Turn with me to the Book of First Kings in chapter 21.
We are the near completion of this book.
We have one more chapter after this before we move forward into
Second Kings, which will be the natural sequence to this Bible
study. And as returning there, I want
you to hear what a well known preacher.
Said concerning sin, he wrote quite insightfully.
When sin is tempting us, it is loved, but when sin is done.
It is loathed. I'll say that one more time.
When sin is tempting us, it is loved.
But when sin is done, it is loathed.
How true that is, and that is one of the many lessons that you
and I are going to glean from in the rest of this chapter
together. And I want you to turn your
attention to verse 17 of First Kings 21.
Let us read a few verses before we do what we always do, and
that's take our time to comb through the Scriptures and to
pluck out these grains of gold for our hearts.
We read here. Then the word of the Lord came
to Elijah, the Tishbite saying, Arise.
Go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who is in Samaria.
Behold, he is in the vineyard of Nabeth, where he has gone to
take possession. And you shall say to him, Thus
says the Lord, Have you killed and also taken possession?
And you shall say to him, Thus says the Lord, In the place
where dogs licked up the blood of Nabeth, shall dogs.
Lick your own blood. Ahab said to Elijah, Have you
found me all my enemy? He answered.
I found you because you have sold yourself to do what is evil
in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring disaster
upon you, I will utterly burn you up, and we'll cut off from
Ahab every male bond or free in Israel.
And I will make your house like the House of Jeroboam the son of
the Bat, and like the House of Basha the son of Ahijah, for the
anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made
Israel to sin. And of Jezebel the Lord also
said, the dog shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.
Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city, the dogs shall
eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country, the birds
of the heavens shall. Eat, pray with me.
Lord, we believe that this is Your word, and we ask that we
would be able to, by Your grace, bind it around our necks and tie
it around our hearts, that it would, in the days to come, talk
to us, guide us, warn us, comfort us, convict us.
So Lord, we open ourselves to you and we pray that you fill us
with your truth. In the precious name of the
living Word, Jesus Christ, we pray.
Amen. We haven't heard from Elijah in
quite a bit. The last time that you and I
have encountered Elijah in our study was back in First Kings
chapter 19, where Elijah was instructed to go find a man by
the name of. Elijah and to invite him to be
his apprentice. And there has been an
undisclosed amount of time that has passed before.
Now we see the word of the Lord coming to Elijah yet again and
commissioning him to go back to Ahab in Samaria.
Now why this command is so intriguing is because we
remember what happened to Elijah when he found himself in a
similar setting. We recall, do we not, when
Elijah was in close proximity to the king and the queen after the
triumph on Mount Carmel? And the same Elijah who was able
to see a nation come to their knees all of a sudden now flees
into the wilderness because of the threats of Jezebel?
I'm thinking to myself, if that's what happened to Elijah
the last time he came near the king and the queen, namely the
queen, why is the Lord sending him there again?
Why put him in that vulnerable position once more, especially
since you and I studied in the previous chapter that many other
prophets were sent to deal with Ahab.
You remember that? Those unnamed sons of the
prophets? Why doesn't the Lord just send
another one of those guys to Ahab?
Why Elijah? I think that one of the reasons
for this is so that you and I can see the fruit, the fullness
of God's restorative mercies, that He worked patiently in
Elijah when he was at his lowest point.
This cowering, scared, anxiety crippled man is now back to a
wholeness and a usefulness because of how the Lord
ministered to him. And as we absorb that truth, as
we see the outcome of what God can do to a broken soul, you and
I listen, are supposed to feel the expectation and believe with
all of our hearts that the same God is able to address our fears
and weaknesses and replace them with the necessary grace that
makes us effective and efficient and energized in the will of God
once more. So that's what we're seeing
here. You know, for Elijah to comply
to these commands faithfully demonstrates that there is a
power at work in him that is outside of him, that there's
this special touch that. Cannot be boasted about in his
own strength or wisdom or might, but is a power that other
prophets testified of and experienced, surely.
Let me give you another cross reference of another prophet who
declared the truth that I am giving to you.
It's in Micah and if you can't find it quickly, I'll read the
reference to you and you can look look it up for yourself at
another time. But it's in Micah chapter 3 in
verse 8. Listen to what another prophet,
another prophet who was faithful like Elijah was, and who
experienced the grace of God like Elijah did, and Micah 3/8
this man of God declares. But As for me, I am filled with
power. I am filled with power, with the
Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might.
And what does this power do to declare to Jacob his
transgression and to Israel his sin?
It takes power from the Holy Spirit to serve the Lord in any
capacity, especially if the ministry that you are you are in
confronts people with their sin, confronts people with the truth.
You can't just use brain power. You can't just use emotive
power. You can't just use intellectual
power. You need power from on high.
And so this is a man of God, Elijah, who is animated by the
same power, this power that the prophets tapped into that was
able to make them bold and faithful even when their message
was resisted with adversity. And what's so encouraging about
this power that we see manifested in Elijah's life?
The same power that Micah writes about is a power that is not
exclusive to ancient men of God. What did Paul tell Timothy in
Second Timothy 17? You know very well that God has
given us a spirit, not a fear, but of what?
But of power, love and what a sound mind or self-control.
So whenever my heart is being sabotaged by fear, I can know
one thing, that this is not from God.
It's not from God. There is a fear of God.
That's a whole different subject, but a fear that causes
to be hesitant to obey God or to overcome temptation or to be
courageous, that's not from God. So right there you can dismiss
whatever is overcoming you, but but it's more than that.
You have Paul telling Timothy, who is a pastor, who is a pastor
in the New Covenant, and he had these tendencies of being timid.
If you read the writings that Paul wrote to Timothy, you get
that impression. And Paul's not even telling just
Timothy that he has access to this grace, this power that's
able to help him serve the Lord and be faithful in character, he
says. But God has given to us, to us.
So this is not just limited to prophets in the Old Testament or
pastors in the New. But to us, to believers, this is
all of our inheritance. We all have access to this grace
that helps us be powerful, loving and self controlled.
Christ purchased that for us and you have to understand that
inheritance and walk in faith and constantly asking the Lord
to be operating under that kind of grace.
So we see here that the Lord is ready to supply vitality to
achieve those realities and it's no different for Elijah, right?
So come back to our main text we read here.
The word of the Lord came to Elijah, the Tishbite saying
arise, go down to me, Ahab, king of Israel, who is in Samaria.
Behold, he is in the vineyard of Nabeth, where he has gone to
take possession. And we read here what he's
supposed to do once he arrived there.
So he got the location of the king, but now he's given the
script, so to speak. And what is that script?
Verse 19 gives us an idea. And you shall say to him, Thus
says the Lord, have you killed and also taken possession?
And you shall say to him, Thus says the Lord, in the place
where dogs licked up the blood of Nabeth, shall dogs lick your
own blood? Here's the overarching lesson of
Elijah's message that whatever pleasures sinners in joy, it
will all one day be intercepted by the judgement of God.
So we have here this King Ahab who in our previous study.
Schemed with his wife and the elders of the city where Nabeth
resided and thought that they got away with murder.
And the last scene of our previous study was Ahab getting
out of his bed, you know, removing his sniffles and
nonchalantly hearing about Nabeth's death, waltzes into his
vineyard and seizes something and enjoys something that
doesn't belong to him. And perhaps what has disturbed
you in the 1st 16 verses of this chapter is that God, or the
mention of God is nowhere to be found in the whole ordeal.
I mean, you only had a small remnant in Israel who are
faithful to the true and living God.
And now one of them who stood up for the truth is taken out.
And you would think that the Lord at some point would have,
would have stood up and defended him.
But here's what you're supposed to get out of this part of the
chapter. That though God was silent with
all of that, doesn't mean he wasn't watching.
He was watching. In fact, when we read verse 19
again, we realize that he was taking note of everything Ahab
was doing. We learn here that he know who
he killed. We learn here what he took
possession. Of we know exactly God knew
exactly where this man would be found and you knew exactly how
long he would be there for Elijah to find him.
And so this is just yet another example of how the eye of the
Lord is upon each of. Us what you plan in secret.
What you do to or with others where your feet may travel,
never escapes the knowledge of God.
And that truth is comforting for the righteous, but it should
strike terror in the heart of the wicked.
Why? Why should it cause sinners to
tremble? Because this is a strong example
of a king and a queen who thought that they were above the
law, who thought that they can manipulate justice, who thought
that they could get away with their sin because they held the
highest position, humanly speaking.
And though they could have perverted the law of the land,
evidently they could not evade the justice of God.
So you, you and I here, I mean the, the corruption in modern
day politics is not even subtle anymore.
It's blatant. It's right in your face and
there's an outcry, right? Where's justice?
What do you do when the judges, What do you do in congressman?
What do you do in lawmakers, so to speak, are unrighteous?
Who's going to hold them accountable?
I'll tell you, God, God will hold them accountable.
So you just sit tight and wait. He has the ability to to strike
and to invade in their lives at this very moment.
But there is a day coming where it will come to these people
standing before their maker and giving an account.
For everything that they have done.
And I'd look at this man who does obey God, and I'm refreshed
because this is the Elijah that we're used to complying with the
marching orders of heaven without hesitation.
But before Elijah even says a word, when he gets to Nabit's
vineyard, we get the reaction of the king.
And what is his reaction? It's found here in verse 20.
Ahab said to Elijah. Have you found me O my enemy?
Why would you say that unless you're trying to hide something?
Have you found me? Oh my enemy?
Now this not only confirms what we knew already about how Ahab
felt about Elijah, it actually shows us how Ahab.
Grew in his hatred for Elijah. Do you remember the last time
there was an intermission between Ahab and Elijah meeting
and what Ahab said to Elijah before Mount Carmel?
What did, what did Ahab say to the prophet?
Let me remind you in chapter 18, verse 17, look at it with your
own eyes. When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said
to him, is it you, you troubler of Israel?
And now he says, have you found me?
Oh, my enemy. So Ahab's loathing grew from
Elijah being a public nuisance to a personal foe.
You're not just the trouble of Israel.
You're a problem to me. You're an issue for me.
You're a thorn to my side. And what makes this fascinating
is the events that transpired between these two statements,
between the Lord telling Elijah, or, excuse me, Ahab telling
Elijah you're a troubler of Israel, and him saying you're my
enemy. So much has happened, including
this very special incident that we studied in depth what
happened when Ahab was told to race back to Jezreel.
We're told there at the end of chapter 18 that that Elijah ran
before the chariot. Do you remember that?
Can anybody, in a very brief statement, summarize the
significance of Elijah running before the chariot of Ahab?
Exactly. Many have reduced that moment to
the miracle of the hand of the Lord being a pawn, Elijah, so
that he can outrun the chariot. But it's not.
That that's not the main point. Because in the scriptures we see
that when men or a man ran before someone's chariot, it was
a public symbol and display of loyalty and respect to that
king. And so for Elijah to make that
conscious decision and for the Lord to actually enable him to
do it would have made any onlooker understand that this
bold, confrontational prophet doesn't have a personal dislike
for Ahab, but that even in his strong stance against him, he's
doing it because he loves this man and he is seeking his
ultimate salvation. That's what that's what Elijah,
running before the chariot would have communicated to Ahab and to
others. So here's this man of God who
humbles himself to a position of servanthood in a way to showcase
publicly. I respect this man positionally
as a king. I'm not here to overthrow him or
dishonor him. I'm a prophet, my duties
ultimately to the Lord, but I am for this man.
I am not against this man. That's what that is all about.
And so the miracle of the hand of the Lord coming upon him is
less about him having the legs to run, and more about a heart
being humbled. Despite all of that humility,
Despite all of that submission. All the efforts to try to tell
Ahab that he is for him, Ahab chooses to view him as an enemy.
Here's where this hits home, and what we take from this applies
to real life. You know, sometimes in your
efforts to redirect or to reconcile with another you, you
might be ignored. Or worse, you might even be
despised. There's nothing blameworthy on
Elijah's side. There's nothing that he did
sinfully or ignorantly that would have caused Ahab to
dislike him. All Elijah has done was good to
Ahab, and yet Ahab chose to identify and label him as an
enemy that might happen to you. That's so important when you
serve the Lord in any capacity of ministry, especially as you
deal with people, all ministries dealing with people.
There, there, there are some precious Saints who are so
bothered because no matter what they do for one person, never
mind the different people who love you and cherish you and
appreciate you, but one person that they they can never see
come to terms with the truth or willing to come alongside them
or love them in return. It's going to happen.
Don't think that you're going to win absolutely everybody on a
personal level, even when you're trying to win them to the Lord.
But if you're going to be hated for anything, be hated for the
reason why Elijah was hated. Elijah was despised because he
served God. Elijah was seen as an enemy to
Ahab because Elijah was an ally to God.
So the real reason why Ahab saw Elijah as an enemy is because
Ahab ultimately saw God as his enemy.
And if you're a friend with God, if you're a servant of God.
You will be hated. Even by those that you've hoped
would love you in return, be prepared for that.
Be prepared for that. And in moments where you're
irked by that or disturbed by that or losing sleep over that,
remember that it's not about you as much as it is about the
doctrine that you adorn as much as it's about your light shining
on darkness. Even though you're not intending
for that light to shine because you walk with Him, that light is
there. Especially moments where you're
encouraged to compromise or you're standing out from the
sinners in your midst. People who love their sin don't
want light to shine upon it. And here you are shining light.
Here you are governed by the law of Christ when others are
governed by the law of the flesh.
And so for some you're going to be a fragrance from life unto
life. To others you're going to be a
fragrance from death to death. And that's just the package.
That's the package that you and I have as we follow the Lord.
But I can't help but also think how in Ahab's, the idea of
Elijah being an enemy is the fruit of how sin distorts
everything. Sin warps everything.
It warps your relationship with God.
It warps your relationship in every capacity.
It warps your view of money, sin, the world, everything.
Everything. When you're dominated by sin,
everything is altered, even the way you view people.
You know what you should think to yourself in this whole story
of Ahab, Jezebel and Elijah, who should have been Ahab's real
enemy? Unfortunately, his wife, who
should have married in the 1st place.
If there was anybody who was an enemy of Elijah, it was Jezebel.
Jezebel, in the same text we're going to read, incited Ahab to
sin. And if there is anybody who
should have been Ahab's best friend, it was the very man.
He said he's my enemy. His sin does that.
I've seen it. I've seen sin 'cause people to
push away the people they're supposed to draw in and cherish
and protect, and those same people bringing in the people
that they're supposed to shun. So sin messes everything up,
your perspective, your priorities, the people in your
life. And you can't help it, can you?
You can't help being drawn to the righteous.
Why? Because your heart is riddled
with the sins, the sins that you have tolerated and justified now
has created a filter for you to see the righteous as somebody
that you dislike and the ardent righteous as somebody that you
can find good company with. Sin distorts.
Sin will make things that are supposed to be your friend be
your enemy. There are people who look at the
Bible and say this is an evil book.
Why? Because their judgement is
impaired by sin. I've seen people in different
contexts when a true pastor walks in the room, they squirm.
Why? Because that pastor and their
view is an enemy and an enemy to their sin and their convictions
and their worldview. I've seen biblical churches not
growing, whereas the other church down the street that's
carnal and is waving rainbow flags or whatever the case may
be gaining. Why?
Because that church stands for the truth, and so they're an
enemy to the culture. So Ahab is an unfortunate
example of what sin can do to your perspectives and your
discernment and your standards. But here's why I love Elijah.
Elijah's here not to make friends.
Elijah's here to function as a prophet, his duties ultimately
to the friend of friends. And so he comes up to the man of
sin and he says, yeah, I have found you.
I like that answer. Have you found me?
He's like, yeah, actually, I did.
Why? Because your sin will find you
out. That's the lesson there.
Here you are, thrilled. An adrenaline rush because you
thought that you gained Nabis Vineyard without consequence.
And as one person put it, but Ahab gained Nabit's vineyard,
but he got Elijah with it. And so Ahab now is confronted by
the man of God and he says something quite interesting in
his statement. He says here I have found you
because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight
of the Lord. You have sold yourself that.
That's a very intentional way of conveying somebody who is bound
by sin. You have sold yourself, and it's
not foreign to the New Testament.
I encourage you to go to the other side of your Bible in the
book of Romans Chapter 7, and look at how Paul borrows this
language but intentionally provides variation to it, and
you're going to see why. Romans 7 verse 14
For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh
sold under sin. So Paul here is speaking
personally, but it applies to the universal condition of man.
He says here that in his flesh he is sold under sin, sold under
sin. And what he's trying to
communicate is that inherit in his nature, there is something
that makes him subject to the influence of the mastery of sin,
as though he was given up to this kind of ownership, which is
perfectly explained by something that took place in Genesis, the
fall. Because of the the sins of our
first parents, humanity was given over to the bondage of
sin. And that's a condition, that's a
default that you and I are born into.
And this is what Paul is trying to convey.
In the flesh. We are sold, we are given over
to, we are handed over to the flesh and dominance of iniquity.
And although that is something that you and I inherit, that's
something that is just a part of being human, we've also been
given hope that you in that place can still make a decision
to be liberated from such slavery.
And that's what Paul says in Romans 6.
That's what he conveys at the end of Romans 7.
And that's the exclamation mark. And Romans 8, yes, he describes
the hopeless conditions, so to speak, the helpless condition of
being sold under sin. But then he tells us how we can
escape it. And it's a choice on our part.
But go back to First King 17 or 19.
Wait 21 First Kings 21 and I want you to see how Elijah
frames the idea of being sold under sin.
He says I have found you in verse twenty of First Kings 21.
I have found you because you have sold yourself to do what is
evil in the side of the Lord. What's the difference between
Paul's language and Elijah's sold yourself?
So in Romans 7 he speaks about how in the flesh we are.
Sold under sin as a result of what happened at the fall.
But then Elijah now conveys you making a willful choice to being
sold under sin. And what's the idea about that?
The idea is like as I said earlier, we all have been given
a choice, yes, all sold under sin, but also given the
opportunity to be free through Christ.
And yet there are others who make the decision to remain in
their sin. And that is exactly the the
crime of Ahab, that, yeah, in his nature, like all of us, sold
under sin. But denying freedom in
righteousness, in a sense he is selling himself into sin.
You know, there's some people who come up with.
Clever ideas of wiggling out of conviction.
And I've heard this before. Well, if it's our sin nature to
sin, then how can God hold us truly and justly accountable?
And it's not about that. It's not about that as much as
it is about this, that yes, though you have been given this
default, you still have a decision to make, to be free in
Christ or to, like Ahab, sell yourself further into sin.
That's what you're going to be held accountable for.
Ultimately. It's what you've done with the
gospel, that's what you've done with God's provision, what
you've got done with the golden key from Calvary that unlocks
that cage and gives you liberty. So there is a sold under sin
that's inherited, and there is a selling yourself to do what is
evil that is willful and intentional.
And that's Ahab's fault. And so now we get a description
of the verdict, the verdict of Ahab's prolonged disobedience.
Behold, I will bring disaster upon you in verse 21.
I will utterly burn you up, and we'll cut off from every, from
Ahab rather every male bond or free in Israel.
And I will make your house like the House of Jeroboam the son of
Nabat, and like the House of Asha the son of Ahijah.
For the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you
have made Israel to sin, what's the ultimate punishment that
Ahab is going to face? Absolute.
Annihilation of his dynasty. This is indicated by the
comparative fate of two other kings, Jeroboam and Bahasha, who
lost any chance of seeing their children succeed the throne.
And now that's been granted to Ahab.
And this would have been absolutely crushing for any king
in their right mind, because any king in the right mind would
have had the dream and the hope that their children would have a
bright future in following them and occupying that dignified
position because of this man's sin that was taken from him,
such as the case of sin, it dashes it, destroys it.
Takes from you. So Ahab wins a vineyard at the
cost of what? The bright hope of his children?
You think that's just unique to Ahab?
You don't think that people's sins affect their children?
They do. I don't believe in general
generational curses. Neither should you.
But there are generational consequences and patterns to
sins, and this is what this man is unfortunately going to
experience. And notice that the explanation
of such devastation is provided in greater detail when he says,
for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you
have made Israel to sin. God, listen to this, please.
God doesn't just take into account of our sin, but He also
registers. When we encourage others to
entertain and embrace sin. So that's further confirmed by
what he says about Jezebel like this is about Ahab, but he
doesn't forget about his wife. So in verse 23 we read and of
Jezebel. The Lord's also said The dog
shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.
That's that's just a horrific picture for the obvious reasons,
but in this culture is even worse because Jezebel would not
be given a honorable burial. Her limbs would be in the belly
of wild dogs. Yeah, she would be judged for
evil. But one of the greatest parts of
her evil is what you read in verse 25.
Just peek at it very quickly. There was none who sold himself
to do what was evil on the side. Of the Lord, like Ahab, whom
Jezebel, his wife, incited. So God highlights Ahab's sin as
being the example and the model for Israel to sin.
And now God holds Jezebel accountable, yes, for her own
sin, but also for inciting her husband to sin.
What a sobering alarm for making sure you marry the right person,
right? Jezebel incited her husband to
sin. But please, I don't want you to
make this tragic mistake. Being influenced by somebody to
sin does not, does not soften or justify our guilt in the matter.
Some try to again. We're very clever and trying to
escape God's holy standard. He seduced me, she pressured me.
Well, yeah, I knew initially it was wrong, but what was I
supposed to do? They were my leaders, and
they're supposed to set the example.
Now I'm supposed to give them my trust.
So I went in the same way that they did.
Do you remember what God pronounced against the very
first sin of all of human history?
He said many things, but I don't think people remember this one
as much. What he told Adam in Genesis
317, He said this and to Adam, he said because you have
listened to the voice of your wife, he could have removed that
completely. He could have just said, because
you have eaten of the the fruit that I told you not to eat of.
No, no, no, he included your. Your problem, Adam, is that you
listened to the voice of your wife.
And the principle is that the Lord doesn't just hold those
accountable who influence others to sin.
He will also consider those who allow themselves to be
influenced. Remember that.
So he's your best friend, Who cares?
God's supposed to be your best friend.
Well, she's my boss, who cares? God's your boss.
Well, he's my husband. Yes, submit to your husband.
But if your husband tells you to do something that God tells you
not to, God's your bridegroom. So that level of loyalty and
allegiance for some reason is weakening in our culture.
Live before God, and if any voice speaks into your life that
contradicts His voice, you have every divine authority and right
to ignore it and to reject it and at times to even rebuke it.
I listen to Him above everything, above all.
And so Israel, listen to Ahab. Ahab, listen to Jezebel, and
they would all be held accountable by a holy God.
Now look at verse 25. This is remarkable.
There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight
of the Lord. Like Ahab, whom Jezebel, his
wife incited, he acted very abominably and going after idols
as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord.
Cast out before the people of Israel pause.
Why do you think this commentaries provide to this to
us at this point of this text? Any idea?
I'm actually asking. I'll give you a few more
seconds, a few more. Well, let me ask this.
Is it worth considering and meditating on Why this is
mentioned to us? Like, we already know this, so
why is this brought to our attention yet again?
I think one reason is because we're forgetful.
So one might say the reason why the Spirit of God includes this
is so that we can be reminded that as severe as this judgement
is, it's warranted. It's as though we're being told,
hey, do you remember who Ahab is and what he's done?
Do you remember the reputation he has?
You remember all the evil that he has done.
But I don't even believe that's the main reason.
I don't believe it's to try to help us understand that what
Elijah just proclaimed is justified.
I believe it's mentioned to prepare us for the mercy he's
about to experience, saying, how does that make sense?
Because when you understand the depths of depravity in Ahab's
case, it will declare the great depths of the mercy that God has
for sinners. Because notice what's about to
happen, verse 27. And when Ahab heard those words,
he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and
fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly, Wow, who
is this man? After everything that this man
saw, after all the chances, finally.
A hint, just a small hint of humility and contrition and
notice why he responded this way in verse 27 and eight when Ahab
heard those words. What words Words like because
you've sinned dogs are going to lick up your blood.
Oh, and your wife dogs are actually going to eat her.
Not something you hear on Sunday mornings.
These. Days.
And there are some who are advocates of trying to tell
preachers not to preach heavy messages, who are very vocal,
ensuring that nothing about God's wrath is mentioned,
nothing about his justice, nothing about His Holiness,
nothing about hell. And they think that they're
doing, they're doing the right thing by by trying to persuade
others that that's not how you're really going to get a
hold of people. And yet I find a man whose heart
was crystallized and it was cracked because of those words.
So who's smarter? You are God.
Who knows the human condition better.
You are God who knows how to bring somebody out of their sin.
You are God. Yes, I'm an advocate for telling
people God is love, God is merciful, God is forgiving.
If we don't have that message, we're not Christians.
But what about the other side of the issue?
I'm, I'm, I'm afraid these Christians, these churchgoers
are going to be absolutely shocked when the Book of
Revelation happens. Like where did this come from?
The end of the book that you forgot to read?
And so those words, it's a reminder that the profound
potential of God's truth, especially the truths that are
not easy to share or hear, have the capacity to awaken the
stubborn and the rebellious. But we might, we might have to
consider if Ahab's repentance is complete, because this looks
hopeful, this looks encouraging. But this is not the end of the
Book of First Kings. There's still another chapter.
And what we're going to discover, perhaps to your
disappointment, is that the same Ahab in the following text, he
doesn't make any effort to confront his wife.
He doesn't campaign for the cleansing of the Land of Israel
from Baal worship. In fact, you're going to
actually find him inquiring of the self-proclaimed prophets of
Baal for guidance instead of the true prophets of God.
So what you see here is, is real, is authentic, but it's
momentary. And the reason why I can say
that there's something here that is genuine is because God is
going to commend it. But you also have to recognize
that it's short lived. It's short lived and that's just
the disappointing reality of the human condition.
I want to say this, I wasn't planning to, but let's do it
anyway. Just to give you another reason
why you should read your Bible from cover to cover based on the
scene that we have described and study up to this point.
You have Nebith Vineyard and who are the characters involved?
Please somebody answer. Who are the characters?
Involved Ahab and Elijah Goodwin turn to 2nd Kings 9 please.
This is a man by the name of Nehu.
Nehu is going to be raised up by God to actually fulfill the
prophecy of the House of Ahab being eradicated.
But I want you to notice. What Jehu says in verse 25.
Jehu said to bid Car his aid. Take him up and throw him on the
plot of the ground belonging to Nabath the Jezreelite.
For remember when you and I rode side by side behind Ahab his
father, how the Lord made this pronouncement against him As
surely as I saw yesterday. The blood of Nabeth and the
blood of his sons, declares the Lord, I will repay you on this
plot of ground. Now, therefore, take him up and
throw him on the plot of ground in accordance with the word of
the Lord. So it wasn't just Ahab and
Elijah. Apparently we had Jehu and his
aide Bit Car who were on the site and who were heard Elijah's
prophetic pronouncement against Ahab and realizing this moment
that this was a fulfillment of just that.
So he heard these words for himself and you would hope that
this would have sobered him up. Though he wasn't the direct
object of that pronouncement, he would realize how holy God is.
And how terrifying it is to fall into the hands of the living
God. And Jehu faithfully observed
what God tells him to do as a as a man who was called to cleanse
the land from such filth. But you're going to realize this
when we study second kings that Jehu, we're told of him that he
did not carefully walk in the ways of the Lord.
So God's Word has the capacity to to crush the confidence of
the Sinner. But the sinner's heart can be so
wicked and evil that even after being sobered for a moment, they
can return to their vomit. That doesn't mean that we should
stop preaching the truth, though.
First King 17. Let's go back to chapter 21,
verse 27. Ahab heard those words.
He tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his flesh, and
fasted and laying sackcloth and went about dejectedly.
So now the same Lord who silently watched Ahab plot and
approve the murder of an innocent man and would punish
him for him, is the same Lord who watched the man breakdown
mourn over his sin and would provide relief because of it.
What does he do? Look at verse 28.
And the word of the Lord came to Elijah, the Tishbite, saying,
Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me?
Because he has humbled himself before me?
I will not bring the disaster in his days, but in his son's days
I will bring the disaster upon his house.
If that doesn't move you, I don't know what will.
Here you have a man who has fresh blood on his hands.
Here you have a man who is neglected and ignored and defied
and blasphemed God over and over in ways that are just
unfathomable. And the moment he shows even
what you and I would deem, check this out, shallow repentance.
It still moves God fleeting, sorrow and shame fleeting, and
it still stirred God's heart. And some would be disturbed
perhaps by this. It didn't cancel the verdict,
but it did suspend it. God did suspend it and prolong
it in a way He delayed it. But even in that some would say,
look, how is this? How is this fair?
Didn't God know that this man would only go back to his ways
in in a brief moment? Yes he does.
But instead of trying to decipher and settling to
decipher Ahab's motives. Let this text convince you of
the absolute incredible mercy of God, because again, if God is
willing to be moved in this way for something like this, what do
you think He's willing to do for the heart who is ready to
totally surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?
Have you thought about that? If this man could do something
external, yes, it's from the heart, but superficial.
And he had God says, did you see how he humbled himself before
me? I'm going to do something about
that. What would God do for the one
who says, Lord Jesus, I repent and I fully trust and you're
saving work for my life, Be the Lord of my life.
What would God do for a man or woman like that?
You would think, OK, maybe that's for a, but definitely not
for Jezebel. Well, Jezebel never repents,
unfortunately, so we would never know.
But can I remind you what the Lord was willing to do for
another Jezebel? This is not the only time
Jezebel's mentioned. She's mentioned as you know
where. Tell me where.
Revelation, good. Revelation 220.
I want you to see these words again and perhaps what the Lord
was willing to do for this Jezebel in a church He was
willing to do for the original Jezebel in the Kingdom of
Israel. So there is a woman in a church
who was trying to take over that church with the same spirit of
this woman that we've been studying the past few weeks.
And the Lord says this. But I have this against you
speaking to the church that you tolerate, that woman Jezebel,
who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my
servants to practice sexual morality and to eat food
sacrificed to idols. And look at the next verse.
I gave her time to repent. I gave her Jezebel.
Can you imagine somebody operating in the same spirit as
Jezebel in the Church of Jesus Christ?
And yet Christ, the head of the church says I gave her time.
I even give this woman who is influenced by that spirit, who's
operating with that same frame of mind, time to change.
But notice But she refuses to repent.
Who's held accountable for not coming to Christ?
The person who refuses to repent, but she refuses to
repent of her sexual morality. Why don't we read the next verse
anyway? So here it is.
Instead of repentance being granted, instead of joy and life
being experienced, Behold, I will throw her unto a sick bed,
and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great
tribulation. Unless.
They repent of her works. So he's even still now through
this final ammunition, this final appeal, giving time for
her and her children, her spiritual children, to repent.
It's very difficult to communicate just how merciful
God is. It's very difficult.
And I want you in the most perhaps helpful way to
understand God's mercy, whether you're a Christian or not, in
the words of Nehemiah. And this is my final verse for
tonight. And it's so good that I would
want you to turn there to see it for yourself.
And if you're somebody who highlights in your Bible, to
highlight it in your Bible, Nehemiah Chapter 9.
And I want you to look at verse 17, please.
Nehemiah 9/17. Consider these words that the
Holy Spirit gives to us. They refused to obey, and we're
not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but
they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to
their slavery in Egypt. Pause.
You know what's so wonderful about that commentary that
Nehemiah gives? It sheds new light on the Exodus
journey. There came a point that the
nation of Israel and more than one occasion they wanted to go
back to Egypt. You remember that.
And they complain against Moses leadership and Aaron's
leadership. You remember that.
But you know what? Nehemiah tells us that they went
beyond what just we read in those stories.
They went beyond just complaining and murmuring.
They actually appointed a leader that's silent in the narratives
of the exodus. But Nehemiah tells us they went.
They went as far to say we found.
Somebody, we chose him. This is the guy that's going to
lead us now again, just to show you read the whole Bible.
You're going to get you're going to get gems in it if you do it.
They appointed a leader to return to the slave in Egypt.
But that's not the main point. But you are a God.
Can we read those 3 words together?
Ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and
abounding in steadfast love. And did not forsake him.
Ready to forgive, not just willing to forgive.
Ready to forgive. When somebody's ready to do
something, that means that that's their disposition.
That's their posture. That at the appropriate time,
they are prepared to do the thing, They're prepared to go
somewhere, they're prepared to perform a task.
You know what God's posture is. It has been and always be.
Ready to forgive. Ready to forgive the the moment
a Sinner knocks on the door, God will swing wide that door.
He will swing it wide open, and he will embrace that Sinner.
This is God's heart ready. In an Ezekiel, we're told that
he does not delight in the death of the wicked.
And later another prophet tells us that he delights in showing
steadfast love. And that's why we're told that
he's slow to anger. Why is he slow to anger?
Because he's ready to forgive. That's where he leans.
That's what he desires. That's what he longs and yearns
for more than anything else. So he is holy.
He's brilliant, He's pure, he's majestic.
But he is ready to forgive. Do you believe that, child of
God, when you have fallen short, when you've genuinely messed up,
my God is ready to forgive. Is that your confidence?
Yeah. You're bruised.
You're broken. Maybe you're even embarrassed.
But how do you come to him? Do you see?
Him like how Nehemiah describes him.
And I want to tell you, if you're a person visiting at this
Bible study tonight and you don't know God and you're in
sin, and maybe throughout this whole time you've been
considering me as your enemy, reconsider how you view not me.
What you think about me is irrelevant, but what I'm saying
and what I represent with this truth that I conclude on God,
the God that I serve, the God that this church serves, is
ready to forgive you. But will you, like Jezebel in
Revelation, refuse to repent? You can.
God is a God of love. True love demands a choice, a
willingness to love back. And so the Lord, he, he makes
himself ready. The question is, are you?
The thing is, I wouldn't wait to respond to that.
I would make a choice and not waste one more second of a life
apart from Him. You think you're autonomous.
I know. You think you're ruling your
life. I know.
But let me tell you what the Bible says.
The Bible says you're a slave of one or two things.
You're either a slave to sin or you're a slave to righteousness.
You have a master, and it's not you.
Your master is either your sin, your flesh that's already been
sold under sin, or that can change.
The ownership of your life can change if you acknowledge Jesus
Christ as Lord and as Savior. And the moment you make that
shift of allegiance, this master known as Jesus Christ, oh, he's
good. His burden is light.
His yoke is easy. He says, come to me, come to me,
we read in the opening of this Bible study, Psalm 81, where
where the Lord tells and reminds the people, I've lifted the
burden off your shoulder. And that's what Christ does.
The heaviness of sin, the heaviness of a life void of
purpose, the heaviness of your conscience that always rises up
against you, the heaviness of a heart that has been created with
eternity in it, not knowing the answers for or the absolute
assurance that you'll experience it.
All of that is dealt with the moment that you make Christ
Jesus your Lord. What's What do I have to do?
Acknowledge it. What's required of me?
Open your hands and receive the gift.
That's what's required of you. Humble yourself and realize that
you have been wrong, that you're not the master of your fate,
that you will stand before him one day, that this all came from
him, that one day he did enter into this world in the person of
Jesus Christ. And he didn't die a martyr's
death. Merely he wasn't a.
Victim, but he planned to pay for your sin, and he laid his
life down for you to have your life raised up with Him.
This is Christ and so we don't come to this Bible study to get
some morals to give us a better social life and financial life.
And now this this book all points to one person.
That's Jesus. And I point you to him tonight.
He is ready to forgive you, believer.
He's ready to forgive you Before we we go into singing.
I don't mean to put you on the spot, Brother Brian, but the
priest team can come up. But if you can play just softly
and I want to give us a chance to meditate on the things that
we heard tonight at Bible study, and then we'll sing and then
we'll close and then we'll go on our way.
But now with the with the the thought of his readiness to
pardon and restore us. Ask the Lord to make the
revelation of his goodness real to you.
Ask the Lord to do that. Don't don't disturb your
partner, your friend beside you, just just sit in His presence.
Let the truth of God continue to wash over you.
And then we'll we'll respond to him as a church with one voice,
but in your own voice. Sit here.
I wouldn't encourage you checking Instagram at this time.
It would be a wasted opportunity.
Just let your heart reflect in in his truth and speak to your
God. Let's do that.