The Merciful God

2 Kings 14:23-29

 

Ordinarily when we have studied a particular king the sermon title

Has bore his name, along with a description of what type of king he was.

 

Since we are on a new king, one would expect that to be the case again.

 

This morning we study the great-grandson of Jehu

His name is Jeroboam

(Commonly referred to as Jeroboam II, to keep from

Confusing him with the previous Jeroboam)

 

But when you read the account of his life,

We quickly understand that what the author of kings has to say

Is not all that much about him.

 

In this account it gives hardly any specifics about what he did,

And the writer even tells us that those specifics are not why he wrote.

 

(28-29) “Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam and all that he did and his might, how he fought and how he recovered for Israel, Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel, and Zechariah his son became king in his place.”

 

The writer didn’t tell us “how he fought” or “how he recovered”

He only told us that if we want to read about “all that he did”,

Then we have to go read somewhere else.

 

And so we understand that this portion of Scripture is not at all about Jeroboam, but is all about what God did through Him.

 

And even more accurately, what God did in spite of him.

 

This story is about God.

And to be specific, this story is about the great mercy of God.

 

Psalms 103:8-14 “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.”

 

God knows where we came from, and God knows what we deserve.

And yet, God is still merciful.

Psalms 86:15 “But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.”

 

Psalms 36:5 “Your lovingkindness, O LORD, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.”

 

Micah 7:18 “Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love.”

 

And we could go on and on with verses that speak of God’s great mercy.

The point is that God is merciful.

 

But sometimes simply hearing it is not enough to convince us.

Sometimes we need an example of His mercy.

 

JEROBOAM IS SUCH AN EXAMPLE

 

So this morning through Jeroboam we see again

Just how merciful God actually is.

 

There are two main points to the sermon this morning.

#1 A KING WHO SINNED

2 Kings 14:23-24

 

And this morning not only do I want you to see this king,

But I also want to help you see what Israel was like at the time of his reign.

 

You already know the king we are dealing with.

“Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel”

 

Joash was the skeptical king.

The one that God promised deliverance to through Elisha.

 

Remember that Elisha told him to strike the ground with the arrows,

And he only did it 3 times and Elisha was angry at his skepticism.

 

That was Joash.

Now his son Jeroboam is on the throne.

 

And the writer gives an appraisal of his life.

(24) “He did evil in the sight of the LORD”

 

I am going to give you some more detail in a moment,

But honestly this appraisal should suffice to make the point.

 

We are not dealing with a righteous king, or a good king, or a faithful king. We are dealing with a wicked one.

 

This is not a king who deserves anything from God.

He is an evil king.

And next we see why.

 

Only one sin in his life is mentioned, (doubtless there were more)

But the big one is mentioned here.

 

“he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin.”

 

And there is yet another king

Clinging to those calves that Jeroboam made.

 

And because of this sin, he is appraised as an evil king.

 

But this morning we have access to even more information.

(Not necessarily about him, but certainly about the nation of Israel)

 

For during the reign of Jeroboam II

There were three prophets who performed their ministries.

Jonah, Hosea, and Amos all prophesied during Jeroboam’s reign.

 

Jonah is obvious, for he is mentioned in verse 25.

 

Hosea 1:1 “The word of the LORD which came to Hosea the son of Beeri, during the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.”

 

Amos 1:1 “The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders from Tekoa, which he envisioned in visions concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.”

 

Furthermore we can see that

Amos was a special bur under Jeroboam’s saddle.

 

Amos 7:10-13 “Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words. “For thus Amos says, ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword and Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.'” Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah and there eat bread and there do your prophesying! “But no longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence.”

 

And so we have at our disposal two independent books of the Bible

That will give us much added insight into

Exactly what Israel was like during the time that Jeroboam reigned.

 

And I hope you will allow me to paint a picture of Israel for you.

 

(If we want to see the extent of God’s mercy,

We first have to see the extent of Israel’s sin)

 

And if you were to read both of those books of prophecy

You could easily categorize Israel’s sin into three distinct problems.

 

1) Spiritual Idolatry

2) Scriptural Heresy

3) Social Cruelty

 

1) SPIRITUAL IDOLATRY

 

This should be the most obvious, since we are extremely aware

Of Israel’s love affair with Jeroboam’s calves.

 

Hosea 8:1-7 “Put the trumpet to your lips! Like an eagle the enemy comes against the house of the LORD, Because they have transgressed My covenant And rebelled against My law. They cry out to Me, “My God, we of Israel know You!” Israel has rejected the good; The enemy will pursue him. They have set up kings, but not by Me; They have appointed princes, but I did not know it. With their silver and gold they have made idols for themselves, That they might be cut off. He has rejected your calf, O Samaria, saying, “My anger burns against them!” How long will they be incapable of innocence? For from Israel is even this! A craftsman made it, so it is not God; Surely the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces. For they sow the wind And they reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; It yields no grain. Should it yield, strangers would swallow it up.”

 

It is apparent that God is not amused with the calves that Israel prizes.

But they love it anyway.

 

Hosea 13:2 “And now they sin more and more, And make for themselves molten images, Idols skillfully made from their silver, All of them the work of craftsmen. They say of them, “Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!”

 

Amos commented on the same problem.

Amos 4:4-5 “Enter Bethel and transgress; In Gilgal multiply transgression! Bring your sacrifices every morning, Your tithes every three days. “Offer a thank offering also from that which is leavened, And proclaim freewill offerings, make them known. For so you love to do, you sons of Israel,” Declares the Lord GOD.”

 

God didn’t love the worship that went on at Bethel, but Israel did.

Israel had become a harlot.

 

What an abomination!

 

2) SCRIPTURAL HERESY

 

What I mean by this is not only did they worship other gods,

But they greatly maligned the worship of the true God.

 

Their pulpits were filled with liberal theologians,

And the people were led astray into all sorts of ungodliness.

 

Listen to God’s estimation of their preachers and priests:

Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”

 

The priests had so corrupted the word of God

That His people weren’t even hearing what He had to say.

 

Listen to what Amos said about the liberal priests

Amos 6:4-6 “Those who recline on beds of ivory And sprawl on their couches, And eat lambs from the flock And calves from the midst of the stall, Who improvise to the sound of the harp, And like David have composed songs for themselves, Who drink wine from sacrificial bowls While they anoint themselves with the finest of oils, Yet they have not grieved over the ruin of Joseph.

 

We have heard many times about those false prophets

Who tell people what their itching ears want to hear,

And Israel had no shortage of them.

 

The result of their maligning of God’s word was a moral dilapidation.

 

Amos 2:11-12 “Then I raised up some of your sons to be prophets And some of your young men to be Nazirites. Is this not so, O sons of Israel?” declares the LORD.”But you made the Nazirites drink wine, And you commanded the prophets saying, ‘You shall not prophesy!’”

 

The people grew into a state of extreme corruption.

One that grew to loathe the word of God

And one that grew to love the deeds of darkness.

 

They were not only idolatrous, but they were also immoral.

 

Spiritual Idolatry

Scriptural Heresy

3) SOCIAL CRUELTY

 

This is also clearly seen throughout the prophets of Jeroboam’s day.

 

Amos 2:6-8 “Thus says the LORD, “For three transgressions of Israel and for four I will not revoke its punishment, Because they sell the righteous for money And the needy for a pair of sandals. “These who pant after the very dust of the earth on the head of the helpless Also turn aside the way of the humble; And a man and his father resort to the same girl In order to profane My holy name. “On garments taken as pledges they stretch out beside every altar, And in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.”

 

Amos 5:10-13 “They hate him who reproves in the gate, And they abhor him who speaks with integrity. Therefore because you impose heavy rent on the poor And exact a tribute of grain from them, Though you have built houses of well-hewn stone, Yet you will not live in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine. For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great, You who distress the righteous and accept bribes And turn aside the poor in the gate. Therefore at such a time the prudent person keeps silent, for it is an evil time.”

 

Amos 8:4-6 “Hear this, you who trample the needy, to do away with the humble of the land, saying, “When will the new moon be over, So that we may sell grain, And the sabbath, that we may open the wheat market, To make the bushel smaller and the shekel bigger, And to cheat with dishonest scales, So as to buy the helpless for money And the needy for a pair of sandals, And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?”

 

They were not a people who were concerned about God.

They were a people who were consumed with greed.

 

• They exploited the poor

• They cheated the less fortunate

• They disdained the word of God

• They rejected love of the brethren

 

And this was Israel during the reign of Jeroboam.

 

And I point that out to you

So you will understand what type of people we are dealing with.

 

We have here before us an evil king and an evil nation.

They are a wicked people who do not care about God,

Nor His righteous standard.

 

They love themselves, they love their money, they love their idolatry,

And they hate anyone who tries to correct them.

 

We are dealing with a foul and depraved lot of people.

 

Now let me show you the truly amazing part of the story

 

First, A King who Sinned

#2 A GOD WHO SAVED

2 Kings 14:25-27

 

After studying some of the background of Israel at the time,

It makes these three verses even more impressive.

 

There are three things we see here.

1) THE LORD SPOKE (25)

 

What we see is that at a time when Israel was diminishing

And literally watching chunks of their land be seized by foreign nations,

That God stepped in with a spoken word through His prophet.

 

“Jonah the son of Amittai” (the same Jonah who went to Nineveh)

 

Was used of God to prophesy a great deliverance.

 

God promised that He would restore “the border of Israel from the intrance of Hamath as far as the Sea of Arabah”

And just to put that in perspective,

The only other time Israel was that big was when Solomon was king.

 

So even when Israel was at an all time low spiritually and morally,

God still promised deliverance through His prophet.

 

WHY WOULD GOD DO THAT?

 

2) THE LORD SAW (26)

 

• It wasn’t that Israel was repenting…

• It wasn’t that Israel was even asking for help…

 

The reason God stepped in to help Israel

Is because they were hurting.

 

No doubt their trials were the result of their bad decisions,

But regardless of their reasoning, they were hurting.

 

Even though they didn’t deserve it, the mercy of God was overwhelming.

 

It was more than He could do to watch Israel

Continue to suffer under the hands of their oppressors.

 

He saw their pitiful state and His mercy rose to the occasion.

 

 

3) THE LORD SAVED (27)

 

And here we learn that “He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.”

 

• Even though he was a wicked king…

• Even though Israel didn’t deserve it…

• Even though Israel wasn’t interested in God…

He was still motivated by mercy and He stepped in and saved the day.

 

He used Jeroboam as a sort of deliverer,

And through Him restored the original borders of Israel.

 

No doubt it was UNDESERVED, but as the writer points out,

It was even UNEXPECTED.

 

Notice the fact that the writer included:

“The LORD did not say that He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven…”

 

This was obviously the assumption of the people.

 

• They saw God as a mean-spirited God who was out to get them.

• They saw God as a cruel judge who wanted to crush them.

• They saw God as a tyrant with a sick sense of humor.

 

And none of those assessments were true of God.

 

God was not a Tyrant who desired to crush them,

God is a Savior who desired to save them.

 

God was not against them, God was for them.

It was they who were against God.

 

And please understand this is a fundamental truth.

 

Satan would have you think that God is a mean-spirited spiritual tyrant

Who delights in flexing His muscle and crushing those

Who don’t tickle His every fancy.

 

But that is not God.

 

God is a Savior who continually shows mercy

By warning us against the things that will harm us

And delivering us when we go the wrong way anyway.

 

And that is what He did for Israel

• They had Spiritual Idolatry

• They had Scriptural Heresy

• They had Social Cruelty

 

And yet verse 27 says, “but He saved them”

 

Why in the world would God do such a thing?

And the answer is MERCY

 

God is merciful.

He does not give us what our sins deserve.

 

CONSIDER WHAT JONAH LEARNED FROM THIS ENCOUNTER

 

Remember God sent Jonah to Nineveh, and Jonah wasn’t happy, remember why?

 

Jonah 4:2 “He prayed to the LORD and said, “Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.”

 

To which God responded:

Jonah 4:10-11 “Then the LORD said, “You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. “Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”

 

If Jonah learned nothing during his reign as a prophet,

He knew that God was merciful. He had seen it too many times.

 

Not only does Scripture continually promise it,

But time and time again we see God prove it.

 

What God did for Israel, He continues to do today.

John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

 

Romans 5:6-8 “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

 

Ephesians 2:4-5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ ( by grace you have been saved),”

 

In fact Paul introduces God to us in this way:

2 Corinthians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,”

 

The point is that the God who was merciful to unbelieving Israel

Is still God today.

 

AND HIS MERCIES NEVER CHANGE.

TURN TO: Lamentations 3:19-40

 

God delights in mercy.

That is who He is.

 

BUT I WOULD ALSO TELL YOU THIS

God’s mercy comes with an intention.

There is a reason why God offers mercy.

 

Romans 2:4 “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”

 

God offers mercy…

God offers 2nd chances…

God offers them with the expectation that you will take it.

Beginning in the garden it has always been sin

That wrecks the life that God has given us.

 

But God is merciful.

 

He sent His son as an offering for sin that we might be free from it.

The only expectation of God

Is that you will take full advantage of His merciful offer.

 

• Let His mercy lead you to repentance.

• Let His mercy guide you to truth.

• Let His mercy take you from a life of sin into a life of righteousness.

 

I don’t know where you have been or what you have done in life.

 

The Ninevites were a pagan group of rogues that oppressed God’s people, and yet God was merciful…

 

The Israelites were an idolatrous, heretical, cruel people who claimed to follow God but did not, and yet God was merciful…

 

One was carnal, one was religious, both were an abomination

And yet God was merciful.

 

And because of that we have great confidence

That God will be merciful to us as well.

 

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

 

This morning I encourage you to take advantage of that offer.

To run to Jesus Christ, the Savior from sin, confess your sin to Him

And be a partaker of the salvation that He came to offer.

 

And if you will, God will save.

 

Romans 10:13 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

 

God delights in mercy and He will gladly give it to you.

 

Psalms 103:8-14 “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.”

 

Amaziah: The Half-Hearted King

2 Kings 14:1-22 (1-7)

 

I know it’s been a couple of weeks,

But we are returning to our study of Kings.

 

And this morning we return to the line of kings in Judah.

 

You are familiar with Jehoash.

• He was the baby who was rescued by Jehoiada the priest when Athaliah tried to kill all the royal offspring.

• He is also the king we called the apostate.

He made a claim to follow God, but at the end of his life fell away.

In fact, he fell away as soon as Jehoiada the priest died.

Jehoash eventually had Jehoiada’s son stoned to death for rebuking him.

 

This morning we study his son, and it is apparent

That the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree.

 

Amaziah could easily be called an apostate as well,

For he is also one who eventually falls away from the Lord.

 

And the reason Amaziah eventually falls away

Is because he was never fully committed.

 

We read to get started that “He did right in the sight of the LORD, yet not like David his father…”

 

2 Chronicles 25:2 “He did right in the sight of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart.”

 

And thus we come to the conclusion

That he was a half-hearted follower of God.

 

And you are familiar with the problems with that.

Luke 8:11-15 “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. “Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. “Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. “But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.”

 

As you know Jesus described four types of hearts.

(Each illustrated by a different type of soil)

 

Each represents one of four ways that people respond to the gospel.

 

Some are HARD HEARTED (path)

The gospel finds no penetration, they don’t understand it, Satan has blinded their unbelieving eyes, and there is no response.

Some are FAINT HEARTED (rocky soil)

The gospel lands, and sprouts up quickly with a highly emotional response, but there is no depth of root (no perseverance) and when the going gets tough, the plant withers and dies. It produces no fruit and is therefore not legitimate.

 

Some are PURE HEARTED (fertile soil)

They receive the seed, the roots go down, the plant shoots up and they produce the fruit of repentance, and faith. They evidence a changed life and the righteousness that God desires.

Of the four, they are the only true convert.

 

But it is the other soil that best represents Amaziah.

It is the weedy soil

 

They are the HALF HEARTED

They can’t devote themselves fully to the Lord, because they already have a crop growing in their heart.

 

Jesus called it, “worries and riches and pleasures of this life”.

 

Their allegiance is shallow.

 

They do not follow the command to love God with all their heart,

Because part of their heart is given to the world.

 

Some who are half-hearted never respond to the gospel at all,

The rest eventually fall away as apostates

And about all it can be said that they “bring no fruit to maturity.”

 

And here is where we find Amaziah.

He was a half-hearted king.

 

And this morning we study his life as a strong reminder that

God does not desire to simply be first in your life.

God does not desire to simply be a priority in your life.

 

God desires to have sole ownership of your life.

 

Colossians 3:4 “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

 

• Christ isn’t just number 1

• Christ isn’t just a priority

• Christ isn’t some spiritual benefit

• Christ isn’t just important

For a true believer, Christ IS our life.

 

Paul said:

Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

 

He told the Galatians

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

 

Galatians 6:14 “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

 

That is the mindset of a true Christian.

Wholly devoted, fully committed, totally in love with God

Serving no other, following only Him, and producing the fruit of that relationship.

 

It is a detestable thing to be a half-hearted follower,

This morning’s Scripture provides us with an illustration of one.

 

3 things about a half-hearted follower

#1 HE DID RIGHT, BUT NOT FULLY

2 Kings 14:1-4

 

(3) “He did right in the sight of the LORD, yet not like David his father; he did according to all that Joash his father had done.”

 

You may remember that Joash

Had a similar statement given about him.

2 Kings 12:2 “Jehoash did right in the sight of the LORD all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him.”

 

Jehoash only did right while Jehoiada was there to guide him

He got commended, but it came with an asterisk.

 

And the same can be said for his son Amaziah.

“He did right in the sight of the LORD, yet not like David his father; he did according to all that Joash his father had done.”

 

It is hard to get a grasp on just exactly who Amaziah was.

(Indeed half-hearted followers are a confusing bunch to look at)

 

Some of what he did was right as you will see in a moment,

Just as some of what his father did was right.

 

But to make sure you and I don’t get the wrong idea,

It wasn’t that he was totally pleasing to God,

For we quickly see that he didn’t do right like David did right.

 

David never worshiped a foreign god

Before we end today, Amaziah will

David wanted God more than anything as evidenced by the Psalms

Before we end today, you will see that Amaziah wanted power

David repented when rebuked by God’s prophet

Before we end today, you will see that Amaziah would not tolerate such a rebuke

Amaziah was more like his apostate father

Than the pure hearted David.

 

VERSE 4 CLARIFIES THAT

(4) “Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.”

 

And as I studied for this week, it donned on me that

I might not have made it clear to you why this was such a big problem.

 

Deuteronomy 12:1-7 “These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess as long as you live on the earth.”You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. “You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place. “You shall not act like this toward the LORD your God. “But you shall seek the LORD at the place which the LORD your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come. “There you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the contribution of your hand, your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. “There also you and your households shall eat before the LORD your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the LORD your God has blessed you.”

 

Worshiping on the high places under every green tree

Was what the inhabitants of Canaan did.

Those were cultic practices.

 

God continually called for His people to be set apart and different.

And one such difference was in the way they worshiped.

 

(Today we fall into similar sin when we pattern our worship

After the frills and fancies of the world)

 

Worship of God is supposed to look different than other worldly practices.

• Worship of God is not supposed to mimic a pep rally…

• Worship of God is not supposed to mimic a theatrical performance…

• Worship of God is not supposed to mimic a Vegas show…

• Worship of God is not supposed to mimic a bar room concert…

 

We are set apart, we are different,

And our worship should look foreign to a lost and dying world.

 

We are not to transform worship of the living God

Into something that is attractive to the world,

Yet that is what Israel was doing by worshiping on the high places.

 

They were committing a sin specifically forbidden by God

Because it made them more acceptable to the world.

And Amaziah, like his father before him would not depart from such sin.

 

And so it is easy to see that Amaziah did right, but not fully.

 

It would have been great if he had been wholly committed

To worshiping God the way God desires to be worshiped, but he was not.

 

Such is the worship of a half-hearted follower of God.

 

He did right, but not fully

#2 HE OBEYED, BUT NOT CONSISTANTLY

2 Kings 14:5-16

 

First allow me to show you some of the good he did.

 

The first instance came regarding revenge.

(5-6) “Now it came about, as soon as the kingdom was firmly in his hand, that he killed his servants who had slain the king his father. But the sons of the slayers he did not put to death, according to what is written in the book of the Law of Moses, as the LORD commanded, saying, “The fathers shall not be put to death for the sons, nor the sons be put to death for the fathers; but each shall be put to death for his own sin.”

 

You will remember that his father Jehoash was killed

Because he murdered Zechariah the prophet.

 

Here Amaziah avenges his father’s death.

But the interesting thing is that he did not do the customary thing.

 

Customarily in his day you not only killed the enemy, but all of their offspring as well. This was to keep from having to continually watch over your shoulder from those who would avenge their deaths.

 

But Amaziah refused to be so blood-thirsty.

 

WHY?

Because Scripture forbid it.

“The fathers shall not be put to death for the sons, nor the sons be put to death for the fathers; but each shall be put to death for his own sin.”

 

And most likely against the counsel of his colleagues,

Amaziah obeyed Scripture.

And that is a glorious attribute.

 

There is a SECOND event in which Amaziah obeyed wonderfully.

It is only alluded to here.

 

(7) “He killed of Edom in the Valley of Salt 10,000 and took Sela by war, and named it Joktheel to this day.”

What we see there is not his obedience,

But rather the result of his obedience.

 

Edom had formerly been in subjection to Judah, but had revolted under the reign of Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram.

 

Amaziah wanted them back in subjection (most likely to secure trade routes) and he HAD A PLAN for how to bring them back in to subjection.

 

2 Chronicles 25:5-10 “Moreover, Amaziah assembled Judah and appointed them according to their fathers’ households under commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds throughout Judah and Benjamin; and he took a census of those from twenty years old and upward and found them to be 300,000 choice men, able to go to war and handle spear and shield. He hired also 100,000 valiant warriors out of Israel for one hundred talents of silver. But a man of God came to him saying, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel nor with any of the sons of Ephraim. “But if you do go, do it, be strong for the battle; yet God will bring you down before the enemy, for God has power to help and to bring down.” Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the troops of Israel?” And the man of God answered, “The LORD has much more to give you than this.” Then Amaziah dismissed them, the troops which came to him from Ephraim, to go home; so their anger burned against Judah and they returned home in fierce anger.”

 

Amaziah’s plan to bring Edom back into subjection was not only to send his army, but also 100,000 hired mercenaries from Israel.

 

But as the prophet revealed, God was no longer for Israel,

And using them in his battle would most certainly bring defeat.

 

And once again Amaziah obeyed God.

 

“He killed of Edom in the Valley of Salt 10,000 and took Sela by war, and named it Joktheel to this day.”

 

If only it had stopped there.

His obedience would be recorded and we would be commending him.

 

But you see, he was not consistent in his obedience.

For if you continue reading the account in Chronicles,

We find a most discouraging fact.

 

2 Chronicles 25:14-16 “Now after Amaziah came from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought the gods of the sons of Seir, set them up as his gods, bowed down before them and burned incense to them. Then the anger of the LORD burned against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of the people who have not delivered their own people from your hand?” As he was talking with him, the king said to him, “Have we appointed you a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be struck down?” Then the prophet stopped and said, “I know that God has planned to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”

 

He was doing so good to obey

WHY DID HE HAVE TO GO AND ENTER IDOLATRY?

 

He obeyed, but not consistently.

And this act of disobedience is an abomination to God.

 

Deuteronomy 17:2-7 “If there is found in your midst, in any of your towns, which the LORD your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, by transgressing His covenant, and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly host, which I have not commanded, and if it is told you and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire thoroughly. Behold, if it is true and the thing certain that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil deed to your gates, that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them to death. “On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. “The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.”

 

And that is precisely what Amaziah did.

He committed the sin of apostasy.

 

God planned to destroy him.

 

And that is precisely what happened.

(8) “Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come let us face each other.”

 

Apparently Amaziah was now puffed up and not only did he not need Israel’s soldiers, but he now thought he could defeat them.

 

And as we studied a couple of weeks ago,

Jehoash tried to discourage him by pointing out that

Amaziah was not as big as he supposed himself to be.

 

(11) “But Amaziah would not listen.”

 

What I want you to know is that this is far from coincidence.

 

2 Chronicles 25:20 “But Amaziah would not listen, for it was from God, that He might deliver them into the hand of Joash because they had sought the gods of Edom.”

 

God was judging Amaziah for his half-hearted obedience.

 

And because we studied it a couple of weeks ago,

You know how the story goes.

 

Jehoash defeated Amaziah and carried him in subjection to Israel and then went and tore down part of the wall in Jerusalem and robbed the temple.

 

All because Amaziah was inconsistent in obedience to God.

 

AND WE HAVE TO LEARN FROM THAT.

 

The command is to love God with all your heart.

Not to obey part of the time and then to fall away.

 

Partial obedience is not acceptable to God.

Jeremiah 4:1-4 “If you will return, O Israel,” declares the LORD, “Then you should return to Me. And if you will put away your detested things from My presence, And will not waver, And you will swear, ‘As the LORD lives,’ In truth, in justice and in righteousness; Then the nations will bless themselves in Him, And in Him they will glory.” For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, “Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns. “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD And remove the foreskins of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire And burn with none to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds.”

 

We have to be fully committed to God.

You cannot love anyone or anything more.

 

Matthew 10:37-39 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”

 

Luke 14:25-27 “Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

 

Over and over we are reminded that we

Must be totally committed to God.

 

Amaziah was not.

He was half-hearted in his commitment.

 

He did right, but not fully

He obeyed, but not consistently

 

And because of that:

#3 HE FLED, BUT NOT SUCCESSFULLY

2 Kings 14:17-22

 

Eventually the king that took him captive to Israel died.

 

And so Amaziah returned home.

But there was no welcome home parade for him.

 

What he found was a lynching mob.

 

(19) “They conspired against him in Jerusalem”

 

Chronicles says why they did.

2 Chronicles 25:27 “From the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD they conspired against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there.”

 

God promised to destroy him, not just defeat him in battle.

 

Apostates have an inevitable fate of judgment,

And it was time for Amaziah to meet his fate.

 

Upon hearing of this conspiracy he fled to Lachish,

“but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there.”

 

When one turns from God to another god, the Law commanded them to be killed, and that is precisely what happened to Amaziah.

He was chased, caught, and killed.

 

You see, Amaziah was half-hearted, he was weedy soil.

And Scripture is clear what happens to soil

That is fruitless and produces only weeds.

 

Hebrews 6:7-8 “For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.”

 

God demands the fruit of righteousness from our lives,

And that fruit only comes from being sold out to Him.

If we are not, we are fruitless and we are rejected.

 

Remember what Jesus taught?

John 15:1-6 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.”

 

I mean it is clear throughout the Scriptures.

 

Jeremiah 5:10 “Go up through her vine rows and destroy, But do not execute a complete destruction; Strip away her branches, For they are not the LORD’S.”

 

Jeremiah 11:16 “The LORD called your name, “A green olive tree, beautiful in fruit and form”; With the noise of a great tumult He has kindled fire on it, And its branches are worthless.”

 

Perhaps the most vivid illustration comes from Isaiah’s parable.

 

TURN TO: Isaiah 5

 

God demands fruit from our lives.

Particularly the fruit of righteousness,

But that only comes from abiding in Him.

 

A half-hearted follower is too concerned about the other crop.

 

Jesus called them “worries and riches and pleasures of this life”.

But they are all weeds.

 

And as long as those crops remain, a heart cannot be fully devoted to God

And cannot bear fruit.

 

It doesn’t matter if you do some right – Amaziah did.

It doesn’t matter if you have some obedience – Amaziah did.

 

GOD SETTLES FOR NOTHING LESS THAT TOTAL DEVOTION.

• He does not accept the hard hearted

• He does not accept the faint hearted

• He does not accept the half hearted

God only accepts the pure hearted

 

Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

 

Deuteronomy 6:5 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

 

That is where Amaziah fell short.

This morning that is where I want you to succeed.

 

I want you to determine to remove all the weeds

That could be growing in your life

And devote yourself fully to the Lord.

 

Can God have you?

Can God have all of you?

Will you desire Him above all else?

 

Will you be a pure hearted follower of Christ?

 

Psalms 73:25-28 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”

 

Jehoash: The Skeptical King

2 Kings 13:10-25

 

Once again we have the fun problem of another king by the same name.

 

We just got finished with a king named Jehoash the son of Ahaziah.

He was the baby that the priest Jehoiada saved from the death attempt of queen Athaliah.

 

And we talked all about him as an apostate who did well so long as Jehoiada was a priest to instruct him.

 

But once Jehoiada died, Jehoah turned apostate and even had Jehoiada’s son murdered for prophesying the truth.

 

And so you remember Jehoash.

 

But, in order to make sure we stay as confused as possible,

Now we are going to deal with a different Jehoash.

 

So now we have Jehoash as king of Judah

And Jehoash as king of Israel

 

And to further complicate things.

Since the writer couldn’t call both kings Jehoash at the same time,

He just started calling the first Jehoash by a different name. (Joash)

 

(10) “In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoas the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years.”

 

And so now you know who we are dealing with.

 

Last week we saw Jehoahaz, the king who loved sin.

The king who cried out to God when things got hard,

But turned back to sin when the consequences let up.

Now we see his son take the throne.

 

And so we are dealing with Jehoash, the skeptical king.

 

Before we get into the specific incident that seems to epitomize his life

We first see the basic appraisal of his life.

 

(11) “He did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin, but he walked in them.”

 

Like his grandfather Jehu…

Like his father Jehoahaz…

Jehoash falls right in line.

 

He won’t let go of this sin of Jeroboam that is continually bringing

The wrath and punishment of God upon Israel.

 

And hopefully you remember from last week

Just how severe the punishment of God has become because of this sin.

 

• Aram was attacking Israel and so Jehoahaz cried out for relief.

• And you may remember that God raised up a deliverer.

• Of course when things got easy Jehoahaz and Israel returned to their idolatrous sin and so God judged them again.

(It was that cycle we talked about)

 

And so in verse 7 we were able to see

How severe God’s punishment presently was.

 

2 Kings 13:7 “For he left to Jehoahaz of the army not more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and 10,000 footmen, for the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.”

 

God had crushed Israel into a fine powder.

There were only 50 cavalry, and only 10 chariots, and only 10,000 infantry.

 

They were at the bottom.

All because these kings would not let go of the sin of Jeroboam.

 

And yet, here we find Jehoash falling right in line.

 

God calls him evil because like his ancestors,

He won’t let go of this sin either.

 

And then we get another statement about Jehoash in which the writer alludes to another incident in his life that seemingly backs up this wicked appraisal.

 

(12-13) “Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? So Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne; and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.”

 

I’m not sure why, but the writer will repeat these verses verbatim in (14:15-16)

(Probably indicating that they don’t belong in one of the places; a scribal error)

 

But what they provide for us is another incident

To support this appraisal of wickedness.

 

The writer said that Jehoash fought with Amaziah king of Judah.

TURN TO: 2 KINGS 14:8-16

 

Amaziah defeated Edom and felt on top of the world.

He then thought he would go ahead and flex his muscle over Israel

An idea which Jehoash tried to discourage.

(8-10)

 

But Amaziah was stubborn and so the fight was on, and Jehoash won the fight.

(11-12)

 

Next is the disappointing part as far as Jehoash is concerned.

(13-16)

It is disappointing that Jehoash

Went ahead and plundered the temple.

 

And that kind of brings his attitude full circle.

 

God had commanded that all worship be done at the temple in Jerusalem.

But Israel revolted under Jeroboam and worshiped at the golden calves.

 

THE POINT THEN IS THIS.

Instead of returning to God’s temple as he should of done,

He is plundering it.

 

Not only did he participate in the sin of Jeroboam, he persisted in it

And even hindered the worship in Jerusalem.

 

And because of this, God judges him a wicked king.

 

But aside from that appraisal,

Scripture gives us some more insight about this king.

 

I have told you from the start that the book of the kings

Is a very pointed book. It has a very clear purpose.

 

The writer wants you to understand the extreme importance

Of seeking and trusting God.

 

This morning it is no different.

We get an incident that is again meant to teach us

The importance of seeking and trusting God.

 

There are 5 divisions in our text this morning, as we study Jehoash, the skeptical king.

#1 THE CRY FOR DELIVERANCE

2 Kings 13:14

 

Here we see Elisha reenter the picture.

Some suppose that his ministry has been quiet now for several years.

 

I don’t think that is the case at all.

Rather, I think the writer took the events that scattered throughout Elisha’s life and lumped them together in order to make a point.

For all we know some of those miracles have been fairly recent.

 

This was never intended to be a chronological book,

But rather a theological one.

 

What is clear is that Elisha is about to die.

He has an illness and he is near the end.

 

And upon receiving word of this illness,

Jehoash goes to him, “and wept over him”

 

We could debate why he was weeping.

Did he love Elisha so much that he hated to lose him?

(possibly)

 

I tend to think, however, that he recognized Elisha as a deliverer

And feared that once Elisha was gone, deliverance would be gone as well.

 

And I think this is supported with what Jehoash says next:

He “came down to see him and wept over him and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”

 

As he is weeping over Elisha he immediately reminds him

Of the horrific state of Israel’s military.

 

Remember?

50 horsemen, and only 10 chariots.

 

It is almost like Jehoash is saying, “You can’t die right now,

Our military is in shambles and we need help!”

 

Whether or not his mourning is sincere in regard to Elisha,

That is for you to determine, what is clear is that

He is crying out to Elisha for help.

 

This is Jehoash crying out to God’s prophet for deliverance.

 

And as we said last week, it is a fundamental law of God.

When you seek Him, you find Him.

 

Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”

 

It is a guarantee that if you seek God, you find Him.

And the reason is just as clear.

 

BECAUSE GOD IS GOOD.

 

TURN TO: PSALMS 107

 

The Cry for Deliverance

#2 THE PROMISE OF DELIVERANCE

2 Kings 13:15-17

 

And just as we noted.

If you seek, God delivers, and that is the promise that is given here.

 

Elisha is about to give a “hands on” lesson.

• He tells Jehoash to take a bow and arrows

• Elisha then puts his hands on Jehoash’s hands (to signify the help of God)

• And then Jehoash is told to shoot.

 

And then came the promise.

(17) “The LORD’S arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Aram; for you will defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you have destroyed them.”

 

Just as easy as shooting an arrow out a window.

God is going to put His hand on you and give you victory.

 

You will be in the battle…

You will shoot the arrows…

But the battle is God’s and the victory is His, in fact even the arrow is His.

 

And we would expect nothing less from God.

 

The Cry for Deliverance The Promise of Deliverance

#3 THE SKEPTICISM TOWARDS DELIVERANCE

2 Kings 13:18-19

 

Now we know God will deliver,

It is time to DETERMINE THE EXTENT OF HIS DELIVERANCE.

 

The extent of God’s deliverance is proportional to the faith of Jehoash.

 

And so Elisha tells Jehoash to “Strike the ground”

Most likely the command is to take arrows

And shoot them (out the window) and into the ground.

 

We determined that the arrow was a picture of God’s victory, Elisha wants Jehoash to determine the extent of that victory.

 

However, after three shots, Jehoash quits.

(19) “So the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you would have destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times.”

 

The obvious question then is this.

If Jehoash recognized that he was symbolically destroying Aram, why would he have stopped short?

 

The answer seems to be that he wasn’t all that in to Elisha’s prophecy.

He was skeptical of what Elisha was saying.

 

And so to him it didn’t matter how many times

Because this all seemed like a bunch of nonsense anyway.

 

He was doubting what God was promising through Elisha.

 

Now let me ask you:

DO YOU EVER CRY OUT FOR GOD TO DELIVER, BUT FAIL TO BELIEVE THAT HE WILL?

In times of trial we doubt God’s love…

In times of poverty we doubt God’s provision…

In times of uncertainty we doubt God’s leadership…

 

AND THIS IS WHAT SATAN DESIRES.

(Did you catch that in your Sunday School lesson? –

Satan seeking to cast doubt between Jesus and the Father?)

 

WE ARE OFTEN TEMPTED TO DOUBT AND WE OFTEN SUCCOMB TO IT.

If you have, I can assure that you are not alone.

 

Ever heard of a man named Peter?

Matthew 14:28-33 “Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”

 

How about the greatest man born of woman?

Matthew 11:1-4 “When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities. Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?”

 

Of course Thomas is often referred to as the doubter.

John 20:25 “So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

 

2 Timothy was written because Timothy was filled with doubt.

SO IF YOU HAVE EVER DOUBTED GOD,

I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

 

YET, SIN IS STILL SIN REGARDLESS OF HOW ROUTINE IT IS.

 

Just because great men did it does not mean it is ok.

DOUBTING GOD IS A SIN

 

Jesus said:

Luke 24:38 “And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?”

 

Later James came preaching and said:

James 1:5-8 “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

 

It is a sin to doubt God,

And that is partly why Elisha was angry at Jehoash.

 

Doubt paralyzes a person from obedience and effectiveness.

• It was Peter’s doubt that caused him to freeze on the water…

• It was the disciples doubt that would hinder their prayer life…

• James said it is our doubt that makes us unstable…

 

And that is why Scripture calls for confidence.

 

Paul told Timothy:

2 Timothy 1:12 “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”

 

2 Timothy 3:14 “You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them,”

 

Paul told the Romans:

Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

If you want a great example of confidence, look to the Father of Faith.

Romans 4:18-22 “In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

 

And this is what God is looking for.

 

We are NOT talking about faith in faith.

We are NOT talking about finding something you want and faithing it to be true.

 

What we are talking about

Is believing what God says without any doubts.

 

This is the faith God is looking for.

In fact, Scripture says without it, you cannot please God.

 

God desires for us to believe He will do what He says He will do.

 

Jehoash obviously was skeptical and it angered Elisha.

Furthermore it limited the deliverance that Jehoash might have experienced.

 

The Cry for Deliverance The Promise of Deliverance

The Skepticism towards Deliverance

#4 THE CONFIRMATION OF DELIVERANCE

2 Kings 13:18-19

 

NOW YOU UNDERSTAND THE STORY

The Moabite raid messes up the funeral, and to speed things up the dead man is buried with Elisha, but when he touches Elisha’s bones, the man comes back to life.

While reading through the text this story can

Catch you a little off guard and seem to not fit.

 

We have to be conscientious Bible students.

• What does it say?

• Why did he say it?

• Why did he say it here?

 

It is apparent that the writer was linking the importance of this event

To what is occurring in the life of Jehoash.

 

Elisha promised deliverance, but then Elisha died.

No doubt Jehoash was left wondering about

How good his promise was now.

 

And so to confirm that God’s word still stands,

God revealed that the power of Elisha did not stop at his death.

 

This event was meant to confirm to Jehoash

The promises that God had made.

 

AND GOD IS JUST THAT MERCIFUL.

 

Even when we doubt He confirms the promise again and again

So that we will know to continue to trust Him.

 

Earlier I read to you about the doubting of John the Baptist.

Look at what Jesus did.

 

Matthew 11:2-6 “Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

 

Remember Naaman?

2 Kings 5:10-13 “Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.” But Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I thought, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’ “Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”

 

That is also why God worked this miracle through the corpse of Elisha.

 

He was confirming to Jehoash that His promise of deliverance

Through Elisha still stands.

 

The Cry for Deliverance The Promise of Deliverance

The Skepticism toward Deliverance The Confirmation of Deliverance

#5 THE FULFILLMENT OF DELIVERANCE

2 Kings 13:22-25

 

And here we see that God graciously and compassionately

Delivered Israel just as He said.

 

BUT DID YOU SEE WHY?

“because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”

 

God keeps His promises

Because God is a God that keeps His promises.

 

His faithfulness does not hinge upon how much you deserve it.

His faithfulness hinges upon the fact that He is a faithful God.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:24 “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

 

 

 

 

You see sometimes our doubts are in God.

But sometimes we doubt because of ourselves.

 

God won’t do this because I don’t deserve it…

God won’t deliver because I am unworthy…

 

That may be true, but it has nothing to do with

Why God keeps His promises.

 

God keeps His promises to you because He promised He would,

Not because you deserve it.

 

And that means we take His promises to the bank,

Because the one who offered them is true.

 

IN FACT, GOD HAS ALREADY KEPT MANY PROMISES TO US.

 

2 Corinthians 1:20 “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.”

 

What Paul said there is that Jesus is the securer of all of God’s promises.

God made the promise, and Jesus fulfilled them.

 

“as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes”

 

Read the Old Testament and look at the promises of a Messiah…

Listen to God promise His perfection…

Listen to God promise His birth place…

Listen to God promise His sacrifice…

Listen to God promise His resurrection…

 

And Jesus fulfilled them all.

“in Him they are yes”

 

“THEREFORE”

“also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.”

 

Since Jesus came and fulfilled all the promises of God, we agree that Jesus will continue to fulfill them all the way to glory.

 

Friends, Jesus never fails

& God never lies

AND SO GOD’S PROMISES ARE SECURE

 

I COULDN’T LIST ALL OF GOD’S PROMISES,

BUT YOU CAN BE CONFIDENT THAT HE WILL KEEP THEM ALL.

 

 

Jehoahaz: The King who Loved Sin

2 Kings 13:1-9

 

You probably noticed we are now again dealing with

One of the kings of Israel.

 

It has been a while since we have studied that line,

So let me put it back in context for you.

 

• Ahaz was the wicked king.

• He was followed by his son Ahaziah who fell through the lattice and died

• His brother Jehoram followed him as king.

• Jehoram (also called Joram) was shot and killed by Jehu

 

And then of course Jehu instituted a clean up of the northern kingdom by tearing down Baal’s temple and killing Jezebel.

 

I hope you remember Jehu.

He was the king who started out well in purifying Israel,

But one who allowed sin to ruin what he could have been.

 

2 Kings 10:28-33 “Thus Jehu eradicated Baal out of Israel. However, as for the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin, from these Jehu did not depart, even the golden calves that were at Bethel and that were at Dan. The LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in executing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in My heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel sin. In those days the LORD began to cut off portions from Israel; and Hazael defeated them throughout the territory of Israel: from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites and the Reubenites and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.”

 

And you may remember that when we studied that

We talked about Jehu’s stubbornness not to repent

Even though God was judging him for his participation in the sin.

 

HIS SON IS A CHIP RIGHT OFF THE OLD BLOCK

 

So let’s just look at him this morning.

5 Points

 

#1 HIS SIN

2 Kings 13:1-2

 

We are familiar with Jeroboam’s sin by now.

 

• He was the man who built the two golden calves and told Israel that they no longer had to go and worship at the temple.

• Instead of making the long journey they could just do their worshiping at one of his convenient spiritual ATM machines.

Sure it was bowing to a graven image…

Sure it was failure to obey God’s commands…

But to Israel it was no big deal.

 

In fact, initial sin is now well over 100 years old,

And we are dealing with a people steeped in tradition.

 

And unfortunatel, Jehoahaz falls right in line,

And therefore the summary of his life is:

 

(2) “He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin; he did not turn from them.”

 

This king is remembered as an evil king.

• One who blatantly disregarded the second commandment…

• One who conveniently forgot the golden calf incident…

• One who refused to consider the judgment of Ahab’s house…

• One who stubbornly clung to an unbiblical tradition…

 

He sinned, and he stuck to it.

And he is remembered as evil.

 

His Sin

#2 HIS PUNISHMENT

2 Kings 13:3

 

And there is that big word “So”

 

“So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Aram, and into the hand of Ben-Hadad the son of Hazael.”

 

And of course you remember Hazael.

He was a tyrant, but one used mightily by God.

 

1 Kings 19:17 “It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death.”

 

2 Kings 8:12 “Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” Then he answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel: their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword, and their little ones you will dash in pieces, and their women with child you will rip up.”

 

God took a wicked man who hated His people and allowed him to inflict pain on His people as punishment for the continual wickedness.

 

And so allow me to remind you of a foundational truth.

SIN GETS PUNISHED

It doesn’t matter if it is a 100 year old tradition or not.

 

Our God does not condone disobedience from His children

Or unfaithfulness from His wife.

 

Where sin is entertained the judgment of God will follow.

 

• Look at Sodom…

• Look back at the flood…

• Look at Adam and Eve, clothed in animal skins, leaving the garden…

• See Moses standing on Nebo wishing he could touch the Promised Land…

• Look at David weeping over the death of his son conceived in adultery…

• Listen to Solomon in Ecclesiastes as he cries “meaningless”…

 

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS UNPUNISHED SIN.

 

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death…”

 

Proverbs 10:16 “The wages of the righteous is life, The income of the wicked, punishment.”

 

Sin gets punished and it is being punished in Israel

Because Jehoahaz will not depart from the sin of Jeroboam.

 

His Sin, His Punishment

#3 HIS RESPONSE

2 Kings 13:4-5

 

Because Aram was bearing down on Israel…

 

Jehoahaz does a great thing.

He seeks God.

(Surely this was also instilled in him by his father)

 

“Then Jehoahaz entreated the favor of the LORD…”

 

And when a person seeks God, the result is guaranteed.

 

“and the LORD listened to him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them.”

 

It is an absolute fundamental Law of God.

Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

 

Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

 

1 Chronicles 28:9 “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.”

 

Deuteronomy 4:29-30 “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. “When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice.”

 

Continually in Scripture we are reminded

That when you seek God He shows up.

 

It doesn’t matter where you have been or what you have done.

You may be an obedient saint or the chief of sinners

THE PROMISE IS THE SAME.

 

When you seek God you find Him.

When you call on God He answers.

He delights in responding to those who seek Him.

 

And so when Jehoahaz entreats God, God listened.

(5) “The LORD gave Israel a deliverer, so that they escaped from under the hand of the Arameans; and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as formerly.”

 

Many have speculated as to who the deliverer was.

• Some think it was Elisha…

• Some think it was Jehoahaz’s son…

• Some think it was the Assyrian king (Adad-Nirari III) because he attacked Aram and drew them away from Israel…

 

But it really doesn’t matter who the deliverer was.

The beautiful point is that God provided deliverance.

 

Their sin brought about judgment,

Their cry to God brought about deliverance.

 

As we said not so long ago, God is a Savior by nature.

He delights in deliverance.

He delights in salvation.

 

And even more so when we cry out to Him for it.

 

Psalms 50:15 “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”

 

Psalms 18:3 “I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.”

 

Psalms 57:2-3 “I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me. He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me. God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.”

Psalms 28:6-7 “Blessed be the LORD, Because He has heard the voice of my supplication. The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.”

 

And certainly it was true for Jehoahaz.

 

IF ONLY THE STORY ENDED THERE.

 

His Sin, His Punishment, His Response

#4 HIS DECEIT

2 Kings 13:6

 

What a huge word – “Nevertheless”

 

“Nevertheless they did not turn away from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel sin, but walked in them; and the Asherah also remained standing in Samaria.”

 

Israel returned right back to the sin

That started all the problem in the first place.

 

John MacArthur pointed out how this seemed to be a continuous cycle in Israel, especially paralleling the way Israel lived during the period of the judges.

 

TURN TO: JUDGES 2:11-23

 

Israel sins – Israel is punished – Israel cries out for deliverance

God sends deliverance – Israel returns to the sin

 

AND JEHOAHAZ IS RIGHT IN THAT CYCLE

 

WHAT WE LEARN IS THAT ISRAEL DIDN’T LOVE GOD,

ISRAEL LOVED SIN.

 

They were willing to use God for relief when life was hard,

But the second relief came, they returned to their first love.

 

And so many people use God in exactly the same way today.

• They don’t want to leave sin…

• They don’t want a life change…

• They just want God to come in a bail them out of their adversity so they can get back to being comfortable in their life of sin.

 

It is apparent that people have

Forgotten the purpose of God’s salvation.

 

Matthew 1:21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

 

It does not say that Jesus came to save you from hell.

 

Might I remind you that God created hell.

 

Jesus didn’t come to save from hell.

Hell is a consequence and Jesus deals with the source, not the symptoms

 

Nor does Scripture say that Jesus came to save you from God.

 

It is not as though God is in heaven shooting at us

And we need someone to protect us from His wrath.

 

God is love. God is gracious. His mercies are new every morning.

 

In fact it was God who sent Jesus.

 

JESUS CAME TO SAVE YOU FROM SIN.

It is sin that is killing you.

It is sin that is wrecking your life.

It is sin that is sending you to hell.

It is sin that is inviting the curse on humanity.

 

Jesus came to save us from sin.

 

THE TRAGEDY IS THAT THE LAST THING

MOST PEOPLE WANT TO BE SAVED FROM IS SIN

 

Most people today want to be delivered from the consequences of sin,

But they want to keep their sin.

 

That was Jehoahaz.

He cried out to God for relief from the consequences,

But the second he had relief,

He loved his sin so much that he quickly returned to it.

 

IT WAS FAKE REPENTANCE, AND IT IS NEVER FULLY EFFECTIVE.

 

And we see false repentance continually in Scripture as well.

 

Hosea 6:1-6 “Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. “He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him. “So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth.” What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud And like the dew which goes away early. Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth. For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

 

Hebrews 12:14-17 “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.”

 

Psalms 78:34-37 “When He killed them, then they sought Him, And returned and searched diligently for God; And they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. But they deceived Him with their mouth And lied to Him with their tongue. For their heart was not steadfast toward Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant.”

 

Isaiah 58:3-5 “Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. “Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. “Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the LORD?”

 

In fact your Sunday school lesson alluded to false repentance.

Matthew 3:7-8 “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;”

 

It is people who will tell God anything He wants to hear

So long as He will step in and fix what hurts.

But the second He does, they head back to the sin they love

 

It is deception, it is false repentance.

It is the common practice of those who love sin and desire to use God.

 

Jesus would save us from sin.

He desires to so change our hearts that no longer do we love sin,

But instead we love God.

 

It is the imposter who only seeks to use God

As the deliverer from everything but sin.

 

That is what Jehoahaz wanted.

 

His Sin, His Punishment, His Response, His Deceit

#5 HIS FATE

2 Kings 13:7-9

Because he returned to sin,

Eventually punishment had to come back around.

 

(7) “For he left to Jehoahaz of the army not more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and 10,000 footmen, for the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.”

Israel was beaten into a fine powder.

Israel returned to sin, and therefore they returned to judgment.

 

AND WE MUST LEARN THAT THIS IS THE CYCLE OF SIN.

 

When seeking to be delivered, false repentance never truly cuts it.

WE ARE REQUIRED TO TRULY REPENT.

 

What is true repentance?

 

It is a total change of the heart and of the mind regarding sin.

And it always manifests itself in a change of action.

 

But it starts with the heart.

Joel 2:12-13 “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil.”

 

James 4:7-10 “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

 

Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

 

We have to come to the point where we see sin through God’s eyes.

We must realize that sin isn’t worth it, but that it is deadly destructive.

 

We must learn to hate it.

 

And then when we learn to hate it, we naturally flee from it.

 

That is what John the Baptist preached.

Luke 3:10-14 “And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what shall we do?” And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”

 

To the church at Ephesus, Jesus explained repentance.

Revelation 2:4-5 “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place — unless you repent.”

 

Repentance is primarily a change of the heart,

But one that is definitely seen in a change of the actions.

If you need an example, look at this man.

Luke 19:8-9 “Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham.”

 

Repentance is a true and total turning from sin.

AND THAT IS ALSO A MARK OF TRUE SALVATION

 

In fact, the apostle John gave a great explanation

Of how a true believer views sin.

 

TURN TO: 1 JOHN 1:5-10

 

This is a great study of the difference in the way

A true believer and false believer views sin.

 

1) OUR AWARENESS (5-7)

 

A true believer longs to be aware of any and all sin in their lives.

They hunt for it, and long for others to expose it.

 

A false believer however doesn’t want to know.

They want it left alone, allowed to linger.

 

This is why Jesus said:

John 3:19-21 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

 

True believers want their sin exposed, false believers want it ignored.

 

2) OUR ARROGANCE (8)

 

True believers are conscious of their sin and want it fixed.

 

False believers lie to themselves that they are fine as they are.

 

One is self-righteous, one desires God’s righteousness

 

3) OUR ADMITTANCE (9)

 

True believers confess their sin and find purity.

 

False believers conceal their sin and want it to remain.

 

One wants purity, one wants comfot.

 

4) OUR ARGUMENT (10)

 

A true believer humbles themselves before God’s conviction.

 

A false believer argues with God’s conviction.

 

One is justified by God, one is justified by self.

 

Jesus said to the Pharisees:

Luke 16:15 “And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

 

WHICH ONE ARE YOU?

• Do you acknowledge the fact that there is sin there?

• If there is sin there, do you want to know it?

• If God wants to remove it, can He, or do you desire to keep it?

• If God reveals it, will you admit it, or argue with Him?

 

Jehoahaz didn’t hate sin, he loved it.

He hated the consequences of sin.

And so he only wanted relief, not purity.

 

This action didn’t bring lasting relief.

Their cycle of sin brought a cycle of judgment.

 

Jehoahaz needed to seek God for deliverance and leave his sin behind.

 

And that is true for each and every one of us as well.

 

• God is a Savior.

• God is a Deliverer.

• If you call on Him, He will answer and deliver.

 

But you must leave your sin behind,

Or you will only return to where you were.

 

I want to leave you this morning with a prayer of David.

 

Psalms 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

 

Jehoash: The Apostate King

2 Kings 12 (1-3)

 

We are now resuming our study of the kings

And we are to the young king known as Jehoash.

 

To refresh your memory he was the young baby that was hidden by Jehoiada the priest from the genocide of Athaliah.

 

And at age 7 he was anointed as king and assumed the throne.

 

What you may have also noticed is that

I have called him “The Apostate King”.

 

He is a king who eventually proves himself to be an imposter.

He is an apostate.

 

And before we dive straight into our text,

I want to clarify what an apostate is.

 

An apostate is one who after declaring faith in God,

Eventually denies the faith and turns away.

 

THAT IS NOT TO SAY THEY WERE SAVED AND LOST IT.

For while they were seemingly faithful, their faith was in reality a sham,

For true faith never falls away.

 

An apostate then is not a true believer who falls away at the end.

An apostate is a false believer who pretends at the beginning.

 

They are not one who was saved and lost their salvation,

They are one who never had salvation and eventually reveal it.

 

Perhaps the apostle John gives the best description:

1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”

 

Jesus alluded to them as well.

Matthew 12:43-45 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. “Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. “Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

 

Matthew 13:20-21 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”

 

These are men who fabricated a walk of faith

But it was not true saving faith. It was a mirage.

And eventually they were revealed as phonies by their defection.

 

That is of course why Jesus would say:

John 8:31-32 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

 

Apostates are simply those who do not continue.

And not only does Scripture describe them,

Scripture is also full of examples of apostates.

 

John 6:66 “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”

 

Another is Hymenaus and Alexander

1 Timothy 1:18-20 “This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.”

 

Phygelus and Hermogenes

2 Timothy 1:15 “You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.”

 

Demas

2 Timothy 4:9-10 “Make every effort to come to me soon; for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.”

 

But perhaps the pinnacle of all apostates is Judas:

John 13:21-27 “When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.” The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking. There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. So Simon Peter gestured to him, and said to him, “Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.” He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ bosom, said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus then answered, “That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”

 

And so you see what an apostate is.

 

Let me reveal to you their fate.

Jude 3-4 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

 

Just as a believer has his name written in the book of life

From the foundation of the world,

So an apostate is one who was

“long beforehand marked out for…condemnation”

 

Jude 11-13 “Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.”

 

Instead of an inheritance reserved for them,

“the black darkness has been reserved forever.”

 

As you can see the future of an apostate is bleak.

No one should want to be one.

 

Peter even said:

2 Peter 2:20-21 “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.”

 

And because it is definitely not desirable to be an apostate, Scripture gives very pointed warnings that you and I not be one.

 

Hebrews 3:12 “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.”

 

2 Peter 3:17 “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,”

 

Very simply put, you do not want to be an apostate.

A phony imitator of the faith…

A tare among the wheat…

A defector from the faith…

A recipient of darkest judgment…

 

Yet that is precisely what Jehoash was.

 

If you are one who has read ahead in kings,

That verdict may be surprising. For he doesn’t look all that bad.

 

That only goes to show how deceptive an apostate can be in his religion.

 

2 Corinthians 11:14-15 “No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.”

 

Jehoash was indeed an apostate.

And we study him to see the warning signs of apostasy.

 

NOW LET ME EMPHASIZE

This study is not for you to go on a witch hunt looking for apostates.

(They aren’t commonly identified until their defection anyway)

 

THIS STUDY IS FOR YOU TO TEST YOURSELVES

TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE NOT AN APOSTATE IN HIDING.

 

2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?”

 

And so this morning we look at an apostate,

We learn what they are,

And we make sure that is not what is going on in our lives.

 

There are four points to gain from our text this morning about this apostate king.

#1 THE FAITH OF AN APOSTATE

2 Kings 12:1-3

 

And here we have an interesting appraisal of Jehoash.

 

It is ALMOST the appraisal that every king would want.

 

(2) “Jehoash did right in the sight of the LORD all his days”

 

Stop there and we honor this king.

But the writer didn’t stop there.

 

(2) “Jehoash did right in the sight of the LORD all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him.”

 

What we learn very clearly is that Jehoash

Was not a full term follower,

He only followed faithfully so long as Jehoiada was around.

 

But when that influence left, (as you will see in a moment)

Jehoash departed from his steadfastness.

 

It is clear that in part Jehoash never became fully devoted.

(3) “Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.”

 

But mostly what you see about Jehoash is that

He was faithful so long as Jehoiada was around to oversee him.

 

And this is a tragedy we see all too often today as well.

I USED TO TEACH A COLLEGE SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS

 

“Johnny is drinking, skipping class,

And has a girlfriend with a belly-button ring”

 

JOHNNY HAS A FRAUDULENT FAITH

(Not an apostate yet, just an imposter)

 

Johnny is living on his momma’s faith,

And he needs to deal with Jesus personally.

 

PAY ATTENTION ALL YOUTH IN HERE.

 

But a fraudulent faith is certainly an early sign of apostasy.

 

If it is true faith it cannot fail,

But fraudulent faith is doomed to fail,

Thus opening the door for one to completely deny

The God they previously proclaimed to serve.

 

Jehoash walked well as long as Jehoiada was around.

But he walked Jehoiada’s faith, not his own.

 

The faith of an apostate

#2 THE FABRICATION OF AN APOSTATE

2 Kings 12:4-16

 

Now I know this is a long section in the chapter,

And first let me just sort of paraphrase it to you.

 

VERSES 4-5

Jehoash has an idea to take the special offering monies

And use them for the renovation of the temple.

 

Although Solomon had built a glorious temple, it had fallen into disarray.

 

Partly because they cared more about the high places than the temple,

And partly because it had been recently abused.

 

2 Chronicles 24:7 “For the sons of the wicked Athaliah had broken into the house of God and even used the holy things of the house of the LORD for the Baals.”

 

So the temple had even been a recent victim of vandalism.

And Jehoash has the idea to restore it.

 

VERSES 6-8

Here it is apparent that his plan is not working.

 

We don’t really know why.

I tend to think it is because the people have a general distrust,

For once Jehoiada gets behind it, it seems to take off just fine.

 

VERSE 9

 

And so now that Jehoiada is a public supporter it is working well.

 

VERSES 10-16

 

So they took the money and the house is repaired.

 

Now when you read that, it appears Jehoash is on the right track.

It appears like he is really concerned about the things of God.

But let me assure it is only appearance.

 

He is only concerned about the appearance of the temple,

Not the use of it.

(For he did not remove the high places)

 

He is consumed with the display of religion, not the effectiveness of it.

His religion is for show and pretense.

It is external, not internal

 

And this is what makes apostates so tricky.

They are not easily detected.

 

Jude 12-13 “These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.”

 

Matthew 13:26 “But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.”

 

When we only look at the external, it appears they are legitimate,

And that is where we make our mistake.

 

EXTERNAL INVOLVEMENT IS NOT THE MARK OF SALVATION, TRUE LOVE FOR GOD IS THE MARK OF SALVATION.

 

A person’s work can appear good and noble,

And still not be evidence of true salvation.

 

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”

 

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.”

 

Just because a person is involved doesn’t mean a thing.

It is true love for God that counts.

 

Religious zeal doesn’t equal saving faith.

Matthew 23:13-15 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. [” Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.] “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”

 

Matthew 23:23-24 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”

 

Apostates can look good, but their conviction is only skin deep.

 

That is why the testing of faith is so necessary.

God has to push beyond the surface to see the true worth of our faith.

 

1 Peter 1:6-7 “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;”

 

True faith is not merely external.

But that is all there is to an apostate.

 

And Jehoash is a perfect picture.

He was consumed with what the temple looked like,

But didn’t seem to care what it was used for.

 

His religion was a mere fabrication.

 

The Faith of an apostate The Fabrication of an apostate

#3 THE FOLLY OF AN APOSTATE

2 Kings 12:17-18

 

Now to fully understand the point,

You have to realize that the writer of kings left out part of the story

 

What he shows us is the consequence of Jehoash’s actions,

But he omits what he did wrong.

 

TURN TO: 2 CHRONICLES 24:15-22

 

This is what makes Jehoash an apostate.

Up until now he was a mere imposter.

 

But it is when he makes a conscious choice

To openly and outwardly deny God and serve foreign gods,

His true colors come forth.

 

This man had no true conviction, therefore he was easily swayed,

And he even took action to silence the word of God in his life.

 

And that is why we see Hazael coming against him.

2 Chronicles 24:23-24 “Now it happened at the turn of the year that the army of the Arameans came up against him; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, destroyed all the officials of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. Indeed the army of the Arameans came with a small number of men; yet the LORD delivered a very great army into their hands, because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers. Thus they executed judgment on Joash.”

 

This judgment was a consequence of the folly of Jehoash.

 

WE HAVE TO LEARN FROM HIM

 

There are those in the world today who are imposters in the faith,

They think they are saved, but they are not.

 

But it is their denial of the truth that sets them apart as apostate.

And once they deny we realize that they were apostate all along.

 

Jehoash denied the God he formerly claimed to serve.

 

The Faith of an apostate The Fabrication of an apostate The Folly of an apostate

#4 THE FATE OF AN APOSTATE

2 Kings 12:19-20

 

As we read to start the sermon,

The fate of an apostate is certain judgment

And that is precisely what is played out here.

 

Jehoash was killed.

Not to seize his throne, but to avenge the death of Zechariah.

 

This was not a political assassination, it was a spiritual one.

God was killing this man for his apostasy.

 

And what a tragedy Jehoash proves to be.

• Raised in the temple, taught the word of God,

• But his religion was only skin deep.

• He lacked conviction, and eventually he fell away.

 

LEARN FROM HIM THIS MORNING.

 

Christianity must be more than mere outward allegiance.

True Christianity is a conviction of the heart.

 

This morning I want to challenge your faith.

2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?”

 

TURN TO: 2 PETER 1

 

Start by reading: VERSES 10-11

 

Peter is telling them to make certain that they are the real deal.

They do not want to end up like the apostate he is warning about

 

SO HOW DO I KNOW?

 

Peter actually gave a checklist.

VERSES 5-9

 

And then:

(10-11) “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”

 

Now I hope you noticed what Peter said.

“make certain about His calling and choosing you”

 

DOES THAT SEEM ODD TO ANYONE ELSE?

 

It seems as though Peter should say,

“Make certain that you have chosen to follow Jesus.”

But that is not at all what he said.

 

He said to make sure that God has chosen you.

 

WHY?

 

Because I’m not trying to determine if I’ve done anything for God.

I am trying to determine if God has done anything in me.

 

When examining my life to see if I am in the faith,

I am not looking at all the religious things I have done.

• There will be preachers in hell.

• There will be deacons in hell.

• There will be Sunday School teachers in hell.

• There will be tithers in hell.

• There will be evangelists in hell.

 

We are not looking to see if we have done anything for God.

Jehoash remodeled the temple.

 

THE VALIDITY OF OUR FAITH RESTS IN

WHETHER OR NOT GOD HAS DONE ANYTHING IN US.

 

IS THERE EVIDENCE THAT HE HAS DONE A SAVING WORK IN ME?

• Revealed by the presence of His fruit in my life.

• Revealed by a true and genuine love for Him that He gave to me.

• Revealed by a sincere hatred for sin

• Revealed by a real love for my brethren

 

DON’T LOOK TO SEE IF YOU ARE AT WORK FOR GOD.

LOOK TO SEE IF GOD IS AT WORK IN YOU.

 

That is what Paul said as well.

2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is IN you — unless indeed you fail the test?”

 

Apostates are missing this crucial ingredient.

• Their faith rests upon the conviction of others.

• Their fabrication is that their religion is all exterior.

• Their folly is that they eventually reject the God they have never truly loved.

• Their fate is destruction in the black darkness.

 

This morning I challenge you to examine yourself

And make sure you are the real deal.

 

See if God is in you.

And if He is not, then repent of your sin and beg Him to come in.

 

But don’t live the life of an imposter and end up as an apostate.

 

2 Peter 1:10-11 “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”