TREASURES OF THE BIBLE, Week of April 17 to 23, 2023, "Listen to good advice", Prepared Speech.

TREASURES OF THE BIBLE, April 17-23-2023, "Listen to good advice", Prepared Speech. 

“Listen to the good advice” (10 min.)

It is possible that in some countries we have heard this saying: "He who does not listen to advice does not grow old." And this is because sometimes the advice we receive can save our lives and we all need advice from time to time.

At other times we are the ones who ask someone we respect for advice. And within the spiritual field. It is possible that a brother is worried about us and makes us see that we are about to take a false step, that is, about to do something that we could later regret and not grow old. Or the advice may come to us after we have made a mistake, but we always need it.

And we are going to talk about that briefly in this section of Treasures of the Bible with the title: "Listen to good advice" and we will speak as an example of King Rehoboam. He was the son of Solomon. He was the one who succeeded Solomon on the throne. when he was 41 years old. He was the fourth king of the dynasty of kings who ruled all of Israel as one. Later they divided and we will see why.

The situation arose, since Rehoboam, at the beginning of his reign, had a problem with the people of Israel. They felt oppressed, so they went to the new king to ask him for some help regarding the pressure they had received in certain laws and works. Let's see what the people's request was. if we review in 2 Chronicles Chapter 10 verses 1 to 4.

WE ARE GOING TO READ 2 CHRONICLES 10:1-4.

Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.b 2 When Jeroboanc the son of Nebat heard about this, he immediately returned from Egypt (he was still in Egypt because he had fled because of King Solomon).d 3 Then They sent for him, and Jeroboam and all Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him, 4 “Your father made our yoke hard. we will serve you”.

The proposal was very good, but to agree to comply with what the people requested, sacrifices had to be made by Rehoboam, his family and all his court that he had inside the palace and this was because they had to possibly give up some luxuries so that the people do not work for them, but rather that everything is balanced so that he found himself between a rock and a hard place.

What was Rehoboam to do? He, well, was 41 years old, he could make decisions, but he also had people with a lot of experience next to him who could give him good advice. And that's what Rehoboam did. He went to some of them. In 2 Chronicles chapter 10 verse 6 to 11 let's see who he turned to.

WE ARE GOING TO READ 2 CHRONICLES 10:6-11.

King Rehoboam then consulted the elders* who had served his father Solomon while he was still alive. He asked them: "What do you advise me to answer to this people?" 7 They replied, “If you treat this people well, please them, and give them a favorable response, they will always be your servants.”8 However, he rejected the advice given to him by the elders* and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and who were now his helpers.a 9 He asked them: “What advice do you give me? These people said to me: 'Make the yoke your father imposed on us lighter.' What should we answer them?" 10 The young men who had grown up with him said to him, “To the people who have said to you, 'Your father made our yoke heavy; make it lighter', you must answer him this: 'My little finger will be thicker than my father's hips. 11 My father put a heavy yoke on you, but I will make it heavier for you. My father punished them with whips, but I will do it with sharp-tipped whips.'”

What is it that happened here? Rehoboam wanted to hear advice, but advice that he liked to hear. It is true that he sought out the elders for his companions, those who had previously advised his father, but he did not like the idea of ​​doing what the people said.

So he looked for the young men who were contemporaries, who had grown up with him and of course, these young men as arrogant as Rehoboam. They didn't want another to let them lead them. Bad decision?. Bad advice? Possibly.

What does this example show us? There are times when one wants to listen to advice and seeks, in the case of Christians, brothers to help them. But it is not true that some seek advice that they want to hear, that is, that they would like to hear.

It's as if you already have a preconceived idea in your head of what you want, so you try to choose someone who tells you what you want to hear. Therefore, when we find ourselves in this situation of making a very, very important decision, we look for people who have the right qualities to do it. If we see, for example here in the book of Job, Chapter 12:12, it indicates who could possibly be the best advisors when making important decisions. Says the text of the Bible.

LET'S READ JOB 12:12.

Is there not wisdom among the old people? And does not long life give understanding?

If we look at the photograph that appears in our activity guide: A young sister needs help, she needs good advice, and there we see that the person who is giving it is someone older, an experienced sister. And it is that normally the older and more experienced brothers are able to foresee the consequences of a decision, it is possible that the same thing has happened to them and they want to avoid us going through painful situations, as perhaps they have already experienced, for that is that they have become old, because they have listened to advice or the situation has happened to them and they want to avoid a painful situation.

Jeroboam did that, he asked for elder advice, but he didn't want to hear that. He asked his contemporaries for advice, and that seemed best to him. What were the consequences? If we see him now 2 Chronicles chapter 10:12-16 we will find out.

WE ARE GOING TO READ 2 CHRONICLES 10:12-16.

Jeroboam and all the others went to see Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had told them when he said, “Come back and see me in three days.” 13 But the king answered them harshly. Thus King Rehoboam ignored the advice of the elders.* 14 Following the advice of the young men, he told them: “I will make your yoke heavier, heavier still. My father punished them with whips, but I will do it with sharp-tipped whips." 15 So the king did not listen to the people, because the true God made things happen like this, in order to fulfill the words that Jehovah had spoken to Jeroboam the son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite. 16 As for all Israel, like the king did not want to listen to them, the people answered the king: “What do we have to do with David? We have no inheritance with the son of Jesse. Come on, Israel, let each one go to his gods! David, take care of your own house now.” Then all of Israel returned to their homes.

Rehoboam's arrogant and tyrannical attitude caused most of the people to move away and only two tribes supported the house of David, that is, Rehoboam, which were Judah and Benjamin. The support of all the people is over. And what happened to Roboam? Well, because he did not accept the advice, he did not grow old, he died at the age of 58.

He ruled very little, really. This example should make us think that if we want to progress spiritually, that if we want to be old in a spiritual sense, we must listen to the good advice of people who have experience and who love us very much and who, of course, are used by Jehovah to help us progress.