Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, became King of Judah after his father passed away. Rehoboam did evil in the eyes of God. I doubt seriously that he set out with that intention, but that was his epitaph written in the Bible for all to read for generations to come. How did he get there?
Solomon was a great king and experienced an extended time of peace in the land of Israel. However things did not go so well for his son Rehoboam. The nation was divided and Judah was constantly at war with their brothers in Israel. There were times in his life that Rehoboam humbled himself before God, but in the end, his testimony was that he “did evil.”
Does the Bible give us any clue as to how Rehoboam ended up with such a horrible testimony at the end of his life? We gain some interesting insight into Rehoboam’s life that we can learn from in 2 Chronicles 12:14. Here it says that Rehoboam, “did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.”
What can we take away from this verse? If we do not exert effort to seek God and make Him first in our lives, something will always fill that void. That something will at best be indifferent towards those things that matter to God, and most likely will end up in opposition to what is good and righteous in God’s eyes. I do not believe Rehoboam intended to go in the direction he did, but by not pursuing God with all his heart, that is where he ended up. Nature abhors a vacuum, and I believe the same is true in the spiritual realm. If we do not fill our lives with God and His purposes, something else will move into to that place and we will find ourselves where we never intended to go.
What would you like written for your epitaph? What would you like people to remember about your life and the way you lived?
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