Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / 1 Kings 22 (Part 3) Bible Study (Ahab Killed/Jehoshaphat & Ahaziah Reign) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Transcript

1 Kings 22 (Part 3) Bible Study (Ahab Killed/Jehoshaphat & Ahaziah Reign) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

0:00
Let's go to 1st Kings and let us meet together in chapter 22, and
0:06
we are going to start in verse 29 until the last verse of this
0:12
chapter, First Kings chapter 22. The way you and I will make the
0:18
most out of this final study in this book is by having Second
0:23
Chronicles open and ready to turn to throughout the study.
0:27
And so I encourage you from now to have the book of Second
0:30
Chronicles open and prepared because Second Chronicles will
0:33
help us complete this study in terms of details and insights
0:38
with very key points in this text.
0:42
Where are we now? What have we been studying
0:46
lately? Well, God, in his ineffable
0:49
grace gave Ahab a sobering prophetic warning about what was
0:56
going to happen if he chose to engage in a war with Syria.
1:03
And the message of the prophet Makaya was plain and clear.
1:07
Ahab, if you go up to fight at Ramoth Gilead, you will die.
1:14
You will die. And this warning stood in stark
1:19
contrast to the word of 400 other appointed prophets,
1:26
appointed by Ahab at least, who told Ahab that he would have
1:31
victory, sweeping victory over his enemies.
1:36
And so we were left to wonder, which message will Ahab respond
1:43
to? What prophecy will he act upon?
1:48
And we don't have to wait too long to discover what choice he
1:51
will make, because we are going to see right at the beginning of
1:56
our study, the first verse that we're going to read will make
1:59
that clear. We're going to be told exactly
2:02
what Ahab will do. So let's read the first few
2:04
verses together. So the king of Israel and
2:09
Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth Gilead.
2:12
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise
2:17
myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.
2:22
And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.
2:27
Now the king of Syria had commanded the 32 captains of the
2:30
Chariots fight with neither small nor Gray, but only with
2:34
the king of Israel. And when the captains of the
2:38
chariot saw Jehoshaphat, they said, It is surely the king of
2:41
Israel. So they turned the fight against
2:43
him, and Jehoshaphat cried out, and when the captains of the
2:47
chariot saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back
2:52
from pursuing him. Lord, we ask that at this time,
2:58
with this final study in this book that we have been exploring
3:02
week after week after week, that Your faithfulness would, would
3:06
meet us here at the finish line. Open our eyes, open our minds,
3:12
let our hearts burn with these truths for the glory of your
3:16
Son. We long to know your will, Your
3:20
heart for us, so that we may become the worshippers you've
3:24
called us to be. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
3:29
So what was the decision that A had made?
3:32
He would go to fight. He would ignore the word of the
3:36
true prophet who spoke on behalf of the true God.
3:40
And that might not be surprising to us, that Ahab stiffened his
3:45
neck yet once more. But what may be shocking to us
3:49
is how Jehoshaphat complied, how he joined Ahab, especially
3:55
because Jehoshaphat was the one who inquired for a true prophet
3:59
to give a true word, and he got it, but he didn't apply it.
4:05
And you would think to yourself that if Jehoshaphat understood
4:08
what Makayyad said that he would, he would jump ship, he
4:12
would eject, he would remove himself from this tragedy that
4:16
Ahab was going to walk into. Or you at least think that he
4:20
would encourage Ahab to reconsider.
4:24
But instead, what we see him do is walk with Ahab into disaster.
4:30
And right there, verse 29, we learned something about this man
4:35
Jehoshaphat, that he is an example of the deluding
4:39
influence of wrong relationships.
4:45
It is not inherently wrong to be influenced by others.
4:50
It just depends who's influencing you and what they
4:54
are influencing you towards. And unfortunately there are many
4:58
like Jehoshaphat. I hope this isn't you who have a
5:03
general and often times a sincere desire to know the will
5:07
of God. But it's not a desire that
5:10
governs them. And all it takes for such people
5:15
is to know one person that they admire, enjoy, or make some
5:22
benefit from, to be influenced and to have their decisions
5:29
swayed by them, even at the expense of disobeying the word
5:35
of the Lord in the process. And you might be wondering if
5:41
Ahab had made such an impression on Jehoshaphat, and I am
5:45
absolutely convinced that he did.
5:47
There was something about Ahab that moved Jehoshaphat to be
5:50
disarmed in this way, and you're not going to know why until you
5:55
look at the complete picture found in what book?
5:59
Second Chronicles, and it's specifically in chapter 18 and
6:03
verse one and verse 2. There's a detail that the
6:05
Chronicler provides that First Kings 22 doesn't give us.
6:10
And so look there. Second Chronicles 18, verse one.
6:16
Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor.
6:20
Pause. It would make you wonder why he
6:22
would make an alliance with Ahab.
6:24
He was prospering, he was powerful, yet for whatever
6:27
reason, this man with great riches and honor, and he made a
6:31
marriage alliance with Ahab. After some years he went down to
6:36
Ahab in Samaria, and Ahab killed an abundance of sheep and oxen
6:43
for him and for the people who are with him, and induced him to
6:47
go up against Remeth Gilead. Do you see that detail that's
6:52
omitted in First Kings 22? What's the detail that stands
6:54
out? What did Ahab do for him?
6:59
He impressed him. He celebrated him with a
7:03
generous feast. And this was totally strategic
7:09
because Jehoshaphat, his heart was captured by Ahab in one way
7:13
so that it can be controlled in another.
7:18
And this is something you have to understand about Satan.
7:20
Satan will often use sinners to lavish comfort, maybe even honor
7:28
you in order to disarm you so that at some point he will
7:33
destroy you. He has no new tricks.
7:38
And the destruction that I'm speaking about doesn't
7:40
necessarily mean physical death. It can simply mean a
7:44
distraction, a significant distraction that will delay or
7:47
even deter you from fulfilling God's will for your life.
7:50
And many people are bound in that.
7:53
Many people are dizzied by that. And remember this, God will send
8:00
people in your life to bless you, but so will Satan.
8:02
Not to bless you, not to bless you.
8:06
God has his evangelist. Satan has his evangelist.
8:11
God has friends in mind for you. So does the enemy of your soul.
8:16
And when the enemy of your soul does send somebody to you,
8:18
doesn't look like him having a weapon in one hand and drugs in
8:21
the other, it can look like flattery, it can look like a
8:25
financial proposal that will lead you into compromise.
8:30
And so be discerning. Jehoshaphat proves to us that
8:34
you can even hear the word of God, but somebody else has more
8:37
say in your life than that word. He heard from Makaya, but he
8:41
ended up following Ahab anyway. And there are many people who
8:45
sit in churches and hear a pure word, but walk out no different
8:49
because somebody else has greater influence than God
8:52
himself. But let me say this while I'm
8:55
here, not just to be cautious and discerning about how you are
9:01
influenced by others, sinners or lukewarm people.
9:05
I would even say this, be careful of the godly people in
9:08
your life. What do I mean by that?
9:12
Because godly people are people still, men of God are men still,
9:17
women of God are woman still. And so the main take away from
9:20
this is let God be over everything and everyone because
9:26
even for example, leaders in your life that you look up to,
9:29
that you Revere, that you respect, can have moments of
9:33
weaknesses. And if you are so swept up by
9:36
them, you can be weakened by their weaknesses.
9:40
So many example of this in real life and in the New Testament.
9:42
One of the strongest examples of that is Peter the apostle, who
9:47
in Galatians chapter 2 was eating with the Gentiles no
9:51
problem until James and the circumcision party came to
9:54
visit. And so Peter removes himself
9:57
from the Gentiles. He acts hypocritically and many
10:00
were led to act hypocritically with him.
10:01
Including who? Barnabas.
10:06
That's in Galatians chapter 2. Barnabas.
10:10
What is influenced by who? A false apostle?
10:13
No, a true one who in a moment of weakness weakened him.
10:20
So what are you to do? Yes, God has designed our
10:23
Christian life to be inspired and even LED to some degree by
10:27
others. But you have to understand that
10:31
the main authority over your life is this word and God's
10:34
will. And you have to filter
10:36
everything through this. And even if one who had a
10:39
wonderful reputation for a moment or even for a season
10:43
walks away from that, you choose God's word over men of God, even
10:48
or woman of God. Jehoshaphat here is going to
10:54
learn a very hard lesson. Because we read here in verse 30
11:00
that the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise
11:03
myself and go into battle. But you wear your robes.
11:07
What is that? So if if Jehoshaphat didn't
11:14
listen before, surely he would catch on now that this alliance
11:19
is a bad deal. If you were Jehoshaphat,
11:23
wouldn't you think to yourself at this moment, OK, if Ahab
11:27
really believed those 400 prophets, why would he succumb
11:31
to such tactics? Why would Ahab want to
11:34
camouflage himself as a lower ranking soldier and allow
11:38
Jehoshaphat to be the highlighted king on the
11:42
battlefield? Or you might think, if you were
11:45
Jehoshaphat, if this man didn't believe what Makaya said, then
11:54
why is he behaving in such a way?
11:56
And you and I have determined from our previous study that
11:59
down deep inside, Ahab really did believe the word of Makaya,
12:03
didn't he? He did believe Makaya's
12:06
prophecy. And that's why he's doing this.
12:09
That's why he's scheming in this way.
12:11
And we remember, do we not, that there are some people who are
12:15
living in falsehood because they believe what is wrong to be
12:18
true. Some are just deceived.
12:21
And there are others who are believing what is untrue,
12:24
knowing full well it is untrue. They embrace it.
12:29
Still. They've been disproven.
12:34
They've been shown that what is true is not what they adhere to
12:37
over and over, and yet they embrace it.
12:40
Why? Because for many reasons,
12:42
including the fear of losing something while rejecting what
12:45
they've been holding on to for so long, many people are living
12:49
like that. And we see here that Ahab is
12:55
trying to now position Jehoshaphat in a way in which he
12:58
will be harmed and he will be kept safe.
13:01
And it makes you wonder, why is Jehoshaphat going along with
13:05
this? And we're going to discover that
13:07
in a moment. But we see here that Jehoshaphat
13:10
agrees. He agrees to this plan.
13:13
Is not the selfishness of Ahab so blatantly obvious?
13:18
It's so clear. And this man here, you wonder,
13:23
why are you having this unwavering commitment to such a
13:26
Rascal? Why would you submit to
13:30
something so perilous? Why would you?
13:33
Why would you not think this is the final straw?
13:36
That's alliance was a bad idea and I'm pulling out.
13:40
Well, as a surprising as it may seem, Jehoshaphat's dedication
13:43
to Ahab reflects on billions of people in their relationship
13:48
with sin, right? Maybe you know somebody or maybe
13:54
more than one person, where you're just seeing what the
13:57
rebellion is causing to them. You're seeing with their
14:00
addiction or their way of thinking or their worldview is
14:03
causing them, and you wonder from time to time, how long is
14:06
he going to keep going this way? How long will she keep doing
14:10
this to herself? When will it click?
14:11
When will she realize that what she is doing is destructive,
14:16
it's false, it's not working, and that God's Word is true.
14:21
And so let's not pick on Jehoshaphat too much again.
14:25
We don't know what was going on through this mind of his while
14:28
he's making these decisions. But I wonder, and this is just
14:31
speculation, I wonder if he felt that he was too invested to back
14:36
out now. Is this just a friendship that
14:40
they have? No, there was a marriage
14:41
alliance that bound these two kingdoms together.
14:44
And what can be closer than you becoming family?
14:49
So I wonder if Jehoshaphat thought to himself, I'm too deep
14:52
into this. And you know what?
14:54
Whether He did or not, I know that sinners do.
14:57
Some at least they think that way about their own iniquity,
15:01
but their own way of life. There's no point in backing out.
15:04
Now you're saying, how do you know that?
15:05
Because I've talked to people like that.
15:08
There's no point of repenting now.
15:09
I have too many scars and there's no point of turning back
15:11
to the Lord. He's already warned me enough.
15:13
Surely you will not receive me again.
15:15
There's no point. I'm this deep.
15:19
I can't recover from this. I can't change from this.
15:23
I can't be renewed by this, and I believe many people who feel
15:29
this way can learn something about Jehoshaphat, something
15:34
that you and I already know, that it's never too late with
15:36
Christ, never, ever too late with the Lord Jesus Christ.
15:40
That's one of Satan's favorite lies for sinners.
15:44
You're too far gone, it's been too long, you're a mess, you're
15:49
in shambles. So what do we see?
15:53
We get a glimpse of the grace of God in this very passage, right?
15:56
So he tells him, disguise yourself as a king.
15:58
He agrees to it foolishly. Verse 31.
16:02
Now the king of Syria had commanded the 32 captains of his
16:06
Chariots fight with neither small nor great, but only with
16:10
the king of Israel. So this is a very strategic war.
16:13
They're not looking here to eliminate the armies of Israel.
16:16
They're not here to try to take over cities.
16:17
They have one goal in mind, kill the king of Israel.
16:20
They're not even interested in the king of Judah.
16:22
Just give us of Israel and for a brief moment something's going
16:26
to happen. Verse 32.
16:28
And when the captains of the chariot saw Jehoshaphat, they
16:31
said it is surely the king of Israel.
16:33
He's the only one wearing robes, and so they think that he's the
16:37
one. So they turned to fight against
16:39
him. And Jehoshaphat cried out.
16:41
And when the captains of the chariot saw that it was not the
16:45
king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.
16:49
So Ahab's deceptive scheme seems to have been working for a brief
16:55
moment, but not enough. It wasn't enough to actually
17:00
accomplish anything. And the turn around the the
17:04
event, the occurrence that changed the script.
17:07
What do you think it is in the verses that we just read?
17:11
What is highlighted to us? If you know what, you can say it
17:16
out loud. He cried out.
17:19
Jehoshaphat cried out. We're not told what he cried
17:22
out, so we're left to gas. At least in First Kings.
17:26
What did he cry out? I'm not Ahab.
17:29
I'm not Ahab. Or maybe he said he's over
17:32
there, He's over there. Or maybe in just absolute
17:37
desperation, he just shrieked for mercy.
17:42
He cried out. Now you get the impression from
17:46
this that maybe he cried out to the Syrian Army.
17:51
We're not told how he did it. We're not told what he did.
17:55
But could it be that First Chronicles gives us an answer?
17:59
Second Chronicles it does. So Second Chronicles 18, we
18:04
looked at verse one and two, but Scroll down to that chapter and
18:08
look at verse 31 and you will be told what Jehoshaphat did when
18:14
he cried out. Can anybody guess while you're
18:17
passing to that passage? OK, No one wants to guess.
18:22
That's OK. Verse 31 as soon as the captains
18:28
of the chariot saw Jehoshaphat, they said it is the king of
18:31
Israel. So they turned to fight against
18:34
him, and Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him.
18:42
God drew them away from him. What's the answer?
18:49
He cried out to the Lord. Isn't that amazing?
18:54
He cried out to God. See why it's important to read
18:58
your Bible through and through. You didn't want to read First
19:01
and Second Chronicles because of the genealogies.
19:03
And it's repetitive. The Bible wastes no real estate.
19:07
There's not one part of the terrain of Scripture that is
19:11
void of purpose. And I think it's absolutely
19:14
wonderful what Jehoshaphat crying out to the Lord at this
19:18
moment teaches us as believers that even amid compromise and
19:24
even amid you facing the consequences for your sin, if
19:30
you really belong to the Lord, you can cry out to Him and he is
19:34
ready to hear you and He is ready to help you.
19:39
He is ready to rescue you. Is Jehoshaphat at the top of his
19:44
spiritual performance here? No, he's at his lowest, at least
19:48
one of his low points. And yet the moment he turned his
19:52
face to the Lord and cried out, God was there.
19:56
You know who abandoned him though they had an alliance?
19:58
Ahab. You know who was with him and
20:01
for him, even though he was unfaithful in his covenant with
20:04
him. God, aren't you happy that God
20:08
is not like us? Aren't you happy that kings like
20:13
Ahab are miserable friends, miserable leaders?
20:17
But who stands out? The one who's really the king of
20:19
Israel. And so we see the Lord here,
20:24
though Jehovah gave him many reasons for him not to be there
20:28
on his side, but he didn't take those things into consideration.
20:34
So this is a comforting testimony for you and I.
20:37
This is how strong God's love is.
20:41
It's incredibly fierce, especially for those who claim
20:46
His name. Even though you do and you fail
20:51
them, it doesn't. It doesn't change what God is
20:53
willing to do for you the moment you turn to Him.
20:56
It doesn't. It doesn't alter it.
20:58
He delights in our repentance. He's eager for us to turn for
21:02
him to to Him. But at the same time, there is a
21:06
side to God in this story that should provoke a fear of Him,
21:09
especially if a person's like Ahab who arrogantly resists God
21:14
and rejects God and swats away his invitations for
21:17
relationship. Because while this man cries out
21:21
to the Lord and God answers him, notice what happens to Ahab.
21:25
Look at verse 34. We haven't read this yet, but a
21:30
certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of
21:37
Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate.
21:41
Therefore, he said to the driver of his chariot, turn around and
21:46
carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.
21:51
So here's the scene. They approached Jehoshaphat, he
21:54
cries out. Chronicles tells us that God
21:58
drew the people away. In their minds, in the the human
22:02
standpoint, they realize all this is not the one we're
22:04
looking after or looking for. So they retreat, and one of
22:08
these men takes his arrow, draws it randomly and shoots it
22:14
towards the enemy, hoping that this shot will make some kind of
22:17
impact to their 'cause I'm not sure how skillful this soldier
22:24
is to waste ammo like that. But it doesn't make a difference
22:29
because unbeknown to this man, that arrow had Ahab's name on
22:33
it. So what man did arbitrarily with
22:40
his hands, the hands of Almighty God guided to perform His will.
22:48
And this is a unique illustration.
22:49
Listen to this being placed at the end of the Book of First
22:54
Kings with no coincidence. This is not coincidental for
22:58
this amazing, breathtaking example of God's sovereignty
23:05
being provided to us. Because what have we, what have
23:08
we been studying week after week since we opened First Kings?
23:11
We've been studying a nation that was divided, kings in
23:17
succession becoming failures and jeopardizing the program of God.
23:23
And as we come to the concluding thoughts, we realize that God
23:27
has not lost control, whether that be overthrowns or bullets.
23:35
That's a timely word, is it not? Yeah.
23:39
He can guide arrows. He can guide AR15 ammunition.
23:45
He can guide anything. He's sovereign, and that's what
23:48
you're supposed to leave with as you come to the end of this
23:51
book. He's in control.
23:54
Yeah, Ahab's reigning and Jehoshaphat's compromising, and
23:58
the nation is fractured and but who's who's still overseeing
24:02
everything? The Lord Almighty.
24:04
And additionally, this random error reminds us that you can
24:10
never be successful when you stand against God, but you are
24:15
the safest when you stand with Him.
24:18
Can you think about this? Here's Ahab, who disguises
24:22
himself as a soldier so that he can be off the radar.
24:27
And you have Jehoshaphat, who has a bull's eye on his back
24:31
because of his royal robes. And yet you have this inverted
24:35
outcome. The one who's trying to hide is
24:38
killed, and the one who is brought forth and underscored
24:41
and highlighted is spared. What's the difference maker?
24:47
I argue it boils down to this, where these two men stood with
24:50
the Lord. If you stand with him, armies
24:58
can't overtake you. If you stand against him, no
25:01
matter where you hide and no matter how much armor you put
25:04
on, an arrow can find you. And notice it didn't hit any
25:09
spot. The Bible, so specific it hit,
25:11
it hit one of the entry points, whereas 90% of him was shielded.
25:17
The one place, among many other smaller places was where this
25:21
arrow landed. Why?
25:24
It's not because this man had an amazing aim, because God's
25:27
sovereignty in his judgement was at work.
25:31
And you can't evade it. You can't run from him.
25:34
You can't hide from Him. You read a verse like that, that
25:38
should cause you to fear the Lord.
25:41
That should encourage you to fear the Lord, to stand in awe
25:44
of Him. And if you stand against them,
25:47
that should cause you to be terrified.
25:48
And if you stand with them and you are dwelling underneath His
25:52
wings, then you should feel the safest.
25:56
No matter what kind of bunkers people are building and what
25:59
kind of Armory they have and what kind of money they have in
26:01
their accounts and networks and private jets and private islands
26:05
that they can hide from, you are the safest as long as you are
26:08
close to God. So we see here that this man
26:15
Ahab experienced the hard way that the word of Makaya was
26:19
true. He was struck.
26:21
And there's a subtle depiction of the level of stubbornness,
26:25
the extent of this man's stubbornness, that is actually
26:28
staggering. So he says there at the end of
26:31
verse 34, turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am
26:34
wounded. But look at verse 35.
26:36
And the battle continued that day.
26:38
And the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians
26:43
until that evening he died. And the blood of the wound
26:47
flowed into the bottom of the chariot.
26:51
What stands out to you from from that?
26:55
So he's pierced by this arrow, right?
26:59
And then he does something in his his dying moments.
27:03
What is it? I argue it's this that he was
27:07
propped up to face the Syrians. So he he's out of the battle,
27:14
but he wants he wants to show that he's OK.
27:17
He wants to, by standing in this manner, provide courage to his
27:21
army. Ah is the priority right now for
27:25
you to think that you can win this war or provide the
27:30
necessary motivation for your army to potentially win this
27:34
war? Is that what you're supposed to
27:35
be thinking about at this moment?
27:38
You know, some people would think that's so noble.
27:40
What a courageous leader. What should have Ahab done as he
27:44
was bleeding out, not propped up?
27:47
Get on your face and get right with God.
27:49
You're about to meet him. You're about to meet Him, and
27:55
this little snapshot of a very, very stubborn Sinner, like what
28:01
Ahab showed us before, reflects on so many who, to their dying
28:05
breath, will reject God. Their dying moments will try to
28:11
thwart God's truth, deny it, discourage it, argue against it.
28:19
You would think that knowing you're going to die would cause
28:23
you to self reflect. And this encouraged me late last
28:26
night. I'm like, you know, I, I just
28:27
want to, I want to explore how famous atheists die.
28:30
If there's any recordings of their final words.
28:33
And I mean, some sources are accurate, some are maybe
28:36
questionable. I'm not going to quote any to
28:38
you, but you would think that some who defied God throughout
28:42
their lives and understand that they're about to take a leap
28:45
into the dark would really reflect on what they've fought
28:47
against and maybe reconsider. Some have and others with their
28:51
last breath, their final size, use that to curse God and to
29:00
spew more venom against the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
29:07
So Ahab here being propped up and trying to trying to think,
29:11
is this still going to work out for me?
29:13
Is my army still going to win? You haven't, you haven't
29:15
registered yet that this is exactly what Makai said.
29:20
What happened to you? It's a terrifying thing, the
29:24
depravity of man. Look at verse 36 and about
29:30
sunset. A cry went through the army,
29:32
every man to a city, and every man to his country.
29:37
That's it. Once the news was heard that he
29:39
had died, That was the point of the war.
29:42
Verse 37. So the king died.
29:44
It was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria,
29:49
and they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the
29:53
dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes washed
29:58
themselves in it according to the word of the Lord that he had
30:03
spoken. What prophecy does this fulfill?
30:08
The one in the previous chapter. Look at First Kings 21.
30:12
As Ahab stood in Nabith's vineyard, Elijah arrives on the
30:16
scene unannounced like he usually did, and he pronounces
30:19
this awful, harrowing prophecy. And you shall say to him, Thus
30:26
says the Lord, Have you killed and also taken possession?
30:29
And you shall say to him, Thus says the Lord, in the place
30:32
where dogs licked up the blood of Nabith, shall dogs lick your
30:36
own blood? What?
30:40
What's the reason for this? There is no explanation apart
30:43
from this describing the great contempt that God placed on Ahab
30:50
as he was a king and would die. It would not be a noble death.
30:55
It would not be an honorable death.
30:58
It would be a miserable, even horrific way of exiting this
31:04
world. And then what do we see here in
31:08
in chapter 22 that prostitutes wash themselves in that water as
31:12
well? Very graphic.
31:14
That wasn't a part of the original prophecy.
31:16
But again, it's meant to give a fuller picture of the
31:20
humiliation of Ahab's death because of his rebellion and his
31:24
disobedience to God after so many demonstrations of grace and
31:27
mercy. And it could even be that these
31:30
prostitutes were not random street workers, but we're temple
31:34
prostitutes, cult prostitutes. You read of them throughout the
31:36
kings, part of the false religious systems that were
31:39
established through Baal worship and astral worship.
31:41
So it could even be that these prostitutes who worship in their
31:45
sensual ways, being arranged by Ahab and Jezebel themselves, are
31:50
now cleansing themselves in his blood.
31:55
It's a really pathetic sight actually.
31:58
And it's meant to cause us. If you feel squeamish, if you
32:00
feel like this is horrific, that's what God is intending to
32:03
do. He wants to connect this with
32:07
sin. He wants to connect this with
32:10
His wrath. So either way, it is meant to
32:13
portray the mortifying end of a miserable life.
32:17
And that will only continue in the next two verses.
32:21
Look at verse 39. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab
32:24
and all that he did and the Ivory house that he built and
32:28
all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book
32:32
of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
32:34
So Ahab slept with his father's, and Ahaziah, his son, reigned in
32:39
his place. The only positive remarks that
32:43
the author of Kings can provide this king are his material
32:49
accomplishments. He built an ivory house, He
32:52
built some cities. He wants some wars.
32:54
That's not even directly mentioned.
32:56
So he had the glamorous home, and he had some engineering
33:02
success and he had some kind of victory here and there.
33:07
But what else is Ahab known for? And he will be known for this
33:11
for the rest of history as one of the most wicked kings that
33:14
Israel has ever experienced. So physically may be impressive,
33:20
spiritually disastrous, and this man will go down as one of the
33:26
worst. And Isaiah, his son, will take
33:29
his place and he's going to prove very quickly to be no
33:31
better than his dad. Remember that name, Ahaziah.
33:35
Now let's read verse 41. That was a summary of Ahab's
33:40
life. But for some reason the Holy
33:43
Spirit wants to mention Jehoshaphat to give a summary of
33:46
his life as well. Jehoshaphat, the son of ASA,
33:50
began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab, king of
33:53
Israel. Jehoshaphat was 35 years old
33:56
when he began to reign, and he reigned 25 years in Jerusalem.
34:01
His mother's name was Azuba, the daughter of Shilai.
34:05
He walked, and all the way of ASA his father, he did not turn
34:09
aside from it, doing what was right in the side of the Lord.
34:12
Yet the high places were not taken away, and the people still
34:16
sacrifice and made offerings on the high places.
34:19
Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.
34:22
What impression do you get with this summary of Jehoshaphat's
34:24
reign? Was he godly?
34:31
Was he evil? He wasn't totally godly and he
34:37
wasn't completely evil. He was in the middle.
34:41
Some areas were admirable. Other areas were very
34:45
questionable and we've touched on these verses before, but I
34:48
want us to focus on the next few verses.
34:50
We haven't touched on these verses yet.
34:52
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat and his might that
34:55
he showed and how he ward are they not written in the book of
34:59
the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?
35:01
And from the land he exterminated the remnant of the
35:04
male cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his
35:06
father ASA. Now look at verse 47.
35:09
This seems to be random, seems to serve no purpose.
35:13
There was no king in Edom. A deputy was king.
35:19
Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to offer for
35:22
gold, but they did not go, for the ships were wrecked at easy
35:26
on Geber. Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab set
35:30
to Jehoshaphat. Let my servants go with your
35:33
servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat was not willing.
35:39
Interesting. Out of nowhere, we are informed
35:43
that Edom had no king, but a deputy.
35:47
Edom had kings, but at this particular time there was
35:51
political instability. And who wanted to take advantage
35:54
of that? Jehoshaphat.
35:57
And how did he want to take advantage of that?
35:59
Well, I'm maybe, maybe it's true that somebody here remembers the
36:05
name here of where he built these ships.
36:08
Izion Geber. Anybody memorize that before?
36:11
No. Have you seen this before in
36:13
First Kings? We have seen it before in First
36:16
Kings, but we didn't spend much time on it.
36:19
But go to 1st Kings Nine and then you'll see it.
36:22
Perhaps you'll remember it. First Kings 926.
36:25
This is under the rule and reign of Solomon.
36:28
And notice the relation between this place in Solomon's effort,
36:31
his prosperous efforts in the land.
36:35
King Solomon built a fleet of ships at Iziongeber, which is
36:41
near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea in the land of what
36:47
Edom. Ah now we come to 1st Kings 22.
36:51
We learned that there was no king in Edom while Jehoshaphat
36:54
was king of Judah. And so Jehoshaphat wants to
36:57
revive something that was lost. After Solomon ruled and reigned,
37:04
he he wanted to create a seaport and he wanted to create a, a
37:08
kind of a trade route so that he could gain the goal that Solomon
37:12
gained and to make the Kingdom prosperous once more.
37:16
And so he builds these fleets of ships.
37:19
But then what happens when the first Kings 22 without
37:21
explanation, we're informed that the ships were destroyed.
37:25
They were wrecked. And then Isaiah approaches him
37:29
and he says, hey, why don't we work together and let's, let's
37:33
get this thing going. I think this will work for both
37:35
of us. I'm willing to help you.
37:37
And Jehoshaphat refuses. Is there any place in the Bible
37:42
where we can get some clarification?
37:46
Yes, Second Chronicles. I was scared somebody was going
37:50
to say Galatians or something. Second Chronicles, Look at
37:54
chapter 20, not 18, but chapter 20.
38:01
Look here at verse 35 of chapter 20.
38:07
I hope this Bible study every Friday will encourage you to
38:11
never skip a book in the Bible when you read it.
38:14
That's my prayer. Second Chronicles, 2035.
38:19
After this, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, joined with Ahaziah, king
38:24
of Israel. Pause.
38:25
Who is Aaziah? He's the son of who?
38:28
Good good, good. So we're told here that
38:30
Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Isaiah king of Israel.
38:34
Pause in first Kings 22. Remember when Isaiah approached
38:38
Jehoshaphat and he wanted to work together.
38:41
What did Jehoshaphat do? He says I'm not willing.
38:44
Well here we're told that they joined together.
38:46
This is going to make sense in a moment.
38:48
Who acted wickedly. The Chronicle wants to let us
38:51
know that has I was a wicked man.
38:53
Look at verse 36. He joined him in building ships
38:56
to go to Tarshish and they built the ships in Ezeongebber What?
39:03
Verse 37 Then Elia Ezer, the son of Doda Vahu of Maharishi,
39:10
prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, because you have joined
39:14
with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.
39:20
And the ships were wrecked, and we're not able to go to
39:23
Tarshish. So let's forget about First
39:30
Kings 22 for a moment. Let's just deal with Second
39:32
Chronicles 2035. OK, to 37.
39:36
We're told back at First Kings 22 that Isaiah ruled and reigned
39:40
for only two years. That's at the end, the final
39:42
verses of our chapter. So let's think about this.
39:46
If Jehoshaphat made an alliance with Ahab, Ahab dies, Joshua
39:52
goes back to his Kingdom, and he's just continuing where he
39:55
left off in under two years. Evidently he makes an alliance
40:01
with the son of Ahab. Isn't that remarkable?
40:07
You would think that this man learned his lesson with Ahab,
40:09
but clearly he didn't. And not only that, although
40:12
there's so many things that we can praise Jehoshaphat for, this
40:16
is obviously a weakness in his life.
40:19
This is a habitual problem. He has this tendency.
40:23
And what's his tendency to be unequally yoked?
40:26
That's his temptation. Some people have different
40:28
inclinations and this was his problem because in such a short
40:32
amount of time, he's magnetized towards the wrong people once
40:34
again. And this is a tendency to not
40:38
trust in God's wisdom and choosing friendships,
40:42
partnerships, and even potential candidates to be your spouse.
40:49
Is it possible for a genuine Christian to have a recurring
40:53
problem of leaning towards those that they should have no
40:58
association with? Yeah, it is.
41:03
And that's Jehoshaphat's problem here.
41:05
They might honor the Lord Jesus in other areas, but when it
41:08
comes to like Jehoshaphat with relationships, whatever the
41:11
reason they're drawn, they're drawn to the people that they
41:14
should remove themselves from. And interestingly, the Lord does
41:21
something to not allow this alliance to last very long.
41:26
He sends a prophet and the prophet says, the fact that
41:31
you're doing this again is going to make me do something before
41:35
it gets ugly. I'm going to put an end to this.
41:38
And he destroys the ships. Is destruction a pleasant
41:42
experience or unpleasant experience?
41:44
Unpleasant. It's uncomfortable.
41:46
You might think about the time that Jehoshaphat invested the
41:48
money. He invested the, the, the plans
41:51
for a prosperous nation that would come through this project.
41:56
And all of that was decimated. It was dissolved.
42:01
You think that's harsh on God's part?
42:02
I don't think it's harsh. You know what I think it is, is
42:04
God's mercy. That's God's mercy, because who
42:10
knows the problems and the trouble that would have arose
42:14
from this man's prosperous relationship with Ahaziah?
42:20
When I studied this last night, I I leaned back from my desk and
42:25
I looked up to the ceiling and I learned something about the
42:28
Lord. Because what's true of God here
42:33
is certainly true for you and I. You may not always have answers
42:37
for why God allows certain things to come to an end, but
42:45
one reason among many, according to this scripture, is that he's
42:48
protecting you. Yeah, it's painful, it's
42:55
unpleasant, it's often without explanation.
43:00
But if we belong to the Lord, you can trust that when certain
43:03
opportunities, relationships you ready for this ministries no
43:12
longer work come to a close, come to an end.
43:18
God knows something you don't. Now you got to see beyond the
43:25
surface, right? If you read this, and if if you
43:28
read this like how Jehoshaphat could have read it without the
43:32
prophet indicating to him and actually explain to him why this
43:35
is happening, all you would see is destruction.
43:38
All you would see is harm. All you would see is loss.
43:41
But what's God doing in the background?
43:43
What's he doing? Because you often don't get the
43:45
explanation like Jehoshaphat did.
43:49
You don't need the explanation, you just need to understand is
43:51
God Lord, is Christ Lord. You don't need anything else.
43:56
So let him lead you, and some things, he'll blossom.
44:01
Some things might look like they're going to work and they
44:04
don't. But if you have committed it to
44:07
the Lord in prayer, if you've surrendered him step by step,
44:10
even if it looks broken, even if it looks destructive, even if it
44:15
looks like a loss, realize that God is in control and he knows
44:19
something you don't always. But how do we reconcile Second
44:25
Chronicles with First Kings 22? Here's how we can make sense of
44:29
the timeline. Originally, Jehoshaphat and
44:32
Isaiah made an alliance and they did start something with these
44:36
ships. And then the prophet comes and
44:40
he informs them, hey, these things are going to say bye bye
44:42
to them because this is not a part of God's plan.
44:45
You, you yoked yourself once again to somebody that you
44:47
shouldn't have partnered with. And then what do we read?
44:51
You go back to First Kings 22. Isaiah comes again.
44:56
He approaches him once more and he says, look, why don't we try
44:58
this again? Didn't work.
45:01
So let's let's maybe think differently here.
45:05
And what does George Shabbat do? I'm not willing.
45:11
Finally, something about Jehoshaphat that we can take
45:14
positive inspiration from. This was a struggle for
45:19
Jehoshaphat, right? This was something that he could
45:22
he had great weakness and resisting.
45:24
But you know what? George Shabbat also shows that
45:27
even though it's a habit, even though it's call it what you
45:30
want, whatever psychological tag you want to attach to it, you
45:37
have the ability to repent when God makes His will known.
45:44
God has also instituted something in you to make a
45:47
choice. This is it.
45:48
Enough is enough. You don't have the empowerment
45:54
to no ultimate victory, but you can make the choice that pivots
45:57
you for God to then empower you. This man made a decision.
46:02
This is it. I did it with Ahab.
46:05
I did it with his son. God warned me once again, I'm
46:08
I'm putting an end to this right here.
46:12
And this is one of the lessons that you're supposed to leave
46:14
with at the end of first Kings, right?
46:18
That this is a man here who had cycling compromise and he shows
46:23
us that God has given us an ability to put it to an end and
46:27
you don't have to wait things to be destroyed for you to finally
46:31
realize it. Unfortunately, Isaiah did not
46:36
learn that truth and he didn't live very long to have the
46:39
opportunities that Jehoshaphat did.
46:41
So let's come back to the last verses of First Kings 22, verse
46:46
51. Isaiah, the son of Ahab, began
46:51
to reign over Israel in Samaria in the 17th year of Jehoshaphat,
46:57
king of Judah, and he reigned 2 years over Israel.
47:01
He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in
47:04
the way of his father and in the way of his mother, and in the
47:07
way of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin.
47:11
He served Baal and worshipped him and provoked the Lord, the
47:15
God of Israel to anger in every way that his father had done.
47:20
What a sad way to end a book. But let me remind you how the
47:24
book began. You don't have to turn there.
47:28
And a lot of the things that were shared, maybe not a lot,
47:30
but some things that were shared here are going to show up on the
47:32
quiz. So there's no excuse for you not
47:36
to get a lot of those questions right.
47:40
How did the book of First Kings begin?
47:43
It began with the son of a king who exalted himself and
47:48
attempted to seize the throne, though he knew that it was
47:51
against the will of God. In no doubt is that a form of
47:54
idolatry, you elevating yourself and putting yourself before
47:59
God's will in God's program. That's how the book begins.
48:02
And how does the book end? You have a son of another king
48:07
who promotes idolatry, false worship, who turns his back
48:10
against God. And so this whole book is
48:13
sandwiched between 2 failures. 2 failures for what purpose?
48:23
For you to realize, oh, when is that promised king going to
48:27
come? When is that seed of the son of
48:34
David going to arrive? When is the righteous 1 going to
48:38
establish that perfect government that will rule over
48:43
all nations and will reflect the splendor of the glory of God?
48:47
When, when will He come? Because all these kings have
48:52
disappointed us. And it's not until we get to 2nd
48:55
Kings where we're going to have a clear answer to that wonderful
49:00
inquiry and longing and hard cry.
49:02
And we're not going to get there until a few weeks.
49:05
So let's thank God for what He's done in the past many months in
49:09
First Kings. Shall we pray together?
49:22
But we thank you for your word. Thank you for these final
49:29
lessons. In this final section of this
49:31
book. We remember, Lord, that your
49:34
hand is at work. What we may see as random is not
49:38
random to you, your sovereign, even over the molecules.
49:47
So help us believe that you are sovereign over politics and
49:51
church scandals and nations and agendas that are polluting the
49:58
minds of a generation. Help us believe you're
50:00
sovereign. And Lord, help us like
50:02
Jehoshaphat, remember that we have no excuse to not repent,
50:07
that we have a mighty God we can cry out to at any point, and You
50:11
are ready to rescue us right there and then.
50:15
So we pray for those in this room, for those who hear this
50:17
recording in the days to come, that if there is any sin that
50:21
they are caught in that they would cry out to You and they
50:27
they would trust that You will be there for them.
50:31
Give us discernment, Give us grace.
50:35
Lord, give us a hunger for Your word.
50:38
Help us believe that every part of this book has been breathed
50:42
out by You and Lord, breathe into us so that we can know this
50:46
abundant life that your Son, the Lord Jesus, purchased with his
50:50
own blood. We thank you for First Kings and
50:54
we're excited for what you have in store in the days to come.
50:56
Should you tarry, Lord, bring us to this next book and guide us
51:00
as you did in this one. In Jesus name we pray.
51:04
Amen. Amen.