By Chalcedony Williams
When all Israel realized that the king had refused to listen to them, they responded,
“Down with the dynasty of David!
We have no interest in the son of Jesse.
Back to your homes, O Israel!
Look out for your own house, O David!”
So, the people of Israel returned home. But Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah.
King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labour, to restore order, but the people of Israel stoned him to death. When this news reached King Rehoboam, he quickly jumped into his chariot and fled to Jerusalem. And to this day the northern tribes of Israel have refused to be ruled by a descendant of David.
When the people of Israel learned of Jeroboam’s return from Egypt, they called an assembly and made him king over all Israel. So only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the family of David.
1 Kings 12:16-20 NLT
A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse.
Mark 3:24 NLT
‘Kintsugi’ is a Japanese art that uses a lacquer mixed with gold, silver or platinum to repair broken pottery. The process results in a beautiful bowl or plate with shiny seams where the cracks once were. The golden lacquer makes all the broken pieces into one whole and holds them together. The process makes the pottery into a piece of art in its own right that others can look at and admire, but more than that, it allows the original pottery to fulfil the purpose for which it was made.
The Kingdom of Heaven is a bit like that. God, by His Spirit, fills believers and joins them to Himself through Christ Jesus. He also joins them to each other by the same Spirit, making them into one body, a holy priesthood and royal nation. The beauty of the Kingdom is that the Holy Spirit acts like the golden lacquer, joining and holding people together who would not normally associate with each other, perhaps even people who would be enemies if not for the saving and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. If you have given your life to Jesus, then you are also a part of this royal nation, and you have been united by the Spirit of God to every believer in the world. We unify, not over our similarities – most of us are vastly different from one another – no, we unify over the finished work of the cross, the cleansing sacrifice of Jesus our Saviour, and the mission of the Kingdom of our God.
The nation of Israel was another mismatched bunch of people who were united under God. The difference is that a covenant united Israel with God that they constantly failed to keep. Instead of living righteously, they would turn away from God and choose to do things their way. The problem with allowing sin to turn us away from God is that we often turn to pleasing ourselves at the expense of each other. If Israel were like ‘Kintsugi’ pottery, then sin would be like putting pressure on the outside of the pottery. Where do you think the pottery will break first? Yes, along those beautiful golden seams. The sad part about Israel is that they were all from one family – descendants of the Patriarch Abraham. But eventually the pressure of sin and their leaders' selfishness led to division in the nation. The ten northern tribes made a new king for themselves whilst the two southern tribes remained faithful to the rightful ruler – a kingdom divided. What followed for Israel was a downward spiral for both parts of the nation, which led to bloodshed, treachery and exile.
Israel’s history shows us that a kingdom divided cannot stand. But the Kingdom of God, God’s true Israel, will grow and is growing even now as people reject sin, withstand its pressure and choose to stand in loyalty to the forgiving and redeeming God who gave us His Son to free us from sin’s corruption. Jesus was betrayed and rejected by His own people and His body torn to pieces so that we, by faith could be permanently grafted into the family of God. And, in the words of Jesus, “what God has joined together, let no one split apart”.
Ask: What causes division among people?
Seek: How much do you experience and appreciate unity with other believers?
Knock: If there is division between you and a fellow believer, pray for an opportunity to reunite with them, then do that.
