1 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:05,800 I'm aware that our time together on Friday nights is a Bible 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:09,240 study format, and it's probably not the typical Bible study 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:12,400 format because we have quite a bit of people here and usually 4 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:14,760 Bible studies a little bit more interactive, but it seems to be 5 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:16,560 working for us. So we're continuing in this 6 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:20,200 format. But if this was a sermon that I 7 00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:24,240 was preaching, if this was the text that I would preach for a 8 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:28,040 sermon, I would likely title it the following. 9 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:33,360 Is it peace? Is it peace? 10 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:36,960 And the reason for that is because that is the recurring 11 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:40,960 question that appears in the section of Second Kings Chapter 12 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:43,440 9. Is it peace? 13 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:46,000 I want you to. See it with me Second Kings 14 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:52,400 Chapter 917, the second part. And Drem said, take a horseman 15 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:57,280 and send to meet them, and let him say, is it peace? 16 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:01,680 Look at the next verse. So a man on horseback went to 17 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:06,320 meet him and said, Thus says the king, is it peace? 18 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:09,720 Look at Chapter 9 verse 19, the very next verse. 19 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:12,400 Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them, and 20 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:17,200 said, Thus the king has said, Is it peace? 21 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:23,520 Look at verse 22 and when dreams saw Jehu, he said is it peace 22 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:30,560 Jehu? Second Kings 931 And as Ju 23 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:34,720 entered the gate, she said that being Jezebel, is it peace, 24 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:41,720 usimery, murder of your master? Although this repeated question 25 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:47,160 is tied to a very specific situation, I am convinced that 26 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:50,480 there is a deeper, more universal truth attached to it. 27 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:56,600 Because you see, Joram, who is the son of Ahab, is obviously 28 00:01:56,600 --> 00:02:01,440 hoping that he is able to maintain and achieve this level 29 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:06,360 of peace for his household and his Kingdom in a time of great 30 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:10,479 uncertainty. But what Joram failed to 31 00:02:10,479 --> 00:02:15,560 understand is what Isaiah declares in Isaiah 4822. 32 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:17,960 You don't have to turn there. You know it very well. 33 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:21,920 There is no peace, declares the Lord. 34 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:26,760 For who? For the wicked, there is no 35 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:32,040 peace, declares the Lord. For the wicked, as it says, it's 36 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:35,640 more than once in his writings. And it essentially means that 37 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:42,960 the godless are denied elevated, lasting heavenly peace, because 38 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:47,560 that kind of peace is solely reserved for the righteous. 39 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:53,520 And Jerem was not righteous, but he thought that he had the right 40 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:59,040 to expect this kind of peace while living in defiance of the 41 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:04,360 word of the Lord. And he's about to discover that 42 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:07,880 this illusion was nothing short of deception. 43 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:12,200 Living in sin forfeits heavenly peace. 44 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:14,960 It does always. And we can almost sense that 45 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:20,960 Jerem is trying to manage this insecurity and the suspicion 46 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:25,080 that's so suffocating. And whatever fears that he had, 47 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,160 at least at this point of his reign, are going to be realized 48 00:03:28,920 --> 00:03:31,200 because there is another individual in this story named 49 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:33,840 Jehu. Is one of his top commanders who 50 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:37,000 is not going to waste any time of fulfilling what he was 51 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:41,840 anointed to do, and that was to bring complete destruction to 52 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:46,240 the House of Ahab. And so that's what we're going 53 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:50,040 to see today, the beginning of a campaign that has been foretold. 54 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:54,360 Judgement has arrived to the House of Ahab, and I want us to 55 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:57,560 consider it in greater detail as we read now from verse 14. 56 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:00,960 We concluded in verse 13 last week, so let's begin in verse 14 57 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,880 together. Thus Jehu the son of 58 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:07,400 Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. 59 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:11,520 Now Jaram, with all Israel, had been on guard at Ramoth Gilead 60 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:15,720 against Hazael, King of Syria. But King Jaram had returned to 61 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:18,839 be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Syrians had 62 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:22,240 given him when he fought with Hazael, King of Syria. 63 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:27,200 So Jehu said, if this is your decision, then let no one slip 64 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:31,280 out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel. 65 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:35,720 This section begins by reminding us that Jaram. 66 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:39,440 Who is formerly and commonly known as Jeho Ram, Same 67 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:42,600 individual. The king of Israel was at war 68 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:46,200 with Syria and during one of the the scrimmages, he was injured. 69 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:49,040 And so he retreats to an area called Jezreel. 70 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:53,280 And while he's there in Jezreel, we learned that Jehu was 71 00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:55,960 anointed to be the next king in Israel. 72 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:59,760 And when he is anointed, he tells those who accept his 73 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,200 anointing. Let this news go nowhere. 74 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:05,400 We don't want it to reach Jezreel because we want to catch 75 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:09,440 this man by surprise. And so this is the goal. 76 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:13,200 And here's the thing. You have this man Jehu, who's 77 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:14,320 ready to come. He. 78 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:18,320 Keeps it a secret and Joran doesn't see it coming. 79 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:21,760 Unsuspecting, completely unsuspecting. 80 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:24,800 And he would say, yes, it's because it was concealed. 81 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:29,800 Sure, it's concealed, but he's so preoccupied with this enemy 82 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:33,000 called Syria that he forgets that there's another danger just 83 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,160 around the corner. And though we may forgive him 84 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:40,080 for that, I believe Joram could have been better prepared. 85 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:43,200 How? How could the king of Israel be 86 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:45,160 better prepared for this potential threat? 87 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:49,400 Because God already foretold through the mouth of one of his 88 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:53,560 prophets that destruction was coming to the House of Ahab. 89 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:57,400 Let me show you that again in first Kings 21 when Elijah 90 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:02,760 prophesied to Ahab and look at verse 21 and 1st Kings 21, 91 00:06:08,220 --> 00:06:12,100 Elijah tells Ahab, behold, I will bring disaster upon you. 92 00:06:12,540 --> 00:06:15,140 I will utterly burn you up and we'll. 93 00:06:15,140 --> 00:06:21,240 Cut off from Ahab every male bond or free in Israel, and I 94 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:23,880 will make your house like the House of Jeroboam, the son of 95 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:27,440 Nabat, and like the House of Asha, the son of Ahijah. 96 00:06:27,840 --> 00:06:30,320 For the anger to which you have provoked me, because you have 97 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:35,000 made Israel to sin. No, the judgment wasn't just for 98 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:37,120 Ahab. It was to his household. 99 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:40,400 For every male. They were to expect this kind of 100 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:44,200 discipline. And this is a public prophecy. 101 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:47,320 This is not something that was privately proclaimed. 102 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:51,320 We're going to learn that even Jehu himself was in the presence 103 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:53,160 of Elijah when he said this to Ahab. 104 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:54,960 We're going to see that later on in Second Kings 9. 105 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:59,040 So this was made known. So it's highly probable that 106 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:04,360 Ahab's descendants, at least his close descendants, were aware of 107 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:06,760 this declaration against their dynasty. 108 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:12,920 So there's a great chance that even Joram knew of what was. 109 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:15,480 Going to take place, at least what was predicted to take 110 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:18,480 place. And if that is true, then what 111 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:23,160 do we make of Durham that he completely ignored this warning. 112 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:26,800 He did not take heed. He did not take it seriously. 113 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:32,000 And it's so obvious here that he resembles the millions even 114 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,920 today who will be caught by surprise when God's promise of 115 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:42,040 judgment will come to pass. Sinners will not be caught by 116 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:44,760 surprise because they are merely unaware. 117 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:48,560 Like Elijah's prophecy, God's Word has been given to us 118 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:52,000 beforehand. Even the end of all things has 119 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:55,840 been told in great detail. It's because people chose to 120 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:59,280 ignore what God's Word had to say, and they chose not to apply 121 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:00,200 it. They chose not to take it 122 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:02,400 seriously. They chose, like Johan, to get 123 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:05,760 more caught up with what's in front of them, failing to 124 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:07,400 realize what's. Looming over them. 125 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:12,000 This man, yes, he was caught up in a real battle here with 126 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:15,120 Syria, but there was something that was foretold that he had to 127 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:16,880 be prepared for. And the best way to be prepared 128 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:19,440 for was not to fight against Jehu, but to repent and get 129 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:21,680 right with. God, but he doesn't do that, 130 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:25,120 does He? Well, let's read on in verse 16 131 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:29,640 of Second Kings 9. Then Jehu mounted his chariot 132 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:35,880 and went to Jezreel, for Jaram lay there, and Isaiah, king of 133 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:38,280 Judah, had come down to visit Joram. 134 00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:42,240 How tempting is it to read past this verse and just continue 135 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:45,400 with this story? What questions should you have 136 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:49,440 in reading verse 16 alone? Here's my question. 137 00:08:49,680 --> 00:08:53,680 What is the king of Judah doing visiting the king of Israel? 138 00:08:54,800 --> 00:09:00,000 That's a legitimate inquiry. What is a Haziah doing making a 139 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:04,640 friendly visitation to this rebellious king Joram? 140 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,800 You don't have to guess, but you do have to turn somewhere else. 141 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:13,320 It's in Second Kings chapter 8. Just one chapter before this we 142 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:17,840 learn of the relations between Haziah and Joram. 143 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:24,720 Second Kings, 8/26. Isaiah was 22 years old when he 144 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:27,760 began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. 145 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:33,000 His mother's name was Athalia. She was a granddaughter of Omri, 146 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:36,320 king of Israel. He also walked in the way of the 147 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:39,520 House of Ahab, and did what was evil in the side of the Lord, as 148 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:44,440 the House of Ahab had done, for he was the son-in-law to the 149 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:46,880 House of Ahab. There it is. 150 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:51,440 He's related by marriage, and so there is. 151 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:56,080 Friendly relations here and ASI is making his way to make a 152 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:58,960 friendly visit to this king. He's injured, he's sick, he's 153 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:06,280 not doing well, and Asiah's destiny here is going to take a 154 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:08,440 different route because of his association. 155 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:14,040 The tragedy of this is not just that he was married into this 156 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:16,560 family is that he imitated this family. 157 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:20,400 Did you catch how long he reigned in Judah for? 158 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:22,000 How long was it? One year. 159 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:24,240 Is that a long time? Not at all. 160 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:26,240 Do you know why he's only going to reign for one year? 161 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:28,120 Because he's going to be killed alongside Duran. 162 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:32,920 And there's a very important lesson here concerning the 163 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:35,320 caution of who we yoke ourselves to. 164 00:10:36,560 --> 00:10:37,960 Pay very close attention to this. 165 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:44,600 The associations you form with people can determine the destiny 166 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:49,440 that you have and really shape the future that you will not 167 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:54,040 foresee. As as premature death is not 168 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:57,440 because he was at the wrong place in the wrong time, it was 169 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:01,160 the consequence of a personal choice that he made to entertain 170 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:03,280 a relationship that he should not have entertained. 171 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:05,160 That's what's going to happen here. 172 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:07,680 It's the outcome of a former decision. 173 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:13,200 And if we are not careful, you and I also can sabotage areas of 174 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:18,680 our lives, even our life altogether due to being 175 00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:21,640 unequally yoked. And when you hear unequally 176 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:23,440 yoked, we tend to limit that. To what? 177 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:26,400 Marriage. That's not even the context of 178 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:28,240 which Paul gave that instruction. 179 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:31,960 It was towards all believers, ungodly. 180 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:34,840 Business relationships includes that. 181 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:43,000 Partnerships in terms of just friendships, colleagues and of 182 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:46,080 course wrong romantic ties. It includes all of that. 183 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:47,880 And from the very beginning of this. 184 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:51,080 Book. You'll see over and over God 185 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:54,240 providing warning and instruction of this truth in our 186 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:57,680 lives, even in the most subtle, obscure ways. 187 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:00,760 In fact, I'm going to ask you to turn to a passage that is 188 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:05,240 frequently quoted by skeptics to try to pin you as a Christian in 189 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:08,320 a corner for being inconsistent in your walk with God. 190 00:12:08,560 --> 00:12:10,280 Right? So if you're a Christian here 191 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:12,960 who doesn't believe that a man should be in a relationship with 192 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:16,600 a man in terms of romance or marriage or sexual relations, 193 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:20,840 what tends to be the comeback? Back from those who know very 194 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:22,720 little, the Bible. So do you wear different 195 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:26,000 material clothings? Do you eat shellfish? 196 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:29,880 Have you heard those? OK, let's turn to that passage 197 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:31,160 and see what God really meant for them. 198 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:34,000 For that, look at Deuteronomy 22, verse 9. 199 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:39,280 Here are a few instructions for the people of Israel. 200 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:48,480 And these are daily practices served as object lessons with 201 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:50,600 spiritual significance for this nation. 202 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:56,640 Look at Deuteronomy 22, verse 9. You shall not sow your vineyard 203 00:12:56,640 --> 00:13:00,440 with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited. 204 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:04,200 The crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard. 205 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:09,040 You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. 206 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:14,520 You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together. 207 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:19,080 So these are daily things that the Israelites would engage in. 208 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:21,960 Everything from putting clothes on your back, to working out in 209 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:25,560 the field, to putting together your instruments to accomplish 210 00:13:25,560 --> 00:13:28,680 certain tasks. And over and over we see this 211 00:13:28,680 --> 00:13:31,160 repeated theme in different spheres of life. 212 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:34,120 What God is trying to teach His people through these objects 213 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:38,760 lessons is a necessity of His people being separate, being 214 00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:42,640 consecrated, not mingling with that which is unholy. 215 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:46,200 Now that's the moral lesson of these verses, but there are also 216 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:49,440 practical lessons in them. So you see here the instructions 217 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:52,440 for not sowing your vineyard with two kinds of seed. 218 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:55,320 And that might. Seem helpful, that might seem 219 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:59,160 beneficial, effective, but there can be problems when you have 220 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:02,360 different kinds of plantation now that grow at different 221 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:05,440 speeds that demand different nutrients that might even rob 222 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:08,320 one another of those nutrients. You get a hint of that in one of 223 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:11,560 Jesus parables, right, where you have the wheat and the tares 224 00:14:11,560 --> 00:14:13,640 growing together and how that made far farming much more 225 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:16,160 difficult. So the the practical instruction 226 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:19,480 here in many cases is that if you don't do this right, you can 227 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:22,120 actually be inefficient. And this can be even more 228 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:23,920 frustrating for you than it needs to be. 229 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:27,320 Farming itself is difficult. Don't make it more challenging. 230 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:31,600 That practical wisdom continues with the next command. 231 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:35,160 Don't put an ox with a donkey under one yoke. 232 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:37,640 Why? Those are two different beasts 233 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:39,920 that that function differently, right? 234 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:43,480 Different strengths, different capacities, different abilities. 235 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:46,520 You put them together, they're going to get frustrated and 236 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:48,480 that's going to make your work inefficient and more 237 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:51,240 frustrating. OK, what about the last one? 238 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:56,520 Don't mix wool with linen. Again, We got to think deeply 239 00:14:56,520 --> 00:14:59,720 about this year, or else we're just going to feel intimidated 240 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:01,560 when people bring this up to us and say, I don't know what it 241 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:04,000 means for me as a Christian. No, no, no, you have to look 242 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:06,960 deeper into this. Would you wear wool when it's 243 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:08,200 harder? When it's cold? 244 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:10,400 Usually when it's cold, you're wool. 245 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:12,320 Wool, right? What do you usually wear when 246 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:14,960 it's hot outside? Would it be linen or wool? 247 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:18,720 OK, so to mix wool and linen would do what? 248 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:21,400 You would cause these materials to essentially work against each 249 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:24,240 other. Wool is meant for one thing, 250 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:26,560 linen is meant for another. That to put. 251 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:30,200 These things together would work against the purposes that they 252 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:34,760 were designed for. So you have these bullet point 253 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:38,720 form kind of illustrations, real instructions, but deeper truths 254 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:42,840 behind them and telling us don't make life more frustrating for 255 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:47,320 yourself as a Christian. Don't don't do anything. 256 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:52,280 Don't mingle with individuals that make you fruitless, less 257 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:57,160 effective, stronger. You want to be able to give all 258 00:15:57,160 --> 00:16:00,480 that you can, and that includes being very wise in who you yoke 259 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,160 yourself to, who you mingle your life with. 260 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:08,760 And so you have Joram here who has no problem yoking himself to 261 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:11,240 his eye, but is eye from the line of David should have been 262 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:15,120 much more cautious. Maybe it wasn't his choice to be 263 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,520 mingled with his family, but he did have a choice of setting up 264 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:23,520 the boundaries and not making his part work against him by 265 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:26,560 participating actively with this dynasty. 266 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:29,120 And So what you're going to discover here is that this man 267 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:30,360 is going to get. Himself in trouble. 268 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:32,880 He's going to lose out so much. He only reigned one year. 269 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:36,760 But here's the positive thing. In choosing to trust God's 270 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:42,320 wisdom, the opposite will be true, that you can position 271 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:47,840 yourself for a more prosperous and protective flourishing of an 272 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:49,960 abundant life. And that's actually what you see 273 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:52,400 in a subtle way in the next few verses of this story. 274 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:56,360 So you have Ahaziah who chooses to link himself with Joram. 275 00:16:56,600 --> 00:17:00,760 But notice what happens here in verse 17 in Second Kings 9. 276 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:07,440 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw 277 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:12,280 the company of Jehu as he came and said, I see a company, and 278 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:14,839 Joram said take a horseman and send to meet. 279 00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:17,640 Them and let him say, Is it peace? 280 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:21,160 So a man on horseback went to meet him and said, Thus says the 281 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:24,760 king, is it peace? And Jehu said, What do you have 282 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:28,119 to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me. 283 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,640 And the watchman reported saying the messenger reached them but 284 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:34,600 he's not coming back. Then he sent out a second 285 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:38,360 horseman who came to them and said thus says or thus the king 286 00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:41,440 has said is it peace? And Jay who answered What do you 287 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:46,120 have to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me. 288 00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:51,840 So 2 horsemen are sent from Joran to inquire of the 289 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:56,320 suspicious arrival. You have Jay who coming with a 290 00:17:56,320 --> 00:17:59,600 band of soldiers. Joe, I'm a little nervous, maybe 291 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:01,120 confused. Remember, this is one of his 292 00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:03,200 commanders. Is he here to bring good news 293 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:08,120 about the war with Syria? But he is more suspicious than 294 00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:09,840 that. He wants to know, hey, are you 295 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:14,160 coming with peaceful intent? And both times, Jehu answers the 296 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:17,200 same way. He asked the rhetorical 297 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:19,680 question, what do you have to do with peace? 298 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:22,480 Now, this can be understood in two ways. 299 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:26,200 The first way is that he is simply confirming that he is not 300 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:30,320 coming with peace. He's not coming for peace, he's 301 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:33,640 coming with justified violent uprising. 302 00:18:35,120 --> 00:18:38,640 But the second meaning here I believe it's that is that it's a 303 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:42,760 personal question to challenge these individual horsemen. 304 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:46,920 In other words, you can almost translate it in the following 305 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:52,320 way. Why do you want to be a part of 306 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:57,120 this Kingdom that is superficial and sinful? 307 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:01,280 Why do you want to be at peace with this kind of a system? 308 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:04,560 If that's hard for you to understand that this is a 309 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:07,480 personal challenge, notice that he follows it with an invitation 310 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:11,440 to do what right behind me. Join this side. 311 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:13,440 What do you have to do with this? 312 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:16,520 And these horsemen, they chose wisely. 313 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:20,200 So again you see this contrast. You have this king in Judah who 314 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:23,840 chooses unwisely, and you have these subordinate men who choose 315 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:28,840 wisely and they choose to side on God's anointed one. 316 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:33,840 But what's interesting here is when we consider it more for our 317 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:38,360 own lives and in the context of the church, Jehu's question is a 318 00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:40,600 valid one for every Sinner to ask themselves. 319 00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:44,240 Every person who knows, they might know about the Lord, they 320 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:47,480 know they might know about Christ, but they themselves know 321 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:52,920 I am not aligned with this King, with his Kingdom. 322 00:19:53,360 --> 00:19:57,800 I'm a part of the worldly system, a way of life and 323 00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:01,200 unbelief. Ask yourself this, if that's 324 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:06,040 you, that's you listening, why? Why? 325 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:09,600 Are you there? Why do you choose to be a part 326 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:12,240 of that? Why not come to the side of 327 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:13,560 truth? Why not give your life to 328 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:15,920 Christ? Sincerely ask yourself that 329 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:17,440 question. Why? 330 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:22,160 Why are you at peace with that which is against God, in enmity 331 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:24,480 with God, in defiance of God? Why? 332 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:28,960 Now this is not just a question that we should ask sinners. 333 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:31,720 This is a question that from time to time believers should 334 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:34,320 ask themselves, especially when they find themselves tempted 335 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:36,920 with sin. I want to show you one of my 336 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:40,560 favorite verses to wield in times of temptation. 337 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:45,080 It's another question in the New Testament that Paul asked 338 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:48,400 believers. So Jehu asked these horsemen 339 00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:51,440 questions. Paul asked the Corinthian church 340 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,160 another question that if you answer honestly. 341 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:57,280 Will. Give you the strength to know 342 00:20:57,280 --> 00:20:59,880 great strides in your sanctification, especially when 343 00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:02,120 you're facing any kind of seduction. 344 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:05,400 The book of Romans, chapter 6, verse 21. 345 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:11,400 Oh, memorize this one. What does Paul ask the believers 346 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:14,840 then and now? But what fruit were you getting 347 00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:19,120 at the time from the things of which you are now ashamed? 348 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:22,760 For the end of those things is death. 349 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:28,440 Do you understand the question? He's speaking about how 350 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:33,360 believers go from death to life and how they should die to sin. 351 00:21:34,120 --> 00:21:36,840 But I think it's totally appropriate to take this verse 352 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:41,000 and make it a perpetual question for your own life. 353 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:44,080 Whenever you are being seduced by sin. 354 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:46,400 Ask yourself this. Because, listen, one of the 355 00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:48,960 reasons many fall into temptation is that they only 356 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:52,880 think of the moment. Is that not true? 357 00:21:53,360 --> 00:21:55,880 You're only thinking about now what this going to offer you in 358 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:58,440 the short term. How often do people in the midst 359 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:01,880 of temptation ask what what is the end of this thing? 360 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:05,000 Because that's what Paul says for the end of those things is 361 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:06,840 death. Death. 362 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:10,520 Think beyond the moment. Think beyond a month from now. 363 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:13,560 Think beyond a year from now. Think long term. 364 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:17,560 What is this leading to? Where is this taking me? 365 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:22,280 And if you can answer that with sincerity, you will be a lot 366 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:26,400 more sober and how you are engaging with temptation. 367 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:30,840 There are clues throughout the Bible that indicate. 368 00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:33,400 This There's so many clues to tell us. 369 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:37,200 One of the most famous ones is Hebrews 11, where we're told 370 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:39,320 that sin is pleasurable. If it wasn't pleasurable, you 371 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:42,680 wouldn't be tempted, right? Let's be honest, sin does have a 372 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:45,000 level of pleasure attached to it. 373 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:49,680 But what does he say in Hebrews but a season it's but for a 374 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:52,560 season and that's that's an obvious first. 375 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:56,120 But here all these. Different ideas connected to it. 376 00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:00,360 One of the greatest things about the book of Proverbs is how 377 00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:04,280 practical it is, but I think sometimes people miss great 378 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:06,400 themes in it. One of the greatest themes in 379 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:09,360 the book of Proverbs connected to Wisdom is adultery. 380 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:14,000 And he says something quite interesting in Proverbs Chapter 381 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:18,200 7, verse 17, where he quotes in great detail the seduction of 382 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:21,680 the adulterous woman. And one part you read something 383 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:27,040 that is insightful not just about adultery, but about sin at 384 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:29,000 large. Listen to these words from 385 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:33,280 Proverbs 717. The woman says to the naive man, 386 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:37,800 I've perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. 387 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:41,400 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning. 388 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:43,880 Let us delight ourselves with love. 389 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:48,240 For my husband is not at home. He is gone on a long journey. 390 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:50,360 She continues, and there's more even before that. 391 00:23:51,120 --> 00:23:53,680 So she is seducing this young man, right? 392 00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:58,280 And she does so successfully. But in it you see that she 393 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:03,800 exposes the nature of this lust. In what way? 394 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:06,800 Look at verse 18 again. Come. 395 00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:11,280 Let us take our fill of love until when it only lasts till 396 00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:15,560 the morning. It's not true love. 397 00:24:16,120 --> 00:24:21,160 It doesn't really satisfy, It's not constant, it's not God's 398 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:22,640 will. It doesn't offer the pleasure 399 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:26,760 you think it offers. So even in this where she seems 400 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:29,440 to be painting this wonderful picture that we're going to have 401 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:32,520 this intense moment of ecstasy all night long, what she's 402 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:35,080 really saying is it has an expiration date and it's it's a 403 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:38,960 lot sooner than you imagine. Doesn't go beyond the morning 404 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:43,640 sin is short lived with its satisfaction. 405 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:47,160 And see, you have to see this in the Bible and you have to from 406 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:51,040 time to time, if not every day, ask yourself not what does it 407 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,560 give me now? What does it give me for these 408 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:55,400 next few hours or until the next day? 409 00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:58,840 What's the end of it? What will it produce? 410 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:02,600 What will it unleash? And here's what you'll discover 411 00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:05,320 that the consequences of sin always outlive the pleasure it 412 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:08,320 offers always. No matter what the sin is, 413 00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:11,480 whether it's cheating on your finances, whether it's being a 414 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:14,640 vile person, whether it's being a bully in the workplace, no 415 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:18,200 matter what it is, it will always the consequences outlive 416 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:22,200 the pleasure or the prosperity may promise always. 417 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:25,720 And the Holy Spirit helps us overcome sin by encouraging us 418 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:28,600 to reflect what this is actually produce. 419 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:32,680 What's the ultimate outcome? And it didn't take very long for 420 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:36,320 these two horsemen to get it. We're on the losing side, so 421 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:39,800 let's switch over here to Jehu, who is the Lord's anointed. 422 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:42,800 And they do that. So let's come back now to Second 423 00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:44,960 Kings 9 and discover what happens next. 424 00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:52,440 Verse 20 of Second Kings 9. Again, the watchman reported he 425 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:54,880 reached them, but he is not coming back. 426 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:57,680 And the driving is like the driving of Jehu, the son of 427 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:00,880 Nimshi, for he drives furiously. Wow, this guy had a reputation 428 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:06,880 the way he's driving that speed that looks like it's Jehu's car. 429 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:16,080 Good Watchmen verse 21 Jerem said make ready and they made 430 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:19,560 ready his chariot. Then Jerem king of Israel and as 431 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:23,120 I king of Judah set out each and his chariot and went to meet 432 00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:27,160 Jehu and met him at the property of Nabeth the Jezreelite. 433 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:36,400 Wow, poetic justice, providential justice, the very 434 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:39,680 area, the very plot of land where Elijah prophesied. 435 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:44,080 The downfall of this house is where 1 of Ahab's descendants is 436 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:47,040 going to lose his life and it's going to trigger the downfall of 437 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:50,680 this household all together. Verse 22 And when Jeram saw 438 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:55,160 Jehu, he said is it peace Jehu? He answered, what peace can 439 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:58,720 there be, so long as the whorings and the sources of your 440 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:02,680 mother Jezebel are so many? Notice that he doesn't 441 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:05,840 necessarily accuse Ahab, at least upfront. 442 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:08,800 Primarily, this was Jezebel's doing. 443 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:14,680 Then Jerem reigned about and fled, saying to Eziah. 444 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:19,000 Treachery. Oh, Eziah and Jay, who drew his 445 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:22,200 bow with his full strength and shot Jerem between the 446 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:25,360 shoulders. So the arrow pierced his heart, 447 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:30,720 and he sank in his chariot. Jay, who said to bid car his 448 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:33,640 aid, Take him up and throw him on the plot of the ground 449 00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:35,720 belonging to Nabeth the Jezreelite. 450 00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:39,920 For remember when you and I rode side by side behind Ahab his 451 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:42,960 father, how the Lord made this pronouncement against him? 452 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:45,920 As surely as I saw yesterday, the blood of Nabeth and the 453 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:49,320 blood of his sons declares the Lord, I will repay you on this 454 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:53,160 plot of ground. Now therefore, take him up and 455 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:56,080 throw him on the plot of ground in accordance with the word of 456 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:58,920 the Lord. So based on this text, what we 457 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:02,520 learned is that in First Kings 21, when Elijah confronted Ahab, 458 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:06,200 Jehu and his assistant bid car were there. 459 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:08,280 They heard it with their own ears. 460 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:12,160 And as they are fulfilling what God had told Jehu to do, 461 00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:14,800 they're, they're making the connection of how God is 462 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,760 fulfilling his word every, every detail of it. 463 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:20,160 And he's going to continue to discover that in the rest of 464 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:23,160 this chapter. But what I want you to see is 465 00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:25,640 the last part. Now, therefore take him up and 466 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:29,160 throw him on the plot of ground in accordance with the word of 467 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:32,040 the Lord. JU had an intense zeal to 468 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:35,160 fulfill the word of the Lord. He heard it, but he's like, I 469 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:37,240 want to do it. I want, I want to fulfill every 470 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:41,760 part of it. And this zeal is admirable. 471 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:46,360 It's it's wonderful to see, but I want to give you a heads up 472 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:49,440 because Jehu's story is going to continue in the next chapter. 473 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:52,240 And what you're going to discover in Second Kings 10 is 474 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:54,600 that this man's zeal waned over time. 475 00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:59,560 As incredible as his obedience is, I mean, this is a gruesome 476 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:04,280 thing to accomplish, to slaughter an entire family as an 477 00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:07,440 act of justice. That's not easy. 478 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:12,400 He does it, but then you get this strange commentary when you 479 00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:15,800 read the review of this man's life, and it's just in the next 480 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:17,040 chapter. I want you to see it just to be 481 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:20,280 prepared, and it teaches a wonderful thing about finishing 482 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:23,480 well. Look at Second Kings 10 briefly 483 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:28,440 at verse 31, and consider this commentary about this king, 484 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:34,680 Second Kings 1031. But Jehu was not careful to walk 485 00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:39,720 in the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. 486 00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:43,960 That's the key. He did not turn from the sins of 487 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:47,200 Jeroboam, which he made Israel, to sin. 488 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:51,680 It's almost unthinkable. He was raised up by God to 489 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:56,000 destroy the House of Ahab for it to become like the House of 490 00:29:56,000 --> 00:30:01,160 Jeroboam and the House of Basha that promoted idolatry in the 491 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:02,640 land. And yet we're told about this 492 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:06,400 very one that He did not separate himself from those very 493 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:11,680 sins. The Bible is very honest, very 494 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:14,440 honest, and this is meant to sober us. 495 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:19,640 He started with incredible, precise passion, but He didn't 496 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:25,840 finish strong, finish well, finish for His glory. 497 00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:30,680 Ask Him day by day to supply the grace to end with a greater zeal 498 00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:33,880 that you had before. He's faithful to provide that. 499 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:39,480 Verse 27 and 2nd Kings 9. When as I, the king of Judah, 500 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:43,480 saw this, he fled in the direction of Beth Hagen. 501 00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:47,720 And Jehu pursued him, and said, Shoot him also. 502 00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:51,960 And they shot him in the chariot at the ascent of Gur, which is 503 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:55,680 by Iblyam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died 504 00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:58,000 there. His servants carried him in a 505 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:00,440 chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his tomb with his 506 00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:04,320 father's in the city of David. In the 11th year of Joram, the 507 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:07,440 son of Ahab, Ahaziah began to reign over Judah. 508 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:15,920 So Ahaziah dies and you read these details associated with 509 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:18,920 him and you might be wondering why are why are we told about 510 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:21,920 his lineage? It's not accidental. 511 00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:24,720 It's not just practice for historians. 512 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:28,600 I believe it's also to remind us something about Ahaziah's 513 00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:31,680 heritage and how that did not shield him from God's wrath. 514 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:38,600 Does that make sense? He had a rich spiritual lineage, 515 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:42,560 but that did not protect him from God's discipline. 516 00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:46,040 Why? Because God will evaluate your 517 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:50,600 life on a personal level, on an individual basis. 518 00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:54,920 So you and I cannot claim the faith of our parents. 519 00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:58,400 We cannot claim the faith of our spouses. 520 00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:03,840 We cannot claim the faith of our siblings who are spiritual and 521 00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:07,280 mighty examples. You, you cannot hide behind the 522 00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:11,000 recommendation of your pastor or any other spiritual leader. 523 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:15,040 The Lord will look at your life and mine and evaluate our 524 00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:18,720 decisions with whatever knowledge we had concerning His 525 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:20,520 will. It's as simple as that. 526 00:32:21,040 --> 00:32:24,840 So he was a descendant of David, but he only reigned one year. 527 00:32:24,840 --> 00:32:28,160 Was that God's will for him? It wasn't God's will for him. 528 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:31,320 In fact, when you read the parallel account, we don't have 529 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:32,680 to turn there in Second Chronicles. 530 00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:35,640 What you'll learn is that for those who might think, and there 531 00:32:35,640 --> 00:32:38,440 are those who might think, I think Jehu went a little too far 532 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:42,080 because he was instructed to kill the household of Ahab. 533 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:45,640 So why is he, why is he assassinating Ahaziah, who's the 534 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:49,400 king of Judah? And that debate is settled when 535 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:53,880 you go to Second Chronicles and realize that the Holy Spirit 536 00:32:53,880 --> 00:33:00,120 says this was approved by God. In other words, God ordained for 537 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:06,400 a his eye to die in this way. But we're going to spend most of 538 00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:08,520 our time the last portions of Second Kings 9. 539 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:10,280 That's why I'm reading through these verses. 540 00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:16,560 Verse 30, When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. 541 00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:21,240 Pause. So we have Joram, who's been put 542 00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:23,720 to death. You have Isaiah, who's been 543 00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:26,400 killed. But we realize that Jezreel is 544 00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:31,480 not emptied yet. Jezebel is in town. 545 00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:34,680 She didn't go away completely, did she? 546 00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:37,440 No, no, no, she's here. And that's no surprise to us. 547 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:39,000 Why? Because Jezreel was where the 548 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:45,760 palace of the royal family was. So Jezebel is here, the main 549 00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:48,080 troublemaker. And what do we learn about 550 00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:51,760 Jezebel? How she responds to the news of 551 00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:55,320 Jehu coming into town as God's judgement. 552 00:33:56,280 --> 00:33:59,920 She painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the 553 00:33:59,920 --> 00:34:03,720 window. She put on makeup. 554 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:08,880 I'm not against makeup. I just don't think this is the 555 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:13,520 most appropriate time to put on eyeliner and concealer and 556 00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:15,400 whatever other things people put on their faces. 557 00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:19,320 She's putting on makeup. For what? 558 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:24,040 I'll tell you for what. This is a symbolic gesture of 559 00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:29,199 her defiance of God's word. For her to do this, for her to 560 00:34:29,199 --> 00:34:33,360 adorn herself and to put on all of this is meant to communicate 561 00:34:33,679 --> 00:34:37,159 that she is upholding her perceived dignity. 562 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:40,719 And that even though she heard that Jehu is coming, even though 563 00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:44,719 she likely heard that Jaram was put to death and Isaiah was 564 00:34:44,719 --> 00:34:48,440 killed, she wants to show that she is somehow still in control. 565 00:34:49,880 --> 00:34:51,960 You can even say she's trying to seduce him, but I don't think 566 00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:53,679 that's the case because of what she says. 567 00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:57,760 But more than anything else, this is her making a statement. 568 00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:03,120 I'm still the queen here, and it doesn't matter what God wants. 569 00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:05,240 I'm going to just treat this like any other day. 570 00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:11,280 So let me put on my makeup, let me put on my crown, and let me 571 00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:13,960 look out the window as I would any other day. 572 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:17,120 And what happens? She's going to have a 573 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:20,240 confrontation with Jehu. But we're meant to see something 574 00:35:20,240 --> 00:35:23,840 about this woman's heart that the extent of her calloused 575 00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:27,480 heart, because this is not the only time where she received a 576 00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:31,360 visitation in Jezreel. So Mount Carmel, where there's 577 00:35:31,360 --> 00:35:34,440 that awesome showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. 578 00:35:35,080 --> 00:35:39,080 God unmistakably shows up with superior power. 579 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:45,600 Baal ISM is destroyed, at least to an extent, and the people bow 580 00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:49,120 their knee and they. Say the Lord, he is God, and now 581 00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:52,200 Elijah is going to make his way to Jezreel. 582 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:57,000 And to announce this to Jezebel himself, or at least. 583 00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:00,480 To go to Jezreel to anticipate repentance. 584 00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:09,120 So go to 1st Kings 19 and just in case you need to see it, look 585 00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:12,320 at the last verse of First Kings 18 right before First Kings 19. 586 00:36:12,320 --> 00:36:16,240 First Kings 1846 And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he 587 00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:19,440 gathered up his garment, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of 588 00:36:19,440 --> 00:36:22,760 Jezreel. So Elijah made his way to 589 00:36:22,760 --> 00:36:26,520 Jezreel and what happens in verse one of the next chapter, 590 00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:29,520 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how he had 591 00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:31,160 killed all the prophets with the sword. 592 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:35,280 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, So may the gods 593 00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:39,480 do to me, and more also if I do not make your life as the life 594 00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:41,480 of one of them by this time tomorrow. 595 00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:48,880 So from the days of Elijah when he came to Jezreel, to her last 596 00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:51,920 day on earth, this woman is determined to die before she 597 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:55,680 submits to the truth. She didn't submit to it when 598 00:36:55,680 --> 00:36:58,480 Elijah came with grace, was it not? 599 00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:02,680 Grace for God to come in the way that He came, without destroying 600 00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:05,680 her and her husband. Yes, it was grace. 601 00:37:06,240 --> 00:37:09,280 It was a mighty move of God. It did bring about some 602 00:37:09,280 --> 00:37:12,720 judgement on the prophets of Baal, but not on the instigator. 603 00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:16,920 And so she had a chance to see this display of majesty and for 604 00:37:16,920 --> 00:37:20,440 it to melt her heart and say, yes, the Lord, he is a true God. 605 00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:25,200 What did she do? She says you're a dead man and 606 00:37:25,200 --> 00:37:29,320 I'm quick and I'm ready to die before I give in to you and your 607 00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:32,560 cause. And then when God sends another 608 00:37:32,560 --> 00:37:36,800 man to Jezreel Jehu, not with grace but with what judgement, 609 00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:39,440 it doesn't move her either. So no matter what you gave this 610 00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:42,200 woman, she would not budget. And there are people like that. 611 00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:45,280 There are people like that. Doesn't matter what kind of 612 00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:47,960 miracle of mercy, it doesn't matter what kind of thunderous 613 00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:52,400 warning, they will not give themselves over to the gospel. 614 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:55,880 And that's just a tragic reality, a tragic truth that the 615 00:37:55,880 --> 00:37:59,840 Bible tells us of. So the Lord spares this woman 616 00:37:59,840 --> 00:38:03,120 before she doesn't give in. And time goes on, She doesn't 617 00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:05,160 repent. And now even on her final day, 618 00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:06,760 instead of preparing her heart, you know what she does? 619 00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:12,640 She prepares her face. To look at this man and to say, 620 00:38:12,640 --> 00:38:17,440 what do you got for me now Interestingly, she doesn't just 621 00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:21,960 do something with her eyes. If you're not convinced that 622 00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:26,000 this woman is diamond hard against the truth, look at her 623 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:29,920 words in verse 31. And as Jehu entered the gate, 624 00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:35,800 she said, is it peace you Zimri, murder of your master? 625 00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:41,400 You can't. You feel the vitriol in that one 626 00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:47,240 sentence. It just feels mean and ugly and 627 00:38:47,240 --> 00:38:52,040 vicious because she is vicious. But I was curious when I read 628 00:38:52,040 --> 00:38:54,880 this, it sounds mean, but I don't want to just go with how 629 00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:56,400 it sounds. I want to know what it means. 630 00:38:57,040 --> 00:38:59,560 Out of all the things that she could have called Jehu, she 631 00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:03,880 calls him a Zimri. Any idea what a Zimri is? 632 00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:07,680 Well, it's not a thing. He's a person. 633 00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:09,840 Have we ever read about Zimri before? 634 00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:12,960 If you've been with us in Kings, yes, you'll remember. 635 00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:16,160 If you don't remember, go back to the account of Zimri and 636 00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:18,160 we'll make sense of why she calls him this. 637 00:39:18,760 --> 00:39:22,320 So in First Kings 16, look at verse 8. 638 00:39:23,320 --> 00:39:27,400 This is a chapter where you see the sequence of Kings, 639 00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:32,640 predecessors and those who succeed the former. 640 00:39:33,240 --> 00:39:35,480 And we learned of this man Zimri, how he came to the throne 641 00:39:35,480 --> 00:39:37,480 in Israel. Look at First Kings 16/8. 642 00:39:38,560 --> 00:39:42,440 It says here in the 26th year of ASA, king of Judah, Ilah the son 643 00:39:42,440 --> 00:39:46,400 of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirza and he reigned 2 644 00:39:46,400 --> 00:39:50,720 years. But his servant Zimri, commander 645 00:39:50,720 --> 00:39:53,880 of half his Chariots, conspired against him. 646 00:39:54,520 --> 00:39:57,440 Then he was at Tirza drinking himself drunk in the House of 647 00:39:57,440 --> 00:40:00,160 Arza who was over the household in Tirza. 648 00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:05,200 Zimri came in and struck him down and killed him in the 27th 649 00:40:05,200 --> 00:40:08,000 year of ASA, king of Judah, and reigned in his place. 650 00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:11,920 So you can actually answer this, What commonalities do you see 651 00:40:11,920 --> 00:40:18,680 between Zimri and Jehu? He killed the predecessor, 652 00:40:18,680 --> 00:40:21,080 right? He killed the king that was 653 00:40:21,080 --> 00:40:23,000 occupying the throne. Yes, true. 654 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:30,950 What else? What was Jehu's occupation? 655 00:40:33,590 --> 00:40:35,270 He was one of the commanders of the army. 656 00:40:35,270 --> 00:40:38,630 And what was Zimri's occupation also? 657 00:40:38,950 --> 00:40:41,230 He was also a commander of half his Chariots. 658 00:40:42,080 --> 00:40:46,920 So both were commanders. Both murdered their way or 659 00:40:46,920 --> 00:40:52,240 killed their way to the throne. So it makes some sense at least 660 00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:54,320 to why she's calling out of all the things she could have called 661 00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:58,880 Jehu Zimri, you are a Zimri. But it's deeper than that 662 00:40:59,680 --> 00:41:02,720 because we learn more about Zimri in verse 15. 663 00:41:02,880 --> 00:41:08,480 Look at First King 1615 and the 27th year of ASA, king of Judah. 664 00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:13,240 Zimri reigned 7 days in Tirza. Now the troops were in camp 665 00:41:13,240 --> 00:41:16,760 against Gibbethon which belonged to the Philistines and the 666 00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:18,880 troops were encamped. Heard it said Zimri has 667 00:41:18,880 --> 00:41:21,240 conspired and he has killed the king. 668 00:41:21,560 --> 00:41:25,800 Therefore, all Israel made Omri. The commander of the army king 669 00:41:25,800 --> 00:41:27,400 over Israel that day in the camp. 670 00:41:27,760 --> 00:41:31,000 So Omri went up to Gibbeth on, and all Israel with him, and 671 00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:34,120 they besieged Tirza. And when Zimri saw that the city 672 00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:37,040 was taken, he went into the citadel of the King's house and 673 00:41:37,040 --> 00:41:38,520 burned the King's house over him. 674 00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:41,880 With fire and died. He commits suicide. 675 00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:45,480 So Zimri was a self appointed king. 676 00:41:45,760 --> 00:41:47,640 The people learned that he conspired and they're like, we 677 00:41:47,640 --> 00:41:51,160 don't want Zimri, we want Omri. So they make Omri the king. 678 00:41:51,480 --> 00:41:54,040 Omri is ready now to remove Zimri from the throne. 679 00:41:54,240 --> 00:41:56,720 And as he makes his way to Zimri, Zimri learns of this. 680 00:41:56,720 --> 00:41:59,200 He goes, this is a lost cause, there's no way I have a chance. 681 00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:02,280 The nation's behind Omri. So he burns the house over him. 682 00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:07,120 And he dies. Who's Omri? 683 00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:16,400 Who's he related to? Ahab is his son. 684 00:42:17,440 --> 00:42:24,720 Omri's the father of Ahab. So now there's a deeper sting to 685 00:42:24,720 --> 00:42:28,920 Jezebel's words. When she calls Jehu Zimri, she's 686 00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:32,200 not just saying you're doing what Zimri did, she's also 687 00:42:32,200 --> 00:42:35,040 saying your fate is going to be like Zimri's fate. 688 00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:38,960 Why? How long did Zimri last for on 689 00:42:38,960 --> 00:42:41,480 the throne? Not a year, a week. 690 00:42:43,040 --> 00:42:45,560 So essentially, I believe what Jezebel saying is, yeah, yeah, 691 00:42:45,560 --> 00:42:46,040 yeah. OK. 692 00:42:46,040 --> 00:42:48,880 I see you're conspiring, but you're not going to last very 693 00:42:48,880 --> 00:42:50,720 long. And the House of Ahab is going 694 00:42:50,720 --> 00:42:55,680 to make a comeback. A very vicious woman. 695 00:42:55,680 --> 00:42:59,000 Clever, but vicious. You're a Zimmery. 696 00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:06,040 And this woman was not just angry, not just offensive. 697 00:43:07,120 --> 00:43:09,920 By saying that, she's also defying God's word concerning 698 00:43:09,920 --> 00:43:13,200 the fate of the House of Ahab. God said it's going to be 699 00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:15,920 destroyed and she thinks it's not going to last very long. 700 00:43:17,000 --> 00:43:19,480 And this reveals just how vile and rebellious she was. 701 00:43:21,280 --> 00:43:23,520 And there's so much application that we can draw from this, but 702 00:43:23,520 --> 00:43:25,400 I want to look at it from Jehu's perspective. 703 00:43:25,400 --> 00:43:27,200 Why? Because Jehu is doing what God 704 00:43:27,200 --> 00:43:30,400 told him to do. He's not on a personal vendetta 705 00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:31,960 here. He's he's not doing things on 706 00:43:31,960 --> 00:43:33,640 his own. God told him to do what he's 707 00:43:33,640 --> 00:43:35,840 doing here. And as he seeks to obey the 708 00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:40,520 Lord, and as he's making ground and as he's advancing, he is 709 00:43:40,520 --> 00:43:45,120 confronted with the threats of a woman who wants to make him 710 00:43:45,120 --> 00:43:49,840 fearful, one to doubt God's word for himself by calling him as 711 00:43:49,840 --> 00:43:52,040 Zimmer was saying it, she's saying, is your fate is going to 712 00:43:52,040 --> 00:43:54,080 be like that man. There's going to be no success 713 00:43:54,080 --> 00:43:55,880 to your campaign, at least long term. 714 00:43:57,840 --> 00:44:03,120 And so Jehu is hearing this, and I think Satan's strategy is no 715 00:44:03,120 --> 00:44:06,320 different. Does you and I seek to obey the 716 00:44:06,320 --> 00:44:08,840 Lord with that zeal that we see in this man? 717 00:44:09,880 --> 00:44:13,720 You should expect also the amplifying lies of Satan to 718 00:44:13,720 --> 00:44:17,680 cause you to fear for yourself and to doubt God's word. 719 00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:20,840 Is that not a satanic strategy that we see here? 720 00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:25,400 Many people are fearful in their obedience. 721 00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:28,240 And many people, even as they obey, especially when they're 722 00:44:28,240 --> 00:44:31,520 the threshold of obeying, they might be visited by doubts. 723 00:44:31,520 --> 00:44:32,960 Is this really what the Lord wants me to do? 724 00:44:32,960 --> 00:44:35,400 Is this really the best option? Is this really, really what God 725 00:44:35,400 --> 00:44:37,240 asks of me? Even though it's clear? 726 00:44:38,320 --> 00:44:43,840 So Jezebel here is imitating the evil 1 where she has no issue, 727 00:44:43,840 --> 00:44:47,040 just like Satan, right? When you're about to do 728 00:44:47,040 --> 00:44:50,000 something for the Lord to whisper in your ear and to 729 00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:52,880 convince you otherwise. And where you're supposed to 730 00:44:52,880 --> 00:44:56,080 find inspiration is in this man. Yes, even though we learn in the 731 00:44:56,080 --> 00:44:59,000 next chapter that he he's not the greatest inspiration, we see 732 00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:02,440 at this point that he hears us and what, he's completely 733 00:45:02,440 --> 00:45:04,360 unfazed. How do we know that? 734 00:45:04,360 --> 00:45:07,000 Look at verse 32. And he lifted up his face to the 735 00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:08,840 window and said, who is on my side? 736 00:45:08,960 --> 00:45:11,720 Who? Two or three eunuchs looked out 737 00:45:11,920 --> 00:45:13,720 at him. He doesn't even pay attention to 738 00:45:13,720 --> 00:45:16,880 her, doesn't pay attention to her face, doesn't pay attention 739 00:45:16,880 --> 00:45:22,440 to her words. He is completely consumed with 740 00:45:22,440 --> 00:45:27,600 his mission, unmoved, and this is something that you and I 741 00:45:27,600 --> 00:45:31,440 should strive for. That we should be rock solid in 742 00:45:31,440 --> 00:45:33,240 our confidence as we obey the Lord. 743 00:45:33,560 --> 00:45:37,320 Nothing should make you afraid, nothing should make you doubt. 744 00:45:38,320 --> 00:45:42,200 And so he just continues on. I wonder what she did pulling 745 00:45:42,200 --> 00:45:44,560 her hair because it didn't do anything to the man. 746 00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:47,880 Says who's on my side? Up there, two or three eunuchs 747 00:45:47,880 --> 00:45:50,760 pop up their heads, you know, obviously unsatisfied with her 748 00:45:50,760 --> 00:45:53,040 reign, and they're ready to betray her. 749 00:45:53,480 --> 00:45:55,160 So notice what he says in verse 33. 750 00:45:55,360 --> 00:45:59,160 He said, throw her down. So they threw her down, and some 751 00:45:59,160 --> 00:46:02,480 of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and they 752 00:46:02,480 --> 00:46:05,520 trampled on her. Now pause here for a moment. 753 00:46:05,520 --> 00:46:08,560 I'm about to read the next few verses, the concluding verses of 754 00:46:08,560 --> 00:46:12,280 this chapter. Very graphic, very graphic. 755 00:46:12,840 --> 00:46:18,160 But the purpose of the nature of this is to show us the extent of 756 00:46:18,160 --> 00:46:21,560 God's displeasure with this woman, with the House of Ahab, 757 00:46:21,880 --> 00:46:25,440 and just how severe His judgement is on those who not 758 00:46:25,440 --> 00:46:27,440 just have sinned against God without repentance, but have 759 00:46:27,440 --> 00:46:30,120 refused to repent, though God has revealed Himself in so many 760 00:46:30,120 --> 00:46:32,400 gracious ways. So let me read this and then 761 00:46:32,400 --> 00:46:35,000 expound on it. Verse 34. 762 00:46:35,320 --> 00:46:39,280 Then he went in and ate and drank, and he said, see now to 763 00:46:39,280 --> 00:46:42,720 this cursed woman, and bury her, for she is a King's daughter. 764 00:46:43,160 --> 00:46:46,000 But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than 765 00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:50,600 the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. 766 00:46:51,240 --> 00:46:53,920 And when they came back and told him, he said, This is the word 767 00:46:53,920 --> 00:46:57,080 of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite 768 00:46:57,400 --> 00:47:00,640 in the territory of Jezreel. The dog shall eat the flesh of 769 00:47:00,640 --> 00:47:04,680 Jezebel, and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as dung on the 770 00:47:04,680 --> 00:47:08,400 face of the field in the torture territory of Jezreel, so that no 771 00:47:08,400 --> 00:47:16,200 one can say this is Jezebel. So a lot of success. 772 00:47:16,480 --> 00:47:20,160 In one day for Jehu in fulfilling his mission. 773 00:47:20,880 --> 00:47:22,720 He asked the eunuchs to push the woman off. 774 00:47:23,560 --> 00:47:27,440 She's thrown out of the window. She falls and her blood 775 00:47:27,440 --> 00:47:30,640 splatters everywhere. And to ensure that she's dead, 776 00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:33,480 JU has the horses trample on her body. 777 00:47:35,200 --> 00:47:39,120 He takes a time to refresh himself and to symbolize his 778 00:47:39,200 --> 00:47:42,800 achievement, he goes into the palace that was once occupied by 779 00:47:42,800 --> 00:47:46,960 these evil people and he has a meal and while he's. 780 00:47:47,200 --> 00:47:49,760 Eating inside the palace. The dogs are eating Jezebel 781 00:47:49,760 --> 00:47:54,160 outside the palace. And it dawns on him, you know, 782 00:47:54,280 --> 00:48:00,000 she's technically still royalty. And so by way of tradition, our 783 00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:02,120 culture would ask of this, let's bury her. 784 00:48:02,120 --> 00:48:04,880 Let's give her some kind of a proper burial. 785 00:48:05,640 --> 00:48:07,640 Send servants out. They go out, and they recognize 786 00:48:07,640 --> 00:48:09,680 that she's virtually gone. Why? 787 00:48:10,160 --> 00:48:12,520 The dogs ate her flesh. And the only thing that's left 788 00:48:12,520 --> 00:48:17,240 is her cranium, her feet, and the palms of her hands. 789 00:48:18,800 --> 00:48:22,320 Why? I wouldn't allegorize it, but I 790 00:48:22,320 --> 00:48:25,680 think the best explanation is that God, in allowing this to 791 00:48:25,680 --> 00:48:30,920 happen, wanted to show that even these dangerous ravenous dogs 792 00:48:31,320 --> 00:48:35,080 that would eat anything to survive survive found Jezebel 793 00:48:35,920 --> 00:48:40,320 displeasurable. Even these beasts of the streets 794 00:48:41,280 --> 00:48:49,880 could not stomach her. And so he learns this, and it 795 00:48:50,200 --> 00:48:54,080 dawns on me again. This is what the Lord said in 796 00:48:54,080 --> 00:48:56,160 the territory of Jezreel, the dog shall eat the flesh of 797 00:48:56,160 --> 00:48:57,960 Jezebel until she's not recognized. 798 00:48:58,600 --> 00:49:00,240 She would not have an honorable end. 799 00:49:01,480 --> 00:49:03,760 And so he realizes that God keeps His word. 800 00:49:04,640 --> 00:49:06,640 And there's much to say about this, but here's how I want to 801 00:49:06,640 --> 00:49:08,920 end when we realize that Jezebel is no more. 802 00:49:09,360 --> 00:49:11,560 Is this the last that we read of Jezebel? 803 00:49:11,560 --> 00:49:12,800 And you know the answer very well. 804 00:49:13,880 --> 00:49:16,240 No, it's not. We don't find her again in the 805 00:49:16,240 --> 00:49:18,640 Old Testament that we find her in the very last book of the New 806 00:49:18,640 --> 00:49:23,840 Testament library where she by name is brought up by the Lord 807 00:49:23,840 --> 00:49:27,160 and one of the churches for being a false prophetess and 808 00:49:27,160 --> 00:49:30,960 seducing the people of God to sexual immorality and idolatry. 809 00:49:32,240 --> 00:49:34,880 And it's not that Jezebel was there in the Church of Thyatira. 810 00:49:34,880 --> 00:49:37,800 It's not like she reincarnated, but there was something so 811 00:49:37,800 --> 00:49:41,720 similar about this particular woman in that church that she 812 00:49:42,600 --> 00:49:46,640 was crowned with this name, and it wasn't an honorable crowning. 813 00:49:47,600 --> 00:49:50,120 She imitated this woman. She had the same spirit of this 814 00:49:50,120 --> 00:49:54,080 woman, and she was producing the same vile outcomes as Jezebel 815 00:49:54,080 --> 00:49:56,360 did when ruling in the Kingdom of Israel. 816 00:49:56,480 --> 00:49:58,520 Here's what this tells me in our study of Second Kings. 817 00:49:58,520 --> 00:50:01,000 Jezebel was not just a threat to the Kingdom of Israel. 818 00:50:01,080 --> 00:50:02,680 She's still a threat to the church. 819 00:50:04,360 --> 00:50:07,240 She is still a threat to the Church of Jesus Christ. 820 00:50:08,520 --> 00:50:10,760 See, what are you talking about? I'm talking about what the Book 821 00:50:10,760 --> 00:50:16,480 of Revelation tells us. You can conclude in Revelation 822 00:50:16,480 --> 00:50:21,840 chapter 2 that she remains an ever present danger to 823 00:50:21,840 --> 00:50:23,440 believers. And you might be wondering how 824 00:50:23,440 --> 00:50:25,240 that's possible. I'm here to explain it. 825 00:50:26,440 --> 00:50:28,760 Let's turn there as we close this Bible study together in 826 00:50:28,760 --> 00:50:42,720 Revelation chapter 2. And look there in verse 20. 827 00:50:43,520 --> 00:50:46,440 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman 828 00:50:46,440 --> 00:50:49,880 Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and 829 00:50:49,880 --> 00:50:53,480 seducing my servants to practice sexual morality and to eat. 830 00:50:53,480 --> 00:50:57,120 Food sacrificed idols. I gave her time to repent. 831 00:50:58,400 --> 00:51:03,000 God even gives false prophetesses time to repent, but 832 00:51:03,000 --> 00:51:05,240 she refuses to repent of her sexual morality. 833 00:51:06,480 --> 00:51:08,000 Behold, I will throw her onto a sick bed. 834 00:51:08,000 --> 00:51:10,280 And those who commit adultery with her, I don't think this is 835 00:51:10,280 --> 00:51:12,640 necessarily speaking about physical adultery, but spiritual 836 00:51:12,640 --> 00:51:15,320 adultery. And those who commit adultery 837 00:51:15,320 --> 00:51:17,680 with her I will throw into great tribulation unless they repent 838 00:51:17,680 --> 00:51:19,280 of her works. And I will strike her children 839 00:51:19,280 --> 00:51:23,400 dead. So here's the danger. 840 00:51:24,040 --> 00:51:29,160 There are individuals, particularly woman, who will 841 00:51:29,160 --> 00:51:33,840 rise to positions of leadership in local churches, and because 842 00:51:33,840 --> 00:51:36,640 of their authority, they will seek to seduce God's servant 843 00:51:36,640 --> 00:51:40,920 through distorted teachings, leading them to violate God's 844 00:51:40,920 --> 00:51:46,760 Word as a result. Don't think that Jezebel is just 845 00:51:46,760 --> 00:51:49,960 in the Church of Thyatira. The fact that she's mentioned in 846 00:51:49,960 --> 00:51:52,360 one of the churches after the resurrection, essentially of 847 00:51:52,360 --> 00:51:55,480 Jesus, means that you can expect her to pop up in different 848 00:51:55,480 --> 00:52:00,120 churches even in 2025. And there are some people who 849 00:52:00,120 --> 00:52:04,160 are tolerating Jezebel's. They're not honoring God's 850 00:52:04,160 --> 00:52:08,240 structure of leadership in the church, and they're willing to 851 00:52:08,240 --> 00:52:13,120 receive words from someone who is charismatic enough, spiritual 852 00:52:13,120 --> 00:52:16,240 supposedly enough, where they are submitting to something that 853 00:52:16,240 --> 00:52:20,560 is ultimately satanic. And So what we learned of Second 854 00:52:20,600 --> 00:52:24,240 Kings is that this is not just a study of ancient times. 855 00:52:25,200 --> 00:52:29,080 This is also a study of what you and I should be mindful of even 856 00:52:29,080 --> 00:52:33,160 today, that there are people like Jezebel, not just men. 857 00:52:34,400 --> 00:52:40,000 There are women who are rebellious and hateful and long 858 00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:42,440 for authority where God told them that they don't have 859 00:52:42,440 --> 00:52:46,040 authority so that they can implement things that God told 860 00:52:46,040 --> 00:52:48,560 them not to implement. And we should be aware of that. 861 00:52:49,480 --> 00:52:53,280 So let's end it this way. If God is so willing to be 862 00:52:53,280 --> 00:52:57,120 patient with such a woman as this, how much more is He 863 00:52:57,120 --> 00:52:58,840 willing to be patient towards us? 864 00:52:59,080 --> 00:53:03,760 He is so kind and He is so loving, and He is so patient and 865 00:53:03,760 --> 00:53:04,720 He calls us. So. 866 00:53:04,720 --> 00:53:07,600 If you're here today, even at this Bible study, and you do not 867 00:53:07,600 --> 00:53:09,560 know the Lord Jesus Christ, can I ask you something? 868 00:53:09,680 --> 00:53:12,560 Why? Why? 869 00:53:13,680 --> 00:53:16,520 Why are you at peace with that which is at war with God? 870 00:53:16,840 --> 00:53:21,280 Why do you stand on your feet? Before the cross and not bow 871 00:53:21,280 --> 00:53:24,360 your knee before the cross. Why have you not received 872 00:53:24,360 --> 00:53:26,200 forgiveness for your sins? Why have you not allowed the 873 00:53:26,200 --> 00:53:29,760 free gift of God in Christ Jesus to wash over you? 874 00:53:29,920 --> 00:53:32,760 Why do you still hold on to that which will condemn you? 875 00:53:32,760 --> 00:53:35,680 Why? Ask yourself and think beyond 876 00:53:35,680 --> 00:53:42,560 the moment, Think for eternity, Think about why you were 877 00:53:42,560 --> 00:53:45,120 created. Think about God's purpose for 878 00:53:45,120 --> 00:53:49,720 your life and think is it worth forfeiting it for me being God 879 00:53:49,720 --> 00:53:52,960 of my life? And me giving in to the things 880 00:53:53,080 --> 00:53:57,080 that have never truly satisfied me, this will ultimately condemn 881 00:53:57,080 --> 00:53:59,520 me. Think, think and ask yourself 882 00:53:59,960 --> 00:54:04,480 why You will never know true peace until you submit to the 883 00:54:04,480 --> 00:54:06,600 Prince of Peace. And he's waiting for you to do 884 00:54:06,600 --> 00:54:08,480 that. Let's seek him together. 885 00:54:09,000 --> 00:54:12,080 Lord, we thank you. We thank you for this Bible 886 00:54:12,080 --> 00:54:17,280 study. We thank you that even in a 887 00:54:17,280 --> 00:54:20,280 historical account, you speak to us presently. 888 00:54:21,560 --> 00:54:27,320 We ask you from the bottom of our hearts that our zeal for 889 00:54:27,320 --> 00:54:33,680 your command would live with us and in US. 890 00:54:34,960 --> 00:54:37,000 It would not dissipate. It would not weaken. 891 00:54:37,000 --> 00:54:40,480 Lord, help us to do everything that's in accordance with Your 892 00:54:40,480 --> 00:54:42,640 word. Lord, we love you, we honor you. 893 00:54:42,640 --> 00:54:46,600 We want to just throw our hearts afresh before you say have every 894 00:54:46,600 --> 00:54:49,560 part of it, our will, our minds, our thoughts. 895 00:54:49,560 --> 00:54:51,640 We give it all to you. We say please Lord, have it all. 896 00:54:51,920 --> 00:54:54,200 Take it all. Lord, we thank you again for you 897 00:54:54,200 --> 00:54:58,000 have spoken to our hearts. In Jesus name we pray, Amen and 898 00:54:58,000 --> 00:54:59,440 Amen. Let's stand and worship the 899 00:54:59,440 --> 00:55:36,700 Lord. So in 2011, 2011, I remember, 900 00:55:38,880 --> 00:55:40,960 you know, sometimes people when they share their testimony, 901 00:55:40,960 --> 00:55:44,600 there's like one major turning point and that's completely 902 00:55:44,960 --> 00:55:49,000 valid. And I think most of us can 903 00:55:49,000 --> 00:55:50,200 identify that. Some can't. 904 00:55:50,200 --> 00:55:51,760 Some are like, I don't know if I have a testimony. 905 00:55:51,760 --> 00:55:56,480 I was born in the Christian faith almost, but I remember 906 00:55:56,480 --> 00:55:58,560 that in my story there were many turning points. 907 00:55:58,560 --> 00:56:05,400 One of them was when the guilt of sin began to mount in my own 908 00:56:05,400 --> 00:56:09,120 conscience and was piling up in my heart. 909 00:56:09,920 --> 00:56:12,480 I try to manage it. I try to medicate it in so many 910 00:56:12,480 --> 00:56:14,920 different ways. And there's one particular time 911 00:56:14,920 --> 00:56:19,480 where it was so overwhelming. It was my conscience was so loud 912 00:56:19,480 --> 00:56:21,440 that I was almost talking to myself. 913 00:56:22,680 --> 00:56:25,480 It was that intense. And one particular moment I 914 00:56:25,480 --> 00:56:28,440 remember I was somewhere I shouldn't have been with people 915 00:56:28,440 --> 00:56:32,800 I shouldn't have been with. And in the middle of the night, 916 00:56:34,520 --> 00:56:38,800 I go into the bathroom and I close the door and I look in the 917 00:56:38,800 --> 00:56:41,560 mirror. I'm like, what are you doing? 918 00:56:42,400 --> 00:56:47,920 What are you doing? And I remember that question. 919 00:56:47,920 --> 00:56:51,360 That honest question was one of the major turning points for me. 920 00:56:51,600 --> 00:56:54,080 They didn't get me saved in that moment. 921 00:56:54,080 --> 00:56:58,080 I wish I could say that on that bathroom floor, I gave my life 922 00:56:58,080 --> 00:56:58,880 to Christ. I didn't. 923 00:56:58,880 --> 00:57:00,200 It just started with an honest question. 924 00:57:00,200 --> 00:57:04,000 What are you doing man? You know, you know the truth, 925 00:57:04,640 --> 00:57:06,480 you know it. Why are you fighting against it? 926 00:57:06,760 --> 00:57:08,960 Why are you living like this? Why are you indulging in this? 927 00:57:09,400 --> 00:57:10,920 I just stared at myself for a while. 928 00:57:11,560 --> 00:57:14,160 My heart was racing. I just knew it. 929 00:57:14,160 --> 00:57:20,680 I was, I was drowning in sin. Sometimes, often times a good 930 00:57:20,760 --> 00:57:26,480 honest look at yourself and asking why am I here? 931 00:57:27,000 --> 00:57:28,720 What am I? Why am I doing this? 932 00:57:30,560 --> 00:57:33,520 How much longer can do some good? 933 00:57:34,280 --> 00:57:38,200 I can do some good. You know there's talk about this 934 00:57:38,200 --> 00:57:42,920 ban for TikTok, right? I've met enough people to know 935 00:57:42,920 --> 00:57:46,200 that God can even use TikTok to bring them to Christ. 936 00:57:46,680 --> 00:57:50,120 So as much as I have my issues with TikTok, God can redeem 937 00:57:50,120 --> 00:57:53,760 anything. But if they do ban it, I I won't 938 00:57:53,760 --> 00:57:57,000 be too upset about it. I'll tell you why. 939 00:57:58,160 --> 00:58:00,320 Because I think Satan has done a wonderful job. 940 00:58:01,240 --> 00:58:06,640 Of distracting a generation so much that they don't even ask 941 00:58:06,640 --> 00:58:09,280 these questions anymore. They're just numbing their minds 942 00:58:09,280 --> 00:58:12,160 with entertainment. You know, like it's becoming 943 00:58:12,160 --> 00:58:17,520 more of a rarity for a message to be 40 minutes, 45 minutes. 944 00:58:18,160 --> 00:58:20,600 And these gurus and evangelicalism will say you 945 00:58:20,600 --> 00:58:23,520 can't teach 45 minutes, people won't listen to you. 946 00:58:23,520 --> 00:58:26,600 Got to bite. Size it, man. 20 minutes. 25 947 00:58:26,600 --> 00:58:28,480 minutes tops. Now, if gods get to you to 948 00:58:28,480 --> 00:58:31,400 preach 25 minutes, that's great. I just can't do it. 949 00:58:31,840 --> 00:58:33,600 I can't. I'm sorry, I can't. 950 00:58:33,600 --> 00:58:41,440 So I fail in that area. But don't get so distracted to 951 00:58:41,440 --> 00:58:44,680 the point where you don't ask the questions that matter most. 952 00:58:45,240 --> 00:58:47,120 And that's true for you if you're in here and you don't 953 00:58:47,120 --> 00:58:49,840 know Christ Jesus as your Lord. And that's true for us as 954 00:58:49,840 --> 00:58:56,200 believers, where we should continually ask questions, talk 955 00:58:56,200 --> 00:58:59,720 to the Lord, examine our hearts, not in a way that kills you with 956 00:58:59,720 --> 00:59:03,800 introspection, but in a way that positions you to be where God 957 00:59:03,800 --> 00:59:07,240 wants you to be. Well, we thank you for this 958 00:59:07,240 --> 00:59:12,680 time, Lord, I thank you for this church. 959 00:59:12,680 --> 00:59:15,520 I thank you for my brothers and sisters in this place. 960 00:59:16,280 --> 00:59:18,880 I thank you that Lord, even through difficult passages, we 961 00:59:18,880 --> 00:59:22,520 can rejoice together because it's your truth, it's your will, 962 00:59:22,520 --> 00:59:24,520 it's your mind, it's, it's your word. 963 00:59:24,960 --> 00:59:28,160 Lord, we pray that you protect the the purity of this Bible 964 00:59:28,160 --> 00:59:33,120 study, Lord, the intimacy of it, the the hunger that we have, 965 00:59:33,120 --> 00:59:38,480 Lord, made only intensify. Lord, help us, help us ask the 966 00:59:38,480 --> 00:59:41,960 right questions at the right time, using your word as the 967 00:59:41,960 --> 00:59:46,160 litmus test at all points. Lord, if there's even one person 968 00:59:46,160 --> 00:59:48,240 here who doesn't know you, may tonight be the night. 969 00:59:48,840 --> 00:59:51,400 And for us who know you, but we're not supposed to be where 970 00:59:51,400 --> 00:59:55,080 we are. Show us the answers, oh God, to 971 00:59:55,080 --> 00:59:57,840 bring us to the fullness of your purpose. 972 00:59:57,960 --> 01:00:03,160 We love you, we honor you. Thank you for who you are. 973 01:00:03,600 --> 01:00:07,200 In Jesus name we pray. Amen and Amen. 974 01:00:07,480 --> 01:00:07,800 Amen.