The Prophet’s New Clothes

“Now Ahijah had dressed himself in a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the open country. Then Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces.” (1 Kings 11:29-30)

The Old Testament prophets were fond of object lessons. Here’s a well known one. Ahijah foretold the kingdom split using a charade with his outfit. He grabbed his brand new threads and ripped them into twelve pieces. These represented the twelve tribes; the ten given to Jeroboam represented the ten tribes that he would receive (this became Israel in the North, while Judah remained in the South).

Twice we are told that it was a new garment. What a waste! Ah, but the wasting of the new garment is nothing to the wasting of the new kingdom. Solomon just established it—when the sounds of the prophet’s torn jacket ripped through the air, the son of David still sat upon his glorious throne. It reminds us of Eden. We don’t know how long Adam ruled that happy Place, but it wasn’t very long. It seems like the command to be fruitful and multiply was still ringing in his ears when they met the tempter; Eve’s childlessness makes us think so. And so, the Garden, like the Kingdom, was but a babe when it was torn from the hands of our first father, God’s unfaithful king.

It should come as no surprise that Jesus, the true Son of David, succeeded where all who came before him failed. He established a kingdom for us that does not depend on our faithfulness, but upon his own. It does not run any risk of destruction; its fate does not hang in the balance. Eternal life is ours, and ever new it springs up in our hearts. Our garment of salvation cannot be torn, but unifies us with Jesus Christ in the utter surety of his reign. Entrust everything to the faithful Friend of sinners who sits upon the throne.