An Unprepared Heart

II Chronicles 12-15

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And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.

II Chronicles 12:14

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It is easy to think ill of Rehoboam. We see his mistakes and the results of those mistakes. He divided the nation of Israel because he did not listen to good advice. Now, we find that he led the southern kingdom in idolatry. When it comes to kings of Judah, we don't like him.

I wonder though, how many times do we make the same root mistake that Rehoboam made? II Chronicles 12:14 is a very telling verse. Rehoboam "did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD." How much time do we spend preparing our hearts to seek God?

For me, there is the temptation to treat the Bible more like a textbook. I can read it. I can practice good interpretation and application methods. However, there is the temptation to do all of this without preparing my heart to seek the LORD. Yes, you can read and study the Bible without "seeking the LORD". However, when we do this, we may read about God, but we don't see him.

So, what does it mean to prepare our heats to seek the LORD? One of the first things that comes to mind is repentance of sin. David wrote the following when he found himself far from the Lord.

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Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Psalm 51:7-13

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Notice that David attached forgiveness with teaching and evangelism. Before he could effectively serve God, he had to be in a good relationship with God. That makes sense.

One of the problems we read about in chapter 12 is that Judah fell under the control of Egypt for a while. Rehoboam was still king, but he had to pay tribute to Egypt. God's provision of protection and necessities was decreased. I don't want to say that it was taken away because that would have led to Judah being destroyed. One the idea of provision, let's look at what Jesus said.

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Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Matthew 6:31-34

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Jesus said that if we seek the things of God first, God will provide everything else we need. Judah would have had protection and provision if they had sought God. Rehoboam and the people needed to prepare their hearts to seek the LORD, but chose to seek idols. As a result, God was not found.

If you talk to people about Jesus, you will eventually be faced with the question, "Where was God when...?" It is an excellent question. However, the answer to that is another question, "Were you seeking God when...happened?" Seeking God does not mean that bad things will not happen, but it does mean that we will find him in our circumstances.

I should add, finding God in our circumstances does not mean we will find him immediately after we ask. Seeking means diligently looking for something. I used to seek contraband. It was not a matter of "is there contraband" but "where is the contraband". I would look in lockers, in the frames of beds, under toilets, in heater vents, for hidden compartments in walls, and even outside of windows.. I had to seek contraband, but eventually I would find it.

God is the same way. He is not hiding from us, but sometimes we need to process of seeking. I think of Job. The book of Job is 42 chapters long. For 37 of those chapters, God seems absent to Job. Yet, Job continued to seek for him. In the end, Job did indeed find God. Not only did he find God, but he came to know God in a deeper way than he had ever known him before. The process of seeking led to finding a deeper relationship than he could have ever had without the seeming absence of God.

Lord, help me to seek you daily. Lord, I don't want to simply read your word, or talk about you. I want to prepare my heart to seek you, so that I might find you. Then, I will know you and be able to "teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee."