II Chronicles 12:1 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
Words do mean things, and it is interesting how we use words and how we sometimes let words be used without contesting their use. For instance, if someone deems themselves “progressive,” what do they mean by that? Generally, in politics anyway, they are talking about a liberal framework for their ideology. That’s fine. “Liberal” is a valid term, but I would contend that “progressive,” though it has a historical context, is not so much a name as it is a claim. I can start a group and call it the Virtue Group, but will those who disagree with me call me by the name I’ve chosen simply because I say it is so?
The point is that words mean things, and we are not making progress if we are moving in the wrong direction. In II Chronicles 12:1 it says, “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.” So, Rehoboam didn’t see his need of God because he didn’t see his need. He was well financially and militarily so he thought he was okay. He had established his kingdom.
Later on, in II Chronicles 12:14 it says, “And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.” The word “prepared” is the same as the word “established” in verse 1, which is to say it is the same word with reference to a different direction. In verse 1, Rehoboam had prepared himself to have a kingdom; he established the kingdom. In verse 14, he did not do the same when it came to God; he did not establish his relationship with God and seek Him. So, he did evil not because of what he did but because of what he did not do.
Now, God let him see the difference between progressing in the wrong direction and progressing in the right direction, and I would say that just because I am making movement does not make it progress. Progress is making movement in the right direction. In verse 8 it says, “Nevertheless they [Israel] shall be his [Egypt’s] servants; that they may know my [God’s] service.” God was saying, “They are going to become the slaves of Egypt and the slaves of a god who does not love them because they refused the God Who did love them. When they see the difference between serving the gods of Egypt and serving God Jehovah, they are going to see how good they had it.”
The bottom line is that I’m not making progress if I’m moving in the wrong direction. Now, I’m not advocating being static and never moving in life. What I am advocating is realizing what it is I am doing. Just because I am moving at high speed does not mean I am making progress.
So, what are your metrics for progress in your life? Let me give you three that can be relative and can lead you in the wrong direction. First, we have friends. I’m all for having friends, but just because the majority of people I know are doing something does not mean it is going in the right direction. I don’t think it is a virtue to be weird or cantankerous, but to think that the majority has always been right throughout history is folly. The world abounds with examples of the majority doing the wrong things. So, just because I have friends does not mean I am making progress.
Think about money. Money is something you must have in order to survive, but in verse 9 we see that the king of Egypt “carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made.” Rehoboam didn’t even keep the wealth that had been amassed by Solomon when he did the wrong thing. In any event, having money is not the surest metric of going in the right direction. Sometimes going in the right direction may cost me. I have a friend who says, “The devil will give you what you want, but it will cost you what you have.” The devil can see to it that I make a lot of money if that might be the way for me to ruin my relationship to God. It is not that money and God are mutually exclusive; it is that the love of money is the root of all evil and you can’t serve God and money at the same time.
How about position? I think that God has put different ambitions in different people and I think it is great to give your best to every endeavor, but it is important to remember that simply because I have a higher position does not mean that I am making progress. Verse 16 says, “Abijah his son reigned in his stead.” Rehoboam ceased to reign and his son began to reign because Rehoboam died, as you and I will.
So, neither friends, money, nor position can be the main metric by which you judge progress in this life because there is more to this life than this life. Both this life and the one to come are enhanced when I realize the nature of true progress. I’m not making progress if I’m moving in the wrong direction. There is a God Who loves me and loves you, He will give guidance to the extent that we accept it and when we accept that guidance and move in that direction, then we are making progress.