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2 Kings 10 (Part 1) Bible Study (Jehu Slaughters Ahab's Descendants) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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Meet me in the Bible at Second Kings chapter 10.
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Let's meet together in Second Kings chapter 10.
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When Elijah prophesied the doom of the House of Ahab, he
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ominously declared that the Lord will cut off from Ahab every
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male bond or free in Israel. And it is in this chapter where
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we will see that part of the prophecy being fulfilled.
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Last week you and I studied Jehu beginning his campaign and how
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he successfully eliminated 3 key individuals, Joram the king of
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Israel, Ahaziah the king of Judah, and Jezebel the wife of
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Ahab. That all took place in a region
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called Jezreel. But as Jehu now continues his
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mission, his attention is going to shift to the capital of
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Israel. Tell me what the capital of
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Israel is? Was this is Israel the northern
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Kingdom? So we understand that unified
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Israel having Jerusalem as the capital, but this is a divided
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Kingdom. So they have a new capital.
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Starts with the letter S Samaria is the capital of Israel at this
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point. And right away the challenge of
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this particular mission is made clear to us from the start.
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So let's read the first 3 verses together.
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Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria.
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So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers
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of the city, to the elders, and to the guardians of the sons of
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Ahab, saying Now then, as soon as this letter comes to you,
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seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you
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Chariots and horses, fortified cities also, and weapons, Select
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the best and fittest of your master's sons and set him on his
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father's throne and fight for your master's house.
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We learned that Ahab had not 7, not 17, but seventy sons, and
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then that number likely includes his grandsons.
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And we see here that because of Jehu's limitations, remember, he
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doesn't have a very impressive army backing him, at least
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numerically. This is going to be a challenge.
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How is he going to approach Samaria and come after the
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Princess of Samaria without a struggle or without some of them
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escaping? And so JU has to think before he
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can make any attempt of actually attacking the capital.
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He sends multiple letters with the same message to its leaders.
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And I have to be honest that when we read here what he said,
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for a couple of days, I didn't understand what Jehu was trying
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to accomplish by doing this. You see, if I were in his shoes,
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sure, I might send something, but I'm not going to invite them
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to a fight. I'm going to ask him to
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surrender and warn them not to put up a fight.
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What does he do? The exact opposite of that.
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He not only tells them to choose an heir among Ahab's sons, but
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all the while he's also reminding them of their
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resources and their assets and their army.
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And he he invites them to engage in battle.
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In a sense, he's instilling in them a false sense of
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confidence. This, this is strange.
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And then it hit me. I'm not a commander of any army.
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Jehu is a commander of Israel's army, and he is a strategist.
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And so here's how he's thinking. Knowing that he's outnumbered at
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this point. He takes a huge risk, but it is
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bold at the same time. The man is essentially bluffing.
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Do you see that? He's aware that the news of
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Joran, the king of Israel's death, reached Samaria, but he
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is also aware that the people in Samaria do not know how their
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king was killed. And so he uses us to his
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advantage. And so he comes to this point
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with this Intel, and he decides to not make this unimpressive
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appearance in Samaria but tampers with the imagination of
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its leaders. How does he do that?
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He makes it sound like he has this massive backing, and he
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informs him that he is in no way intimidated by their Chariots,
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their horses, or fortified cities.
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And guess what? It worked.
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I want you to see the reaction of the rulers, the elders, and
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the guardians in verse 4. But they were exceedingly afraid
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and said, behold, the two kings could not stand before him.
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How then can we stand? Remember, the leaders in Samaria
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did not witness how the king of Israel and the king of Judah
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were murdered. They only received reports about
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it. They only heard the news.
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And so we see here that Jehu is actually taking that ignorance
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and using it. See, if the Samaritans here knew
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what Jehu was actually working with, they probably would have
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believed they had a chance to resist them.
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But they're left in the dark, they only have the news about
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it. And so this man is highly
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intelligent. He comes to this point where he
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stays in Jezreel and creatively conveys and paints a picture as
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though he is this force that they can't deal with.
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And he does it by offering them a challenge.
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Why don't we fight? Winner takes all.
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You don't talk like that unless you are confident that you can
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win. And this is how these leaders
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are interpreting his message. And so they are so afraid.
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They think to themselves, let's just surrender and spare our
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lives. So we read these 3 verses right,
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of this chapter and I believe that there are at least two
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lessons that we can draw from it for our own lives.
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Number one, I want to bring to your attention the principle of
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warfare in the mind. Warfare in the mind.
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This is an actual war, but we see here that J who is
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implementing something with the mind.
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And as Christians, we are told throughout the New Testament
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that we are in a war, in a spiritual battle.
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And though we don't war with people in the same way that this
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chapter communicates, we don't fight people, we don't wield any
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weapons, we don't hit. There is an element of this kind
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of where for in this chapter that is echoed in the New
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Testament. And I want to take you to a very
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familiar passage in the New Testament concerning spiritual
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warfare. And I want you as we're reading
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these verses, to pay attention to a common denominator in
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Paul's description of Christian warfare.
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So go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 10, beginning in verse 3.
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And I want you to especially pay attention to verse 5, but we're
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going to read 3:00 to 5:00. Here's what Paul says.
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For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according
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to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare
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are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy
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strongholds. We destroy arguments in every
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lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every
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thought captive to obey Christ. Look again at verse five.
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Look at the language that he uses.
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Arguments, lofty opinions raised against the knowledge of God,
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every What thought captive? What do all those things have in
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common? They deal with the mind.
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Here's what we learn about spiritual warfare.
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According to the words of Paul, the main arena of our warfare is
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in our thinking. Do you know how many people
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misapply Paul's words here when it comes to how Christians
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engage in warfare? Pulling down strongholds?
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What do so many interpret that to mean?
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Rebuking and casting out demons? Renouncing generational curses?
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That's not what Paul is talking about at all.
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When he mentions strongholds, he's providing imagery that
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describes what ideologies, false belief systems, philosophies and
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persuasions that contradict the truth of God's word.
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Fortresses of wrong thinking that hold people captive.
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That's what strongholds are. They're in the mind.
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And here's what's so wonderful about this.
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If Paul is highlighting the main arena of our warfare, then we
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also know the weapons we ought to use.
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And the primary weapon in seeing people liberated defensively,
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offensively, is to know the scriptures from cover to cover,
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cover in order to dismantle and destroy and bring down these
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things that resist the liberation that comes from the
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truth. And so the weaker we are in the
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Word of God, the more vulnerable we are to spiritual warfare and
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the less likely we are to see people set free from bondage.
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This is where warfare is held. This is where we're supposed to
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put our focus in the mind. Paul was aware of this.
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And to some degree we see Jehu implementing warfare.
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Yes, it's psychological warfare, but before he wields any
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physical weapon, he is going to take captive their minds.
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And notice. We're going to read in a moment
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that he's actually going to have the leaders of Samaria do The
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Dirty work for him. He's after the sons of Ahab, and
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he's not going to even lift a finger.
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And Satan is very clever in the way he takes his captives.
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Before the enemy can make you do anything, he first makes you
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think in a certain way. That is the common pattern of
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the Evil 1. He plants his flag in your mind,
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and before you act away, he'll cause you to think away.
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And we see a clear example of this.
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Which brings me to the second lesson.
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From what we read in the verses that we unfolded together.
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Do not underestimate the controlling power of fear.
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Come back to 2nd Kings 10 and look at verse 4 again.
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But they were exceedingly afraid and said, behold, the two kings
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could not stand before him. How then can we stand?
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So he was over the palace, and he who was over the city,
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together with the elders and the guardians sent to Jehu saying we
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are your servants and we will do all that you tell us.
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We will not make anyone king. Do whatever is good in your
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eyes. Wow.
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Notice the connection between fear and submission, verse five.
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They say we are your servants, but before we learn that they
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are willing to become servants, they were first exceedingly
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afraid. This shows us that if you and I
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are not careful, what we fear can easily become what we end up
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obeying. What you fear, you will obey.
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Think about it. If I fear what people think
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about me, then I'm going to conform my convictions to their
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preference, right? If I fear what enemies of the
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gospel will do to me, then I'm more willing to conceal my
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identity or compromise the message.
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If I fear any element of the future, what am I compromising?
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I'm giving up an element of the joy, peace, and purpose that
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Christ intends for me today. And the examples can go on and
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on and on. Here's what fear does when it's
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ungodly fear. It paralyzes your obedience
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while promoting disobedience. It paralyzes your obedience and
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it excites disobedience. So we see here that Jehu is
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very, very cunning. He makes them afraid in order to
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make them slaves. That is why you and I are called
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to fear God. Not that there is a slavish
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fear, but that there should be such an awareness of His glory
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and majesty that it wins our allegiance to Him, and that
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anything that tries to rival with anything that tries to make
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you afraid would burn up in light of the flame of devotion
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that you have, because you have a clear perception of who He is.
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They were exceedingly afraid, so they became slaves.
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It reminds me of the words of Paul to Timothy where he says
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that God does not give us what a spirit of fear.
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He doesn't give us a spirit of fear.
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Now, that's that's what we see there in Timothy.
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But the the context is right before that verse.
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He tells Timothy, fan it to flame the gift of God within
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you. What's the connection?
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Timothy was timid. He was not allowing the
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flourishing of his gift because he was afraid of persecution and
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the arrests and, and the deaths and the beatings that were
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taking place among Christians because of their faith in Jesus.
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And and Paul says, listen, you need to fan it, to flame that
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gift. And because you're afraid,
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you're not allowing that to happen.
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So we always limit ourselves when we live in fear in any way,
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in every way. And we see here that there is
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such an easy surrender because there was such a striking fear
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that suffocated them. Let's come back to 2nd Kings 10.
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So we learned that they gave in to Jehu's leadership.
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But notice verse 6. This is not the only thing that
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he's going to ask to them. Then he wrote to them a second
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letter saying, If you are on my side, and if you are ready to
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obey me, take the heads of your master's sons and come to me at
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Jezreel tomorrow at this time. Now the King's sons, 70 persons,
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were with the great men of the city who are bringing them up.
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And as soon as the letter came to them, they took the King's
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sons and slaughter them, 70 persons, and put their heads in
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baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel.
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It's very graphic, but sometimes history is raw.
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What's happening here? Well, we might have yet another
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extreme but good example of what fear can drive a man to do.
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But I think the lesson is deeper than that.
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Because remember, these are the leaders in Samaria.
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They have been employed by Ahab and Jezebel, and we have seen
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before how capable these leaders are in performing heinous acts.
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Remember, Jezebel was the one that had Nabeth killed in order
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for her husband to have his vineyard by the palace.
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Remember that? But do we remember the means
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that were implemented in order for Nabeth to be killed?
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If you don't remember, go to 1st Kings 21 and you're going to see
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an interesting connection. First Kings chapter 21, verse 9
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I want you to look at who Jezebel called upon to do her
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bidding. And she wrote in the letters,
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proclaim a fast and set Nabeth at the head of the people, and
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set 2 worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge
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against them, saying, You have cursed God and the king.
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Then take him out and stone him to death.
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Verse 11 And the men of his city, the elders and the leaders
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who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them as
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it was written in the letters that she had sent to them.
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It was the compliance of some of the leaders in Jezebel's Kingdom
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that led to the murder of an innocent man.
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And I'm not saying that these are the same leaders that we
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find in Second Kings 10. I'm just saying they're all
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members of the same company and they all share the same ethic.
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And here's how we can apply this to ourselves.
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If the sons of Ahab had a shred of wisdom, then they would have
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been much more cautious about who they chose to trust because
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clearly they didn't consider that what these leaders have
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done in the past is something that could have been done to
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them in a moment. An innocent man was killed, and
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these sons of Ahab thought that they could be treated in the
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same way. For whatever reason, when it
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comes to the choices that you and I make in relationships, you
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have to be careful to discern if the people that you are willing
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to yoke yourself to govern their lives in the fear of God, or if
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their lives are actually led by fleshly impulses or self
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preservation at any cost. Choosing relationships in this
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way will spare you from much unnecessary heartache.
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And there are many in ministry and in marriage and everything
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in between who are suffering because they did not take the
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time to discern the kind of people that they are willing to
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partner with. Does this person ultimately live
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with and in the fear of the Lord?
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Where where God's heart is their motive in everything?
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And many ministries, ministers are crumbling because of that.
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Many marriages are in the same boat, and unfortunately, these
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sons of Ahab allowed people who are willing to, at a moment's
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notice, betray their conscience or whatever is left in their
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conscience to do the most despicable things, and they
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thought that it wouldn't apply to them.
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In many cases, if somebody unrepentantly does something to
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others, they are probably willing to do it to you.
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I've learned that. So what happens here?
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They deliver these heads severed in baskets.
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They sent him to Jezreel. And if we're not convinced of
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Jehu's cleverness by now, it will be hard to ignore it here.
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Let's read in verse 8. When the messenger came and told
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them they have brought the heads of the King's sons, he said, lay
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them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the
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morning. Then in the morning when he went
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out, he stood and said to all the people, You are innocent.
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It was I who conspired against my master and killed him.
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But who struck down all these? Know then that there shall fall
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to the earth nothing of the word of the Lord which the Lord spoke
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concerning the House of Ahab. For the Lord has done what he
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said by his servant Elijah. So these heads are severed.
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They're brought most likely in the night.
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Makes you wonder if. Jehu lost some sleep that night
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because he really took his time to make sure that these were the
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faces of the sons of Ahab, but he instructed that two piles
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would be made at the gate. Why would he want to make a
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public display of such things? Because he wants to gather a
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crowd, and he wants to use this moment to make a speech.
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And when he addresses the inhabitants of Jezreel the next
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morning, Oh, this man is something.
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He accomplishes a few things in these few words.
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The first thing that he does is that he feels as though this is
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the right moment to confess that he was the one who murdered the
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king of Israel. Here's my question.
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I lift my hand up now to nobody really.
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But as I'm really saying, why is he saying this?
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What is he achieving in this? Well, obviously, there's
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suspicion. There's rumors spreading now of
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what happened with the king of Israel.
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Remember, there was limited information among the
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Samaritans, and we're going to find out that the Southern
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Kingdom didn't even hear about it.
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And so Jehu just makes it clear. I'm the guy.
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You're innocent. Nobody else is to blame here.
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I'm the one who shed blood. What are you doing?
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Here's what he's doing. He realized that if he confesses
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this, it won't seem as significant in light of the fact
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that there are 70 severed heads of the sons of Ahab.
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It seems like a lighter offense with this horrific scene before
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the people. And you might be wondering, but
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isn't Jehu responsible for the death of these seventy sons?
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Yeah, we know that. Guess who doesn't?
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The inhabitants of Jezreel. So here's a second observation
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that we can make from this that at the same time Jehu, yes,
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confesses that he is the culprit, he also disses himself
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from this massacre. Notice what he says again in
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verse 9. You are innocent.
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It was I who conspired against my master and kill them.
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But who struck down all these by saying this?
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The average person listening might think to themselves, all
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right, if Jehu was willing to admit that he killed the king,
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surely he'd be willing to admit that he also killed the sons of
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Ahab. But he doesn't, so it must be
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someone else. Now you might be wondering why
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he's speaking in this way, and the answer is quite simple.
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He is trying to seize the throne without any obstacles by keeping
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his image as clean as possible. And so he's willing to admit his
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actions that will help him look like a savior while also denying
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anything that he has done that might make him look like a
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brutal, bloodthirsty tyrant. And so he knows that the king of
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Israel is not very popular, and he brought so much trouble upon
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the Kingdom. So he goes, I'm the one who
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killed the king of Israel. There's going to be a lot more
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positive feedback with that. But there might be pushback,
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even really backlash if the people learned that he
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slaughtered all of his sons. And so he says, I'm not sure
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what happened here. Men's playing politics.
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He's playing with their minds. And it's very clever because
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he's appealing to a mixed crowd in a complex situation, because
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he wants to gain as many supporters as possible so that
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there would be no trouble for him to seize the throne.
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And so he taps into their ignorance while also doing what
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he emphasizes, divine approval for the events that took place
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that day. Look at verse 10.
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What does he say? He says here, know then that
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there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the Lord
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which the Lord spoke concerning the House of Ahab.
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For the Lord has done what he said by his servant Elijah.
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It's as though he's saying, I'm not sure how the sons of Ahab
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met their end, but I know what God's word said about the future
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of this dynasty. So we better get a line with his
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will. Do you see how brilliant this
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man is? It's actually really scary
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because once again, it worked. He gained their support.
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Now before we move on, if you feel a little disturbed or
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concerned about Jehu's tactics here, you should be.
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Because lying in manipulation to accomplish the will of God is
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never justified. It's never to be implemented.
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But already we're seeing some concerning traits in this man,
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and it's only going to become more manifest in the verses
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we're about to read. Look at verse 11.
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So Jehu struck down all who remained of the House of Ahab in
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Jezreel, all his great men and his close friends and his
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priest, until he left him. None remaining.
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Now let's read down to verse 14. Then he set out and went to
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Samaria. Pause.
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He feels confident now, right? He gained more supporters.
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He now realizes it's appropriate for me to approach the Capitol.
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So he goes to Samaria and let's continue on the way.
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When he was at Beth Ecked of the shepherds, Jay, who met the
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relatives of Ahaziah, king of Judah, and he said, who are you?
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And they answered, we are the relatives of Ahaziah and we came
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down to visit the royal Princess and the sons of the Queen
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Mother. Uh oh.
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Probably not the best answer to give to a man who has been
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anointed and destined to kill the House of Ahab.
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He said take them alive and they took them and slaughtered them
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at the pit of Beth Eckhard, 42 persons and he spared none of
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them. Makes you wonder, was this right
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of Jeho to do? Is this legitimate?
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Is this legal? Is this in accordance with God's
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will? Now, one way to explain it is
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recalling what we studied last week, that when Joram was
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recovering in Jezreel, Ahaziah, king of Judah, visited him.
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Why? Because they were related in
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marriage. And when Aaziah visited Joram,
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he too was killed. And we determined that that was
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God's purpose. It was ordained that Aaziah,
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who's from the House of David, ultimately would be killed
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alongside Joram. And we reference, though we
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didn't visit the verse Second Chronicles to confirm that.
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But this time I want us to visit that verse.
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So you have to go to the parallel account in Second
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Chronicles 22 to see this with me.
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Look at the divine approval that the Holy Spirit gives concerning
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the death of Ahaziah in Second Chronicles 22.
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Eight. Let's begin in verse 7.
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Excuse me? But it was ordained by God that
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the downfall of Azai should come about through his going to visit
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Joram. For when he came there, he went
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out with Joram to meet Jehu, the son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had
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anointed to destroy the House of Ahab.
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So it's clear it's irrefutable. God ordained that the king of
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Judah would be killed for walking in the ways of the House
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of Ahab. But here's the question, was
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Jehu justified in killing Eziah's relatives?
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Because what we read in Second Kings 10 is that he deemed them
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guilty by association and he had them slaughtered right there and
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then. So we have to ask the question,
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was this appropriate? So we read verse seven.
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Look at verse 8. And when Jehu was executing
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judgement on the House of Ahab, he met the Princess of Judah and
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the sons of Eziah's brother. So these are his nephews who
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attended Isaiah and he killed them.
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What's omitted in verse 8? The commentary of God's
28:32
approval. Now, some might make the case
28:35
that it's inferred because they are related to Isaiah and that
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they had good rapport with the House of Israel.
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But we can't rush to that conclusion.
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And this is really the beauty of studying narratives in the
28:47
Bible. You're not always explicitly
28:49
told when an action is right or if it's wrong, if it's righteous
28:52
or if it's evil. And that demands greater
28:55
investigation that come to a clear conclusion.
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This is one of those cases. So he was in the right for
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killing Eziah. Was he in the right killing
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Eziah's nephews? Can I tell you something?
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I believe that there is another text and a completely different
29:14
book, completely different genre actually, where we have
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clarification on Jehu's actions. Does anybody know what prophetic
29:22
book I am referring to? I'm just curious to know if
29:26
anybody knows the reference. Minor prophet starts with the
29:30
letter H Hosea chapter one. Turn there in your Bibles and
29:38
behold the brilliance of God's Word where you can understand
29:43
Second Kings chapter 10 better by knowing Hosea.
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Look at verse 4 of Hosea chapter 1.
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And the Lord said to him, Call his name Jezreel.
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For in just a little while, I will punish the House of Jehu
30:08
for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the Kingdom
30:14
of the House of Israel. Why do you think this has
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troubled some Bible students over the years?
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Any idea? God says of the people of Israel
30:30
that He is going to visit the House of Jehu for shedding blood
30:35
in Jezreel. That's what we're studying here
30:37
in Second Kings 9 and tonight in Second Kings 10.
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Why would God bring about that kind of condemnation to the
30:44
House of jail? Why does that seem to be
30:46
problematic? We're going to get there in a
30:49
moment, but think about it from the beginnings.
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Is Jehu just running on his own fumes here and just doing what
30:56
he thinks is right? Let me ask you this way.
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Was Jehu commanded by God to slaughter the House of Ahab?
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OK, So why is he being condemned for it?
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Do you see contradiction in your Bible?
31:10
No, no, no, no, no, no. It's not a it's not a
31:12
contradiction. It makes sense now when we look
31:16
at what we read in verse 11 and verse 14, that Jehu, though he
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was commended for obeying the Lord in this way, at some point
31:26
was excessive and he began to feel like it was right to kill
31:33
innocent people. And the killing of the nephews
31:39
of ASI is just one example of that.
31:42
So what do we find here? That Jehu, when Hosea condemns
31:47
him, reveals that he went above and beyond the mandate.
31:52
His mandate was to deal with the House of Ahab, not the House of
31:58
AIA Zaya. But we find him here feeling
32:04
very comfortable to act in this way.
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What do we learn from that? I think there are a couple
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things to learn. The first thing is that this is
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a good example, though extreme example, of how we can get
32:19
carried away in a righteous zeal.
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Have you ever observed people going above and beyond what God
32:26
had written in His Word in the name of obedience to God?
32:30
It's called legalism. It's called legalism when in the
32:36
name of righteousness, in the name of holiness, you begin to
32:39
go above what is written, beyond what has been demanded.
32:44
We have to understand that there is a danger that we impose on
32:47
others in that pursuit. We see Jehu here, who in his
32:52
zeal is literally killing people, and listen when it comes
32:55
to those who go above and beyond, whether it's their human
32:58
tradition or personal convictions.
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You also damage others. You also harm others to the
33:04
point where you might even push them away, where they embrace
33:06
self destructing ways of life. And so this is a clear example
33:11
of how we can justify certain things in the name of righteous
33:16
zeal. The way you feel about something
33:18
doesn't make it right, even if it's in a pursuit of supposed
33:22
honor. But not just that.
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I believe there's an example here of how we can implement
33:30
carnal means to accomplish a righteous end.
33:35
God told him to deal with a specific house, but what does
33:39
this man do? He begins to now tamper with a
33:42
different house. And it makes you wonder if Jehu
33:46
is a little insecure. It makes you wonder if this man
33:50
is not really trusting in the sufficiency of God's
33:52
instructions because he really wants to protect his pursuit of
33:58
power. And so before what does he do?
34:00
He lies and he manipulates and now what does he do?
34:02
He goes beyond that. He begins to kill people.
34:08
If he really trusted the Lord, he would just rest in what God
34:11
asked of him and that the Lord would take care of everything
34:13
else. But instead, anybody that had a
34:16
hint of association or some kind of harmonious relationship with
34:20
the House of Ahab, he saw them as a threat and he came after
34:23
them. This man now is becoming very
34:25
dangerous. He's stepping outside of bounds
34:29
and it's going to cost them in different ways.
34:33
So his eyes, nephews now become victims.
34:37
But let's read on now in these final verses.
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And when he departed from there, he met Johonadab, the son of
34:47
Rekab coming to meet him. And he greeted him and said to
34:51
him, is your heart true to my heart as mine is to yours?
34:56
And Johonadab answered, it is. Jehu said, If it is, give me
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your hand. So he gave him his hand, and
35:02
Jehu took him up with him into the chariot.
35:05
And he said, Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.
35:13
So he had him ride in his chariot, and when he came to
35:16
Samaria, he struck down all who remained to Ahab in Samaria till
35:20
he had wiped them out, according to the word of the Lord that he
35:22
spoke to Elijah. So as his nephews are not the
35:27
only ones that Jehu encounters on his way to Samaria, we get
35:32
the impression here that this man, Jehon Adab, was not a
35:34
stranger, but an acquaintance, some somebody that Jehu knew.
35:39
Why? Because look again at verse 15.
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And when he departed from there, he met Jehon Adad, the son of
35:43
Recap, coming to meet him. And when they meet face to face,
35:48
Jehu doesn't ask what he asked those strangers in the previous
35:51
verses. He doesn't say who, Who are you?
35:53
He knows exactly who he is. He greets him.
35:57
Not only does he greet him, he asks for his opinion.
36:03
He asks for where his heart stands with what's taking place.
36:08
Is your heart true to my heart as mine is to yours?
36:12
And this man Johanna that says it is, he says come up with me.
36:18
Now this seems a little ambiguous.
36:23
Seems to me like there's history here that we're unaware of
36:25
between these two, and it's helpful to know that this man,
36:29
Johanna Dab, is actually mentioned in one other place in
36:33
all of the Old Testament. Does anybody know the book where
36:36
Johanna Dab is referenced? I'll give you time to think
36:39
about it. Let me give you another hint.
36:44
It's a prophet. It's a prophetic book.
36:47
It's not Hosea, it's one of the bigger books, Major Prophets.
36:53
So now you're left with three options.
36:56
Think no, you're left with two. Now, Jeremiah.
37:03
Now I'm going to ask you to turn to a chapter in Jeremiah in a
37:05
moment, but let me give you a little bit of background.
37:08
Jeremiah received this interesting command from heaven.
37:13
He was told to go to the House of Rakab and he was to invite
37:19
the sons of this house into one of the rooms in the temple.
37:24
And when he invited the inhabitants of this particular
37:28
tribe, you read there in the beginning of Jeremiah chapter
37:31
35, that Jeremiah places before them pictures of wine and a
37:39
bunch of cups for everyone to drink.
37:41
And he looks at these sons and he says, drink wine.
37:46
And you get this lengthy denial from the sons of the same tribe
37:52
that this man Johanna Dab is from.
37:54
And that's what I want you to see.
37:57
Go to Jeremiah 35, verse 6, because how this particular
38:05
people respond will serve as a scathing rebuke to the
38:09
unfaithfulness of the people of Judah, but will also reveal the
38:12
history of their oranges. So look at verse 6 of Jeremiah
38:16
35. But they answered, We will drink
38:20
no wine for Jonadab the son of Rekab.
38:24
That's who we read in Second Kings 10, is it not?
38:27
Our father commanded us. You shall not drink wine,
38:32
neither you nor your sons, forever.
38:35
You shall not build a house, you shall not sow seed, you shall
38:38
not plant or have a vineyard, but you shall live in tents all
38:42
your days, that you may live many days in the land where you
38:45
sojourn. We have obeyed the voice of
38:47
Jonadab the son of Recon our father, and all that he
38:50
commanded us to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our
38:53
wives, our sons or our daughters, and not to build
38:57
houses to dwell in. We have no vineyard or field or
39:01
seed, but we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all
39:05
that Jonadab our father commanded us.
39:10
Question, do you think Jonadab is a respected person based on
39:16
this answer? Very respected.
39:20
He is a cherished and well loved leader among the Rekabytes and
39:27
we don't have time to explore the history of this tribe, but
39:30
it's clear that they were a family that honored the wishes
39:33
of their ancestor. Even after many, many years,
39:38
they were told to abstain from wine and they were instructed to
39:42
live a simple nomadic life. And they honored that to the
39:48
degree that even when Jeremiah the prophet invited them to sip
39:52
wine, they refused without hesitation.
39:56
Now what this says about this man that we read in Second Kings
39:59
10, Jehonadab, also known as Jonadab, is that he must have
40:06
been a righteous individual who was very concerned about.
40:09
The spiritual purity of his family and his descendants.
40:13
And so he implements these strict rules.
40:16
He asked them never to plant themselves permanently anywhere,
40:19
especially in urban areas where idolatry tended to flourish, but
40:23
to to live lightly and to to just remain in the outskirts and
40:29
to to abstain from any activities that might arouse the
40:33
flesh. And this was something that his
40:37
descendants honored for decades upon decades and decades.
40:43
So we believe this about Jonah Dabb.
40:45
Then it makes sense that even at the time of Second Kings 10,
40:48
where he is introduced in the Bible, he must have been a
40:51
revered individual. He must have been at least
40:54
someone that the general population recognized as being
40:57
pious and serious. And for some reason, he's
41:03
friends or at least a colleague of Jehu, so that when Jehu asked
41:09
him, are you for me? Do you affirm what I am doing
41:14
here? It's no surprise to us that this
41:18
kind of a man agrees. He probably hated bail worship.
41:24
He despised it. And when he learned that Jehu,
41:26
though probably unaware of his methods, was ransacking and
41:30
cleaning house, he, he applauded it.
41:33
But Jehu, remember, he's playing politics here, realizes now in
41:39
this moment that this respected, righteous individual, this man
41:42
of character and principle approves of him.
41:47
If people see that he approves of me, then my movement will
41:51
gain more. What credibility?
41:55
So he looks at Jonah Depp and he says, you agree with me because
41:58
I agree. I love what you're doing.
42:02
Come with me. And what is Jeyu thinking as I
42:06
make my way to Samaria and people see me?
42:08
They're going to see Jonah Dabb is with him.
42:12
He's for him. And this is only winning him
42:17
more popular support of a very clever man.
42:22
Very clever man. But notice the way he invites
42:26
Jonah Dabb into his chariot. What does he say in verse 16?
42:29
And he said, come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.
42:36
Now, you might be impressed with that statement at first, but you
42:41
should actually be concerned. If you're not concerned, if you
42:46
think that this is just a declaration of faithfulness, let
42:49
me give you a modern example that will put the right taste in
42:53
our mouths. Can you imagine after this Bible
42:56
study if I come down and talk with somebody here and ask what
42:58
you're doing on a particular weekend and you say, well, I'm
43:01
actually free and I say, well, I'm actually preaching at a
43:03
conference in the city. I'm inviting you to actually
43:06
come to the conference. I want you to hear how
43:08
passionate I am for God. How would that sound to you?
43:13
That'd be a little concerning. That's essentially what Jehu is
43:19
saying. Come and see my zeal for the
43:22
Lord. Is he drawing attention to the
43:25
Lord, to himself? Himself?
43:30
So now we're beginning to see some symptoms of what?
43:34
Pride, Selfish ambition mingling with his pursuit of obedience?
43:43
Is that possible for some people to do?
43:45
It is possible. There's a difference between
43:48
honoring God with our passion for Him and seeking honor from
43:52
others through our passion for Him.
43:59
There's a difference between seeking God's honor with our
44:02
passion for Him, and receiving honor from people through our
44:08
passion for Him. And for some, the joy of their
44:12
zeal for the Lord comes from being praised for it.
44:18
But a truly holy man or woman of God will be totally content and
44:25
knowing that God alone is pleased, whether they are
44:29
acknowledged for their zeal or not.
44:33
Come see my zeal for the Lord. So now we have every right to
44:42
question Jehu's motives. Are they completely pure?
44:50
And it's interesting to see how the Lord allows him to continue
44:54
in this way in order to achieve his purposes.
44:59
You know, I read something in my morning readings.
45:01
I wasn't even planning to do this for Bible study.
45:03
But why don't we do it? I think it'd be a good way to
45:05
end our time together. I want you to come with me to
45:08
the book of First Corinthians and in a place where Paul
45:16
describes his credibility as an apostle, the reliability of his
45:22
testimony, he mentioned something in First Corinthians
45:25
15, verse 8 as he rehearses the importance of the gospel, the
45:33
history of the gospel, the eyewitness accounts of the
45:37
resurrection of Jesus Christ. Notice what he says in verse 8.
45:39
Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
45:45
For I am the least of all the apostles unworthy to be called
45:49
an apostle because I persecuted the Church of God.
45:52
So Paul continue to live with this awareness that he was
45:55
unworthy. He knows he's forgiven.
45:57
He knows that he's redeemed. But he he, he didn't forget the
46:00
history, not in a way where his past haunted him and made him
46:03
feel condemned, but to always live in the realization, I don't
46:07
deserve to be here. I don't deserve to be here.
46:11
And this was, if you want to know what my morning meditation
46:14
was and what it's been all day, it's the next couple of verses,
46:17
verse 10. But by the grace of God, I am
46:21
what I am. That's the motto for every
46:25
single one of us. But by the grace of God, I am
46:29
what I am. And his grace toward me was not
46:33
in vain. Oh, I was chewing on that all
46:36
morning. So he acknowledges that he is a
46:40
recipient, a rich recipient of God's grace.
46:43
But notice this language. But his grace tomorrow is not in
46:46
vain. You know what that tells me?
46:47
That you can receive God's grace and remain passive with it.
46:53
Now, how many people live like that?
46:54
I'm forgiven. I know that I'm going to go to
46:57
heaven. I know that it's not my mayor,
46:59
my righteousness that will grant me eternal life.
47:01
But what? They're lazy Christians.
47:03
They just coast through life. That's not what Paul saying is
47:06
like, no, no, once I understood the grace, it got me going.
47:10
Now I'm serving him. Now I'm pursuing him.
47:12
Now I'm obeying him. To what degree?
47:14
Look what he says in the latter portion.
47:15
On the contrary, I work harder than any of them, though it was
47:20
not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
47:24
So even the moment where he brings up like real practical
47:27
example and he testifies of his efforts, he can't help but
47:30
finish that sentence of the saying.
47:31
But it was really God's grace in me.
47:32
It's all God's grace and his salvation and his sanctification
47:36
and his service. God's grace, God's grace.
47:38
But don't you see what God's grace promoted in him?
47:42
This dedication and the service to the Lord in a way.
47:46
Listen, that if you were to measure the actual time and
47:49
energy, he towered over the other apostles.
47:52
Yeah. Peter, John, James, He admits
47:55
that. And it's not pride here.
47:58
Just saying. Yeah, actually I work really
48:00
hard, but it's God's grace in me.
48:05
Verse 11, whether then it was I or they.
48:07
So we preach. And so you believed Jehu was a
48:14
very zealous and faithful man, but he's not the best example.
48:24
Christ ultimately is our example, but if you can
48:27
genuinely identify a zeal in your heart for the Lord, that is
48:32
wonderful. But realize that zeal itself is
48:35
a gift and it is a working of the Holy Spirit and give him
48:42
glory for that. And if you're in this place and
48:46
you can say by God's grace, I am what I am, can I ask you, how
48:53
has that changed you? Though you're not boasting in
48:59
anything, though you're not asking for attention.
49:02
Can people look at your life and see that you have been impacted
49:06
by this grace? Paul says this grace was not
49:10
given to me in vain. Look at my life.
49:13
Look what it's done. And I pray that that'd be true
49:17
of all of us, that when people see the way you live, why do you
49:22
go there on Friday nights? Here I'm talking about why do
49:25
you do this with your free time? Why do you go there?
49:28
Why do you give like that? Why do you not do this?
49:31
You can say because His grace, how can I not?
49:37
So many people see a zeal in us, not that we're asking to be
49:40
seen, but may they still see it. Because you see, a person who's
49:43
truly zealous for the Lord doesn't have to do what Jehu
49:45
does. They don't have to advertise
49:46
their zeal. They don't have to say, hey,
49:48
everybody, look at me, look at my zeal for the Lord.
49:50
People will see it, They will see it.
49:53
All you need to do is continue to drink from that well and let
49:57
it energize you day by day by day, and it has the power to
50:00
keep you energized until you see him face to face.
50:03
Lord, we thank you for this Bible study.
50:05
What a wonder it is to even come to this historical record of a
50:11
man who arrived at the throne of the Kingdom of Israel and we can
50:19
still apply truth to our lives. We ask, Lord, that everything
50:23
that we heard would be able to be retained, and Lord, that You
50:26
would show us exactly how it should change us.
50:29
Lord, we love you, and we believe this word is Your word.
50:34
And so now we worship you. And we asked Lord tonight that
50:38
You would enlarge our hearts, that we may run in the way of
50:40
Your commandments. We want zeal for You, but Lord,
50:44
we want it so that we can honor You.
50:48
If anything, Lord, we ask that when people see us and hear us,
50:52
they can't help but be convinced that Christ is in us.
50:57
That's our desire for our names to disappear, for no one to
51:01
receive any praise or acknowledgement but you and you
51:05
alone in Jesus name. Amen.
51:08
Let's stand and worship the Lord together and so on.