Do Not Hide

Rehoboam's Way

But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him 1 Kings chapters 12, 13, 14

David's Way

So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die”. 2 Samuel 11 & 12

Rehoboam was overwhelmed when he became King, his people pleaded for a reprieve form the taxes imposed by the previous king - Rehoboam's father Solomon. While his elders offered wise counsel, he rejected the opportunity to unite a nation that was breaking from within – his actions would eventually lead to the division of Israel as a nation. He also ruled Judah (his portion of the divided Israel) in idolatry without reference to the God of his fathers.

David, Rehoboam’s grandfather, had expressly wronged God by both fornicating and indirectly murdering the husband of Bathsheba. A prophet was sent to confront him. David did not hide his sins, he listened to the prophet and sought forgiveness.

These stories may be extremes and do not necessarily match our own circumstances but the lessons remain – we are often confused and clueless, we can sometimes even have deviated from the right path, what we must never do is to ignore God’s counsel. God often sends counsel directly, through his ministers and often elders. He knows we are lost sometimes and He sends counsel to help us retrace our paths.

What must we do about this? First we must learn to differentiate God’s counsel from the roaring noise of the devil (I Peter 5:8), otherwise we fall into the same trap as Rehoboam. To know what God’s counsel sounds and feels like, we need to make His words a habit.

Importantly, like David, we need to also learn that no matter how far out of God’s path we have gone, His grace is enough to draw us back and His will is that we come back to his light.

He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. (Proverbs 28:18)