How to inherit eternal life, part 18: The obedient one

But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.' (Luke 10:33-35 NASB)

In order to understand the reference to the Samaritan, and to fully understand the richness of this parable, the last two posts have looked at how the problem between the Jews and the Samaritans developed. You can read those two posts here #1 and here #2. 

The parable of the Good Samaritan is incredibly rich on multiple levels, and it also gives us a glimpse into the humor of God. He loves using the unlikely to do the unexpected, especially when He can plant an ironic and deeply profound lesson in the midst of things. 

Remember that the trouble with the Jews and the Samaritans began with what was essentially a civil war in Israel. Because of Solomon's idolatry, God tore the kingdom from his descendants and promised it to Jeroboam if he would only wait, listen, and obey. Eventually, Solomon died, and his son Rehoboam inherited the kingdom. Rehoboam made it clear that he would be a tough taskmaster, taking more from the people than his father, Solomon. The people of Israel would have none of Rehoboam, and they made Jeroboam king. Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin stayed with the Davidic line and Rehoboam. For the most part, the kings of both kingdoms (especially the Northern Kingdom) were ungodly and led people into idolatry and heinous sin, however, we must not forget that God initiated the severing of the kingdom. 

The tribes of Judah and Benjamin, ruled by Rehoboam, became known as the Southern Kingdom and the people were called Jews. The other ten tribes, ruled by Jeroboam, became known as the Northern Kingdom, (with their capital in Samaria) and the people were called Samaritans. Both kingdoms were filled with people who were typical people. Just like us, they were arrogant and thought they knew it all. Just like us, they thought they were God's favorites. (We tend to forget that God loves everyone!) 

Of course, the Jews still had access to the temple and Jerusalem and they felt that they were the keepers of the law. Oddly enough, the word translated as "Samaritan" is Samareia and literally means "guardianship" or "guardian". There became a sense that they were the guardians of the law (Remember, it was God who tore the Kingdom apart, so they thought they had a special dispensation, despite the fact of the incredible idolatry of the nation.) There are still several hundred Samaritans today. They have their own Torah and they believe that they are the guardians of the law. Needless to say, the Jews did not believe the Samaritans were guardians of the law or that they had anything "right" at all. Over time, the Jews had come to hate the Samaritans. 

With all that as background, look at this parable again. Jesus was talking to a group of Jewish people. The question that prompted the parable was, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus told the story of a man, likely a Jewish man, who was traveling on a dangerous road and was accosted by robbers. They beat him, robbed him, and left him for dead. A Jewish priest and a Jewish Levite walked past, saw the man, and kept going. They did not stop and they did not help the man in any way. The Samaritan (guardian) came down the road, saw the injured man who was, in a sense, his enemy, and at great expense and considerable inconvenience, helped the man. 

Jesus asked the lawyer to whom he was speaking, "Which of these three proved to be a neighbor to the injured man?" Because the discussion had revolved around the law, Jesus was essentially asking, "Which one of these three kept the law?' We cannot even imagine what it must have felt like for the lawyer, the expert in the law, (as well as the crowd) to admit that the Jewish people, who considered themselves keepers of the law, had totally failed at loving their neighbor, while the Samaritan man, who turned out to actually fulfill the law concerning his neighbor, had done the good they failed to perform. The Samaritans were not their worst enemy, but they were despised and rejected, and it must have stung. 

What Jesus showed the lawyer, the crowd, and those of us reading today was that they, who considered themselves as God's favorites, were not as godly as they presumed. The priest and the Levite were only thinking of themselves. The Samaritan thought first of the man on the road and it caused him to intervene. Our actions often demonstrate what is in our heart, and the Samaritan's actions demonstrated the compassion in his heart. 

When I look at this parable, I cannot help but think about all the times I've been a priest or a Levite instead of a Good Samaritan. The problem is not just that my actions have been more like the priest and Levite, but that my attitude has also been one with theirs. "It's only natural", we say, and that is right. The natural man cares first for himself, does first what he wants. It is the transformed-by-the-blood of the Lamb, obedient, godly man who cares for the things of God, the people of God first, and who first does what God wants rather than satisfying his own desires. 

Dear ones, we are not called to be "natural", we are called to be men and women of God, obedient and self-sacrificing, loving our neighbor as we do ourselves. Our actions will never be what God intended until our attitudes are right, and that requires a heart change, a relinquishing of our pride and our judgmental spirit. Let us, then, make it our goal to have the heart of God toward our neighbors, the heart of the Samaritan to those in need - despised, rejected, yet giving of ourselves to those who cannot help themselves. 

How to inherit eternal life, part 17: More on the Samaritans

But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.' (Luke 10:33-35 NASB)

Understanding how a problem developed helps us understand the reference to it, so, in the previous post, we began a look at how the problem with the Samaritans developed. You can click on this link . 

Because of Solomon's unrepentant rebellion and idol worship, God "tore" the kingdom from him, promising ten tribes to Jeroboam. All he had to do was wait, listen, and obey. He was excited about this, as we probably would have been, and he obviously told some people about the prophecy and began to make a conspiracy to make himself  the king, because word got back to Solomon, who tried to kill him. He fled to Egypt to avoid assassination, and stayed there until Solomon died and Rehoboam became king in his father's place. 

When Jeroboam heard the news, he hurried back from Egypt, leading all the people to beg Rehoboam to ease the severe treatment of the citizens by his father. Rehoboam laughed. "Ha. You think my daddy was bad. I'm going to be tougher than my daddy ever was!" Those words were all the people needed to justify rebellion, and the ten tribes rejected Rehoboam as king, split the nation, and made Jeroboam king over those who rebelled. The new nation was called the Northern Kingdom and Judah became known as the Southern Kingdom. Jeroboam established his capital in Shechem in the region of Samaria, but the capital was later moved to the city of Samaria. 

As you might expect, there was a great rivalry because those who were in the Southern Kingdom felt that they had an edge on the basis of the lineage of King David. Those in the Northern Kingdom felt that they had an edge because God had torn the kingdom from Solomon and his descendants. All Jeroboam had to do to gain a lasting kingdom was to wait, listen, and obey, but he quickly proved that he would not do what God had said. 

Jeroboam was afraid of losing his newly-gained kingdom because of the need to go to the temple in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices. He feared that, in going to Jerusalem to the temple, the people's hearts would soften and they would return to the house of David. Rather than ask God what to do, he made a solution of his own. In an unbelievable turn of events, Jeroboam instituted the very behavior that had caused Solomon to lose the kingdom. Jeroboam set up two golden calves and announced that these golden calves were the gods that had brought the people out of Egypt. To make matters even worse, the people followed his leadership and began to worship those despicable golden calves. Things quickly went from bad to worse, and soon they were a nation filled with idolatry. Two centuries later, they were carried into captivity by the Assyrians, which was essentially the end of the Northern Kingdom. 

Jerusalem and the temple were located within the Southern Kingdom. Despite the sin of the Southern Kingdom, they generally made at least a show of worship in the temple, in contrast to the open idolatry of the Northern Kingdom. Because the Southern Kingdom was basically just the tribe of Judah, these people began to be called Jews. The Northern Kingdom was situated in the area of Samaria and the capital of the Northern Kingdom was the city of Samaria. These people, from the ten tribes, began to be called the Samaritans.

We will look once more at the rivalry between the Jews and the Samaritans in the next post, but for today, let us ponder what happens when we act without consulting God. Rehoboam tried to prove himself by being tough and lost a kingdom. Jeroboam tried to save himself by making his own brand of religion, and ended up losing his kingdom, as well. Both lost the legacy God offered them because of their rebellion. How heartbreaking is that? 

Dear ones, God is serious about obedience and generously rewards us when we obey. He is also serious about disobedience. (For more on this see Deuteronomy 11:13-15, 26-28, 30:1-20.) His instructions in Deuteronomy 30, had they been heeded, could have saved the kingdom, and we would do well to take note of them today. God gives us a choice, with blessings on one side and discipline on the other. The choice is ours. Let us consider carefully the life we want, and choose well. Our life and the legacy we leave behind depends upon it.

"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." (Deuteronomy 30:19-20 NASB)

How to inherit eternal life, part 16: How the Samaritans came to be

But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.' (Luke 10:33-35 NASB)

Today, we are looking at the difficulty between the Jews and the Samaritans. It turns out that the problems between the Jews and the Samaritans were not at all what I had thought. 

The problem began during Solomon's reign. He had taken numerous foreign wives and they "turned his heart away" from the Lord. (1 Kings 11:1-13) When he began to build altars on the high places and worship idols, God appeared to Solomon again and basically told him, "I've already told you not to worship any God except Me, and I cannot let this go." God told Solomon that He would "tear the kingdom" from him. Because of his father, King David, who loved God with his whole heart, the discipline was softened. The kingdom would be split, but not until after his death. Because of David's love for God, two tribes would be left with Solomon's descendants. (The second tribe was insignificant and actually David's descendants would basically have only Judah.)

God moved quickly. The prophet Ahijah found Jeroboam (an industrious and upcoming soldier) on the road. Ahijah had a new cloak which he tore into twelve pieces. He told Jeroboam to take ten pieces for himself. God, he said, was giving ten tribes to Jeroboam and leaving the rest (Judah) with Solomon's descendants. Jeroboam would have to wait until after Solomon died, but if he did, and if he listened to God's commands and obeyed them, He would be with Jeroboam, give Israel to him, and establish an enduring house (lineage) as He had done for David. 

Wait. Listen. Obey.

All Jeroboam had to do was wait, listen, and obey, but Jeroboam was much like us. God had promised the throne to him, and he wanted it. Who wants to wait? We will see more of his waiting problem in the next post, but I suspect that Jeroboam began to talk (and likely brag) about what the prophet had said, because Solomon soon heard about it. King Solomon added more sin to what he had already piled up when he became enraged and tried to have Jeroboam killed. (It would have been a perfect opportunity to repent and seek God's face, but, instead, he chose more rebellion.) Jeroboam fled to Egypt and waited. 

One of the greatest sermons of the 20th century was preached by Dr. R.G. Lee and was entitled "Pay Day Someday". (My mother heard him preach this sermon, and never forgot it. She was still speaking of it, more than fifty years later, in the months before her death.) Dr. Lee was right. There will always be a pay day someday. No matter how rich or powerful we are, we will have to answer for our choices, our decisions, our sin. Even Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, had to answer for his idolatry and his disobedience, and the price was tremendous. His disobedience not only devastated the lives of his descendants, but also ripped a nation into shreds. 

It is easy to think that Solomon had "bigger" sins than we have, or "more" sins, or was disciplined because he was "more visible", but that is not born out by Scripture. Solomon refused to obey and God disciplined him. He was not the only one who was worshiping at the high places. He was not the only one who worshipped idols. He was not the only one disciplined. He is simply the one we read about. God always responds to sin. He always responds to rebellion. It is as simple as that, and should serve as a strong warning to us. 

We would do well to heed the instructions that the prophet gave to Jeroboam if we want to avoid the discipline of the Lord. Wait. Listen. Obey. What joy, what peace, what blessings we would find if we would only wait, listen, and obey. Dear ones, resolve to do that very thing. Be still and know that He is God, then live as if you believe it. 

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The "Pay Day Someday" sermon is worth reading. Click here to read it.