Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / Broken Kings and a Dying Prophet - The Book of 2 Kings

Transcript

Broken Kings and a Dying Prophet - The Book of 2 Kings · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And the man of God was wroth
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: with him, and said, Thou shouldst have smitten five or
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: six times, then hadst thou smitten Syria, till thou hast
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: consumed it. Whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: 2 Kings 13.19. Dear Lord, as I continue to experience
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: your goodness in my life, I will remember the moments
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: where I cried out to you and I chose to
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: honor you in all that I do. I confess that
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: when comfort and complacency try to rush into my life,
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: I will stay focused and diligent to follow your ways.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: As you give me the arrows of opportunity to live
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: out my dreams, unlike the kings in 2 Kings 13,
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: I will continue to strike the ground countless times because
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: I know that my victory will not be a one-time event,
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: but will usher in a victorious lifestyle. Similar to the
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: life of Elijah, position me to leave a legacy of
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: honoring and loving you with all my heart. I will
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: not stop until I hear the words, Well done, my good.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: and faithful servant. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: praying with us today. Continue your time with God by
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: listening to today's Bible story, brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: Broken kings and a dying prophet. In our last story,
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: we learned about the rise and fall of Joash. Joash
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: began his rule as a young child, growing under the
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: love and care of the high priest. However, when the
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: priest died, Joash's heart grew sour and against the things
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: of God. He caused the people to stumble and was
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: ultimately remembered for his wickedness. Now we learn about the
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: continual fall of the kings of Israel, They refused to
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: acknowledge God, making Israel more and more vulnerable. Although there
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: was promise for temporary victory, they could not see the
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: looming threat that was to come. Elisha, the prophet who
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: stood against the wicked kings his whole life, gives his
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: last bit of aid before exiting the earth. Inspired by
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: the book of 2 Kings.
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. In our last time together,
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: we heard about the tragic life of Joash. Though he
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: followed God and served him in his early years under
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: the wise counsel of Jehoiada, the high priest, in the end,
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: Joash turned away from God to serve pagan idols and
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: his own selfish indulgences. His failures led Judah astray and
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: brought God's judgment once again upon the people. Today, we'll
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: turn north. once again to the kingdom of Israel. Just
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: like Judah, Israel and her kings had ups and downs,
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: sometimes running back to God, but often turning away. Their
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: unfaithfulness had left them weak and vulnerable, and disaster was
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: on the horizon. Finally, we'll hear of the last earthly
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: days of God's prophet Elisha and his final words of
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: counsel to a king of Israel. Let's listen now to
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: God's Word.
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: Israel was in a continual pattern of rising and falling. Kings, citizens,
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: and leaders would rise to seek and worship the Lord,
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: then fall into a cycle of wickedness and self-worship. The
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: heart of Israel tore and struggled to seek higher living.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: This was the state of humanity since the fall in Eden.
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: Men and women sought their own self-satisfaction over the higher
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: calling of selflessness and holiness. Yet sometimes there were leaders, prophets,
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: and kings who would point towards the higher good. They
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: would lead in a way that reflected the character of God.
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: They would save God's people from their enemies and lift
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: them up to a higher calling. Yet King Jehoahaz was
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: not one of these heroes. He was not strong enough
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: in his character to lead Israel in worship and truth.
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: He reigned in Israel for 17 years. During his time
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: as king, he lived solely for self-glorification. He worshipped the
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: gods of Israel's enemies. As a result, he continually lost
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: in battle. He marched into each fight with his men
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: at his back. He drew his sword, he lifted his shield,
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: and he rode his chariot. But the Lord was not
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: with him. The Lord did not march with him. Instead,
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: the Lord's anger burned against King Jehoahaz. He allowed for
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: King Aram and Ben-Hadad and Aram to overthrow the armies
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: of Israel. With each raid, with each battle, and with
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: each mission, Jehoahaz's army depleted dramatically. Jehoahaz walked through his
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: palace doors after another brutal defeat. His armor was heavy.
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: as was his heart. His arms were sore from battle.
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: His face was dirty from riding his horse through the
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: dusty battlefield. As he entered his chambers, he took off
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: his armor and fell to his knees. He knew God
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: had always been there to hear him. He knew that
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: the God of David and Moses was present and able
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: to help. However, he warred in his heart against him.
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: Yet for the first time, he felt his heart break
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: for his people He knew that he was losing because
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: of his disobedience. So he put his pride aside for
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: a moment and cried out to the Lord. His heart
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: melted before God. He prayed for favor and rescue from oppression.
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: He prayed that he would halt the onslaught of raids.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: He prayed that he would restore safety to his people.
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: The Lord heard him. He honored Jehoahaz's request and restored
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: Israel to a place of safety The Arameans no longer
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: had their boot on the throat of Israel. Their raids
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: ceased and their armies subsided like a shrinking tide. Yet
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: with safety came comfort. With comfort came complacency. And with
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: complacency came compromise. King Jehoahaz stopped kneeling in the presence
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: of God and resumed kneeling at the foot of the
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: Asherah pole in Samaria. The people followed the example of
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: their king, and Israel's heart continued its path into darkness.
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: Riches were sacrificed at the altar of the pagan gods,
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: and wisdom was forsaken for lawlessness. As a result, Israel's
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: armies were reduced to a fraction of what they once were.
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: The kingdom was becoming more and more vulnerable. This would
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: prove as the first step into complete slavery. A darkness
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: was rising from the south. a darkness that would prove
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: too great for the kingdom of Israel to bear. Jehoahaz's
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: time on earth came to an end. He left no
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: legacy of excellence and was not remembered for his courage
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: or devotion. His son Jehoash took his place as ruler
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: over Israel. He followed in the footsteps of his father
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: and pursued his own pleasure above the righteousness of God.
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: Jehoash was a stubborn soul, He refused to turn from
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: the sins of his father and set his heart on
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: leading Israel astray. He ruled in Israel for 16 years.
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: In his time as king, he made them more vulnerable
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: to the impending threat that was rising against Israel. There
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: was something wicked coming to claim the heart of God's people,
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: a foe more formidable than Egypt. On the outskirts of Samaria,
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: Elisha coughed in his bed. The fields below him were
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: painted gold from the sunset and the beautiful spring breeze
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: gently caressed his cheeks. It was nearly time for him
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: to depart to be with the Lord. His soul was
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: longing for rest and his body was fading back into dust.
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: For all of Jehoash's flaws, he was endeared to the
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: prophet Elisha. The king knelt beside his bed and wept
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: over him. He knew that Elisha could help against Israel's enemies,
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: particularly Syria. Elisha looked at the king. He knew that
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: Syria should be the least of Israel's worries. There were
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: greater threats awaiting. Nonetheless, he desired to comfort his king.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: Get a bow and some arrows, Elisha told the king.
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: He did as he was told. Open up the eastern window,
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: Elisha said, gesturing to the window beside his bed. Jehoash
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: opened the window and beheld the view. There were beautiful
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: plains before him. Lilies adorned the grassy hills. The grass
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: was light under the sunset, and the hills rolled towards
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: the city of Samaria. Shoot, Elisha commanded. So the king
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: shot his arrow into the distance. The king looked back
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: at the prophet to find him smiling. That is the
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: Lord's arrow, he explained. You will have victory over the Syrians.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: The king returned Elisha's smile. They shared a sweet moment together.
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: Although the king was an idol worshipper, Elisha still felt
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: it was his duty to seek God on his behalf.
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: the ground, Elisha said. It was a peculiar request for Jehoash. However,
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: he knew there was symbolism at work. He struck the
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: arrows three times on the ground. Elisha's smile turned into
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: a scowl. Why did you stop? he asked. You should
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: have struck the ground more times than that, at least
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: five or six. You very well may have only victory
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: over your enemies three times. The king left, and Elisha
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: was left alone with his guard. He peered out the window,
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: thinking of all the miracles he had seen God do.
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: He thought of his life, his ministry, and all the
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: things God had done in him and through him. Although
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: much of his time was spent counseling wicked kings, he
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: had the privilege of watching everyday people be healed and restored.
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: He smiled, exhaled, and inhaled into eternity.
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: As we begin today's reading, Israel continues to be distant
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: and disobedient to God. It seems that for every righteous
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: and honorable king that sat on the throne and led
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: the people back to the Lord, Many others rose up
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: who pursued wickedness, false gods, and their own glory. Israel
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: is in many ways a picture of the human condition.
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: Since the fall in the garden, mankind was stuck in
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: a pattern of turning from God, suffering, crying out in repentance,
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: and then quickly forgetting the Lord when things went well.
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: And if we're honest, unfortunately we can recognize at times
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: this same pattern in our own lives. The power and
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: the presence of sin pulls us away, and we're always
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: tempted to sin. Sometimes we don't understand why we do
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: what we do or why we don't do what we
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: ought to do. But praise God, when we confess our sins,
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: we find forgiveness in Christ who died for every sin, past, present,
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: and future. When we fall, we are secure in the
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: grace of God. God never leaves us or forsakes us,
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: even when we walk away from him. But in today's passage,
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: Israel has not yet received the promised Messiah, and so
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: they are stuck in this cycle, stuck with far more
• 12:46
  Speaker 3: evil kings than good ones. And in our reading, we
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: discover that King Jehoahaz was not one of the good ones.
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: He was constantly giving his heart and attention to idols.
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: He lived to please himself rather than God. And as
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: the king went, so did the people. So Israel suffered
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: defeat after defeat, in the hands of their enemies. In
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: each defeat, it was like a piece of their hearts
• 13:10
  Speaker 3: being shipped away, destroyed by sin and rebellion. It left
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: them weak and vulnerable, as sin always does. It's been
• 13:19
  Speaker 3: said that sin will take you farther than you want
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: to go, keep you longer than you want to stay,
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: and cost you far more than you want to pay. Finally,
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: King Jehoahaz's army was decimated, depleted, and the king was desperate.
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: Though he had turned away from God, he did not
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: forget the Lord entirely, and he knew very well that
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: only God could save them. In 2 Kings 13, 4,
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: we read, Then Jehoaz sought the favor of the Lord,
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: and the Lord listened to him, for he saw the
• 13:50
  Speaker 3: oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them.
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: While God is truly a God of judgment and righteousness,
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: he never delights in punishing his children. In His holiness
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: and goodness, God cannot let unrighteousness go unanswered, but He
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: is always responsive when we truly repent, crying out to
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: Him for forgiveness. God is a loving Father who never
• 14:14
  Speaker 3: wants to see His children suffer or hurt. So, the
• 14:17
  Speaker 3: Lord comes to the rescue of Israel. And for a time,
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: things changed positively for Israel. Israel resisted the Syrians and
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: experienced some peace and stability. But it was short-lived. For
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: Jehoahaz and the people turned away once more, bending the
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: knee at Asherah poles, rejecting the God who saved them.
• 14:38
  Speaker 3: They fell again to the enemy, the beginning of a
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: downward spiral that would end in chains and captivity. Ching
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: Jehoahaz died and his son Jehoash took the throne. But
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: it was a case of like father, like son. Wickedness
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: persisted like a cancer in the land, eroding the strength
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: of a nation that could have seen greatness had they
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: continued to believe and trust in God. Instead, they followed
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: their own desires, set themselves on a disastrous collision course
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: with an enemy like none they had ever seen before.
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: During the reign of Jehoash, God's prophet Elisha came to
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: the end of his life on earth. He had seen
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: God do great things, just as he had promised when
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: he took on the mantle from his mentor Elijah. He
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: had counseled, cautioned, and cared for many kings, most of
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: them evil. And God used this man in a mighty
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: way to bring blessings and judgment upon the people. Now
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: he had one final task before leaving to be in
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: the presence of the Lord. King Joash came to his bedside.
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: And though the king was stubborn and sinful, he wanted
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: to seek favor with God and knew Elijah was the
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: man he needed to see. Elisha heard the request and
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: gave the king an odd command. He was to shoot
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: an arrow out of the window. The king did this.
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: And Elisha told him this represented the victory God would
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: give the king over Syria. Next, he told Jehoash to
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: strike the ground with remaining arrows. The king struck the
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: ground only three times. Elisha told him that he should
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: have kept striking the ground repeatedly, for now he would
• 16:16
  Speaker 3: only have victory three times rather than the complete victory
• 16:20
  Speaker 3: over Syria. Elisha's words foreshadowed Israel's coming demise and defeat
• 16:26
  Speaker 3: and provides us a lesson that when God asks you
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: to go in, you must go in all the way,
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: because partial disobedience is full disobedience. Elisha passed into glory,
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: knowing that he had served the Lord with courage and
• 16:41
  Speaker 3: conviction and an example to which we can all aspire.
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: Thank you, Lord, for the inspiring life of Elisha. We
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: thank you for the powerful witness of this man in
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: a very wicked time. God give us courage always to
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: stand for you, even in dark days. And we thank
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: you for your loving kindness and forgiveness when we sin
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: and you return us to yourself. May we put our
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: eyes upon you and just as Elijah, look forward to
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: the day that we are in your presence.
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: Amen.
• 17:14
  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
• 17:18
  Speaker 3: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com
• 17:22
  Speaker 3: app and make Bible study and prayer the priority of
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: your life. And if you enjoyed this podcast, share it
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: with someone you love, because by sharing the Word of God,
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: you can make a huge difference in someone's life. And
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: let me encourage you to go to JackGraham.org, that's JackGraham.org,
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: to find multiple resources, many resources for your Christian walk
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: and life. God bless you, and have a great day.