1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:02,000 Well, praise God that we're here. 2 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:04,120 It's such a joy to be here with you tonight. 3 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:06,800 I invite you to come to 1st Kings 22 with me. 4 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:10,680 As our brother prayed, we are coming to the close of our study 5 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:14,120 of First Kings. We have arrived at the final 6 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:18,160 chapter of our study of this book, which will also be the 7 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,720 final chapter of King Ahab's life. 8 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:28,920 The Count of Ahab's death clearly illustrates the 9 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:31,960 detrimental consequences of spiritual compromise. 10 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:35,440 Yes, Ahab has rebelled throughout his reign. 11 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:39,440 But what you and I are going to examine today is one particular 12 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:44,640 act of defiance that will cost this man absolutely everything. 13 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:48,680 And right at the outset of this Bible study, I want to give you 14 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:51,160 an exhortation. I want to remind you of an 15 00:00:51,160 --> 00:00:55,920 important universal truth. You and I may have the freedom 16 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:59,560 to choose our sin, but we can never ever determine the 17 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:06,240 consequences of that sin. And so a person may sin 1000 18 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:10,440 times before he faces any significant ramifications, and 19 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:15,160 yet his neighbour may sin similarly just once and alter 20 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:18,160 the trajectory of his life drastically. 21 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:26,720 I want you to view entertaining temptation as playing Russian 22 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:32,080 roulette with your soul. That should be enough motivation 23 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:39,680 for you to not deal with sin on any level, not to engage with 24 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:42,400 it, to stay as far as way as possible from it. 25 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:49,520 It's lethal, it's deadly, it's poison, it's deceptive, it's 26 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,360 destructive. And what we're going to study in 27 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:56,800 this final chapter will hopefully cement that conviction 28 00:01:56,800 --> 00:02:00,600 in your heart that you will not only love God more, but you will 29 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:04,000 also heighten in your hatred for evil. 30 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:07,320 The Bible commands you and I to hate things and one of those 31 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:11,520 things is iniquity, sin, disobedience, rebellion. 32 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:17,560 And he's given us texts like First Kings to see in, in real 33 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:23,080 life example, what sin can do to a soul who fails to realize 34 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:26,720 God's warnings about it. And so we're there at First 35 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:28,920 Kings 22. I'm sure you've already got a 36 00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:32,240 glimpse of it to understand that we're not going to complete this 37 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:36,520 chapter in one sitting, which has been our habit as long as 38 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:40,400 this Bible study existed. So we're here at verse one. 39 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:43,240 And I invite you, we're going to read the 1st 12 verses together 40 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:47,480 just to have an understanding of the passage holistically. 41 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:49,760 And then we will explore them verse by verse. 42 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:52,400 So join me in First Kings 22, beginning in verse one. 43 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:59,480 For three years Syria and Israel continued without war. 44 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:03,520 But in the third year, Yehoshaphat or Jehoshaphat, the 45 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:08,960 king of Judah came down to the king of Israel, and the king of 46 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:11,520 Israel said to his servants, Do you know what? 47 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:14,560 Do you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us? 48 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:17,800 And we keep quiet and do not take it out of the hand of the 49 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:21,640 king of Syria? And he said to Jehoshaphat, Will 50 00:03:21,640 --> 00:03:24,440 you go with me to battle at Ramoth Gilead? 51 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:30,920 Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are, my 52 00:03:30,920 --> 00:03:36,080 people, as your people, my horses as your horses. 53 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:42,200 And Yehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, inquire first for the 54 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:45,280 word of the Lord. And the king of Israel gathered 55 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:49,360 the prophets together, about 400 men, and said to them, Shall I 56 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:52,400 go to battle against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain? 57 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:56,760 And they said, Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand 58 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:00,880 of the king. But Yehoshaphat said, Is there 59 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:05,080 not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire? 60 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:09,560 And the king of Israel said to Yehoshaphat, There is yet one 61 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:13,920 man by whom we may inquire of the Lord Micaiah, the son of 62 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:18,959 Imlab, But I hate him, for he never prophesized good 63 00:04:18,959 --> 00:04:23,520 concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not 64 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:27,000 the king say so. And the king of Israel summoned 65 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:29,880 an officer and said, Bring quickly Makaya the son of Imla. 66 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:33,040 Now the king of Israel. And Jehoshaphat the king of 67 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:37,040 Judah, were sitting on their Thrones, arrayed in their robes 68 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:39,800 at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria. 69 00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:42,680 And all the prophets were prophesying before them. 70 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:48,480 And Zedekiah the son of Kanayana, made for himself horns 71 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:52,840 of iron and said, Thus says the Lord, with these you shall push 72 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:55,480 the Syrians until they are destroyed. 73 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:59,400 And all the prophets prophesied so and said, Go up to Ramoth 74 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:02,840 Gilead, and triumph. The Lord will give it into the 75 00:05:02,840 --> 00:05:07,520 hand of the king. Lord bless the reading, the 76 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:11,520 exposition, the application of Your Word for the glory of your 77 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:15,560 Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. As we sang, we long to be 78 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:17,800 conformed to His ways. We long for the Holy Spirit to 79 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:22,480 infuse in us the knowledge, the wisdom, and the grace to live 80 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:25,920 for His name in Jesus name, Amen. 81 00:05:26,840 --> 00:05:30,720 Well, the only way to really make the most sense of this 82 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:35,920 narration is to recall a recent episode related to the King of 83 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:39,800 Israel and the King of Syria. It was the subject of one of our 84 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:44,000 studies a few weeks ago, but may I remind you how what we studied 85 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:46,920 in First Kings 20 relates to what we're here studying 86 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:50,320 tonight? The king of Syria and the king 87 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:54,000 of Israel were going to war. And the Lord, out of his sheer 88 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:58,320 grace, gave Ahab, the king of Israel, more than one victory. 89 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:01,720 He conquered over Syria on more than one occasion. 90 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:07,480 And part of that deal, so to speak, was that the king of 91 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:11,760 Israel had to completely exterminate Ben Haddad, the king 92 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:16,120 of Syria and his army. And predictably, Ahab did not 93 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:20,280 obey the decree of God. And the reason was because he 94 00:06:20,280 --> 00:06:25,480 was persuaded by Ben Haddad with these terms, these terms of 95 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:28,720 peace. Ben Haddad the king of Syria, 96 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:32,760 proposed something to Ahab and Ahab could not refuse. 97 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:38,480 And so turn to 1st Kings 20 and look at verse 34 to to remind 98 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:43,240 yourself of why there was three years of peace to begin with. 99 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:48,320 And Ben Haddad said to him, the cities that my father took from 100 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:52,240 your father I will restore, and you may establish bazaars for 101 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:55,240 yourself in Damascus as my father did in Samaria. 102 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:59,240 And Ahab said, I will let you go on these terms. 103 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:02,480 So he made a covenant with him and let him go. 104 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:07,840 So Ben Haddad says, look, look, look, don't kill me. 105 00:07:07,840 --> 00:07:10,440 Have mercy on me. And look, I'm willing to restore 106 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:14,120 to you the cities that my father took from you years prior and 107 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:16,640 and you can establish trade in Damascus. 108 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:20,520 And so in Ahab's natural political mind, he thinks it's 109 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:21,200 helpful. This is good. 110 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:23,640 This is good for me. We're we're building an 111 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:27,080 alliance. We're securing our economy. 112 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:29,440 We're thriving more in our economy this way. 113 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:32,800 Let's do it at the cost of this obedient God. 114 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:37,880 And what we see here is that three years ago, by according to 115 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:42,240 the first verse of this chapter, and it dawns on the king of 116 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:45,360 Israel that the king of Syria didn't keep his word. 117 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:50,880 He kept back one city. And evidently that city is a 118 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:52,600 strategic one. It's a valuable one. 119 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:58,120 And this infuriated King Ahab to the point now he's ready to 120 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:01,400 break this covenant and go back to war with Syria. 121 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:09,280 Ahab's mistake cannot be our mistake in our war with sin. 122 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:14,320 As you heard in that chapter when we studied together, sin 123 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:16,800 will never fail to disappoint you and I. 124 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:23,360 It will always disappoint us. And above that, we see here that 125 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:27,760 three years has passed since he made this established deal with 126 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:30,720 the king of Syria. Three years with no problems 127 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:35,559 with peace, prosperity, problem free. 128 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:39,760 And what happened? Now? 129 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:43,600 The consequences of sin come. The consequences of sin are not 130 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:46,520 always immediate. They sometimes take time. 131 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:51,640 And the longer you remain in an unrepentant state, the more 132 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:57,440 dangerous and the wider and the deeper those consequences can 133 00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:00,560 be. You know, there's a verse in Job 134 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:02,440 20, verse five. You don't have to turn there, 135 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:04,920 but listen to these words. In Job chapter 20, verse five, 136 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:10,720 we're told that the wicked, when they exalt it's, it's short. 137 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:13,600 Their state of exaltation is short. 138 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:20,960 And the joy of the godless is but for a moment, it is for a 139 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:22,920 moment. And Ahab would realize that 140 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:26,040 because the the problems that would ensue out of his 141 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:29,480 relationship with Benedad would outweigh whatever pleasure and 142 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:33,040 peace and prosperity he thought he won from it. 143 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:36,200 So he's lamenting in the presence of his servants. 144 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:40,680 But there's an unexpected character in that very same 145 00:09:40,680 --> 00:09:44,520 scene, Jehoshaphat. And he's the king of Judah. 146 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:47,480 What is the king of Judah? Remember, one of the most 147 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:51,360 important things about First Kings is that it defines for us 148 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:53,800 the, the split of the Kingdom of Israel. 149 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:55,240 Now you have the northern Kingdom and the southern 150 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:57,600 Kingdom. So generally the relationship 151 00:09:57,600 --> 00:10:00,000 between the north and the South, we're not on good terms. 152 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,320 They, they were always at odds with one another. 153 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:04,360 And that is certainly the case up to this point. 154 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:08,560 Or is it because now you have the king of Judah visiting the 155 00:10:08,560 --> 00:10:12,840 king of Israel? And our suspicions grow even 156 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:18,240 more when we see how the king of Judah responds to the request of 157 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:21,080 the king of Israel, who tells his servants we got to come up 158 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:24,320 with a plan and then turns to the king of Judah and invites 159 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:26,800 him to go to war at Ramoth Gilead. 160 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:30,080 So look here again at verse four and look at the response of the 161 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:32,800 king of Judah. And he said to Jehoshaphat, will 162 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:34,800 you go with me to battle out Ramoth Gilead? 163 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:39,640 And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are, my 164 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:44,400 people as your people, my horses as your horses. 165 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:48,320 This is the language of collaboration. 166 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:49,880 This is the language of alliance. 167 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:55,200 And so if you feel as though at some point there was some kind 168 00:10:55,200 --> 00:11:00,200 of unification that took place, you would be right At an 169 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:05,080 undisclosed time, there was an effort on both parts for these 170 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:08,760 people to come together, this divided Kingdom to become one 171 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:12,880 once again. Good thing or bad thing, Who 172 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:15,920 says good thing? Who says bad thing? 173 00:11:17,520 --> 00:11:23,600 Good, Who doesn't know? Stick around, You would think, 174 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:26,400 well, this is a leap towards unity. 175 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:30,240 This nation has been fractured for decades upon decades, and 176 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:34,040 now we see some sign of hope of things being restored and the 177 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:35,880 way that God designed it to be originally. 178 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:41,640 And what we're going to learn here is that unity should never 179 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,560 be pursued at the expense of dishonouring. 180 00:11:44,560 --> 00:11:49,920 Truth should never be pursued. It should be absolutely rejected 181 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:52,680 at the expense of truth being honoured and practiced the way 182 00:11:52,680 --> 00:11:57,680 God intended it to be practiced. And if you're if you're doubting 183 00:11:57,680 --> 00:12:02,600 that what the king of Judah is doing here is wrong, then turn 184 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:07,320 to a parallel account again to remind you of how grasping the 185 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:09,560 entirety of the Word of God will give us the greatest revelations 186 00:12:09,560 --> 00:12:12,080 of the Word of God. Look at Second Chronicles and I 187 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:15,120 want you to look at the 1st 3 verses of chapter 19 of Second 188 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:18,560 Chronicles. This is a detailed account of 189 00:12:18,560 --> 00:12:24,480 when Jehoshaphat comes back from war with Ahab against Syria and 190 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:29,080 a prophet arrives on the scene and confronts Jehoshaphat. 191 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:34,560 And notice what what is said to this king of Judah for his 192 00:12:34,560 --> 00:12:36,960 efforts and making peace with the king of Israel. 193 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:41,600 Second Chronicles 19 verse one. Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, 194 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:46,400 returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem, But Jehu the son 195 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:49,400 of Hananiah the seer, went out to meet him and said, the king 196 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:54,840 Jehoshaphat, should you help the wicked and love those who hate 197 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:58,840 the Lord? Because of this, wrath has gone 198 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:02,520 out against you from the Lord. You know there is an 199 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:05,680 illegitimate kind of love. God is love. 200 00:13:05,680 --> 00:13:07,760 We are called to love. We're a faith that's known for 201 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:10,760 our love. But there is a love that's 202 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:17,440 illegal according to our faith. Love not the world. 203 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:24,280 And in this case, love, not those who hate the Lord. 204 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:25,960 Loving my enemies, What about that? 205 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,440 This is not the context. The context here is partnering 206 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:36,920 with someone who intentionally violates God's law, yoking 207 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:40,840 yourself to someone to such a degree that you are compromising 208 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:44,080 your testimony and your fruitfulness for the Lord. 209 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:47,000 So he's not talking about this bitterness and his anger towards 210 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,080 someone. The Bible has a different 211 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:51,680 dictionary than we do in our English language, but I want you 212 00:13:51,680 --> 00:13:53,720 to see something in verse 3. This is important for the rest 213 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:56,600 of our study. Nevertheless, some good is found 214 00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:58,040 in you. He's speaking to Jehoshaphat. 215 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:01,640 Some good is found in you. For you destroyed the ashras out 216 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:04,200 of the land and have set your heart to seek God. 217 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:07,520 Remember that. Tuck that in your heart for now. 218 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:12,640 So we can establish here that what Jehoshaphat does with Ahab 219 00:14:13,560 --> 00:14:19,560 was not in accordance to God's will, and the severity of the 220 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:23,960 consequence of this one decision will only show itself when you 221 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:26,440 continue to read in the Bible. So you're in Second Chronicles 222 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:29,760 19. We're studying First Kings, but 223 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:33,120 go to 2nd Kings and go to chapter 8. 224 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:35,200 And I want you to see something with your own eyes. 225 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:40,280 If we make this effort, we will see a wonderful chain of events 226 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:45,960 that will bless our hearts. Second Kings 8, and look at 227 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:51,400 verse 16 of Second Kings 8. Now you get her. 228 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:53,360 If you're going to pay attention at any point of the Bible study, 229 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:54,960 it's at this point because there's going to be a lot of 230 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:57,840 names. And if you follow along here, it 231 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:01,200 will be helpful. In the fifth year of Jaram, the 232 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:05,840 son of Ahab, king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of 233 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:10,920 Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, began 234 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:12,400 to reign. OK, pause here. 235 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:18,440 So we're talking here about the king of Israel, who is the son 236 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:20,000 of Ahab. What's his name? 237 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:24,760 Joram, right? And now we're talking about 238 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,600 Jehoshaphat, sure, but Jehoshaphat's son, whose name is 239 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:30,200 what? Jehoram. 240 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:34,760 So underlying Jahoram, right? The son of Jehoshaphat, king of 241 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:37,080 Judah. So we're discussing here at this 242 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:41,960 point the son of Jehoshaphat who succeeded his father. 243 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:46,760 And look at verse 17. Now he was 32 years old when he 244 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:48,680 became king. This is Jairam, the son of 245 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,520 Jehoshaphat. And he reigned 8 years in 246 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:55,480 Jerusalem, verse 18. And he walked in the way of the 247 00:15:55,480 --> 00:15:58,320 kings of Israel. The king of Judah walked in the 248 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:02,160 ways of the king of Israel, as the House of Ahab had done. 249 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:05,520 Why? For the daughter of Ahab was his 250 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:09,080 wife. And he did what was evil in the 251 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:12,680 side of the Lord. So are we, are we catching on to 252 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:14,600 this? We're discussing the son of 253 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:17,640 Jehoshaphat, and we're told here that he walked in the ways of 254 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:20,880 the king of Israel, which is notoriously evil. 255 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:23,280 That's the general reputation of the Kingdom of the North. 256 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:28,680 And we're given the reason why the son of Jehoshaphat married 257 00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:35,000 the daughter of Ahab. Jehoshaphat is the focus of our 258 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:36,160 study. In First Kings 22. 259 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:39,400 Jehoshaphat made a decision to make a political alliance with 260 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:41,440 Ahab. And what did that make way for A 261 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:45,960 marriage alliance between Jehoshaphat's son and the 262 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:48,880 daughter of Ahab. If if this woman is the daughter 263 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:51,360 of Ahab, then who's this? Thank you. 264 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:55,640 This woman's mother is Jezebel. Can you imagine your 265 00:16:55,640 --> 00:16:59,760 mother-in-law being Jezebel? You're going to find out how 266 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:05,079 problematic that's going to be. And you, you begin to feel now 267 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:07,440 the existential threat of this. You should at least you know 268 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:13,319 why, Because the Kingdom of Judah ultimately represents what 269 00:17:13,319 --> 00:17:18,319 the Davidic line, the Davidic line, the the same line that God 270 00:17:18,319 --> 00:17:20,400 made a covenant with that would ultimately what? 271 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:22,760 Usher in who? The Lord Jesus Christ, our 272 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:24,400 Messiah, the Messiah of the world. 273 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:29,720 And now you have through marriage, the spiritual 274 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:34,640 corruption and influence of Jezebel infiltrating that line. 275 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:39,200 So what's problematic about that? 276 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:42,320 Does anyone know here the name of the woman of the daughter of 277 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:44,960 Ahab that Joram married? Anybody have an idea? 278 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:52,720 Any guesses? You can't use your phone if you 279 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:55,240 don't know. Scroll down in Second Kings 8, 280 00:17:55,240 --> 00:17:57,040 verse 25 and you're going to get your answer. 281 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:02,360 In the 12th year of Jerome, Joram, Rather the son of Ahab, 282 00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:07,120 king of Israel, Ahaziah, the son of Jairam king of Judah, began 283 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:08,800 to reign. So now who are we talking about? 284 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:12,240 We're not talking about the son of Jehoshaphat. 285 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:15,360 We're talking about the grandson of Jehoshaphat, right? 286 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:18,200 This is Ahaziah, the son of Jairam. 287 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:22,080 So who is who is the wife of Jairam? 288 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:27,760 Oh no, we forgot already. The daughter of Ahab, right? 289 00:18:29,360 --> 00:18:33,800 They had evidently a child, Ahaziah, the son of Joram. 290 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:35,800 So now we're talking about Isaiah. 291 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:40,200 Look at verse 26. Isaiah was 22 years old when he 292 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:43,200 began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. 293 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:50,160 His mother's name was Athalia. So what is the name of the woman 294 00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:52,760 that Joram married, the daughter of Ahab? 295 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:56,160 Athalia. And if you have any doubt about 296 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:58,720 that, her identity is confirmed to the last part of verse 26. 297 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:01,960 She was a granddaughter of Umri, king of Israel. 298 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:08,440 Amri being the father of Ahab. So her name is Athalia. 299 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:13,280 Heziah only reigned for one year. 300 00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:15,400 Does anybody know why he only reigned for one year? 301 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:19,200 Because God's going to raise up a man by the name of Jehu. 302 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:23,440 Jehu is going to be anointed by God to exterminate the House of 303 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:26,840 Ahab. And who got caught up in in that 304 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:32,840 Jehoram or Surah Aziah. Heziah would be put to death as 305 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:35,920 a result of his association with the House of Ahab. 306 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:41,000 Athalia is still alive though. Now Athalia is going to do 307 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,920 something in Second Kings 11 verse one. 308 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:47,600 Notice what she does. Remember Athalia is the daughter 309 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:50,600 of Jezebel, so you don't have to wonder too much where she got 310 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:53,440 this inspiration from. Second Kings 11 one. 311 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:58,680 Now when Athalia, the mother of Isaiah, saw that her son was 312 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:03,600 dead, that being Isaiah, she arose and destroyed all the 313 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:08,840 royal family, and she attempts to seize the throne of the 314 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:15,360 Kingdom of Judah. Where did she get the idea of 315 00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:17,680 being such a vicious person and a vicious rule? 316 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:19,960 Any idea? Maybe Jezebel. 317 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:26,840 So she seizes the throne and she attempts to wipe clean the royal 318 00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:28,040 family. Who's the royal family? 319 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:31,360 The true royal family, the Davidic dynasty. 320 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:37,040 So you're seeing a woman who had a very bad upbringing. 321 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:38,320 No, no, you have to see beyond that. 322 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:40,120 You have to see the spiritual reality of this. 323 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:48,440 You're seeing Satan trying to delete the messianic seed and 324 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:51,640 it's not until you read later on in Second Kings 11 how God and 325 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:57,120 His sovereignty interferes and preserves 1 descendant, 1 326 00:20:57,120 --> 00:21:01,120 descendant. That's why we praise God for His 327 00:21:01,120 --> 00:21:03,040 faithfulness, because if it was left up to us, we would have 328 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:07,640 been done a long time ago. God's sovereignty interferes and 329 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:11,720 He restores this line. He saves this line. 330 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:15,720 Here's my question for you. Do you think Jehoshaphat had any 331 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:18,560 idea of the domino effect of this one decision to partner 332 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:20,040 with Ahab? I doubt it. 333 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:26,160 And he serves as a strong Old Testament illustration to a New 334 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:28,840 Testament command that is very familiar to Christians today. 335 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:34,440 But I would I'm afraid some who are unwilling to adhere to do 336 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:39,120 not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. 337 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:45,160 What partnership has righteousness with lawlessness 338 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:47,800 and what fellowship has light with darkness? 339 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:56,520 I I pray that you would take First Kings 22 as a constant 340 00:21:56,520 --> 00:22:00,440 reminder of how consequential your choice of fellowship is, 341 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:06,160 the ministries that you choose to be in partnership with, who 342 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:12,400 you decide to be your spouse. These decisions can have, as we 343 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:16,560 see here, generational consequences for good or for 344 00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:20,920 bad. Well, God ended up preserving 345 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:23,960 the line of David anyway. Yeah, but what happened along 346 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:29,120 the way? Death, pain, hurt. 347 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:32,760 So, yes, we trust in God's sovereignty, but why don't we 348 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:37,720 also apply God's wisdom? Yeah, and know his maximum 349 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:42,640 blessing for our lives. Now we come back to our main 350 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:48,080 text in verse five, because after studying that, we might be 351 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:50,680 under the impression that Jehoshaphat was just as warped 352 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:52,840 and wicked as Ahab was. But that's not the case. 353 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:55,880 Look back at verse five, the first kings 22 and Jehoshaphat 354 00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:58,800 said to the king of Israel, inquire first for the word of 355 00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:01,880 the Lord. So what is he saying to Ahab? 356 00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:04,720 He accepts the request, the invitation to join him in 357 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:06,040 battle. But he says, can we pray about 358 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:09,800 this first? Can we inquire of the Lord? 359 00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:13,240 You know what I thought when I read this? 360 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:15,600 I thought, why didn't you pray about partnering with Ahab? 361 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:23,960 Why are you praying now? But he here is showing some 362 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:30,280 level of discernment, some level of conviction, and he tells 363 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:34,760 Ahab, why don't we do this? And Ahab here is willing to do 364 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:40,120 so, but we have to 1st discuss about Jehoshaphat's character. 365 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:43,040 This seems strange, right? We may be confused. 366 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:46,200 You're partnering with an evil man, but you want to pray about 367 00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:50,080 moving forward. And as strange as this may be, 368 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:53,280 it's not as uncommon as you might think. 369 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:55,640 Because Jehoshaphat has a picture of an inconsistent 370 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:59,400 believer, a man with divided devotions, a man who has some 371 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:03,240 good qualities but is foolish in key areas. 372 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:08,480 And if you doubt that, then look back here at First Kings 22. 373 00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:12,040 Scroll down to verse 42. You get a summation of his reign 374 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:15,600 and it describes this divide perfectly. 375 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:18,160 First Things 22, look at verse 42. 376 00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:22,000 Joshua was 35 years old when he began to reign and he reigned 25 377 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:24,680 years in Jerusalem. His mother name was Azuba. 378 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:30,040 Azuba, the daughter of Sheila, he walked all the way and all 379 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:32,560 the way of ASA, his father. He did not turn aside from it, 380 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:34,320 doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. 381 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:38,360 Good yet OK. The high places were not taken 382 00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:41,200 away, and the people still sacrifice and made offerings on 383 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,720 the high places. Jehoshaphat also made peace with 384 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:49,080 the king of Israel. There are tons of people like 385 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:57,600 this, tons of people like this. They generally have some 386 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:01,560 spiritual insight. They wouldn't necessarily be 387 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:03,640 ashamed to name the name of Christ. 388 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:06,760 They might even take the opportunity when it arises to 389 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:09,800 testify of the truth of the gospel. 390 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:13,960 But at the same time, when you observe their lives, there's 391 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:19,240 questionable behavior, questionable decisions that 392 00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:23,200 would taint their testimony or even contradicts their faith. 393 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:27,640 You've probably encountered some of those people. 394 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:30,480 Maybe you have a mutual friend and you ask about the person 395 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:31,960 that you just met. Are they Christians? 396 00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:36,400 And that person responds, yeah, yeah, they're believers, But but 397 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:41,680 what? Yeah, the the way, the way they 398 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:48,360 talk and just when you look at their social media, just don't, 399 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:49,720 don't be taken off guard, you know? 400 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:57,640 Yeah, they're believers, but but what strive for better than 401 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:00,640 that? Strive by the power of the Holy 402 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:02,440 Spirit. And when people look at your 403 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:05,320 life or when they inquire about your life, the response is 404 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:08,280 they're the real deal. They're the real deal. 405 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:11,040 They love Christ, they really love Christ. 406 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:15,040 Christ is everything to them. George have unfortunately 407 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:20,080 doesn't have that testimony and it's going to cost him as we see 408 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:21,720 here. He asked to inquire first of the 409 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:24,560 word of the Lord and look at the response of King Ahab in verse 410 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:26,360 6. Then the king of Israel gathered 411 00:26:26,360 --> 00:26:29,760 the prophets together about 400 men and said to them, shall I go 412 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:32,640 to battle against Ramoth Gilead or shall I refrain? 413 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:37,200 And they said go up for the Lord will give it into the hand of 414 00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:39,760 the king. But Jehoshaphat said, is there 415 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:42,720 not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire? 416 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:47,240 This seems like an odd dialogue here, but if you pay attention 417 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:48,840 closely then it'll all make sense. 418 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:51,960 You know this very well. Whenever the word Lord is all 419 00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:54,760 capitalized, it signifies the covenant name of the God of 420 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:59,640 Israel, Yahweh. And so Jehoshaphat asked Ahab, 421 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,600 can we inquire the word of Yahweh? 422 00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:08,160 Right, Ahab seems to agree. He summons 400 men. 423 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:11,480 But notice after asking these prophets what they should do, 424 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:15,480 how these prophets respond, we see here at the end of verse six 425 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:19,400 and they said go up for the Lord will give it into the hand of 426 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:20,680 the king. Is the word Lord They're all 427 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:26,920 capitalized. No, they are not implementing 428 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:30,080 the covenant name of Yahweh. What are they doing? 429 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:36,720 They are applying the word Lord, which in Hebrews Adonai, which 430 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:39,920 speaks of the title of a master, and it can be directed towards a 431 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:45,440 human master or even to a deity. So it's more generic. 432 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:49,720 And then what you have here is that they say, yeah, the Lord 433 00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:51,000 will give it into the hand of the king. 434 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:52,400 And then Jehoshaphat is hearing this. 435 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:55,080 He's not convinced and he realizes that they're not 436 00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:58,080 representing Yahweh. And so he asked in verse seven, 437 00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:01,200 is there not yet another prophet of Lord? 438 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:04,120 The Lord capitalized, capitalized. 439 00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:09,240 So if these are not genuine prophets of Yahweh, then who are 440 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:11,040 they? We've touched on this before. 441 00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:13,520 Does anybody remember who who they can potentially be? 442 00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:17,360 That's right. And here's the confirmation for 443 00:28:17,360 --> 00:28:19,920 that. Scroll back to First Kings 1819. 444 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:24,800 Elijah confronts Ahab, He challenges him for a face off at 445 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:27,320 Mount Carmel. And he doesn't want just Ahab to 446 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:29,400 be in attendance. He asked for these specific 447 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:32,280 people as well. Now, therefore, send and gather 448 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:36,040 all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of 449 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:40,400 Baal and the 400 prophets of Ashra who eat at Jezebel's 450 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:42,920 table. You read on, and what do you 451 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:44,000 realize? Who shows up? 452 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:50,680 Out of the 850, only the 450 prophets of bail, the 400 453 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:54,800 prophets Ashra do not come. And they in a sense evade 454 00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:57,640 judgement. And we argue that it's highly 455 00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:01,320 plausible that this was a strategy on the part of Ahab and 456 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:03,920 Jezebel, that they were to preserve some of their profits. 457 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:07,640 Suspicious of Elijah's invitation for the showdown. 458 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:12,280 And the next time we read a 400 prophets is when First Kings 22, 459 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:16,040 when Ahab summons the prophets, and you have 400 of them. 460 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:18,520 So it's very likely that these are the prophets of Asherah. 461 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:22,000 And if that is the case, then what a lesson we have before us. 462 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,440 Because Ahab thought, right that he can trick God. 463 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:32,080 Ahab thought that he can escape God's chastisement, God's wrath. 464 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:36,640 But the very same prophets that Ahab treasured would turn on him 465 00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:40,720 and would be the main means to lead Ahab into his own 466 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:45,720 destruction through false prophecies, the wisdom of God. 467 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:49,080 And it's also a picture of what what we just learned about 468 00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:53,080 Jehoshaphat, that whatever compromise you hold on to and 469 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:56,760 you refuse to repent from will end up coming back to haunt you. 470 00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:02,560 So he thought that he preserved something for his own good, but 471 00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:05,240 because these were false prophets, they would turn on 472 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:07,240 him. And what he thought would be to 473 00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:09,160 his aid would actually be to his demise. 474 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:15,240 You can't run from God. You can't run from God in this 475 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:16,720 life and surely in the next life. 476 00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:21,040 So Jehoshaphat here is hearing these prophets speaking in the 477 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:28,320 name of Lord Adonai Master, but he wants somebody who represents 478 00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:32,160 the true God of Israel. And what happens? 479 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:36,440 Verse 8, Ahab isn't a big fan of the idea. 480 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:39,880 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, there is yet one 481 00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:42,800 man by whom we inquire of the Lord Makaya, the son of Imlab. 482 00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:49,360 But I hate him, I hate him. Why do you hate him, Ahab? 483 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:53,720 For he never prophesized good concerning me, but evil. 484 00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:58,000 We've seen this attitude from Ahab before, right? 485 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:04,720 Pouting, self absorbed. It's, it's, it's my world. 486 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:07,200 You're living in a kind of attitude. 487 00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:10,760 And he hates Makai. That Makai is the guy that 488 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:13,440 springs to his mind. Surely they've interacted with 489 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,880 one another before. And Ahab turns to Jehovah. 490 00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:19,760 He goes, I absolutely despise this guy. 491 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:22,680 It's not because he's a hypocrite. 492 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:23,920 It's not because he's an evil man. 493 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:29,760 It's because what of how his messages made him feel. 494 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:38,200 That's why he only tells me evil things about me. 495 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:40,680 And you know what? I if I was George, if I or I 496 00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:43,560 wish George if I would have just just said this right away. 497 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:48,200 Maybe because you are evil. Like he's not pulling this out 498 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:50,320 of nowhere. You're an evil man. 499 00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:52,280 What do you expect? Good. 500 00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:56,120 Of course he's going to prophecy evil concerning you because 501 00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:59,920 you're a man that's drenched in sin, bent on rebellion, 502 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:04,840 stiffening your neck, though God has showered you with mercy upon 503 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:09,800 mercy. I don't know what Ahab thinks 504 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:11,440 Ahab thinks. I think Ahab thinks like what 505 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:12,960 many people think. They want the benefits of God, 506 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:14,360 but they don't want conformity to God. 507 00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:18,280 Doesn't work like that way in God's economy. 508 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:21,800 So he says here that he hates this man because he never 509 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:24,240 prophesized good concerning me, but evil. 510 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:26,520 And you know what he did? As a result of that, Ahab 511 00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:29,960 intentionally pushed away the true voice of the Lord and 512 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:36,320 recruited for himself. Yes, men, be very mindful, 513 00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:38,080 please. I'm actually now leaning into 514 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:41,840 you and asking you here to be very mindful of the standard 515 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:45,240 that you use in determining the spiritual leadership in your 516 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:47,440 life that will preach and teach to you God's Word. 517 00:32:49,320 --> 00:32:51,560 Be very mindful. What standard are you using? 518 00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:59,120 What evaluation do you apply? Because Ahab's choice here would 519 00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:01,320 prove to be a matter of life and death. 520 00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:06,160 And it's no different for us today in 2024, that who we 521 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:10,680 choose, who we allow, who we decide to give us spiritual 522 00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:15,080 guidance will either lead us to spiritual life or even spiritual 523 00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:18,760 death or decay. And there are many who are 524 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:22,240 making the same fatal error that Ahab has made at this point of 525 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:25,360 his life. Like Ahab, you have many people 526 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:29,080 who choose churches that do not teach the whole council of God, 527 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:33,120 but in clever ways present to him a God that caters to what 528 00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:36,720 their selfish desires desire anyway, right? 529 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:40,360 So they strategically avoid places that call you to examine 530 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:43,400 yourself, that call people to repentance, that called people 531 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:46,200 to conformity to Christ like this, that called people to 532 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:48,600 sacrifice. I want to hear it. 533 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:54,400 But like Ahab, the same people here have soothed their 534 00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:57,600 conscience because they have surrounded themselves by a 535 00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:00,600 charade of spirituality, but have zero concern of the lack of 536 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:05,120 substance. And like Ahab, there are those 537 00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:07,320 who are under the impression that if the majority rules, then 538 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:10,719 it must be true. You realize Makai is going to 539 00:34:10,719 --> 00:34:14,280 come on the scene and you're going to have 400 who have 540 00:34:14,280 --> 00:34:15,880 consensus about the word of the Lord. 541 00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:17,600 And then you're going to have one who's going to say, 542 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:21,840 actually, that's not the case. And like Ahab, there are many 543 00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:24,560 who think if it's popular, that's the arbiter for truth. 544 00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:27,199 No, no, no. It's what God said that 545 00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:29,880 determines everything. But how many believe that? 546 00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:32,440 Really? How many are even persuaded? 547 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:37,120 Or they are blown back and forth with every wind of doctrine just 548 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:40,960 because it's the newest thing, or because so and so adheres to 549 00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:42,199 it. Who cares? 550 00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:47,040 What does God say? And here's my favorite part, 551 00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:50,800 that although Jehoshaphat is not the best example of consecration 552 00:34:50,800 --> 00:34:53,440 on to Christ in this very moment, he is a wonderful, 553 00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:56,400 wonderful picture of the true believer. 554 00:34:56,960 --> 00:34:59,920 In what way? That no matter what options are 555 00:34:59,920 --> 00:35:04,200 out there, like Jehoshaphat, the true Christian will not be 556 00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:09,160 satisfied with anything less than what God has to say and 557 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:12,960 with a true servant of God speaking into their life, right? 558 00:35:13,240 --> 00:35:17,240 He had 400 options, so to speak, and he didn't care. 559 00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:20,520 That did not ultimately satisfy him. 560 00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:23,160 He came to the point where he said what a true believer would 561 00:35:23,160 --> 00:35:26,000 say. I want the word of the Lord, 562 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:30,400 whether it's a rebuke or it's an encouragement, whether it's 563 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:33,960 comfort or it's correction. I want the whole counsel of God. 564 00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:35,680 So give me a true prophet of God. 565 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:38,720 Give me a true prophet of God. I don't care if he's popular, I 566 00:35:38,720 --> 00:35:41,000 don't care if he gets invited to the biggest conferences. 567 00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:44,000 I don't care if he's known. I just want to know if he walks 568 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:46,680 with God. That's what Jehovah, Jehovah 569 00:35:46,680 --> 00:35:48,400 Shabad is craving. That's what the true Christian 570 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:53,720 will crave. So he asked for the true word of 571 00:35:53,720 --> 00:35:59,200 the Lord, and he gives a mild rebuke to the king of Israel. 572 00:35:59,200 --> 00:36:01,040 He says, let not the king say so. 573 00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:07,400 So let's see what happens next. In verse 9, the king of Israel 574 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:12,800 summoned an officer and said, bring quickly. 575 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:17,160 Makaya, the son of Imla, now the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, 576 00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:20,960 the king of Judah, were sitting on their Thrones arrayed in 577 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:24,560 robes at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of 578 00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:26,560 Samaria. And all the prophets were 579 00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:29,360 prophesying before them. It's as though the Holy Spirit 580 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:32,840 wants us to just pause, and he wants to paint for us a very 581 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:35,560 colorful picture, right? You can almost envision it. 582 00:36:36,240 --> 00:36:38,840 So you have these two kings with their portable Thrones. 583 00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:42,040 They're sitting at the gate of Samaria, and we're told here 584 00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:44,360 that they're arrayed in their robes. 585 00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:49,120 And before them are just multitudes of of prophets 586 00:36:49,400 --> 00:36:54,320 speaking supposedly the word of the Lord in unison. 587 00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:58,200 What's that supposed to provoke in us? 588 00:36:58,720 --> 00:37:04,320 A sense of anticipation? What is Micaiah going to do now 589 00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:08,360 as he arrives at this scene? Because you, you see these kings 590 00:37:08,360 --> 00:37:10,240 and you get this brief description, but it's enough for 591 00:37:10,240 --> 00:37:14,280 you to feel intimidated. 2 kings sitting on their throne and 592 00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:17,120 their robes are flowing in in the breeze. 593 00:37:17,640 --> 00:37:20,320 And then you have the pressure of all these prophets all saying 594 00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:23,880 the same thing. And Jehoshaphat has enough sense 595 00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:26,240 to say this isn't right. And if Micaiah is a true 596 00:37:26,240 --> 00:37:28,160 prophet, then he has a different word. 597 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:32,040 What is Micaiah going to do? Well, you have to come to the 598 00:37:32,360 --> 00:37:34,960 next week Bible study to find out, but that's what it's 599 00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:37,480 supposed to produce in us, is we're supposed to get excited 600 00:37:37,480 --> 00:37:43,240 now, but we get a little glimpse of what these prophets were 601 00:37:43,240 --> 00:37:46,840 saying as they were awaiting the attendance of this true prophet. 602 00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:52,080 Look at verse 11. Zedekiah, the son of Canaan, 603 00:37:52,240 --> 00:37:55,640 made for himself horns of iron and said, thus says the Lord, 604 00:37:55,640 --> 00:37:58,080 with these you shall push the Syrians until they are 605 00:37:58,080 --> 00:38:00,520 destroyed. So now he's getting theatrical 606 00:38:02,240 --> 00:38:06,400 and he puts on this whole passionate demonstration, and he 607 00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:10,280 says, king of Israel, with these horns, you're going to gore the 608 00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:13,080 Syrians and you will completely destroy them. 609 00:38:15,680 --> 00:38:18,160 You know, I've said this so many times in our study of the Old 610 00:38:18,160 --> 00:38:19,600 Testament, so I'm hesitant to say it again. 611 00:38:19,600 --> 00:38:24,480 But it's worth remembering passion doesn't equate 612 00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:30,480 truthfulness, right? Sincerity doesn't mean it's 613 00:38:30,480 --> 00:38:34,480 true, and that's certainly the case here. 614 00:38:34,480 --> 00:38:39,640 You got a guy who built horns of iron, and he's showing the king 615 00:38:39,640 --> 00:38:42,480 what they will do if they go to the battle at Ramoth Gilead. 616 00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:44,960 But notice what he says in verse 12. 617 00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:48,840 And all the prophets prophesied so and said, go up to Ramoth 618 00:38:48,840 --> 00:38:50,920 Gilead and triumph. The Lord will give it into the 619 00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:56,480 hand of the king. Look again, look at verse 11 and 620 00:38:56,480 --> 00:38:58,440 verse 12. In what name did these prophets 621 00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:01,000 speak in the same 400 prophets? What name are they speaking in 622 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:04,520 now? Is it the generic term Lord? 623 00:39:05,520 --> 00:39:09,000 No, now they are imploring. Now they are invoking the name, 624 00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:13,640 the covenant name of God. This has LED some to believe 625 00:39:13,640 --> 00:39:17,720 that these are not necessarily the false prophets of Ashra, but 626 00:39:17,880 --> 00:39:20,120 these are unfaithful prophets of Yahweh. 627 00:39:20,120 --> 00:39:22,680 And that's a possibility, but there could be another 628 00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:27,800 explanation that these 400 and realizing that Jehoshaphat was 629 00:39:27,800 --> 00:39:30,960 adamant about having a prophet who would speak the word of 630 00:39:31,040 --> 00:39:33,440 Yahweh assimilated to his request. 631 00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:36,640 OK, he wants he wants the word of the Yahweh. 632 00:39:37,160 --> 00:39:43,480 Yahweh says Yahweh says OK, you want Yahweh, we'll give you 633 00:39:43,480 --> 00:39:46,800 Yahweh. What's what's the lesson here? 634 00:39:46,800 --> 00:39:51,400 The lesson is very obvious. False prophets are very 635 00:39:51,400 --> 00:39:55,880 comfortable utilizing the name, the true name of our God, even 636 00:39:55,880 --> 00:39:58,240 the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to win an 637 00:39:58,240 --> 00:40:03,800 audience. I hope all of us in here, if 638 00:40:03,800 --> 00:40:06,160 you've been a believer for at least a year, have read through 639 00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:10,680 the New Testament. Have you ever noticed how much 640 00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:14,720 in the New Testament is geared towards warning Christians about 641 00:40:14,720 --> 00:40:16,840 false teachers? Have you ever read that? 642 00:40:16,840 --> 00:40:18,560 Have you ever seen that in the epistles? 643 00:40:20,560 --> 00:40:22,880 Isn't it strange that we don't hear too much about those 644 00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:28,360 warnings in our churches? Virtually every apostle warned, 645 00:40:29,120 --> 00:40:31,800 almost not in all their letters, but in a lot of their letters, 646 00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:33,520 about false teaching and false teachers. 647 00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:40,240 So let me do my part and tell you how false teachers operate. 648 00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:47,480 False teachers have no problem applying, preaching, teaching, 649 00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:51,400 referring the name of Jesus Christ, though what they are 650 00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:55,560 saying is absolutely untrue. They have, they have no issue 651 00:40:56,080 --> 00:40:59,040 appealing to His authority, claiming that their ministry is 652 00:40:59,040 --> 00:41:02,400 under His authority, that their message is signed off with His 653 00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:05,800 authority, all the while they're deceiving the people before 654 00:41:05,800 --> 00:41:09,600 them. And so it's not enough for you 655 00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:15,240 to know or to hear from somebody that they represent or that they 656 00:41:15,240 --> 00:41:18,840 are under or that they love Jesus Christ. 657 00:41:19,920 --> 00:41:23,440 That's not enough. Because again, we see here and 658 00:41:23,440 --> 00:41:26,840 throughout the Bible that they have no issue applying his name, 659 00:41:26,840 --> 00:41:28,840 though they misrepresent His message. 660 00:41:28,920 --> 00:41:32,080 Let me give you an example of that, Jeremiah 23 because I want 661 00:41:32,080 --> 00:41:37,520 you to see then if if somebody's giving me the name of Jesus, how 662 00:41:37,520 --> 00:41:42,320 am I supposed to see past that? What is then the litmus test? 663 00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:45,080 What is then that I'm supposed to look for that will qualify 664 00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:48,400 the authenticity of a supposed messenger of God? 665 00:41:51,640 --> 00:41:56,160 Look at Jeremiah 23 and I want you to look here at verse 25. 666 00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:05,440 Lord says, I have heard what the prophets have said. 667 00:42:05,880 --> 00:42:09,480 Who prophesied lies in whose name? 668 00:42:10,720 --> 00:42:17,720 My name, you know God hears it. He hears every single time 669 00:42:17,720 --> 00:42:22,760 somebody uses His name righteously or in vain. 670 00:42:23,520 --> 00:42:27,000 I thought about this one once. How many apologies do you think 671 00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:29,240 the Lord is going to receive on Judgement Day from all the 672 00:42:29,240 --> 00:42:32,640 people who said God told me this when it was their imagination 673 00:42:32,640 --> 00:42:34,200 speaking? Huh. 674 00:42:34,200 --> 00:42:37,080 Have you ever thought of that? I thought about that a lot. 675 00:42:38,880 --> 00:42:43,640 What kind of line are we going to see on that day totally 676 00:42:43,640 --> 00:42:47,960 designated for people who have used God's name to authenticate 677 00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:51,600 something, whether it was a sermon or suppose a prophecy or 678 00:42:52,080 --> 00:42:54,320 whatever message they claim they're getting. 679 00:42:55,440 --> 00:42:59,240 What kind of apologies? I'm thinking hundreds of years 680 00:42:59,240 --> 00:43:06,320 are going to go by, he says. I've heard what they have said. 681 00:43:06,320 --> 00:43:11,560 Those who prophecy lies, lies in my name. 682 00:43:12,160 --> 00:43:16,400 They soften their lies. They master lies with my name 683 00:43:16,720 --> 00:43:19,440 saying I have dreamed. I have dreamed. 684 00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:29,600 So false prophets can use the true name of God to convey their 685 00:43:29,600 --> 00:43:32,560 ministry or their message. But again, do you know what a 686 00:43:32,560 --> 00:43:35,600 false prophet can't do? Scroll down to verse 28. 687 00:43:36,200 --> 00:43:40,720 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who 688 00:43:40,720 --> 00:43:43,760 has my word speak my word faithfully. 689 00:43:45,680 --> 00:43:48,560 What a strong common with wheat declares the Lord. 690 00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:54,920 A false prophet may use God's name, but he cannot speak God's 691 00:43:54,920 --> 00:43:58,160 word faithfully. He won't be able to, or else he 692 00:43:58,160 --> 00:44:01,120 wouldn't be false. Now notice it doesn't say here 693 00:44:01,440 --> 00:44:06,560 that he won't use God's word. The false prophet can take 694 00:44:06,560 --> 00:44:09,040 Scripture out of context, and in fact that's what they do. 695 00:44:09,960 --> 00:44:14,360 They manipulate and they twist. But Jeremiah is very specific. 696 00:44:14,960 --> 00:44:20,520 Who speak my word, what faithfully, Who divide my word 697 00:44:20,640 --> 00:44:22,840 rightly according to the words of Paul. 698 00:44:24,040 --> 00:44:27,720 So it's not even if that person is holding a Bible in their 699 00:44:27,720 --> 00:44:31,840 hands or is even quoting Scripture, do they do it 700 00:44:31,840 --> 00:44:34,960 faithfully? Do they interpret it the way God 701 00:44:34,960 --> 00:44:38,120 intended it to be interpreted? Do they consider the whole 702 00:44:38,120 --> 00:44:42,360 counsel of God, what God says in his entire word when developing 703 00:44:42,360 --> 00:44:44,720 a doctrine? Or do they take one verse here 704 00:44:44,960 --> 00:44:46,080 and make a whole thing out of it? 705 00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:50,240 Who speak my word faithfully? So what do you look for? 706 00:44:50,240 --> 00:44:52,360 What do people do with God's word? 707 00:44:53,120 --> 00:44:54,480 And do they handle it faithfully? 708 00:44:58,320 --> 00:45:01,120 And that's what Jehoshaphat realized. 709 00:45:01,760 --> 00:45:06,640 They're using God's name, but not speaking faithfully on 710 00:45:06,640 --> 00:45:10,840 behalf of this God. And what that's going to prove 711 00:45:12,440 --> 00:45:15,520 is that when people believe that kind of thing, it's absolutely 712 00:45:15,520 --> 00:45:18,640 disastrous. And to our surprise, though, 713 00:45:18,640 --> 00:45:22,640 Jehoshaphat was so desperate to hear from a true prophet of the 714 00:45:22,640 --> 00:45:26,000 Lord. Is he going to listen to what 715 00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:30,520 that prophet is going to say? Keep coming to Friday night 716 00:45:30,520 --> 00:45:32,440 Bible study. Let's pray, 717 00:45:54,360 --> 00:45:59,800 Lord, our hearts realize the astounding wisdom of Your Word. 718 00:46:01,200 --> 00:46:06,280 It never fails to amaze us. It never fails to move us. 719 00:46:07,280 --> 00:46:12,920 It never fails to intensify our love for You. 720 00:46:12,920 --> 00:46:16,680 But we pray that the things that we've heard in these brief 721 00:46:16,680 --> 00:46:19,520 verses would revolutionize our lives. 722 00:46:21,280 --> 00:46:25,120 We asked, Lord, that we would trust every command that you 723 00:46:25,120 --> 00:46:27,760 have issued in your word, including the command to not be 724 00:46:28,640 --> 00:46:35,080 unequally yoked, including every warning that you have prescribed 725 00:46:35,080 --> 00:46:38,680 concerning sin. So, Lord, as much as we're 726 00:46:38,680 --> 00:46:41,960 praying for you to help us love you, help us hate sin more and 727 00:46:41,960 --> 00:46:48,120 more, to step on it when it is in seed form, to squash it when 728 00:46:48,120 --> 00:46:53,560 it is yet a spark to extinguish it, Lord, because we realize 729 00:46:53,880 --> 00:46:57,120 through Ahab and many others of what sin can do when it is 730 00:46:57,120 --> 00:47:02,160 tolerated and fed. Lord, in this place we pray that 731 00:47:02,160 --> 00:47:04,360 we would treasure the Word of the Lord more than ever. 732 00:47:05,160 --> 00:47:08,880 Father, especially in these days of great deception, especially 733 00:47:08,880 --> 00:47:12,680 in these days where biblical illiteracy is intensifying, help 734 00:47:12,680 --> 00:47:15,480 us, Lord, grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus 735 00:47:15,480 --> 00:47:21,000 Christ. Lord, if there is anyone here 736 00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:26,240 who has been ignoring you as Ahab has ignored you, where you 737 00:47:26,240 --> 00:47:28,440 have spoken to them about a particular thing over and over, 738 00:47:28,480 --> 00:47:31,760 where you've even dispensed good to them, though they are not 739 00:47:31,760 --> 00:47:35,120 right with you, Lord, let tonight's Bible study be the 740 00:47:35,120 --> 00:47:37,400 instrument to redirect them once and for all. 741 00:47:40,720 --> 00:47:44,360 Lord, we worship You because we believe Your word. 742 00:47:45,800 --> 00:47:50,240 As a psalmist said, they believed his words and they sang 743 00:47:50,240 --> 00:47:53,320 joyfully. So Lord, at this very time, we 744 00:47:53,320 --> 00:47:56,920 want to respond in that way. Our hearts are swelling with 745 00:47:56,920 --> 00:48:00,360 excitement knowing that we are in the truth, that Your word has 746 00:48:00,360 --> 00:48:05,280 never failed, that it is endured scrutiny throughout history and 747 00:48:05,280 --> 00:48:08,960 has stood the test of time. It is defeated, every single 748 00:48:08,960 --> 00:48:12,600 skeptic, and it will remain forever. 749 00:48:14,480 --> 00:48:17,440 The grass Withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God 750 00:48:17,440 --> 00:48:20,240 will endure forever. We give you glory for that in 751 00:48:20,320 --> 00:48:23,480 Jesus name, Amen. Let's stand and worship the King 752 00:48:23,480 --> 00:48:24,880 of Kings and the Lord of Lords.