2nd Evangelical Free Church

The Chronicles of the Kings: Partial faith is no faith at all.

1 Kings 20

God continued to enforce His judgment against Ahab for idolatry. The attacks by the Arameans only reinforced this. God chastised His people in order to bring them to faith in Him. When this happened to Israel, the Lord sent a prophet to direct the battle. Ahab listened both times and followed the Lord’s leading. The Lord led the attack and achieved the victory and honor so that the Arameans and Ahab as well knew that Yahweh is God. He is the God who keeps His covenant despite the blatant unfaithfulness of His people. Yet this was a judgment on Ahab because the Lord’s victory revealed the king’s self-interest. He wanted the favor of God only as long as it achieved his plans and desires. But his mercy towards Ben-Hadad dishonored the Lord and resulted in Ahab’s downfall.

Yahweh demands absolute faithfulness to His commands. In our society we tend to forget this. We do not want to think that anything we or others do should be judged by God. When something goes wrong, when disaster strikes, when there are reversals in the war on terrorism, society deems it a “sin” to say that God is judging anyone. After all our society values personal freedom more than it does doing the Lord’s will. Following the will of God when it conflicts with our own desires is a violation of one’s autonomy. No one should be held accountable for his/her sins because every person has a right to self-expression. No one should be told that his actions are sinful. No one should be told he needs to repent. Yet that is exactly why God allows tribulation: to lead us all to repentance. 

 

The Chronicles of the Kings: Don’t be afraid of the dark.

1 Kings 19

Although the confrontation on Carmel was a great victory for the Lord, Elijah seems to have become unnerved. Perhaps he was just physically exhausted from his exertion from his hard work and his long run. Perhaps he expected that Ahab and Jezebel and all Israel would repent and bow down to Yahweh. When this did not happen he felt threatened by Jezebel’s wrath and he ran in fear.

It is hard to believe that such a great victory, such a mountaintop experience could be followed by fear and doubt, but this often happens to us. Often a great spiritual experience can leave us totally distraught as we collapse from the need for rest. Maybe we fall because we failed to spend time in reflection, failed to receive direction and reassurance from the Lord. Elijah found he needed rest. He also found that the Lord was not angry with Him. The Lord did not shame or judge him. The Lord actually protected him, took care of his physical needs and encouraged him. He reaffirmed his call and gave him Elisha as his helper and successor. 

The Lord often provides such blessings for the weak and fearful while humans do not. Humans prefer to berate and ridicule the person who is tired and afraid. Such abuse only makes the fearful person feel more fear as well as hopelessness and despair. A helping hand and a patient listening ear are the things the fearful person needs as well as encouragement, constructive criticism, mercy and love. 

 

The Chronicles of the Kings: The clash of the titans.

1 Kings 18

The time that Elijah spent in seclusion served him well. His faith had been built up so that he would be ready for the ultimate test, a public confrontation with Ahab and the prophets of Baal on Carmel. We sometimes want to jump to that mountaintop experience ourselves and see the power of God. Yet we note that we must be patient and wait for the leading of the Lord. He often waits to use us in order to build up our spiritual resources with prayer, quite times and humble service to others. He did this with Elijah who was ready to go only when the Lord said so. 

As the Lord directed Elijah, he exhibited no sign of doubt, fear or wavering. He was in control of the situation on Carmel because He was following the commands of the Lord God Himself. He knew he had nothing to fear from Baal or his prophets. After all Baal did not exist, so his prophets had no real power. He knew he had nothing to fear from Ahab despite his anger: the King was in sin. Ahab blamed Elijah for the drought which he maintained was a sign of Baal’s displeasure over Elijah’s “lack of faith”. He failed to see that it was his own idolatry that brought down God’s judgment. 

Sinners often blame other people, even God, for the consequences of their own actions and sins. Someone else is always to blame. Repentance is not an option they will consider for that would mean having to admit to imperfection and failure. That too is why many will not believe in Jesus or accept His atoning sacrifice: they do not want to admit that their whole life without Christ has been one big waste of time.

 

The Chronicles of the Kings: Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

1 Kings 17

Ahab and his pagan wife Jezebel brought the spiritual life of Israel down to a new low with the state sanctioning of Baal worship as well as devotion to his consort Asherah, the goddess of fertility. Baal was the god of prosperity because it was believed that he was the god who controlled the weather. It was believed that he sent the rain on the land that would grow the crops and feed the livestock and thus produce wealth for farmers in Israel and Phoenicia. Yet as we all know Yahweh is really in control of all this. So to demonstrate His power He sent faithful Elijah into the land to confront the idolatry.

Elijah obeyed without question or doubt despite the fact that his bold declaration to King Ahab of a drought was a direct attack upon Baal. Neither the King nor Jezebel would be happy with this, but the Lord protected Elijah. The Lord provided for him in the midst of drought and famine, not in the lap of luxury but in 2 places where his faith and patience would be tested and refined. In both Kerith and Zarephath he would live on the edge and be fully dependent day by day upon the sustaining hand of the Lord. In Zarephath, each day would end and it would seem that the provision of food had run out, yet the next day brought enough to sustain the household. In addition Zarephath was located right in Jezebel’s territory. The Lord was hiding Elijah under the very noses of the false gods and no one could find him. His faith grew each day as he saw the Lord provide for him as well as for the widow and her son. And his faith as well as that of the widow received a big boost when he resurrected her son from death. So yes, we can trust God to be with us in times of adversity.

 

The Chronicles of the Kings: Politics is a dirty business.

1 Kings 16

While Asa ruled in Judah, civil war descended upon Israel in the north. Political infighting resulted with several men seeking the throne through the use of violence and bloodshed. A curious note from the prophet of the Lord in verse 2 indicates that the Lord was the one who lifted leaders up to their thrones or offices. He determined who would rule asking only that they obey Him and thus receive His protection and guidance. He did this knowing full well that each would fail to obey and each would fall. Yet still the offer was made. 

Even though the Lord is behind the events, each leader is accountable for his own sin. All humans are responsible for the decisions they make and the actions they perform because each is done by means of the exercise of free will. 

Politics and political infighting have no place in God’s kingdom. If the world were perfect and submitted to the Lord’s rule and authority, there would be no politics, no corruption, not even in the church. Yet sadly, this is not the case. Men and women jockey for power and prestige by exalting themselves with claims to be God’s anointed with full knowledge of His will. Factions and sects develop which rip the church apart. While individuals in churches fight each other, and churches fight other churches often over minor issues, the lost continue to live and die without knowing the love and forgiveness of the Lord Jesus. 

 

The Chronicles of the Kings: Doing good.

1 Kings 15

The next 2 chapters address the various kings who succeeded Rehoboam in Judah and Jeroboam in Israel. The only decent king here was Asa of Judah. He did away with the temple prostitutes and the idols his father had set up, though he did not touch the altars on the high places. Perhaps he felt that, given the sinful propensities of human nature, such an act was pointless. Now that idolatry was running rampant in Judah as in Israel, there was no way to enforce a ban. 

Sinners always tend to sin despite legal measures and restrictions. They are certainly not curtailed by God’s laws or those “natural” results of sin (i.e. sickness and emotional turmoil) which are the consequences of disobedience to His laws. 

There is a curious note about Asa removing his grandmother from her office as queen. Apparently she possessed some sort of spiritual authority over the king and the court as was common in pagan cultures. The mention of the Asherah poles, shrines to the goddess of fertility confirm that her role was quite ungodly and it was vital that she be removed. We too must rid ourselves of every evil influence and forsake those ways that our culture deems appropriate. But more than that we must work to expose and tear down the false idols that people turn to especially those which mimic Christianity. Not every one who talks about Jesus and angels is serious about serving the Lord or of the danger of sin and or the need for salvation. 

The Chronicles of the Kings: Failure.

1 Kings 14

Jeroboam engaged in deception for he knew that he had done wrong in the eyes of Lord. Yet this awareness did move him to repent, only to seek some other way to avert God’s punishment. No doubt he was unprepared for the words of the blind prophet Ahijah. They were words that contained no comfort. People who use various means to circumvent God’s will often expect to succeed by convincing God to show mercy on their terms. Usually that means they do not want to acknowledge their sin or to repent. Such was Jeroboam.

Meanwhile, down in Judah, Rehoboam was ruining the kingdom of Judah. He set up pagan altars with their hideous practices including the introduction of male and female prostitutes. These were set up in pagan shrines although they may also have been associated with the Temple of the Lord. In any case, the Lord was displeased with the state of affairs and with the King and removed His hand of protection. Jerusalem was sacked and all the precious gold stolen from the Temple presumably including the Ark of the Covenant. But Rehoboam, like Jeroboam, failed to repent and just continued to lead the nation away from the Lord. 

Many people in our world think that God will save all human beings no matter what they have done. Yet while the Lord desires that all should come to repentance and this to enter into His heavenly Kingdom, this is not going to happen. As we see from these tow kings who knew the truth, all those who seek to turn from God will be hardened and will not turn to Him even when faced with the most difficult of punishments. 

 

 

The Chronicles of the Kings: The dangers of ignoring God’s word.

1 Kings 13

The prophets began to rise to prominence in Judah and Israel as both kingdoms turned from God. The prophet served to warn the people and the King of the dangers of disobedience and idolatry and to preach the truth of God’s word. In this chapter we find an unnamed prophet speaking out boldly against Jeroboam but being punished for his own infidelity. The Lord had commanded him to fast from all food and drink while on his mission but he allowed himself to believe the lie spoken by another but unreliable prophet. That other prophet was testing him to see if God had really sent him. He did not believe that what the first prophet proclaimed was right for he did not believe that Jeroboam was in error even though his idolatry was so blatant. So he lied and then proclaimed a judgment on the poor man for his own lack of faith.

When the older prophet saw what happened to the good prophet he was repentant and he believed again in Yahweh. The prophet who boldly proclaimed judgment died because he should have known better than to listen to the other man. He had a direct word from God. 

This example tells us that God demands whole hearted faithfulness and trust. In addition, the death of the man is a prophetic teaching concerning Jeroboam. He too had a word from the Lord. He knew what he had to trust God no matter what, but he failed to believe. Jeroboam was to suffer punishment for his failure to obey Yahweh just as this prophet did, perhaps just as we all will. We all have the word of the Lord clearly set before us yet we choose to disobey. Apparently our desires and dreams take precedence over His word. 

 

The Chronicles of the Kings: Israel splits up.

1 Kings 12

Upon Solomon’s death Israel split in two. The northern kingdom was given to Jeroboam who was the Lord’s chosen, and the southern was taken by Rheoboam, the eldest son of Solomon who was the logical choice to continue the line of David. The Lord’s blessing was not on Rheoboam for he was a fool who rejected both wisdom and mercy. His lack of sense was demonstrated by his plan to wage civil war on his brethren to reunite the nation. This plan was averted only by the actions of a prophet’s warning. 

Jeroboam, though chosen by God, failed to keep covenant with Yahweh. Instead he desired to consolidate his control over the north by setting up two worship centers so that the people would not go to Jerusalem to the Temple of the Lord. He set up 2 images of Yahweh in the form of a calf just as the Israelites did under Aaron in the wilderness. His idolatry set the pattern of spiritual rebellion that Israel followed from that time on. His apostasy would be severely punished.

All humans without Christ are just as rebellious as Jereboam. All people at least initially seek to follow God on their own terms, in ways that are most convenient for them. They may say they worship the same God as we Christians do. However, they have set up an image of the one true God which is more to their liking, This can be a god who is all love and no righteousness who serves them and their needs, but does not hold them accountable for their actions or ask them to serve him. Or this god can be one who is lacking in love but is all justice one whom they can appease with sacrifices, offerings and good deeds. Most people serve either to varying degrees.

 

The Chronicles of the Kings: Prosperity can make us fools.

1 Kings 11

Although God blessed Solomon with great wealth and wisdom, later in life he became a fool. He allowed himself to be seduced by the wealth and the fame God’s wisdom brought him. He allowed himself to be led astray by the numerous foreign wives that he took from pagan nations. Although he married often for the purpose of making political alliances, he accommodated the pagan religious practices of those women, rather than converting them to the worship of Yahweh. Usual pagan religious practice included sexual immorality and child sacrifice. All such foreign gods are detestable on the sight of Yahweh for worship of any thing other than He shows that we do not have faith in Him.

Punishment came upon Solomon in the form of two rebellious groups. The Lord wanted to turn his heart so he would repent but he failed to renounce the pagan altars and practices. Perhaps he was too comfortable and complacent. Maybe he thought these petty annoyances were nothing to be concerned about. 

The Lord desires that we not compromise with the world in any way even ways we think insignificant. We are not even to adopt or buy into the values of the world, the success which it defines in terms of wealth, fame and power. Every time we put our faith in money and/or the things it can buy, even if those things are good and righteous, we deny our faith in the Lord. The Lord wants us to trust Him for He will provide for us everything we need.  This is why most forms of gambling and the lottery are sinful: they demonstrate and promote an ultimate trust in money as the source of satisfaction and peace.