Psalm 127:1
“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”
As we have seen in our study of the book of Ephesians, the church is “the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.” (Ephesians 2:20)
Given this great spiritual truth, here is a challenge that confronts us: Are we being faithful stewards of the household of God?
The people of Israel were God’s household in the OT, and they were often disobedient. What have we learned from OT Israel’s disobedience? Are we leading in the church in a way that is pleasing to the Lord, or are we repeating the errors of spiritual leaders in the OT?
Arrogant, self-centered kings were the central cause of Israel’s idolatry and disconnect from their covenant with the Lord. The OT repeatedly tells the story of kings in Israel and Judah who were disobedient to God.
For example, 1 Kings says this about one of the kings of Israel: “Nadab the son of Jeroboam … did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.” (1 Kings 15.25-26)
All of the kings in the history of Northern Israel “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord,” and most of the kings of Judah did the same. There were no good kings in the history of Israel, and there were only a handful of good kings in the history of Judah.
One of the few good kings of Judah was Hezekiah. Here is what scripture says about his leadership:
“And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord … he trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord … and the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered.” (2 Kings 18.3-7)
So I ask again, are we being faithful stewards of the household of God? Are we learning from the lessons of Israel’s disobedience in the OT? Are we leading in the church in a way that is pleasing to the Lord, or are we repeating the errors of spiritual leaders in the OT?
More tomorrow …
