Death is Not a Punishment

Scripture: As for you, get up and go to your house. When your feet enter the city, the boy will die. All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. He alone out of Jeroboam’s house will be given a proper burial because out of the house of Jeroboam something favorable to the Lord God of Israel was found in him. 1 Kings 14:12-13

Observation: Jeroboam - the first king of the northern kingdom - has committed all the sins against the Lord, installing idols and new self-serving festivals. The Lord declares he will destroy his entire family, including his sickly son. However, this is part of the prophesy about how Jeroboam's family will be destroyed ... this son will not die of violence or retribution from the Lord like the rest of the family, but instead he will die now as a result of his illness, and receive both a proper burial and honored, nationwide mourning, because he alone if the family has been found favorable to the Lord.

This is the manner in which the "good" son (in the eyes of the Lord) will be treated ... he will die immediately yet painlessly. It isn't that he will be the one who inherits the kingship. It isn't even that he will be allowed to live. No, the punishment against Jeroboam must be total and complete, so instead this young boy will die mercifully. Again, this is his reward for having "something favorable" about himself in the eyes of the Lord ... an easy and young death, without facing violence, war, rebellion, or betrayal.

Application: This is what I expect to happen in our day ... the Lord will see something favorable in many Christians, and as a result we will die easier deaths and not face the terrible times ahead. I'm not sure if this aligns to concepts like the 'rapture' and the 'tribulation' in my mind, or if there are simply times ahead when the earth continued to devolve into evil and somehow Christians will be removed from the scene before this happens.

In this, I am reminded that death is not a punishment. When prepared through faith in Jesus, death is the ending of life on earth and the beginning of life with the Lord. Furthermore, being on the side of the Lord does not give someone the ability to escape the outcome decried by the Lord against a people-group, but may change the pain and suffering associated with that outcome on earth.

Prayer: Lord, you know that my wife and I discussed the upcoming Independence Day holiday, and how it feels different this year for a variety of reasons. I am unsure what you plan to do about our nation, and about the radical path of many to abandon your teaching, but whatever it is, please have mercy upon your Church. If we cannot be spared from your actions, may we come to you with less hardship and pain. Amen.