If only Rehoboam sat down with the Lord first, he might have fortified God’s flock instead of fleecing them!
It’s a wonderful breakthrough in life when we begin to treat the Lord as a first resource, not a last recourse. After Rehoboam initially listened to the wrong advisors, he began to see God’s people as those of whom he should take care rather than those from whom he should take cash! First, he “built cities for defense in Judah” (2 Chron 11:5). New battle lines had been drawn through the center of the land since cities once in the heartland were now on the border. “He fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them,” not only providing personnel but also provisions—“stores of food, oil, and wine. Also in every city he put shields and spears” (vv 11-12). This prompts the question: Are those in church leadership providing spiritual food for the saints, and also equipping them to fight the good fight with “the whole armor of God” (see Eph 6:10-18)? Some with a heart for evangelism may send believers out to battle without solid teaching that makes them strong in the Lord. Others with a desire for building up the saints forget to train them to do exploits for God. Solomon wrote, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the Lord protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain” (Ps 127:1, BSB). The Lord Jesus linked the two together in Luke 14. “Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it…Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able…So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple” (Lk 14:28-33). Both building and battling are costly, and only true disciples are equipped for both, since Jesus is always the secret of success.