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2 Kings 8 (Part 2) Bible Study (Ben-hadad's Murder/Jehoram & Ahaziah's Reign) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  Second Kings chapter 8 and we are completing this chapter this
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  evening as we begin in verse 7. And I know that we just prayed,
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  but I would love for us to pray again.
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  Will you join me in that? Bow your hearts with me, please.
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  Lord, we look to you tonight again, thankful that you have
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  brought us into this new year. Thank you for being merciful,
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  Merciful to this nation, merciful to us as individuals,
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  merciful to this church and every church represented here.
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  Lord, we know that this study can easily become a stale
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  service. But Lord, we think of the power
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  of the Holy Spirit even now, what's available to us, how you
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  can make this moment alive and powerful.
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  We think of what you said of the Messiah in Isaiah 50, where
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  we're told there that He received the tongue of those who
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  are taught that He may sustain with a word Him who is weary.
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  We ask, Lord, that this Bible study would do just that.
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  It would sustain us. It would infuse a grace in our
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  hearts so that we could with great strength run this race
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  into 2025. So we pray for a special
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  blessing upon this time and that you would receive maximum glory
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  and praise. Oh Lord, we want to fall deeper
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  in love with Jesus. We want to be more godly, more
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  in tune with your Holy Spirit. We want to be more aware of this
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  grace and the knowledge of the person of Jesus Christ.
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  We ask these things and commit them into your hands, believing
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  that you'll answer speedily. In Jesus name we pray.
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  Amen. Amen.
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  Well, I can tell you ahead of even reading this passage why
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  this will be a unique Bible study as we've been looking
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  closely at the life in the ministry of this man of God
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  named Elijah. Because as we've been exploring
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  every episode that's been preserved for us in this book,
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  they all took place within the boundaries of the nation of
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  Israel. But what you and I are going to
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  learn right away is that what this episode is about is, yes,
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  another miracle. You can categorize it as a
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  supernatural thing, but it's going to happen in an unlikely
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  place. Not Samaria, not any other city
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  or town within the Kingdom of Israel, but in Damascus.
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  We are going to find Elisha within enemy territory, and
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  there's a reason for that. So let's read this section.
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  We're going to complete the chapter, but let's read the
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  section that deals with that particular scene, and then we
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  will dissect it as we always do. So let's begin in Second.
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  Kings 87 Now Elisha came to Damascus, Ben Haddad the king of
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  Syria was sick. And when it was told him, The
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  man of God has come here, the king said to Hazael, Take a
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  present with you, and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of
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  the Lord through him, saying, Shall I recover from this
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  sickness? So Hazael went to meet him and
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  took a present with him. All kinds of goods of Damascus,
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  40 camels, loads. When he came and stood before
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  me, he said, Your son bin Haddad, king of Syria, has sent
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  me to you, saying, shall I recover from the sickness?
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  And Elijah said to him, Go say to him, you shall certainly
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  recover. But the Lord has shown me that
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  he shall certainly die. And he fixed his gaze and stared
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  at him until he was embarrassed. And the man of God wept.
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  Let's stop here. I was planning to read on, but I
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  think this suffices. Before we continue, here's my
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  first question for us, and I'm actually inviting you to answer
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  it as long as your answer is not too lengthy.
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  Why is Elijah in Damascus? Is there any idea?
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  And let me help with the potential answers here.
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  We can rule out the option that Elijah is here to see Benedad,
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  the king of Syria. Why?
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  Because based on what we read, it looks like Benedad learned of
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  Elijah's arrival and sought him out, right?
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  So this is not a planned meeting between the prophet, the man of
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  God, and the king of Syria. So with that now being
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  dismissed, what other clues might we have for why Elijah is
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  here? Who is he here for?
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  What is he here to do? Any ideas?
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  And while you guys are thinking about that, Oh, please, guys, if
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  you can help me with that buzzing, I know all it takes is
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  a little button and it's there. No, not yet there.
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  OK, there it is. Any idea?
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  It's OK. You can guess if you're not
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  certain. Any idea why Elijah is a
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  Damascus? No idea.
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  OK. He's there to do something.
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  Yes. A miracle.
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  You can. You can say it's a miracle.
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  A miracle is going to happen. Any idea?
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  That's a good guess. Well, we don't have to guess
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  because the Bible provides us a clear answer.
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  However, it's going to require us to go back to another book to
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  see the answer. And the book is the neighboring
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  book. First Kings chapter 19.
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  This is when Elijah was refreshed and recommissioned by
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  the Lord after he was rescued from this episode of spiritual
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  depression. We remember we studied that in
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  depth, right? So the Lord speaks to Elijah and
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  he gives him a threefold command.
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  Following this recovery, look at First Kings 19 beginning in
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  verse 15. And the Lord said to him, Go,
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  return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when
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  you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria,
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  and Jehu the son of Nimshi, you shall anoint to be king over
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  Israel. And Elijah the son of Shafat of
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  Abel Meola, you shall anoint to be the prophet in your place.
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  So we see the threefold command, right?
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  He's supposed to anoint 3 separate individuals, a new king
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  in Syria, a new king in Israel, and his successor Elijah.
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  Now here's what's so interesting.
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  We are told why Elijah was to set these appointments up and
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  these nominations. The very next verse look at
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  first Kings 1917. And the one who escapes from the
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  sword of Hazael shall J who put to death, And the one who
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  escapes from the sword of J, who shall Elijah put to death.
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  So what's the reason for these men being appointed into these
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  offices? Judgement.
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  Judgement. God is raising up these two
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  kings and this prophet to take Elijah's place to punish
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  Israel's present and future idolatry.
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  Now here's what's amazing. Out of these three anointings,
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  which one have we seen come to pass?
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  Elijah. There is no record of Elijah
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  anointing the king of Syria or anointing Jeyu to be the king of
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  Israel, correct? Now, this has troubled some
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  Bible students. You can imagine why, because
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  you're left to believe that Elijah didn't obey the Lord
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  fully, or that he delayed it long enough for Elijah now, who
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  took his place to complete what was not fulfilled.
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  But we can say that Elijah did obey, though it's not recorded
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  that he did in secret without the historian putting it in the
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  Bible. That the Holy Spirit inspiring
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  the historian to put in the Bible that he did honor what God
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  asked him to do, which might cause you to ask them, why is
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  Elijah? Because what we're going to see
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  this week and next week is that Elijah is going to anoint the
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  king of Syria and the king of Israel.
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  So if Elijah did it, why does Elijah anoint them?
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  Have we ever seen kings being anointed more than once?
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  Yes, we've seen David be anointed more than once.
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  We've seen Solomon anointed more than once.
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  So that's a great possibility. But I think there's even a
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  better answer. Let's suppose that Elijah
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  delayed anointing these two kings and prioritize anointing
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  Elijah to train him to be his successor.
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  Something happened a couple of chapters after First Kings 19
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  that indicates that the responsibility to anoint the
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  king of Syria and the king of Israel was transferred over to
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  Elijah. First Kings 21.
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  This is when Elijah was called by the Lord to confront Ahab
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  after having Nabeth killed for his land.
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  Do you remember that episode? And Ahab responds in a certain
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  way and I want you to see it again and notice how the Lord
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  says something quite spectacular.
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  First Kings 2128. And the word of the Lord came to
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  Elijah, the Tishbite, saying, have you seen how Ahab has
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  humbled himself before me? Because he had humbled himself
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  before me? I will not bring the disaster in
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  his days, but in his son's days, I will bring the disaster upon
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  his house. Does it make sense now because
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  of Ahab's repentance, God said, I'm going to suspend this
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  judgement in your days. I'm going to delay it, but I'm
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  going to bring it about in your son's days.
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  Now, who is the king of Israel during Elijah's ministry at that
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  point, or at this point rather, do we remember Jeho Ram?
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  Who is the son of who? He's the son of Ahab.
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  So here's how we make sense of this.
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  Because of Ahab's repentance, God again postponed the
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  judgement he had planned to carry out.
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  However, after Ahab dies and his son takes his place, Elisha now
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  is commissioned because the judgment is reinstated and he is
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  going to anoint the king of Syria and the king of Israel so
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  that he can take place. So in other words, Elisha is in
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  Damascus to anoint Hazel to be the king in order to prepare
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  judgment against the people of Israel.
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  That's why he's in Damascus. And I think there are a couple
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  of lessons that we can learn from this.
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  The first one is this, God delights in averting judgement.
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  God takes deep delight in averting judgement.
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  And we heard in the opening passage through Pasadena, Benna
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  when he quoted Micah, he delights to forgive.
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  I think of Ezekiel where it says that he takes no pleasure in the
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  death of the wicked, but that the wicked should turn from his
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  evil and live. So this is God's heart.
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  Whenever there is a hint of repentance, He is willing to
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  change the judgment that has been designed for that
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  particular sin that's repented of.
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  But here's what's so beautiful about God.
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  Not only is he willing to delay judgment like he does in this
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  case, he's willing to cancel it altogether.
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  He's willing to delete it altogether.
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  But the condition for that to take place is faith in the Lord
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  Jesus Christ. Only embracing the Son of God is
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  able to remove every ounce of judgment that has been ascribed
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  to each of us. Only in Christ, hiding in Him,
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  being clothed in His righteousness, do we evade
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  wrath. He's willing.
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  It's just we have to be willing to repent and to confess and to
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  turn to Him. The second truth that we get
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  from this is also very important.
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  He does delight in averting judgement, but that when he does
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  judge, God often will raise up cruel leaders to punish the sins
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  of a people. And this is what we see doing in
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  here. He appoints these men
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  particularly to chastise his own.
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  And as we're going to see in the coming weeks, the the rising of
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  these two kings is going to unleash waves of devastation
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  against the people of Israel. It's going to be horrific.
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  And to think that this is a unique way that God judges
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  people is to admit ignorance of the Bible because it's not
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  unique to this episode. God often throughout history has
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  proven that when he wants to bring about judgment to a
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  people, to a nation, he will do so through the hands of a
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  vicious leader or government. I'm reminded of a verse in Hosea
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  1311 where Hosea is rehearsing the history of the people of
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  Israel and God speaks to the prophet and says this, I gave
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  you a king in my anger, and I took him away in my wrath.
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  Who's he referring to is referring to King Saul.
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  And he tells the people, I did give you Saul, but I did so in
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  my anger because in your request for a king, you denied me as
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  your king. And I would say that there's a
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  broader application to that truth, that God, when he is
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  angry, rightly angry, he will give people a cruel leader, a
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  cruel president, Prime Minister, dictator, whatever the case may
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  be. And it will ultimately culminate
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  in his final act of judgement. In this world, we believe in
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  something, someone known as the Antichrist.
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  And when the Antichrist does come, leading up to the final
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  events of human history, he will be a government leader that will
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  take over the globe. And his arrival on the scene,
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  according to Second Thessalonians chapter 2, is
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  defined for us. We know why this lawless one
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  will come up, why he will be worshipped while he will
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  dominate everything. And let me read it to you from
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  Second Thessalonians 29 and 10. You don't have to go there, but
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  let me read it to you. The coming of the lawless 1 is
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  by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and
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  wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are
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  perishing because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved.
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  So, I mean, there's so many things you can say about that
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  passage, but I remember preaching this at Maranatha a
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  few years ago. And we use this text to know how
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  we can all be deception proof. If you want to assure yourself
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  that you will never be deceived, love the truth.
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  Love the truth, not just know the truth.
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  Love the truth. Because there are many people
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  who know the truth, but will, with the right pressure, the
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  right prize, compromise the truth.
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  It's not enough to know the truth.
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  Many people who are compromising the truth know what the Bible
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  has to say. But it's only when you love the
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  truth where you are spared from deception.
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  But those who refuse to love the truth, they will eat up
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  everything that the Antichrist has to offer, especially because
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  he'll back it up with false signs and wonders.
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  That's not my main point. The main point is this is that
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  God, often again from the beginning of time to the end of
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  time, will raise up certain leaders as a way of giving
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  people over to what they want. You want a God besides me?
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  Then here's somebody who will rule over you, and He will treat
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  you accordingly. And so these kings are an act of
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  judgement, and it reminds of how God judges in this world.
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  Let's continue to read on. He goes to Damascus.
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  Benedict learns that he is in the area, but he's not aware of
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  this anointing that's going to take place.
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  Instead, he's preoccupied by his own personal need.
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  It's an urgent need. And he summons Elijah.
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  Now, this should be shocking. Why?
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  Because we've studied Benedad, the king of Syria, more than
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  once in previous studies. And every single time we find
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  this king hostile towards the prophet.
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  But his tone is different here in Second Kings 8, at least the
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  second part of it. Notice how he refers to the
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  prophet. What does he call him?
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  Yeah, he says you're the man of God, right?
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  And then look, peek at the end of verse 9 for a second.
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  When Hazael comes to Elijah, he says, your son Ben Haddad, king
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  of Syria, send me to you. So not only is Elijah all of a
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  sudden now the man of God, he's also a spiritual father to
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  Benedad. And moreover, what do we have?
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  We have a Pagan king inquiring of the true God through his main
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  prophet, because he asked, has I ought to go right?
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  He says, ask and inquire the Lord through him if this
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  sickness is going to kill me. And so here's what he's
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  confessing by that that this God, the God of Israel is far
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  superior to all the other gods of Syria, all the other idols
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  that we acknowledge this God is a true God.
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  It makes you wonder if the healing of Naman made an
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  impression on him. But here was my question when I
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  was studying this. Why the change of attitude all
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  of a sudden? Remember, Naman was healed.
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  That didn't affect him. His army was spared from
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  complete annihilation more than once.
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  That didn't affect him. What changed all of a sudden?
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  One word, sickness. Sickness.
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  When the goodness of God touched things and people around him, it
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  didn't move him. But the moment his body was
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  afflicted, his tone changed. You know who has insight about
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  what sickness can do to a man? Satan.
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  Do you remember when he wanted to test Job and he called God to
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  put him through the test and the first round was what?
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  That is his children, his property, anything and
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  everything besides Job directly was impacted and he didn't curse
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  God. So he makes a reappearance
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  before the throne of God. God praises Job, and what does
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  Satan do? What does he respond with?
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  Skin for skin. And then he goes on.
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  I've stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh,
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  and he will curse you to your face.
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  You know what he's saying? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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  It's a whole different game when you touch a person's body, when
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  you afflict them personally. So let's see if this man is
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  really faithful, as you say is. But it goes both ways.
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  Sickness can either provoke hatred towards God or it can
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  drive one to seek favor from him, right?
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  And in Benedad's case, this ailment, whatever it is, healed
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  him of his antagonism towards the Lord and his prophet, at
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  least at this time. And so now he's attracted to the
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  man of God, and he's attracted to the God that he represents.
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  And so he he asked for him. But we're left to wonder if
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  Benedad is sincere here, if what he is doing here is about true
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  healing or just physical relief. Because you don't get a hint of
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  repentance here, do you? There is no evidence here that
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  he is wanting to be reconciled to this God.
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  It just seems like he wants to know through prophetic insight
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  if he will continue to live on. And that is not uncommon.
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  You know, if you don't have people who outright opposed to
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  the faith, you know what? You'll find some who are still
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  drawn to the Lord Jesus. For what he offers in the
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  temporal, I have seen time and time again in the ministry
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  unbelievers or even nominal Christians who will make a
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  desperate plea for Christ intervention for some earthly
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  issue only when every other option has failed them.
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  And you're saying, well, isn't that good?
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  Well, depends, because they might be just looking for a way
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  out of something that has nothing to do with their souls.
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  Which brings me to this next point.
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  Have you ever noticed something about human nature?
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  And I have to be careful here because I'm not saying that God
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  is not concerned about these needs.
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  But I have noticed and maybe you share in this observation that
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  people are much more passionate and urgent when it comes to
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  something that's temporal rather than something that is more
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  permanent in their lives. You have you have much more
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  people willing and asking for healing than for their sins to
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  be eradicated. That's what I'm trying to say.
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  It's it's very rare where you see somebody making a desperate
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  plea for Christ to deliver them from iniquity and bondage and a
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  pattern of breaking God's law. What you will find more than
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  that is people saying can he provide for me?
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  Can he deliver me from this problem?
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  Can he solve these relational tensions?
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  OK, God can do all of that, but I'm afraid Ben had dad is
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  reflecting what we see in most people looking for a cop out and
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  for some kind of divine help, only for something that deals
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  with this life and this life alone.
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  They had that tendency to be delivered from the consequences
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  of sin and not sin itself. Only the Lord knows Benedette's
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  heart. But what we're about to discover
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  as we read that is that God knows every person's heart,
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  including the one that was dispatched to Elijah, this man,
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  this deputy. Let's look at verse 10 again.
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  Hazael comes to him, meets him, ask him if Ben Haddad, king of
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  Syria, will be recovered from the sickness.
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  And look how Elisha answers in verse 10.
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  And Elisha said to him, go say to him, you shall certainly
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  recover. But the Lord has shown me that
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  he shall certainly die. That sounds like a contradiction
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  to me. That sounds quite paradoxical.
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  Yeah, he's going to. He's going to recover, but he's
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  actually going to die. But it's not as problematic as
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  one might think. If you read it carefully, then
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  you understand what Elijah is trying to convey.
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  What he is saying is sure Benedad will recover from the
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  sickness, but he is going to die by another means.
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  And Elijah knows exactly how Benedad is going to die.
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  Do you know how he's going to be assassinated?
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  Who's the perpetrator? The guy that's standing in front
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  of him, we didn't read that part yet.
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  That's why I chose to stop it there.
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  So Elisha is receiving this prophetic download, if you will.
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  And Hazael here is standing before him saying, what news do
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  I bring back? He's going to recover, but he's
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  going to die. But notice Elisha doesn't tell
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  him that. Elisha doesn't say exactly how
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  he's going to die. He just says he's going to die
• 23:40
  by another way. And look at verse 11.
• 23:46
  Elisha, learning about the future and learning about what
• 23:49
  this man is capable of, fixes his gaze and stares at him until
• 23:54
  he was embarrassed. And the man of God wept.
• 24:00
  So he just stares at him, right? And you can just imagine those
• 24:03
  piercing prophetic eyes, how they burned Hezaiah's conscience
• 24:08
  at this moment, right? Because we're told he was
• 24:11
  embarrassed. Now, you might read that as this
• 24:13
  is awkward, like you're not saying anything, you're just
• 24:15
  staring at me. But it could be that as a
• 24:19
  prophet is looking at him, this man feels as though he's being
• 24:23
  exposed. In other words, Elijah saying
• 24:28
  what's going to truly happen to the king of Syria.
• 24:30
  And by looking at him, the way he's looking at him could be
• 24:33
  communicating. I know what you're capable of,
• 24:38
  and I actually know what you might really want to do.
• 24:41
  I know the deepest desires of your heart.
• 24:45
  And he's almost scanning this man, and so he looks at him and
• 24:50
  he starts weeping. But before we get to the weeping
• 24:52
  part, are we not reminded of something through this man, this
• 24:56
  man of God? God sees everything.
• 25:00
  God knows everything. There is nothing hidden from his
• 25:04
  sight. Every move, every motive, every
• 25:08
  meditation is laid bare before the Lord.
• 25:12
  And so we even get a glimpse in this that the Lord registers and
• 25:16
  takes note of it all. And so there is nothing that we
• 25:21
  can conceal from. There's nothing that we can
• 25:23
  dodge. There's nothing that we can
• 25:24
  hide. And this is supposed to remind
• 25:27
  us of that. You know, I think a lot of
• 25:29
  Christians are familiar with Hebrews 412, right?
• 25:33
  That that famous passage that talks about the power of the
• 25:36
  Word of God, that it is what it is living, it is active, it is
• 25:40
  sharper than any 2 edged sword, piercing to the division of soul
• 25:44
  and spirit. And there are many, many people
• 25:47
  who are familiar with Hebrews 414 and 15 that talks about how
• 25:51
  we have this great high priest who enters into the heavens.
• 25:55
  And because he is such a great high priest, he sympathizes with
• 25:58
  our weaknesses, right? People know those verses by
• 26:00
  heart, but I'm afraid most people don't know the verse
• 26:04
  tucked between those two. So you have Hebrews 412 about
• 26:07
  the power, the sharpness, the position of of God's word.
• 26:11
  Hebrews 414 and 15, this great high priest.
• 26:13
  What about Hebrews 413? This is not, this is not one
• 26:17
  that's often memorized in Sunday school, but let's go there to
• 26:20
  see it. Hebrews 413 It's probably
• 26:22
  already behind me. What does the Lord say there?
• 26:26
  And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and
• 26:30
  exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
• 26:33
  No wonder it's not memorized. People like to skip over this
• 26:39
  one. God sees everything.
• 26:45
  That's what it means to live in the fear of God.
• 26:47
  By the way, at least partly. I know God is here.
• 26:50
  I know God hears. I know God sees.
• 26:53
  So I can't get away with anything that's to live as a God
• 26:57
  fearing man or God fearing woman in part.
• 27:02
  But I'd love to ask these questions because the Bible is
• 27:05
  not meant to be quoted like fortune cookies where you take
• 27:09
  one verse and no, there's a context.
• 27:11
  What's the context of this? You go from talking about the
• 27:14
  word of God to God seeing and knowing everything to this great
• 27:19
  high priest, right? And I think this is this is the
• 27:23
  context after explaining how sharp the word of God is, how
• 27:28
  precise it is to discerning the thoughts and the intents of the
• 27:31
  heart, we go to verse 13 now where the Holy Spirit tells us
• 27:35
  God, like his word is perfect in his judgment.
• 27:39
  He is fully aware, he he, he scans perfectly and no one can
• 27:44
  dispute him. He evaluates without anybody
• 27:47
  being able to protest him. So just like his word, the God
• 27:52
  of the Word is accurate in his assessment and no one, no one
• 27:57
  can evade his evaluation. And so you read about the Word
• 28:01
  of God, then you realize the Word of God is, yes, this
• 28:04
  powerful, but it also reflects the God of the Word.
• 28:07
  And it's supposed to overwhelm you by the way.
• 28:10
  It's supposed to make you feel He knows everything.
• 28:14
  That's the point. Only for you not to be overcome
• 28:18
  by despair to the point where you're crushed and condemnation.
• 28:21
  We're then in verse 14, now we're told about this great high
• 28:24
  priest. Do you get it Now He knows
• 28:27
  everything. He sees everything.
• 28:29
  We're all doomed then. But listen, there's a great high
• 28:34
  priest who's able to sympathize with our weakness.
• 28:37
  And then you go to Hebrews 416 where we're told that we now,
• 28:40
  because of this high priest, though God sees and knows
• 28:42
  everything, gives us the confidence to approach the
• 28:45
  throne of grace. Isn't that wonderful?
• 28:48
  Even in that yes, He sees everything.
• 28:51
  He knows everything that can terrify you, and it should.
• 28:56
  But you're relieved of that terror when you realize Christ's
• 28:59
  forgiveness in your life and how He mediates on your behalf and
• 29:03
  how because of that, now, despite anything that you have
• 29:06
  done, you are covered in His blood.
• 29:08
  And you can boldly approach God and you can come to Him at any
• 29:11
  point anytime, even on that final day.
• 29:16
  So this man is about to learn that God sees everything.
• 29:19
  And it's supposed to remind us that God sees everything.
• 29:21
  He hasn't changed. But oh, if you're in Christ,
• 29:25
  that shouldn't bother you a bit because in your account you have
• 29:28
  Christ's perfection. So what happens?
• 29:33
  The man of God wept. Why did he weep?
• 29:38
  Because he's now about to disclose the potential evil that
• 29:44
  this fellow is about to commit in the near future.
• 29:48
  But I don't want to go there right now.
• 29:50
  I want to just look at Elisha. The man Elijah was faithful in
• 29:55
  preaching the whole council of God, was he not?
• 29:58
  He preached judgement when he needed to preach judgement.
• 30:00
  However, we've seen continually how he was a man of deep
• 30:04
  compassion. Haven't we seen that over and
• 30:07
  over, especially when he deals with widows?
• 30:09
  There's so much compassion in his heart and that compassion
• 30:12
  continues on here. How so?
• 30:16
  Because when he was asked, let's look here at verse 12, Hazael
• 30:20
  said, why does my Lord weep? He answered, because I know the
• 30:24
  evil that you will do to the people of Israel.
• 30:27
  You will set on fire their fortresses and you will kill
• 30:30
  their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little
• 30:35
  ones and RIP open their pregnant woman.
• 30:41
  So what is he weeping about? He's weeping about the fate of
• 30:44
  his people, Israel. He is overcome with grief in the
• 30:49
  realization that though the people have been idolatrous,
• 30:52
  though they've been apostate, they're going to be severely
• 30:55
  judged. And this broke this man's heart.
• 30:58
  And here's why I moved. People might be moved by the
• 31:01
  prophetic knowledge that Elijah had.
• 31:03
  People might be impressed by how he was bold despite the 40 camel
• 31:06
  loads of gifts. He said this is what God said.
• 31:09
  Those are all wonderful things, but here's what I moved by
• 31:12
  Elijah was broken about souls. Elijah was overcome and the
• 31:19
  realization of the fate of sinners after all those years of
• 31:24
  ministry were coming. Near the end of Elijah's
• 31:26
  ministry, he did not become jaded.
• 31:30
  He didn't become too familiar. He didn't lose his sensitivity
• 31:35
  to the eternality of things, the severity of sin, the goodness of
• 31:40
  God. His heart was still tender.
• 31:43
  And I read that earlier tonight. I thought to myself, Lord, keep
• 31:46
  my heart soft towards the lost. Let not frustration with
• 31:53
  sinners, let not disappointment caused by sinners ever cause me
• 31:57
  to become calloused. It's just OK.
• 32:00
  It's just another number, OK? Just in the no, no, no, to
• 32:03
  really feel what you feel about people.
• 32:07
  And the way that you and I protect our hearts from becoming
• 32:11
  cold in that area is by staying connected to the Lord in
• 32:15
  communion. Only communion with the Lord and
• 32:18
  His Word and His presence will keep your heart warm towards
• 32:22
  those who don't know the Lord, towards even the church.
• 32:26
  If you don't have Christ's heart beating in this chest of yours,
• 32:30
  you'll become very, very, very, very jaded, not just towards
• 32:34
  sinners, but even towards the people of God.
• 32:37
  But Elijah was not there. Elijah was sensitive.
• 32:41
  He still could have tears streaming down his face because
• 32:44
  he still had God's heartbeat even after all these years.
• 32:48
  This made me want to pray. Lord, I I want that kind of
• 32:52
  heart for the rest of my life. I never want to preach with ice
• 32:59
  covering my heart. I never want to counsel with an
• 33:02
  indifference. I never want to treat people.
• 33:04
  Look at them as numbers. I want to see them as you see
• 33:07
  them, each one by name, created in your image, loved by you.
• 33:12
  You shed your blood for them. Help me see them as you see
• 33:16
  them. That's what I find in this
• 33:18
  mighty man of God. And so he begins to cry when he
• 33:21
  sees in his mind's eye what's about to happen.
• 33:26
  How does this man respond? Let's look at verse 13.
• 33:31
  And Hazael said, What is your servant who is but a dog, that
• 33:37
  he should do this great thing. Now, how would you interpret
• 33:42
  Hazael's response? Here's I think, here's what I
• 33:46
  think most people understand it to me that he was so repulsed by
• 33:51
  this prophecy, he was so almost offended.
• 33:56
  In other words, you can almost translate in this way am IA
• 33:59
  moral monster that I would commit such heinous things,
• 34:03
  right? Is that how most people would
• 34:04
  understand it? That's not what he's saying.
• 34:09
  That's not what he's saying at all, actually.
• 34:12
  And we have two main reasons for that.
• 34:15
  One, notice here that he refers himself as a dog.
• 34:22
  Look again at verse 13. He says, what is your servant
• 34:26
  who is but a dog? Who is but a dog?
• 34:31
  Now, when we think of dog, we think of, you know, as as a term
• 34:36
  to kind of denote insensitivity or cruelty or selfishness or
• 34:42
  animalistic kind of behavior. But that's not what he's saying
• 34:46
  In different contexts, it can simply mean one of lowly
• 34:49
  position or status 1 who's inferior in position, right?
• 34:54
  He says, who am I? I'm but a dog.
• 34:58
  And the reason why we can say that is because of how Elisha
• 35:01
  answers him. What does Elisha say in
• 35:03
  response? He says I'm but a dog, that I
• 35:06
  should do this great thing and I should answer.
• 35:08
  The Lord has shown me that you were to be king over Syria.
• 35:12
  So what he's saying essentially is, you know you're going to be
• 35:15
  able to do this because you're going to be king next.
• 35:18
  So that confirms that Heziah's answer is not so much about
• 35:21
  being offended. He's actually perplexed.
• 35:26
  You're saying I'm going to do this.
• 35:27
  You're saying that I'm going to have this kind of military
• 35:29
  conquest. And I'm telling you, I'm but a
• 35:31
  dog in comparison to a king. And if he was talking about his
• 35:35
  moral integrity, you would think that Elijah would answer with
• 35:38
  no, no, I'll tell you actually, you're actually you're corrupt
• 35:40
  or evil, this or that. No, no, Elijah's not.
• 35:43
  It's going to happen because you're going to become king.
• 35:44
  You're going to have, you're going to attain the authority
• 35:46
  and the power to be able to execute these things.
• 35:50
  So then we have to now see this in a different light.
• 35:53
  This is not this man being offended.
• 35:56
  This is the man actually you ready for this, being humbled.
• 36:00
  He's being humbled. So he hears this great victory
• 36:05
  and instead of like, as you just probably reacted when you heard
• 36:08
  the details of what he was going to do, instead of recoiling, he
• 36:12
  goes, I can't do that but a dog. So then what are you supposed to
• 36:19
  see? You're supposed to see just how
• 36:20
  vile this man is. You're supposed to see the
• 36:25
  depths of his corruption. He's not humbled because of his
• 36:34
  moral depravity. He's humbled because he can't
• 36:37
  imagine him being able to do this.
• 36:41
  And when he says I'm but a dog, and then he goes on to add who
• 36:45
  would do this great thing? He's not talking about this
• 36:48
  great thing as was this great act of evil.
• 36:49
  He's thinking of it as a positive thing.
• 36:53
  I'm going to be able to commit this great thing, do this great
• 36:56
  thing, achieve this great thing. So when you see that way, then
• 37:01
  you get different insight because the way some people,
• 37:05
  most people interpret that is see, just like Hazael, you do
• 37:08
  not know the potential of your sinfulness, right?
• 37:11
  And they might connect it with Peter, who who refused to
• 37:14
  believe that he could deny Christ.
• 37:16
  I don't think that's a text to use that for.
• 37:18
  Instead, what you're supposed to see in this is that this man
• 37:22
  proves to us that so many people are willing to commit great
• 37:28
  evils when the right opportunity comes.
• 37:33
  That's the lesson. You know, some people think and
• 37:37
  believe that only when somebody's promoted to a certain
• 37:40
  position of power or they acquire a level of resources
• 37:43
  that makes them powerful, that's what corrupts people.
• 37:46
  And it can. But I am of those who believe
• 37:50
  that when or if somebody attains that position or that status or
• 37:53
  that kind of influence, it doesn't corrupt them.
• 37:56
  It just exposes the corruption that was in them all along.
• 38:01
  And you've probably seen some of those people in your life where
• 38:05
  for the longest time they seem calm, they seem sensitive, they
• 38:08
  seem understanding. And the moment they climbed a
• 38:10
  certain ladder, even within the church, something changes.
• 38:15
  Something changes, Something changes in their outlook,
• 38:18
  something changes in their attitude, something changes in
• 38:20
  how they treat people. Why did the position corrupt
• 38:24
  them? It could, but oftentimes it just
• 38:26
  reveals what was in their hearts all along, and I believe that's
• 38:31
  the case here. Hazael had this in his heart,
• 38:34
  and it would ultimately manifest when he occupied the throne.
• 38:42
  And the corruption of Hazael will begin to manifest in the
• 38:44
  next couple of verses. What happens?
• 38:46
  Let's read in verse 14. Then he departed from Elijah and
• 38:51
  came to his master, who said to him, what did Elijah say to you?
• 38:55
  And he answered, He told me that you would certainly recover.
• 38:59
  But the next day he took the bedcloth and dipped it in water
• 39:02
  and spread it over his face till he died.
• 39:06
  And Hazael became king in his place.
• 39:12
  You know what? Some people might believe that
• 39:14
  Hazael committed this crime because it was predicted by
• 39:16
  Elijah. Did Elijah predict that this
• 39:19
  would happen? No.
• 39:23
  What did he tell this man? He said that, yeah, he'll
• 39:26
  recover, but he will certainly die.
• 39:28
  He didn't tell him how he was going to die.
• 39:31
  So this isn't has a yell mustering up the courage to do
• 39:34
  this because he thought, well, it's been prophesied that I'd be
• 39:36
  the next king through assassination, so I'm just going
• 39:38
  to assassinate him. That's not what's happening
• 39:39
  here. Here's what I believe is
• 39:41
  happening, that as he's making his way back to his boss, the
• 39:45
  thought came to him, Well, if Benedad is going to die anyway,
• 39:50
  might as well speed up the process.
• 39:53
  That's what's happening. And so he makes his way before
• 39:58
  the King. And let me let me make this
• 39:59
  point based on that. Lust for power has a way of
• 40:05
  arousing and excusing other evils to obtain it.
• 40:10
  Lust for power has a way of arousing and excusing other
• 40:15
  evils in order to obtain it. Even as I said earlier, within
• 40:20
  the context of ministry professing Christians.
• 40:23
  Will they not resort to lying, slander, flattery to gain or to
• 40:31
  protect some kind of role in the church, especially if it's a
• 40:36
  leadership role? If you're really truly called by
• 40:42
  the Lord, man or woman, then you will act like David, who is
• 40:47
  faithful and whatever he was found in while he waited on the
• 40:50
  Lord for his timing. You don't have to do anything of
• 40:53
  the flesh. You don't have to resort to
• 40:54
  anything of the carnal man in order to get something from the
• 40:58
  Lord or get something from somebody else.
• 41:01
  Hazael is quite different from David.
• 41:03
  In fact he's the opposite. So he makes his way to the
• 41:06
  bedside of this king. The king asked what's what's the
• 41:10
  message and what is? Hazael said you shall certainly
• 41:13
  recover. Is that the full truth?
• 41:17
  No, it's not the full truth. What's the full truth?
• 41:20
  You're going to recover, but you're going to die too.
• 41:26
  And I can't help but think, but if Hezbollah was righteous, then
• 41:31
  he would have delivered the full thing.
• 41:33
  And if he delivered the full thing, that he might have
• 41:35
  granted Ben Haddad the opportunity to get right with
• 41:37
  God before he slipped into eternity.
• 41:42
  But he doesn't. Why?
• 41:42
  Because he wants to fulfill that second part.
• 41:45
  He wants to ensure that he is dead and he doesn't want to
• 41:49
  raise up any suspicion. So he just says you're going to
• 41:51
  recover from the sickness and he can hardly wait.
• 41:55
  So he does it the next day. I think as I'll here is a
• 42:02
  reflection of many things, but he's primarily a reflection of
• 42:05
  how Satan works. How does Satan work with the
• 42:09
  word of the Lord? If he can't stop God's word from
• 42:12
  being preached altogether, then he will find people to leave out
• 42:18
  the parts that would necessitate you to reflect and potentially
• 42:24
  repent. He will lull you to sleep in
• 42:30
  your condition by giving you. Is that not part of Elijah's
• 42:35
  word? Yes, it was.
• 42:36
  You shall certainly recover. That was part of the message.
• 42:39
  That was what he was he was exposed to.
• 42:42
  So it's partly God's Word, but not totally God's Word.
• 42:47
  And I find that what we see with this man is what we see in many
• 42:50
  pulpits. If you can't stop the Word from
• 42:53
  being shared, He will have those who share it withhold the parts
• 42:56
  that stirred urgency to make the appropriate response.
• 43:01
  And he will deceive messengers into using the Word, O Lord, to
• 43:04
  lull people into a complacency until they die in their unbelief
• 43:08
  and sin. Is that not true?
• 43:11
  It is true, and like the King, to be so relaxed that they never
• 43:15
  consider repentance. Now, I'm thinking of this from
• 43:20
  Hazel's point of view, and I'm also thinking of this from
• 43:22
  Benedict's point of view, because this man has received
• 43:26
  ample opportunity to repent. How much has God done for this
• 43:31
  man? How many experiences of His
• 43:34
  grace has he tasted for Him to finally change his ways?
• 43:39
  And he refused to do so. And now, when it comes to him
• 43:41
  being riddled with this disease, he shows some interest in the
• 43:45
  true God. And though we think here that
• 43:49
  this is a bedside opportunity to repent, it's not really.
• 43:56
  Because instead of an invitation, a revisitation of
• 43:59
  the truth being brought to him in his final moments, what's
• 44:02
  there? An incomplete truth you can say.
• 44:06
  A lie that robbed him of the opportunity of getting right
• 44:10
  with God. Bedside repentance is never
• 44:15
  guaranteed for anyone, even if you find yourself on a bed
• 44:20
  knowing that you're going to die in any moment.
• 44:24
  Because like Ben had died, instead of having the
• 44:28
  opportunity to get right with the Lord through Jesus Christ,
• 44:32
  you might be surrounded by the lies of the enemy to the point
• 44:36
  where they overwhelm and overtake any opportunity to come
• 44:44
  to the truth. I remember a time many, many
• 44:48
  years ago, maybe a year or two into me moving to the city here
• 44:52
  in Chicago where I receive. I'll be as broad as possible.
• 44:55
  I don't want to be too specific, that I received a phone call
• 44:58
  from a relative who was at the hospital visiting another
• 45:02
  relative who was sick. And while this relative was
• 45:06
  visiting this other relative, she heard her name being called
• 45:10
  down the hospital aisle from a young man who went to my high
• 45:15
  school. My brother and I had a chance to
• 45:18
  play basketball with this fellow and the relative who engaged
• 45:23
  with this young man who recognized, called her name,
• 45:31
  told this person that he's dying of cancer and he's my age.
• 45:36
  And so my relative contacted me and said so and so is dying of
• 45:41
  cancer. Can you believe that I bumped
• 45:44
  into him or he bumped into me? This is the Lord because this
• 45:47
  person doesn't know the Lord. And so I received the number to
• 45:52
  contact him while he's in the hospital.
• 45:54
  I haven't seen this man in years.
• 45:58
  And the last that I knew of him is that he was a troublemaker.
• 46:00
  He got in trouble with the police.
• 46:02
  He had a broken family life. So I called this young man, I
• 46:05
  called him from Chicago and I talked to her for 10 minutes and
• 46:09
  I. And I thought to myself, surely
• 46:10
  this is of the Lord to give this man a chance to repent if he's
• 46:16
  not healed. And so I, I had short
• 46:19
  conversation with him just about, you know, life.
• 46:21
  And then I got to it. I hear what's happening in your
• 46:24
  life. I hear what's happening to your
• 46:25
  body. And I just gave him the gospel.
• 46:27
  Now, here's what's interesting. This man's father was a Muslim
• 46:31
  and he identified as a Muslim. And So what he allowed me to
• 46:35
  share the gospel that at some point he said, yeah, but do you
• 46:37
  understand that I'm a Muslim? I said, with all due respect,
• 46:39
  Muhammad can't save you. Your faith can't save you.
• 46:42
  Only the Lord Jesus Christ can save you.
• 46:45
  You need to repent and put your trust and faith in him.
• 46:48
  And as I am presenting the gospel, I hear people in the
• 46:51
  background coming into the hospital room.
• 46:54
  And I could tell that he was getting distracted and I could
• 46:56
  tell that I need to give a little bit more oomph to my
• 46:59
  presentation here to get his to get his attention.
• 47:01
  So I tried only for me to be interrupted with brother, I'm
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  sorry, but my family's here and I have to go.
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  It's good hearing your voice and the conversation ended.
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  I don't know what happened to this young man.
• 47:18
  I actually ended up learning that he did pass away.
• 47:20
  I don't know when, but I wonder if I was the last voice that was
• 47:26
  able to give him the truth or if whatever I said was eclipsed by
• 47:31
  family that believed in a different God that maybe
• 47:35
  cancelled out the things that I was able to share with him.
• 47:38
  I'm putting my faith and trust that the seed of the gospel was
• 47:41
  able to do something in that young man's heart.
• 47:44
  But I was reminded that as much as we think God is gracious
• 47:48
  enough to meet us in our final moments, Satan is vicious enough
• 47:52
  to make sure that you don't make it in your final moment.
• 47:59
  Azael came to this man supposedly with a word from the
• 48:03
  Lord, but it was a lie, half truth, one that would not
• 48:10
  prepare him to meet with his God, but one that left him
• 48:13
  unprepared. Well, we can end here, but look
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  at all those verses left. So hang tight because we're
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  going to complete this chapter. You know, if you've been
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  studying with us in Second Kings, then you'll realize that
• 48:27
  the writer has primarily focused on the events concerning the
• 48:30
  northern Kingdom of Israel. And this is going to be
• 48:32
  overview. We're not going to be touching
• 48:33
  on every verse here, but what's interesting with the remaining
• 48:36
  verses of this chapter is that we are transported from the
• 48:39
  events taking place in the Kingdom of Israel and the
• 48:42
  affairs related to the Kingdom to the transfer and the change
• 48:46
  of politics in the Kingdom of Judah.
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  And the question is why? And here's the answer.
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  Because the corruption and the evil that overtook the nation
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  and the Kingdom of Israel was seeping into the Kingdom of
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  Judah. So the the very sin that invited
• 49:05
  God's judgement, the judgement that was ready to be unleashed
• 49:08
  to the king of Syria being elected and the king of Israel,
• 49:12
  this man J, who is going to show up in the next chapter.
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  Now we're left to wonder that sin that brings about this
• 49:17
  judgment, it's now seeping into the Kingdom of Judah and we're
• 49:22
  wondering what's going to happen to Judah.
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  Now, if you need proof of that, look down here at Second Kings.
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  Let's just read verse 16 down. It says here in the fifth year
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  of Joram, the son of Ahab, king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was
• 49:34
  king of Judah, Joram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah,
• 49:37
  began to reign. Now you might be wondering
• 49:39
  what's going on here. I thought Joram was the king of
• 49:42
  Israel. That's the son of Ahab, right?
• 49:44
  Joram is the son of Ahab. But we learn here that there's
• 49:46
  another Joram who's going to be the king of Judah.
• 49:51
  Ready for this? It's not a contradiction.
• 49:52
  People can share the same name, right?
• 49:55
  Daniel, Daniel. Right, Daniel, Daniel, Jairam,
• 49:58
  Jairam. It's possible.
• 49:59
  So you had Jairam of the king of Israel, and then now you have a
• 50:04
  Jairam who's the king of Judah. He was 32 years old when he
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  became king and reigned 8 years in Jerusalem.
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  Now here, here's the important verse, verse 18.
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  And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the House of
• 50:17
  Ahab had done. For the daughter of Ahab was his
• 50:21
  wife. And he did what was evil in the
• 50:24
  sight of the Lord. So we're supposed to, as the
• 50:28
  readers go, this is bad. He married a daughter of Ahab,
• 50:34
  and now he's walking in the ways of the king of Israel.
• 50:36
  You just read up to this point that God is ready to judge,
• 50:39
  fulfill the word that he gave to Elijah.
• 50:41
  Hey, Hezail is going to come up and he's going to be an
• 50:43
  instrument of judgement. Jehu's going to come up.
• 50:45
  He's going to be an instrument of judgement.
• 50:46
  So what's going to happen to the Kingdom of Judah then?
• 50:50
  Are they going to face a similar fate?
• 50:52
  Are they going to see a worse fate?
• 50:55
  And then look at what happens here, verse 19.
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  As though the Lord anticipated this question, we get an answer.
• 51:05
  Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah for the sake of
• 51:08
  David His servant, since He promised to give a lamp to him
• 51:12
  and to his sons forever. So God is going to treat the
• 51:17
  Kingdom of Judah differently. Why?
• 51:19
  Because of the Davidic dynasty. So he is not going to wipe out
• 51:23
  the Kingdom of Judah. He's not going to destroy them
• 51:25
  completely because he made a promise.
• 51:28
  And this is so important as you read through the whole Bible
• 51:30
  that from time to time when you see the people of God
• 51:34
  entertaining sins that are worthy of God, deserting them
• 51:38
  and keeping them in that place, we are frequently reminded God
• 51:42
  is faithful even though His people are faithless, and that
• 51:46
  he is a covenant keeping God. And he made a promise to David,
• 51:49
  and despite his descendants, he would hold on to his promise to
• 51:54
  his seed. Say, well, does that mean that
• 51:58
  they can do whatever they want? No, because they would still
• 52:00
  experience chastisement. That's what you read in verse
• 52:02
  20. In his days, Edom revolted from
• 52:05
  the rule of Judah and set up a king of their own.
• 52:07
  Then Joram passed over Zaire. Now Joram, you see that?
• 52:10
  That's an alternate way of spelling Jahoram.
• 52:14
  So Joram, Joram, same person, passed over to Zaire with all
• 52:19
  his Chariots and rose by night, and he and his chariot
• 52:21
  commanders struck the Edomites who had surrounded him, but his
• 52:25
  army fled home. So Edom revolted from the rule
• 52:28
  of Judah to this day. Then Libna revolted at the same
• 52:31
  time. Now the rest of the acts of
• 52:33
  Joram and all that he did, are they not written in the book of
• 52:36
  the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah.
• 52:38
  So Joram slept with his father's and was buried with his father's
• 52:41
  in the city of David, and his son reign in his place.
• 52:44
  In other words, they were chastised and discipline for
• 52:47
  their sin. But God would have put an end to
• 52:50
  this Kingdom because everybody said to David, right, Edom was
• 52:56
  raised up to depart from them. Libna was raised up to revolt
• 53:00
  against him, and that was his. If you want proof that that was
• 53:03
  God's doing, let me quote to you Second Chronicles.
• 53:06
  And this is important. You don't have to turn there,
• 53:08
  but just to know as a reference, 2110, this is the parallel
• 53:11
  account, and here's what the chronicler says.
• 53:13
  So Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day.
• 53:17
  At that time, Libna also revolted from his rule because
• 53:20
  he had forsaken the Lord, the God of the fathers, of his
• 53:22
  fathers. So this uprising of the Edomites
• 53:26
  and the people that lived now was because Joram the king of
• 53:30
  Judah departed from the Lord and walked in the ways of the kings
• 53:32
  of Israel. So what happens?
• 53:35
  Does it get any better with his son of Heziah?
• 53:37
  Let's read 25. In the 12th year of Joram, the
• 53:41
  son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahazzai, the son of Joram, king
• 53:43
  of Judah, began to reign as I was 22 years old when he began
• 53:47
  to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem.
• 53:50
  His mother's name was Athalia. She was a granddaughter of Omri,
• 53:55
  king of Israel. His mother's name was Athalia.
• 54:01
  I believe it was Matthew Henry who said when you choose a wife,
• 54:04
  you have to understand you're also choosing the mother of your
• 54:06
  children. So his mother's name was
• 54:10
  Athalia. She was a granddaughter of Omri,
• 54:12
  king of Israel. He also walked in the way of the
• 54:14
  House of Ahab and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord,
• 54:18
  as the House of Ahab had done, for he was the son-in-law to the
• 54:20
  House of Ahab. Now notice what happens here.
• 54:24
  He went with Joram the son of Ahab.
• 54:27
  That's Joram, king of Israel, not the one that just died, king
• 54:29
  of Judah. I hope I'm not confusing
• 54:31
  anybody. He went with Joram, the son of
• 54:33
  Ahab, to make war against who? The new king of Syria, Hazel,
• 54:37
  king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead, and the Syrians wounded Joram
• 54:42
  King Jerem returned to be healed, and Jezreel of the
• 54:45
  wounds that the Syrians had given him at Rama when he fought
• 54:48
  against Hazael king of Syria, And Haziah the son of Joram king
• 54:51
  of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab and Jezreel
• 54:54
  because he was sick. So now you see this alliance
• 54:57
  between the king of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel as Zion
• 55:02
  now is checking up on Jerem after this war against Syria.
• 55:07
  And though they felt as though they potentially evaded Hazel's
• 55:12
  punishment, his ruthless antics and ability, they don't see
• 55:17
  what's coming in the next chapter because there's still
• 55:21
  one more person out of the three from First Kings 1915 to be
• 55:24
  anointed. Who's that person?
• 55:27
  Jehu. And Jehu is going to be the
• 55:31
  instrument in God's hand that's going to bring an end to the
• 55:36
  House of Ahab. And we have to come next week to
• 55:38
  see it. Why don't we stop here and give
• 55:41
  thanks to God for this study? Lord, we thank you for the
• 55:57
  study. We bless your great and holy
• 56:01
  name. That Lord, just as your word
• 56:06
  says in Hebrews 412. This word is indeed living and
• 56:10
  active. It is as a double edged sword.
• 56:14
  There is no part of it that doesn't cut us.
• 56:17
  Every part of Your word has the potential of pricking our
• 56:20
  conscious or comforting our weary souls.
• 56:24
  Thank You that every part has an edge and we've experienced that
• 56:29
  tonight in this chapter. Lord, receive maximum glory and
• 56:32
  praise from the fruit of our lips, the sacrifice of praise,
• 56:37
  as we acknowledge Your greatness in Your word and in our lives.
• 56:42
  In Jesus name we pray, Amen and Amen.
• 56:45
  Let's praise the Lord for His goodness and his wisdom and His
• 56:49
  glory. You know, if there's one take
• 56:51
  away from this Bible study, it's this.
• 56:52
  When God says something, he means it.
• 56:55
  When God promises something, he means it both for our good and
• 57:00
  both for his justice if it means the pain of those who deny His
• 57:04
  good. So he keeps his word.
• 57:06
  Let's stand, let's give him thanks tonight.
• 57:20
  God keeps His word, whether it's a warning or it's a promise.
• 57:24
  You know, I left something out for my our Bible study tonight,
• 57:27
  but I'm going to share it in closing.
• 57:29
  Who are the Edomites? They're the descendants of Esau.
• 57:34
  Who is Esau? Jacob's brother.
• 57:37
  Remember that, right? And what did Jacob do to make
• 57:39
  Esau very, very upset? He stole his inheritance and he
• 57:44
  took away his blessing. And so Esau comes to his father
• 57:48
  and begs him, Oh, do you have something left for me?
• 57:52
  Do you have something left for me?
• 57:53
  And really, it's a bottom of the barrel prophecy that he grants
• 57:57
  him. But there's something in it that
• 58:00
  is related to 2nd Kings Chapter 8, and it's quite staggering.
• 58:06
  It says here in Genesis 27 verse 39.
• 58:09
  Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, Behold, away
• 58:13
  from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away
• 58:17
  from the dew of heaven on high by your sword you shall live,
• 58:22
  and you shall serve your brother right though he was older, he
• 58:26
  was going to serve his brother. But notice what happens.
• 58:29
  But when you grow restless, you shall break his yoke from your
• 58:34
  neck. So it wasn't a permanent
• 58:38
  servitude to Jacob and his descendants.
• 58:40
  At some point ISON his descends would grow so restless that they
• 58:44
  would break free from the yoke of Jacob.
• 58:47
  When do you think that happened? And what you heard in the final
• 58:51
  verses of Second Kings chapter 8, that when the Edomites broke
• 58:54
  free from Israel and became their own independent Kingdom,
• 58:58
  why do I bring that up? Because a promise that God gave
• 59:02
  in Genesis was fulfilled in Second Kings.
• 59:05
  Why? Because God doesn't forget his
• 59:08
  word. When God says something, he
• 59:10
  means it. And so even in things that we
• 59:13
  have not yet realized, he will bring it to pass.
• 59:17
  Even things from Genesis that have not yet been realized, it's
• 59:20
  going to happen because as God is true.
• 59:24
  Amen. We thank you, Lord.
• 59:27
  You're a trustworthy God. This book in our hands is the
• 59:30
  living Word. It's your breath, it's your
• 59:34
  voice, it's your promise, it's your guidance in our lives.
• 59:42
  We honor you for it, Lord, May we love it every day.
• 59:46
  I pray personally for every person here, and I pray for
• 59:48
  myself that there would be an appetite for the Word in 2025
• 59:53
  that has never been realized in prior years.
• 59:56
  We pray that you would enlarge our hearts, that we may run in
• 59:59
  the way of Your commandments. We honor you, we thank you, we
• 1:00:03
  pray that this church, by your grace, would be a Bible
• 1:00:06
  preaching, Bible believing, Bible heralding, Bible honoring
• 1:00:11
  church until you come and bring us home.
• 1:00:15
  Lord, may we not be like Hazel and shy away from everything you
• 1:00:19
  have to say, but we may believe that even the strongest words,
• 1:00:23
  the strongest warnings are for our good for people's lives to
• 1:00:27
  be saved, including our own. We bless you.
• 1:00:30
  Bring us back again safely in Jesus name, Amen and Amen.
• 1:00:36
  Lord willing we will see you this Sunday.
• 1:00:37
  We're breaking bread together. We're going to welcome in new
• 1:00:40
  members and again we're going to hear from the Lord.
• 1:00:43
  No Bible series just yet. Still preaching different
• 1:00:46
  messages. So be praying for the next
• 1:00:48
  series will be pleased. That would be wonderful for me
• 1:00:50
  and for the leadership. We'll see you there Lord
• 1:00:52
  willing. God bless you.
• 1:00:53
  Be safe, take Care now.