Jeroboam didn’t need God. He had everything under control, or so he thought. He used religion to control his political position. He ignored God’s instructions for holy living and decided to establish his own values in life. All in all, he just had no time for God. He just didn’t need God. Jeroboam is much like many men today.
Then he was struck with such a crisis that he realized that the things that matter most in life are totally out of our control. All of a sudden, he needed God. His son was struck sick and near death. He then turned to God and God’s servant, the prophet Ahijah, for help. But, God wasn’t there for him at the time of his greatest need.
He didn’t go to God himself. He sent his wife. He didn’t want others to see him as a “God dependent” freak that needed the crutch of religion to get through the hard times of life. He even advised his wife to disguise herself and pretend to be someone else. He was afraid of the headlines: “The King’s wife seeks help from God’s prophet.” He was ashamed of his need for God.
There’s an interesting description of Jeroboam’s treatment of God in the text. It says that he “had cast God behind his back.” He didn’t want anyone to see his connection with God. This same phrase is used to describe what God does with our sins when he forgives us. He “casts them behind his back.” He puts them out of mind and removes them from his view. In other words, He forgets them. He removes our shame! We all want God to cast our sins behind his back and forget them, but when man casts God behind his back and forgets him, and is ashamed of God, he will find himself alone in the world, not only with a load of sin, but without help in times of great need.
In Luke 9:26, Jesus said, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.”
Don’t “Cast God behind your back.”
Chuck
“Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.” Colossians 3:9-10