Prophesy

 

    Prophesy is a reception or declaration of the Word of God.  It comes through prompting from the Holy Spirit through a human.  Most prophets were known as a seer or a prophet.  They are people called by God to speak truth.  God expects all of us to speak truth, but they have a wisdom and intuition that the average person does not. 

    Jeroboam's son became ill, so the boy's mother disguised herself to visit the prophet Ahijah.  Her disguise did not fool the man of God (prophet).  God had made Jeroboam a king because of Solomon's wondering away from Him.  God allowed the nation to be ripped apart to make this happen, but Jeroboam did not follow God.  He used his position to conduct evil, so God was bringing disaster to his family and all that were of his household.  No male would live as punishment for leading Israel astray.  

    When Jeroboam's wife returned home her son died as she stepped through the door.  She understood that the men in her family were cursed to die horrible deaths, but the prince got to be buried.  He was a child, so he was the only one that still had goodness in his heart.  Jeroboam ruled for 22 years to be succeeded by Nadab.

    During Jeroboam's troubled reign over Israel, Kind Rehoboam reigned over Judah.  He became king at 41 and reigned 17 years.  His mother was an Ammonite.  He led the people to do evil in God's eyes similarly to Jeroboam.  When he died, his son Abijhah succeeded him.  Rehoboam's reign was mostly considered a joke, but it was a complete failure. 

    It seems like both kings were more interested in being the most popular king.  They were always at war with each other.  They left God out of all the business that made them kings and focused on what the other was doing.  It was a recipe for disaster.  

    I feel sorry for the people and the prophets.  During this time, the job of the prophet was to give terrifying news.  However being a prophet was not always bad.  Sometimes they got to give good news, like when Jesus's birth was predicted to come.

1 Kings 14