1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:03,160 Will meet me in the book of First Kings in chapter 16, 2 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:13,570 please. This chapter that we aim to 3 00:00:13,570 --> 00:00:17,210 complete tonight will almost feel like a conveyor belt of 4 00:00:17,210 --> 00:00:23,130 truth because what we have before us is five consecutive 5 00:00:23,250 --> 00:00:29,690 accounts of five different kings who ruled and reigned in Israel. 6 00:00:31,170 --> 00:00:36,320 And their names are given to us in these added headings of our 7 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:39,240 Bibles, but they're mentioned there in the text as well. 8 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:42,360 But a brief glance will show us that the first one that we are 9 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:47,760 going to deal with is Basha, the second being Edla, the third 10 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:55,400 being Zimri, the 4th being Omri. And lastly, the infamous Ahab is 11 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:57,120 where we will conclude our study. 12 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:01,520 And just from a brief surface level reading of this chapter, 13 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:06,400 you can grasp 2 features that all of these kings have in 14 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:08,440 common. It's pretty obvious. 15 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:10,320 And the first one is no surprise. 16 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:14,400 The first commonality that these kings share, these kings of the 17 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:18,440 northern tribes, is that each of them were wicked. 18 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,400 No surprise, each of them were evil. 19 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,240 In fact, you get the impression that as you move from one king 20 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:27,960 to the next that the wickedness and the rebellion and the 21 00:01:27,960 --> 00:01:31,960 apostasy only gets more intense, more intense than the former 22 00:01:31,960 --> 00:01:33,880 king. That is the first thing to 23 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:36,320 mention. The 2nd characteristic that 24 00:01:36,320 --> 00:01:42,760 these kings share is that each of them ascended and descended 25 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:47,240 during the one single administration of the King of 26 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:49,720 Judah. So what you're going to notice 27 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:53,000 is that in this chapter, you have the introductions of these 28 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:57,480 kings, and those introductions will be the time stamps of King 29 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:00,120 ASA. And when these other kings of 30 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:03,640 the North ascended during his reign. 31 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:08,960 In other words, in the one reign of King ASA in the southern part 32 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:13,400 of Israel, you're going to have 5 kings show up, disappear, show 33 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:16,160 up again, disappear at the same time. 34 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:19,840 And so how we're going to break down the study is the way that 35 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:22,680 the text breaks up for us. Naturally, we're going to look 36 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:24,800 at each of these kings. And though we're not going to 37 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:27,600 exhaustively examine each one, though we can make each one into 38 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:32,000 a Bible study, we will just have principles based on preview. 39 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:35,200 And so let's read together the first few verses of First Kings 40 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:40,840 16 as we now continue to examine the roster of the Kingdom of 41 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:46,320 Israel verse one. And the word of the Lord came to 42 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:52,040 Jehu the son of Hanani, against Basha, saying, Since I exalted 43 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:55,960 you out of the dust and made you leader over my people Israel, 44 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,080 and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made my 45 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:04,960 people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins. 46 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:10,440 Behold, I will utterly sweep away Basha and his house, and I 47 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,640 will make your house like the House of Jeroboam, the son of 48 00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:16,880 Nabat. Anyone belonging to Basha who 49 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:22,080 dies in the city, the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies 50 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:26,000 in the field, the birds of the heavens shall eat. 51 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:30,600 Let's pause there before looking at the lessons of King Basha. 52 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:32,760 Let's consider who this prophet was. 53 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:36,440 Jehu, the son of Hanani. He appears on the scene and he 54 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:40,160 gives a very, as you just read, a bold rebuke to this king. 55 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:44,080 But my question is, who is he? And we have clues based on his 56 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:46,600 lineage. He is the son of Hanani. 57 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:49,400 Now Hananani might not be familiar to you in our study of 58 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:52,840 First Kings, but he is familiar to us in the parallel study of 59 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:56,280 kings which is found in Second Chronicles in chapter 16 and 60 00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:57,880 verse seven. You don't have to turn there, 61 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:01,560 just listen to this. Han and I was a prophet himself. 62 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:05,880 So Jehu's father was a man of God who spoke on behalf of God. 63 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:11,080 Han and I was the one who approached a king, King ASA, 64 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,840 when King ASA disobeyed the Lord, as we learned last week, 65 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:21,079 by robbing God of His glory and his rights, by taking the gold 66 00:04:21,079 --> 00:04:23,560 from the temple and the silver and giving it to the king of 67 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,840 Syria and his time of trouble to fight against the king of the 68 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:30,320 North. Hanani was the one who 69 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:35,160 approached King ASA and rebuked him and he was rewarded with 70 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:38,440 imprisonment. ASA was angry and he threw him 71 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:41,960 into jail. Now here's why this is so moving 72 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:43,920 to me, and This is why I want to just make a brief comment. 73 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:50,080 God raised up Han and I's son Jehu to walk in the same steps 74 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:52,800 as his father. And what I love, though we do 75 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:56,240 not have much about Jehu, he's mentioned more than once that we 76 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,400 do not have much said about him. Isn't the fact that he is the 77 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:02,640 son of Han? And I say enough that this man, 78 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:05,920 though he was, yes, called by God, made a conscience choice to 79 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:10,240 walk in the same prophetic mandate as his father, though he 80 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:14,080 himself witnessed his father paying a high price for speaking 81 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:18,840 the truth. I like Jehu, I'm moved by Jehu 82 00:05:18,840 --> 00:05:23,160 because here you have a man who is faithful and fearless and 83 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,400 he's willing to do what God called him to do, even though he 84 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:34,160 experienced a close pain seeing his father being treated as such 85 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:38,120 as a man of God. And what we're going to see as 86 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:42,000 we study kings is that though these kings will increase in 87 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:45,960 wickedness, with that also will be the increase of the activity 88 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:49,160 of prophets. If you actually look at the 89 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:52,520 timeline of the kings, you'll see that a majority of the 90 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,960 prophets spoke and appeared during the time of great 91 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:57,920 apostasy. That says something about God's 92 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:00,800 heart. Prophets are like doctors, 93 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:04,120 spiritual doctors who appear on the scene and treat a 94 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:07,760 spiritually sick people. They speak a bold word. 95 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:11,240 They speak a confronting word, but with the redemptive aim of 96 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,480 seeing you restored. And so when you read the 97 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:17,600 prophetic literature of Scripture, keep in mind that 98 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:21,520 those prophets were speaking and ministering during the times of 99 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:24,440 these wicked rulers of both the northern tribes and the southern 100 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:28,280 tribes. When a nation goes South in 101 00:06:28,280 --> 00:06:32,440 terms of their sin and away from God, God will raise up in His 102 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:36,280 mercy prophets. And what do prophets really do 103 00:06:36,280 --> 00:06:38,320 in the Bible? People say, oh, they tell of 104 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:40,440 what's to come. That's a small part of their 105 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:42,800 ministry. The main job of a prophet is to 106 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:45,160 tell people to go back to the word of God. 107 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:49,040 So when you hear me or anybody else in these times, I've used 108 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:51,280 this before, May God raise up prophets. 109 00:06:51,280 --> 00:06:56,000 What I primarily mean is May God raise up men who will speak the 110 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:59,240 word and say get back to the Bible because that's what true 111 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:01,800 prophet does. A lot of people claiming that 112 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:05,520 they're prophets and they're more like fortune tellers. 113 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:09,400 True prophets are those who say, thus says the Lord through the 114 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:13,120 written word of the Lord and had that burning heart to see the 115 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:16,400 bride of Christ purified and a lost world redeemed. 116 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:19,080 And so Jehu is just one of many prophets. 117 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:21,160 In fact, maybe you didn't realize this, but we're going to 118 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:24,840 spend a lot of time in king studying a major prophet, not a 119 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:27,480 major prophet in terms of him having a big part of the Bible 120 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:30,280 with his writings, but a major prophet in terms of a figure, 121 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:32,920 Elijah. Elijah's coming down to our 122 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:35,840 study in the next one. So this is Jehu. 123 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:39,960 And the first lesson that we get from King Basha is what he says 124 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:42,760 in verse two. Look with me, we're going to try 125 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:46,600 to do this in one setting. Since I exalted you, this is a 126 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:51,360 Lord speaking, since I exalted you out of the dust and made you 127 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:55,480 leader over my people, Israel. So here's what the prophet is 128 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:59,160 saying and reminding Basha where you are right now. 129 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:03,720 Who you are today is because of God's providential mercies. 130 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:08,720 Your promotion has been ultimately determined by God. 131 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:14,160 And by saying this to him, he wants him to remember that he 132 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:18,800 relinquished and he forfeited. And he really trashed this 133 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:22,480 opportunity to see Reform as a king, to bring the people back 134 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:26,120 to God, and instead imitated Jeroboam in his disobedience. 135 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:29,760 So essentially from this being conveyed, what Basha is hearing 136 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:34,000 is you wasted. You wasted what God permitted to 137 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:37,400 happen in your life. And it's important to know that 138 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:40,760 this idea of promotional mercies is something that not just Basha 139 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:44,520 should be aware of, but every person should know of as well. 140 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:46,480 Here's a text for you to consider. 141 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:49,640 It's very, very good In Psalm 75. 142 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:51,840 You can look at it. Actually, I would encourage you 143 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:53,320 to turn that, to see it with your own eyes. 144 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:57,720 Psalm 75, verse six and seven. This is a universal principle of 145 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:01,000 how God works in the earth, how God works in people's lives. 146 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:06,040 It says here for not from the east or from the West and not 147 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:08,920 from the wilderness comes lifting up. 148 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:13,000 And then it goes on to say for not from the east or from the 149 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:16,560 West, but it is from God who executes judgment, putting down 150 00:09:16,560 --> 00:09:21,080 one and lifting up another. In other words, when you see the 151 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:23,680 lifting up in the bringing down, that's ultimately God's 152 00:09:23,680 --> 00:09:27,240 orchestration. I like how the King James puts 153 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:28,880 it. The King James puts it this way. 154 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:34,720 For promotion neither cometh from the east nor from the West. 155 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:38,040 Promotion ultimately comes from God. 156 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:42,680 Any kind of promotion in any sector, any sphere of life, 157 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:45,800 exaltation comes from the exalted One. 158 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:47,400 Many truths can be drawn from this. 159 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:53,200 Can I give you 1 to meditate on? Please let God exalt you. 160 00:09:55,080 --> 00:10:01,640 Let God exalt you. Do not rely on being combative 161 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:04,360 with others. Do not come to a point where you 162 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:07,640 promote yourself, where you advertise yourself. 163 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:12,080 Rest to know that ultimately, no matter even what you do, God is 164 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:15,080 the one who gives permission for any kind of promotion. 165 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:19,400 That should put you at ease, That should cause you to be 166 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:22,600 content with where you are. And more than content, be 167 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:26,760 faithful exactly where you are, trusting that if in God's wisdom 168 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:30,000 He wants you to do more, He will let it happen. 169 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:34,240 And no one can stop him. He exalts, He opens the doors, 170 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:36,440 he shuts the doors, and he brings down. 171 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:40,200 So he does it all essentially. And what I see here is that 172 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:43,480 there is a comparative jewel that we can look at when we look 173 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:45,040 at these first few words of Jehu. 174 00:10:45,560 --> 00:10:49,040 Look again at Jehu's words. He says in verse two, Since I 175 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:53,600 exalted you out of where, tell me out of the dust. 176 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:59,280 Now go back to what one other prophet said to King Jeroboam. 177 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:02,280 It's only two chapters before this first Kings 14. 178 00:11:02,680 --> 00:11:10,160 Look at verse 7. Go tell Jeroboam. 179 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:14,800 Thus says the Lord the God of Israel, because I exalted you 180 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:19,520 from where? What does it say among the 181 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:22,800 people? So Jeroboam was told you were 182 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:27,560 exalted from among the people. Basha was told you were exalted 183 00:11:27,560 --> 00:11:30,920 from the dust. And why that's mentioned is to 184 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:37,120 under score the lowliness that Basha was emerged from. 185 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:41,640 And it was a reminder. And it is a reminder to you and 186 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:46,720 I that the Lord can elevate and the Lord can draw out any run 187 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:50,520 from anything or anywhere. That's the truth there. 188 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:53,760 And so you and I have to take this at least, at least this 189 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:56,000 truth. Be faithful unto the Lord, 190 00:11:56,200 --> 00:12:00,080 whether you are among people or whether you are as overlooked as 191 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:02,680 dust. How much lower can you get than 192 00:12:02,680 --> 00:12:05,800 dust? How much more hidden can you be 193 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:08,200 than dust? Among the people? 194 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:11,120 I get it, you're among the common people, but you're at 195 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:12,600 least on the same level as people. 196 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:14,920 Basha. No, you're below people. 197 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:19,240 Even I can bring you from underneath people's feet if I 198 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:22,040 choose to do so. That's what I'm able to 199 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:24,840 complete. And all you and I have to do is 200 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:26,960 just wait on the Lord. And if he desires to do it, he 201 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:31,520 will do it and just smile in every season, whether he exalts 202 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:34,960 you or he doesn't. So he tells him that you came 203 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:37,240 from the dust, but unfortunately, this is how you 204 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:39,200 treated what I allowed to happen in your life. 205 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:43,280 Now let's read in verse 5 and let's complete the rest of our 206 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:45,880 lessons from Basha, though not limited to this, I'm sure. 207 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:50,080 Now the rest of the acts of Vasha and what he did and his 208 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:52,760 might, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of 209 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:56,000 the Kings of Israel? And Vasha slept with his fathers 210 00:12:56,000 --> 00:13:00,800 and was buried at Tirza, and Eli his son, reigned in his place. 211 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:04,040 Now here's the verse that we want to park at verse 7. 212 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:08,080 Moreover, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Jehu, the 213 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:11,840 son of Hanani, against Vasha and his house, both because of all 214 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:15,840 the evil that he had done in the sight of the Lord, provoking him 215 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:17,120 to anger. Pause. 216 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:22,400 God is not angry. That's not his disposition. 217 00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:28,840 God is provoked to anger. Many people view God as an angry 218 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:31,840 God. That's how the ancient Pagan 219 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:35,000 worshippers viewed their false gods, that they constantly had 220 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:37,560 to appease them because generally they were 221 00:13:37,560 --> 00:13:43,120 characterized by fury. Notice that God is provoked to 222 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:46,920 anger. His disposition is love. 223 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:53,200 His disposition, yes, holiness, yes, purity, yes, brilliance in 224 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:57,760 light. But He is provoked to anger and 225 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:01,680 it's sin that angers him. But we see that He is provoking 226 00:14:01,680 --> 00:14:05,160 him to anger with the work of his hands and being. 227 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:08,120 Now this is the reason why God was provoked to anger. 228 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:14,680 There are two reasons in being like the House of Jeroboam 1 and 229 00:14:14,680 --> 00:14:18,160 two, and also because he destroyed it. 230 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:22,800 Interesting. Interesting because what we 231 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:26,720 learned last week about Asha is verse 29 of chapter 15. 232 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:31,680 Read that with me Speaking of ABBA Asha and how he ascended 233 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:34,680 and secured the throne. We are told in verse 29 of 234 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:38,440 chapter 15. And as soon as he was king, he 235 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:41,160 killed all the House of Jeroboam. 236 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:45,520 He left to the House of Jeroboam not one that breathe until he 237 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:49,920 had destroyed it according to the word of the Lord that he 238 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:52,480 spoke by his servant Aija, the Shiloh knight. 239 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:59,120 So hold on, Basha destroyed the House of Jeroboam according to 240 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:03,080 the word of the Lord. And then you come to the next 241 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:07,160 chapter and you learn that Basha is going to be destroyed and his 242 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:11,000 dynasty is going to come to extinction because he destroyed 243 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:15,880 the House of Jeroboam. How do we make sense of this? 244 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:21,000 Let's consider three things. OK, Three very brief points that 245 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:24,080 hopefully will help. First, it's important for you to 246 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:27,720 realize that Bosh's pursuit of the throne was not from holy 247 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:32,120 ambition. He coveted the throne, and he so 248 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:35,400 wanted that power, not authority that he was willing to murder 249 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:38,440 for, and he did so. This is not coming from a holy 250 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:40,200 place, a pure place, a good place. 251 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:42,640 This is coming out of envy. This is coming out of selfish 252 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:46,680 ambition. Secondly, though Bosh has 253 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:51,080 secured the throne through unfortunate means, he did not 254 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:55,040 take advantage of the opportunity that he had to do 255 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:58,280 good. He did not present the 256 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:01,400 opportunity to reform and to change the place and to 257 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:03,080 revitalize it for the glory of God. 258 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:06,080 Confirming the first point that he came to the throne and he 259 00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:11,120 secured and stayed on the throne for the purpose of South. 260 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:13,720 And here's the most important part. 261 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:18,920 We have to remember that Basha arriving to the throne and 262 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:22,960 Jeroboam being destroyed as a result of that was prophesied. 263 00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:28,800 And just because the Lord predicts A historic shifting 264 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:32,240 event does not mean that he authored it. 265 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:38,520 In fact, what you'll realize about God is that if He desires 266 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:44,160 to judge evil, He will allow and permit evil as the instrument to 267 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:48,360 judge other evil. And that does not make him 268 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:50,640 culpable or responsible for the evil of another. 269 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:56,400 It's just his providential permission allowing one to do 270 00:16:56,400 --> 00:17:00,480 what he desires to do, but God in his wisdom, accomplishing his 271 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:04,720 work through it. Baasha did destroy Jeroboam's 272 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:06,440 household and he would be guilty for it. 273 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:10,200 God predicted it. He is not the author of evil. 274 00:17:11,319 --> 00:17:14,839 And even when he did arrive to the throne, God was willing to 275 00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:18,280 do something of mercy towards him if he took advantage of the 276 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:21,640 realization of where he was at. But he failed even in that. 277 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:26,640 So he deserves to be judged as was prophesied. 278 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:29,920 Let's go to the next king. Remember conveyor belt, right? 279 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:31,840 We're looking at one, whoop, there go, there he goes, another 280 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:32,760 one. OK, here we go. 281 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:36,520 Previews and principles from these previews in this Bible 282 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:39,760 study, let's look at the son of Basha and let's read about him. 283 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:46,760 Verse eight, in the 26th year of ASA, king of Judah, Ela, the son 284 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:52,600 of Basha began to reign over Israel in Tirza and he reigned 2 285 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:58,920 years. But his servant Zimri, commander 286 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:04,800 of half his Chariots, pause. Is the fact that Ela having 287 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:06,520 Chariots a good thing or a bad thing? 288 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:10,920 Why is it bad? Because kings were not to 289 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:13,640 acquire many horses. And if you have a commander for 290 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:17,040 half your Chariots, that's an indication that you got a lot of 291 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:19,600 horses. So already we have an idea that 292 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:22,800 this is not a good king. But it gets worse. 293 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:26,720 Commander of half his Chariots conspired against him. 294 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:30,720 So Zimri now is planning a conspiracy against Ela the king. 295 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:36,840 When he being Ela, was at Tears, drinking himself drunk in the 296 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:42,920 House of Arza, who was over the household of Tears, Zimri came 297 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:47,160 in and struck him down and killed them in the 27th year of 298 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:50,480 ASA, king of Judah, and reigned in his place. 299 00:18:52,120 --> 00:18:54,480 So Ela takes the place of his father Basha. 300 00:18:56,120 --> 00:18:59,080 He only reigns for two years before he was assassinated. 301 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:03,240 And the fact that Ela again was a commander of Chariots is a 302 00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:05,360 clue that he was not a man who was concerned about being 303 00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:09,800 consecrated to the law of God. But Ela's problems go beyond 304 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,360 that, do they not? Because what we read about him 305 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:16,040 is, yes, he was murdered, but he was murdered in a certain state 306 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:19,000 of mind. Let's look at it again, verse 9. 307 00:19:20,120 --> 00:19:22,760 But his servant Zimri, commander of half his Chariots, conspired 308 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:27,160 against him when he was at Tirza drinking himself drunk in the 309 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:29,880 House of Arza. Who is over the household in 310 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:32,400 Tirza? So where do you find Ela the 311 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:36,960 king of Israel? The time where he was slain, he 312 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:42,120 was at his Co workers house drinking himself into oblivion. 313 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:50,320 I know of people in my lifetime who have died in that same 314 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:55,440 state, even in high school. I remember being in high school 315 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:57,560 and we had to be brought together as a school because 316 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:01,560 there's two students who were slain in a state of being at the 317 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:03,600 wrong place, doing the wrong things. 318 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:10,600 And it makes you wonder if Ela was busy doing what he was 319 00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:15,200 supposed to be doing as a king, that Zimri's conspiracy would be 320 00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:17,120 much more difficult to accomplish. 321 00:20:17,120 --> 00:20:21,080 Does that make sense? Because there is a lesson here 322 00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:24,560 based on the fact that this is presented to us in Scripture for 323 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:26,640 our instruction, for our completion as men and women of 324 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,280 God. The lesson is the way you 325 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:34,120 socialize and the way we indulge can be deadly. 326 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:39,400 The way you and I choose to socialize and the way you and I 327 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:43,600 choose to indulge can be absolutely lethal. 328 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:50,640 It's clear that Ela didn't take heed to the word of God of what 329 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,320 kings were supposed to do in relationship to alcohol, right? 330 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:57,000 Do you remember what King Lemuel heard and Proverbs 31 verse 331 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:59,680 four? That is not for kings to drink 332 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:05,040 or rulers to take strong drink. And it is for certain that both 333 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:09,680 Ela and his Co worker, another ruler, did not take heed to the 334 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:13,080 words of Solomon elsewhere where we're told this. 335 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:15,400 And I encourage you to turn there with me in Ecclesiastes 336 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:20,440 chapter 10, verse 16. Meet me there briefly. 337 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:24,440 I want you to see this woe that Solomon pronounces on kings who 338 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:28,960 choose to do something that is related to what Ela does. 339 00:21:31,120 --> 00:21:33,480 Ecclesiastes chapter 10, verse 16. 340 00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:40,200 I'll wait for you. As long as you bring your 341 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:48,120 Bibles, I'll wait for you. Ela forgot or probably didn't 342 00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:51,440 even look at this in his lifetime. 343 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:55,880 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child. 344 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:59,000 And that is not limited to age, by the way, because there were 345 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:00,800 kings who were young and they were righteous. 346 00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:06,240 Speaks of your maturity. When your king is a child and 347 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:08,760 your Princess feast in the morning. 348 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:13,760 Question for you, especially for my Middle Eastern friends. 349 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:19,160 Is it wrong to feast? No, not wrong to feast. 350 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:22,400 Is it wrong to feast in the morning? 351 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:30,920 Depends the occasion. But it was wrong for kings and 352 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:37,400 Princess and rulers to feast in the morning because the Bible 353 00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:41,560 tells us that kings were to be preoccupied with a different 354 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:46,360 kind of activity before the heat of the day would arrive. 355 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:51,680 And we even have a verse of what kings were to do in the morning 356 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:54,880 time according to the prophet Jeremiah. 357 00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:57,120 You can turn there if you'd like. 358 00:22:57,120 --> 00:22:59,240 I'll quote it to you. Anyway, it's found in Jeremiah 359 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:03,280 chapter 21, verse 12, and it'll be up there on the screen. 360 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:07,440 But notice what the prophet says to the House of David and 361 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:14,520 Jeremiah 2112, O House of David. Thus says the Lord, Execute 362 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:18,600 justice when? In the afternoon, at night time. 363 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:23,920 No, no, execute justice in the morning, and deliver from the 364 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:26,520 hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed, lest my wrath 365 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:29,320 go forth like fire and burn with none to quench it because of 366 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:31,720 your evil deeds. So he's speaking to the House of 367 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:32,960 David. He's specifically speaking to 368 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:37,160 the rulers, and he's saying, oh, rulers, it's your job that 369 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:39,480 you've neglected to execute justice. 370 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:42,400 What time of the day? In the morning? 371 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:46,000 In other words, we're being told here that the priority of the 372 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:50,960 activity of the king is to administer justice. 373 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:55,760 First thing of the day is to occupy the seat of justice and 374 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:59,920 to give judgement and to administer wisdom and to give 375 00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:03,920 consultation and as a result to see the oppressor free and to 376 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:08,200 see people experience God's righteousness through that 377 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:12,320 vessel of a king. And so we see here that the 378 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:17,040 morning they are to be busy and what does Solomon say? 379 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:21,720 Woe to your land when your Princess feast instead of 380 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:25,200 fulfilling their God-given role as a king in the land. 381 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:30,840 Here's the larger principle. Misguided priorities are 382 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:38,440 spiritually deadly for you and for others, especially if 383 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:42,320 whatever you try to replace your God-given responsibility with, 384 00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:46,320 even if it's in the pursuit of pleasure or delight, it will 385 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:51,120 kill you and it will harm others. 386 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:55,400 Woe to you, O land, when your Princess feast in the morning, 387 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:58,120 when Jeremiah says you're supposed to be busy doing 388 00:24:58,120 --> 00:24:59,920 something else in the morning, O kings. 389 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:06,360 And so we have to understand that if we do not properly frame 390 00:25:06,360 --> 00:25:09,560 our interactions and our activities, then we're in 391 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:13,520 trouble. And that's what we see in the 392 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:16,960 next verse of Ecclesiastes 10. The reward of doing it the way 393 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:20,360 God calls us to do it. Happy are you old land? 394 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:23,240 Happy are you old land? When your king is the son of 395 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:28,920 nobility and your Princess feast, when does it say it? 396 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:31,720 Oh, it's not there at the proper time. 397 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:36,440 A feasting is not wrong. When they feast in Ecclesiastes 398 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:39,920 10/17 at the proper time. The morning is not the proper 399 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:42,400 time. There are other times where 400 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:43,680 you're supposed to be doing that. 401 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:50,280 And notice this when they feast. Yes, for strength and not for 402 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:54,320 drunkenness. So a righteous king does not 403 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:57,760 just eat for delight, he eats for strength. 404 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:01,000 And so he's not mastered by anything. 405 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:03,720 He's ultimately mastered by his God-given call. 406 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:07,760 And he sees anything else that's inferior to that as a means, as 407 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:11,080 instruments for him to better do what God's called him to do and 408 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:13,440 be effective where God's called him be effective. 409 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:18,360 So he eats, yes, he feasts, but it's his fuel, it's his energy 410 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:21,400 and he does not allow any delight, any delight. 411 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:24,240 I don't care what that delight is, whether it's a morsel or 412 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:27,840 it's a person, or it's your job, or it's your endeavors or it's 413 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:32,000 your hobbies. Nothing will distract him from 414 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,680 his ultimate responsibility of glorifying God in the context 415 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:40,720 that he's been called. Never forget, listen, that 416 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:48,080 self-control will prosper you. self-control is a lost art and 417 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:51,480 it's rarely proclaimed from the pulpit for fear of being 418 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:53,800 indicted by the people of being legalistic. 419 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:56,960 It's biblical. And don't be those Christians 420 00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:59,200 that look at things in the Bible that are clear and call it 421 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:00,880 legalistic just because you don't like it. 422 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:03,920 People do that. It's legalism. 423 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:06,320 No, it's actually Bible. Legalism is when you take your 424 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:08,880 ideas and impose them on the scripture or you take light 425 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:10,120 things and make the major things. 426 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:12,840 But when it's clear, it's a command and we are people who 427 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:14,800 obey commands. Yes, we people who love the 428 00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:19,840 grace of God. Happy are you O land. 429 00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:22,880 self-control doesn't just prosper you, it prospers others 430 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:24,880 around you. Notice he didn't say happy are 431 00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:28,120 you O king? He says happy are you O land. 432 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:35,160 In other words, yourself control and your scripturally framed 433 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:38,040 priorities will bless everything around you. 434 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:39,480 It's going to bless your marriage. 435 00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:42,360 It will bless your marriage. It will bless your relationship 436 00:27:42,360 --> 00:27:44,720 with your friends. It will bless your finances. 437 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:47,400 It will bless your business. It will bless your local church. 438 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:52,560 But when you refuse to by the power of the Holy Spirit 439 00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:56,560 exercise that self-control that leads to a more prosperous life. 440 00:27:56,560 --> 00:28:00,880 Listen to this. It is a sure destination to a 441 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:06,960 slow spiritual suicide. So Ela was found drunken, 442 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:09,320 doesn't say if he was there in the morning, but he was there in 443 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:10,360 the morning. Excuse me? 444 00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:13,720 He was there in Azra's house, and whether there he was in the 445 00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:17,320 morning or not, Zimmering knew of his whereabouts. 446 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:20,600 For him to be able to come and do what he did and to commit 447 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:22,960 this great crime. So it shows, I believe, that Ela 448 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:26,200 was in that place in a frequent way, and I'm sure that he was 449 00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:29,880 there in the morning as well. And this is what led ultimately, 450 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:33,680 not ultimately, but it did contribute to his death. 451 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:37,080 And Speaking of suicide, that is what will stand out in the next 452 00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:39,040 King's story. Let's go to it together. 453 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:49,760 We'll skip verses 11 to 14 as it gives us a familiar commentary 454 00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:53,040 about why this king was judged and why he was ultimately 455 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:55,640 destroyed by God. But let's come down to Zimri 456 00:28:55,640 --> 00:29:00,240 story. In the 27th year of ASA, king of 457 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:03,120 Judah, Zimri reigned 7 days in tears. 458 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:04,880 That's got to be a world record of some sort. 459 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:09,400 Seven days. Imagine being a king for a week. 460 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:15,800 We thought two years were short. Seven days now the troops were 461 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:19,440 camped against Gibbethan which belonged to the Philistines. 462 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:23,120 We talked about Gibbethan last week and the troops who were 463 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:26,640 encamped heard it said Zimri has conspired and he has killed the 464 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:30,040 king. Therefore all Israel made Umri 465 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:32,320 the commander of the army, king over Israel. 466 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:36,120 That day in the camp saw Umri went up from giveth on and all 467 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:39,120 Israel with him and they besieged Tirza. 468 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:43,000 And when Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the 469 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:47,320 citadel of the King's house and burned the King's house over him 470 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:50,240 with fire and died. What a gruesome way to die 471 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:56,080 because of his sins that he committed, doing evil in the 472 00:29:56,080 --> 00:29:59,360 sight of the Lord, walking in the way of Jeroboam, and for his 473 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:02,360 sin which he committed, making Israel to sin. 474 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:05,760 Now the rest of the acts of Zimri and the conspiracy that he 475 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:08,800 made, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of 476 00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:13,800 the Kings of Israel. So Zimri now, who killed by Asha 477 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:17,000 and his household, he fulfilled the word of the Lord by the 478 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:19,720 mouth of Jehu, He reigns and he reigns for a week. 479 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:24,880 And in that week, we learned that he assumed too much. 480 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:31,960 He seizes the throne. And because of him seizing the 481 00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:37,080 throne, we see that because of the lack of things taking place 482 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:40,040 so quickly, as they do in our day, word went about in a matter 483 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:42,880 of a few days that Zimri has become king. 484 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:47,440 And Zimri again made this decision without realizing an 485 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:49,920 important factor of becoming a king, especially in the way that 486 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:52,160 he did it. You need people to support you. 487 00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:56,400 And he didn't have the popular vote. 488 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:00,280 In fact, when everybody heard Zimri becomes king, they go. 489 00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:03,120 He doesn't he, he's not supposed to be the king. 490 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:08,520 Omri should be the king. And so they elect Omri. 491 00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:12,000 Omri has the entire support of the nation of Israel. 492 00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:15,880 And what happens? They besiege the capital. 493 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:20,440 Zimri looks out of his window and he sees that he is 494 00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:23,600 surrounded by the people that he thought that he was going to 495 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:25,040 rule and that they were going to accept them. 496 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:28,160 And this is this is his decision. 497 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:33,280 I have no chance. Because as you know, the pattern 498 00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:37,680 of this time was if a rival person was to come and attack 499 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:41,640 your throne, they would not only attack you and ask you to kindly 500 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:43,600 move and say some mean things to you, they would kill you and 501 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:45,640 they would kill your descendants and kill everyone associated 502 00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:48,400 with you so that there would be no usurping in the future. 503 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:50,280 So Zimri knows that he's finished. 504 00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:53,240 And So what does he do? He's, he chooses to finish 505 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:57,160 himself. I'll, I'll just do the job on my 506 00:31:57,160 --> 00:32:02,280 own. This is one of a few accounts 507 00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:04,120 and records of suicide in the Bible. 508 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:08,240 This is one of them. There's actually a total of 509 00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:11,560 seven. And to make this a little bit 510 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:14,000 more interactive, I'm curious to know if you know some of them. 511 00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:16,840 Can you tell me the different records in the Scripture where 512 00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:19,240 we're told of a man who committed suicide? 513 00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:23,400 Samson is 1. One at a time. 514 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:25,080 I'll just lift your hands so we don't talk over each other, 515 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:27,280 please. Yes, Judas is the obvious one. 516 00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:28,640 So let me, let me put it this way. 517 00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:31,040 Now, there's only one in the New Testament that our brother just 518 00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:32,560 mentioned, and the rest are in the Old Testament. 519 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:34,800 We ought to be dealt with. Samson, Judas. 520 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:38,960 Yes, Saul, very good. Saul is another one. 521 00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:42,600 So that's three. Any other ones? 522 00:32:48,590 --> 00:32:49,950 All right, if you remember, let us know. 523 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:56,680 Oh, that's that's one that people don't have to get. 524 00:32:56,680 --> 00:32:57,560 But you got to figure out the name. 525 00:32:57,560 --> 00:33:00,760 I can't just give it to you. You're on it, though. 526 00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:03,600 You're on it. I'll give you a hint. 527 00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:06,880 He's in the book of Judges. Samson is in the book of Judges. 528 00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:09,520 But there was somebody else before him who committed this 529 00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:17,040 grievous act of self murder. He was the son of a very notable 530 00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:20,160 figure, one that you hear about in your Sunday school 531 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:25,040 curriculum. He's the son of somebody who God 532 00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:28,200 told him to diminish his army down to a few 100. 533 00:33:32,080 --> 00:33:36,160 Do you know? I saw, yes, Abimelech. 534 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:39,680 Abimelech is the first one. Yes, absolutely. 535 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:41,560 In Judges Chapter 9. Then there is Samson. 536 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:45,120 Then there is Saul. We touched on Zimri. 537 00:33:45,120 --> 00:33:47,040 We touched on Judas. There's two others. 538 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:53,120 Two others. I think Volvo is another one. 539 00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:56,040 Yes. When he realized that his plot 540 00:33:56,040 --> 00:33:59,720 was not honored by Absalom, he went home and he put his house 541 00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:01,640 in order and he hung himself. There's one more. 542 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:16,550 There's one more. OK, that was something else. 543 00:34:16,550 --> 00:34:20,310 That was actually an act of murder, but that's a good guess. 544 00:34:20,429 --> 00:34:22,190 There's one more. I'll give you a hint. 545 00:34:22,750 --> 00:34:24,510 I'll just give you one hint, Saul. 546 00:34:25,070 --> 00:34:28,469 That's all I'm going to say. And then we have to move forward 547 00:34:28,469 --> 00:34:29,909 because I don't want this to drag too, too long. 548 00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:35,920 Saul's the hint. Saul's armor bearer. 549 00:34:36,080 --> 00:34:37,280 You got it. Good job. 550 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:39,719 Yes. When Saul killed himself, the 551 00:34:39,719 --> 00:34:41,880 armor bearer thought, OK, I might as well join him. 552 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:44,600 So those are the seven accounts. And I argue that there could 553 00:34:44,600 --> 00:34:46,239 have been, I'm sure there could have been more that. 554 00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:51,560 But there is a close call of another New Testament individual 555 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:56,440 who could have been mentioned along with this horrific list of 556 00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:59,560 people who have come to such desperation in their lives. 557 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:03,840 Can you think of a New Testament person who was close to 558 00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:06,160 committing that act but was spared? 559 00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:13,560 What's that? The Philippian jailer? 560 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:25,800 Can I show you that in Acts 16 verse 27 there could have been 561 00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:28,560 another suicide record in the Bible, but it was prevented by 562 00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:32,080 something that, listen you and I must believe is able to rescue 563 00:35:32,080 --> 00:35:36,840 anyone from such despair, even if such despair reaches a point 564 00:35:37,040 --> 00:35:40,720 where self murder seems to be a better alternative. 565 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:44,960 Read this with me in Acts 1627. When the jailer woke and saw 566 00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:49,800 that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about 567 00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:53,760 to kill himself. Supposing that the prisoners had 568 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:55,240 escaped. Why would the jailer want to 569 00:35:55,240 --> 00:35:57,280 kill himself realizing that the prisoners had escaped? 570 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:05,120 That could be one idea. Yes, his authorities would have 571 00:36:05,120 --> 00:36:07,760 killed him. Yes, I think that's more likely 572 00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:10,600 that the authorities would have given him the verdict of these 573 00:36:10,600 --> 00:36:14,960 prisoners and for letting them escape, they would have now put 574 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:18,240 him to the butcher's block. And so he thought to himself, 575 00:36:18,240 --> 00:36:20,120 I'm finished. Like my, my, my authorities are 576 00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:21,880 merciless. So let me just let just like 577 00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:23,600 Jimmy, let me just do the job myself. 578 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:28,640 But something prevented him. Two men who were so filled with 579 00:36:28,640 --> 00:36:34,160 God, two men who had the hope of the gospel, who brought this man 580 00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:37,280 to salvation. So here you have an individual 581 00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:42,560 that's ready, who's so hopeless, who's so overcome with grief and 582 00:36:42,560 --> 00:36:48,160 concern and worry, with a bleak future, but was apprehended by 583 00:36:48,720 --> 00:36:53,520 two men who, instead of escaping for their own benefit, chose to 584 00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:59,240 remain in order to provide hope. Hey, we're still here. 585 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:04,760 Don't do this to yourself. And then this man asked, as he 586 00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:07,600 trembled and fell before them, What must I do to be saved? 587 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:13,280 What provoked the jailer to say that this hardened, brutal, 588 00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:18,880 tough man, to be weak in the knees and to be melted like 589 00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:20,520 this, to say what must have to be saved? 590 00:37:20,640 --> 00:37:23,440 Well, remember, before this and before the earthquake, you had 591 00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:26,160 two men, the same men who were singing hymns and praying to God 592 00:37:26,160 --> 00:37:28,760 at midnight, and they were heard. 593 00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:32,840 And I'm sure the jailer heard it too, and I'm sure something was 594 00:37:33,040 --> 00:37:35,800 trying to register in his mind. How do you have these two guys 595 00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:39,760 that have fresh wounds in their back, who are bleeding, who are 596 00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:43,800 bruised, who are battered? How is it that they have so much 597 00:37:43,800 --> 00:37:48,080 hope? What is it that they believe in 598 00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:53,320 that can have them singing in this way, though, treated in 599 00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:56,280 this way? I want to know what they have. 600 00:37:58,200 --> 00:38:01,640 People often ask, is it possible for a true Christian to commit 601 00:38:01,640 --> 00:38:06,760 suicide? And the way I answer is this, 602 00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:10,840 that in a moment of extreme weakness, in a season of 603 00:38:10,840 --> 00:38:15,120 incredible challenges, a Christian is capable of many 604 00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:17,320 things. Is that not true? 605 00:38:19,560 --> 00:38:22,920 But what I will say with that is that if there is somebody who 606 00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:28,560 professes Christ and consistently contemplates and 607 00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:34,800 justifies something as severe as suicide, you and I have every 608 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:38,480 right to challenge that person to examine the sincerity of 609 00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:41,920 their faith. And the reason why I say that is 610 00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:45,120 because the Bible characterizes Christians in many ways. 611 00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:50,840 And one of the ways is that Christians are overcome by this 612 00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:56,320 thing called hope. We are a hopeful people, not 613 00:38:56,320 --> 00:39:01,000 wishful thinking, not just hope for a thing to come. 614 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:05,360 When I pass from this life, a hope that is so weighty and such 615 00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:09,760 an anchor to our lives that it brings about deliverance day by 616 00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:13,640 day. The Christian is characterized 617 00:39:13,640 --> 00:39:16,560 by hope. And what is suicide? 618 00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:22,280 Ultimately, it's an act of total and ultimate hopelessness, one 619 00:39:22,280 --> 00:39:26,320 that convinces you because you do not believe you have purpose 620 00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:29,120 or that the things around you happening have purpose. 621 00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:34,280 And I want to show you by way of example how this hope is not 622 00:39:34,280 --> 00:39:38,960 just a tenet of our faith or something that we kind of throw 623 00:39:38,960 --> 00:39:42,400 around as Christians is something that has real impact 624 00:39:42,400 --> 00:39:46,440 on the life of a believer. So Paul says something in Second 625 00:39:46,440 --> 00:39:51,640 Corinthians 18 where he is ambiguous in the nature of his 626 00:39:51,640 --> 00:39:54,880 trial, but he says this trial that we are enduring is so 627 00:39:54,880 --> 00:39:58,040 intense that we despaired of life itself. 628 00:40:00,080 --> 00:40:03,720 Paul is saying that we're not talking about a weak Christian 629 00:40:03,720 --> 00:40:06,640 here. We're talking about a strong, if 630 00:40:06,640 --> 00:40:09,600 not the strongest example of what a Christian should look 631 00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:12,480 like and live like. And yet even such a man was 632 00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:15,480 susceptible to such a temptation, where he says in 633 00:40:15,480 --> 00:40:18,080 Second Corinthians 18, Let me read it to you in his own words, 634 00:40:18,240 --> 00:40:20,320 for we do not want you to be unaware, brothers. 635 00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:25,400 Of the affliction we experienced in Asia, for we were so utterly 636 00:40:25,440 --> 00:40:30,160 burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life 637 00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:33,280 itself. This was so overwhelming. 638 00:40:33,280 --> 00:40:37,720 This was so overbearing, this was so consuming that we 639 00:40:37,720 --> 00:40:41,160 thought, man, I can't live like this. 640 00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:45,360 And yet 2 verses later in verse 10, notice what he says. 641 00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:50,160 He delivered us from such a deadly peril and he will deliver 642 00:40:50,160 --> 00:40:52,720 us on him. We have set our what? 643 00:40:53,240 --> 00:40:58,160 Our hope. So this Christian hope, this 644 00:40:58,160 --> 00:41:02,400 gospel hope, this Christ centered hope is powerless, 645 00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:06,120 powerful enough to deliver you from the powerful temptation of 646 00:41:06,120 --> 00:41:11,720 despairing of life itself. You know this is true or this is 647 00:41:11,720 --> 00:41:15,200 just poetic license. No, it's true. 648 00:41:15,240 --> 00:41:17,800 It's real, and it changes people. 649 00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:24,720 So, yeah, a Christian is capable of much in a place, in a season, 650 00:41:24,720 --> 00:41:29,120 even in a moment of extreme grief, pain, confusion, 651 00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:31,960 frustration. But I would say, one who 652 00:41:31,960 --> 00:41:37,520 consistently entertains and justifies such an act, those 653 00:41:37,520 --> 00:41:42,640 around it and him himself, must call for an examination of the 654 00:41:42,640 --> 00:41:47,440 sincerity of that faith, as you would any other sin that one 655 00:41:47,440 --> 00:41:51,400 would justify, and consistently meditate on thinking that they 656 00:41:51,400 --> 00:41:56,600 are allowed to do it. So we come to our 4th king. 657 00:41:57,880 --> 00:42:04,040 And verse 21. Then the people of Israel were 658 00:42:04,040 --> 00:42:07,400 divided into two parts. Half of the people followed 659 00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:12,520 Tibney the son of Ganath to make him king, and half followed 660 00:42:12,520 --> 00:42:14,760 Omri. This is a mess. 661 00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:18,800 OK, so you already have the nation divided in two, and now 662 00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:20,320 we're focused on the northern part. 663 00:42:20,560 --> 00:42:22,920 And within the northern tribes you have another division. 664 00:42:23,840 --> 00:42:29,840 Sin divides, Sin splits up. A Kingdom that is divided in 665 00:42:29,840 --> 00:42:33,120 this way cannot stand. And so now you have two parts 666 00:42:33,120 --> 00:42:37,240 within the one part and you have half the people who follow this 667 00:42:37,240 --> 00:42:39,760 guy named Tibney and the other half who want to follow this guy 668 00:42:39,760 --> 00:42:42,520 that they like the name Umri. And what I find so interesting 669 00:42:42,520 --> 00:42:45,680 is a brief note is that before we read earlier that all of 670 00:42:45,680 --> 00:42:52,400 Israel wanted Umri and now half of the people want to don't put 671 00:42:52,400 --> 00:42:55,240 any stock in the recognition and praise from people. 672 00:42:55,840 --> 00:42:59,520 It's very short lived. It's very fickle. 673 00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:02,800 One day they praise you, the next day they condemn you. 674 00:43:04,360 --> 00:43:08,160 So don't put too much, don't put any rather of your identity, of 675 00:43:08,160 --> 00:43:13,720 your esteem, of your joy and what people have to say, because 676 00:43:13,720 --> 00:43:15,840 one day they want you to be there and the next day want 677 00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:20,720 somebody to replace you. So now we read that the people 678 00:43:20,720 --> 00:43:25,120 wanted this other king, but Omri was a brilliant general. 679 00:43:26,120 --> 00:43:28,440 So in verse 22. But the people who followed Omri 680 00:43:28,440 --> 00:43:31,040 overcame the people who followed Tibney, the son of Ghanaut. 681 00:43:31,360 --> 00:43:35,400 So Tibney died and Omri became king in the 31st year of ASA, 682 00:43:35,400 --> 00:43:38,040 king of Judah. Umri began to reign over Israel 683 00:43:38,040 --> 00:43:42,320 and he reigned for 12 years, Six years he reigned in Tirza. 684 00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:47,600 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of 685 00:43:47,600 --> 00:43:50,360 silver, and he fortified the hill and called the name of the 686 00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:54,800 city that he built Samaria after the name of Shemer, the owner of 687 00:43:54,800 --> 00:43:58,240 the hill. So Tirza was the capital for 688 00:43:58,240 --> 00:44:00,640 quite some time of the Northern Kingdom. 689 00:44:01,040 --> 00:44:04,360 Under Omri's administration, he transfers the capital over to a 690 00:44:04,360 --> 00:44:06,640 place called Samaria. Why? 691 00:44:06,640 --> 00:44:08,480 Because strategically it made sense. 692 00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:11,720 It was a hill. There was geographical advantage 693 00:44:11,720 --> 00:44:14,400 to that. You had created greater 694 00:44:14,400 --> 00:44:17,800 difficulty for any invasion, and you had a greater outlook of the 695 00:44:17,800 --> 00:44:20,320 horizon and your surroundings. So this makes sense from a 696 00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:24,080 military standpoint. But we read on and we see 697 00:44:24,080 --> 00:44:26,960 something that is crushing, because despite any 698 00:44:26,960 --> 00:44:30,160 accomplishment, the Spirit of God does not speak highly of 699 00:44:30,160 --> 00:44:31,840 this man. Verse 25. 700 00:44:32,240 --> 00:44:35,800 Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did more 701 00:44:35,800 --> 00:44:37,760 evil than all who were before him. 702 00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:43,880 So if Zimri broke the record of the shortest reign in Israel's 703 00:44:43,880 --> 00:44:50,400 history, Omri broke the record of reaching to new lows for the 704 00:44:50,440 --> 00:44:54,040 evil one can commit. As a king, he did more evil than 705 00:44:54,040 --> 00:44:57,520 all who were before him. For he walked in all the way of 706 00:44:57,520 --> 00:45:00,440 Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, and in the sins that he made Israel 707 00:45:00,440 --> 00:45:03,920 to sin, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel to anger by their 708 00:45:03,920 --> 00:45:07,800 idols. What did Omri do? 709 00:45:09,280 --> 00:45:13,240 We're not told in detail, but we do have an indication of another 710 00:45:13,240 --> 00:45:15,600 place because he's barely mentioned in the Bible. 711 00:45:15,840 --> 00:45:19,040 But in this one other place where he is mentioned, we have 712 00:45:19,160 --> 00:45:23,520 an idea of the caliber of his wickedness. 713 00:45:23,520 --> 00:45:25,320 It's an interesting place in the Bible. 714 00:45:25,880 --> 00:45:28,520 Mark it down if you don't want to turn there now, I'll read it 715 00:45:28,520 --> 00:45:34,240 to you and Micah. In Micah 6, verse 16, the 716 00:45:34,240 --> 00:45:38,280 prophet pronounces an indictment against that generation, and 717 00:45:38,280 --> 00:45:42,000 this is the explanation of their ways. 718 00:45:42,480 --> 00:45:50,400 For you have kept the statutes of Omri and all the works of the 719 00:45:50,400 --> 00:45:54,640 House of Ahab. So based on this, Omri was not 720 00:45:54,640 --> 00:45:59,000 just like a silly Sinner, right? He was not just this kind of 721 00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:02,200 foolish man who was just self absorbed and did things here and 722 00:46:02,200 --> 00:46:06,040 there. This man created laws that 723 00:46:06,040 --> 00:46:10,960 encouraged and discipled an entire generation and nation 724 00:46:10,960 --> 00:46:13,080 into sin. He had laws. 725 00:46:13,200 --> 00:46:17,000 Laws are contrary to God's laws. Laws that perhaps even punish 726 00:46:17,000 --> 00:46:20,280 those who would not submit to his desires. 727 00:46:20,560 --> 00:46:23,520 He had statutes. And I believe that indicates the 728 00:46:23,520 --> 00:46:28,240 level of evil that this man was consumed by, that he caused 729 00:46:28,280 --> 00:46:32,520 other people to intentionally sin by way of legislation, by 730 00:46:32,520 --> 00:46:37,120 way of even punishment in terms of disobeying what he had asked 731 00:46:37,120 --> 00:46:39,720 of them. And so this man was evil. 732 00:46:40,320 --> 00:46:43,520 He was wicked. And if you think this man was 733 00:46:43,520 --> 00:46:47,200 bad, our final king will prove otherwise. 734 00:46:47,200 --> 00:46:48,480 But let me say this as a side note. 735 00:46:48,480 --> 00:46:54,280 If you're one who enjoys history and you like to see how world 736 00:46:54,280 --> 00:46:57,120 history coincides and correlates and complements biblical 737 00:46:57,120 --> 00:47:02,360 history, look up Omri and you'll realize that there are ancient 738 00:47:02,360 --> 00:47:06,280 artifacts from the Moabites and the Assyrians that mention Omri 739 00:47:06,280 --> 00:47:10,040 by name. And I just like those things 740 00:47:10,040 --> 00:47:13,400 from time to time because they are just Nuggets of God's 741 00:47:13,400 --> 00:47:16,520 providential preservations to show us that this Bible is, in 742 00:47:16,520 --> 00:47:19,200 fact, true. And so Omri was mentioned 743 00:47:19,200 --> 00:47:22,000 because he was praised even by neighboring nations of being a 744 00:47:22,000 --> 00:47:25,840 very successful commander and leader at this time in history. 745 00:47:25,840 --> 00:47:28,440 Look it up for yourself. But let's come to our final king 746 00:47:28,440 --> 00:47:31,840 as we close our Bible study. You know this man, I'm sure it's 747 00:47:31,840 --> 00:47:34,160 the son of Omri. His name is Ahab. 748 00:47:35,360 --> 00:47:40,080 Look at verse 29 with me in the 38th year of ASA. 749 00:47:40,080 --> 00:47:44,480 Remember, every single king that we've touched on so far has been 750 00:47:45,520 --> 00:47:49,880 during the reign of ASA. In the 38th year of ASA, king of 751 00:47:49,880 --> 00:47:54,960 Judah, Ahab the son of Umri began to reign over Israel. 752 00:47:55,200 --> 00:47:59,560 And Ahab the son of Umri reigned over Israel and Samaria 22 753 00:47:59,560 --> 00:48:03,240 years. And Ahab, the son of Emory, did 754 00:48:03,320 --> 00:48:07,720 evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before 755 00:48:07,720 --> 00:48:13,520 him, including his father. And here is what he is notorious 756 00:48:13,520 --> 00:48:15,000 for. Here's what is underscored and 757 00:48:15,000 --> 00:48:17,440 emphasized about Ahab. Verse 31. 758 00:48:18,600 --> 00:48:21,040 Look at how the spirit inspired the author to write this. 759 00:48:21,440 --> 00:48:24,080 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the 760 00:48:24,080 --> 00:48:27,560 sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, he took for his wife 761 00:48:27,880 --> 00:48:33,680 Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbao, king of the Cydonians. 762 00:48:34,480 --> 00:48:37,720 It's like, as though it wasn't enough for him to do what 763 00:48:37,720 --> 00:48:40,360 Jeroboam did. You know what Ahab did? 764 00:48:40,720 --> 00:48:42,600 He married a woman named Jezebel. 765 00:48:43,800 --> 00:48:46,560 For somebody to speak like that about your wife says something 766 00:48:46,560 --> 00:48:51,400 about your wife says something about this woman, and you're 767 00:48:51,520 --> 00:48:58,000 going to discover that. Though Ahab imitated the faults 768 00:48:58,000 --> 00:49:02,560 of many perform, including Solomon, who imported much 769 00:49:02,560 --> 00:49:05,800 idolatry through his political marriage alliances, the 770 00:49:05,800 --> 00:49:08,560 impression that you're supposed to get by reading this is that 771 00:49:08,560 --> 00:49:12,240 Jezebel is going to cause more problems than Solomon's 1000 772 00:49:12,240 --> 00:49:17,200 wives combined. She's going to cause more issues 773 00:49:17,200 --> 00:49:20,360 to the Kingdom of Israel than all those other women who 774 00:49:20,360 --> 00:49:24,720 preceded her. And that is something that you 775 00:49:24,720 --> 00:49:26,040 and I have to brace ourselves for. 776 00:49:26,040 --> 00:49:27,640 And we get a hint of it already here. 777 00:49:27,720 --> 00:49:30,920 Notice verse 31. Jezebel, the daughter of Ethel, 778 00:49:30,920 --> 00:49:34,560 king of the Cydonians. And the next part is meant to 779 00:49:34,560 --> 00:49:37,920 show us that because of Jezebel's influence over Ahab, 780 00:49:37,920 --> 00:49:41,600 this is what happens. And went and served Baal and 781 00:49:41,600 --> 00:49:43,480 worshipped him. Look at verse 32. 782 00:49:43,720 --> 00:49:48,080 He erected an altar for Baal in the House of Baal, which he 783 00:49:48,080 --> 00:49:54,160 built in Samaria. Now we've seen kings before this 784 00:49:54,400 --> 00:49:58,320 build temples and high places and stations of false worship 785 00:49:58,320 --> 00:50:01,720 here and there. But what we're supposed to see 786 00:50:01,720 --> 00:50:07,120 here is that Ahab takes it to another level, because Ahab does 787 00:50:07,120 --> 00:50:11,920 build this House of worship, but in the capital city of the 788 00:50:11,920 --> 00:50:16,160 northern Kingdom. And though most of these wicked 789 00:50:16,160 --> 00:50:20,080 kings are being compared to Jeroboam, when Jeroboam 790 00:50:20,080 --> 00:50:22,880 introduced idolatry to the northern tribes, he made an 791 00:50:22,880 --> 00:50:28,800 attempt to try to refashion the religion of Yahweh. 792 00:50:29,640 --> 00:50:32,640 And so he tried to incorporate this thing with the truth that 793 00:50:32,640 --> 00:50:34,920 they were familiar with. He tried to even mimic the 794 00:50:34,920 --> 00:50:38,400 feasts and all of that, right? So he's trying to do this thing 795 00:50:38,400 --> 00:50:43,840 where you get the flavor of the Lord's truth, and he's bleeding 796 00:50:43,840 --> 00:50:47,240 it in with his own ideas. But that's not what what Ahab 797 00:50:47,240 --> 00:50:50,080 does. Ahab is not looking to 798 00:50:50,080 --> 00:50:51,720 integrate. He's not looking to mingle. 799 00:50:51,720 --> 00:50:55,040 He's not looking to any of that. Ahab is looking to completely 800 00:50:55,040 --> 00:50:59,600 replace Yahweh from the minds and the devotions and the 801 00:50:59,600 --> 00:51:05,400 worship of the nation of Israel. So he under Jezebel's leading 802 00:51:06,040 --> 00:51:10,520 institutes, Baal worship, listen as the state religion for 803 00:51:10,520 --> 00:51:15,040 Israel. And Jezebel would be so 804 00:51:15,040 --> 00:51:19,760 ferocious in her pursuit of wanting Baal to be recognized 805 00:51:20,440 --> 00:51:23,760 that she will even hunt down the prophets of the Lord, as you and 806 00:51:23,760 --> 00:51:25,680 I are about to discover in the coming chapters. 807 00:51:26,880 --> 00:51:30,960 So this is a a new campaign, a new kind of campaign where 808 00:51:32,240 --> 00:51:35,680 Israel's existence as being distinct, as a covenant people 809 00:51:36,160 --> 00:51:37,640 is now on the brink of extinction. 810 00:51:38,920 --> 00:51:43,480 This is serious, this is severe, this is heartbreaking. 811 00:51:43,960 --> 00:51:48,280 Jericho, he laid its foundation at the cost of a Byram, his 812 00:51:48,280 --> 00:51:51,200 first bullet. Cursed be the man who rebuilds 813 00:51:51,200 --> 00:51:56,200 the walls of the city, and cursed be the man who rebuilds 814 00:51:56,200 --> 00:51:58,520 it. At what cost? 815 00:51:58,520 --> 00:52:02,800 At the cost of his first born shall he lay its foundation, and 816 00:52:02,800 --> 00:52:06,040 at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates. 817 00:52:06,040 --> 00:52:13,360 There was a permanent perpetual curse looming over the people if 818 00:52:13,360 --> 00:52:17,320 anyone would entertain and execute the resurrection of the 819 00:52:17,320 --> 00:52:21,240 city of Jericho, and this man does it. 820 00:52:23,160 --> 00:52:26,520 But what's the connection? Look at the 1st 3 words of verse 821 00:52:26,520 --> 00:52:29,000 34. In his days. 822 00:52:29,000 --> 00:52:30,680 Whose days? The days of Ahab. 823 00:52:32,320 --> 00:52:33,560 You know what this is meant to convey. 824 00:52:33,920 --> 00:52:38,960 Ahab as a leader created such an atmosphere in such an 825 00:52:38,960 --> 00:52:42,280 environment that it encouraged people to do the unthinkable. 826 00:52:44,280 --> 00:52:46,040 Leaders have that kind of an influence. 827 00:52:46,840 --> 00:52:51,680 You have this individual here who felt confident enough to 828 00:52:51,680 --> 00:52:55,200 challenge God's curse and check this out. 829 00:52:55,880 --> 00:52:59,200 At the laying of the foundation, the eldest dies and he doesn't 830 00:52:59,200 --> 00:53:02,800 even stop there. He continues to complete the 831 00:53:02,800 --> 00:53:06,600 project at the death and at the cost of his other son's life. 832 00:53:07,720 --> 00:53:11,200 You're saying what wouldn't Hail be familiar with this curse? 833 00:53:11,800 --> 00:53:15,280 Most likely. But what does it mean for 834 00:53:15,280 --> 00:53:19,960 somebody to do such a thing, even at the price of losing his 835 00:53:19,960 --> 00:53:23,560 sons, when you have been living in an environment where you're 836 00:53:23,560 --> 00:53:26,440 conditioned to sacrifice your children? 837 00:53:28,240 --> 00:53:30,800 That's what people were doing day in and day out around them. 838 00:53:31,200 --> 00:53:33,840 And so it meant nothing at this point of Israel's history to 839 00:53:33,840 --> 00:53:36,240 give up your children. We've been doing this in the 840 00:53:36,240 --> 00:53:37,960 Northern Kingdom for quite some time. 841 00:53:38,120 --> 00:53:40,760 And so it was effortless. It wasn't even a second thought 842 00:53:40,960 --> 00:53:47,400 to do this grievous thing. And really what this meant to 843 00:53:47,400 --> 00:53:52,200 show us is to give us just a little taste of the path that 844 00:53:52,200 --> 00:53:54,600 Ahab as a ruler was leading this people into. 845 00:53:56,920 --> 00:54:01,800 And at the same time, I would say that this is an act of God's 846 00:54:01,800 --> 00:54:08,240 mercy towards Ahab, because in God honoring his word by 847 00:54:08,240 --> 00:54:11,680 executing judgment in the way that he prophesied many 848 00:54:11,680 --> 00:54:13,560 generations ago. You know what that would 849 00:54:13,560 --> 00:54:19,200 communicate to Ahab and Jezebel? I take my word seriously. 850 00:54:20,960 --> 00:54:24,800 I'm not playing around here. Ahab Jezebel, you think that you 851 00:54:24,800 --> 00:54:27,560 can bring in Baal to eclipse my glory in this place? 852 00:54:28,000 --> 00:54:31,080 Realize that by doing so, and let me show you by way of 853 00:54:31,080 --> 00:54:34,720 example, that I am looking at you. 854 00:54:34,720 --> 00:54:38,440 I'm marking you, and I will execute vengeance against you. 855 00:54:39,760 --> 00:54:43,000 If anything, like we've seen with Jeroboam, this was meant to 856 00:54:43,000 --> 00:54:47,720 awaken Ahab to his senses and to repent before he he met a 857 00:54:47,720 --> 00:54:51,400 similar fate and they would meet similar fates in years to come. 858 00:54:53,560 --> 00:54:56,520 Here's an here's a practical truth you could draw from this 859 00:54:56,520 --> 00:54:59,640 and seeing he all do this under the leadership of Ahab. 860 00:54:59,680 --> 00:55:02,560 Leaders have to realize this sobering rule. 861 00:55:05,400 --> 00:55:08,680 As a leader, you are leading people in a direction whether 862 00:55:08,680 --> 00:55:10,640 you are intending to do so or not. 863 00:55:11,400 --> 00:55:15,920 By people choosing to submit under your direction, you will 864 00:55:15,920 --> 00:55:18,400 bear the responsibility of where you lead. 865 00:55:18,400 --> 00:55:23,440 People do not covet the place of leadership, my friend, And those 866 00:55:23,440 --> 00:55:26,960 who currently stand as leaders understand that there are souls 867 00:55:26,960 --> 00:55:29,160 under your care, especially if you're in the place of an elder. 868 00:55:31,360 --> 00:55:36,520 So this is a sobering reminder that your holiness can rub off 869 00:55:36,520 --> 00:55:39,040 on others, and your lack of holiness can equally rub off on 870 00:55:39,040 --> 00:55:42,480 others. What you do in your private 871 00:55:42,480 --> 00:55:45,440 life, what you do before the people of God, how you treat 872 00:55:45,440 --> 00:55:49,480 this word, all these things that you have to factor in does not 873 00:55:49,480 --> 00:55:53,040 remain with you. It will spill over to others. 874 00:55:53,320 --> 00:55:56,240 Now, that is the rule, a sobering one for leaders. 875 00:55:56,360 --> 00:55:58,960 But there's also a warning for those who are not leaders. 876 00:56:00,200 --> 00:56:02,600 For those who are not leaders, hear me very carefully. 877 00:56:02,920 --> 00:56:06,680 You have to make a conscious and calculated choice in your life, 878 00:56:06,680 --> 00:56:10,600 especially in your spiritual life, about which leadership you 879 00:56:10,600 --> 00:56:16,200 choose to sit under. People often ask what should I 880 00:56:16,200 --> 00:56:19,840 look for in a local church? And this is my go to answer. 881 00:56:21,120 --> 00:56:22,560 Look at the leadership of that church. 882 00:56:24,320 --> 00:56:25,960 Look at the leadership of the church because the leadership 883 00:56:25,960 --> 00:56:28,160 will ultimately determine the direction of that church. 884 00:56:30,400 --> 00:56:34,720 The leadership will ultimately determine the reverence and the 885 00:56:34,720 --> 00:56:38,200 esteem and the obedience and the standard of that local body. 886 00:56:38,200 --> 00:56:41,200 So if you want to know if this is a place that I want to commit 887 00:56:41,240 --> 00:56:45,320 to, look no further than those who are in charge and you'll get 888 00:56:45,320 --> 00:56:47,840 everything that you need to know about whether or not this church 889 00:56:47,840 --> 00:56:53,120 is healthy or not. So be careful who you choose to 890 00:56:53,120 --> 00:56:55,640 sit under. Be careful men, especially the 891 00:56:55,640 --> 00:56:59,120 men here who are now seeing not just the blessing of marriage, 892 00:56:59,120 --> 00:57:01,200 but the blessing of babies coming into your life. 893 00:57:01,360 --> 00:57:04,880 You have to also make a choice today, tomorrow, every day for 894 00:57:04,880 --> 00:57:07,120 the rest of your life, as long as you're in this world. 895 00:57:08,120 --> 00:57:12,080 Who am I going to allow to speak spiritual truths to my family 896 00:57:12,080 --> 00:57:18,600 every week? These are things that we must 897 00:57:18,680 --> 00:57:21,640 give ear to. And this is not going to be the 898 00:57:21,640 --> 00:57:25,200 last time we hear of Ahab. In fact, for the rest of the 899 00:57:25,200 --> 00:57:29,240 Book of First Kings, he's going to be the main feature of 900 00:57:29,240 --> 00:57:33,400 Israel's history at this time. And I'm excited to see what God 901 00:57:33,400 --> 00:57:37,560 does when a leadership from a governmental standpoint, from a 902 00:57:37,560 --> 00:57:41,040 spiritual leadership standpoint goes S what does God do? 903 00:57:41,040 --> 00:57:43,120 You know what you're going to discover in First Kings 17? 904 00:57:43,680 --> 00:57:47,000 He raises up men of God. I'm excited to get there. 905 00:57:47,200 --> 00:57:49,040 Let's thank God for this Bible study, please. 906 00:58:01,250 --> 00:58:07,850 Well, we know that it is not often that we examine a portion 907 00:58:07,850 --> 00:58:10,770 of Scripture at this rate and at this pace, but we trust that 908 00:58:10,770 --> 00:58:16,960 what's been said did something to our hearts. 909 00:58:17,920 --> 00:58:19,840 And Lord, we pray that these truths would not be easily 910 00:58:19,840 --> 00:58:23,120 forgotten, but we would have recall and we would be able to 911 00:58:23,120 --> 00:58:27,720 remember them. We were able to connect them 912 00:58:27,720 --> 00:58:29,800 with other truths. We were able to see the harmony 913 00:58:29,800 --> 00:58:32,200 and the Symphony of the Word of God as we personally study 914 00:58:32,200 --> 00:58:33,760 through it. And as we study through it 915 00:58:33,760 --> 00:58:38,840 together, many truths from so many angles have come to us. 916 00:58:38,840 --> 00:58:41,840 Lord, help us apply what you want us to apply. 917 00:58:44,960 --> 00:58:47,480 And Lord, at the close of this service, we are grateful for the 918 00:58:47,480 --> 00:58:50,360 weekly reminder that there is no King like the Lord Jesus Christ. 919 00:58:51,120 --> 00:58:53,160 Now we worship him in spirit and in truth. 920 00:58:53,160 --> 00:58:57,760 As we look to you in song, in Jesus name we pray, Amen. 921 00:58:58,080 --> 00:58:59,840 There is no king like King Jesus. 922 00:59:00,400 --> 00:59:02,400 Let's stand and worship him because he's the living King.