Is it enough to keep God’s commandments?

Today I opened the Bible and read the story about the war between Abijah king of Judah and Jeroboam king of Israel. As I read this account, I keep marveling at Abijah’s powerful speech before the battle:

“Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim and said, ‘Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! Ought you not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt? Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord… And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods… But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him… Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.’” (2 Chronicles 13:4–12, ESV)

What can be said about King Abijah after such a speech? A wise king, faithful to God, understanding the difference between serving idols and serving the true God, and knowing the consequences of each. He went into battle against an army twice as large, yet trusted in God and knew that the outcome depended on the LORD, not on the size of the army. One could only praise Abijah.

And yet, he is not described as a king who pleased God:

“Now he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father.” (1 Kings 15:3, ESV)

We see that Abijah acted like his father Rehoboam. Although Rehoboam also took care of the temple and worshiped the LORD there:

“King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard… And as often as the king went into the house of the LORD, the guard came and carried them and brought them back to the guardroom.” (2 Chronicles 12:10–11, ESV)

Nevertheless, Rehoboam is described similarly to his son:

“And he did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.” (2 Chronicles 12:14, ESV)

So the reason is simple. Although both Rehoboam and his son Abijah worshiped the LORD, sacrifices were offered daily in the temple, and God’s commandments were observed, yet neither of them sought the LORD.

It is enough to look at the beginning of Rehoboam’s reign. When the ten tribes of Israel came asking to lighten the heavy yoke imposed by Solomon, Rehoboam told them to return after three days. During that time, he consulted only his advisors and did not even think to seek God. This is unlike David, who continually inquired of the LORD and whose counselors included the prophet Nathan and Gad the seer.

For the same reason—because he did not seek the LORD—King Saul perished:

“He did not seek guidance from the LORD. Therefore the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.” (1 Chronicles 10:14, ESV)

Even though Saul also outwardly kept God’s law.

In general, this was characteristic of many of the kings of Israel and Judah—some of them more or less kept the law, yet few truly sought the LORD in their hearts as King David did. Formal communication with God, or turning to Him only to solve problems, does not bring the desired result:

“And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets.” (1 Samuel 28:6, ESV)

Or consider the case of Ahab, when God sent a deceiving spirit.

Thus, it is not enough to keep God’s commandments and honor Him with our lips in the temple. This was not only the problem of those kings, but of the whole people of God:

“This people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me…” (Isaiah 29:13, ESV)

This problem did not disappear later. Christ said the same to the Pharisees:

“You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.’” (Matthew 15:7–8, ESV)

The same can be said of many Christians—they do not seek the LORD. They simply keep God’s commandments and attend services:

“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20, ESV)

The Pharisees zealously kept the law, yet they did not truly need God—they did not seek Him with their hearts. How can we tell? By their prayers—they were hypocritical:

“They devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers…” (Mark 12:40, ESV)

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray… that they may be seen by others…” (Matthew 6:5, ESV)

But Christ taught:

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.” (Matthew 6:6, ESV)

David sought God early in the morning:

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you…” (Psalm 63:1, ESV)

Prayer is the best indicator of whether a person truly needs God and seeks Him. I am not speaking about written prayers or recitations, but about sincere communion with Christ. This was the main difference between David and the other kings—and it remains the difference today between true and merely nominal Christians.