“Worship According to the World”

2 Kings 17:24-41 (24-33)

 

I know it’s been a while since we have studied Kings

And with missions month beginning this Sunday,

It is possible that we will miss a couple of more times,

But I didn’t want to stray away from it for so long that we forgot where we were.

 

And so this morning I want to take a moment

And look again at our study and stay familiar with the text.

 

You are familiar with what occurred the last time we studied this book.

 

It was summarized in verse 18

2 Kings 17:18 “So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from His sight; none was left except the tribe of Judah.”

 

The Northern Kingdom (Israel) had lived a life of blatant idolatry

Since the day that the kingdom was split.

 

Jeroboam started it with his worship at Bethel and Dan

With the two golden calves and Israel never looked back.

 

And in 2 Kings 17 we saw the end of the northern kingdom.

 

The reasons given were clear:

Idolatry, Worldliness, Disobedience

 

2 Kings 17:7-8 “Now this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they had feared other gods and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD had driven out before the sons of Israel, and in the customs of the kings of Israel which they had introduced.”

 

Israel clung to these three sins and as a result

She was destroyed and exiled to a foreign land.

 

And so at this point in the book the northern kingdom is no more.

 

All that is left is the tribe of Judah.

 

And as you noticed in the reading of our text to begin this morning

We now see foreigners being moved in to the Promised Land.

 

Just as Assyria moved the Jews out into a foreign land,

He is now moving other refugees in to Israel.

 

And so the northern kingdom has become a prison, a place of exile.

 

It has been filled with the defeated survivors of other conquered nations.

 

And the text this morning focuses on their life

In this land that God had given to Israel.

 

And to help you understand the significance,

Allow me to fast-forward about 700 years.

 

John 4:3-9 “He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. And He had to pass through Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)”

 

These people are seen again:

Luke 9:51-54 “When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”

 

And so you are aware that the Samaritans were hated people,

Especially by the Jews.

 

That is why Jesus used the parable of the “Good Samaritan”

As the ultimate shame tactic to Israel.

 

And if you have ever wondered where the Samaritans came from,

You are about to witness their origin here in our text this morning.

 

You will remember that the northern kingdom was called Israel,

And after the division, the northern kingdom set up a new capital

In the city of Samaria.

 

(Samaria became another name for the northern kingdom)

 

• And what occurred is that these foreigners moved in to this region,

• Dwelled in Israel’s houses,

• Ate crops from Israel’s fields,

• Some even intermarried with the poor Israelites that were left behind.

 

AND THEY CAME TO BE KNOWN AS SAMARITANS

They were viewed as half-breeds, as unwelcomed guests,

As carpet-baggers so to speak.

 

And by the time that Jesus walked the earth they were seriously hated.

 

The Jews saw them as impure traitors and as those who had no right to be there, and thus they hated them.

How they got there is explained in our text this morning.

 

And in our text the writer explains to us what these people were like.

I hope to examine their lives

And then make some obvious application to the point.

 

There are three main characteristics we see about these people.

#1 THEIR PROBLEM

2 Kings 17:24-28

 

Of course the text begins with the explanation

Of how these people came to live in Israel’s land.

 

(24) “The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cuthah and from Avva and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. So they possessed Samaria and lived in its cities.”

 

It wasn’t really their idea to move into Israel, they were deported there,

Just as Israel had been deported into other foreign lands.

 

Furthermore we find that when they came,

They were an extremely pagan people.

 

(25) “At the beginning of their living there, they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them which killed some of them.”

 

They came to Israel and didn’t even know of God, let alone fear Him.

 

And so it is obvious that they lived lives in direct violation

Of the way in which God demanded that life be lived.

 

They angered God.

And as a result He sent lions to punish them.

 

While the land lie vacant during the various exiles

It would have given plenty of time for the lion population to grow.

 

Exodus 23:29 “I will not drive them out before you in a single year, that the land may not become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.”

 

Well it is clear that this has become reality and God is using it

To punish the godless nations that have come to defile His land.

 

And because these people are so distraught they do a smart thing.

 

(26) “So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have carried away into exile in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the god of the land; so he has sent lions among them, and behold, they kill them because they do not know the custom of the god of the land.”

 

Now it is worth pointing out that

Their decision was based more on fear than faith.

 

They were not seeking out the one true God,

They were simply trying to appease whoever was causing them grief.

 

In other words this was not about pleasing God,

This was about getting God off of their back.

 

And as you and I know, this misses the point.

 

What they were doing looked more like superstition and voodoo

Than truly seeking out God.

 

That was sort of like the question of the Rich Young Ruler.

Matthew 19:16-18a “And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Then he said to Him, “Which ones?”

 

He wasn’t interested in a relationship with God.

To him God was distant and angry and he just wanted to know

How to keep God off of his back.

 

That is not the type of relationship God wants with you.

1 John 4:18-19 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.”

 

God is seeking a love relationship

Where people seek Him out in order to know Him,

Not who seek out what makes Him mad

In order to avoid running in to Him.

 

 

This is what these refugees did.

They just wanted to know what they needed to do

To calm this angry god down a little.

 

And their request was granted.

 

(27-28) “Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Take there one of the priests whom you carried away into exile and let him go and live there; and let him teach them the custom of the god of the land.” So one of the priests whom they had carried away into exile from Samaria came and lived at Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.”

And the answer came in the form of a priest who

“taught them how they should fear the LORD.”

 

It doesn’t say he taught them TO fear the LORD.

 

He “taught them HOW they should fear the LORD.”

 

• True fear of the LORD is not about being scared of Him like He is some sort of bully who wants to steal your lunch money.

 

• True fear of the LORD is a reverence issue and we fear Him correctly when we honor and obey Him.

 

He taught them the Law and how to rightly honor God.

And so now the problem should be solved.

 

Their Problem

#2 THEIR PLURALISM

2 Kings 17:29-33

 

So the priest came and taught them how to worship God,

But they failed to understand that God alone is worthy of worship.

 

Because here we read they worship of all their false gods also continued.

 

VERSES 29-32

And so what we see taking place is flat out pluralism.

 

(33) “They feared the LORD and served their own gods according to the custom of the nations from among whom they had been carried away into exile.”

 

All they did was add God to their list of deities

That had to be appeased.

It is a life of fear, not a life of faith.

 

This, by the way, is another reason

Why the Jews came to despise the Samaritans.

 

The exile taught Israel to be monotheistic.

But when they returned home they found they pluralistic Samaritans

 

Ezra 4:1-3 “Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.” But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, “You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.”

This sentiment is also seen in Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman.

John 4:20-22 “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.”

 

Notice Jesus said, “You worship what you do not know”

 

In other words, yes you worship our God,

And yes He has a temple in your land, but your worship is empty.

You don’t know Him.

 

You call Him by the right name, and you can identify His prophets,

But your worship is steeped in ignorance and superstition.

 

They tried to add worship of God to their long list of things to worship.

 

And by the way many in the world still try to do this today.

 

Many in foreign countries just want to

Add Jesus to their other pagan deities.

 

The same superstition is found in Catholicism.

With the worship of Mary,

The worship of the saints,

The worship of relics,

The worship of the sacraments,

The worship of the pope.

 

It becomes a game of submitting to everything

So as to try not to offend anything.

 

It is a life of superstition, not a life of faith.

 

God doesn’t want a ritualistic sacrifice, He wants devotion.

That is what these Samaritans did not understand.

 

Their Problem Their Pluralism

#3 THEIR PERSISTANCE

2 Kings 17:34-41

 

This section is all about persistence.

 

The first three words in verse 34 are “To this day…”

The last three words of verse 41 are “To this day…”

 

The passage drips with their persistence to remain in pluralism

And to corrupt their worship of the one true God.

 

(34) “To this day they do according to the earlier customs: they do not fear the LORD, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances or the law, or the commandments which the LORD commanded the sons of Jacob, whom He named Israel;”

 

This can certainly be confusing.

For verse 32 says they feared the LORD

Verse 34 says they did not fear Him.

 

WHICH IS IT? It is both.

 

• They feared Him in the sense that they were afraid of Him just like they were afraid of all the other false gods.

 

• But they did not fear Him as He required, which is to reverence Him and honor Him and worship Him the way He required.

 

They were afraid of what He might do to them,

But they did not care to get to know Him.

 

And that is made clear in verse 34 for it says, “nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances or the law, or the commandments which the LORD commanded the sons of Jacob, whom He named Israel;”

 

They were afraid enough of Him that they sacrificed to Him.

But they did not love Him enough to obey Him.

 

 

There are many who dwell in that same limbo in the world today.

They are afraid of Him, but they don’t love Him.

 

After all Jesus said:

John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

 

But the Samaritans did not.

In fact, the next 5 verses lists the summary of all that

The priest had apparently taught them about true worship of God.

 

VERSES 35-39

 

These are all truths that the priest had taught these displaced foreigners.

He had revealed to them the Laws of God.

 

But they were not interested in that type of relationship.

(40) “However, they did not listen, but they did according to their earlier custom.”

 

They were afraid, but they did not love Him.

And then the summary:

(41) “So while these nations feared the LORD, they also served their idols; their children likewise and their grandchildren, as their fathers did, so they do to this day.”

 

And does religion and tradition ever get engrained in our way of life.

It almost effortlessly passes on to our children and grandchildren.

 

BUT I HOPE YOU SEE THE POINT OF THE PASSAGE

 

Here we have been given a very vivid picture of

What the world thinks that worship of God should look like.

 

Nothing more than a series of rituals meant to keep Him at bay

So that I can continue on with the things I enjoy.

 

Let me sin, just tell me how many goats I owe.

Let me do my own thing, just tell me how many prayers to pray

 

But listen to me, that is not what God desires.

 

TURN TO: PSALMS 50

(a judgment scene)

 

Can you see what God wants?

He wants thanksgiving

He wants trust

He wants devotion

He wants obedience

He wants to be remembered by you

 

A relationship with God is not just a series of ritualistic sacrifices

Meant to keep Him occupied.

 

God wants you to love Him and seek Him and serve Him

And obey Him and trust Him and remember Him.

 

The Samaritans never could seem to figure that out.

 

Even by the time Jesus came

That woman at the well is still just as mixed up as ever.

 

She’s been married 5 times, living with a man who is not her husband,

And the only religious question she ponders is

Which mountain she is supposed to worship God on.

 

But listen to what Jesus said to that mixed up woman.

 

John 4:19-24 “The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

 

She wanted to know which mountain she was supposed to sacrifice on,

As though God gave a rip about landscape.

 

Jesus said, “the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.”

 

“in spirit” – with all your inner being.

It speaks of love, it speaks of devotion, it speaks a true desire.

 

“in truth” – speaks of true obedience.

 

Jesus was telling her that instead of being afraid of God

She needed to start loving God.

 

And that is the answer for us today as well.

The greatest commandment is not for us to be afraid of God,

It is for us to love God.

 

And furthermore, here in MISSIONS MONTH, this is the message that a lost and dying world desperately needs to know.

 

I am by no means an expert in world missions.

 

But I know when I went to Africa I had no problem

Getting the people to pray to ask Jesus into their heart.

 

And all along I had the feeling that if I had come back in 10 minutes

I could have also converted them to Islam.

 

I know I went to China and there were those who were

Happy to add Jesus to their long list of gods they give homage to

So as not to offend Him either.

 

Because that is how the world thinks

That worship of God is supposed to be done.

 

Someone has to tell them that God alone is God of this world

And that He alone is worthy of their love and devotion.

 

To not only turn to Him, but also to forsake all others.

 

Someone has to do what that priest from Israel did.

(28) “So one of the priests whom they had carried away into exile from Samaria came and lived at Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.”

 

The worship God requires

Is different from what the rest of the world wants to give.

Someone has to tell them that.

 

1 John 4:18-19 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.”

 

 

W.O.M.

• Next meeting: FBC Spur, 6:00pm – October 6
• Meal:
• Program: Carrie Mosley
• Mission Action:

PARKS GROUP

• Next meeting: @ Neta Driggers, 2:30pm – October 13

The End of Israel

2 Kings 17:1-23 (1-6)

 

This morning we are returning to the book of kings

Again studying the infinite importance of seeking and trusting God.

 

That is indeed what the books of the kings is all about.

There is just no substitute for God in our lives.

 

There is infinite value found in Seeking Him

and in Trusting Him and in Obeying Him.

 

And on the flip side, there is only judgment found

For Ignoring Him, Resisting Him, and Forsaking Him.

 

And it is the latter of those two truths that rings true to us today.

 

WE LOOK ONE FINAL TIME AT THE NORTHERN KINGDOM.

 

• After Solomon died, his son Rehoboam became king of all Israel.

• However, he was a fool and God ripped 10 of the 12 tribes out of his hand and gave them to Solomon’s servant Jeroboam.

• At that point, Israel was split in two.

• We were left with the northern kingdom (10 tribes) called Israel.

• And the southern kingdom (1 tribe) called Judah.

 

This morning we see the end of the northern kingdom.

 

A couple of weeks ago we read that prophetic promise from Moses:

 

Deuteronomy 31:16-18 “The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers; and this people will arise and play the harlot with the strange gods of the land, into the midst of which they are going, and will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. “Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will come upon them; so that they will say in that day, ‘Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have come upon us?’ “But I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods.”

 

Today the prophecy is being fulfilled.

 

In addition to revealing the destruction of Israel,

This morning I also want you to understand why they were destroyed.

 

One could almost title this text, “How to be a destroyed nation”.

 

And I want you to see why God was angry

That we may also avoid making the same mistakes that Israel made.

 

But there are two main points to our text this morning.

#1 THE CAPTIVITY

2 Kings 17:1-6

 

Here we see the final king of the northern kingdom.

 

We studied him a little about 3 weeks ago, he ascended to the throne

By assassinating king Pekah the son of Remaliah.

 

(2) “He did evil in the sight of the LORD, only not as the kings of Israel who were before him.”

 

So that is an interesting appraisal.

“He did evil”

 

But he did a different kind of evil.

“not as the kings of Israel who were before him.”

 

Their form of evil was obvious.

“he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat.”

 

HOSHEA DID NOT SIN LIKE THEM.

In fact some historians note that Hoshea actually allowed

The Israelites to return to Jerusalem to worship in the temple.

 

BUT HOSHEA WAS STILL EVIL

 

(3) “Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute.”

 

Instead of trusting God, he submitted himself to the king of Assyria.

 

Beyond that, we see that as a king he did not make good decisions.

 

(4) “But the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So king of Egypt and had offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year; so the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison.”

 

So no sooner does he sign a treaty than does he break it

And that renders him in a great deal of trouble with Assyria

For which he gets thrown in prison.

 

Now we have a kingless Israel and an easy target for Assyria.

 

(5-6) “Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.”

And there you have it.

Just like that the northern kingdom is no more.

 

They have been defeated and they have been

Exiled out of the land flowing with milk and honey.

 

AND THE WRITER OF KINGS WANTS YOU TO KNOW WHY

 

No doubt the press in Israel blamed Hoshea for their captivity.

 

You can hear the radio talk shows buzzing

About how Hoshea made a dumb alliance

And then even did a dumber thing by breaking that alliance,

And now Israel is defeated.

 

No doubt they would use Hoshea as the fall guy.

 

And in a sense we all try to do this at times in our lives.

We try to blame our punishment on others…

We very rarely like to get honest about our consequences…

 

That is what made Paul’s confession so refreshing.

Romans 7:14-17 “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”

 

“So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.”

 

And it sounds like the ultimate cop out.

But it isn’t.

 

What Paul is revealing is that the nature

And the core reason for his problems and consequences in life

Is that he is a sinner.

 

He doesn’t blame his parents,

He doesn’t blame his environment,

He doesn’t blame the president.

 

Paul said, my biggest problem is that I have sin inside of me.

 

We all know that to be true, yet we often times

Still try to blame our consequences on other people.

 

And that is precisely what the writer of kings does not want Israel doing.

 

HE WANTS THEM TO KNOW WHY THEY WERE CONQUERED

 

#2 THE CAUSE

2 Kings 17:7-23

 

And obviously this is a long section, so let’s just kind of work through it together and then I hope to help you narrow the reasons down.

 

It begins by the writer stating the true purpose for the exile.

“Now this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt,”

 

If you want the overly simple version,

Israel went into captivity because of sin.

 

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that sin is not a big deal.

Here see families being split apart,

Led off in poverty to an unknown land

Where they would once again be subject to forced labor.

 

And it all happened because of sin.

Sin is not minor, sin is not insignificant.

 

Sin brings horrific consequences,

Not the least of which is eternal damnation in hell.

 

Hoshea is not solely to blame for the captivity, the main culprit is sin.

 

And namely sin against the God they should have loved.

God delivered them from Egypt with a mighty hand,

You would think there would be some gratitude for such an event,

But obviously Israel had forgotten.

 

Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

But Israel could care less.

 

Then begins the specifics.

 

(7) “and they feared other gods.”

 

We are all aware that we are not to love other gods,

But I hope you also realize that fearing other gods is also a sin.

 

When you fear something it controls you,

And Israel allowed themselves to be controlled by false gods.

 

VERSE 8

There we see their propensity to follow the pattern of the nations.

 

We’ve seen before how specifically God forbade this type of behavior.

He specifically told them not to worship on the high places,

But they ignored Him.

 

GOD WANTED HIS PEOPLE SET APART

Leviticus 19:19 “You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together.”

 

Leviticus 19:26-28 “You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor practice divination or soothsaying. ‘You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard. ‘You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the LORD.”

 

The point is that Israel was to be separated from the world.

They were supposed to be different. They were supposed to be unmixed.

 

But obviously Israel refused that command

Because they chased after the world in every area.

 

VERSES 9-12

 

And there comes another issue of idolatry.

 

First it was secret idolatry.

“The sons of Israel did things secretly which were not right against the LORD their God.”

 

The penalty for sin kept secret is more extreme

Because the very fact that a person keeps it secret

Reveals that they knew it was wrong.

 

But Israel did it anyway.

And some sin they did very publicly.

 

The built high places everywhere and burned incense upon them.

Furthermore they “served idols” in direct violation of God’s command.

 

Previously they feared false gods, now they are actually serving them.

 

And you see the utter disdain God’s people had for Him.

 

But God didn’t immediately annihilate them for it.

 

VERSES 13-15a

Here we see that God warned but they wouldn’t listen at all.

 

(14) “However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in the LORD their God.”

 

The writer says they actually acted like unbelievers

In their refusal to listen to God.

 

It didn’t matter if it was commands, warnings, prophecies,

Or whatever, Israel disregarded the word of God.

 

And again we see why.

Because the nations disregarded God’s word.

 

(15b) “And they followed vanity and became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the LORD had commanded them not to do like them.”

 

They followed the pattern of the world,

And that pattern was an idolatrous pattern

That disregarded the true and living God.

 

And you even see to what extreme they followed the world.

VERSES 16-17

 

They followed the world into Baal worship, and into child sacrifice,

And into divination, and into all sorts of evil.

 

It was full blown, unchecked idolatry all because they wanted to be like the world.

 

AND NOTICE GOD’S RESPONSE

(18) “So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from His sight; none was left except the tribe of Judah.”

 

It wasn’t because of Hoshea, it was because of the sin of Israel.

God was angry with their sin and that is why He removed them.

 

But that is not all they did.

VERSE 19

 

There we learn that not only did Israel sin,

But they were also a stumbling block to those around them.

 

They actually influenced Judah to follow in their footsteps.

 

The prophet Hosea ministered to the northern kingdom,

And he told them not to do this.

 

Hosea 4:15 “Though you, Israel, play the harlot, Do not let Judah become guilty; Also do not go to Gilgal, Or go up to Beth-aven And take the oath: “As the LORD lives!”

 

COULD YOU IMAGINE GOD TELLING A PEOPLE NOT TO GO ON MISSION?

That is what He told Israel because he did not want them

To influence the nations to live like them.

 

But Israel didn’t listen, they influenced Judah anyway.

HOW? – Was it not Ahab’s daughter who married Jehoram and brought Baal worship to Judah?

 

AND SO GOD WAS ANGRY

(20) “The LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them out of His sight.”

 

AND STILL THEY SIN

VERSES 21-22

 

That particular sin they never got over.

It plagued Israel from that time on.

 

(23) “until the LORD removed Israel from His sight, as He spoke through all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.”

 

And there it is again.

• Israel was completely removed.

• Israel was exiled.

• The Northern Kingdom was destroyed and the people were carried off into exile and slavery.

 

WHY?

Because of sin.

 

Now we worked our way through this text,

But let me see if I can help you narrow down the real problem.

 

3 main sins immerge from the text

1) IDOLATRY

 

(7) “they had feared other gods”

(9) “Moreover they built for themselves high places in all their towns”

(10) “They set for themselves sacred pillars and Asherim”

(11) “they burned incense on all the high places”

(12) “They served idols”

(16) “made for themselves molten images…an Asherah…and served Baal”

(17) “they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire”

(22) “Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam…”

 

• They feared what should not be feared…

• They loved what should not be loved…

• They served what should not be served…

 

And God took it personal.

 

He was very clear on Sinai that “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me”

And Israel disregarded the command.

 

2) WORLDLINESS

 

It’s hard to tell if it was love of the world that led them into idolatry,

Or idolatry which led them into love of the world,

But either way both existed and they were linked together.

 

And time and time again in this section we find the writer mentioning

How Israel did according to the pattern of the world.

 

(8) “walked in the customs of the nations…and in the customs of the kings”

(11) “burned incense…as the nations which the LORD had carried away”

(15) “they followed vanity and became vain, and went after the nations…”

(22) “walked in all the sins of Jeroboam”

 

It is obvious that their worldliness and their idolatry are linked.

 

They loved the world so much that it let them to worship like the world.

They were so infatuated with the world that they began to emulate them.

 

And this was never God’s intention.

Exodus 19:1-6 “In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. When they set out from Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of the mountain. Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. ‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”

 

• God wanted a people that were wholly His.

• God wanted a bride that loved only Him.

• God wanted children that were devoted to Him.

 

And Israel refused God’s desire and instead chose

To chase after the pattern of the world.

 

And because of that God scattered them throughout the world.

 

3) DISOBEDIENCE

 

(12) “They served idols concerning which the LORD had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.”

(14) “However, they did not listen…”

(15) “They rejected His statutes and His covenant…and His warnings”

(16) “They forsook all the commandments of the LORD their God

According to verse 19 they even taught Judah how not to keep the commandments of God.

 

It was blatant disobedience.

 

AND NOW WE KNOW WHY ISRAEL WAS DESTROYED

Idolatry

Worldliness

Disobedience

 

NOW LET’S BRING IT HOME

1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”

 

After the Exodus God asked His people to be wholly His. (They rejected)

After the cross God asked again (We must answer)

 

WE MUST AVOID IDOLATRY, WORLDLINESS, & DISOBEDIENCE.

 

IDOLATRY

 

It can be money.

Colossians 3:5-6 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience,”

 

Certainly the rich young ruler was this type of idolater.

Matthew 19:21-22 “Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.”

 

It can be comfort

Philippians 3:17-19 “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.”

 

 

It can be self-worship

Matthew 23:6-7 “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”

 

WORLDLINESS

 

1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

 

James 4:4 “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

 

This world is fallen and cursed, this world does not glorify God.

And therefore it makes no sense that we would be in love with it.

 

God did not call us to emulate the world.

God called us to emulate His Son.

 

And yet it concerns me how much the church today loves the world.

(We copy them at every turn)

From T-shirt slogans to coffee bars

 

The church in general today is far more concerned

With how pleasing they are to the world

Than they are about how pleasing they are to God.

 

There are conferences everywhere about how to attract the lost.

How many conferences have you ever seen about how to attract God?

 

That was Israel’s problem.

The world loved the high places, God didn’t, but they remained.

And Israel was judged for it.

 

We had better make sure that as a bride

We are only trying to win the affections of our husband.

 

2 Corinthians 11:2-3 “For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”

 

DISOBEDIENCE

 

Obedience to the word of God is foundational to the Christian life.

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.”

 

Matthew 12:46-50 “While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.” But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

 

And that is why James warned:

James 1:19-25 “This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”

 

It is all about how we handle the word of God.

 

Israel disobeyed God’s word and disregarded God’s warnings

And it brought judgment upon them.

 

Idolatry

Worldliness

Disobedience

We must do better.

 

We are called to learn from Israel’s mistakes.

1 Corinthians 10:6-11 “Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY.” Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

 

Learn from Israel’s mistakes

And don’t follow their path.

 

DEVOTE YOURSELF WHOLLY TO THE LORD

AND BE THE PEOPLE HE IS EXPECTING YOU TO BE.

 

2 Kings 17:18 “So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from His sight; none was left except the tribe of Judah.”

 

2 Kings 16 (1-4)

 

This morning we are returning to our study of the kings

And we see again a king in the south.

 

Last week we saw Jotham, a man who was a good king.

• He loved God

• He loved God’s house

• He loved God’s city

 

He even tried to set an example of faithfulness and obedience

That the people could follow.

 

However, Jotham was the INEFFECTIVE king.

They paid no attention to his righteous example.

 

Instead they continued in their sin by worshiping on the high places.

 

What that means for Jotham is that

While he was a personally devoted king,

He was also a tolerant king. (As were the kings before him)

 

Instead of taking an active stance against the high places

He tolerated their existence and allowed the pagan worship to continue.

 

BUT IT WASN’T JUST HIM

The writer of kings began pointing to this dangerous trend

4 generations ago with Jotham’s great-great-grandfather.

 

Joash, Amaziah, Azariah (Uzziah), and Jotham

All received the same appraisal.

 

They did right in the sight of the Lord,

However the high places were not removed.

 

There was a growing epidemic of tolerance in the land of Judah.

 

And before we talk about the consequences of tolerance,

Let me first remind you that tolerance is itself a consequence.

 

Romans 1:28-32 “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

 

There we find that one of the problems with the wicked

Is that they are tolerant.

That is clearly spelled out in verse 32

“although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

 

We also see that God is not judging them for their tolerance,

But rather that their tolerance is a result of God’s judgment.

 

For in verse 28 Paul says, “God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,”

 

The very fact that the wicked tolerate sin

Is a consequence of God upon a life that has embraced it.

 

The same will be seen on an even greater scale during the END TIMES.

 

2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 “For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.”

 

There we see that God will give them a blinding spirit

That will just accept everything as though it is ok.

 

WHY?

2 Thessalonians 2:10b “because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.”

 

Because people did not love the truth enough to accept it;

God will make it so that they can no longer recognize it

And will give them a mind that accepts everything.

 

So we understand that tolerance isn’t just a sin that will be judged,

Tolerance is itself a consequence for not loving truth enough.

 

AND WE HAVE SEEN THAT IN JUDAH

Judah is slowly losing her sensitivity to sin.

 

SHE HAD BECOME TOLERANT

 

Tolerance is heavily promoted in our culture today.

Many suppose that it is the means to universal peace.

(Some tolerance is good and necessary)

 

BUT TOLERANCE OF SIN AND ERROR IS DESTRUCTIVE

 

You and I know that sin is never satisfied.

James 1:14-15 “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”

 

Sin won’t stop until it kills you.

BUT IN JUDAH WE HAVE 4 KINGS WHO HAVE TOLERATED IT

I WANT YOU TO SEE THE RESULT OF THEIR TOLERANCE

 

I introduce to you King Ahaz.

Let me show you three things about his life and reign as king.

 

#1 AHAZ’S DESCRIPTION

2 Kings 16:1-4

 

And you can already tell from just reading those first 4 verses

That Ahaz was a rough character.

 

We see his APPRAISAL in verse 2

“Ahaz…did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God, as his father David had done.”

 

And so regardless of what we think of him on a personal level;

God weighed him and found him wanting.

 

Let me show you some of his wickedness.

(3) “he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and even made his sons pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had driven out before the sons of Israel.”

 

That verse indicates that when looking for a standard or guide

For how to worship, Ahaz did not turn to the Law of God.

Instead Ahaz turned to the example of the world.

 

• He looked to the north to see how Israel worshiped and he did the same.

• He looked to the east and saw how Moab sacrificed their sons in the fire and did the same.

• He remembered all the pagan practices of the Canaanites and did the same.

 

He did everything in direct violation

Of what God had commanded in regard to worship.

 

But that is not all.

(4) “He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.”

 

The previous kings tolerated the high places, Ahaz actually used them.

He was a pagan worshiping king.

 

And there is a good time to introduce to you the cycle of tolerance

PERMISSION LEADS TO PRACTICE

PRACTICE LEADS TO PROMOTION

 

What you permit, your children will practice

What you practice, your children will promote

And it seen here with Ahaz.

What was formerly permitted is now being practiced and even promoted.

 

But that is not all about Ahaz.

2 Chronicles 28:1-3 “Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do right in the sight of the LORD as David his father had done. But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel; he also made molten images for the Baals. Moreover, he burned incense in the valley of Ben-hinnom and burned his sons in fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had driven out before the sons of Israel.”

 

He actually resurrected Baal worship.

 

Much could be said about “the valley of Ben-hinnom”

Just know that it was a place of idolatry that God would severely judge.

 

By New Testament times, it was the local dump

And it was the sight Jesus referred to when describing hell (Gahinna),

Were the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.

 

And it was Ahaz that got all that started.

He was a wicked king.

 

What his father’s permitted has now become his common practice.

 

But that isn’t all to Ahaz.

 

Ahaz’s description

#2 AHAZ’S DECISION

2 Kings 16:5-9

 

When you look at the first two verses we find an obvious reality.

And that is that hardship came upon Ahaz.

 

Certainly we would expect anyone who turns that far away from the LORD

To have their fair share of difficulty.

 

Ahaz’s came in the form of military attack from Israel and Aram (Samaria)

 

The writer of kings doesn’t mention this,

But thanks to the prophet Isaiah, we know the purpose of this attack.

 

It is meant to get Ahaz to start trusting God.

TURN TO: ISAIAH 7:1-13

 

And so there we see that Ahaz actually refuses to trust God,

But that doesn’t stop God from honoring His word to protect.

 

(5) “they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.”

 

They did however inflict some suffering on him.

(6) “At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram, and cleared the Judeans out of Elath entirely; and the Arameans came to Elath and have lived there to this day.”

 

So they did inflict some suffering on Ahaz,

But even in that God was merciful.

 

2 Chronicles 28:6-11 “For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah 120,000 in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king’s son and Azrikam the ruler of the house and Elkanah the second to the king. The sons of Israel carried away captive of their brethren 200,000 women, sons and daughters; and they took also a great deal of spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria. But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded; and he went out to meet the army which came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because the LORD, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, He has delivered them into your hand, and you have slain them in a rage which has even reached heaven. “Now you are proposing to subjugate for yourselves the people of Judah and Jerusalem for male and female slaves. Surely, do you not have transgressions of your own against the LORD your God? “Now therefore, listen to me and return the captives whom you captured from your brothers, for the burning anger of the LORD is against you.”

 

Even though God allowed a defeat, He did not allow continued judgment. He forced Israel to give back all the refugees.

 

The point is that hardship did come,

But God was merciful to Ahaz to not allow him to be destroyed.

 

The purpose was to get Ahaz to start seeking God.

 

BUT AHAZ IGNORED GOD’S MERCY

(7-8) “So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son; come up and deliver me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.” Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent a present to the king of Assyria.”

 

• Instead of seeking God, Ahaz sought Assyria

• Instead of submitting to God, Ahaz submitted to Assyria

• Instead of giving supplication to God, Ahaz gave supplication to Assyria

• Instead of sacrificing to God, Ahaz sacrificed to Assyria

 

Ahaz wouldn’t seek God, for he had already determined to seek Assyria

 

And initially the plan worked.

(9) “So the king of Assyria listened to him; and the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and captured it, and carred the people of it away into exile to Kir, and put Rezin to death.”

That was the end of Aram (Samariah).

They were officially conquered and carried away into exile.

 

And so it looked like Ahaz’s plan worked.

However it would eventually backfire.

 

For all he had done is succeeded in luring the Assyrians further south.

Now the only barrier between him and Assyria would be Israel.

 

And now, the Assyrian king knows he is more powerful than you,

Because you had to hire him to defeat those you could not defeat.

 

Ahaz would now become a whipping boy to the king of Assyria.

 

God promised this:

Isaiah 7:17 “The LORD will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house such days as have never come since the day that Ephraim separated from Judah, the king of Assyria.”

 

And it happened.

2 Kings 28:20-21 “So Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. Although Ahaz took a portion out of the house of the LORD and out of the palace of the king and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.”

 

But the main point of the text in kings

Is that instead of seeking God, Ahaz sought Assyria.

 

He is a wicked king that refused to turn to God for help

Even when turning to God was in his best interest.

 

2 Chronicles 28:19 “For the LORD humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had brought about a lack of restraint in Judah and was very unfaithful to the LORD.”

 

So we again ask:

HOW’S THAT TOLERANCE THING WORKING FOR YOU?

 

But that’s not all:

Ahaz’s description

Ahaz’s decision

#3 AHAZ’S DEFIANCE

2 Kings 16:10-20

 

Just when you thought Ahaz couldn’t do any worse,

Now look at what he does.

 

Tolerance leads from PERMISSION TO PRACTICE

Then it leads from PRACTICE TO _____________? (promotion)

 

1) HE REPLACED GOD’S ALTAR (10-13)

And you can follow Ahaz’s logic.

In his estimation his god didn’t deliver from Aram, but Assyria did.

Therefore Assyria’s god must be more powerful than his god.

(That is true, for Ahaz did not worship the true God)

 

And this was the way Ahaz commonly operated.

2 Chronicles 28:22-23 “Now in the time of his distress this same King Ahaz became yet more unfaithful to the LORD. For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him, and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they became the downfall of him and all Israel.”

 

Ahaz commonly followed the god who gave him what he wanted,

Or at times the god who thwarted him, supposing him to be more powerful.

 

And so Ahaz travels to Assyria to find the god he wants,

And when he finds him he sends back the specifications of his altar.

 

And Urijah the priest (that great man of God) builds the altar for him.

 

Now Jerusalem has a new altar upon which to offer sacrifice.

 

2) HE RELOCATED GOD’S ALTAR (14)

 

Certainly God’s altar could not remain in the prominent position,

So it is relocated to get it out of the way of the new altar.

 

3) HE REJECTED GOD’S ALTAR (15-16)

 

Now the universal command is that

We will no longer sacrifice to the God of Moses,

But now we will sacrifice to the god of Tiglath Pilneser.

 

Ahaz would only use God’s altar for divination.

 

4) HE REMOVED GOD’S SEA (17)

 

This was the basin for washing.

It rested upon 12 oxen, symbolizing the 12 tribes.

 

The implication was that Israel and God were linked.

Ahaz desired to sever that tie.

 

He made a public display that Israel

Had no link to their former god.

 

5) HE REFUSED GOD’S HOUSE (18)

 

The King had his own entrance into the temple

And leading up to it was a covered walk way.

But Ahaz refused it.

 

WHY?

“because of the king of Assyria”

 

He didn’t want Tiglath Pilneser to think he was still devoted to God at all.

So he refused entrance to God’s temple.

 

The writer of Chronicles goes a little further:

2 Chronicles 28:24-25 “Moreover, when Ahaz gathered together the utensils of the house of God, he cut the utensils of the house of God in pieces; and he closed the doors of the house of the LORD and made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem. In every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked the LORD, the God of his fathers, to anger.”

 

And then Ahaz died.

 

Now certainly we could talk about all his sin

And how God judged him for it.

And we could make the conclusion that God judges such sin.

 

And that would be true and accurate.

Yet that is not the reason the writer of kings wrote.

 

Please notice that the writer of kings did not mention anywhere

That God judged Ahaz.

Nor does the writer of kings mention

That God is displeased with Ahaz.

 

We know God was from Isaiah and 2 Chronicles,

But the writer of kings doesn’t mention it.

 

Sure he mention that Aram and Israel attacked (vs. 5)

But he doesn’t even say that it was because of Ahaz.

He only mentions that God helped him.

 

And even when Ahaz died, 2 Chronicles mentioned that he wasn’t buried with the kings, but the writer of kings doesn’t mention that.

 

And so we quickly deduce that the point of 2 Kings 16

Is not to reveal that God judges the sin of idolatry.

(For nothing of that judgment is mentioned here)

 

THEN WHY DID THE WRITER OF KINGS WRITE THIS CHAPTER?

To reveal the result of tolerance.

 

This chapter is a slap in the face to the four kings before Ahaz.

 

This chapter is a rebuke of Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, and Jotham.

If only one of them would have had the gumption to remove the high places perhaps this cycle would have been stopped.

But now,

• Here is Judah with high places everywhere…

• Here is Judah with a closed temple…

• Here is Judah with a new altar to an Assyrian god…

• Here is Judah with a rejuvenated worship of Baal…

• Here is Judah now a slave and servant to Assyria…

 

I doubt any of the previous kings thought it would lead to this,

But such is the nature and appetite of sin.

 

It never says enough.

And what is permitted today is practiced and promoted tomorrow.

 

Is it any wonder that we are continually called to guard against tolerating sin and slipping away from the truth of God?

 

Paul told the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 11:2 “Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.”

 

He told the Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.”

 

2 Thessalonians 3:6 “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us.”

 

It was a call to not grab a hold of every new fad

And so reject the God we have always known.

 

It is a call to learn the revealed word of God and cling to it

With absolutely no tolerance for error.

 

Because 4 faithful kings had failed to stand against error…

Because 4 faithful kings had tolerated the high places…

Now Judah has been given over to tolerance and reality is horrific.

 

BUT THERE IS A SOLUTION

 

TURN TO: ISAIAH 58

 

Isaiah prophesied during the reign of Uzziah and Jotham,

And Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

And in this chapter he spoke of that glorious day

When Israel would return to God

And God would return them to their previous state.

 

(1-7) – RETURN TO ME

(8-14) – I WILL RETURN YOU

 

Notice what God said would happen when His people

Stopped tolerating sin and truly returned to Him:

 

(12) “Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the age-old foundations; and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell.”

 

God wasn’t telling them to do that.

God was telling them that when they return to Him,

He will cause that to happen.

 

THINK ABOUT IT IN OUR DAY

• Certainly we would all love to have prayer back in school…

• Certainly we would love to have the filth removed from Hollywood…

 

But on an even more personal note.

• We are talking about the sanctification of the church…

• We are talking about the sanctification of the family…

 

What is permitted today will be practiced and promoted tomorrow.

 

 

 

Tolerance of sin and error will kill us.

It may not seem to be all that dangerous,

But trust me, Jotham never dreamed what Ahaz would do.

 

 

 

Let me encourage you to hold to the traditions of the faith

And be unwavering in your support of the truth.

 

Stop tolerating evil and return to the ancient paths

So that God may restore them to you.

 

Isaiah 58:13-14 “If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure on My holy day, And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, And honor it, desisting from yourown ways, From seeking your own pleasure

And speaking your own word, Then you will take delight in the LORD, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

 

Jotham: The Ineffective King

2 Kings 15:32-38

 

Here we are again this morning in our study of the kings

And we again return to the southern kingdom

That you and I know as Judah.

 

The last king we studied of Judah

Was the king named Azariah also known as Uzziah.

 

We called him “The King who Accomplished Nothing”

 

And you may remember that this was true from a spiritual stand point, but not true from a political or historical standpoint.

 

Uzziah was in fact very successful politically speaking.

He enlarged the nation and secured the borders.

He brought peace and prosperity to Judah

In a way they had not enjoyed it since the days of Solomon.

 

And so history remembers him very well.

 

But the writer of Kings didn’t remember him all that well.

 

You may remember his problem and that is for all the good he did for Judah,

He didn’t the most important thing,

He didn’t remove the high places that God hated so much.

 

And so when we read of Azariah from the writer of kings

We saw that despite all that he accomplished,

It was for not because he left the high places standing.

 

Well this morning you may have already noticed

That we are studying his son, and his son will do the same.

By the end of Jotham’s reign the main problem is still the main problem.

 

In our text we see some 3 characteristics about him

And about Judah while he was king.

 

#1 RELIGION EXISTED

2 Kings 15:32-34

 

Of course you learn of his heritage and his mother.

 

And then we get the appraisal of his life.

 

(34) “He did what was right in the sight of the LORD; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done.”

 

Now if we just take that statement for what it says,

Then we must come to the conclusion that Jotham was a good king.

 

“He did what was right”

 

And allow me for a moment to just sort of develop that notion

By some of the other information we gain about Jotham

From the writer of Chronicles.

 

HIS PERSONAL DEVOTION

2 Chronicles 27:2 “He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done; however he did not enter the temple of the LORD…”

 

You may remember that Uzziah had a tremendous arrogance problem.

HE got so high on himself that he actually took it upon himself

To enter the temple and burn incense.

 

This of course was forbidden and the resulting judgment was that

Uzziah was struck with leprosy until the day of his death.

 

Here we learn that Jotham learned from his father’s misfortune.

 

The idea here is that he kept God in an exalted place.

He didn’t think himself big enough to approach God.

He didn’t think himself important enough to walk right in to the holy place.

 

2 Chronicles 27:6 “So Jotham became mighty because he ordered his ways before the LORD his God.”

 

Here the writer of Chronicles denotes that Jotham

Was a man who focused on living a godly life.

 

Very similar to Paul’s statement about himself.

1 Corinthians 9:26-27 “Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

 

Paul sacrificed, he strived, he focused

On being who God desired him to be.

 

And that is the same for Jotham.

“he ordered his ways before the LORD”

 

He took obedience seriously and made sure that in his life

He did not transgress the Law of God.

 

That was his personal devotion.

HIS PROMOTED RELIGION

 

We read it in kings as well,

2 Chronicles 27:3 “He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD, and he built extensively the wall of Ophel.”

 

You could tell by his projects what was important to him.

 

When the remodeling began he worked on God’s house.

• He wanted it to be great, he wanted it to be esteemed.

• He devoted his time and resources to making clear his preferred religion.

 

Furthermore “he built extensively the wall of Ophel”

This was an outer wall surrounding the old city of Jerusalem.

 

And from that we see that Jerusalem was important to him

And God’s temple was important to him.

 

In his projects he revealed what mattered.

He was promoting God’s city and God’s house.

 

His personal devotion

His promoted religion

HIS POLITICAL SUCCESS

 

2 Chronicles 27:3-4 “He built the upper gate of the house of the LORD, and he built extensively the wall of Ophel. Moreover, he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and he built fortresses and towers on the wooded hills.”

 

He was a great builder.

He accomplished much for the nation.

 

He was successful militarily

2 Chronicles 27:5 “He fought also with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed over them so that the Ammonites gave him during that year one hundred talents of silver, ten thousand kors of wheat and ten thousand of barley. The Ammonites also paid him this amount in the second and in the third year.”

 

And there we see how successful he was as a general.

Securing subjects and funds from foreign nations.

 

And of course all of this success comes

Because of his devotion to God.

2 Chronicles 27:6 “So Jotham became mighty because he ordered his ways before the LORD his God.”

 

And I just want to point all that out

So that you can see that he was a good king.

There isn’t much listed negative about him.

 

He loved God, he served God, and God honored him for it.

 

 

And so I remind you that under Jotham, the true religion existed.

 

But his encouragement was unheeded

And his example was not followed.

 

2 Chronicles 27:2 “He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah had done; however he did not enter the temple of the LORD. But the people continued acting corruptly.”

 

Religion Existed

#2 IDOLATRY ENDURED

2 Kings 15:35

 

And there we have it again.

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

 

It was not because Jotham endorsed it, he didn’t.

He endorsed worship at God’s house.

 

The problem is not that he supported it,

The problem is that he didn’t do anything to stop it.

 

YOU CAN CONTINUALLY SEE THE THEME.

The writer of Kings has tunnel vision when it comes to those high places.

 

He could care less what the kings accomplish, he is just looking for

The one with enough gumption to get rid of those high places.

 

And Jotham was not that king.

He refused to remove the idolatrous sin of the people.

 

And that is a tragedy.

 

It would be like if in 100 years someone wrote about my time in Spur,

“Rory did right in the sight of the Lord as the preachers before him had done. He was devoted to God. Furthermore he remodeled the kitchen and the sanctuary and the bathroom at the parsonage. And God blessed those endeavors with the funds to complete them. Nevertheless, the sin of the people was never challenged. And Rory was gathered to his fathers and the next pastor shepherded in his place.”

 

What kind of legacy is that?

A pathetic one.

 

Yet that is what Jotham did.

It has been said,

“Sometimes silence is golden, other times it’s just plain yellow.”

Jotham was doing what many in our world desire to do today.

And that is to remain strictly positive

In our battle over spiritual things.

 

JUST PROMOTE WHAT IS RIGHT,

BUT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES

DO WE ATTACK WHAT IS WRONG.

 

BUT THAT MINDSET IS KILLING PEOPLE

 

Leaving people in sin never helped anyone.

People have to know the dangers that are involved sin.

WE HAVE TO BE CONVICTED ENOUGH TO TELL THEM

 

Think back to how Jesus dealt with such matters.

You remember how passive and non-confrontational He was don’t you?

 

John 2:13-16 “The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.”

That was certainly displaying a tolerant attitude.

 

Luke 12:1 “Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”

 

TURN TO: LUKE 11:37-52

 

Jesus just couldn’t leave it alone.

Sin was killing people and it had to be dealt with.

 

Remember this confrontation?

John 4:15-18 “The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.” He said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.”

 

Now why did Jesus have to go there?

Why bring up that raw wound?

Because it was sin, and it had to be addressed.

 

Jesus was compassionate, Jesus was loving, Jesus was forgiving,

In fact He was so much those things that He offered Himself on a cross.

 

BUT HE NEVER JUST DECIDED TO LEAVE SIN ALONE.

There was a conviction about Him, there was a courage about Him

Where He determined not to allow the high places to remain.

 

And He was not alone.

We are all familiar with the preaching of John the Baptist.

“You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”

 

Or consider Paul.

2 Corinthians 10:1-6 “Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ — I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent! I ask that when I am present I need not be bold with the confidence with which I propose to be courageous against some, who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”

 

WHAT ARE THOSE STRONGHOLDS WE DESTROY?

 

(5) “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thinking raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,”

 

WHAT IS THE STRONGHOLD?

“speculations” – “lofty thinking” – “thoughts”

 

Paul was saying that there are people in the world who believe wrong.

Sometimes those wrong beliefs even enter the church,

And we are here to destroy those wrong beliefs.

 

Furthermore he says:

(6) “and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”

 

In other words once the battle line is clearly drawn

And we see who believes and obeys right,

We will punish those who believe wrong and disobey.

 

IS THAT A NON-CONFRONTATIONAL TOLERANT ATTITUDE?

Of course not.

 

You see, that is what is truly discouraging about Jotham

And about many in our society today.

• We are willing to promote what we believe in…

• We are willing to let it be known what we believe is the truth…

• But are very seldom willing to go on the offensive.

 

We leave the high places in tact because people like them

And because to approach them would bring too much confrontation.

And so the high places remain.

• Where is the courage?

• Where is the conviction?

• Where is the certainty?

 

Jotham was a good guy.

He loved God

He promoted true worship

He did a good job for the nation

 

But he did not remove the one thing that was killing them, and so:

IDOLATRY ENDURED

 

His attempt to bring people back to God was ineffective.

 

So while it is good that true religion existed,

He still allowed idolatry to endure.

Let’s see the consequences of that

 

#3 JUDGMENT BEGAN

2 Kings 15:36-38

 

Did you catch that one last side note?

(37) “In those days the LORD began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah.”

 

They would not depart from their idolatry

And it is bringing about the wrath of Holy God.

 

Let me remind you of something very important.

Exodus 20:1-6 “Then God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

 

And so you are familiar with the fact that God

Does not allow anything to be more important to you than Him.

 

And it is not just physical graven images.

TURN TO: Ezekiel 14:1-8

 

Paul told this to the Colossians.

Colossians 3:5 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.”

 

The point is that idolatry will kill you.

Harboring sinful thinking will kill you.

 

It was killing Judah and no one would do anything about it.

They just continued to leave those high places alone.

 

Listen to what Ezekiel had to say about those high places.

Ezekiel 6:1-7 “And the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains, the hills, the ravines and the valleys: “Behold, I Myself am going to bring a sword on you, and I will destroy your high places. “So your altars will become desolate and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will make your slain fall in front of your idols. “I will also lay the dead bodies of the sons of Israel in front of their idols; and I will scatter your bones around your altars. “In all your dwellings, cities will become waste and the high places will be desolate, that your altars may become waste and desolate, your idols may be broken and brought to an end, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be blotted out. “The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the LORD.

 

Can we agree in saying that the high places

were a big deal to God?

 

It just failed to be a big deal to His people or His kings.

 

HERE IS THE PROBLEM.

There was a major sin in Israel

And no one was willing to do anything about it.

 

They just sort of ignored it and hoped it would go away.

 

BUT SIN DOESN’T JUST GO AWAY

Sin never goes out of style…

It only grows into something more abominable…

Ultimately it brings destruction upon those who practice it…

 

And that is why we sense the frustration with the writer of kings

As one king after another does a whole lot of good,

But refuses to deal with the high places.

 

And so again this morning I want to encourage you

To remove the high places in your life.

 

And I want to challenge you to demolish them

And get back to worshiping God the way He desires

WITH ALL YOUR HEART

 

John 4:23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.”

 

But let me also encourage you to be people of conviction.

This world is filled with false belief…

This world is contaminated with the filth of sin…

 

And someone has to be willing to confront it.

 

• Someone has to be a voice calling in the wilderness “Make straight the way of the LORD”

• Someone has to be willing to challenge false religion and clear the temple…

• Someone has to be willing to challenge false teachers and expose the brood of vipers…

• Someone has to be willing to break down the fortresses of deception and disbelief…

 

It is not enough to just be committed to what you believe.

You and I must take an active stance against sin.

 

Against sin in our own lives and against sin in the lives of others.

Because if the high places are allowed to remain,

God’s judgment will arrive.

 

 

Jotham was personally devoted,

But he was ineffective in truly helping his nation.

 

Despite all the good he did, and despite what he stood for,

By the time his reign was over God’s judgment was already arriving.

 

He left sin alone, and it was undoing Israel.

 

 

Be one who is willing to stand for the truth of God.

 

Ezekiel 22:30 “I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.”