The Song Israel Never Learned

2 Kings 15:8-31

 

I do need to forewarn you at the outset this morning that

We are going to be covering an enormous amount of Scriptural text today.

 

Now you probably already noticed that we are going

To deal with 6 kings in the nation of Israel this morning.

 

I would also note to you that these 6 kings are the end of the line.

 

Our text ends with Hoshea on the throne and he is the last king

To ever sit on the throne of the northern kingdom.

 

It was during his reign that the nation was completely destroyed

And carried into exile in Assyria.

 

And so (as the writer intends it) we are sort of looking at

These final kings in a rapid fire fashion.

 

And in doing so we see just how far Israel has finally fallen.

A nation that was delivered out of Egypt and given this land

And this is where they end up.

 

It is indeed a sad story when seen in it’s entirety.

 

To really put the tragedy of this story in to perspective

We need to rewind about 680 years.

 

TURN TO: DEUTERONOMY 31:14-22

 

You are familiar with the setting to the book of Deuteronomy.

 

• The children of Israel have wondered in the wilderness now for 40 years.

• All that were of the generation that failed to enter the Promised Land have died and Israel is about to enter.

• However Moses would not be allowed to enter with the people.

• And so before Israel crosses the Jordan, Moses must die and hand the reigns over to their new leader; Joshua.

 

The book of Deuteronomy is the final sermon of Moses

In order to instruct Israel on their new life in their new land

With their new leader.

 

However, the book of Deuteronomy is not entirely a celebratory book

 

The passage we find here is really a rather discouraging one.

(Read Passage)

And hopefully you noticed several things that the LORD revealed to Moses.

 

First was a prophecy of God that Israel would turn away from Him.

 

(16) “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.”

 

So if you want God’s prophecy regarding Israel,

He said they would do three things.

 

1) The people will arise and play the harlot

2) [The people] will forsake Me

3) [The people] will break My covenant

 

God knew what was in the heart of Israel.

He knew they would be unfaithful to Him and worship other gods.

 

Then we saw God’s promised response to such rebellion.

 

(17-18) “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.”

 

And so we learned that in response to the rebellion of Israel,

God would respond in 5 different ways.

 

1) ANGER – “My anger will be kindled against them”

2) FORSAKE – “I will forsake them”

3) HIDE – “and hide My face from them”

4) CONSUMMED – “they will be consumed” (give over to enemies)

5) AFFLICTION – “many evils and troubles will come upon them”

 

When Israel eventually turns away from God,

Then God will turn away from them, hide from them,

Give them over to their enemies and subject them to much affliction.

 

This was what Moses told them

Before they ever entered the Promised Land.

But that was not all God told Moses.

 

In verses 19-22 we find that God commanded Moses

To write a song and teach it to the children of Israel.

 

Take this sermon, put it into song form, and teach it to them.

That will make this point easy to remember and easy to learn.

(22) “So Moses wrote this song on the same day, and taught it to the sons of Israel.”

 

Now, I know it is a long song, but it is also necessary we take a look at it.

 

TURN TO: DEUTERONOMY 32:1-47

 

And let me break this song into 6 verses so you can easily see the point.

 

1) THE CHARGE OF GOD (1-6)

 

This is simply the opening introduction to the song

In which God indicates what this song is about.

 

This song is about how the faithless children

Abandoned the faithful God and how that was not deserved.

 

Next comes the meat of the song:

2) THE GOODNESS OF GOD (7-14)

 

He starts with “Remember the days of old”

Think with me back over all the good that God has done for you.

 

And you can see throughout these verses a reminder

Of all the grace and mercy and favor God showed to Israel.

 

But then comes the problem

3) THE APOSTASY OF ISRAEL (15-18)

 

Regardless of all the good God had done, for no reason whatsoever,

They turned away from God and began to serve other gods.

 

The reason they did so is found in verse 15

“You are grown fat, thick, and sleek – then he forsook the God who made him.”

 

Isn’t that what Moses promised in the earlier chapter?

Deuteronomy 31:20 “For when I bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and are satisfied and become prosperous, then they will turn to other gods and serve them, and spurn Me and break My covenant.”

 

God knew they would not be able to handle their prosperity

And when they got comfortable they would turn away from God.

 

And they did.

(18) “You neglected the Rock who begot you, and forgot the God who gave you birth.”

 

So despite all that God had done, Israel would turn away from Him.

 

 

4) THE MISFORTUNE OF ISRAEL (19-27)

 

Moses said that if Israel turned away from God

Then God would get angry and end up

Smiting them with many evils and troubles.

 

Here they are.

 

(20) “I will hide”

(21) “provoked Me to anger”

(23) “I will heap misfortunes on them”

 

And we see that God will harshly judge them

For turning away from Him for no reason at all.

 

In fact the only reason God doesn’t completely remove them

Is so that foreign nations won’t get too arrogant.

VERSES 26-27

 

But when they turn away from God they bring upon themselves severe misfortune.

 

5) THE IGNORANCE OF ISRAEL (28-33)

 

I hope you notice the desire of God in these verses.

 

It pictures a God that wished Israel would pay attention

To the song they were singing and not travel down that path.

 

But they didn’t.

(29) “Would that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would discern their future!”

 

And God wishes that Israel would realize that

The only way other nations could have conquered them is if God allowed it.

 

But Israel would be too thick headed to pay attention and turn to Him.

 

And indeed we have seen that in our study of kings.

Regardless of the curse, famines, wars, battles, and hardships,

Israel has failed to recognize that God might be angry with them.

 

And because of this hardship God is forced

To completely give Israel over into the hand of foreign nations.

 

But all of that comes with a purpose.

6) THE DESIRE OF GOD (34-43)

 

You notice that God pictures a day

When there will be deliverance from the foreign nation.

 

But when Israel will cry out for help, please notice God’s response.

(37-38) “And He will say, ‘Where are their gods, The rock in which they sought refuge? ‘Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, And drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise up and help you, Let them be your hiding place!”

 

God says why don’t you turn to those foreign gods you love so much.

And of course that won’t work.

 

Then comes the point.

(39) “See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.”

 

God wants Israel to realize that He alone is the God they need,

And to never again turn to a foreign god.

 

And then God promises deliverance.

 

That is the song Moses was to teach Israel.

It was to be in their hymnal, it was to become familiar.

 

And then Moses had this to say about the song.

 

VERSES 44-47

 

This was to be the most important song in Israel.

And they were to learn it before they ever entered the Promised Land.

 

Everyone should have known this.

 

But you may have noticed, I called this sermon:

“The Song Israel Never Learned”

 

Because now, over 600 years later we see Israel living out that song.

 

I want to take you through these final six kings

So that you will see the faithfulness of God to His promises.

 

Not just His faithfulness to bless, but His faithfulness to punish.

 

Back in 2 Kings 15, there are 3 main points I want you to see.

 

Now as we study these 6 kings,

There are some similarities that I want you to notice.

 

1) Most of these kings died by assassination

2) None turned away from the golden calves

 

 

You may remember that the writer of kings has tunnel vision.

There is one sin in the southern kingdom he can’t get over

And there is one sin in the northern kingdom he can’t get over.

 

In the south it is the high places

In the north it is Jeroboam’s calves

 

And so despite the wickedness of these kings,

The one sin that he consistently points out is that

These kings would not turn away from other gods

 

And so let’s look at these kings.

#1 A COMPLETED PROMISE

2 Kings 15:8-12

 

Here we see the king named Zehariah.

• And of course he did evil because he would not turn away from Jeroboam’s calves.

 

• And after he reigned 6 months he was publicly assassinated and his killer reigned in his place.

 

But the writer of kings does give one significant statement.

 

(12) “This is the word of the LORD which He spoke to Jehu, saying, “Your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” And so it was.”

 

And I hope you notice the insinuation of the writer here.

It is, “There, God did what He said”

 

You will remember that Jehu eradicated Baal out of Israel

And so God promised him that his sons would sit as king

To the fourth generation

And despite the fact that none of them

Turned from the sin of Jeroboam, God honored that promise.

 

For at least 4 generations Israel’s punishment was put on hold

While God fulfilled a promise to Jehu’s boys.

 

But that time was over.

“And so it was.”

 

God did what He said,

Now Israel has no more promises of blessing to sit under.

 

That promise, that blessing, is completed and now Israel is in trouble.

A Completed Promise

#2 A CHAOTIC PERIOD

2 Kings 15:13-26

 

Remember what Moses said would happen if Israel turned away from Him.

 

Deuteronomy 31:17 “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?’

 

God specifically promised “many evils and troubles”

 

Look at what Israel is getting.

 

First we see that Shallum didn’t last long as king.

VERSES (13-15)

 

He assassinated Zechariah and now he was assassinated.

And the man who killed him also seeks to reign in his place.

 

That third king in this period is a man named “Menahem”

 

But it is under his reign that true unrest begins to break out.

 

It is obvious that the people of Israel

Are not all that eager to anoint him king.

 

In fact, look at verse 16

“Then Menahem struck Tiphsah and all who were in it and its borders from Tirzah, because they did not open to him; therefore he struck it and ripped up all its women who were with child.”

 

It is apparent that the city of Tiphsah did not want Menahem to be king

And would not consent to his rule.

 

So he conquered the city and as payment for them not opening up

He opened the womb of every pregnant woman.

 

Israel is falling apart.

 

They now have a tyrant as a king.

He is afflicting his own people and ruling by force

Although the nation doesn’t desire it.

 

But that is not all Menahem would do.

VERSES 17-20

 

Now we have a king who could care less about his own people.

He actually hired the local enemy to help secure his kingdom.

 

That is most likely the only way he was able to reign for 10 years.

 

Assyria (the world power at the time) protected him

Because Menahem stole from his people to pay him off.

 

What a horrible time to live in Israel.

We call it “many evils and troubles”

 

Then Menahem would die and his son, Pekahiah would become king.

 

VERSES 21-26

 

But Pekahiah was not as important to the king of Assyria

And was no doubt not under his protection.

 

And because the people hated Menahem,

They were more than happy to support anyone

Who would overthrow his line.

 

In steps “Pekah son of Remaliah”

 

He killed the king and reigned in his place.

Pekah’s platform was that

He did not want to be such a pushover for Assyria,

And no doubt the people who had been taxed so heavily

Were in agreement.

 

Pekah found favor, he killed the king and reigned in his place.

 

And hope you see the time of chaos it was.

Israel had turned away from God and they were getting

The “many evils and troubles” that God promised.

 

A Completed Promise

A Chaotic Period

#3 A CAPTIVE PEOPLE

2 Kings 15:27-31

 

There again we see a king who would not turn away

From the sins of Jeroboam and thus an evil king.

 

And then we get another significant fact about his reign.

(29) “In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon and Abel-beth-maacah and Janoah and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria.”

Remember God’s promise to a people who forsake him.

 

Deuteronomy 31:17 “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?’”

 

And here it is fulfilled.

And then Pekah suffers the same fate as the kings before him.

 

(30) “Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck him and put him to death and became king in his place”

 

There are some Assyrian scrolls that indicate that the king of Assyria

Aided Hoshea in this plot and is responsible for putting him on the throne.

 

And incidentally Hoshea would be the final king of the northern kingdom

Before they were carried into exile.

 

BUT YOU SEE THE POINT.

 

Nearly 700 years earlier God had taught His people a song

Promising this very thing if they forsook him.

 

But it was the song Israel never learned.

And now they were suffering it’s consequences.

 

God’s faithfulness doesn’t just concern

His promised blessings but also His promised judgments.

 

WE CAN LEARN FROM THIS LESSON

 

God has made His plans very clear to us,

And He has given us His written word in order to guide us

And to help us escape a certain judgment.

 

The hope is that you and I not be as ignorant and arrogant as Israel was.

 

I WOULD LEAVE YOU THIS MORNING WITH

THE MAIN POINT OF THE SONG

GOD WANTED THEM TO LEARN

 

Deuteronomy 32:39 “See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.”

 

 

Put another way in the New Testament we read this:

Revelation 22:12-13 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

 

In other words God started it all, and God will end it all.

God was there when it began,

And God will be there when it is all over.

 

And in between that time we are charged to learn this one thing.

“See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.”

 

You were not created to live this life in whatever manner you deem best.

Nor were you created to do all that you desired whenever you wanted.

 

You were created to give glory and honor to the God who created you.

You were created to find Him, to love Him, and to be faithful to Him.

 

If you miss that, you will find yourself in the same boat that Israel did.

A nation under hardship and judgment.

 

 

 

 

 

This morning I want to encourage you

To devote yourselves wholly to the Lord.

 

To put away all things that you have placed before Him.

To love Him with all your heart and soul and strength.

 

It is what Israel failed to do, and they were judged because of it.

 

Deuteronomy 32:47 “For it is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life. And by this word you will prolong your days in the land, which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.”

 

Azariah: The King Who Accomplished Nothing

2 Kings 15:1-7

 

Today we are again in the Southern Kingdom. (Judah)

And we are with one of the more well-known kings of that kingdom.

 

Here we read his name is Azariah,

You probably know him better as Uzziah.

 

He is remembered because of his long tenure (52 years)

And because he was king during Isaiah’s prophecy.

 

Isaiah 6:1 “In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.”

 

It is this king that we are studying this morning.

 

(1) “In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah became king.”

 

And so we see that Azariah (Uzziah) is the son of Amaziah.

You remember him as “The Half-Hearted King”

 

And there are two things we learn about him here in the book of kings.

 

#1 HIS LEGACY

2 Kings 15:1-4

 

We already saw that he was Amaziah’s boy and the writer continues:

 

(2) “He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.”

 

And then comes his appraisal

 

(3) “He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done.”

 

And I hope that sounds familiar.

For Jehoshaphat is now the third king with a similar appraisal.

 

He did right like his father before him.

That is also what it said about his father.

 

The problem was both his father and grandfather were imposters. They turned apostate and so doing right

According to all that his father did is no real commendation

 

And then we read the same discouraging truth about him

That we also read about his ancestors.

 

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

 

So there it is again.

• That sin that God specifically forbade.

• That sin that was too much like the pagan religions.

 

And here we find Judah continuing to follow the pattern of the world

And worship under the high places.

 

AND THAT IS ALL THE WRITER OF KINGS MENTIONS

 

So in 52 years is that really all he accomplished?

WELL, NOT EXACTLY.

 

TURN TO: 2 CHRONICLES 26

(the entire chapter is about Uzziah / Azariah)

 

And notice all the good hat he did for Judah.

 

VERSES 1-3

 

There we find that “he built Eloth and restored it to Judah”

 

Eloth was a town in Edom that was formerly inhabited by Judah,

But which had been lost. And yet Uzziah got it back.

 

And then comes a long section.

12 verses on all the good that Uzziah did for Judah.

 

And it all started because he sought God.

VERSES 4-5

 

And so here is a king who sought God and was blessed because of it.

 

Look at all that he did.

VERSES 6-7

 

There Uzziah did something that had not been done in quite some time.

He brought much of the Philistine land under subjection.

 

And not just the Philistines

VERSE 8

 

It is apparent that the Ammonites wanted no part of warring with him

And so they sent him tribute and came under subjection to him.

And Scripture says, “his fame extended to the border of Egypt”

 

And so you can see that Uzziah

Was a dominant power in the area surrounding Israel.

 

If you continue we find more good news about him.

 

VERSES 9-13

 

There we see that Uzziah was a master of homeland security.

He fortified Judah in golden fashion.

 

Their cities were fortified

Their towers were fortified

Their resources were solidified

Their army was strengthened

 

(13) “Under their direction was an elite army of 307,500, who could wage war with great power, to help the king against the enemy.”

 

From a political stand point this king was on top of his game.

He extended the Judah’s borders and then made Judah safe.

 

And then we see more:

VERSES 14-15

 

He was also quite an inventor.

Inventing great weapons of war

To make any enemy brave enough to attack sorry for doing so.

 

And the writer says, “Hence his fame spread afar, for he was marvelously helped until he was strong.”

 

It sounds like a great time to live in Judah.

It was a prosperous time, it was a secure time.

 

Judah had plenty and they lived in relative peace and security.

And they did so for 52 years.

 

No wonder they killed Uzziah’s daddy when he came back from exile

And no wonder Isaiah is so down in the dumps when Uzziah died.

 

I mean this guy did a lot of good for Israel.

 

Yet you didn’t learn any of that about him from the writer of kings.

 

I’ve told you many times that 1 & 2 Kings

Is not a historical book, but a theological one

 

It was not written by kings and historians to preserve history,

It was written by men of God to make a theological point.

 

And the writer of kings is making a very strong point here.

 

Azariah / Uzziah did what many would consider

To be an enormous amount of good for the nation.

 

He enlarged the borders and made them secure.

He made Judah a great place to live for 52 years.

 

One commentary had this to say about him:

“Azariah was one of Judah’s most effective and influential kings. He expanded Judah’s territories southward to Elath, eastward so that the Ammonites paid him tribute, and westward by defeating the Philistines. He fortified Jerusalem and other parts of Judah, and reorganized the army. The combined territories of Azariah and Jeroboam approximated those of David and Solomon. After Jeroboam II’s death Azariah became even more powerful and was looked to for leadership by his neighbors who formed a coalition with him to resist the threat of Assyria.”

(Walvoord , John F. & Zuck, Roy, B. “The Bible Knowledge Commentary; Old Testament” [Chariot Victor Publishers – Colorado Springs, CO. 1985] pg. 567)

 

And isn’t that a flattering biography!

 

HISTORY REMEMBERS HIM WELL

BUT ETERNITY MIGHT NOT BE SO KIND TO HIM

 

WHY?

 

Of all that the writer of kings could mention about this king,

He mentioned only one thing about his reign.

 

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

 

I hope you are picking up on the pattern

That the writer of kings is leaving.

 

If we go back to when the lineage was saved by Jehoiada the priest.

(Remember Athaliah tried to destroy the lineage)

 

We have 3 kings

Jehoash, Amaziah, Azariah / Uzziah

 

They reigned a total of about 96 years in Judah

 

But listen to what the writer of kings has been saying about all of them.

 

Jehoash

2 Kings 12:1-3 “In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. Jehoash did right in the sight of the LORD all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him. Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.”

 

Amaziah

2 Kings 14:1-4 “In the second year of Joash son of Joahaz king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah became king. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. 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. 4 Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.”

 

And now Azariah

2 Kings 15:1-4 “In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah became king. He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.”

 

CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST THORN IN THE FLESH TO THE WRITER OF THE KINGS?

 

The high places

And of course it bothered him because it bothered God.

 

That is also why the writer of kings writes like he does.

 

It could easily be said:

• The writer of Chronicles spoke of his historical success

• The writer of Kings spoke of his eternal / spiritual success

 

In his silence the writer of kings is making a very strong point.

 

He could care less about all the political success that Azariah had, Because regardless of all the good that he did,

He did not change the spiritual direction of the nation,

And that rendered him a failure.

 

He did a lot of good, but neglected what mattered most.

 

Martin Luther once said:

“If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is more flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.”

(sited in: MacArthur, John; The Truth War, Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception; [Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN; 2007] pg. 26)

 

Luther’s point was simple.

If you stand for Christ everywhere but the place where He is being attacked then what kind of soldier are you?

• If you fail to mention drunkenness to the alcoholic…

• If you fail to mention adultery to the man in an affair…

• If you fail to speak of submission to the boisterous woman…

• If you fail to condemn worldliness to the ambitious…

 

It doesn’t matter how often you preach those things.

If you fail to do so in the heat of battle, then you aren’t much of a soldier.

 

That is the problem that the writer of kings had with Azariah.

 

So what if he fought good battles and made safe our borders.

 

He didn’t touch the area that will end up killing us

And that is our rebellion before God.

 

THE POINT?

It doesn’t matter how successful you are in this life

If you fail spiritually

 

All the writer of kings was looking for was the one king

Who would finally get rid of the high places

And until he found that king, he would crown no one a success.

 

AND THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE.

 

HOW SUCCESSFUL ARE YOU?

 

Dads: You teach your son to throw a baseball or to catch a fish, or to change the oil in a car. But did you teach them to know the Lord?

 

Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

 

Teachers: You teach your kids to read, and to write, and to pass the TAKS test, but do they know what really matters in life?

 

John 4:35 “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.”

 

Businessmen: You build an empire and accomplish daily tasks. The bottom line is always in the black and you have great security. But do you have treasure in heaven?

 

That was the problem with the rich young ruler.

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.”

Preacher: You have a nice looking church, with happy members and a steady budget. But will your people stand in the day of judgment?

 

1 Timothy 4:16 “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

 

Charles Spurgeon would say:

“Now observe brethren, if I, or you, or any of us, or all of us, shall have spent our lives merely in amusing men, or educating men, or moralizing men, when we shall come to give our account at the last great day we shall be in a very sorry condition, and we shall have but a very sorry record to render; for of what avail will it be to a man to be educated when he comes to be damned? Of what service will it be to him to have been amused when the trumpet sounds, and heaven and earth are shaking, and the pit opens up and swallows the soul unsaved? Of what avail even to have moralized a man if still he on the left hand of the judge, and if still, ‘Depart, ye cursed,’ shall be his portion?”

 

And to any and all: So you gained the world and achieved all your goals and found every possible comfort. But will you keep your soul?

 

Matthew 16:26 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

 

CAN YOU SEE WHAT MATTERS HERE?

 

There are many who would call Azariah

A great king for all that he did for Judah.

 

But he didn’t do for Judah the one thing they needed

And that was to lead them back to absolute commitment to God.

 

IT IS THE CALL TO BE SPIRITUALLY MOTIVATED,

NOT WORLDLY MOTIVATED.

 

I love what Paul told the Philippians

Philippians 3:17-21 “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. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”

 

Of course you heard Paul beg us to walk with an eternal perspective.

 

But that is not all he said.

You may have noticed that Paul said that there are some who are “enemies of the cross of Christ”

 

Well, what does an enemy of Christ’s cross look like?

Paul gave 4 characteristics of such a person

“whose end is destruction”

“whose god is their appetite”

“whose glory is their shame”

“who set their mind on earthly things”

 

An enemy of Christ’s cross is one

Who focuses on this life and not the next.

Who does all his good here and not there.

 

That is the type of man Azariah was.

 

He accomplished great things politically,

But didn’t accomplish anything spiritually

 

That is why the writer of kings sees him as

“The King Who Accomplished Nothing”

 

That was his legacy.

 

But there is one other thing that the writer of kings did mention about him.

#2 HIS LIFE

2 Kings 15:5-7

 

Here is the other thing that the writer of kings records.

 

(5) “The LORD struck the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death. And he lived in a separate house, while Jotham the king’s son was over the household, judging the people of the land.”

 

So really the only big characteristic of his life that the writer also mentions

Is that he was a leper.

 

Oh, and not just that he was a leper

But that he was a leper because “the LORD struck” him.

 

God did it to him.

WHY?

 

Well, that is also recorded in the book of 2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles 26:16-21 “But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. Then Azariah the priest entered after him and with him eighty priests of the LORD, valiant men. They opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the LORD God.” But Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged; and while he was enraged with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the altar of incense. Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous on his forehead; and they hurried him out of there, and he himself also hastened to get out because the LORD had smitten him. King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death; and he lived in a separate house, being a leper, for he was cut off from the house of the LORD. And Jotham his son was over the king’s house judging the people of the land.”

 

Uzziah / Azariah was a leper because he was so full of pride

That he disregarded another command of God.

 

Only the priest did the work of the temple.

(You might remember that Saul was rejected as king

For offering a sacrifice he had no right to offer)

 

Azariah defied the commands of God

And God struck him as a leper until the day he died.

 

And that is the only other thing recorded by the writer of kings

And then his death is recorded.

 

(6-7) “Now the rest of the acts of Azariah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And Azariah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Jotham his son became king in his place.”

 

He reigned 52 years and these 7 verses

Are all that the writer of kings has to say about him.

 

Really you could narrow it down into two main incidents.

• He didn’t remove the high places

• He was a leper until he died

 

Despite all that he accomplished and despite all the success

That the world would say that he had.

 

From a spiritual perspective he accomplished nothing.

 

I HOPE YOU GET THE POINT THIS MORNING

 

God’s definition for a successful life

And the world’s definition for a successful life

ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS.

 

It all boils down to what type of an imprint

Are you trying to leave on this world?

 

• Are you seeking to make this world a healthier place?

• Are you seeking to make this world a safer place?

• Are you seeking to make this world a wealthier place?

• Are you seeking to make this world a more peaceful place?

• Are you seeking to make this world a more enjoyable place?

 

Or are you seeking to make this world

Something that is pleasing to the One who created it?

 

I want to challenge you to be the one who makes a spiritual impact.

 

Don’t be the man or woman who accomplished everything,

But who left the high places alone.

 

Be the one who finally had the courage and conviction

To confront that one area that was keeping people

From being what God wanted them to be.

 

I want to challenge you to make a spiritual difference,

Not only in your life, but in the world around you.

 

To quote the slogan of “One Life”

YOU HAVE ONE LIFE – DO SOMETHING

 

1 Corinthians 3:12-15 “Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

 

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.