[Abijah] committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been.
1 Kings 15:3 (NIV)
[Baasha] did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.
1 Kings 15:34 (NIV)
It’s the last day of August. Tomorrow, September begins. As a baseball fan, that means the post season is just one month away. It’s time to start watch the standings every day. For teams on the post season bubble, every game takes on additional meaning. In a 162 game season, it’s easy to shrug off losses early in the season. But in the hunt for October, things get serious.
One of the things that I love about the game of baseball is the history of it. Our beloved Cubs are celebrating the team’s 150th anniversary this year. That longevity means that every player gets measured against the greats who have played before him. Pete Crow-Armstrong is a young Cub having an amazing MVP season this year. Every day I scroll past memes comparing his stats to names like Ruth, Gherig, Bonds, and Banks.
In today’s chapter, the narrator truly settles into a pattern of summarizing the revoloving door of kings for both the northern Kingdom of Israel, and the southern Kingdom of Judah. In Judah, the throne remains firmly established in the house of David, with David’s descendants succeeding. In Israel, the throne is constantly up for grabs to whoever can seize it by power, corruption, and/or murder.
One of the patterns the narrator establishes in today’s chapter is a different measurement for each kingdom’s monarchs. Much like baseball, the author compares every king to the very first king in the kingdom’s history.
Judah’s measuring stick is David: “Was his heart like David’s?”
Israel’s measuring stick is Jeroboam: “Did he walk in the ways of Jeroboam?”
David isn’t presented as sinless—we certainly know better after our chapter-a-day trek through Samuel. Yet, David represents the heart that ultimately remains oriented toward YHWH.
Jeroboam represents something different: institutionalized compromise. He doesn’t merely sin personally. He creates systems that encourage everybody else to participate in his sin. That’s why the repeated phrase is so damning: “the sin he had caused Israel to commit.” Personal failure is one thing. Building a system that normalizes failure for everyone else is another.
As I meditated on the text this morning, I kept coming back to the fact that both measurements are about the condition of the king’s heart.
Abijah: “His heart was not fully devoted…”
Asa: “Asa’s heart was fully committed…”
Kings and kingdoms come and go. Battles are won. Fortresses are constructed and dismantled. Treasuries fill and empty. Political alliances succeed. Dynasties rise and get slaughtered. And the narrator keeps asking: What happened to the heart?
That’s a gut level question for me to ponder myself.
We humans tend to measure our lives by outcomes.
Did the business grow?
Did the strategy work?
Did the candidate win?
Did the church thrive?
Did the investment pay off?
Did the kids succeed?
Did I accomplish what I wanted?
Kings keeps whispering another question: Yes—but, Tom, what happened to your heart along the way?
And King Asa of Judah provides an encouraging counterpoint to perfectionism in today’s chapter. The text is clear that his reforms weren’t complete. His decisions weren’t all wise. His trust wasn’t always exemplary. But it says his heart was whole. That’s encouragement to take with me into this Monday.
Wholeheartedness isn’t flawless obedience. It’s fundamental orientation. Even an MVP candidate like Pete Crow Armstrong, hitting the ball as well as DiMaggio, has struck out more times than he’s gotten a hit. Baseball is never about perfection. As the great baseball musical Damn Yankees! reminds us all:
“You gotta have heart.”
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