Unity is Coming

A certain Father had a family of Sons, who were forever quarreling among themselves. No words he could say did the least good, so he cast about in his mind for some very striking example that should make them see that discord would lead them to misfortune.

One day when the quarreling had been much more violent than usual and each of the Sons was moping in a surly manner, he asked one of them to bring him a bundle of sticks. Then handing the bundle to each of his Sons in turn he told them to try to break it. But although each one tried his best, none was able to do so.

The Father then untied the bundle and gave the sticks to his Sons to break one by one. This they did very easily.

"My Sons," said the Father, "do you not see how certain it is that if you agree with each other and help each other, it will be impossible for your enemies to injure you? But if you are divided among yourselves, you will be no stronger than a single stick in that bundle."

In unity is strength.

“Bound together by brotherly love, you may defy almost every mortal danger, but divided, you will fall prey to your enemies.”

Ecclesiastes 4:12 “And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

Israel’s family was like a bundle of 12 sticks- Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Ephraim, and Manasseh. Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, are often considered to represent the "tribe of Joseph.”

To this point, the unified nation has only had three kings— Saul, David, and Solomon. 12 sticks which have become a mighty tree to declare the glory of God to ends of the earth, but DISUNITY is coming…and DISUNITY will produce DISMEMBERMENT…and DISMEMBERMENT will produce DESTRUCTION…and DESTRUCTION will produce DISSEMENATION of the Messianic Nation…and I know that it is so difficult to keep any hope at the end of all of this, but remember that a Unifier is on the way— a Savior— a Friend— and what is go wonderful about Jesus is that He Himself is DISLODGED from His fellowship with His Father— and came into the world as a sacrifice— was dismembered— pulverized for us so that we might one in Him.

AW Tozer: “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become 'unity' conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”

2 Chronicles 10:15–19 “So the king hearkened not unto the people: for the cause was of God, that the Lord might perform his word, which he spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. And when all Israel saw that the king would not hearken unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? And we have none inheritance in the son of Jesse: Every man to your tents, O Israel: And now, David, see to thine own house. So all Israel went to their tents. But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram that was over the tribute; and the children of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. But king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. And Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.”

Enemies to Unity

Psalm 133 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, That ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: That went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: For there the Lord commanded the blessing, Even life for evermore.”

a controlling personality

David- a shepherd A SERVANT KING Ezekiel 34:23–24 “And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.” IF YOU EVER DESIRE TO BE IN SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP, YOU HAVE TO LEARN TO SEE PEOPLE THE WAY THAT GOD DOES!

1 Samuel 17:45 “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.”

1 Kings 22:17 “And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.”

Matthew 9:35–36 “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.”

Rehoboam- a ruler

an unwillingness to listen- 10:16-19

old men’s advice- 6-7- his father’s counselors-

place where someone will tell him what he needs to hear

young men’s advice- 8- his friends- assert your authority- throw your weight around

place where his buddies will tell him what he wants to hear

Proverbs 11:14 “Where no counsel is, the people fall: But in the multitude of counselers there is safety.”

BIBLICAL LEADERSHIP SHOULD BE CHARACTERIZED BY HUMILITY AND SERVICE, RATHER THAN DOMINATION AND HARSHNESS.

we know that Rehoboam was fueled by pride and hubris: 2 Chronicles 10:10 says, “And the young men that were brought up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou answer the people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it somewhat lighter for us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins.” MY FINGER IS THICKER THAN MY DAD’S WAIST!!!

ask someone older than you

don’t make up your mind beforehand

beware of counsel from people who see everything in life just like you see it

Sin- PROPHECY OF AHIJAH-

1 Kings 11:29–33 “And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.” SOLOMON 1 Kings 11:1–6 “But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father. 1 Kings 11:7–11 “Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded. Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.”

Proverbs 14:34 “Righteousness exalteth a nation: But sin is a reproach to any people.”

2 Chronicles 7:19–20 “But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.”

The Encourager to Unity

Yahweh’s Ability to Use Sin for His Purposes

2 Chronicles 10:15 “So the king hearkened not unto the people: for the cause was of God, that the Lord might perform his word, which he spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.”

presiding over

bearing no oral culpability

not responsible for

1 Kings 11:37-38— don’t depart from the faith!

We think that if God is going to work it all out, He does so in a series of good things. How wrong we are! Romans 8:28 assures us that God uses all things together for good.

A LESSON ABOUT SOVEREIGNTY- Why did they need one?

THEY HAD JUST COME OUT OF AN EXILE

and God had planned it!

used it for judgment

held the instruments and made them fully accountable to Him

Habakkuk 1:5–11 “Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: For I will work a work in your days, Which ye will not believe, though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, Which shall march through the breadth of the land, To possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful: Their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves. Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, And are more fierce than the evening wolves: And their horsemen shall spread themselves, And their horsemen shall come from far; They shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. They shall come all for violence: Their faces shall sup up as the east wind, And they shall gather the captivity as the sand. And they shall scoff at the kings, And the princes shall be a scorn unto them: They shall deride every strong hold; For they shall heap dust, and take it. Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, Imputing this…”

Habakkuk 1:12–13 “Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O Lord, thou hast ordained them for judgment; And, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, And canst not look on iniquity: Wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, And holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?” TO BE HONEST, WE NEVER FULLY KNOW WHY GOD DOES THE WHATS IN OUR LIVES

NOTHING IS MORE INSTRUCTIVE OF GOD’S ABILITY TO UNITE PURPOSES IN HIMSELF THAN IN THE STORY OF THE CROSS.

Revelation 13:8 “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” JESUS CHRIST WAS GOD’S SOLUTION TO THE SIN PROBLEM FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.

Ephesians 3:11 “According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:” JESUS CHRIST IS THE INSTRUMENT OF THE ETERNAL PURPOSE OF GOD

Acts 2:23 “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:” JESUS DIED ACCORDING TO GOD’S KNOWLEDGE AND COUNSEL, YET HE DID NOT WITH HUMAN HANDS— WHICH HE JUDGED FOR THEIR DEEDS.

D.A. Carson notes “To put it bluntly, God stands behind evil in such a way that not even evil takes place outside the bounds of his sovereignty, yet evil is not morally chargeable to him: it is always chargeable to secondary agents, to secondary causes.”

During his days as guest lecturer at Calvin Seminary, R.B. Kuiper once used the following illustration of God's sovereignty and human responsibility: I liken them to two ropes going through two holes in the ceiling and over a pulley above. If I wish to support myself by them, I must cling to them both. If I cling only to one and not the other, I go down.

The Arrival of Unity

Philippians 2:10–12 “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

Nation made one- Ezek. 37:15-28…

Jeremiah 10:16 “The portion of Jacob is not like them: For he is the former of all things; And Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The Lord of hosts is his name.”

Jeremiah 51:19 “The portion of Jacob is not like them; For he is the former of all things: And Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The Lord of hosts is his name.”

Zechariah 11:7 “And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.”

Psalm 60:7 “Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;”

Psalm 108:8 “Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;”

Luke 2:13–14 “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, Good will toward men.”

Jews and Gentiles into the Church

Israel into the Land

All into Glory

John 17:21 “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”