And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began
to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over
Israel two years. And he did evil in
the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way
of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin. 1 Kings 15:25-26
It
has been well documented in the article concerning Jeroboam that his desire to
remain relevant lead to many unauthorized practices by the northern kingdom of
Israel. Upon his death, Nadab, his son, became king, and we must take notice of
some things about his reign. We almost miss Nadab because his reign was brief,
as was his father’s, but it was certainly not inconsequential. Joseph de
Maistre said, "Every country has the government it deserves." For
Israel, this certainly is true. When Jeroboam walked away from Jerusalem and
set to establish his own form of pseudo-Judaism, it opened the door to all
sorts of chaos continued under Nadab. Let us consider some of the signs shown
in Nadab’s reign.
First,
short reigns indicate a lack of structure and a sort of bloodthirsty
insurrection that comes with disorder. It did not take long for Baasha to
fulfill his conspiracy against Nadab (cf. 1 Kings 15:27). Baasha took his
throne and then subsequently executed all the house of Jeroboam to fulfill the
prophecy the Lord had spoken through Ahijah to destroy his house (cf. 1 Kings
14:9-11). The disorder in the northern kingdom is found because this is the
necessity of men living outside of the authority of Scripture. We will see that
in the subsequent reigns that the kings of Israel will serve as the
executioners of one another. Baasha was the
executioner of the sons of Jeroboam; Zambri was the executioner of the sons of
Baasha, and the executioner of Zambri was Omri. How easy is it to devalue human
life when it comes to power? How many have devalued the lives of their
neighbors, friends, and brethren over godless politicians and policies?
Next,
we must note that Nadab got what was coming to him. He did evil in the sight of
the Lord. He continued doing what his evil father did, promoting a corrupt
priesthood and the further practice of idolatry. He transgressed the Law and
judgment was to fall on him. Nadab had the option to turn back but he simply
did not. We can relate for some say we can never go back; we can never restore
things to how they once were. With the structures of man, this may be true, but
certainly not with the Lord. We can
return to the Lord. We can look at the Word and know exactly what He has
desired for man. Nadab could have read the Law; he likely knew the Law. Nadab
did nothing to right the policies of his father, and he paid for it certainly.
If we fail to hold to the ancient paths in the matters of faith, we certainly
will set out steps along the path of Jeroboam and Nadab.
Finally,
we see that Nadab caused Israel to sin. This is not to say that the people had
no choice in the matter, for all men are free moral agents that are responsible
for their choices. In all the cases of previous kings, they have great
influence over men. Men follow their leaders. We get the leaders we deserve and
often, for better or worse, we emulate them to a certain degree. When an evil
king continues in the evil of those before, he will aid in the degeneration of some
of the people over whom he rules. How many of us will fall for the lies of
Satan in the meantime?
Grace and Peace,
R. D. Beavers
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