Political turmoil is often God’s rod of correction for His people.

I was reminded of this truth this morning as I read 1 Kings 11-12 which describes the wicked sins of King Solomon and the resulting judgment his son Rehoboam experienced when the younger regent came to the throne. Refusing to listen to the counsel of his elders, Rehoboam rashly pronounced his intention to increase the tax burden on the Israelites, which sparked a political uprising with the ten northern tribes forming a rival nation led by Jeroboam. The kingdom was sadly rent in two, never to be reunited.

While it must have been a hard pill to swallow for the twelve tribes at the time, Scripture makes plain that Rehoboam’s tyrannical rant was no fluke that took God “off guard.” In fact, “the cause was from the LORD” (1 Kings 12:15) so that the Almighty might mete out correction for Solomon’s sins in the previous generation (11:11-13), as the greatly blessed son of David had married foreign wives who “turned away his heart” (11:3). In one of history’s most sobering ironies, the man gifted with renowned wisdom (3:5-15) who built Jerusalem’s glorious temple to Jehovah (chapters 6-7) led the Israelites to worship the false gods of his pagan queens (11:5-8). God’s reckoning was to bring about a national upheaval that would turn Israel on its head (11:9-13).

And matters grew worse before they got better: In the wake of Rehoboam’s foolish tirade, his rival Jeroboam was embraced as a would-be savior by the northern tribes—yet Jeroboam himself proceeded to set up false worship centers in Dan and Bethel (12:25-33), which caused God to declare yet another judgment for this rebellious act (chapter 13).

What’s clear from this unfolding tragedy is that God will not be mocked. When His people rebel against His holy standards, political turmoil ensues as a divine scourge of rebuke to prod the wayward to repent and turn to Him in humility.

I would venture to say that the political convulsions that have struck our nation in recent days have been a “hard pill to swallow” for many Christians. We’ve been confronted with a bevy of would-be political saviors and have had to endure more than one rash “rant” from those who wish to rule us. There have been brash promises of making America great again and heady boasts of challenging the Washington cartel. On the whole, we’ve seen a dramatic and disappointing tumult unfold—the likes of which have not been witnessed in our nation in recent memory.

In the midst of this awful upheaval, we can be assured of one thing: “the cause [is] from the LORD” (1 Kings 12:15). God is just, and He has ordained the present turmoil for a reason. And given our nation’s rebellion on so many fronts, we would be wise to view the ugly political turbulence that’s hit us as His rod of correction.

What’s beyond question is that we have sinned and sinned greatly for generations. And I don’t mean “the other guy” down the street: Christ’s church has, on the whole, failed at being a faithful witness to a culture in rapid decline. On many points where the battle rages most fiercely, we’ve accommodated to the idolatries of our age. Our salt has lost its savor, which—in Jesus’ words—is therefore “good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men” (Matt. 5:13). The Apostle Peter could not be more clear: “judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Pet. 4:17). We have sown the wind, and it’s fair to assume that God has sent us a terrible whirlwind (Hos. 8:7) as our rightful due.

So, rather than bemoan our national state of affairs, it would behoove us to bemoan our rebellion as a people. Rather than vent and crow over who occupies the White House in November, we should be ridding our lives of the dark sins that occupy our hearts and crying out to God in humble repentance.

This is God’s prescription for such a time. His demands of a wayward nation are as true and binding today as when He first declared these words to King Solomon:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chron. 7:14)

May now be the day when we obey, rather than kick against the pricks of Almighty God.