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2 Kings 6 (Part 3) Bible Study (Ben-hadad's Siege of Samaria) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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Well, if you have a copy of God's Word in your hand, meet me
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in Second Kings chapter 6. As we come to the final part of
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our study of this chapter, we'll begin together in verse 24.
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You know, I was originally planning to end this Bible study
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a little differently than we usually do.
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We tend to look at the chapter structure of our Bibles, and we
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honour that framework with how much content we cover in a
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single night. But this time around, looking at
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this particular chapter, I was intending to conclude with the
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1st 2 verses of Chapter 7. And you might be wondering why
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that is. And I'll tell you honestly, it's
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because this episode of Elijah's ministry ends a little awkwardly
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as it ends in chapter 6. If you've read this story
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before, then you will recall that near the end of this
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chapter, Elijah is having a conversation with someone and
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for whatever reason, it is divided with a new chapter
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title. And we are free to criticize
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this because as much as verse numbers and chapters have been
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helpful to the church throughout the centuries, those are not
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included in the original scriptures.
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They were added much later on, so here's a brief history
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overview when it comes to the edition of chapters in the
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Bible. Stephen Langton, who was one of
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the archbishops of Canterbury, was the one behind that task in
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around 1227 AD. And when it came to the
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Wickliffe Bible translation that was developed in 1382, that was
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the first Bible that adopted Langton's chapter divisions.
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And since then, the Bibles that we have today honor that chapter
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structure. Now when it comes to the verses
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in our Bibles, the person behind the verses found in the Hebrew
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Scriptures, the Old Testament, was a Jewish rabbi by the name
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of Nathan. And this is something that he
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undertook in 1448 AD and in some time past.
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And the New Testament was visited by a man who is named
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Robert Estien, a Frenchman, and he looked at Nathan's work in
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the Old Testament. He adopted the model and he
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implemented it in the New Testament.
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And he added those verses. And those divisions became the
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pattern for English translations, beginning with,
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Does anybody know which Bible was the first English Bible that
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took on both chapter and verses? The Geneva Bible?
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The Geneva Bible was the first Bible to take that on, and
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nearly all Bible translations have adopted it ever since.
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So that's a brief overview of why it is that you have certain
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number numbers in your Bibles and why certain chapters are
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included in different places. Helpful overall, yes.
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Can it be of disservice? It could be if you do not
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develop the discipline to not allow the thought be cut off
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with those chapter breaks. Many people miss the meaning of
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certain verses because they don't honor the context and they
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haven't developed the ability to see past what we see here, for
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example, in chapter 6. And so here's what we're going
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to do. Originally, again, I was going
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to end with the 1st 2 verses of Chapter 7 because that's where
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the conversation ends. But we're going to conclude at
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the end of chapter 6, just so that we can keep the the
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structure of our studies nice and organized for later
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reference, and we will begin Chapter 7 next week, Lord
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willing. Are you there in Second King 6,
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verse 24? Let's read the first 2 verses
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together. Afterward.
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Ben Haddad, king of Syria, mustered his entire army and
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went up and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in
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Samaria as they besieged it, until a donkey's head was sold
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for 80 shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a cob of
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Doves dung for five shekels of silver.
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Now, some are quick to criticize this passage because there seems
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to be an apparent contradiction. And the argument is, how do you
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make sense of verse 24 in light of verse 23, the verse that we
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ended on last week? So let's look at verse 23
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together. And so he prepared for them a
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great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them
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away, and they went to their master.
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And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of
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Israel. So after the Syrian Army
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experienced the magnificent grace of God through the
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kindness of Elijah primarily, there was a silent vow that they
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would never make raids on Israel again.
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And then in the very next statement we rewrite that
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Benedict, king of Syria, mustered his entire army.
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Now he's coming with full force and he sets up a siege against
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Israel. Contradiction, you know the
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answer. No, it's not a contradiction.
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This is a revelation, a revelation of the extent of the
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human heart in terms of how it can become hardened.
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So there was a temporary reprieve.
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There was a willingness for the Syrian Army, the enemies of
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Israel, to pull back and not return with any vengeance or
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attempt to try to overthrow them.
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But it was short lived. And Benedad this time, now would
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come with greater force. And what's the answer for this?
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It's very simple. There was in his heart a hatred
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that was deeply rooted. And this hatred was so real.
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It was so powerful that regardless of the mercies that
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he experienced, regardless of the fact that his top general
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was healed by the God of Israel and that his entire army was
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spared from slaughter because of the God of Israel through the
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man of God, Elijah, nothing impacted this man.
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He was determined to destroy the people of God.
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And this understanding is is helpful for us because it serves
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as a wonderful illustration of many, many, many, many warnings
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in the Bible. One of the comes to mind is
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Proverbs 29, one where we are told there that he who is often
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reproved yet stiffens his neck will suddenly be destroyed
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beyond healing. That's one of the most profound
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insights into the destinies of those who are often rebuked but
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refuse to humbly respond to those rebukes and humility and
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repentance. You know what that verse says?
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It says this, that for those who receive plenty of warnings,
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there will be a time that will come where intervention will
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arrive without warning, will suddenly be broken, will
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suddenly be destroyed without, without any opportunity to
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change, without any opportunity to turn.
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And that's why every opportunity you do receive upon conviction
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should be registered as your last.
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God may give more, but you should never, ever assume that a
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day is coming where you have another opportunity to do so.
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And so this is a very sobering illustration here before us.
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This man has experienced so much of the mercy of God.
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That's how we open up our study last week, if you remember.
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And he is a clear illustration of what Proverbs 29 one tells
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us, because this is not the last that we're going to read of
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Benedad in Second Kings. He's going to appear again, and
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when he appears again, it's going to be tragic.
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He's not going to be met with God's mercy.
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He's going to be met with something else.
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But just remember that. But for now, let's consider
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this. Benedad is not the only one who
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was very stubborn in responding appropriately to the
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incomparable grace of God. Let's read on here in verse 25
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we discover and there was a great famine in Samaria and they
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besieged it until a donkey's head was sold for 80 shekels of
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silver and the fourth part of a cob of Dobbs dung for five
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shekels of silver. So there are two things that are
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taking place here in Samaria, the capital of Israel this time.
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2 tragedies. 1 There was a famine, not just a famine, a
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great famine. And the Syrian Army capitalized
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on this tragedy by choosing to besiege, to siege the city of
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Samaria. And I want to siege.
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It was a military strategy in ancient times where an army
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would surround a place, a region, a town, and they would
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wait there for weeks, sometimes even months.
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And this would create frustration for those who are
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under siege because nobody can go in and nobody can go out.
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No business could be done, no trade could be performed.
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And so as time went on, what would happen is that they would
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be starved into surrender. But usually before there is
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starvation, there is inflation. And that's what we read of here.
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We get a glimpse of the horrific conditions and the drastic
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prices of some of these products that are unthinkable to us in
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terms of consumption. The first is a donkey's head.
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What do you do with a donkey's head?
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I don't know, 80 shekels of silver.
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Now, there are many, many things to comment about this, but the
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most significant observation is that a donkey, according to the
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law, was an unclean animal. It was not to be used for
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sacrifice, and it was definitely not to be used to be eaten.
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So we have this issue, but beyond that, it's tragic enough
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to read about it. But we discovered that there is
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even the conception of the excrement of birds.
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Now, some people are so repulsed by this that they tried to
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change the meaning of it, like it's speaking about seeds or
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speaking about certain flower. No, it is what it is.
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You're talking about people who are willing to purchase, not
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birds. What comes out of the bird in
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order to survive. And if this isn't troubling
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enough, we haven't read it yet, and we're going to pass over
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these verses in a moment here. But just to get a full picture,
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look at verse 29 quickly. This is the common of a woman.
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She's speaking to the king. And she says, so we boiled my
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son and ate him. And on the next day, I said to
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her, give your son that. We may eat him.
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But she has hidden her son. This is not metaphorical in any
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sense. This is the record of a very
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desperate time in Israel's history.
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And as you read this, you probably are thinking to
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yourself, I understand that God allows trials, but this, this
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severity, this kind of destitution, and I want to tell
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you with absolute confidence that God is not arbitrarily
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allowing this. Hear me very carefully.
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Israel invited it. That's the difference.
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And this is how we have to understand this passage in light
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of the rest of Scripture. You see, the Lord has warned His
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people in His law before they even entered into the promised
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land of the blessings of obedience and the curses of
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disobedience. And when you look carefully at 2
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specific places in the Old Testament, you see this
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catalogue of curses and judgments that will come upon
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this particular people. And if you read it with a
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careful eye, what you'll learn is that the longer the people
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persisted in sin, the more drastic the consequences of
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those sins would become. And I want to say that here
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because we're going to read a passage in a moment.
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But I, I want to mention that lest you believe that this
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eruption of cataclysm is something that came without any
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opportunity to repent or without any prior warning.
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No, no, no, you have to understand that what's happening
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here in light of the older passages, the warnings in the
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law, are the final stages of God's discipline, both in
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Leviticus and in Deuteronomy. What you'll discover is what
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will soon follow. This is exile, which is really
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the pinnacle of punishment. So we're going to, we're going
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to read a set of verses that are going to be longer, but it's for
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you to see the harmony of the Scripture and the goodness of
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God even in this. God already said this would
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happen, and they refused to listen.
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So turn with me to Deuteronomy 28, the renowned passage of the
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curses of disobedience as well as the blessings of obedience,
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and look there at verse 52 of Deuteronomy 28.
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I encourage you do not get distracted as we read these
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verses. They are long, but they will be
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helpful in understanding this story.
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Deuteronomy 2852. Let's read together.
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They shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and
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fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout all
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your land. And they shall besiege you in
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all your towns, throughout all your land, which the Lord your
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God has given you. And you shall eat the fruit of
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your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the
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Lord your God has given you in the siege, and in the distress
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with which your enemy shall distress you.
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Now look at this language in verse 54.
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The man who is the most tender and refined among you will
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begrudge food to his brother, to the wife he embraces, and to the
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last of the children whom he has left.
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And so that he will not give any of them any of the flesh of his
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children whom he is eating, because he has nothing else left
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in the siege. And in the distress with which
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your enemy shall distress you in all your towns.
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The most tender and refined woman among you, who would not
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venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because she
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is so delicate and tender, will begrudge to the husband she
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embraces to her son and to her daughter her afterbirth that
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comes out from between her feet. And her children, whom she
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bears, because lacking everything, she will eat them
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secretly in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy
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shall distress you in your towns.
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I I understand that it can be extremely difficult to see any
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kind of insight or instruction for in such a gruesome passage,
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but there is something here. There is indeed something in
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every part of God's Word. I want you to notice how the
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Lord does not say that it will be the most barbaric and
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heartless citizens among your towns that will hunt for your
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children and eat them so that they can survive.
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That's not how He describes it. Look again here in verse 54, the
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man who is the most tender and refined among you.
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And he's not speaking about random neighbors who have a good
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reputation, who are sweet and respectable.
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Beyond that, he's speaking about the parents of these children.
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And if you're thinking, well, OK, surely this, this can be
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true for a man, but the maternal part of a woman would not allow
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her to go to such extent. You read what in verse 56 that
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the most tender and refined woman among you will do so as
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well. This is horrific.
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This is atrocious. This is unimaginable.
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In fact, when you read not about this siege, but the siege that
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Jerusalem will experience as they are surrounded by the
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Babylonians. Jeremiah in the book of
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Lamentations reflects on the scenes of that horror, and he
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mentions this. You don't have to turn there,
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but listen to this. In Lamentations 4, verse 10, the
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hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children.
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They became their food during the destruction of the daughter
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of my people. What do we make of this?
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What kind of application can you draw from this?
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I believe there's a clear one that when a culture abandons
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God, when a culture rejects and denies the truth long enough,
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the unthinkable becomes possible.
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That's what you take from these passages because it seems so
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outlandish, so exaggerated. And I'm here to tell you the
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unthinkable becomes possible. And by the unthinkable I mean
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the deadly rise of selfishness and self preservation, the
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abandonment of natural affection.
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Doesn't Paul warned Timothy about that in Second Timothy
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Three, that in the latter days there will be the forsaking of
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natural affection and beyond that, even the emergence of
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inhumane behaviors, people acting like animals in their
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compulsions, in their desires and in their pursuits, even
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though they were once considered civilized.
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You know, when I was in Israel before COVID, one of the most
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moving things. All the biblical sites were
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wonderful, but we went to the Holocaust Museum as a group.
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And the way they even structure the Holocaust Museum is so that
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when you go through it in that 2-3 hour journey, you feel as
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though you are in one of those enclosed rooms that those Jews
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suffered in. There are so many things to take
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in, videos and artifacts and Diaries, and it was just
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incredible. It was so moving.
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But one thing that struck me and so many verses and stories came
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to mind from the scriptures is that when we came to the part
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where we looked at some of the biographies of the Nazis, some
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of these soldiers who massacred people by the thousands with
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their own hands. And you look closely and you
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read their description and you realize they were scientists,
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they were doctors, they attended orchestras.
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They were some of them were brilliant, intelligent, and yet
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they could write in their journal entries how they
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slaughtered people like it was a grocery list that they satisfied
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that week. When a culture abandons God,
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denies the truth, suppresses it long enough, you can't reject
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God and just remain neutral. You invite darkness in,
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voluntary or involuntary, it will come.
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You remove God, Satan will move in.
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And here's what we have that through a series of warnings and
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judgements, God is not saying that he's going to make them eat
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their children, saying this is what's going to happen as a
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consequence of your sin. And what do we have today in the
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West with all our advancements, with all our discoveries, right?
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And now, now even even us, we're becoming more and more
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desensitized to the idea of people mutilating their own
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children, young girls cutting off their breasts, young boys
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changing their genders, being being placed on tables in a
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state where you can't as a parent interfere.
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And they can be mortified, mutilated, changed.
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And here's the thing. I mean, we all obviously object
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to that, but even us, because it's becoming the norm now, can
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overtime not feel the severity of such an ugly and hideous
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thing. So this is not, this is not
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exaggerated. This is prophetic.
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What was true then? It's true today.
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Now let's read on before I get too carried away.
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And verse 26 of Second Kings 6. Now as the king of Israel was
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passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, Help,
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my Lord, O King. And he said, if the Lord will
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not help you, how shall I help you?
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From the threshing floor or from the wine press?
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And the king asked her, what is your trouble?
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She answered, This woman said to me, Give your son that we may
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eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.
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So we boiled my son and ate him. And on the next day, I said to
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her, Give your son that. We may eat him, but she has
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hidden her son. Is this the only instance where
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we find two women who approach a king and ask for his
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intervention in a situation regarding their sons?
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Good, very good. Solomon, you remember those two
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women who approached him and they were fighting for that one
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child because one of their children were murdered
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involuntary. And they're asking for wisdom
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and guidance in this matter. Who does a child belong to?
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But oh, what a difference we have now here in our study in
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First Kings. That's where we learn about
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Solomon and his wisdom. Now we're in Second Kings, and
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what a change has taken place. Now you have two women who are
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not fighting for the life of a child, but are fighting to eat a
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child. And back then you had a conduit,
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a vessel that was able to channel in God's wisdom,
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supernatural intervention to bring bring genuine solutions to
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a king who can't help in any way because he is so out of touch
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with God. See the beauty of considering
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the the wider storyline. So you have these two women, one
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who is objecting and protesting, and the king here is listening
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to this and he says, what? Before he discovers this, he
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says, if the Lord will not help you, how shall I help you?
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Was it true that the Lord would not help them?
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Was this a right assessment? People have reached the final
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stage of God's judgement, which was exile.
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This was applicable. Deuteronomy 30 verse one.
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And when all these things come upon you, pause.
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What all these things, the curses that he mentioned in the
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previous chapters of Deuteronomy, all these things
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come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I've set before
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you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the
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Lord your God has driven you. And return to the Lord your God,
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you and your children, obey his voice and all that I command you
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today with all your heart and with all your soul.
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And the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have
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mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples
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where the Lord your God has scattered you.
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Don't make the mistake of thinking that this restoration
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was only possible once they reached exile.
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It was possible at any point of those curses, whether they were
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lighter in nature or whether they were as devastating as
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exile. Moses encourages his people that
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no matter where your sin takes you, restoration is possible,
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right? And that's what he says in verse
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3. Then the Lord your God will
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restore your fortunes and have mercy on you.
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So what King Jeroen said was not true.
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He was speaking in ignorance. However, this is so important
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and we're going to spend some time here as much as restoration
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as possible. There are non negotiable steps
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to reach that restoration and they are actually spelled out
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here. I want to actually give you 3
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steps. And what's so beautiful about
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this passage is that it's not exclusive to Israel.
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It is available and it's applicable to anybody who veers
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off the will of God, who veers away from the will of God.
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So you're there in Deuteronomy 30, right?
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Keep your hand there. Second King 6, we'll come back.
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But I want to speak to you about three things that are now where
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your sin is taking you. You must, you must trust in and
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walk in in order to know this restoration.
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The first thing, and they all begin with the letter R.
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The first thing is to Remember, Remember, look here again at
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verse one. And when all these things come
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upon you, the blessings and the curse which I've set before you
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and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord
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your God has driven you. So no matter the despair, no
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matter the darkness, though you're displaced.
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They were held responsible in recollecting the message that
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Moses gave to them at this time that would be forever inscribed
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in the Word of God. You, you have a responsibility
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that no matter where you go, no matter how far you stray, that
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you recall what Moses says here, what God's Word says here.
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And this says something about the power of God's Word.
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God's Word is not just powerful enough to keep you from sin, it
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also has the ability to guide you back into the will of God if
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you for whatever reason walk away from His word.
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And this is the immeasurable value of the word of God.
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Listen, when it's instilled, yes, it can protect you.
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Yes, it creates buffers. Yes, it makes it much more
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difficult to entertain things that God tells you to never
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entertain. That being said, it also when
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it's when it's driven, somebody's heart can serve as a
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light when they traverse into a terrain that they shouldn't be
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traversing it and to call them back because deep in the
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corridor of their conscience they have, they have received
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some kind of investment, some kind of deposit that will deal
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with them. And this is my testimony
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personally, growing up in a Christian home when I lived full
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on in the world in my college years, when I've reached that
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breaking point, what was it? I mean, I didn't have to venture
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out to all these different options.
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I didn't have to explore all these different faiths, all
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these different answers or spiritualism.
25:59
I didn't have to do any of that because the word of God that I
26:02
heard, even sitting on those pews dozing off, distracted, the
26:06
Word of God that was showered over me in my home in those
26:09
youth meetings, in those little conferences, came alive and
26:13
spoke and called me home. And here I am today over a
26:19
decade later. So I think that's an
26:21
encouragement, yes, to us personally, but even to those
26:24
that we love and care about, like Moses cared about these
26:26
people. And here though he is channeling
26:28
God's wisdom and he's given God's instructions, believes as
26:32
he's speaking to these people. God's word is able to bring you
26:34
back, even if you don't trust it for a season, if you don't
26:36
submit to it for a time. So remember, remember, remember,
26:41
remember who God is. Remember what's available to
26:43
you. But the second thing is to
26:44
return. You can't just think about it.
26:46
You got to make some moves. So what does he say here at
26:50
verse 2, the beginning of it and return to the Lord your God, you
26:53
and your children and obey his voice and all that I command you
26:57
today. You know what I love about this
27:00
part He didn't say and return to the commands of God and return
27:04
to the statutes of God. He says return to the Lord your
27:08
God. Whenever someone compromises
27:12
their Christians convictions, their Christian convictions.
27:14
You can be sure of this, that it started with the neglect of the
27:17
revelation and the practice of a personal relationship with them,
27:23
that intimacy is lost, that closest with the Lord is lost.
27:26
And when that is lost, temptation is much more
27:29
persuasive. Sin is much more alluring.
27:32
We talked about this last Sunday, how David said my soul
27:35
seeks you, my soul is satisfied, My soul clings to you.
27:41
When you stop clinging, sin has a greater grip on you.
27:47
And so here's what he's saying. You need to get back to the Lord
27:50
your God, not merely to principles, not merely to Bible
27:54
study, not merely under your elders.
27:56
Get back to God himself. That's the difference.
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Many people miss this because obedience, listen, must be
28:03
rooted in the revelation of pleasing a person.
28:08
Not a set of rules, not maxims, not proverbs, a person.
28:14
And if your relationship to the truth is not grounded in a
28:17
revelation of a person, your obedience is going to not last
28:20
very long, not going to have that much motivation to stay
28:24
holy and serving with zeal and faithful.
28:31
You know, many people quote John 1415.
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If you love me, you'll do what you will keep my commandments.
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I would say 95% of people when they hear this verse here in the
28:41
following way. The way in which you measure
28:43
your love for Christ is the way you obey Him.
28:46
And that's not necessarily wrong.
28:48
I believe that to be true, but I believe there's another angle to
28:51
this verse. I believe there's another way of
28:52
interpreting it. You can't truly obey the
28:57
commandments of God unless you first love the Lord Jesus
28:59
Christ. If you love me, you will keep my
29:05
commandments. Here's how most people say, all
29:06
right, I'm going to prove my love to Christ by obeying him.
29:08
OK, good. There's a better way.
29:12
Before you even start obeying the commandments, love Christ,
29:19
his commandments obeyed will follow a heart that relishes in
29:26
him, that is moved by Him, and that's what we see here in even
29:31
Deuteronomy. And return to the Lord your God,
29:33
you and your children, and obey his voice and all that I command
29:37
you today. Returning to the Lord is 1st and
29:41
following that you will then obey him.
29:46
Return, come broken before him, have heart to heart with him,
29:51
repent to him, and then remain. That's what he says in the
29:57
second part of verse 2 with all your heart and with all your
30:02
soul. That is a vital clarification to
30:07
knowing true restoration and reconciliation with God because
30:11
it's it's possible that you would seek to return, but with
30:17
premeditated compromise, it's possible to to return and not be
30:23
fully convinced of being consecrated to him.
30:28
People do that. And what Moses is getting at,
30:33
lest we enter into the cycle of cheap grace, is that when you
30:37
remember and when you seek to return, you also have this
30:40
absolute desire to be fully consecrated to the Lord and that
30:45
you seek to stay close to him by his grace.
30:48
Not, not saying that it's not possible to veer off again.
30:50
It is possible, but in your heart of hearts you are
30:53
determined. Lord, I know that I did this,
30:55
but I want to stay with you. I want to honor you.
30:58
I want to love you. I don't want to ever revisit
31:00
that again. That that is what is required to
31:02
know true restoration with the presence of God.
31:06
Did you say, OK, I repent and because you feel a little
31:09
convicted, and really that conviction is because you got
31:10
caught, that that's not how it works.
31:13
He says you need a return with all your heart and with all your
31:16
soul. You know what moves me about
31:21
these verses in Deuteronomy, the way God refers to himself as
31:26
he's giving these instructions, If you know it, can you repeat?
31:29
How does God refer to himself? What kind of title, what, what
31:32
kind of statement does he make? That's right.
31:39
He could use a myriad of different references, but he
31:42
says 4 times in these 3 verses. The Lord your God, the Lord your
31:49
God, the Lord your God, the Lord your God.
31:51
You know what's even more fascinating?
31:52
In the 1st 10 verses of Deuteronomy 30, 12 times the
31:59
Lord, your God, the Lord your God, the Lord your God, your
32:01
Lord, your God, the Lord your God.
32:02
Why is that moving? It's moving because of the
32:04
context. He's referring to himself as
32:07
their God in light of their compromise, in light of enduring
32:12
his discipline, his chastisement, in light of
32:15
experiencing these consequences that are they can't even enter
32:20
into our imagination. I'm still your God.
32:24
I'm still your God. Even in this state.
32:26
I still belong to you. You still belong to me.
32:30
And so intertwined in all of these commands they're hearing
32:34
over and over again, I'm still committed to you.
32:37
This covenant still keeps us close.
32:39
And that should, that should encourage us even more to know
32:42
that he's still my God. I might have not honored him.
32:45
I mean, I, I might have not treasure them the way he
32:47
deserves, but he still says, I'm your God, I'm your God, I'm your
32:50
God. So come to me, seek me, don't be
32:52
intimidated, don't be fearful. I still am committed to you.
32:57
So they would hear that a dozen times in the 1st 10 verses
32:59
alone. And if they had done that here
33:03
in Second Kings 6, I'm sure that God would have honored his word
33:08
and restored their fortunes and been merciful to them.
33:10
But instead there's unbelief, the king says of the Lord, I
33:14
will not help you. He will help you.
33:19
But here's what we discover about the king.
33:22
He didn't recall, remember, return and remain.
33:26
But something staggering appears in verse 32nd, King 6.
33:30
Let's read it together. When the king heard the words of
33:34
the woman, he tore his clothes. I was passing by on the wall and
33:41
the people looked and behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his
33:46
body. And he said, May God do so to
33:50
me. And more also if the head of
33:53
Elijah, the son of Shafat, remains on his shoulders today,
33:59
whenever the word behold appears in a verse, it is calling you to
34:04
draw your attention more fully to the object that it is
34:06
pointing to. Look back at verse 30.
34:09
Notice how the word behold appears and where it appears.
34:12
So the king hears the words of the woman.
34:14
He tore his clothes. So just imagine he's there on
34:16
the wall, probably surveying the city.
34:19
He, he tears his clothes and the Holy Spirit tells us the people
34:23
looked and behold, hey, hey, hey, pause.
34:26
Now look at this. Behold, he had sackcloth beneath
34:29
on his body. That's interesting.
34:35
Sackcloth was generally material that was made-up of goat hair,
34:39
dark, sometimes black goat hair woven together.
34:44
And if it was worn long enough, it would irritate the skin.
34:47
It would make you itchy. It was very uncomfortable.
34:50
It was not a fashion statement by any means.
34:53
Why is the king wearing sackcloth?
34:56
And we all know this very well, because sackcloth in the Old
34:58
Testament especially, signifies an outward representation of an
35:03
inward contrition and brokenness before God.
35:07
So when people really wanted to demonstrate their repentance,
35:10
they would sometimes wear sackcloth and sometimes even add
35:13
ashes to demonstrate publicly. More importantly, before the
35:16
Lord, I am broken. I realize the severity of my
35:21
sin, of the situation, and I'm calling upon you and humility to
35:25
intervene. And here's what's so
35:27
fascinating. The King Jehovah was wearing
35:31
sackcloth beneath his royal robes.
35:35
People saw this. There are two lessons to draw
35:41
from this, and they have to do with judging.
35:44
The first lesson is about judging others.
35:48
Second lesson is about judging yourself.
35:52
If you had just seen the king before this moment, you would
35:56
have never discovered. You would have never known that
35:58
he had sackcloth underneath. And this is something for us to
36:02
consider in many cases. Things are not always as they
36:05
appear right? And we have to be very careful
36:10
making unfair judgments on people's character based on the
36:16
limited evidence that you have. Like Jerome's hidden sackcloth.
36:21
Many people listen, carry deep burdens.
36:25
They're carrying something that you're unaware of and that may
36:31
always remain unknown to you. And on the surface, all may look
36:35
well, but at the same time, be mindful that some are silently
36:40
suffering. Yeah, silently dealing with
36:46
struggles, heartbreak, secret wounds that are not easily
36:49
recognizable. Be very slow to even look at
36:53
some people's behaviors or expressions or even patterns and
36:58
make quick judgments, not realizing that there's something
37:01
under you don't know. So be slow and be merciful.
37:07
Be patient. A lesson about judging others,
37:12
but also a lesson about judging ourselves.
37:13
Because before we're quick to applaud and be inspired by Jeho
37:17
Ram's repentance, here, wearing sackcloth God is not.
37:21
After outward expressions, He's not.
37:25
He's more concerned about heartfelt, genuine internal
37:31
brokenness. And why I say that is because
37:36
though he's wearing sackcloth, I'm not sure how genuine this
37:40
man's repentance is saying why did you see what he said in
37:44
verse 31? May God do so to me and more
37:48
also of the head of Elijah, the son of Shaphat remains on his
37:51
shoulders today. Are you inspired now what are
37:58
you saying? Elijah is a dead man while
38:02
wearing sackcloth and ashes. I leave sackcloth.
38:06
So you're wearing the cross, but you're acting different, right?
38:11
That you, you you play the part, It looks like.
38:13
Yeah, you, you dress conservatively.
38:15
But man, when you talk, this is the thing.
38:20
This is this is hypocrisy. So he's wearing sourclaw, but he
38:24
wants to kill the man of God. This is not the man of God's
38:26
fault. If anything, what has Elisha
38:28
done for the king over the years?
38:30
Well, the previous story is that he saved him in many ways.
38:35
He gave Intel, all the Syrians are coming here, don't go there.
38:38
That's just one, one act of grace.
38:41
Yet all of a sudden now he's the enemy.
38:43
And it could be because he thinks, well, remember last week
38:46
the Syrians were after Elijah. They wanted to get him because
38:49
of his insight. So he might put the blame on
38:51
him. Like this is Elijah's fault.
38:53
He's the one who's inviting this trouble.
38:55
There's no justification for this.
38:56
But you know what I find so fascinating?
38:58
How how Jeharam's attitude towards Elijah is very much
39:02
consistent and parallels with how people look at Christians.
39:06
Do Christians get a lot of blame for what's happening in culture?
39:10
Oh yeah, sure. Or at least how they view
39:14
culture. Prehistoric, barbaric,
39:17
irrelevant beliefs imposed in our systems, indoctrinating your
39:24
children. When in reality, like Elijah, we
39:27
Christians have the solution and the solution is not within
39:30
ourselves. It's it's in the God that we
39:31
serve in worship. So Jerome's faulty view of
39:37
Elijah we can resonate with as believers in Jesus Christ.
39:43
But here's what's amazing. Notice what he says.
39:46
May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elijah, the
39:48
son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today.
39:51
Does that statement, that phrase sound familiar to you?
39:53
You don't have to think too far back.
40:00
Let me ask you a question. Thinking about Jeharam's
40:04
heritage, who are his parents? Ahab and his mother.
40:12
Any light bulbs go off yet? Do you remember what Jezebel
40:16
said when she learned that Elijah brought victory on Mount
40:19
Carmel? Let me remind you of First Kings
40:21
19. Look at verse First, Kings 19,
40:24
verse 2. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to
40:36
Elijah saying, so may the gods do to me and more also if I do
40:41
not make your life as a life of one of them by this time
40:43
tomorrow. A small reminder of how
40:49
impressionable our children are, both for good and for the bad,
40:52
right? He's repeating what his mom said
40:56
about the prophet in her time. So she wanted to kill Elijah.
41:02
He wants to kill Elijah. And notice if you believe what
41:08
he says here in verse 33, notice how what he is saying and what
41:12
he has in his heart does not reflect the sackcloth.
41:14
Look at verse 33. And while he was still speaking
41:16
with them, the messenger came down to them and said, this
41:19
trouble is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord
41:21
any longer? Whether that's the messenger
41:23
that the king sent to Elijah or it's the king himself, he's
41:29
blaming God for this trouble. This trouble is from the Lord.
41:33
Can I tell you something? You will never know recovery.
41:36
You'll never know reconciliation.
41:37
You will never know healing in your life as long as you
41:40
continue to blame God. This trouble is from the Lord.
41:45
No, it's actually you. It's actually you.
41:48
And you can philosophy it all you want, and you could try to
41:51
pin God in a corner with all your ways of thinking and your
41:54
reasoning. But as long as you sit in the
41:57
place where you feel like you can judge the Sovereign 1 and
42:01
criticize his actions or his lack of actions, you will never
42:05
know the healing and the wholeness that only your God can
42:08
provide. This trouble is from the Lord.
42:11
No, it's actually you, Jehovah, and your decision and how you
42:15
respond to the problems that came into your life.
42:18
It's not God's fault. God's your only hope.
42:21
So if you blame him, you're hopeless.
42:24
If you refuse to come to him, you have nowhere else to go.
42:28
This trouble is from the Lord. Let's end here with how Elijah
42:33
is dealing with this whole thing.
42:34
Look at verse 32. Elijah was sitting in his house.
42:38
I love that right there. People are frantic.
42:43
People are running around trying to do this, trying to do that.
42:45
A king is scaling the walls. And where do you find Elijah?
42:47
Sitting in his house. He's relaxed, cool as a
42:52
cucumber, not moved, not frantic, not panicking.
42:57
Elijah was sitting in his house and the elders were sitting with
43:00
him. Now the king had dispatched a
43:02
man from his presence, but before the messenger arrived,
43:05
Elijah said to the elders. Do you see how this murderer has
43:09
sent to take off my head? Look, when the messenger comes,
43:13
shut the door and hold the door fast against them.
43:16
It's not the sound of his master's feet behind him.
43:21
I'm just trying to think about something here.
43:23
Wasn't Jair Aram the king who benefited from the prophetic
43:27
insight of this man of God? Who knew what the king of Syria
43:30
was going to do before it happened?
43:31
Do you remember what I'm talking about, King?
43:34
You don't go there because the Syrians are going to raid over
43:36
there. They're going to set up camp.
43:37
Don't go over there. That's just, this is the same
43:39
king and he now thinks that he can actually surprise Elijah.
43:45
I said this before. It's not a really deep or
43:48
profound statement, but sin makes us stupid.
43:52
It does. It blurs our judgments and it
43:55
makes us make foolish decisions like this.
43:59
Elijah said to the others, Do you see how this murder is
44:01
coming after my head? So that's divine revelation that
44:04
is supernatural. But I love this marriage between
44:07
the supernatural and the application of practical wisdom.
44:10
God reveals to Elijah, he's coming for you.
44:14
So what does Elijah do? Elijah says, what lock the door.
44:21
Do we believe God can protect us?
44:23
We believe it. Yes, we do.
44:24
OK. Lock your door at night, though.
44:26
It's a good. It's a good practice, right?
44:28
Put your seat belt on, right. Don't do foolish things like
44:31
dangling off cliffs and stuff. God will protect you.
44:34
Yeah, sure. But be practical.
44:37
Can you provide reassure? Yes.
44:38
Go get a job, though. Yeah.
44:40
Save up money. It's just another reminder in
44:42
the Old Testament. Yes.
44:43
A book that's filled with supernatural miracles, that God
44:45
still wants us to be real and be mindful that we're in a world
44:50
with limitations and practices that will benefit us and harm
44:53
us. And here's what I love about
44:55
Elijah. Here's how we'll end.
44:59
I think this is a good place to end.
45:00
Can we go back to the story before this, when his servant
45:03
looked out and saw the Syrians surrounding him?
45:07
Look here in verse 15, when the servant of the man of God rose
45:15
early in the morning and went out, behold an army with horses
45:18
and Chariots was all around the city.
45:20
And the servant said, at last, my master, what shall we do?
45:22
He said, do not be afraid for those who are with us or more
45:24
than those who are with them. Then Elijah prayed, he said, oh
45:27
Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.
45:29
So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw and
45:32
behold, the mountain was full of horses and Chariots of fire all
45:36
around Elijah. I didn't mention this last week,
45:43
maybe because it's meant to be shared today.
45:46
Where was Elijah's anchoring trust in?
45:51
Notice that when he sees he has a servant see the Chariots and
45:56
the the horses of fire. The comfort didn't come in the
45:59
fact that they killed the Syrian Army.
46:02
They didn't necessarily act. They were just present.
46:09
And that was enough for Elijah to be calm, the source of our
46:16
comfort on this side of the cross.
46:18
It's not necessarily that the Lord will move in miraculous
46:23
ways every single time, but simply in the fact that He's
46:26
there. And if he chooses to intervene
46:29
miraculously, then we have all the reason to rejoice.
46:32
But just knowing He's aware, just knowing that he is
46:37
hovering, just knowing that he is before us, He is behind us,
46:42
He is over us is enough. I believe Elijah was living in
46:48
that reality before 2nd Kings chapter 6.
46:51
We see it clear here in the middle of chapter 6 and when we
46:53
find out verse 32 that Elijah was sitting in his house.
46:58
Do you think that revelation evaporated after the the story
47:01
earlier? No, no, no, he lived in that
47:02
reality. You and I are called to live in
47:04
that reality as well. Just knowing that my shepherd
47:09
sees me is enough. There's that wonderful story in
47:13
Mark's gospel where Jesus sends the disciples ahead after the
47:17
feeding of the thousands and he stays back to pray on the
47:19
mountaintop. And we're told there in the
47:21
gospel that the the disciples were beating the waves and they
47:24
were trying to resist the winds that were pushing against them.
47:27
And there's this wonderful statement, I'm paraphrasing,
47:29
where the Lord looked on them like he sees them.
47:34
They don't necessarily see him, but he's aware and at the right
47:39
time. He walked on water.
47:43
And even in the gospel accounts we read that he kept walking on
47:46
to see if they would invite him. Remember that.
47:49
But I love how even before that, when they do see this figure
47:52
through the rain and the darkness of the sky and the
47:54
waves that are obstructing their vision, they think he's a ghost.
47:59
They think he's a ghost. And it's, it's a reminder to us
48:01
that often times when the Lord is in our midst and he is with
48:03
us, we fail to see him. We fail to recognize Him as He
48:07
should be recognized. So here's the beauty of this
48:11
story as we end here at the the last verse of chapter 6.
48:16
Be comforted as Elijah was comforted.
48:19
Not because God is going to do a miracle for you necessarily, but
48:22
because He is simply there and that's enough.
48:26
And if it's not enough for you, pray that God would open your
48:29
eyes for it to be enough. Let's seek Him.
48:41
Well, we thank You for this word.
48:43
It is Your eternal word. You had us in mind when you
48:48
penned these words that in 2024, in the month of December, on a
48:55
Friday night, we would feast on them.
48:59
We love Your word. And Lord, if there's even one
49:02
person here who is not where they're supposed to be, help
49:06
them hear Your voice, to remember what Your word says
49:10
about Your goodness, to return to You and to remain there.
49:17
And Your promise is this for those who have professed Christ
49:20
that You were still their God, no matter how they have failed
49:24
in their testimony. We ask, Lord, that every one of
49:29
us would be near you leaving this place.
49:32
Lord, your word went forth. It was administered, it was
49:35
heard, but the miraculous transaction can only happen with
49:39
your power. So we call upon that power and
49:43
we trust you. Lord.
49:47
We never want a repentance to be foolish, to be surface level, to
49:51
be misguided. If there's going to be any
49:54
brokenness, if there's going to be any love, if there's going to
49:56
be any praise, any honor, let it come from our hearts.
49:59
So we give you our song of praise from our hearts in Jesus
50:03
name, Amen. Let's stand and worship the King
50:06
of Glory as a praise team helps us do that.