Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / 1 Kings 15 Bible Study (Abijam, Asa, Nadab & Baasha's Reigns) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Transcript

1 Kings 15 Bible Study (Abijam, Asa, Nadab & Baasha's Reigns) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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Well, I don't have much to say apart from opening your Bibles
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with me and meet Me in the Old Testament and 1st Kings Chapter
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15. I hope that you have been
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following with us in this study. If not, everything that we do
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here on Fridays is recorded and is archived.
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So you can just go to our YouTube channel if you feel a
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little lost and you can catch up.
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But what we have before us today is pretty straightforward
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because it is in this chapter that we are provided the
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documentations of four kings, 4 kings in the nation of Israel
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who followed the reign of Rehoboam and Jeroboam.
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And in this chapter what you're going to see is that we have the
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1st 2 kings who represent the Kingdom of Judah.
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Is that the north of the South? It's the Southern Kingdom.
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So the 1st 2 kings will be representing the Kingdom of
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Judah, and the last two kings in this chapter will be
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representing the Kingdom of Israel, the northern tribes.
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And that is a pretty straightforward overview, but I
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want to give you a heads up in our study of kings 1st and 2nd
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kings. It's going to become a little
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challenging to try to master the chronology of these kings, the
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timeline of these kings, for two different reasons.
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The first reason is because we're going to discover that as
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we study the Southern Kingdom and and then revisit the
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Northern and vice versa back and forth the the careers of some of
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these kings will overlap the other.
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And so it's going to require a little bit more effort to try to
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put these things together in terms of timing.
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Second to that is when we come to the writings of First Kings
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and try to reconcile it with the thematic accents of the book of
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First and Second Chronicles. That also will be a little bit
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challenging because you're going to see Chronicles come in a
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different light than the author of Kings, and they will mostly
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complement each other. But there will be times where
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we'll be like, well, how do these things to connect?
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How do they make sense? And perhaps at some point, what
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we'll do is we'll take a timeline and we'll present that
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timeline and you and I will have a visual of the family tree of
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both kingdoms and how they coincide.
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And so that will come down the line.
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But for now, until then, what we're going to do is patiently,
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step by step, conquer the content of first kings as we go.
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The way we've been going in this pace and in our study tonight,
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what we'll simply divide what we're going to learn today in
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the way that this chapter divides it naturally.
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In other words, you and I are just going to look at each of
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these kings and seek to see what we can learn from them, and even
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what we can learn and how they intersect with one another.
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So again I repeat, we have 4 kings to study and we're going
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to seek to grasp this entire chapter in one setting.
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And so let us read together. Beginning in verse one of
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chapter 15, Now in the 18th reign or year rather, of King
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Jeroboam the son of Nabat Abidjam began to reign over
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Judah. He reigned for three years in
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Jerusalem. His mother's name was Makkah,
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the daughter of Absalom, and he walked in all the sins that his
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father did before him. And his heart was not wholly
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true to the Lord, his God, as the heart of David, his father.
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Well, we ask that as we open this text together, that there
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would be a grace from your Holy Spirit to understand it.
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And Lord, as we discover different names and jump from
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text to text, give us the ability to stay focused and to
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understand everything that we are trying to grasp from this
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text. We need your help.
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Lord, you are the great teacher that has been promised to us.
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You have told us that there is an anointing that we each have
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received internally, and that is the anointing of the teaching
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ministry of the Holy Spirit. May he guide us now in first
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Kings 15 For you have preserved this text for our instruction
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and your glory. In Jesus name we pray.
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Amen. Let's stop here in the 1st 3
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verses because we were introduced to the first king of
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Judah after Rehoboam and it is the son of Rehoboam and his name
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is Abidjan and he ruled in Judah evidently.
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And he actually ruled only for surprisingly 3 years.
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That should stand out to us three years.
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It's obvious also here that Jeroboam he's the king of the 10
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tribes of the north. He outlived Rehoboam who ruled
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the southern part of the nation of Israel.
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So Rehoboam dies and his son takes his place and Jeroboam is
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still ruling and reigning in the north.
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But what a brief tenure, what a brief governance.
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For three years alone did he exercise his throne.
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And unfortunately, the summary of such a brief breath is given
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to us in verse 3, the characteristic of his rule, as
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mentioned in that he walked in all the sins that his father did
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before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his
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God. That's disappointing, and
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prepared to be more disappointed as we study the kings.
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But notice there's a specific phrase about how he related to
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the Lord. It says here that his heart was
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not wholly, it was not wholly true to the Lord.
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And that is an important distinction to make, because
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when you read of Abidjem in Second Chronicles 13, which
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maybe should turn there in preparation in Second Chronicles
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13, in the way that the Chronicle presents Abidjem, you
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would actually see that he did have a facet of his character
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and his devotion that did honor the Lord.
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In fact, this is the setting, this is the one scene that
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Second Chronicles 13 presents of this very same king.
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He's actually going to go to war with Jeroboam.
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And he has half the man that Jeroboam has and he stands on a
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mountain. And before he even goes to war,
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he actually preaches A sermon. He gives this wonderful speech,
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this the speech that entails the history of Israel, especially
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the monarch who God made a covenant with.
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And more than that, he makes a proclamation of his personal
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devotion to the Lord. Now we're not going to read the
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entirety of it, but let me read you 2 verses from that chapter
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and you'll get a sample of where he stood and what he believed.
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So you're there in Second Chronicles 13, I hope.
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Look at verse eight. In the middle of his message to
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Jeroboam and Israel, he says. And now you think to withstand
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the Kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David,
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because you are a great multitude and have with you the
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golden calves that Jeroboam made for, made you for gods.
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Have you not driven up the priest of the Lord, the sons of
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Aaron and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the
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peoples of other lands? Whoever comes for ordination
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with a young bull or seven Rams becomes a priest of what are not
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gods. Now look at verse 10.
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But As for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken
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him. We have priests ministering to
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the Lord who are sons of Aaron and Levites for their service.
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OK, this is undoubtedly and allegiance that he proclaims a
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statement of honor to the true God, is it not?
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But the problem is now when we come to this, how do we
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reconcile it with what we read here?
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And more than that, not only does he honor the Lord, God
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actually honors him. So Scroll down in verse 18 of
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Second Chronicles 13 and notice what happens.
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Thus the men of Israel were subdued at that time, and the
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men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the Lord, the God
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of their fathers. I bring this to your attention
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because it seems as though we are reading about two different
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kings, when in fact it's one in the same.
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In first kings were we read what that Abidjan walked in all the
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sins that his father did. Then you come to Second
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Chronicles and you realize that he's being showcased as a man of
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God, and God even honors him when he makes this incredible
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defense of the truth. So how do we connect these
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things? How do we make sense of what
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seems to be two different biographies?
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It's very simple. In those three brief years,
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Second Chronicles 13. This place for us the
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beginnings, something that we've seen so many times and we're
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going to see on different occasions, The beginnings of
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Abidjem's faith and 1st Kings 15 will describe the dominating
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feature of his life. Enough is character.
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So Abidjan teaches us something that you and I need to take
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heed, something that's far too common.
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People who start off with courageous, consecrated and even
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bold faith, and over time who can even testify of God's
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interventions in their lives, but then not continuing on that
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path, something that you and I are very familiar with in our
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study of God's Word. And it makes you wonder, well,
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what was the turning point for this man?
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How was it that he could say the Lord is our God?
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How was it that he can even rely on God and God would honor him,
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only for him to be described in our original text to be an
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apostate? It's actually in Second
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Chronicles 13. So look at verse 20.
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Jeroboam did not recover his power in the days of Abaja.
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By the way, Abaja is another name for the same person.
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And the Lord struck him down and he died.
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But Abaja grew mighty. Does that ever turn out good for
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most people? But Abaja grew mighty, and here
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it is. And he took 14 wives and had 22
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sons and sixteen daughters. Why is it a problem to have more
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than one wife? For many practical reasons, I'm
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sure. But it's a theological issue,
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especially for kings, because as you know, in Deuteronomy 1717,
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the kings were instructed not to have too many wives, not to have
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more than one wife, according to the Genesis account, obviously,
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but to not have too many wives for this reason lest their
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hearts be turned away. That is exactly what happened to
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this man. His heart was turned away
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because he did not trust God concerning the area of marriage,
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and ultimately that was disobedience that caused many
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other problems in his life, including apostasy.
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And so this man disobeys the Lord at that juncture.
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Now we come back to first kings 15 and look again here in verse
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three and five, four to five. Nevertheless, for David's sake,
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the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son
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after him and establishing Jerusalem, because David did
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what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside
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from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life.
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This is not the only lesson from Abajam's life.
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You see here that we are being reminded that the reason why God
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didn't give up on the Southern Kingdom, why he didn't just
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throw away the tribe of Judah, is because he made a covenant
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with David. And despite the lack of
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faithfulness of David's sons, God is faithful because he made
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a covenant with David that is unconditional.
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I made a promise to one man, and I'm going to keep it no matter
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what. And despite seasons of
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discipline, he would never revoke, he would never turn away
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from what he originally promised to this man, that there would be
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a throne, that it would last forever, and that he would have
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one of his sons sit on that throne and rule forever and
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ever. And so again, even early on
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here, when we're seeing now this, this new moment for Israel
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where you have two kingdoms, those are supposed to be one.
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We want to be able to understand that what we see here and what
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we're going to see moving forward is that despite men's
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disobedience, God is a God who keeps his word.
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But more than that, it's supposed to.
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Also remind us what God was really looking for in the sons
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of David. He made a promise to David and
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his sons, but though it's unconditional, he wants
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something from them. He wants the same heart that was
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in the very one that he made a covenant with.
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And you see this contrast between one of the sons of David
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and David himself. And here's what's so important
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about this, because we see here that Abidjan's faith is often
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the reflection of many people's walk with the Lord.
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Perhaps you have seen this. I've seen it at least.
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When when some people try to make a fire, they're they're
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very impatient. And so they pour gasoline on it.
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They they stuff a bunch of paper, whether that's a pit or a
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fireplace, and they just light the thing up and hope to get
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something big and bright. And it shows up in that way,
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combust, and you even feel the heat of that moment touching
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your skin. But very quickly, what happens?
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That fire dwindles and it becomes nothing, and you're back
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to square one. And that's what many people are
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like in their walk with the Lord.
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It's called firework faith. It shines in the sky.
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It's impressive. It makes a lot of noise, but
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then within seconds it turns into smoke.
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That's not what God is after. God is not after that kind of
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quality of faith. God wants what's in our hearts
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for him to burn long term. God wants what's in our hearts
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for him to persevere, to endure an enduring flame, if you will.
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And that's what you see in David.
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And you see this conscious in this text.
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You see a man who started. He started well.
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He started with the right theology.
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He started with boldness. He started with actually
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confronting compromise and seeing God move in his life.
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And then now he turns into what his father and his grandfather
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were like. And then we mentioned David in
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this text, and we see someone who, though he even sinned.
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Look at this. We read that in verse 5, right?
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He commanded him all the days of his life in the last part,
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except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite, to remind us that
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he was he was human, and he did have shortcomings, and he did
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sin grievously, but he had something that was of
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persevering value, and it was precious in the sight of God.
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And you can almost hear God's heart in these texts.
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Oh, that I would see the same heart that was in David and the
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sons of David. Despite it I will be faithful to
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my promise. But how I long to see the same
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thing that I saw in that man who was after my own heart.
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God is not after what we see here in Abide Jim.
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He wants what was in David. And there's one more thing about
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this man's biography worth mentioning before we move on.
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Look at verse 6 now there was war between Rehoboam and
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Jeroboam all the days of his life.
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Why are we talking about that? In fact, if you remember last
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week's study, that's where we concluded.
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We concluded about how the summary of Rehoboam and
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Jeroboam, the first kings of the divided kingdoms, they were
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continually at war with one another.
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And then we have that resurface in our text.
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We're talking, we're not talking about Rehoboam talking about his
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son, but we're reminded here that Rehoboam and Jeroboam were
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at war all the days of his life. And I believe it's the next
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verse that gives us the understanding of why this is
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brought up. The rest of the acts of Abajim
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and all that he did. Are they not written in the book
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of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
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And there was war between Abujam and Jeroboam, so there was war
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between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. Now you have Rehoboam son
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Abujam, and there was war between Abujam and Jeroboam.
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And these are mentioned side by side for a reason.
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It's as though the Spirit wants us to see that Abidjem's
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relationship with Jeroboam was heavily influenced by the
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example in the pattern of his father, Rehoboam.
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This is a lesson. This is a lesson.
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Listen, young guys, pay attention.
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Yeah, especially young men who want to be fathers, Men who are
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fathers of children today. Men who are fathers of adult
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children. Can I ask you a question on this
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Friday night? What kind of legacy are you
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going to leave your children? What kind of legacy are you
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going to leave your sons? What kind of legacy are you
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going to leave your daughters? Because you see, Rehoboam, who
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was generally characterized by warfare with the brethren and
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his son, follow suit. Here's what I thought to myself
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when I read this Lord, it is my prayer that my life, my life
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would testify. If you were to give me a family
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would testify that your word is a treasure, that the local
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church is a priority, and that there is no greater honor in
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this life than to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in any capacity.
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You know, I heard an interesting phrase that stuck with me all
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week of a minister who who taught about how to win your
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children for Christ, and he made this statement that touched me,
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and I didn't need to hear anything else.
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I understood the implications of that.
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At least, I think I did. If you want to see your kids,
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come to Christ. If you want to see them one over
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to the gospel, do your part in this.
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Amaze them with God. Amaze your children with God.
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Let them through your life, your words, your actions, your
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priorities, your responsibilities.
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Let them see that God is indeed a treasure, the treasure of all
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treasures, the delight of all the lights, the most supreme
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thing you can know. And listen, if he's not going to
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be that in your life now, if he's not going to have that kind
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of a place in your heart and your schedule and your
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resources, don't be like one of those parents who, down the line
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will come to the pastor and ask the pastor to rescue your kid.
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Endeavour today to believe in the outcome of your life for God
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overflowing and spilling on your children.
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And I believe it's as simple as that.
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I know that there are complicated cases, and I know
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that there are very devoted fathers and mothers who are
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struggling with their children. But the best thing that you can
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do is stare at God, love God, worship God, and let your
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offspring witness someone who actually prizes God above all
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things to at least cause them to be curious enough to be like, is
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God that real Because he's so real to daddy and mommy?
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Is he that worth it for our lives to revolve around serving
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him and serving God's people and learning about him in his word?
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That can be true for the positive.
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That could be true for the negative.
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You had a dad who went to war with one of the brother and his
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son had no issue following in that same example with your
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children. See with them how amazing God
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is. Now we move to the next king of
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Judah. And mind you, we're just
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touching on some things. We can stay on one king for one
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Bible study, but we won't do that.
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Let's read verse 9 and 10 and the 20th year of Jeroboam, King
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of Israel. ASA began to reign over Judah
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and he reigned 41 years in Jerusalem.
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His mother's name was Macca, the daughter of Abby Shalom.
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And ASA did what was right in the eyes of the Lord as David,
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his father had done. Now let's pause here.
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If the three-year reign of Abidjem stood out to us, then
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surely the 41 year reign of his son ASA should stand out to us.
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Because think about it, He actually is in the position of a
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king longer than David and Solomon.
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They were there for how long? 40, And now you have one of
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their sons who's there for 41. Now some people have problem
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with a problem with verse 10. What stands out to you?
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That seems to be an issue concerning the description of
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this man who is the mother to Abidjan Maka, the daughter of
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ABI Shalom, right. And in chronicles actually says
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Absalom. And then you see here that Abby
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Gems son ASA has the same mother, right?
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Look at verse 10 again. Macca, the daughter of Abby
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Shalom. So what's going on here?
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Father, son, and brothers at the same time?
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Here's the thing to remember that there are terms in the
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Bible that do not have this strict definition and
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description that we might assume.
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So I'm going to do something rapid fire with you to show you
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how even though the word son is used, or the mother's name
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rather is used in this case, it's not a contradiction, it's
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not an error, is that the definition of this relationship
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is broader than what we might understand.
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So if you want to write these references, you can and maybe we
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can look it up on the screen together instead of turning to
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these places. But this is all from First and
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Second Samuel. If you look at First Samuel,
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chapter three and six, it's Eli who calls Samuel my son.
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When Samuel is hearing the voice of the Lord, he mistakes it with
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Eli's voice. So he approaches Eli while he's
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sleeping, wakes Eli up, and Eli refers to him as my son.
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Question is Eli Samuel's father? No.
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So this is a relationship, like a mentor relationship, Father,
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son, son of education, so to speak.
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So he calls him my son. But they're not really father
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and son. It's not just there.
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You go to First Samuel 24, first Samuel 24, verse 16, and you see
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somebody else calling another person his son, when in fact
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they don't have that real relationship.
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It is Saul who calls David. What is this your voice, my son
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David, is Saul David's father? No, but he's his father-in-law.
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And so though David is a son-in-law, he still calls him
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my son. And here's the most important
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example. It's not in First Samuel, but in
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Second Samuel. In Second Samuel, chapter 19,
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verse 24, Look what I said here. In Second Samuel 19, verse 24,
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Mephibosheth, the son of Saul, came down to meet the king.
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He had neither taken care of his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor
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washed his clothes from the day the king departed until the day
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they came back in safety. Question.
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Is Mephibosheth the son of Saul? No.
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Who's Mephibosheth's father? Jonathan.
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And Jonathan is a son of Saul. So you you even see this, right?
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You see that a grandfather is related to his grandson as
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though they were actually father and son.
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And that's exactly what you see here.
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In Asa's case, the mother of ASA is actually his grandmother.
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And it could be that Maca actually took a prominent place
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in Asa's life. Though she was the grandmother,
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she played a motherly role. And so it's simple as that there
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there's no copyist mistake. There's no issue here.
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It's simply a thing of description and how the Bible
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uses terms and has broader definitions in some areas.
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And so we see here that he had a grandmother who was really a
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mother figure to him. And that's true in many cases
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today where grandparents have such influences over their
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grandchildren. Now, to our surprise, despite a
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similar upbringing to his father, you have a different
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future described. Because look at verse 11.
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And ASA did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David
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his father, had done. That's incredible.
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We just heard that that's what the Lord was longing for from
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the descendants of David. And here early on, you see ASA
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reflecting the heart of David. This is a breath of fresh air,
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is it not? And we look at this and we
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think, well, this is not predictable and it's true.
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It's not predictable. And here's where it gets even
24:32
more important. ASA not only was a worshipper of
24:35
such a caliber, ASA was one of the reformer kings in Israel's
24:39
history. In fact, he was the first
24:42
reformer for the Kingdom of Judah to reform something's
24:47
means to correct or make changes where there is great error or
24:51
corruption. And what ASA is known for is
24:54
cleaning the Kingdom of Judah. Spiritually he brought revival
25:02
and from time to time God will raise up a person to lead the
25:07
charge of bringing spiritual cleansing in different contexts.
25:11
Sometimes it can be in the home. Sometimes it can be in the local
25:15
church. Sometimes it can be in a region
25:16
where many ministries and churches are blessed by one
25:19
person whom God has raised up, touched and used to bring about.
25:25
The charge of a campaign of cleaning our hearts, purifying
25:29
our hands so that we can be where God wants us to be.
25:33
And so many people pray for revival.
25:35
It's a wonderful thing to pray for.
25:37
Many people believe that we need revival.
25:38
Today, I'm one of those people. Revival, by the way, is not for
25:42
the world. Revivals for the church.
25:45
Evangelism is for the world. You don't revive something
25:49
unless it was once alive. And so when you revive it, it
25:51
comes to life and then it operates in the way that it was
25:53
designed to operate. So yes, one of the benefits of
25:57
revival in the church is that the community feels it, but it
26:01
begins in the House of God. And what you see here in First
26:04
Kings 15 is a model of what happens when reform, spiritual
26:10
reform comes, whether that be to a church or region of churches
26:14
or even an individual's life. There are three things that
26:17
stand out from this. They give us an example, at
26:20
least an illustration, of what happens when your heart is
26:24
revived again by God. Look at the first thing with me
26:26
in verse 12. So ASA again in verse 11 he did
26:29
what was right in the eyes of the Lord and in verse 12.
26:31
This is the first consequence of that he put away the male cult
26:36
prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his
26:41
father had made. When God revives a church, when
26:45
God revives a person, one of the first things that will be
26:49
changed is that the way they view the culture, the way they
26:53
relate to society. You see, these male cult
26:57
prostitutes were state sanctioned worshippers who
27:01
performed homosexual acts in idol temples as acts of devotion
27:08
to false gods. It was gross.
27:11
It was contrary to God's will in so many fronts.
27:14
And we see here that these perversions were tolerated for
27:18
generations. They were tolerated by Asus,
27:20
father and grandfather, even encouraged.
27:22
But this man would not, would not submit to the norms of his
27:27
culture. He stood against it.
27:29
And you may not have the capability or the authority to
27:32
physically remove such things, but you do have a voice.
27:36
And you will be put in positions where you have to voice your
27:39
opinion, which is ultimately the truth, in a way that might
27:43
influence others, for good or not, up to us for the negative.
27:49
And when the Lord listen, when he does a true work in the
27:51
heart, you will not be fearful. You will not be submissive to
27:57
the narratives and to the patterns and the practices of
28:00
the culture. You will stand against it.
28:03
You will speak out, if need be, against it.
28:07
And that's exactly what this man exemplifies.
28:10
And we see here that he stands for the truth in a way in which
28:13
he refuses to be stained by the world.
28:17
James tells us in chapter one, verse 27, that true religion
28:21
that is pleasing to God is not that you would visit orphans and
28:24
widows in their distress, but that you would you would be
28:27
undefiled by the world, and a person whose heart is revived.
28:33
Listen, they want to protect themselves from being stained
28:37
from the world, and they want to be as consecrated as possible as
28:41
they interact with the world. And here you see this man who
28:44
uses his ability and his authority to do more than just
28:48
that. He makes an offensive move and
28:50
he begins to cleanse the culture.
28:53
And listen when the church begins to be pressured by the
28:55
culture and sounds like the culture and tip toes around
28:58
issues because they know that it will offend the culture, that
29:01
Church needs revival. It does because revival does
29:06
what we see here, but it doesn't just do that.
29:08
Look at verse 13. This is the second thing that
29:11
Revival would do. He also removed Macca, his
29:13
mother, from being Queen Mother because she had made an
29:16
abominable image for Ashra and ASA cut down her image and
29:20
burned it at the Brookedron. When the Lord moves in a
29:24
person's heart, brings it to life, brings into alignment with
29:28
his will, that spiritual reform will change the condition of a
29:32
home. So we see that this woman is the
29:37
Queen Mother. She has a position of authority.
29:39
And ASA was not selected with his righteous pursuits.
29:43
He didn't just deal with the culture, but didn't deal with
29:46
the closest relationships with him.
29:48
Now he came home and he made a dramatic shift.
29:51
Because when God shifts your heart, it's going to shift the
29:53
closest relationships with you and to you.
29:57
So he goes to his mother and he says you're fired.
30:00
You're not, you're not going to be doing this anymore.
30:02
You're not going to be influencing, you're not going to
30:03
be having you're saying anything, You don't fear God,
30:05
you don't know God. So this is it.
30:08
And she gave into it obviously because he came with that
30:11
authority and in Asus case, listen, he removed his
30:15
grandmother from that position. That obviously doesn't relate to
30:19
you and I much, but it does in this that when God does a work
30:22
in your heart, it will change. Something about your day-to-day
30:26
interactions and the closest people to you.
30:31
Forgiveness will be given. Forgiveness will be sought.
30:35
Reconciliation will be realized. Purity will happen in the home.
30:39
Things that were entertained in the home, things that were
30:41
tolerated in the home, things that were justified in the home.
30:44
That grieve. The Holy Spirit will no longer
30:47
be justified, will no longer be entertained.
30:50
Something happens. Worship is no longer just a once
30:53
a week thing. Worship is there in the home.
30:55
Your home becomes a Tabernacle, especially if you're the leader
30:59
of the home. Something will happen as the
31:01
head of the house, where the overflow of your decision will
31:05
bless those around you and there's no work that when
31:08
there's no doubt that when a purging work takes place in one
31:11
person in a home, it will have an effect on those who are
31:14
around him. Look at the last thing here in
31:18
verse 14. But the high places were not
31:20
taken away. Nevertheless, the heart of ASA
31:23
was wholly true to the Lord all his days.
31:26
And here it is in verse 15. And he brought into the House of
31:29
the Lord the sacred gifts of his Father and his own sacred gifts,
31:33
silver and gold and vessels. So not only does revival
31:37
personally change the way you view the culture, not only does
31:42
it change the condition of your home, it will change the way you
31:46
associate and relate and invest in the House of God.
31:51
What does he do? It says here he brought into the
31:54
House of the Lord the sacred gifts of his father, not just of
31:57
his father and his own sacred gifts.
32:01
He now made a personal investment.
32:04
I'm going to actually make a personal, conscious decision
32:08
that I'm going to be responsible to what it is that God called me
32:11
to, and I'm going to contribute to what I can contribute to as
32:14
an individual person. When a person is truly walking
32:18
with the Lord where he needs to be, the temperature that God
32:20
desires him to be at, he will have this fervency about the
32:24
House of God. It won't be an afterthought, it
32:28
won't be tertiary and his priorities.
32:30
It will be something that he again will prize and he will
32:33
treasure. And ASA shows that here that
32:36
when a person has a David like heart, a heart after God's own
32:39
heart, he will actually make much of the House of God.
32:42
And when he does a deep work in you and I, the same will be true
32:45
of us. You will love, you will attend,
32:47
you will serve, you will sacrifice for the place where
32:49
God is worship and where he promised to speak and meet with
32:53
us. Little glimpse of what reviving
32:56
does by the Holy Spirit. I know you agree with me in
32:59
saying that we need it in this land, but that's not the only
33:03
thing that happens about ASA. Look at verse 16.
33:07
And there was war between ASA and Bashar, King of Israel all
33:12
their days. You can't have this kind of
33:17
devotion that ASA exemplifies, and you can't have this kind of
33:21
reform without opposition arising at some point.
33:27
And at this point Basha takes the place of Jeroboam and
33:32
another king following him again.
33:34
Remember I told you that the overlap of some things requires
33:36
a little bit more effort to to make sense of, but you see this
33:40
king Basha who comes now and wants to interfere with the very
33:44
thing. Listen to the very thing that
33:46
ASA was trying to revive. He revived the House of God, the
33:51
priority of it from a cultural standpoint.
33:53
And what is Basha do? Look at verse 17.
33:55
Basha, king of Israel, went up against Judah and built Rama
34:00
that he might permit no one to go out or come in to ASA king of
34:04
Judah. A similar strategy of Jeroboam
34:06
originally. Remember Jeroboam.
34:08
He institutes idolatry because he's worried that if the people
34:11
go down to Judah, where Jerusalem is, they will worship
34:15
the true God and they might shift their allegiance to the
34:18
Kingdom of the South. He's not going to let this
34:20
happen. So he sets up this barricade
34:23
where it's near impossible for the people of the North to
34:25
travel down and worship at the House of God.
34:30
Opposition will always come when God does a work and your heart,
34:33
a true work where it overflows into culture, overflows into
34:37
your house, overflows into the House of God.
34:39
Don't be surprised when it happens.
34:42
And be careful praying that prayer for God to do something
34:45
in your life where you burn for Him.
34:47
Because when you burn for him genuinely, the enemy will take
34:49
notice and there will be barricades and there will be
34:52
hurdles and there will be attempts to try to stifle that,
34:56
and that should be no 'cause to be fearful.
34:59
Listen, it should be causing to be ready.
35:03
I'm reminded of a verse that Paul mentions to the
35:05
Thessalonians, who attest to the truth that there will always be
35:08
Satanic resistance against anyone who is serious about
35:12
advancing the work of God, living for the glory of God, and
35:16
we're going to touch on that this Sunday.
35:19
It is a lifelong experience for the true Christian who's walking
35:24
with the plow in their hands, Moving forward for the glory of
35:27
God. You will have an unending cycle
35:31
of experiences with Satanic resistance.
35:37
Paul experienced that almost immediately and he says
35:42
something in First Thessalonians chapter 2.
35:44
In one verse, verse 18, he says to this church because we wanted
35:48
to come to you, I Paul, again and again, but Satan hindered
35:52
us. Can I encourage you to pray
35:57
about something if you haven't been praying about it?
36:01
Always ask God for discernment. Always ask God for discernment.
36:06
This man Paul had the sermon. You know how I know he had the
36:08
sermon? Because he knew when something
36:10
was closed, when it was the Holy Spirit and when it was Satan.
36:15
In Acts 16 him and his team knew that the resistance against
36:19
their missionary efforts was the Holy Spirit was the Spirit of
36:22
Jesus. And in this situation he knew
36:25
that when he was trying to do a work with these Christians that
36:28
it was Satan hindering him. The only way you can know is if
36:32
you have Holy Spirit inspired discernment.
36:35
He had that, and because he understood that, he responded in
36:40
the following way. It's it's right there in the
36:41
same verse. I Paul again and again, again
36:45
and again. I tried over and over to make my
36:48
way to you because I know that the enemy is trying to halt this
36:52
and I know you will benefit from this.
36:54
I don't know we will benefit from this.
36:55
So I'm doing what I can to make sure that this will be realized.
37:00
And it seems as though in this verse that he confesses defeat
37:03
because he says, I Paul again and again.
37:05
But Satan hindered us. He hindered us.
37:10
So what happened, Paul? Does that mean that you never
37:13
were able to minister to this group?
37:16
You know what I find so amazing about this?
37:18
That though he tried to physically arrive to this group
37:21
of Christians, he he couldn't, evidently.
37:24
So what does he do? What do you think he do does to
37:26
minister to this group of people?
37:29
Any idea? Let me give you a hint.
37:33
It's the verse that we're quoting.
37:36
He wrote them a letter. He wrote them a letter.
37:40
So he writes this epistle to them, and he's explained to
37:45
them, I tried to get to you, but I can't.
37:46
So let me explain this to you, and let me, let me give you some
37:48
expression instructions by way of letter.
37:54
You and I are familiar that Paul wrote many letters, but you know
37:56
what's significant? Theologians believe in.
37:59
Scholars believe that this is the first epistle that Paul ever
38:02
wrote. You know why that's important?
38:06
Just think about it. Here's Satan thinking that he's
38:08
going to hinder the work of Paul.
38:11
And what Satan really did was he started a new ministry for Paul.
38:16
Paul couldn't arrive there physically.
38:17
So you know what began to happen?
38:18
Paul started writing letters. I wonder if Satan regretted
38:22
hindering Paul from going to the Thessalonians.
38:26
You and I should never fear satanic opposition.
38:29
We should be prepared for it, and we should never be
38:31
discouraged when it comes. We should never lose our zeal
38:34
and our passion and whatever it is that we are committed to,
38:38
whatever is that we're believing God.
38:39
For there will be moments that will frustrate us, maybe confuse
38:45
us even. But here's the thing.
38:47
We will always overcome if it's the will of God and if we're in
38:51
tune with God. Perhaps the very thing that
38:54
Satan thought he had victory over and that we might think
38:56
that Satan had victory over, is the start of something new.
39:00
You never lose when you're walking with the Lord.
39:02
You never lose if you're on the team of the Kingdom of God in
39:05
Christ Jesus. Never.
39:08
So this very man admits that there was a hindrance.
39:10
But it really started something fresh that you and I are
39:13
benefiting from today. How did ASA respond to this
39:18
surprise attack from the Kingdom of the North?
39:20
Unfortunately, not the same way. He didn't rely on the Lord.
39:23
He didn't stay the course when he learned about the schemes of
39:27
Basha. Instead, look what he does.
39:29
Look at verse 18. Our First Kings. 15 Then ASA
39:33
took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures
39:36
of the House of the Lord and the treasures of the King's house,
39:39
and gave them into the hands of his servants.
39:42
And King ASA sent them to Ben Haddad, the son of Tabramon, the
39:47
son of Hesion, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying,
39:50
Let there be a covenant between me and you, as there was between
39:54
my father and your father. Behold, I'm sending to you a
39:57
present of silver and gold. Go break your covenant with Bash
40:01
the king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.
40:05
So Asus panicking, and he goes to the House of the Lord.
40:10
He empties it of its treasures. And he seeks the assistance of
40:13
the king of Syria. And he says, hey, you have an
40:15
agreement with the northern Kingdom.
40:17
Break that agreement. Join with me.
40:19
Here's a here's a price for that.
40:22
And and help me out here. Good thing or bad thing.
40:27
Tell me why that sounds like a good strategy, politically
40:30
speaking. Fear.
40:34
Fear is bad. But just from the plain reading
40:36
of the text, there's no explicit statement, at least in King's
40:39
account, the first King's account of it being wrong or
40:41
evil. But what do you see from this
40:43
text that should give you the indication that this is a no,
40:46
no? OK, it's two people at the same
40:51
time, but I got it. Maybe it's the same answer I
40:52
heard from you. Don't you think it's unthinkable
40:56
for somebody to empty the House of the Lord, the very thing that
41:00
you replenished it with? What did he do with the House of
41:03
the Lord? He he He funded it again.
41:06
He brought sacred gifts, silver and gold, and at this time, now
41:10
he withdraws everything from it, and he gives it to a Pagan king.
41:15
You don't need to be a theologian to realize that's not
41:17
good. That belongs to God.
41:20
And you took what belongs to God, and you gave it to a guy
41:22
who worships another God. And it's when you go to Second
41:27
Chronicles or realize the extent of the evil that ASA committed
41:31
in his fear, in his unbelief. But here's the thing that we
41:35
learn already from this. Even if you're just reading
41:37
First Kings 15, here's what you learn when you rely on the arm
41:39
of the flesh, when you remove yourself from what God has to
41:42
say, and you exercise human wisdom at the expense of God's
41:46
clear commands. This is what happens, The same
41:48
thing that happened to ASA. ASA robbed God.
41:54
When you and I, whether it's in fear, whether it's in concern or
41:58
anxiety, whether it's in moments where we're being opposed or
42:01
threatened and we rely on sinful means to try to save us or
42:06
provide an answer, you too will rob God of what?
42:10
His glory. We rob God of His glory when we
42:16
don't trust him, when we don't submit to him, even when
42:18
everything in US calls for a different direction or approach
42:22
in the same way God was robbed of physical treasures.
42:25
You and I, in disobedience, robbed God of His glory.
42:29
But it's not just that there was a different price that this man
42:33
paid. It's found in Second Chronicles.
42:35
Look at it with me. In chapter 16.
42:40
You see ASA mentioned in I don't know, half a chapter in First
42:43
Kings 15 and Second Chronicles. He's given 3 chapters, Second
42:48
Chronicles 1415 and 16, and look at Second chronicles 16, seven
42:54
and eight. Right after ASA did this, a
42:58
prophet arise, arises and he arrives on the scene and look
43:01
look what he says in verse seven.
43:03
At that time Han and I, the seer came to ASA, king of Judah and
43:08
said to him, because you relied on the king of Syria and did not
43:12
rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has
43:15
escaped you. Which army escaped him?
43:23
Well, think now. Which army was ASA concerned
43:28
about? Israel.
43:31
Hanan. I shows up on the scene.
43:33
He goes, because you didn't rely on the Lord your God.
43:36
Read it slowly. The army of the king.
43:37
Did he say Israel? No.
43:40
What does he say? The army of the king of Syria
43:44
has escaped you, the Han. And I miss it.
43:49
No, he's showing something that's heartbreaking.
43:53
Because you relied on the king of Syria and you didn't rely on
43:55
God. You were so unbelieving.
44:02
You think that you got your answer because we're going to
44:04
find out that it worked. What he did worked.
44:07
But what he's reminding him is I would have given you Israel and
44:10
I would have given you Syria if you had trusted in the Lord.
44:14
Not only would I have given you the northern tribe, I would have
44:17
also given you Syria. But you didn't.
44:22
You didn't, you know, because when you read in First Kings 15
44:27
you see that it actually worked. Syria did break the covenant
44:32
with Israel, and ASA was able to know peace again.
44:36
He was able to gather in some towns and a little bit of
44:38
resources, But no matter what we succeed apart from God.
44:41
It will always be less than what you could have had in God.
44:44
No matter what you accomplish without God in disobedience to
44:48
God, it will always, always, always fall short of what you
44:52
could have known with God. That's what this prophet is
44:54
saying. You could have had Syria with
44:57
Israel, but because you didn't rely on God, you have a little
45:00
bit of victory. What could have ASA have done
45:03
that? What was it that God was
45:04
expecting from ASA? Well look at verse 8.
45:07
The Prophet reminds him we're not The Ethiopians and the
45:11
Libyans, a huge army with very many Chariots and horsemen.
45:14
Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your
45:17
hand. Asus war with Israel was not the
45:20
first war that he had. Again, when you read Second
45:23
Chronicles 14, ASA had a much bigger problem with The
45:27
Ethiopians, a 1,000,000 man army, and he was able to
45:30
overcome that. You know how Read it when you
45:33
have time. ASA prayed and God intervened
45:37
and many years passed and now he has this problem with Israel.
45:40
A much smaller problem by the way.
45:44
And he doesn't believe God. Then something happened.
45:48
Over time, his faith weakened, He lost track, he lost sight of
45:52
God, and because of that he's reminded you lost touch of your
46:01
prayer life. It was prayer that helped him
46:03
overcome the Ethiopian invasion. Again, many people can do things
46:10
without prayer. You know how I know?
46:12
Because many people do things without prayer.
46:17
They don't really believe it works.
46:20
And here's the thing, like a so you can do You can do things
46:22
without prayer. People do it all the time, but
46:26
you always miss out. There could have been more you
46:29
could have known if you had committed it to the Lord.
46:32
So learn to commit it always to the Lord.
46:34
Yes, be practical. Yes, be realistic.
46:37
Yes, strategize. But learn to prioritize and seek
46:40
God's wisdom and intervention before all things and you will
46:44
never fear missing out. Unfortunately, this man missed
46:48
out and he was reminded of that. ASA stopped praying and it cost
46:52
him. He robbed God originally when he
46:54
partnered with Syria and there was a much larger reward that he
46:57
also forfeited. And you and I do the same when
47:00
we lose touch with the Lord in the place of dependency on Him.
47:04
So you and I are ready to turn our attention to the 2 kings of
47:06
Israel. But before we do that, let's
47:07
summarize the 2 kings of Judah. You have Abidjem and you have
47:10
ASA, father and son. Abidjem ruled for how long?
47:16
Three years. His son ASA.
47:18
Did they have the same outcome? Pretty much.
47:24
Because you realize that after ASA was confronted by the
47:26
Prophet, ASA got angry and he wanted nothing to do with
47:32
repentance. And come back to First Kings 15
47:36
and notice what happens. It's the same thing happens in
47:39
Second Chronicles verse 23. Now the rest of all the acts of
47:43
ASA, all his might and all that he did and the cities that he
47:46
built, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of
47:47
the Kings of Judah, but in his old age he was diseased in his
47:51
feet. You'll read that in Second
47:54
Chronicles 16 he was disease. That wasn't coincidence.
47:57
That was an act of God, because even when he was confronted
48:00
about his disconnection with God, he still didn't see God.
48:03
He still didn't come broken before the Lord.
48:05
You know what the Lord did to try to get his attention?
48:07
He afflicted him with a pain. He afflicted him with a disease.
48:11
There's debate about the nature of the sickness, but it was
48:13
enough, enough to debilitate him.
48:15
And we're told there in Second Chronicles that even after that
48:17
he did not seek the Lord. That's how ASA finished.
48:23
And here's the reminder as we end with the kings of Judah.
48:25
In this chapter, both of these men turn from the Lord,
48:29
reminding us that no matter how old you are, no matter how
48:31
advanced you are in your walk with Christ, there is no one,
48:35
absolutely no one, who is impervious to sinning in such a
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way where they harm their testimony.
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Three years, if you have three years to live, you and I must be
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careful that in those three years we would not do anything
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that would harm our testimony with the Lord.
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If you have 41 years, equally dangerous.
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And this man shows us that in your old age, be careful, right?
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It happened to Solomon, it happened to ASA.
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So we have to by God's grace, rely on him every step, every
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day, and trust that he will complete the work that he began
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in us as we walk with him. And so we see here that the
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conclusion arrives now to the kings of Judah.
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Now we shift over to the kings of Israel.
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Look at verse 25. Naidab, the son of Jeroboam,
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began to reign over Israel in the second year of ASA, king of
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Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years.
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He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in
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the way of his father and in his sin, which he made Israel to
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sin. Here's what you're going to
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notice with me. As we study first kings, first
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kings from this moment on is going to be preoccupied with
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dealing and describing the kings of Israel, the Northern Kingdom.
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When you read first and second Chronicles, the author is more
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concerned paying attention to the kings of Judah David's
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descendants. So from this moment on, we're
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going to be a lot more with the Northern kings than we are the
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Southern. And that's the opposite is true
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when you come to the first and second books of Chronicles.
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And what's also interesting here is what you're going to see is a
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trademark of the nation of Israel.
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The northern tribes of Israel will be recognized for political
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and spiritual instability, like severe, much more severe than
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the Southern Kingdom. And that is obviously a result
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of their total apostasy to the Lord, whereas the Southern
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Kingdom had moments of return and reform.
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And the example of that is even in these first chapters that
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we're going to discover in this divide.
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Listen, ASA reigned 41 years, and in those 41 years you have
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several kingdoms that rose and fell in the north.
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You see with Nadab, you're going to see it with Basha, and it's
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going to continue on. Zimri and Omri are just going to
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keep going. So while there is one king in
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Judah, you're going to have several in the north.
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And it begins with this man who is the son of Jeroboam.
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His name is Nadab and he began to reign over Israel in the
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second year of ASA, king of Judah.
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He only reigned 2 years, so if you have three years, we're
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short. Imagine two if you want an idea
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how short that feels, we've been in this church building for over
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2 years. That's very brief to be a king,
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but I want to combine Nadab and Basha.
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I don't want to look at them separately because they are
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connected. So we read here that he did what
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was evil on the side of Lord. And look at verse 27.
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Basha, the son of Ahija of the House of Issachar, conspired
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against him and Basha struck him down at Gibbethan, which
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belonged to the Philistines. For Nadab and all Israel were
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laying siege to Gibbethan. So Basha killed him in the third
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year of ASA king of Judah, and reigned in his place, and as
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soon as he was king he killed all the House of Jeroboam.
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He left to the House of Jeroboam, not one that breathed,
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until he destroyed it, according to the word of the Lord that he
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spoke by his servant Ahija, the Shiloh knight.
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So Basha, this man from the tribe of Issachar fulfills
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prophecy because Jeroboam was told that his dynasty would die
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and this is the fulfillment of it.
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This man ransacked and absolutely destroyed the entire
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household of Jeroboam. But I want you to see one thing.
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There's many things. Applaud this.
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I I want us to conclude here this Bible study on one note to
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encourage you. I hope this stirs you to not be
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one, to give in to the temptation to overlook details.
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Nadeb was assassinated, right? But notice where he was
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assassinated. Bashar, the son of Ahi John,
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verse 27 of the House of Issachar, conspired against him.
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Bash has struck him down at Gibbethan Ever heard of it?
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Probably not, unless you memorize the book of Joshua.
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He struck him down at Gibbethan and then it's we're we're we're
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told. It again says here that Nadab
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and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethan.
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Well, where's Gibbethan mentioned?
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And is there anything about it that makes sense of this, or at
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least gives us insight to this? Yes, but if you're still with
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me, you have to turn to Joshua to see it.
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So Joshua and look at verse 20 of chapter 21.
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Joshua 21, verse 20. In this chapter you have the
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list of areas and lands and villages that were allotted to
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the Levites. Levites.
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The Levites had certain cities to their name, though they
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didn't have a a tribe tribal area as the other tribes said,
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they did have different parts within those tribes, including
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the list mentioned here of Joshua 21, verse 20.
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Let's read it together as to the rest of the Koathites belonging
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to the Koathite clans of the Levites.
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The Koathites are descendants of the tribe of Levi, the cities
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allotted to them. We're out of the tribe of
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Ephraim. To them were given Shechem, the
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city of refuge for the manslayer with its pasture lands in the
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Hill Country of Ephraim. Gazer with its pasture lands,
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Kibzem with its pasture lands. Beth wrong with its pasture
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lands. 4 Cities Now be honest, how many of you would read this
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with great attention in your devotional time?
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I want to show you why it's important.
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Look at verse 23 and out of the tribe of Dan we read here Alt
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the key with its pasture lands. Gibbeth On with its pasture
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lands. There it is.
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So here's one clue. Where this man was assassinated
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was a city that was meant to be purely populated by the Levites.
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And the Levites were set apart by God to be the communicators
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and the teachers of his law. They were to be models of
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holiness and godliness, not just in Word but also in deed.
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Did anything click? Yet?
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This was a place that was supposed to be occupied by the
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Levites in Israel, the northern tribes, anything click yet.
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What happened to the Levites in Israel around this time?
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Good. If you didn't hear it, you can
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read it in Second Chronicles 11, verse 14.
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We got to do work if we want the reward, my friend.
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We read this text many times in our study of first kings,
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especially after the reign of Solomon.
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Look at Second Chronicles 11, verse 14 to be reminded what
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happened to the Levites in the time of Jeroboam.
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And not just Jeroboam. You'll see it now.
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Second Chronicles 11, Verse 14. For the Levites left their
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common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem,
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because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as
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priests of the Lord. So Gibbothon was supposed to be
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populated by the Levites. But when Jeroboam took position
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of the ruler of the tribes of Israel, he and his sons,
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including the son that we ran, read here in First Kings 15
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Nadab, they kicked him out and they cast them off and they
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migrated to the South. So what happens when all the
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Levites live? Gibbethan, is it populated
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anymore? No, it shouldn't be when
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everybody is gone. And because everybody was gone,
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what happened? Come back to First Kings 15,
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verse 27. The second part says at
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Gibbethan this is where he was killed, which belonged to the
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Philistines. What do you mean it belonged to
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the Philistines? If you thought it was given over
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to the Levites, yeah, but they were kicked out by this time.
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So who took over the Philistines?
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Listen, when you kick God out, the devil moves in.
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That's the lesson. So the Philistines moved in, the
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enemies moved in, and now you have Pagan presence, false God
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worship, war, and more than that, an assassination.
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Assassination between two people who supposedly come from the
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same family. You don't want light, You don't
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want God's light. There's nothing as an
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alternative except darkness that is true for a church, that is
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true for a city, that is true for a state, that is true for a
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nation. You kick God out, you kick his
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word out. You silence the messengers of
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God who stand for the truth. The devil moves into that place,
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and it doesn't matter what scale again, if it's a whole nation,
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even if it's a nation like the United States of America, there
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is no other nation like the United States of America in all
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of history. But they are not immune to the
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same principle. You kick God out, the
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Philistines will come in. You kick God out, Satan will
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come. And So what do you and I do?
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Even in a time where that seems to be more and more true, I was
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thinking about that because I'm not a king.
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You're not a king. You're not a president.
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I'm not in Congress. None of us have any authority
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politically. None of us can do anything,
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really, about laws. There's a lot of questioning
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even about the integrity of our voting system.
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Here's what you do. Let the nation do what it will.
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Let the states do what they will.
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Let cities do whatever they want.
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You acknowledge God. You invite God into your
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marriage, into your home, into the lives of your children, into
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your business. And here's what we're promised.
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According to Isaiah chapter 3, it shall be well with the
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righteous, and it's given in the context of national judgement
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orchestrated by a holy God. Even in that setting, it will be
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well with the righteous. And so we see here that Basha
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here assassinates him, and I'll read it here from verse 30 down.
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In closing, it was for the sins of Jeroboam that he sinned that
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he made Israel to sin, and because of the anger to which he
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provoked the Lord, the God of Israel.
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Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are
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they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of
1:00:02
Israel? And there was war between ASA
1:00:04
and Basha, king of Israel all their days.
1:00:06
Verse 33 In the third year of ASA king of Judah, Basha the son
1:00:10
of Ahiajab, began to reign over all Israel Tirza, and he reigned
1:00:13
24 years. He did what was evil in the
1:00:17
sight of the Lord. And walked in the way of
1:00:19
Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.
1:00:24
Lord, we thank you for this Bible study.
1:00:25
And we pray, O God, that the truths that we heard would not
1:00:30
escape our memory, but the by Your grace we would recall.
1:00:34
These things give us perfect recall.
1:00:37
Lord, help us, Lord, with our meditation, with our reading and
1:00:42
studying of the Word, to be able to connect these truths with
1:00:44
future truths that we discover. Lord Almighty, help us be mighty
1:00:49
in the scriptures. And Lord, on that final note, we
1:00:53
pray we want you to have the supreme place in every area of
1:01:00
our lives. So Lord, even now, tonight, as
1:01:04
we live in an age where darkness is creeping in and intensifying
1:01:09
and the blackness of sin seems to be thickening, we can feel
1:01:13
it. Lord, make us like Goshen, where
1:01:17
we know light though there's darkness around us.
1:01:18
Make us like Goshen. Where there is life though there
1:01:21
be death around us. Make us like Goshen.
1:01:23
That though there may be plagues that cover the lands and sweep
1:01:29
up sinners and the wicked, we are safe and secure in your
1:01:32
presence. Lord, we ask you in the end of
1:01:35
this Bible, say because, Lord, we're not just studying a
1:01:37
history, we're not studying just a piece of a moment of a pastime
1:01:42
thing. Lord, we realize that this is
1:01:44
revealing how we should relate to you now.
1:01:46
Lord, please rule and reign over our lives afresh.
1:01:50
And Lord, if we need reform, so be it.
1:01:52
Let there be reformed by your spirit and let it change the way
1:01:54
we view the world. Let it change the way we live in
1:01:56
our homes, and let it change the way we commit to the local
1:02:00
church. We ask for these things to be
1:02:02
true by Your grace and mercy. In Jesus name we pray.
1:02:05
Amen. Amen.
1:02:08
Amen. You're doing well.
1:02:13
You guys made it. Let's stand and worship the
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Lord.