II Chronicles 12:14 And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD
What is the worst sin you could commit? I have to tell you that I have come to the conclusion that there is not a sin on the books that you or I could not commit. It is not impossible. Maybe a more important question is, “What is the easiest sin you could commit?” Did you know that the two are connected, the worst sin you could commit and the easiest sin you could commit?
In II Chronicles 12 God is talking about Judah, half of the divided kingdom of Israel. You have the biography of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, the son of David. He is not governing half of a kingdom; he is governing a divided kingdom. The Bible says in summary about him in verse 14, “And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.”
Notice what he did and what he did not do that were sins. One was a sin of commission, something he actively did, and one was a sin of omission, something he did not do. What he did do, the sin of commission, you might consider the worst sin, and what he did not do, the sin of omission, you might consider the easiest sin because doing nothing is always easier than doing something, even if it is bad.
The Bible says he did evil. Verse 1 clarifies that by telling us that he “forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him.” He was responsible for millions of people turning from God. That was his example. That was what he did do.
What did he not do? He did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord. One was caused by the other. He did evil, the worst sin, because he prepared not. He didn’t prepare his heart to seek the Lord. The truth is if you don’t guard against the easiest sin to commit, you will fall to the biggest sin you could commit.
Let me give you three watchwords to consider. First is priority. This is what is first, prior, most important. Your life is a product of your priorities. Now, you may not have intended to commit the worst sin, but what are you actively making a priority in your life? Verse 1 tells us, “And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him.” The word establish in “established the kingdom” is the same as the word prepared in “he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.” He had a priority. He was more concerned with preparing the kingdom than preparing his heart. He was more concerned about governing his people than he was about obeying his God. In other words, his priorities were messed up.
What are you preparing for? The Bible tells us many times to seek the Lord. Seeking God is an active pursuit. If I am not actively seeking God, I am passively or even actively doing the wrong thing. So, what are your priorities? Rehoboam was all about building a kingdom, building a resume perhaps, and building the treasury, but he wasn’t about preparing his heart to seek the Lord.
The second watchword is perspective. In verse 8 says God said to him, “Nevertheless they shall be his [the king of Egypt] servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.” The way God judged Rehoboam for rejecting Him and failing to seek Him was by allowing Rehoboam to serve the king of Egypt. Everyone serves something, and God was allowing this man to reap the results of what he was doing. He wasn’t seeking God, so Egypt would seek him.
It was God versus Egypt. Shields of gold which Solomon had made were lost, and instead Rehoboam had shields of brass. That was a picture of what he was doing. He was serving a god that was inferior. God had said, “I am going to let them serve the king of Egypt so they will know what it is to serve Me.” God was giving them a comparison. This is perspective. We all need that, and without it we could end up committing the worst sin we could.
The last word is pride. When God sent the king of Egypt to conquer Rehoboam, the princes of Israel and the king “humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous.” In verse 7 God sent to the prophet and said, “They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them,” but He allowed them to serve the king of Egypt for a time so they would know that in comparison to serving the God of the universe. Then, verse 12 says, “And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him.”
When did Rehoboam lose his way? Verse 1 says, “And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself.” When we are powerful and strong, when have strengthened ourselves and established our kingdom it is easy to fail to see our need for God. We always need God. We just don’t always know it. If we have help and wealth and friends, then it is easy to think we don’t need God. Humility helps us to have the understanding of what we really need.
I want to encourage you by telling you that God always responds to a humble heart. When Rehoboam humbled himself, the wrath of God turned away from him. When he strengthened himself, he forsook God. So, what is the easiest sin to commit? That is probably what you ought to be focusing on today. Oftentimes we think about guarding against the worst sin, when the truth is that where we live every day is the easiest sin. If you don’t guard against the easiest sin, you will fall to the biggest, and your life is a product of your priorities.