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2 Kings 14 (Part 2) & 15 Bible Study (Kings Reign in Israel & Judah) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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Let's go to 2nd Kings Chapter 15 please.
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In our Bibles Second Kings Chapter 15.
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Throughout the study, it has been a recurring pattern that
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whenever we cover a chapter, usually it includes the obituary
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of one or two kings. That being said, as we approach
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chapter 15, a quick glance will reveal that there are several
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kings mentioned in this section. In fact, there are 7 main kings
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that are brought to our attention and this is between
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both kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
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Now obviously these are brief accounts, but it makes you and I
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wonder, why is it that the Holy Spirit mentions these rulers in
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such rapid succession? Why is He wanting to give us a
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speedy montage of these administrations?
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And I believe the answer is because he longs to communicate
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the growing political and spiritual instability of this
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time. It was increasing.
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It was getting more dire, it was getting more dramatic.
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And so the structure of this chapter, in essence, is meant to
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convey that the insecurity of this time and of these kingdoms,
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it's something that you and I will inherit on a personal and
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societal level if we turn our backs on God.
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So if you read the section and you feel overwhelmed by the end
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of it, that's intentional. It's designed for you and I to
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feel frustrated and disappointed as we go from one king to
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another and realize they just keep failing and it's headed
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towards a dangerous direction. And so really the main overview
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of this is that the Spirit longs to drive in your heart and in
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mind that there is no better way to build your life than to set
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it on the foundation of the Lord.
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And here we're going to get many insights of what happens when
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you ignore Him and choose to walk independently from Him.
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But this Bible study is going to be a little bit more unique than
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our usual studies. I'm not sure if you noticed, but
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we didn't complete chapter 14. And the reason for that is
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because the majority of this chapter focused on a king by the
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name of Amaziah. And we looked at his pride and
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some of the truths related to pride.
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Whereas the last few verses of that chapter introduces to us
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Jeroboam the second, the king of Israel at this time.
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And So what we're going to do is we're going to include Jeroboam
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in this section of chapter 15, which will bring our total of
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kings in our study to 8. And I'm going to try my best to
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contain our insights, at least the main insights to 8 insights
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from 8 Kings. That's really the title of this
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Bible study, 8 Truths that We can Learn from 8 Kings.
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And forgive me if I go beyond that, but let's begin here at
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the end of chapter 14 and look at our first king and see what
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the Spirit of God can teach us. Second Kings 14, verse 23, In
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the 15th year of Amaziah, the son of Joash, king of Judah,
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Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign in
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Samaria, and he reigned 41 years.
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And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
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He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of
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Nabad, which He made Israel to sin.
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He restored the border of Israel from libel habath as far as the
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sea of the Araba, according to the word of the Lord, the God of
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Israel, which he spoke by His servant Jonah the son of Amitai
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the prophet, who was from Gath heifer.
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For the Lord saw that the affliction of Israel was very
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bitter, for there was none left bond or free, and there was none
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to help Israel. But the Lord had not said that
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He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven.
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So we saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.
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Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did,
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and his might, how he fought, and how he restored Damascus and
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Hamas to Judah and Israel, are they not written in the book of
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the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
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And Jeroboam slept with his father's, the kings of Israel,
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and Zechariah, his son, reigned in his place.
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You know you're destined for trouble when your parents give
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you the name of the man who caused division in the nation of
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Israel, split it into two kingdoms, and reintroduce golden
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calf worship to the people of God.
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This is Jeroboam the second and strangely he is the longest
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ruling king in Israel. Look again here, 41 years at the
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end of verse 2341 years. That seems strange concerning
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all the trouble that he brought to the people of God.
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In fact, you and I actually can know the very details of the
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atrocities that was committed under this rule.
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Do you know why? Because there are many notable
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prophets who were raised up to minister during this time,
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notably Hosea and Amos. And there was another one that
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we read in here, didn't we? But let's look at the beginning
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of Amos and Hosea. Let's turn to Amos 11.
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Just to confirm what I'm saying here.
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Amos 11, you have to comb through the latter portion of
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the Old Testament. There where all the minor
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prophets are, but you'll find it.
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Amos 11. We read the words of Amos, who
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was among the shepherds of Toccoa, which he saw concerning
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Israel in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and in the days
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of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before
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the earthquake. So Amos was raised up, and he
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preached prophetically during the reign of Jeroboam the
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second. But not just Amos, we have
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Hosea. Look at Hosea 11, not too far
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from Amos. Hosea 11, the word of the Lord
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that came to Hosea the son of Biri, and in the days of
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Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, there it is again in
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the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel.
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And so if you just read Hosea and Amos, you will get a very
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descriptive understanding, a widen understanding of the great
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crimes that were committed against God and His law.
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But if you want to summary what was taking place, it's in Hosea
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chapter 4. Look at verse one.
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Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord
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has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.
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There is no faithfulness or steadfast love and no knowledge
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of God in the land. That's a summary.
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No faithfulness, there is no steadfast love, and it's all
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tied to this. There is no knowledge of God in
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the land. And what's so interesting is you
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see the outcome of a willful ignorance of a people when they
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choose to turn their eyes away from God's Word and turn their
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backs on His presence. Look at verse 2.
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There is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing
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adultery. They break all bounds.
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In other words, there's no limit to their sin and bloodshed
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follows bloodshed. So again, notice the connection
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between no knowledge of God and the sins that thrive in that
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kind of cultural climate. Limitless evil is possible when
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there is willful ignorance of the Lord, and that was exactly
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what was taking place under Jeroboam.
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The second, whereas restraint and regeneration is made
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possible when there is an acknowledgement of the truth of
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the truth, that was not the case here.
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Now, you would think with such evil that was happening, the
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unbelievable mounting chaos because of people's sin, that
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judgment was around the corner. And it's true, Hosanna Amos did
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preach impending punishment from heaven.
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But when you go back to the text that we read earlier, there's
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something that is staggering that takes place under
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Jeroboam's rule. Again, we have to go back again.
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By the way, there's going to be a lot of bouncing between
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scriptures. Just to give you a heads up, go
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to 2nd Kings 14 and notice what the Lord does for Jeroboam the
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second in verse 25. This seems out of place for
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people who are persisting in spiritual adultery.
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Says here in verse 25 he restored the border of Israel
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from Libo Hamath as far as the sea of of the Arabia according
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to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel which he spoke by his
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servant Jonah the son of Amitai the prophet who was from Gath
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Heifer. Hold on.
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You are sinning, you are rebelling, you are persisting in
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your stubbornness and God gives you more land.
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The last time Libo Hamath is mentioned is back when King
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Solomon was able to secure a very wide dimension for the
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people of God concerning their real estate.
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That's the last time it happened.
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And over time was we saw especially the the borders of
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Israel being taken over by foreign nations.
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And at this time the Syrians were dominating these regions.
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And so hold on, we read just a glimpse of what Hosea was saying
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about this people. You would think that they would
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have to give up more land because of the unfaithfulness,
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but the exact opposite. The Lord is encouraging them to
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actually advance and be blessed. How do we know that?
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Because he sent a prophet by the name of Jonah.
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This is the same Jonah that fled from the presence of the Lord
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when God told him. Go and preach the Ninevites, by
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the way. So think about a contemporary to
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Amos and Hosea. You had an amazing roster of
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prophets preaching at the same time.
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And God spoke to Jonah at one point and said, go tell the king
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that he should advance to Lebo Hamath and I will give it to
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him. Even though there's no
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faithfulness in that, even though there's no steadfast
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love, even though there is no hunger for the knowledge of God.
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How can this be? Well, here we have our first
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lesson from the first king in our study, that our God is
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profoundly encouraging and delights and drawing us back to
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Himself with kindness. I don't think any of us would be
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surprised if Israel lost more. But to gain more?
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How can that be one simple answer?
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Because the riches of God's grace are unbelievable, and yet
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he calls us to believe in it. And there are times when the
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Lord allows suffering in order to awaken a Sinner.
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And at the same time, there are times when He alleviates
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suffering with the same purpose in mind.
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Suffering is not the only way that God gets the attention of a
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wayward person. He also does so by providing
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gifts and treating them in a way that they don't deserve and
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preserving them and providing for them and protecting them.
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So we have to broaden our understanding of how the Lord
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works in people's lives. It's not one-dimensional and you
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and I might think 1 strategy will work for somebody else, but
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God knows best. That being said, there is a
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danger for those who are in sin and are experiencing God's
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grace. And it is this that you would
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confuse His help for His approval.
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So the Lord giving more land to Israel was not him saying, you
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know it's OK you guys can continue sin.
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I'm just winking at it. No, because he raised up Hosea
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and he raised up Amos to call them to repentance, and I'm sure
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Jonah as well. But he does want to communicate
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at the same time. Do don't you see my kindness?
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Doesn't this want you to surrender to me?
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This is exactly what is happening here.
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And that's the first lesson. That being said, I think there's
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something worth noting here. Jeroboam the second, when he
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died, it will be a major door shut for the people of Israel to
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be able to reclaim the opportunity to be restored to
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the Lord. It's going to get worse after he
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dies. In fact, there's going to be a
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powerhouse of a nation that's going to approach the people of
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God, threatening them with invasion and exile.
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So God's patience, though it is great, it is not infinite.
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There is a limit to it, and that's what we're going to see
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in the text to come. Now, I said one main lesson
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already. I'm going to fail at that
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attempt. All right.
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Look back at Jonah's description here, verse 25.
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Jonah, the son of Amitai the prophet who was from Gath
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Heifer. Be honest.
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How many of us would just overlook that insight?
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You shouldn't. And if you were with us when we
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studied Joshua, we touched on many places that are brought to
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our attention in that book. When the people of Israel were
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gaining the promised land to themselves, Gath Heifer,
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according to Joshua 1913, you don't have to turn there, but
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just a reference for you. Joshua 1913 tells us that Gath
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Heifer was a place that was associated with the territory of
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the tribe of Zebulun, Zebulun, the northern part of Israel.
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And what's interesting to us is when we come to the New
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Testament, we learn that this region called Galilee, where
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Jesus spent most of his ministry, is associated with the
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area called Zebulun. So gath have, we can say, was a
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part of Galilee. Now, why is that important?
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Do you remember when the Pharisees were trying to find a
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way to arrest Jesus? And at one point they sent
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officers and Jesus was preaching and when he preached, the
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officers that were sent to apprehend them came back empty
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handed. Why?
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Well, they were asked, where is he?
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And they said, you don't understand.
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Nobody speaks like this man. They were spellbound.
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They were disarmed. And so they came back empty
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handed and they began to hurl accusations against them.
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And, and there was one person there who said something to
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defend Christ. Nicodemus says, hey, doesn't
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this man deserve a fair trial? And then they say this in John
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752. Search and see that no prophet
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arises from Galilee. Now here's what really makes me
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laugh. These are the supposed experts
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of the law. They're supposed to know the
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details of the scriptures. And in their attempt to
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discredit the ministry of Jesus and him being a candidate for
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the Messiah, they say there is no prophet that arises from
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Galilee. Jonah did so they were wrong.
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You know, some people attempt to sympathize with the Pharisees in
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this way. Well, you know, they, they try
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to study the Scriptures and some things were ambiguous or were in
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code or were kind of veiled. And so when Jesus came, it was a
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hard, it was a hard thing for them to try to reconcile the
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truths that they studied and who Christ claimed to be.
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I don't agree with that. I believe that the Pharisees 1
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did not really know their Bibles because they have elevated the
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traditions of men above the word of God.
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And two, wherever the scriptures were clear, if it did not line
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up with their desires or their notions, they were willing to
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dismiss it. And even Nicodemus was accused
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by the Lord when he was speaking about being born again.
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Are you a teacher in Israel and you don't know these things?
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So a lot of these pH DS were actually ill informed and we see
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it even here. And it goes to show you just how
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important it is to know our Bibles in detail as much as
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possible because you have one detail here that only added to
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the callousness of the hearts of the Pharisees in rejecting
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Christ. That's why we're studying the
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Old Testament because we want to know everything that the
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Scripture has to say because ultimately it all points to the
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Lord Jesus Christ. Well, that can be considered as
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a second truth, but we come to the second king to learn the
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second major insight from these kings.
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Let's come now to chapter 15 and 2nd kings.
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In the 27th year of Jeroboam, king of Israel, Azariah, the son
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of Amaziah, king of Judah, began to reign.
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Don't be discouraged if you don't memorize all these names.
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OK, verse two. He was 16 years old when he
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began to reign, and he reigned 52 years in Jerusalem.
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His mother's name was Jacoliah of Jerusalem.
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And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to
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all that his father and Messiah had done.
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Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away.
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The people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high
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places, and the Lord touched the king so that he was a leper to
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the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house.
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And Jotham, the King's son, was over the household governing the
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people of the land. Now the rest of the acts of
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Azariah and all that he did, are they not written in the book of
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the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
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And Azariah slept with his father's, and they buried him
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with his father's in the city of David.
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And Jotham his son reigned in his place.
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There's a unique element to Azariah's story, isn't there?
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It's quite obvious. It's the staggering common in
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verse 5 that the Lord touched Azariah and he received what?
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Leprosy? This is strange because we read
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here that he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
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Yet the language of verse 5 strongly implies that God struck
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him with what could be considered one of the most
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dreadful diseases to endure at this time.
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How does that work? How do you have the rare
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occurrence of a king walking rightly before the Lord and him
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receiving one of the greatest, most painful ailments?
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Does anybody know who Azariah is?
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He has another name and if I mention him, I think all of you
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would recognize him. Azariah is the same person as
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Uziah. Uziah from Second Chronicles and
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this is where Second Chronicles fills in the gaps, helping us
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understand how it was that a man who was walking right with God
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could receive this punishment. So some of you are already ahead
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of me in Second Chronicles 26. I want you to see with your own
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eyes. This will help explain what
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happened here. Again, this king was raised up
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at the age of 16. Can you imagine a 16 year old
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ruling a nation? That's when many teenagers are
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just starting to drive. This man was given a throne and
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he was very successful. He was one of the most cherished
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kings in all of Jerusalem's history because he was extremely
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successful. And he was successful because he
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walked in the fear of the Lord. But something happened.
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It's here in verse 16. It happens to many people, even
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those who initially start walking in an awe of God.
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But when he was strong, he grew proud to his destruction, for he
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was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and enter the temple of the
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Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.
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Why is that wrong? If you were a king, you were not
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allowed to assume the role of a priest. 2 separate lanes, and
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for great reasons. But here you have this man who
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grew proud, and this pride led to him to act presumptuously.
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He assumed that as a king he could function as a priest.
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So he enters into the temple, which was already a bad thing to
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do, and he begins to now offer a specific sacrifice that was
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reserved just for the line of Aaron.
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And what's interesting here is that pride convinces us that the
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repercussions for certain sins do not apply to us, because
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pride tells you that you're someone special even in God's
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sight. That I can, I can do this
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because the Lord will give me a pass because he needs me or he
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understands me. So he'll allow me to dabble in
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this for some kind of relief. Now, if you think that's a
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stretch, I can tell you that I read with my own eyes accounts
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of ministers who have fallen from the position of ministry.
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And many of them came to a point where they persuaded their own
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heart because of their pride, that they could sin and God
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would allow it because they've served them for so long, because
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they've devoted their lives to Him.
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And so in order to know some kind of reprieve, some kind of
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enjoyment, they have developed this false notion that the Lord
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will overlook this and he'll let me enjoy this without any
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problems. That's what happened to Isaiah.
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He thought that he can just waltz into the temple.
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He's the king. He brought reform to some
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degree, some success to the Kingdom.
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So surely the Lord will understand.
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Pride is powerfully deceptive. We learned that last week, but
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notice that it wasn't primarily Uzziah's pride here that led to
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his destruction. It was something else when he
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was confronted about his pride. Let's continue to read in verse
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17. But Azariah the priest went in
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after him with 80 priests of the Lord who were men of valor, and
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they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, it is not for you,
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Uziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priest, the
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sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense, go
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out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will
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bring you no honor from the Lord God.
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I applaud these priests because all it would take is for the
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king to snap his finger and they could all be slaughtered right
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there. It's happened before in the
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accounts of the kings. But they came collectively and
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they would, they stood against them and they resisted him, and
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they confronted him lovingly. Notice what happens in verse 19.
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Then Uziah was angry, now he had a sensor in his hand to burn
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incense. And when he became angry with
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the priest, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of
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the priest in the House of the Lord by the altar of incense.
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So if you don't see this carefully, then you might
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understand that Uzziah goes into the temple, he tries to perform
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the sacrifice, and then the Lord allowed leprosy to break out on
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his forehead and the priest escorted him out.
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That's not what happened. The leprosy broke out after he
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was confronted about his sin, and he responded wrongly.
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It's observations like this that remind us the absolute treasure
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it is of studying the Scriptures carefully, especially the Old
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Testament, because it deepens our understanding of God's
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character. And what we learned.
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Here is our second lesson. While sin does offend God, what
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deeply matters to Him is how we react when we are confronted
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about it. This is the second thing that we
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are granted by this King. You and I listen may say or do
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something that is not in line with Christ likeness, but when
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the Lord gives you an opportunity to acknowledge that
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sin, to confess it privately or publicly, how you respond
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greatly matters to him. He watches very carefully to
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see. You must always remember that
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because pride will keep you from confessing.
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I just I'm moved by God's mercy here.
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It was pride that led him to the temple to try to do this.
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But what really crossed the line for the Lord was when it was
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exposed and He doubled down. So you and I have to remember
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this for ourselves. When conviction comes, when you
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hear a Bible study, when a parent or when a friend
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approaches you and bring something up, what you do with
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that information that's brought to your attention will determine
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so much. And God, who sees all things,
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who's closer to you than your skin will take into account how
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you respond and just give me, I'll just give you a word of
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advice. Even if something is brought to
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your attention that you may not see for yourself, humbly receive
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it. And you can even admit I, I may
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not see it for what it is at this point, but I will take it
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into consideration. Bring it before the Lord.
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Anything. Listen, what that person is
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doesn't have the good intentions that you hope for or they come
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off in a certain way. It never is a wrong thing for
25:33
you to say. Let me bring this before the
25:35
Lord. You'll protect yourself in that
25:38
way. Now, before we move on, did you
25:42
notice where the leprosy broke out on Isaiah's body?
25:47
Where was it? His forehead.
25:49
Do you think that's an accident? No, that's intentional.
25:54
Let me ask you another question now.
25:55
Are there any instructions that God gave specifically to the
26:00
priest relating to their foreheads when it comes to the
26:04
temple service? I'm curious to know if somebody
26:08
actually has an answer. People are whispering yes,
26:12
brother, yes, very good. And what was supposed to be
26:19
inscribed on that plate of gold? There was a phrase, holiness to
26:25
the Lord. Because some of you are staring
26:28
at me. So go to Exodus 28, Exodus 28,
26:33
verse 36. This is the chapter that defines
26:38
the garments of the priest and the high priest.
26:40
And notice this detail. I love the Bible.
26:49
Exodus 2836. You shall make a plate of pure
26:52
gold and engrave on it like the engraving of a signet holy to
26:57
the Lord, and you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of
27:01
blue. It shall be on the front of the
27:02
turban. It shall be on errands where
27:06
forehead and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things
27:11
that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts.
27:14
It shall regularly be on his forehead.
27:17
They may be accepted before the Lord.
27:21
So for the Lord to strike Uzziah in that specific place conveys a
27:25
deeper meaning. Uzziah, this position is not for
27:30
you, because you were not consecrated unto me.
27:33
You are not set apart unto me like the priest are.
27:38
So instead of you having the seal of my approval, holiness to
27:42
the Lord, I'm going to give you a seal of my disapproval.
27:44
Here's leprosy, but it's more practical than that.
27:51
Where does pride begin? You can say the heart, but you
27:54
can also say the mind with lofty thoughts of self.
28:01
And you can be assured that pride is much more prevalent in
28:04
the person who does not have the preoccupation of holy thoughts
28:09
unto the Lord, but high thoughts of self.
28:15
Is there any wonder that the Scriptures command us in a New
28:17
Testament to set our minds on things above where Christ is
28:21
seated? For we are dead and now hidden
28:25
in Christ? That's Colossians chapter 3.
28:28
So even in our own thinking, we are to meditate and we are to
28:30
muse over the truths of who He is, the glory of who He is,
28:33
where any of our strength or goodness come from.
28:36
It's Him, it's Him, it's Him, Stay there, remain there.
28:43
Yes, this was a specific piece for the high priest, but we can
28:47
also apply to ourselves that we should think on the things that
28:50
God wants us to think about because it provides a shield
28:54
amongst many other rewards. And in News I, what we find is
28:58
that he did not have the right thoughts about God, which led to
29:02
the wrong thoughts about him and brought him to a place where he
29:05
would be exiled from the temple, and not just the temple, but the
29:09
Kingdom, and he'd be treated as a leper for the rest of his
29:12
days. And so the forehead here is
29:16
intentional. There's a message there, and
29:18
there's still many more to come from these kings.
29:21
Let's come to king #3 Second Kings 15, beginning in verse 8.
29:31
In the 38th year of Azariah, king of Judah, Zechariah, the
29:34
son of Jeroboam, reigned over Israel and Samaria six months.
29:40
And he did what was evil in the side of the Lord, as his
29:42
father's had done. He did not depart from the sins
29:45
of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, which he made Israel to sin.
29:49
Shalom the son of Jabesh, conspired against him and struck
29:52
him down at Iblium and put him to death, and reigned in his
29:56
place. Now the rest of the deeds of
29:58
Zechariah, behold, they are written in the book of the
30:01
Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
30:03
This was the promise of the Lord that he gave to Jehu.
30:07
Your son shall sit on the throne of Israel to the 4th generation.
30:11
And so it came to pass. Remember, Jehu was the one
30:17
called by God to eliminate the House of Ahab and to destroy
30:23
Bill worship. And because of his faithfulness
30:26
in that area, God visited Jehu and promised him you will have
30:30
four sons, 4 descendants who will occupy the throne.
30:36
And here we have Zechariah who is the fulfillment of that
30:38
promise. He is the last of the four.
30:41
This is where we see the faithfulness of God.
30:44
And you can imagine how painful it must have been to God's heart
30:48
to keep His word to Jehu, because every single one of
30:53
Jehu's sons were doing evil in the sight of the Lord.
30:56
Every single one of them, not one, acknowledged God's love,
31:01
His favor towards their Father. They kept walking in
31:04
disobedience, and generation after generation, king after
31:08
king, the Lord still kept His word.
31:11
To Jehu, the third lesson from the third king that He is a
31:17
promise keeping God, you and I should recognize our rest in His
31:25
promise keeping ability. If God keeps His word even for
31:30
those who are wicked, how much more for you and I who have
31:34
lovingly embraced the Lord Jesus Christ.
31:37
And yet here you and I are more willing to believe that He is
31:42
faithful to an evil dynasty, but when it comes to our lives, we
31:45
question Him. How can that be?
31:49
That is strange, is it not? We cannot doubt His willingness
31:55
to keep His word. And again, if He was willing to
31:58
do it for those who didn't deserve it, how much more for us
32:01
who in Christ are seen and are loved by the Father as He does
32:06
Christ? Do you know where we find
32:10
ourselves in great trouble? Do you know why we have anxiety
32:12
in different areas of our lives? It stems from one thing, not
32:16
believing God, not believe in God.
32:20
If you don't believe me, let me quote to you John 14.
32:22
One, let not your hearts be troubled. believe in God,
32:26
believe also in me. What is Jesus saying there?
32:32
That the reason why your heart is troubled is because you don't
32:36
believe God about it. The reason why you can't sleep,
32:40
the reason why you are visited with that flush of worry is
32:45
because in that specific area, with that specific person, in
32:48
that circumstance, you are not ultimately trusting in the Lord.
32:53
So what's the antidote for us, for our hearts not to be shaky?
32:59
Believe God, bring that thing in His presence, let the promise of
33:05
God shine its light upon it, and trust in Him, no matter how
33:10
frightening or threatening that thing may be.
33:14
And so again, you and I are supposed to be here confronted
33:17
and impressed and reminded that this God kept His promise to a
33:20
house that was wicked. And here I am part of the
33:25
household of God. Here I am, a child of God.
33:30
What did Jesus say? If those who are evil know how
33:33
to give good gifts, how much more your heavenly Father?
33:37
How much more? So when I come to this king,
33:41
here's what I take away from it. Lord, you keep your word.
33:48
You did it for Jehu and his sons.
33:50
Surely you'll do it for me. He'll do it for you.
33:54
This is the third lesson. He is a promise keeping God.
33:58
Let's come to the fourth king, King Shalom.
34:01
In verse 13 to verse 16, Shalom the son of Jabesh began to reign
34:05
in the 39th year of Uzziah, king of Judah, and he reigned one
34:09
month in Samaria. Then Menahem the son of Gadi
34:14
came up from Tirza and came to Samaria and he struck down
34:19
Shalom, the son of Jabesh in Samaria and put him to death and
34:22
reign in his place. Now the rest of the deeds of
34:24
Shalom and the conspiracy that he made, behold, they are
34:26
written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of
34:29
Israel at that time. And Nahim sacked Tifsha and all
34:32
who were in it and it's territory from tears on, because
34:35
they did not open it to him. Therefore he sacked it and he
34:38
ripped open all the woman in it who were pregnant.
34:44
If you're thinking this is getting more intense, that's the
34:46
point. Again, we're faced with the
34:48
sequence, these snapshots of these kingdoms, and it's almost
34:50
like this unfortunate highlight reel.
34:53
It's getting worse, it's getting worse, it's getting worse.
34:57
What did we learn from this though?
35:01
What stands out about Shalom is the conspiracy that is brought
35:05
forth and verse 15. Now the rest of the deeds of
35:08
Shalom and the conspiracy that he made.
35:12
What's that conspiracy? It's what we touched on earlier.
35:16
Look at verse 10, Second Kings 15.
35:18
Shalom the son of Jabish conspired against them and
35:21
struck him down at Iblium and put him to death and reigned in
35:23
his place. So the same Shalom who conspired
35:27
against Zechariah was later conspired against by a name by a
35:32
man named Menahem. Here lies the 4th truth from the
35:37
4th king in our study. Whatever a man sows, that he
35:41
will also what reap And shaloom is a sobering reminder that
35:48
sometimes the reversal of events can take place very quickly.
35:54
How long was he king? A month.
35:58
The Lord did not delay in bringing swift judgement to this
36:01
man. But we have to be careful
36:05
because he doesn't always act so speedily.
36:08
Many times there is delay before the fruit of our sin appears
36:14
with the receipt. And so you and I have to
36:18
remember that always that whatever we invest in will come
36:23
back to us. And there is a way that Proverbs
36:27
presents this that I want to bring to your attention.
36:28
Let's turn to Proverbs 26 in this chapter.
36:34
There is a specific kind of warning in verse 27.
36:45
Whoever digs a pit will fall into it and a stone will come
36:49
back on him who starts it rolling.
36:53
So there are two scenarios there.
36:55
You have one who digs a pit, which speaks of what?
36:57
When you dig a pit for something to fall into it, what is that
36:59
called? So it's with the letter T.
37:02
It's a trap right? Now, if I go up on a hill and I
37:06
know that there's somebody who's going to be taking this road at
37:07
a specific time and I push over a giant stone, what am I seeking
37:12
to do? Hurt somebody to ultimately
37:15
destroy them? And what we learned there is
37:18
that for a person whose schemes to try to trap somebody else,
37:23
they will fall victim to their own scheme.
37:26
And a person who musters up all this energy and planning an
37:29
effort to try to crush someone else will be crushed by their
37:34
own efforts. It really is a sobering warning.
37:41
And if if you want to stay very far away from this being a
37:45
possibility, here's the counsel. Be a man, be a woman of
37:49
integrity and all your actions and all your reactions and all
37:53
your interactions and with a temptation to do wrong visits.
37:59
You trust in the sovereignty of God.
38:01
Do not place it in your own hands because those who set
38:06
traps and those who try to cause harm to others will be
38:10
surprised. Don't we see it in the book of
38:13
Esther? Don't we see it in Daniel?
38:15
The very ones that tried to make Daniel get in trouble for
38:18
praying? We're launching the very same
38:21
pit with the lions and we're devoured by those lions that
38:24
were designed for Daniel I, I love to be on the other side of
38:29
that promise that God protects us if we do choose to walk in
38:33
holiness and in righteousness. But oh, what a warning it is for
38:36
those who do not take heed. So this is what we learn here.
38:40
Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
38:43
Shalom thought that he can get away with killing Zechariah, and
38:46
he himself was assassinated. Now we come to the fifth king,
38:52
Menahem in verse 17. Hopefully you're not overwhelmed
38:57
by this. In the 39th year of Azariah,
39:02
king of Judah, Menahem, the son of Gadi, began to reign over
39:05
Israel, and he reigned 10 years in Samaria.
39:08
And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
39:11
He did not depart all his days from all the sins of Jeroboam
39:15
the son of Nabad, which he made Israel to sin.
39:18
Pull, the king of Assyria, came against the land, and Menahem
39:22
gave Pull 1000 talents of silver that he might help him to
39:26
confirm his hold on to the royal power.
39:29
Menahem exacted the money from Israel, that is, from all the
39:32
wealthy men, 50 shekels of silver from every man to give to
39:35
the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned
39:37
back and did not stay there in the land.
39:39
Now the rest of the deeds of Menahem and all that he did, are
39:42
they not written in the books of the Chronicles of the kings of
39:44
Israel? And Menahem slept with his
39:46
fathers, and Picaya his son reigned in his place.
39:50
Let's take a deep breath, shall we?
39:52
It's a mouthful. So let me give you a little bit
39:56
of insight of how I approach this chapter.
39:58
I'm I'm looking here. Yes, there there's much
40:01
repetition, but is there anything that stands out with
40:03
each of these kings? And I encourage you to read the
40:07
Bible in that way, especially when you come to repetitive
40:10
text. Is there anything that stands
40:12
out? And when we come to this king,
40:15
we realize that there is indeed a very unique element to his
40:18
administration. It was the fact that the
40:21
superpower of a nation encroached upon the land and was
40:25
ready to invade it. This is very scary for the
40:30
people of God. This is very unique to their
40:32
history and you would think that Menahem would respond to this by
40:35
repenting and crying out to God for help.
40:39
Assyria is ready now to take over.
40:42
They are a threat. Instead of doing that, what does
40:46
he do? He imposes this heavy tax on the
40:48
wealthy men of his nation in order to pay off Assyria.
40:55
So instead of humbling himself and receiving God's help because
41:00
he's now reconciled to the Lord, he chooses to solve this his own
41:05
way. So with the 5th king we have our
41:11
fifth lesson. Men are often tempted to manage
41:15
the consequences of their sin with short term solutions
41:22
because what Manahan fails to realize is although he will have
41:25
temporary relief, Assyria is going to come back and take
41:30
over. There are many who want
41:35
salvation without surrender. They want restoration without
41:41
repentance. They want counseling without
41:46
Christ, and like Manahan, many want to fix their lives without
41:53
giving up their lives. And they even turn to Christians
41:58
to try to receive some kind of advice because from the outside
42:01
it looks like their lives are are put together and they have
42:04
order and there's some sort of blessing that's obvious.
42:06
So they come into the House of God or they approach people's
42:10
homes and they seek counsel with the hope of gaining some kind of
42:13
wisdom without actually living for the Lord.
42:18
I've had unbelievers over the years come in their desperation
42:21
because they are struggling or because they are suffering
42:24
because of sin. And they they hope to get some
42:28
kind of Intel or some kind of insight or some kind of
42:32
instruction without really embracing the Lordship of
42:38
Christ. And I have more than once
42:41
lovingly told such people, I have nothing to offer you except
42:47
for Christ. There is nothing that I can give
42:51
you because everything that I have to say is rooted in the
42:54
Word of God and it's tied to relationship with the Lord Jesus
42:57
Christ. So if you want help with your
43:00
wayward child, if you want help with the patterns of destruction
43:04
in your own life, then you have to be willing to embrace the
43:07
Word of God and the God of the Word.
43:10
And if not, then I'm sorry, I'm, I'm limited here because my life
43:17
has been given over to the author of life.
43:20
My soul is kept by the one who saved my soul.
43:24
And he's the one who also wants to save you.
43:26
He's the one who also made you. So why would you attempt
43:30
navigating through this life without his guidance?
43:32
And that's what you have here. You have men like Manahan who
43:36
who are willing to even pay a price as long as it's not total
43:40
devotion, as long as it's not total repentance.
43:45
And if they are willing to apply themselves in such a way, they
43:49
are going to be disappointed as we're going to discover it by
43:52
the end of this study. That's what Manaheim teaches us.
43:55
But let's come to the 6th king in verse 23.
44:01
In the 50th year of Azariah, king of Judah, Picaya the son of
44:05
Manaheim, began to reign over Israel and Samaria, and he
44:08
reigned 2 years. And he did what was evil in the
44:11
side of the Lord. He did not turn away from the
44:13
sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, which he made Israel to
44:17
sin. And Pika the son of Remalia his
44:20
captain, conspired against him with 50 men of the people of
44:24
Gilead, and struck him down in Samaria in the citadel of the
44:27
King's house. With our Gob and Ira.
44:31
He put them to death and reign in his place.
44:33
Now the rest of the deeds of Picaya and all that he did,
44:36
behold, they are written in the book of the Chronicles of the
44:38
Kings of Israel. If you're thinking to yourself,
44:41
this sounds like a copy paste of Zechariah and Shalom stories,
44:44
you're absolutely right. It is almost a copy paste.
44:49
And that would tempt you to say, OK, I've seen this before, don't
44:52
do that. The Holy Spirit, there's no
44:56
waste space in his word. So if there is something that's
44:58
so strikingly similar, especially in close context, ask
45:01
yourself, what does this say? What is the Lord trying to say?
45:05
Well, again, these reigns are short, are they not?
45:08
So here's my question. How is it that Picaya didn't
45:11
learn from his predecessors? How is it that you haven't
45:16
figured it out that when you walk in the ways of Jeroboam,
45:19
the son of Nabat, it doesn't end well for you?
45:21
It didn't register yet, did it? And and we're also seeing here
45:27
that there is a lot of assassination taking place.
45:32
So you're seeing this and it's like, yeah, this is just a
45:34
repetitive cycle. Yes, but people still don't
45:37
learn from it. People still don't take it at
45:40
heart. People still don't apply it to
45:42
themselves. Which brings us to our 6th
45:44
lesson from the 6th king in our study.
45:47
People often believe that they can sin and expect better
45:50
outcomes than others. May I say that one more time?
45:54
Many people indulge in sin thinking that they can escape
45:59
the consequences that have visited other people.
46:04
I believe that was the deception that haunted Pakaya.
46:08
And one thing that I love about the Bible is that it invites us
46:10
to examine the fruit of sin and sinners.
46:15
It does. It calls you to observe it.
46:16
It calls you to look at it as a catalyst for salvation and
46:21
sanctification. Can I show you one of my
46:24
favorite examples of that? I brought this up more than
46:25
once. This is worth highlighting in
46:28
Romans 621 where Paul tells the Romans, what fruit were you
46:31
getting from the things that you are now ashamed of?
46:37
In that context, he's talking about living a sanctified life,
46:40
a crucified life, a life that's been buried with Christ.
46:43
And then he just gets really practical.
46:45
He goes, hey Romans, I want you to really think about it.
46:48
Think about the outcomes of the things that you are now ashamed
46:52
of. Why would you even consider
46:54
going back to them? Why would you even linger with
46:59
temptation? Look at it.
47:04
And this shows me that Lord is so confident about His
47:07
description of the misery of living in sin that He actually
47:13
calls you to look at the outcomes for yourself and be
47:15
persuaded by them. Just look at it.
47:20
And for someone like Picaya to know the rotten fruit that comes
47:25
from willfully walking away from the Lord and still walk in that
47:29
direction, it's the epitome of foolishness.
47:33
It's crazy. And yet millions are doing it
47:37
today. You know, there's a lot of
47:40
people who believe in this notion of generational curses.
47:43
I don't adhere to that view, but I do understand that there are
47:46
generational patterns. And that's what we see here in a
47:50
sense where this king refuses to break free from the cycle that
47:58
plagued his predecessors. And many people are doing the
48:01
same today, unfortunately. So the lesson here is that
48:04
people often believe that they can sin and think that they can
48:07
have better outcomes. King #7 hold on tight, We're
48:12
almost there. Verse 27, in the 52nd year of
48:19
Azariah, king of Judah, Pika, the son of Remalia, began to
48:24
reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned 20 years.
48:28
And he did what was evil in the side of the Lord.
48:31
He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat,
48:34
which he made Israel to sin. In the days of Pika, king of
48:37
Israel, Tiglath Pilot, Sir king of Assyria, came and captured
48:42
Egon, Ababeth, Mecca, Genoa, Kadesh, Hazar, Gilead, and
48:48
Galilee, all the land of Naftali.
48:50
And he carried the people captive to Assyria.
48:53
Then Hoshea the son of Elah, made a conspiracy against Pika
48:56
the son of Remalia, and struck him down and put him to death
48:59
and reign in his place in the 20th year of Jonathan the son of
49:02
Uzziah. Now the rest of the acts of Pika
49:04
and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of
49:06
the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
49:10
Another deep breath. If you were to look at a map of
49:16
Israel during this time, you would learn that NAFTA Lee
49:19
occupies a northern part of it. And the Syria that we just read
49:24
about has now come again. But this time a check isn't
49:28
going to work. They take over very important
49:33
strategic cities, and they are essentially occupying the
49:37
northern part of this people. And this is so staggering
49:42
because who would have thought that this would have happened?
49:47
God promised long ago that one of the final acts of judgement
49:52
would be exile, because he didn't just take over cities.
49:55
What he took captive some of the people of God to Assyria.
50:01
This is a very pivotal moment in our study of the book of Second
50:04
Kings. People are now being taken from
50:07
the promised land and to live under a rule that is foreign,
50:12
that is evil, that essentially is God's punishment for those
50:17
who wanted evil. OK, live under evil.
50:20
Here's the 7th lesson from our study of these kings.
50:25
God is just as serious about His promises to punish as He is to
50:30
provide, to protect, and to prosper.
50:36
Because as I said, the Lord warned in Leviticus, in
50:40
Deuteronomy, that exile is your future if you persist in
50:48
rebellion. And we're seeing it come to
50:49
pass. And if you actually read the
50:53
prophets, one of the boast of the sinners was there's no way
50:56
that God will allow exile to happen.
50:59
You're telling me that he, he had all that happen with Abraham
51:03
and with our patriarchs and our forefathers.
51:07
He did all of that and brought us here just to take us out.
51:13
And so they were, they were willing to believe the grace of
51:15
God, but when it came to the judgement of God, they had all
51:18
these false ideas about it and it just solidified them in their
51:21
sin. But here's the 7th lesson.
51:24
He's just as serious and willing to perform his promises to
51:30
punish than any other good promise that we love and enjoy.
51:35
There's a hymn that's found in the New Testament.
51:39
Many hymns, actually, people debate if they're hymns or if
51:41
they're Christian sayings that were popular in the days of the
51:45
early church. And sometimes we're prepared to
51:48
know one of these sayings or these hymns with the statement
51:51
this saying is trustworthy. Have you read that in the New
51:53
Testament? This saying is trustworthy.
51:56
And there's one that Paul shares with and reminds Timothy of in
51:59
Second Timothy 2IN verse 11, he says this saying is trustworthy.
52:04
If we have died with him, we will what also live with him.
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And he goes on to say, if we endure, we will also what reign
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with Him. If we deny him, he will deny us.
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If we are faithless, he is what He remains faithful.
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Out of those four lines, those four conditions, which one do
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you think is most quoted by people today?
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I hear the last one all the time.
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I rarely hear. If we have died with Him, we
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will also live with Him. That if we endure that we will
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also reign. I I usually hear, especially in
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times of counseling or conversation, if we are
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faithless, he remains faithful, right?
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For good reason, I suppose, because this is usually
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interpreted as well. Even if we veer off and we
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disobey, that does not nullify the grace of God and the love of
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God and the ability to be restored to God.
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And I believe that's true, but I want you to consider another
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possible interpretation that when you look at these
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statements, you have two that are positive and two that are
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negative. The 1st 2 is if we die with him,
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we'll live with him. If we endure, we will reign.
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And then we come to if we deny him, he'll deny us.
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And could it be that when he says if we are faithless, he
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remains faithful? He's connected to the statement
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that just came. In other words, we can also
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understand this to me, that for those who deny Christ and sever
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their loyalty to Him, IE being faithless, God is faithful to
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carry out His warnings. He promised to those who do so.
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You may be faithless in your vows to the Lord or in your
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empty profession, but God is faithful in everything that He
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has said, including to what He will do and how He'll respond to
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those who have denied him. God is serious about all of His
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word, not just some of His word. And what we have here is that
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the Assyrians in our main text have arrived because God said
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something many, many years ago, and He hadn't forgotten about
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it. Let's come to our final lesson,
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the 8th lesson with the 8th king in verse 32 of Second Kings 15,
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in the second year of Pika, the son of Remalia, king of Israel,
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Jonathan, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, began to reign.
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He was 25 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned
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16 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerusha,
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the daughter of Zadok, and he did what was right in the eyes
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of the Lord according to all that his father Uzziah had done.
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Isn't that refreshing? Nevertheless, the high places
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were not removed. The people still sacrifice and
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made offerings on the high places.
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He built the upper gate of the House of the Lord.
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Pause. When's the last time we heard
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about anything relate to the House of the Lord?
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So obviously, this king had great respect for the House of
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God, and he invested in its restoration.
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But let's read on. Now the rest of the acts of
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Jonathan and all that he did, are they not written in the book
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of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
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Now you would think it would end there and it would make sense.
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Here we have a righteous king who did great things for the
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Kingdom. But verse 37 comes in those
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days. The Lord began to send Resin,
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the king of Syria, and Pika, the son of Ramallah, against Judah.
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Jotham slept with his father's and was buried with his father's
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in the city of David. His father and Ahaz, his son,
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reigned in his place. So he did what was right in the
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eyes of the Lord. He invested in the House of God.
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Everything is looking well. And then at the end of this
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text, we read that two nations now come against Judah.
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You might be thinking, is this another case of Azariah or Uziah
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where he started out well and then he ended wrong?
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No, Jotham actually ended well. So how is it that you have these
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foreign entities, these enemies surrounding the people of God
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with a righteous ruler? I think there are many ways to
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answer that, and I want to give you one that is fairly new in
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our understanding how things work in the days of the kings.
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If you still have energy, we'll go to one more place in the
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Bible. It's in Second Chronicles, and
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here's what will end. Second Chronicles 27 is the
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parallel account to this one, and I want us to look at the 1st
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2 verses please. Jotham was 25 years old when he
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began to reign, and he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem.
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His mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok, and he
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did what was right in the eyes of the Lord according to all
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that his father Uzziah had done, except he did not enter the
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Temple of the Lord. Don't you love that?
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So this man's father was Uziah, the one who entered into the
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temple and assumed the position of a priest.
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Now his son reigns and we're told he didn't enter the temple.
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So he made a willful choice. I'm not going to imitate my
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father in this way. You can make the same choice no
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matter how you grew up. But it's the last part.
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But the people still followed corrupt practices.
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I believe that's one of the reasons why the Lord allowed for
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Israel and Syria to come against Judah.
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Here's the final lesson from the final king.
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Godly influences do not guarantee godly imitation.
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I love how this is brought to our attention because the Bible
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is very realistic. You may have a godly pastor.
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You may have godly pastors. You may have godly fathers,
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mothers, older siblings, younger siblings, friends.
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That doesn't mean that you'll walk in the same way they
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walked. That should encourage those who
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are hoped that their presence and their example would be
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replicated. Because you have some people,
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and I have spoken to them with tears in their eyes that have
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wondered, was I not godly enough?
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Did I not pray hard enough? Did I not teach my children the
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Bible enough? How is it that they're walking
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in this way while I've served the Lord all the days of my life
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and I've brought Christ into our marriage and into our home?
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How is this possible? Well, you have one of many
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examples just like this, that you can have a godly leader and
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a godless people under that leadership.
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That is even true for a local church.
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You can have a Bible preaching, Bible living teacher week in and
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week out and people still leave unchanged, moved here and there,
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but not truly transformed. So what does this really teach
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us? We are each responsible for our
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own sanctification, and we will each be held accountable by God
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for what we have done with the influences in our lives,
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including godly leadership. And so we see here that the Lord
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is trying to get the attention of His people when they chose to
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ignore a godly king. Things are getting bad for the
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people of God, and as we come to chapter 16 next week, we're
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going to discover that together. Let's pray and seek the Lord in
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Thanksgiving. Well, we tried our best with
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this chapter to mine it so that we can discover gold in it.
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Or we could have easily have just scratched the surface, but
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we didn't want to do that. But we also know that we are
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finite and we are limited and things can be overwhelming.
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So we ask that the things that we have clicked on would be
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retained and remembered. So Lord, help us chain these
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insights around our hearts. Help us remember these truths
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when they matter the most. And help us, Lord, if there's
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going to be anything that we take away from this, help us
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believe that every part of your word is an ocean of truth.
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Lord, we pray that if anything has resonated with us, we would
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not ignore it, that we would take heed of Uzziah's example
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and not shooing away or becoming even angry with conviction in
1:01:45
our hearts. Help us never become angry for
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those who speak truths to us. Help us see them as a friend, as
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a gift always. And so, Lord, if there's
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anything that you have touched on even now we believe that, you
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see how we will respond to this conviction, and we will respond
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rightly by the grace of the Holy Spirit who helps us remain in
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humility. Lord, thank you that you keep
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your promises. Thank you, Lord, that we may
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forget, but you don't. Thank you, Lord, that when we
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are faithless, you are faithful. And that's a good thing.
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And it can be a terrifying thing.
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But Lord, we now as a church choose to sing to you in
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Thanksgiving because you have brought us yet through another
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text in Your word that will not be in vain in our lives.
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In Jesus name we pray, Amen. Let's stand, let's sing to the
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Lord. We have 8 reasons to sing to the
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Lord tonight. I'm sure many more.