April 14 - Some Advice Please

April 14

             Some Advice Please

 

1Ki 12:8 But he (Rehoboam) forsook the counsel

of the old men… and consulted with the

young men that were grown up with him…

     The explosion sent a tongue of fire out of the stove door and up his arm. But he had not worked in the woodshop long enough to learn not to throw a shovel full of sanding powder into the woodstove!

     “Did you see that? It burned the hair right off my arm”  He said as he rubbed his now hairless arm.

      “Yeah, I probably wouldn’t do that again.” I advised with just a hint of a smile.
       “Sounds like good advice to me” he grinned back as he rubbed the back of his now pink hand.

     There are times when we could all use some advice. That is sometimes where the problem starts. Who should we ask?

     We have all been in a store and asked a sales person about a product. When they read the fine print on the product and respond  “Yes, it will probably do that.”, it tells us they don’t have a clue and cannot give us good advice.

      Rehoboam had a decision to make. He was in a tough spot. His father, Solomon, had died and he was going to be the next king of the 12 tribes of Israel. (1 Kings 12:1) But Solomon had spent a lot of money building fancy buildings and other unneeded luxuries, and taxing the people way too much. It had lasted most of the 40 years Solomon was king and the people had grown weary of doing without money and man power at home so Solomon could live…well…like a king, only way too much like a king!

      Solomon also had forced too many people to serve as builders, butlers, and everything else his fancy life style required. The people were on the edge of rebellion and asked that his son, Rehoboam, lower taxes and stop forced labor. They were willing to support the government and they were not asking that all taxes be done away with, just that the heavy burden of Solomon be lighter. Certainly a reasonable request.

     1 Kings 12 gives us the details. Rehoboam must have been pretty self-serving or slow witted. He asked the old men and they said if you lighten up, the people will serve you forever.  

     Next he asked the guys his own age, who benefitted from the heavy taxes. They said he should load the people down even more than Solomon had. (The young guys he asked were feeding at the public trough!) Rehoboam was not smart enough to sort out good advice from bad, so he followed what the younger guys advised and as a result he lost the kingdom.

     Jeroboam, was selected by the ten tribes that rebelled to be their king. Almost immediately he led the nation into idolatry. Why would he do that?

     The verses leading up to vrs 28 reveal that Jeroboam also had a problem. First he had to figure out how to keep his ten tribes from going to Jerusalem because he feared that if they went there to worship as God required, they may change their mind about the rebellion, and kill him, for leading the rebellion.

      His solution was a good one. Ask some advice. I had overlooked the phrase “…took counsel…” in 1 Kings 12:28 in previous times of reading this passage. We do not know for sure but it seems likely he took counsel of representatives from the tribes, or at least their leading men. But we do know he took counsel from someone.

     They advised him to set up golden calves, and have the people worship at home instead of going to Jerusalem, so that is what he did. Now there is a great example of bad advice equals bad results.

      Both of these men had received bad counsel and had followed it. Proverbs says we should seek counsel.

Pr 19:20 ¶ Hear counsel, and receive instruction,

that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.

But the first psalm warns us;

Ps 1:1 ¶ Blessed is the man that walketh

not in the counsel of the ungodly,

So how do we determine who is a good counselor and who is not?  A few things come to mind. First is there a conflict of interest?  The used car salesman that advises you to buy his car right now just wants to make a sale that is in his best interest.

Secondly, do you know and trust the counselor? It might be a neighbor, friend or relative who advises you to go ahead and buy something because they want to borrow it.

     Does the person giving you counsel really care about your best interests or are they thinking “I don’t really care what he does. No skin off my nose!”

    But the best place to go for counsel is to read the Word of God. While it may not tell you what decision you should make it will provide a framework for you to know how to make Godly decisions.

     Next Prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit are essential. 

 Jg 18:5 And they said unto him,

Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God…

Here in Judges they were asking a priest to seek God’s counsel for them. Today, because of Christ, we can ask God ourselves, without going through a priest. The Holy Spirit is a great counselor, and can speak to us in ways no unsaved person can ever grasp.

Ps 32:8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the

way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

     Finally we should seek the advice of Godly people we know, that care about us.  Just be sure their counsel is in line with God’s will for us.

Pr 11:14 ¶ Where no counsel is, the people fall:

but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.

May God bless us and counsel our hearts as we make decisions. 

 Pr 12:15 ¶ The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.