The King's Blueprint for Godless Living
And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD. (2 Chronicles 12:14 KJV)
After noting all the evil that Rehoboam did in his lifetime, the scriptures warn us of Rehoboam's blueprint to his sinful life in closing the account of his rule. Verse 14 reads, "And he did evil because he prepared/fixed not his heart to seek the LORD. Here we see three things pertaining to how one makes a practice in evil living: Firstly, failure to resolve oneself to do rightly - that is, a failure to make ready one's disposition towards that which is true and good. Secondly, failure to set one's desire to seek that which is true and good & ultimately, failure to acknowledge the source of all that is true and good - being God.
1. Ultimately, failure to recognize and acknowledge that which is true and good, namely God.
"... the LORD"
Godless living is the only possibility available when one suppresses knowledge of God in their life (Rom 1:21-32). As the scriptures attest, "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding" (Job 28:28). As the Kings' before him, Rehoboam's blatant disregard of God's law was evidence of his lack of having the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord within him. In short, he did not live Coram Deo, that is in the fear of the living God. Consequently, without fear of God, there is no turning away from evil. Since Rehoboam did not see fit to serve the living God in his lifetime, we now look at the practical means by which Rehoboam made a practice of neglecting godly living in favour of living godlessly.
2. Firstly, failure to resolve oneself to do rightly
"He did evil because he prepared not..."
Rehoboam made headway into compromise by the lack of resolution to do right before the face of God. Indeed one must have it in the heart to fear God otherwise there is no impulse/ initiation/desire to prepare oneself to live rightly before the face of God.
The verb הֵכִין֙ (he-kin), translated for us as "prepared" is the active and causative action that is to say that Rehoboam did not "make ready" his heart to seek the LORD. Why did Rehoboam not "make ready" his heart?
1) Because there was not any desire to resolve to do so, and more fundamentally
2) the law of God was external to him, and not as it is for us who are in Christ, written internally on the heart and aided by the Spirit of the Fear of the LORD.
3. Secondly, and pertaining to our ultimate point, Rehoboam's practice of godless living as a result of his failure to set his desire to seek that which is true and good - God.
"...his heart to seek the LORD."
Seeking the LORD is what the heart does when it is made ready to do so beforehand. Out of the heart flows the springs of life (Prov 4:23). A resolve to do right by God must be present - that is one must have it in the heart to fear God, in order for his/her heart to seek the LORD in all our ways. To make a resolve in order to make ready oneself to seek the LORD, are all interrelated. You cannot do one without the other. You cannot make yourself ready to seek the LORD if you have not the resolve to do so beforehand, and you cannot resolve to do so if you are not already exercising the will to make a practice of seeking the LORD. Furthermore, a will that is bound fast to sin, means that we have as Rehoboam did, a palate that loves sin and detests that which is truly God. Where then does the cycle of doing evil, and living rightly in light of the face of God begin?
The Gospel Cure To Godless Living
Since the foundation underlying Godly living is the fear of the LORD, we note that this is external to us, and must therefore be given to us by God in order to receive. This gift of the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord is none other than the Holy Spirit himself. This is the same Spirit that accompanies the heart of flesh in Ezekiel 11:19 & 36:26. Of the seven characterizations of the Spirit given in Isaiah 11, this is the same Spirit of the Fear of the Lord that rests on Jesus in verse 2 of the same passage. This is further clarified when we note that the sevenfold Spirit of Revelation 1:14 is the same seven found to rest on Jesus in Isaiah 11.
This is the Spirit of Christ that dwells in us who belong to Christ (Rom 8:9). This is what characterizes our life in the Kingdom of God. One that is marked and sealed by the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord. The very Spirit that makes the will sound and sober so as to "prepare our hearts to seek the Lord". This gift of the Spirit of the Fear of the LORD that accompanies the heart of flesh is the Gospel cure to our godless living.
John Calvin notes rightly that our heart of stone is described as such because it is impossible to change (Institutes III, xxiv, 16). Thus, part of Ezekiel's prophecy concerning the new creation in Christ is to have it removed. Christ has bought for us, in uniting us to himself, heart surgery - the removal of the accursed heart which desired as Rehoboam did, in place of the new heart of flesh which is receptive and moldable to the accompanying Spirit of Christ. Thus, Jesus' crucifixion marked the death of the old man Adam (He took us with him to die), and his resurrection brought forth the new man (He took us with him to new life). Were the promise and gift of Christ crucified and resurrected applied to Rehoboam, as it is for us who are under a better covenant, his life and rule may have closed instead with these words, "and he did right in the eyes of God because he prepared his heart to seek the LORD."
May we who live by the Spirit give heed to the words concerning the godless life of King Rehoboam, and resolve to keep in step with the Spirit and our new life in Christ.
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