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