Jeroboam is an interesting character in that although the actual recounting of his life is very short, nevertheless his legacy lasted well beyond his death.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good one.
Time and again, throughout the books of the Kings, you see the words, “He walked in the way of Jeroboam,” or “he clung to the sins of Jeroboam,” or “he followed the sins of Jeroboam.”
But anyway, in this passage, Jeroboam’s son gets sick, and so Jeroboam sought the word of the Lord from Ahijah.
Ahijah was the prophet who had originally told him that he would become king.
How often do we do the same? We ignore the words of God until trouble comes. Only when we’re in dire circumstances do we seek to find out what he is trying to say to us.
Perhaps because he knew he was wrong for turning Israel to idol worship and was not faithful to God as Ahijah had charged him to be, he asked his wife to go instead.
He also advised his wife to disguise herself, although by this point Ahijah was blind.
But although Ahijah was physically blind, he could see much better on a spiritual level than Jeroboam could.
And by the warning God gave him, he quickly “saw through” the deception and told Jeroboam’s wife of the coming judgment of God.
What can we learn from this? God cannot be mocked. We cannot deceive him. Not by disguises. Not by false piety in our times of trouble.
If we “thrust God behind our back,” as Jeroboam did, we will pay the consequences for our sin.
I saw the following words on Facebook today: You are free to choose, but you are not free from the consequences of your choice.
Jeroboam had a choice: to trust God and follow him, or not.
God gave him the freedom to choose what he would do. But when he chose not to trust God, he had to pay the consequences.
And so do we.
Sometimes Christians say, “Well, I’ll just sin, and then ask God to forgive me, and it’ll be okay.”
God will indeed forgive if you are truly repentant, and you won’t have to pay for the eternal consequences of your sin.
But that doesn’t mean that you’ll escape the consequences of your sin here on earth.
If, for example, you commit adultery, it could cost you your marriage, your reputation, and your health. And it doesn’t matter how much you weep or mourn over your sin.
So let us always remember the words of Paul,
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. (Galatians 6:7)
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 