1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:07,360 First, Kings chapter 14. I was wrestling over this 2 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:10,760 chapter today and I'll tell you the main reason why. 3 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:13,760 I was wrestling over this chapter because I was trying to 4 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:16,400 determine whether or not we should complete it in one 5 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:19,720 sitting or we should divide it in two parts. 6 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:24,480 And I have concluded that we will divide it in two parts. 7 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:28,520 We could do it in one shot, but I would feel that we would do a 8 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:32,240 great disservice to this text and that we would have to force 9 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:35,760 ourselves to ignore certain verses that deserve much 10 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:38,800 attention. And So what we are facing with 11 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:43,920 in this chapter is very simple. We are looking at the record of 12 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:48,680 the final moments of two kings. The first king, the king of 13 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:54,360 Israel Jeroboam, and his final moments leading up to his death, 14 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:56,720 and then the king of the southern Kingdom, the king of 15 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:59,920 Judah Rehoboam. And So what we're going tonight 16 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:04,239 is do tonight is just look at Jeroboam carefully and see what 17 00:01:04,239 --> 00:01:08,280 the spirit of God has preserved for us in the final moments, the 18 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:11,760 final glimpse of what we are to know about him before. 19 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:15,880 He will not be revisited again, at least in an active way. 20 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,720 His name will appear many times throughout kings because 21 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:23,840 unfortunately, he will be recognized as the worst example 22 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:26,480 of a king for the nation of Israel. 23 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:28,960 In the same way, David is used over and over again as the 24 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:32,280 exemplary king Jeroboam will be. The face will be the name, 25 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:36,480 measured against those who have not risen up to the standard 26 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:40,560 that God desired for them. So before we before we begin, 27 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,040 let's pray and ask the Lord to help us with these verses. 28 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:48,920 Father, it is with our greatest desire and longing that you 29 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:53,160 would help us by the Spirit of God to understand your mind and 30 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:57,840 your heart behind this passage. And we ask, Lord, that we would 31 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,240 be renewed in our joy and our affections for you and our 32 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,800 strength to serve you. Lord, inspire us afresh. 33 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:09,400 We We beg you, Lord, that the Holy Spirit's presence and power 34 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:11,560 would be recognized in this Bible study. 35 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:16,920 But whether this place is full or half full or barely full, we 36 00:02:16,920 --> 00:02:19,760 long for your presence to dominate our midst. 37 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:26,720 And so we desperately yearn for you to captivate us and help us. 38 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,280 Lord, see you above everything else and hear you above anybody 39 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:31,520 else. We need you, Lord. 40 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:35,920 Desperately our hearts cry out for your nearness, and we pray 41 00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:37,680 that that would be recognized tonight. 42 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:43,240 And so, Lord, we pray for your grace and mercy and wisdom to 43 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:47,800 cloak this pulpit. And we asked, Lord, that our 44 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:51,200 eyes would see Jesus more clearer than we did before we 45 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:57,520 entered in Win our hearts, Lord, to You win. 46 00:02:57,520 --> 00:02:59,280 Our hearts are fresh to you, Lord. 47 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:02,680 And may not this Bible study be done in the power of the flesh 48 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:04,720 or in the cleverness of the mind. 49 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:08,280 But through the assistance of the Spirit of God, who's been 50 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:12,040 granted to us as a gift, we ask these things in Jesus name. 51 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,720 Amen. First, Kings chapter 14. 52 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:24,040 Let's read the first few verses. At that time Abijah the son of 53 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:29,200 Jeroboam fell sick and Jeroboam said to his wife. 54 00:03:29,640 --> 00:03:35,040 Arise and disguise yourself that it not be known that you are the 55 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:37,760 wife of Jeroboam and go to Shiloh. 56 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:43,000 Behold, Ahijah, the Prophet is there who said of me that I 57 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,200 should be king. Over this people, take with you 58 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:49,520 10 loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. 59 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:53,560 He will tell you what shall happen to the child. 60 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:58,080 We have been studying Jeroboam for a few weeks, and one of the 61 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,920 things that we notice about Jeroboam is that though he was 62 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:04,760 walking further and further away from God, God in his mercy 63 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:10,280 sought His attention, pursued him aggressively, whether that 64 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:12,400 be through messages or through miracles. 65 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:17,040 The Lord was relentless and trying to rescue Jeroboam from 66 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:19,640 destroying himself and destroying the people that were 67 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:23,080 under His leadership. And we get the impression from 68 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:25,600 the first verse of this chapter that there's something else, 69 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:30,280 almost a final attempt to get Jeroboam's attention. 70 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:33,320 And it was not going to be through Jeroboam directly, but 71 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:39,360 through his son Abijah. And what we read in verse one is 72 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:43,720 that at that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. 73 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:49,800 Now for it to be written at that time is telling us that we are 74 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:53,680 to connect this statement with the context that we just 75 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,440 finished reviewing. Something happened just before 76 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:01,520 this that is meant to link it to this news at that time. 77 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:02,560 What? What time? 78 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:06,720 We'll scroll back to chapter 13 and look here in verse 33. 79 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,880 After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but 80 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:15,160 made priests for the high places again from among all the people. 81 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:19,280 Any who would he had ordained to be priests of the high places. 82 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:24,560 So we remember here that Jeroboam shoot away the hand of 83 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:27,840 God through the the messages and the miracles that he performed 84 00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:32,640 in his life. And he headlong went along with 85 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:35,920 doing what he was doing before hiring priests, an illegal 86 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:37,800 priesthood for his false religion. 87 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:41,200 And then we're told here in verse 34 and this thing became 88 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:47,120 sin to the House of Jeroboam, so asked to cut it off and to 89 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:48,720 destroy it from the face of the earth. 90 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:54,600 So because he was so stubborn he was so diamond hard against God 91 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:57,640 trying to win him into repentance. 92 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:01,120 We're told here in verse 34, the last verse of this chapter, that 93 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:04,280 it has been decided that the House of Jeroboam was to be cut 94 00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:06,200 off and destroyed from the face of the earth. 95 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:10,960 And verse one of chapter 14 is declaring that the fulfillment 96 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:16,160 of this judgment is beginning. The House of Jeroboam now is 97 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:20,720 determined to disappear, and it's going to begin with this 98 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:28,320 boy Abidja, who fell sick. And this is what Jeroboam is 99 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:30,760 ready to do. He's ready to do something about 100 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:32,920 it. But we're reminded that this is 101 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:37,120 not the first time that someone has suffered, even someone else, 102 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:41,720 suffering as a result of one's sin, the consequences of one's 103 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:44,560 disobedience leading to the affliction of another. 104 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:46,840 This is not foreign to us. We've seen this before. 105 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:49,520 And who comes to mind? Who is a person who is also a 106 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:53,120 king, who saw other people suffering because of his 107 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:57,760 decisions and disobedience? David, David because of his 108 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:02,200 murder, David, because of his adultery with Bathsheba, saw 109 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:06,560 that baby that he had with this woman suffer a disease that 110 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:11,000 would lead to his own death. But the the response of David in 111 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,680 comparison to Jeroboam, who finds himself in a in a very 112 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:16,000 similar situation, it's quite striking. 113 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:18,760 What does David do once he hears the news that his boy is 114 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:23,160 actually going to perhaps die? He repents even more. 115 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:25,720 He cries out to God. He fasts. 116 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:31,400 He seeks the face of God, hoping that the Lord would extend mercy 117 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:34,440 upon this boy. And then we come to Jeroboam, 118 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:36,480 and we see that his son now is suffering. 119 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:40,240 And what will he do with the sight of his boy now, who's 120 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:43,040 showing little sign of surviving? 121 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:45,160 What is he going to do? Is his heart now going to 122 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:48,400 finally give up? Is he now going to fall on his 123 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:54,120 knees and surrender and repent, or at least inquire of God and 124 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:56,720 brokenness? No. 125 00:07:56,720 --> 00:08:01,120 Instead he has his wife disguise herself to go to a true prophet, 126 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:04,840 you might think, well, this is kind of good. 127 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:08,600 He's seeking a true minister to give some guidance about what's 128 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:13,280 happening here. But why is he sending his wife? 129 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:17,240 And why is he sending his wife in disguise? 130 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:19,880 And why is he not going directly? 131 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:22,720 All these questions arise, and they're legitimate questions. 132 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:27,800 Any idea why Jeroboam is sending his wife cloaking herself to be 133 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:29,720 someone else? I'm actually asking if you have 134 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:31,120 any idea. Doesn't have to be a long 135 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:36,679 explanation. Yes, he's ashamed of what he is 136 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:39,720 doing. Any other reason perhaps? 137 00:08:45,270 --> 00:08:47,390 So he probably doesn't want to deal with the prophet 138 00:08:47,390 --> 00:08:50,030 confronting him like that other prophet that man have got from 139 00:08:50,030 --> 00:08:54,150 Judah, right? That's another good answer. 140 00:08:54,390 --> 00:08:59,080 Any other idea why? So he thinks he can trick the 141 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:02,200 prophet. How silly do you think people 142 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:06,600 attempt to fool God? They do all the time. 143 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,400 Do you think it looks good for this man who said behold your 144 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:14,400 gods pointing to golden calves who delivered you from Egypt, 145 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:16,680 now seeking a prophet of Yahweh for help? 146 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:18,800 It doesn't look very good, does it? 147 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,360 And perhaps it's a mixture of all those things that he doesn't 148 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:27,560 want to reveal his lack of faith in his own gods. 149 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:29,920 But I believe it's more than that. 150 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:32,560 I believe it's what we heard earlier, that here's Jeroboam, 151 00:09:32,560 --> 00:09:38,760 who is fully aware of how far he has walked away from God, and so 152 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:42,680 he does not feel confident to approach God's messenger openly. 153 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:48,400 And so instead, aware that this prophet is old and as we're 154 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:52,200 about to discover, he has his sight that's impaired. 155 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:56,080 He would disguise his wife and have her speak on his behalf. 156 00:09:57,520 --> 00:09:59,160 And Jeroboam shows us something here. 157 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:01,480 He shows us that he's not only distant from God from the 158 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:06,320 standpoint of disobedience, he is far from God from a 159 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:08,240 theological understanding as well. 160 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:14,720 This shows just how out of touch Jeroboam is with the character 161 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:17,680 and the true nature of the Lord. You know why? 162 00:10:17,680 --> 00:10:21,760 Because if Jeroboam understood who God was, then he would know 163 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:26,880 that he could approach God directly and freely. 164 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:30,800 You and I have studied the word of God to know enough and be 165 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:35,360 convinced that the Lord is always ready to be approached, 166 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:39,640 that he has open arms for the One, no matter how long they've 167 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:42,720 been away from God, no matter how far they have distanced 168 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:46,040 themselves from God. That the Lord is always ready to 169 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:49,560 receive us and hear us and heal us and restore us. 170 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:55,080 Jeroboam got it all wrong. He did not perceive the true 171 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:59,800 purity and beauty and loveliness of the Lord, and so he comes up 172 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:03,080 with this scheme. But Jeroboam here is not 173 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:06,200 demonstrating the hesitation of a person who's broken because of 174 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:10,240 their sin and is unsure of the depths of God's mercy for 175 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:15,680 idolaters and deceivers. Expectedly, Jeroboam here is 176 00:11:15,680 --> 00:11:19,480 acting cunningly. Jeroboam here is trying to be 177 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:24,560 smart and predictably. We can see here that Jeroboam is 178 00:11:24,560 --> 00:11:27,880 a picture of people who want God to save them out of their 179 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:29,400 trouble, but not out of their sin. 180 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:33,640 Other people like that, other people who are ready to turn to 181 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:36,880 God when they're in trouble, but not ready to turn to God. 182 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:41,120 To see God heal them from their sin and bring them into 183 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:44,240 righteousness and right relationship with God all the 184 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:50,760 time, all the time go talk to the man of God. 185 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:53,440 I need some answers for this predicament. 186 00:11:55,040 --> 00:11:58,600 But he's not ready to go to God and say God, I I see and I hear 187 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:01,920 you now I'm ready to give my life over to you. 188 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:07,080 And so he does now send his wife, his poor wife. 189 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:09,520 And we read what happens in verse 4. 190 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:16,440 Jeroboam's wife did. So she arose and went to Shiloh 191 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:21,800 and came to the House of Ahijah. Now Aija could not see, for his 192 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:24,280 eyes were dim because of his age. 193 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:28,440 And the Lord said to Aija, behold, the wife of Jeroboam is 194 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:31,960 coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is 195 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:39,240 sick thus and thus shall you say to her, This moves me. 196 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:44,240 So now the scene shifts over to Aija, who is this prophet that 197 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:47,040 we've seen before, who is well advanced in years? 198 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:50,760 And not only is he advanced in years, he's suffering to some 199 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:56,000 degree because of his old age. And this is moving because we 200 00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:59,360 don't have to think too long to think about the disadvantages 201 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:01,480 that physical blindness can bring about someone. 202 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:06,880 But at the same time, we learn here that this man who is blind 203 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:11,280 is in a greater position than those who can see but are not 204 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:15,240 with God. The man who can't see has 205 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:19,800 greater perception than those who do see with their physical 206 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:21,680 eyes but are blinded in their hearts. 207 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:26,760 So this man here, he does not have his eyes, but you know what 208 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:30,600 he does have? He has God, and you can sense 209 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:33,200 the tender intimacy that God has. 210 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:35,680 Here, You read this, and you can see that there's almost like a 211 00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:40,040 friendship going on here, where the Lord now comes to the ear of 212 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:41,120 his servant. Ah, He John. 213 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:46,040 He whispers into it, and he gives some insight of what's 214 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:48,200 about to take place before it even happens. 215 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:51,560 He gives them a heads up. And so you see this nearness. 216 00:13:51,560 --> 00:13:54,560 You see here again, this companionship of the Lord, and 217 00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:58,640 you see the Lord as a friend, deeply caring for his other 218 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:02,280 friend. He extends these thoughts that 219 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:05,320 would give him the grace to deal with what's about to take place 220 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:07,560 and we would be tempted to think, well, that's the 221 00:14:07,560 --> 00:14:11,200 advantage of a prophet in these times, that they had access to 222 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:13,600 God's provision and protection in such a way. 223 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:16,600 And I say no, yes, he's a prophet. 224 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:18,880 Yes, he could hear God's voice in a unique manner. 225 00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:24,160 But the protective care of God in this moment, the Psalmist 226 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:26,720 says it's available for a different category of people. 227 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:32,960 I think of Psalm 33 verse 18 where it says that the eye of 228 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:37,160 the Lord is on those who fear him. 229 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:42,880 The eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope 230 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:46,080 in his steadfast love. You know what I just 231 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:49,080 experiencing that God is ultimately his eyes. 232 00:14:49,080 --> 00:14:52,720 God is ultimately his ears, and through that perception that is 233 00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:55,840 beyond him. There was protection in his 234 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:58,440 life. And that's extended to a 235 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:01,200 different group of people, not just a roster of prophets in the 236 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:03,760 Old Covenant. But the Psalmist says for those 237 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:07,040 who fear him, the Eye of the Lord is on them. 238 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:09,360 What does that mean? For the Eye of the Lord to be on 239 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:10,360 those who fear him? What? 240 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:14,040 We're told in Psalm 33, verse 19, that he may deliver their 241 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:18,080 soul from death and keep them alive in famine. 242 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:22,280 You know God can do what he did here with a hijah. 243 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:24,600 He can supernaturally reveal to you the next step. 244 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:27,200 He can tell you what's going to happen to the stock Stock 245 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:27,800 market. He's going to. 246 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:29,600 He can tell you what's going to happen in this election year. 247 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:31,080 He can tell you anything. If he desires. 248 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:32,920 He can. He can supernaturally reveal it. 249 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:37,480 But if he doesn't, there's not one moment in your life where 250 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:41,400 his careful eye is not on you, if it's not going to be there, 251 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:45,640 supernaturally manifested, it is always there, providentially, 252 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:51,840 always there, guiding and leading, pivoting, reacting, 253 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:55,360 shielding. It is always in our favor. 254 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:57,680 For for who? For those who fear him. 255 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:05,440 So you don't have to wonder even for a moment, Can I know such 256 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:07,920 grace in my life? Can I know such shepherding? 257 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:12,040 As long as you walk in the fear of the Lord, you win God's eye 258 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:14,520 on your life until you meet him face to face. 259 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:17,760 The eye of the Lord is on those who fear him. 260 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:21,360 I see the eye of the Lord here for a blind man who can't see 261 00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:25,200 for himself, but he's not at a disadvantage at all. 262 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:28,960 He was prepared for what was to come, because the Lord will not 263 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:33,680 allow his servants to be overcome by the evil. 1 So the 264 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:37,000 wife of Jeroboam is now coming, and the Lord says she's coming, 265 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:39,480 and she's going to inquire of you concerning her son, for he's 266 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:41,080 sick. So this is what you're going to 267 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:43,840 say. Let's read what happens. 268 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:49,880 It says here when she came, she pretended to be another woman at 269 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:53,360 the end of verse 5 But when Ahijah heard the sound of her 270 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:57,240 feet as she came in at the door, he said, come in, wife of 271 00:16:57,240 --> 00:16:59,760 Jeroboam, why do you pretend to be another? 272 00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:03,880 Imagine how frightening that would be, for I am charged with 273 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:11,319 unbearable news for you. So we see here that the man 274 00:17:11,319 --> 00:17:14,640 knew, and then he says something in the middle of this, right, 275 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:16,880 that you can imagine how jaw-dropping this experience 276 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:18,680 might have been. Here you are thinking that 277 00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:20,839 you're going to have this advantage over a man who could 278 00:17:20,839 --> 00:17:23,760 not see you have these gifts that makes you seem like a 279 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:26,440 commoner, right? These loaves and this jar of 280 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:29,040 honey, and you have everything set up. 281 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:32,400 And before you even meet the man, you even open your mouth, 282 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:35,800 the Prophet knows. Come in, wife of Jeroboam. 283 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:40,400 Let's not play these games now. But he asked this piercing 284 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:42,200 question. It's a question that applies to 285 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:44,960 her, and it's a question that applies universally to all men. 286 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:49,880 Did you see it? Look here again in verse six, he 287 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:55,840 said, Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be 288 00:17:56,120 --> 00:18:01,600 another? That's a good question to ask 289 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:04,360 some church people. Wouldn't you agree? 290 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:09,040 Why do you pretend to be? Why do you feel the need to 291 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:13,040 masquerade as someone else in the presence of God's people, in 292 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:15,080 this case, in the presence of God's prophet? 293 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:20,560 God can't be misled, he can't be fooled. 294 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:26,840 And the principle here deals with hypocrisy. 295 00:18:28,120 --> 00:18:34,040 Hypocrisy may offer some kind of relief and advantage for a 296 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:36,720 moment, but its success is never long term. 297 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:41,600 It never works long term. It may work for a moment, it may 298 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:45,080 please you for a season. It might gain you some kind of 299 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:47,000 feat and some kind of accomplishment. 300 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:52,440 But it never, ever it. Just as the law of gravity is 301 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:56,360 established in the universe, so is the law of hypocrisy in God's 302 00:18:56,360 --> 00:18:59,600 world. It can never go on without 303 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:03,720 eventually being exposed. It's a waste of time. 304 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:06,280 It's a waste of energy. And no matter how clever you 305 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:10,520 are, no matter how believable you are in God's universe, 306 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:13,400 whatever is hidden in the darkness will come to light 307 00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:16,880 eventually. And Jesus is the one who defined 308 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:19,360 that law, not me. This is not me making it up by 309 00:19:19,360 --> 00:19:21,480 inference. No, he says in Luke 12, verse 310 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:25,080 one and two, he warns his disciples of the leaven of the 311 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:26,240 Pharisees. What is the leaven of the 312 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:29,800 Pharisees? Hypocrisy is the leaven of the 313 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:32,360 Pharisees. He tells his disciples He's not 314 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:34,320 telling the world, he's telling his own. 315 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:38,560 He said, disciples, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. 316 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:41,480 You know what that tells me? That even followers of Jesus 317 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:45,600 Christ are tempted to pretend to be someone else. 318 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:50,800 Don't do it, he says beware, be careful. 319 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:55,920 And then he tells us why in verse two of Luke 12 nothing is 320 00:19:55,920 --> 00:20:01,920 covered up that will not be revealed or hidden, that will 321 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:03,640 not be known. Why don't we go to verse 3? 322 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:05,200 Because he just elaborates on that. 323 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,360 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in 324 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:11,840 the light, and what you have whispered in private room shall 325 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:17,080 be proclaimed on the housetops. It doesn't work. 326 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:21,760 It doesn't. And some disguise themselves to 327 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:26,720 be as someone else maliciously. Sometimes those people are 328 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:29,280 wolves. Sometimes those people just want 329 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:32,320 to impress others, and that's why it's not always malicious. 330 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:34,120 Sometimes it's out of insecurity. 331 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:40,680 Either way, just determine in your own heart that God 332 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:43,440 champions and he prizes authenticity. 333 00:20:44,120 --> 00:20:48,240 God just wants you to be real. He just wants you to be true. 334 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:52,560 Not just before him in private, but before God's people. 335 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:58,160 Jesus was moved. Jesus praised Nathanael because 336 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:00,680 there was no guile in him. That tells me something about 337 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:07,920 the heart of Christ He loves. When people are simple, what you 338 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:11,360 see is what you get. This is who I am. 339 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:18,000 And I I want Jesus to praise my life, not just privately but 340 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:21,680 publicly. And so we have to understand 341 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:24,360 here that when we try to pretend to be another, it doesn't work 342 00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:26,960 with God. It may work with others, but it 343 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:29,720 doesn't work with God, and it doesn't work with those who are 344 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:35,240 in tune with God. And so this woman tried it, and 345 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:37,400 it did not even work for a second. 346 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:39,840 Why do you pretend to be another? 347 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:43,400 And then verse 7 go tell Jeroboam. 348 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:47,160 Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, because I exalted you 349 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:50,280 from among the people, made you leader over my people Israel, 350 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:53,320 and tore the Kingdom away from the House of David and gave it 351 00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:55,320 to you. And yet you have not been like 352 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:58,560 my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me 353 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:01,920 with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes. 354 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:05,120 But you have done evil above all who are before you, and have 355 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:08,520 gone and made yourself other gods and metal images, provoking 356 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,800 me to anger, and have cast me behind your back. 357 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:14,120 I mean, he's not even done yet. This is all in one breath. 358 00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:17,320 Verse 10. Therefore, behold, I will bring 359 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:20,880 harm upon the House of Jeroboam, and I will cut off from Jeroboam 360 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:24,440 every male both bond and free in Israel, and will burn up the 361 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:29,760 House of Jeroboam as a man burns up dung until it is all gone. 362 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:35,760 I need to breathe. After that, here's what's about 363 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:40,720 to take place. The charade is now exposed, and 364 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:43,280 Jeroboam is going to give this discourse. 365 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:47,440 He's going to lay out in detail the indictment against Jeroboam 366 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:49,800 and his house. So he does in the first part, 367 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:55,280 explains why the judgment is coming, and then he explains 368 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:57,440 what the judgment is going to be. 369 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:00,000 That's what he does in the 1st 2 verses that we read. 370 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:02,400 Why? Why is Jeroboam going to 371 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,920 experience the wrath of God? Look again at verse 7. 372 00:23:07,120 --> 00:23:11,360 Because I exalted you from among the people and made you a leader 373 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:14,840 over my people. The main reason for divine 374 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:20,200 retribution is because of God's grace being dispensed, but it 375 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:21,880 also being despised at the same time. 376 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:26,960 Jeroboam, I took you out of obscurity, Jeroboam. 377 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:32,400 I let my light of favor shine upon you when you did not 378 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:36,720 deserve it, and I pulled you up from among the thousands and the 379 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:38,440 hundreds of thousands and the millions. 380 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:41,560 And I've elevated you to this privileged place where I could 381 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:46,760 have secured your dynasty like the House of David, and you have 382 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:50,080 rejected that. And so we have to understand 383 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:53,240 here that God's grace was available and experienced by 384 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:55,680 Jeroboam. But because he did not allow 385 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:59,640 that grace to humble him and to cause him to adore him and to 386 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:04,320 stay close to him, he would not be free from guilt because of 387 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:08,520 that. And we see this in a personal 388 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:10,560 level, But let me talk about on a global level, You ready for 389 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:12,240 this? God's grace has been shown 390 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:16,240 ultimately through the person of his Son, Jesus Christ, and that 391 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:18,280 grace has been made available to all, right? 392 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:21,200 We can all, any person can approach the foot of the cross. 393 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:24,040 You will be held responsible whether you say yes to it or no 394 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:27,000 to it. And we're told in Second 395 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:30,960 Thessalonians 1/8 of what will become of those who will not 396 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:34,640 respond to the grace of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ? 397 00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:39,400 What is prepared for them? We're told there that vengeance 398 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:45,200 is prepared in flaming fire for those who do not obey the gospel 399 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:49,400 of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know what Paul calls the 400 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:52,920 gospel? The gospel of the grace of God. 401 00:24:54,800 --> 00:25:00,000 So on a macro level, what we learn here is true universally, 402 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,680 universally. When man rejects the grace of 403 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:06,080 God, that has already been expressed and demonstrated, he 404 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:10,160 will not be guiltless, he will not go free, he will be held 405 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:14,640 accountable with how he has treated God's mercy. 406 00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:16,640 And that's what we see here with Jeroboam. 407 00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:21,720 And the severity of his disregard for God reaching out 408 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:26,240 in this way is spelled out in a very particular way at the end 409 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:28,600 of verse nine. Look at verse 9 again. 410 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:32,080 But you have done evil above all who were before you, and have 411 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:36,160 gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking 412 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:41,280 me to anger and have cast me behind your back. 413 00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:47,040 Think of that imagery. You've cast me behind your back. 414 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:51,560 So Jeroboam, while you're going on through life, my grace 415 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:56,840 crashed on the scene and instead of it bringing to your knees, 416 00:25:56,840 --> 00:25:59,520 you extended your arms. Not so that you can embrace this 417 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:03,640 grace, but you placed your hands figuratively on my shoulders and 418 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:07,880 you thrust me behind you and you kept walking as though nothing 419 00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:09,560 had happened. That's the picture. 420 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:12,720 We're not talking about a friend. 421 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:14,160 We're not talking about the president. 422 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:17,080 We're not talking about the most gracious St. that has ever 423 00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:20,160 lived. We're talking about God being 424 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:25,160 cast behind the back of a person who drank deeply from the cup of 425 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:29,480 His grace. It's it makes you cringe to 426 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:31,360 think about it. This is what God is trying to 427 00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:34,440 paint as a picture. You took me and you threw me 428 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:37,480 behind you and you just kept going your way in life. 429 00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:41,920 And I can't help because David is mentioned in this context. 430 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:48,000 But think of another verse in David's life that contrast, this 431 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:52,680 language concerning compromise with faithfulness. 432 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:54,800 What's the imagery here? What's the language? 433 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:59,320 You've cast me behind your back. You know what David said about 434 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:03,720 God in Psalm 16/8. I have set the Lord always where 435 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:09,080 before me. I have set the Lord always 436 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:11,880 before me. And because he is at my right 437 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:14,200 hand I will not be shaken. What a difference. 438 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:18,760 Jeroboam took God and says you're you're behind me. 439 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:22,480 David understood God. He says please be before me, 440 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:26,360 always before me. You know what that says in Psalm 441 00:27:26,360 --> 00:27:29,280 16, eight? It's a daily decision to filter 442 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:34,040 life with God in view. It's to go through life with God 443 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:38,680 as your priority, You know, unless you can find a medium, I 444 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:40,880 can't. There's no neutrality in how one 445 00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:44,880 relates to God. He's either first or he's behind 446 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:46,920 you. He's either everything or he's 447 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:50,240 nothing. He's either leading or you're 448 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:52,800 leading. There's no in between here. 449 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:55,280 He's either before you or he's behind you. 450 00:27:56,680 --> 00:27:58,480 We everybody has to make that choice. 451 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:01,240 And there's reward for him being before you and there's 452 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:05,800 consequence if he's behind you. Jeroboam, you've cast me behind 453 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:10,080 your back. You're not like David because 454 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:14,720 David said I've set the Lord always before me. 455 00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:18,240 You know this language of casting God behind our backs, 456 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:20,760 that that idea of casting behind one's back. 457 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:23,240 Doesn't that ring a bell of another awesome truth? 458 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:27,680 Doesn't that ring a bell? Does anybody have an idea of 459 00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:29,480 what I'm referring to? I know I'm being very generally 460 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:30,800 on purpose. I don't want to give it away. 461 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:36,800 Casting behind one's back. Thank you, brother. 462 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:40,120 Did you hear that? Well, if you didn't, that's OK 463 00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:42,800 because I want you to see with your own eyes in Isaiah and 464 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:47,800 Isaiah 38, verse 17. This is Old Testament, by the 465 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:50,000 way. This is under the old coven. 466 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:54,520 That's very true in the New, in the person of Jesus Christ. 467 00:28:54,520 --> 00:29:00,560 But look at what is said in Isaiah 3817 as this is directed 468 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:03,880 towards the Lord. Behold, it was for my welfare 469 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:07,400 that I had great bitterness. But in love you have delivered 470 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:12,360 my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast 471 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:20,000 all my sins behind your back. And speaking to the Lord, you 472 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:22,120 know what God's willing to do with His back concerning you. 473 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:26,680 Take every sin that you've ever committed and to put it behind 474 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:28,560 him and to never turn his head again. 475 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:32,760 And you know what some do with this God who's willing to do 476 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:35,520 that with our sins? This God of grace, of mercy, of 477 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:39,840 love, this kind of God to say you're going to go behind my 478 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:44,360 back. The God who's willing to take 479 00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:47,760 all your filth, all your wrong, all your transgressions, and to 480 00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:52,640 throw it behind him and to walk anew with you is the God that 481 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:56,280 millions and billions of people see and say, I don't want you to 482 00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:58,280 be before me. I want you to be behind me. 483 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:02,720 And they're willing to keep their sins clung to their bosom 484 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:07,080 even unto damnation, and reject this God who's willing to take 485 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:10,520 their damnation, throw it into the sea of forgetfulness, and 486 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:16,480 embrace you into eternal life. So if you feel a righteous in 487 00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:19,600 nation, good. The God who takes the sins of 488 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:23,520 humanity, cast them behind his back, is rejected by billions, 489 00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:26,640 and it's cast behind their backs because they left sin more than 490 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:29,520 the Savior. And that's Jeroboam. 491 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:35,080 I endeavor by the grace of God to echo David's prayer. 492 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:39,800 I have set the Lord always before me, and may you have that 493 00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:45,400 same heart cry, and now we're told of what the judgment will 494 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:49,640 be, he says in verse 10. Therefore, behold, because 495 00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:52,000 you've cast me behind your back, I'm going to bring harm upon the 496 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:54,280 House of Jeroboam. I'm going to cut off from 497 00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:58,600 Jeroboam every male both bond and free in Israel, and will 498 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:02,520 burn up the House of Jeroboam as a man burns up dung until it is 499 00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:04,680 all gone. Can you imagine your family and 500 00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:07,720 your dynasty being recognized as dung? 501 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:13,080 I'm going to take your little empire and burn it up for the 502 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:17,960 waste that it really is. This is strong language, and for 503 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:20,920 good reason. But after all that was said, 504 00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:24,640 Aijah addresses the immediate concern of Jeroboam, which is 505 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:27,840 the fate of his son. So this unbearable news, listen, 506 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:30,240 it's only going to get compounded more because the 507 00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:33,480 Prophet assures the mother of the sick child that your son is 508 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:36,080 going to die the moment that you step foot back into your house. 509 00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:39,960 The moment you go back home is the moment your son is going to 510 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:42,080 give his final breath and live no more. 511 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:46,280 This would also be a sign that everything else that was 512 00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:48,400 declared would surely come to pass. 513 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:51,320 And you know, interestingly, with all of this, you get a 514 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:55,200 fragrance of God's mercy. There's a perfume of his 515 00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:56,800 gentleness. Even in this you're saying 516 00:31:56,800 --> 00:31:59,840 where? Let's read here in verse 11, 517 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:04,760 anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city, the dog shall 518 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:08,320 eat. This is, this is, this is 519 00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:10,880 astounding. Anyone who dies in the open 520 00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:13,480 country, the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the Lord 521 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:16,320 has spoken it. Arise, Therefore go to your 522 00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:18,440 house. When your feet enter the city, 523 00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:22,120 the child shall die, and all Israel shall mourn for him and 524 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:25,160 bury him. For he only of Jeroboam shall 525 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:28,360 come to the grave, because in him there's found something 526 00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:32,360 pleasing to the Lord. You're going to go home. 527 00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:37,400 Your child's going to die. But every other male connected 528 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:41,000 to Jeroboam's name is going to die in the field, and dogs will 529 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:43,680 chew on their flesh. And if they die in the open 530 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:46,200 country, the birds will have a buffet with their body. 531 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:50,640 And if you know the law, then this sounds very familiar, 532 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:53,920 because in Deuteronomy 28 we're told there in verse 26 that to 533 00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:57,920 die and have your body exposed to the elements and to be 534 00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:02,280 feasted on by the beasts of the air, the beasts of the field is 535 00:33:02,280 --> 00:33:04,440 the result of God's curse upon somebody. 536 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:08,480 You, you read the Old Testament and you get the impression that 537 00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:13,640 this culture prized and highly valued not just your life, but 538 00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:15,720 how you died and where you were buried. 539 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:18,840 It was a disgraceful thing for a Jew to die in such a manner. 540 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:22,440 It was a horrific thing. And yet with all of this, with 541 00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:25,520 the dynasty of Jeroboam, having that faith, we're told about 542 00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:29,360 this one son who's suffering the sickness, who's ready to pass on 543 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:34,040 from this life to the next, that he will have a proper and 544 00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:38,880 honorable burial, that he'll be mourned and he will be esteemed 545 00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:44,520 in his death. Why you're told exactly why in 546 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:47,560 verse 13, the last part of verse 13? 547 00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:54,480 Because in him there is found something pleasing to the Lord. 548 00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:02,040 God saw something in this boy. I I don't some people believe 549 00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:03,640 he's an infant. I don't believe he's an infant 550 00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:07,160 for this very reason. There is something in him that 551 00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:10,480 God was pleased by, and we're not told explicitly what it was. 552 00:34:10,679 --> 00:34:13,360 What was it that moved God's heart to extend this kind of 553 00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:18,239 mercy? Perhaps he did not participate 554 00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:20,239 in the false worship of these golden calves. 555 00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:23,000 Perhaps his heart was inclined down. 556 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:30,040 Deep inside, he knew my dad is a false man, a false God 557 00:34:30,040 --> 00:34:33,480 worshipper, a Pagan. And I know what God's law says, 558 00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:36,199 and I know that the true place of worship is in Jerusalem of 559 00:34:36,199 --> 00:34:38,480 the temple. And I know Yahweh is the true 560 00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:40,719 and living God. We're not told what it was, but 561 00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:43,760 it was enough for God to be moved to say, I'm going to honor 562 00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:48,040 this young man. There's something in him that 563 00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:51,159 pleases me. You know why this excites me? 564 00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:56,560 Because in the midst of this blackness and all this darkness 565 00:34:56,560 --> 00:35:00,120 and corruption in Jeroboam's family, in Jeroboam's Kingdom, 566 00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:04,040 there is this flickering light in Abidja. 567 00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:10,560 And you know what? In this day and age when you and 568 00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:14,960 I are being surrounded more and more by apostasy and idolatry 569 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:19,720 and satanic worship and blatant and obvious allegiance to evil 570 00:35:19,720 --> 00:35:23,960 and darkness from every front, we have the same opportunity to 571 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:26,480 offer something to the Lord as this man, young man did. 572 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:29,880 Who cares? Who cares If you grew up in a 573 00:35:29,880 --> 00:35:32,920 family that hates God, you have a chance to stand out before 574 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:35,320 God. OK, who cares? 575 00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:38,480 If all your friends want to be lukewarm and worldly and be 576 00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:41,240 corrupt? Determine in yourself that you 577 00:35:41,240 --> 00:35:43,440 will offer something from your heart to the Lord that will 578 00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:46,480 please him. Who cares? 579 00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:50,040 If this nation and this culture wants to abandon God and make 580 00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:54,320 you pay a price for fault, you have an opportunity today to 581 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:56,720 give something to the Lord that can please him. 582 00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:01,200 Don't get so overwhelmed by how many people are turning their 583 00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:04,280 backs on God and on Christ. I know it should break our 584 00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:05,800 hearts. I know it should cause us to 585 00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:07,160 have tears streaming down our face. 586 00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:11,120 Yet at the same time, you have an opportunity to shine brighter 587 00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:14,000 for Christ. That's how I view it. 588 00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:16,800 That's how I sense it. Lord, thank you for the 589 00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:20,280 privilege that you've dispensed enough truth in my life to know 590 00:36:20,440 --> 00:36:24,080 that I can serve you and honor you in this day of so much 591 00:36:24,080 --> 00:36:26,040 pollution. Let my life be unto you as a 592 00:36:26,040 --> 00:36:30,560 perfume, not concerned with anybody else. 593 00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:32,160 They want to be spiritual skeletons. 594 00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:35,880 Let them be spiritual skeletons. They want to add to the word of 595 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:37,640 God. Let them deal with that between 596 00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:40,480 them and the Lord. As for me, I want to serve the 597 00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:43,200 Lord. I want to pursue it. 598 00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:46,400 I want my life to be marked by that theme. 599 00:36:46,800 --> 00:36:50,000 He loved his God. He served his God. 600 00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:54,240 He was unwavering to his God. He pleased his God. 601 00:36:56,040 --> 00:36:57,240 And that's what this young man did. 602 00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:00,880 Moved God. You might be thinking to 603 00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:03,960 yourself, OK, that thank you for that. 604 00:37:04,120 --> 00:37:07,320 That was exciting. But where do you see mercy in 605 00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:11,160 this? Where's the grace in this? 606 00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:14,120 Oh, that he wouldn't be eaten by dogs and by birds. 607 00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:16,400 OK. I guess it's better to have a 608 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:21,560 nice formal funeral. Do you know why we would have 609 00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:25,680 trouble in seeing God taking the life of a young man who had so 610 00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:28,840 much life to live? Because we don't view death the 611 00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:34,680 way God does. That's why to us, death is 612 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:37,520 always a heartbreaking tragedy, especially for those who had so 613 00:37:37,520 --> 00:37:41,880 much to look forward to. But to God, sometimes death for 614 00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:47,560 the righteous is him rescuing them from unforeseen tragedy and 615 00:37:47,560 --> 00:37:52,640 calamity. So the honor is beyond just what 616 00:37:52,640 --> 00:37:56,520 his funeral would look like. The honor in him bringing him 617 00:37:56,720 --> 00:37:59,920 out of the world that he was in was because of what the Prophet 618 00:37:59,920 --> 00:38:01,920 said would come about for the House of Jeroboam. 619 00:38:03,240 --> 00:38:06,640 This would be so horrific that to witness alone would be so 620 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:11,080 overbearing and overwhelming. And instead of this young man 621 00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:14,320 being numbered among the other sons and males of the House of 622 00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:18,320 Jeroboam, he would exit this world early and he would be 623 00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:22,240 retrieved, hopefully to be with God. 624 00:38:23,720 --> 00:38:26,720 And if you think that this is a stretch, that is exactly what 625 00:38:26,720 --> 00:38:30,960 the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 57, verse one and two and 626 00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:34,640 Isaiah 57, one and two, in a context of judgment being 627 00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:38,480 declared an invasion ready to come, the heaping idolatry now 628 00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:40,760 reaching a point that it's going to be dealt with, with God's 629 00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:42,240 wrath. We're told something so 630 00:38:42,240 --> 00:38:44,720 interesting in those first two verses of Isaiah 57. 631 00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:49,320 The righteous man perishes and no one leads it to heart. 632 00:38:50,880 --> 00:38:54,760 Devout men are taken away while no one understands. 633 00:38:55,160 --> 00:38:58,680 For the righteous man is taken away from calamity. 634 00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:07,480 You see what's being said here? Some people don't consider and 635 00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:09,720 are not moved by the fact that the righteous are taken away 636 00:39:09,720 --> 00:39:13,720 from this life, either through persecution or early death or 637 00:39:13,720 --> 00:39:16,080 whatever the case may be. In this context, it's more 638 00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:21,920 persecution from evil men, and the Lord gives a little bit of 639 00:39:21,920 --> 00:39:24,400 an insight for why sometimes that is the case. 640 00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:28,160 You know, it's so funny. Last week we studied a man of 641 00:39:28,160 --> 00:39:31,080 God in First Kings 13 who disobeyed the Lord to such a 642 00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:32,640 degree that he would die because of it. 643 00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:37,640 Remember that God's discipline would be expressed through him 644 00:39:37,760 --> 00:39:41,200 being cut off from the earth. And now we come to this passage 645 00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:43,480 and read of an example of another young man who had 646 00:39:43,480 --> 00:39:44,960 something in him that pleased the Lord. 647 00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:47,400 And according to Isaiah, there's sometimes where the righteous 648 00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:49,720 are taken from the earth. Not because God disciplined 649 00:39:49,720 --> 00:39:54,440 them, because it's an act of mercy that he is going to 650 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:57,680 preserve them and protect them from enduring and witnessing 651 00:39:57,680 --> 00:40:03,120 calamities that would make death a greater experience in 652 00:40:03,120 --> 00:40:06,560 comparison. That's what's being said here. 653 00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:10,240 So we don't understand the ways of God. 654 00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:13,160 Like in First Kings 13. Sometimes the Lord does 655 00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:16,480 discipline his own and he takes them home early and sometimes 656 00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:20,240 the Lord takes his own home because he is preserving them 657 00:40:20,280 --> 00:40:23,400 from something else. In this life that would be more 658 00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:28,040 horrific than death itself. We don't know the ways of God, 659 00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:31,840 but we do know who God is and he gives us glimpses of his ways 660 00:40:31,840 --> 00:40:33,480 from time to time to reassure us. 661 00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:39,200 You know, we read this and we're reminded something about what 662 00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:41,160 death is in verse 2 for the righteous. 663 00:40:41,720 --> 00:40:43,640 For the righteous man is taken away from calamity. 664 00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:48,160 Verse two he enters into where does it say it? 665 00:40:48,760 --> 00:40:52,840 Peace. They rest in their beds who walk 666 00:40:52,840 --> 00:40:58,880 in their uprightness. That's how the righteous 667 00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:02,360 experience death. That's how God views death for 668 00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:08,800 the righteous. And we see here that this young 669 00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:13,600 man was being saved from something for God to take him in 670 00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:17,360 the way that he would take him. And I think of when I was 671 00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:19,720 meditating on this today, I thought of the words of Balaam 672 00:41:20,200 --> 00:41:22,240 Balaam who try to curse the people of God. 673 00:41:22,720 --> 00:41:26,160 His mouth was overtaken by the oracles of God and he would 674 00:41:26,160 --> 00:41:28,880 pronounce blessings over Israel instead. 675 00:41:29,480 --> 00:41:32,600 And you can't help but see that this man, as he's having these 676 00:41:32,600 --> 00:41:35,840 visions of the people of God and even eventually of the Messiah 677 00:41:35,840 --> 00:41:38,080 that would come through that people group. 678 00:41:38,320 --> 00:41:41,360 He also gets a glimpse of the way of the righteous and the 679 00:41:41,360 --> 00:41:44,760 Numbers 23 verse 10. He says this about not the life 680 00:41:44,760 --> 00:41:47,080 of the righteous, not the promises that they experience 681 00:41:47,080 --> 00:41:49,760 when they are rightly related to God, but even of their death. 682 00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:52,640 Here's what Balaam says in Numbers 2310. 683 00:41:53,160 --> 00:41:57,240 Let me die the death of the righteous and let my end be like 684 00:41:57,240 --> 00:42:03,040 his. So Balaam is seeing something as 685 00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:05,400 he's going through these ecstatic supernatural 686 00:42:05,400 --> 00:42:09,520 experiences and as a prophet he he envisions the death of the 687 00:42:09,560 --> 00:42:11,520 upright and he goes, I want that. 688 00:42:12,720 --> 00:42:15,440 That's how the that's how the upright get to die. 689 00:42:15,600 --> 00:42:18,880 That's what death leads to. I want that. 690 00:42:19,240 --> 00:42:24,960 Can you imagine? We shrink from death and 691 00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:28,640 rightfully so. Got to put a desire in life for 692 00:42:28,640 --> 00:42:32,000 us, for life in US. But this man says something so 693 00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:34,480 strange. I want to end my life in that 694 00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:37,000 way. And you know what? 695 00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:40,120 Balaam desired it so badly that he expressed it in a way that it 696 00:42:40,120 --> 00:42:43,600 was inscribed in Scripture. But you can't have the death of 697 00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:46,080 the upright unless you live the life of the upright. 698 00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:51,400 You can't die the death of the righteous and know the rewards 699 00:42:51,400 --> 00:42:53,640 there, and unless you're willing to live the life of the 700 00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:57,200 righteous. And you can't even begin to live 701 00:42:57,360 --> 00:42:59,680 the life of the righteous unless you first embrace the 702 00:42:59,680 --> 00:43:03,240 righteousness of Jesus Christ that empowers you unto 703 00:43:03,240 --> 00:43:07,160 righteousness. Oh, let my death be like the 704 00:43:07,160 --> 00:43:10,960 death of the upright. And it was only a wish because 705 00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:12,520 he did not die. The death of the upright. 706 00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:19,720 He died as a fool. He died in his apostasy and his 707 00:43:19,720 --> 00:43:22,080 false worship and his Pagan ways. 708 00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:26,960 You know there are a lot of people who have desires, but 709 00:43:26,960 --> 00:43:29,960 it'll never be realized as long as they are there in your heart 710 00:43:29,960 --> 00:43:34,040 and in your wishful thinking has to come to a point where you 711 00:43:34,040 --> 00:43:37,880 say, OK, whatever it costs for me to know this, I will pay the 712 00:43:37,880 --> 00:43:41,120 price. Does anybody know as we come 713 00:43:41,120 --> 00:43:44,720 back to our story in First Kings 14 what the name Abijah means. 714 00:43:44,720 --> 00:43:45,920 Daniel Bennett, You can't answer. 715 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:52,840 Any idea what that name means? The last part should give 716 00:43:52,840 --> 00:43:55,800 something away. Yeah, There's no J, right? 717 00:43:56,360 --> 00:43:58,560 In Hebrew, there's no pronunciation of the letter J. 718 00:43:58,680 --> 00:44:03,280 Yeah. Jehovah is my father. 719 00:44:04,440 --> 00:44:08,240 That's what this name means. I was trying to think, at what 720 00:44:08,240 --> 00:44:10,840 point did Jeroboam give that name to his son? 721 00:44:11,840 --> 00:44:16,280 Jehovah is my father. I'm not sure, but I hope that 722 00:44:16,440 --> 00:44:18,200 Abijah actually lived up to his name. 723 00:44:20,120 --> 00:44:23,400 I hope the extent of his pleasure offered to God was that 724 00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:25,560 he recognized Jehovah as his father. 725 00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:30,040 And if that is true, then how encouraging is it for those who, 726 00:44:30,040 --> 00:44:34,480 like Abijah, did not have a father in this life, a mother in 727 00:44:34,480 --> 00:44:37,480 this life, a household that they grew up in, that honored God as 728 00:44:37,480 --> 00:44:41,160 such? Because although Jehovah and his 729 00:44:41,160 --> 00:44:44,560 name was his father, Jeroboam was far from an example of what 730 00:44:44,560 --> 00:44:47,160 it means to serve God. You know, you have a lot of 731 00:44:47,160 --> 00:44:52,440 people who blame their perpetual shortcomings, the unwillingness 732 00:44:52,440 --> 00:44:56,880 to completely surrender to the Lord due to their upbringing due 733 00:44:56,880 --> 00:45:00,360 to the lack of example in those who were meant to lead them to 734 00:45:00,360 --> 00:45:03,280 the environment that they were familiar with. 735 00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:08,240 And you can make that excuse all you want, or you can make a 736 00:45:08,240 --> 00:45:12,920 decision and realize that identity in Christ crushes all 737 00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:15,720 of that. Because if there be any man who 738 00:45:15,720 --> 00:45:17,440 is in Christ, he is a new creation. 739 00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:19,480 The old has gone. Behold, the new has come. 740 00:45:20,560 --> 00:45:23,400 Either this gospel really changes us, or we're just 741 00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:27,160 singing empty words and hearing useless sermons. 742 00:45:28,320 --> 00:45:30,960 If you really do come in Christ, and you have a lot of people 743 00:45:30,960 --> 00:45:33,800 even out there that try to justify this theology of 744 00:45:33,800 --> 00:45:37,000 generational curses, which I don't understand. 745 00:45:37,000 --> 00:45:38,280 Biblically, I don't see it anywhere. 746 00:45:38,280 --> 00:45:40,720 In scripture. You can see patterns being 747 00:45:40,720 --> 00:45:44,640 passed down for generations. But even if that case, even that 748 00:45:44,640 --> 00:45:47,880 was something that was held to, what does the blood of Christ 749 00:45:47,880 --> 00:45:49,760 do? It cancels it anyway. 750 00:45:50,840 --> 00:45:54,520 It cancels it anyway. We have to revisit again in our 751 00:45:54,520 --> 00:45:57,520 gospel presentation, our gospel of faith, our gospel singing, 752 00:45:57,520 --> 00:46:00,400 our gospel living, the power of the new birth. 753 00:46:00,520 --> 00:46:03,720 He changes you. He does. 754 00:46:03,960 --> 00:46:07,040 No matter where you came from, no matter how perverted and 755 00:46:07,040 --> 00:46:11,120 twisted and blasphemous and evil and might have been when you're 756 00:46:11,120 --> 00:46:13,320 in Him, there's true transformation. 757 00:46:13,680 --> 00:46:16,680 A new future, a New Hope, a new trajectory. 758 00:46:16,880 --> 00:46:18,880 No matter how it's been like for centuries. 759 00:46:20,400 --> 00:46:23,760 Abijah here shows Jehovah is my father, and there was something 760 00:46:23,760 --> 00:46:28,360 in him that pleased the Lord despite all the negative evil 761 00:46:28,360 --> 00:46:31,080 examples around him. He was able to stand out. 762 00:46:31,080 --> 00:46:33,600 So can you. So can you. 763 00:46:35,160 --> 00:46:37,840 You just have to make a choice. It's called faith to believe it 764 00:46:37,840 --> 00:46:40,560 for yourself, to believe it through the truth and the word 765 00:46:40,560 --> 00:46:41,840 of God. That's why we're hearing these 766 00:46:41,840 --> 00:46:43,400 things. Oh, if it's possible for this 767 00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:48,560 guy who lived in a household that threatened people that 768 00:46:48,560 --> 00:46:54,480 serve the true God, to serve the true God to some extent, then 769 00:46:54,480 --> 00:46:58,360 let it be so of my life. Jehovah is my father. 770 00:46:58,360 --> 00:47:02,160 Oh, I hope that that was true in a practical way in this young 771 00:47:02,160 --> 00:47:05,720 man's life. It was Matthew Henry. 772 00:47:05,720 --> 00:47:09,080 You said those that are good and bad times and places shine very 773 00:47:09,080 --> 00:47:12,440 brightly in the eyes of God. Yeah, it's true. 774 00:47:14,240 --> 00:47:16,800 So what happens? There was found something 775 00:47:16,800 --> 00:47:19,440 pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the House of Jeroboam 776 00:47:19,880 --> 00:47:23,320 verse 14. Moreover, the Lord will raise up 777 00:47:23,320 --> 00:47:26,920 for himself a king over Israel, who shall cut off the House of 778 00:47:26,920 --> 00:47:30,640 Jeroboam today. And henceforth the Lord will 779 00:47:30,640 --> 00:47:37,320 strike Israel as a Reed is shaken in the water the and root 780 00:47:37,320 --> 00:47:40,080 up Israel out of his good land, out of this good land that He 781 00:47:40,080 --> 00:47:43,640 gave to their fathers, and scatter them beyond the 782 00:47:43,640 --> 00:47:48,120 Euphrates, because they have made-up their ashram, provoking 783 00:47:48,120 --> 00:47:51,080 the Lord to anger. And he will give Israel up 784 00:47:51,080 --> 00:47:55,320 because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned and made Israel 785 00:47:55,320 --> 00:47:58,960 to sin. So not only now is he dealing 786 00:47:58,960 --> 00:48:03,120 with the household of Jeroboam, he extends the judgment to the 787 00:48:03,120 --> 00:48:06,680 nation of Israel as a whole. Judgment is not just coming to 788 00:48:06,680 --> 00:48:09,880 your family, Jeroboam judgment is coming to the 10 tribes of 789 00:48:09,880 --> 00:48:13,160 the north. And where this is leading to is 790 00:48:13,160 --> 00:48:15,280 an exile, not the Babylonian exile. 791 00:48:15,280 --> 00:48:17,400 The Babylonian exile would come after this one. 792 00:48:17,400 --> 00:48:19,120 This is what kind of an exile from who? 793 00:48:20,200 --> 00:48:21,360 Tell me. The people group that would 794 00:48:21,360 --> 00:48:25,320 exile the the tribes of the north, the Syrians. 795 00:48:25,600 --> 00:48:29,360 The Syrians would come in and would remove these people, these 796 00:48:29,360 --> 00:48:34,240 10 tribes from the good land. And then Judah will follow 797 00:48:34,240 --> 00:48:37,160 through the Babylonian exile, taking them from their land as 798 00:48:37,160 --> 00:48:39,640 well. You know what's interesting is 799 00:48:39,640 --> 00:48:43,480 what we read here. In verse 16, he will give Israel 800 00:48:43,480 --> 00:48:49,280 up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and 801 00:48:49,280 --> 00:48:53,240 made Israel to sin. So because of Jeroboam's sin, 802 00:48:53,240 --> 00:48:55,000 the nation will go into exile. Well, how does that work? 803 00:48:55,000 --> 00:48:56,960 Here's the here's the truth, Here's the lesson. 804 00:48:57,880 --> 00:49:00,320 When we sin, there are consequences for sure. 805 00:49:00,360 --> 00:49:04,200 But when leaders sin, the shockwave is greater. 806 00:49:07,400 --> 00:49:09,600 Don't strive to be a leader in in ministry. 807 00:49:10,880 --> 00:49:12,800 Don't, don't, don't itch for that. 808 00:49:12,800 --> 00:49:15,560 Don't fight for that. Don't push doors open because 809 00:49:15,920 --> 00:49:19,520 yes, there is a great reward in that, but there is a heavy 810 00:49:19,520 --> 00:49:23,840 responsibility and that's what we see here. 811 00:49:23,840 --> 00:49:27,560 Jeroboam sins would lead to Israel being given up over to 812 00:49:28,120 --> 00:49:32,560 the Assyrians. You know, I want to show this 813 00:49:32,560 --> 00:49:35,320 truth, this, this is a truth that was mentioned in the study 814 00:49:35,320 --> 00:49:38,240 of Leviticus. I'm not sure how many, how many 815 00:49:38,240 --> 00:49:40,640 of us remember those lessons in Leviticus, but here is one of 816 00:49:40,640 --> 00:49:41,640 them. Let's turn there. 817 00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:44,600 This is not planned. But why not? 818 00:49:45,800 --> 00:49:47,880 Let's go to Leviticus. I want you to see something. 819 00:50:01,460 --> 00:50:09,800 Look at Leviticus 4. These are the laws for sin 820 00:50:09,800 --> 00:50:14,360 offerings, and we're told of different categories of people 821 00:50:14,360 --> 00:50:17,480 within Israel of what the protocol would be if they 822 00:50:17,480 --> 00:50:20,280 sinned. And the first category of people 823 00:50:20,280 --> 00:50:26,360 is found here in verse 3. If it is the anointed priest who 824 00:50:26,360 --> 00:50:31,800 sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, then he shall offer for 825 00:50:31,800 --> 00:50:36,120 the sin that he has committed A what a bull. 826 00:50:36,120 --> 00:50:40,920 Remember that a bull from the herd without blemish to the Lord 827 00:50:41,000 --> 00:50:45,200 for a sin offering. So if the anointed priest, that 828 00:50:45,200 --> 00:50:49,120 class of ministers that was rarely shared among the people, 829 00:50:49,320 --> 00:50:52,440 that was distinct and separate onto a particular group for 830 00:50:52,440 --> 00:50:55,680 generations. If the anointed priests sins, it 831 00:50:55,680 --> 00:50:58,040 required a bull to be sacrificed. 832 00:50:59,360 --> 00:51:00,960 Then you read on and you see different things. 833 00:51:00,960 --> 00:51:04,240 But look what happens here in verse 13 of the same chapter. 834 00:51:05,840 --> 00:51:09,520 If the whole congregation of Israel's sins unintentionally 835 00:51:09,880 --> 00:51:12,960 and The thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they 836 00:51:12,960 --> 00:51:16,080 do any one of those things that by the Lord's commandments are 837 00:51:16,080 --> 00:51:20,200 not to be done, and they realize their guilt when the sin which 838 00:51:20,200 --> 00:51:21,640 they have committed becomes known. 839 00:51:21,880 --> 00:51:29,280 The assembly shall offer a what? A bull from the herd for a sin 840 00:51:29,280 --> 00:51:32,520 offering and bring it in the front of the tent of meeting. 841 00:51:32,720 --> 00:51:37,440 That doesn't mean much unless you continue to read on and you 842 00:51:37,440 --> 00:51:40,520 see other things. For example verse 27. 843 00:51:40,520 --> 00:51:43,440 Look at verse 27. If any one of the common people 844 00:51:43,440 --> 00:51:47,600 sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by 845 00:51:47,600 --> 00:51:49,640 the Lord's commandments are not to be done and realizes his 846 00:51:49,640 --> 00:51:52,280 guilt or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, 847 00:51:52,440 --> 00:51:54,640 he shall bring for his offering. A what? 848 00:51:56,080 --> 00:51:59,720 A goat, Not a bull, right? What's bigger, a bull or a goat? 849 00:52:00,720 --> 00:52:03,640 A goat, a female without blemish for his sin which he has 850 00:52:03,640 --> 00:52:05,200 committed. And then you read of another 851 00:52:05,200 --> 00:52:06,640 category of people. We won't get into that. 852 00:52:07,200 --> 00:52:08,280 You know what I find interesting? 853 00:52:08,600 --> 00:52:12,800 That when the anointed priests sins, it was the same process 854 00:52:12,800 --> 00:52:15,080 and the same protocol and the same sacrifice as though the 855 00:52:15,080 --> 00:52:21,120 whole community sinned. When leaders sin, there are 856 00:52:21,120 --> 00:52:24,760 different consequences. They're much bigger 857 00:52:24,760 --> 00:52:30,840 consequences. And Jeroboam would sin and it 858 00:52:30,840 --> 00:52:34,680 would cause the people to sin and eventually be LED into 859 00:52:34,680 --> 00:52:37,000 exile. Now let's come back to this 860 00:52:37,000 --> 00:52:40,840 final verses of his life before we finish this study for 861 00:52:40,840 --> 00:52:49,400 tonight. It says here in verse 17. 862 00:52:50,040 --> 00:52:53,880 Then Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and came to Tirza. 863 00:52:54,880 --> 00:52:58,400 And as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died, 864 00:52:59,280 --> 00:53:03,240 and all Israel buried him and mourned for him according to the 865 00:53:03,240 --> 00:53:06,520 word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Ahija, the 866 00:53:06,520 --> 00:53:09,000 Prophet. Now the rest of the acts of 867 00:53:09,000 --> 00:53:11,720 Jeroboam, how he ward and how he reigned, behold, they are 868 00:53:11,720 --> 00:53:13,640 written in the books of the Chronicles of the kings of 869 00:53:13,640 --> 00:53:16,040 Israel. And the time that Jeroboam 870 00:53:16,040 --> 00:53:19,840 reigned was 22 years, and he slept with his fathers. 871 00:53:19,840 --> 00:53:23,600 And Nadab, his son, reigned in his place. 872 00:53:24,240 --> 00:53:26,120 That's how this guy is going to be remembered forever. 873 00:53:28,920 --> 00:53:31,400 That's how he's going to be remembered for the rest of human 874 00:53:31,400 --> 00:53:35,360 history. And when you close this chapter, 875 00:53:35,360 --> 00:53:38,720 at least this part of the chapter of his life can't help 876 00:53:38,720 --> 00:53:43,560 but think, even here at this final moment, what would it look 877 00:53:43,560 --> 00:53:46,360 like if he had just turned to the Lord? 878 00:53:47,320 --> 00:53:51,840 If he had just stopped? And he said, OK Lord, I'm done. 879 00:53:52,800 --> 00:53:55,080 I'm done running. I'm done ignoring. 880 00:53:55,080 --> 00:53:58,720 I'm done rebelling. I need you. 881 00:53:59,480 --> 00:54:04,040 Forgive me. You know, some of us might think 882 00:54:05,960 --> 00:54:08,880 after everything, maybe that wouldn't make any difference. 883 00:54:10,800 --> 00:54:13,880 Maybe that's it. Maybe he had no other choice. 884 00:54:14,000 --> 00:54:16,880 He's gone so far off the deep end that he might as well have 885 00:54:16,880 --> 00:54:18,600 continued in his sin. You know, there's some people 886 00:54:18,600 --> 00:54:19,920 think like that about their lives. 887 00:54:21,200 --> 00:54:25,240 There's some people who think I'm so torn up, I'm so scarred, 888 00:54:25,800 --> 00:54:29,760 I'm such a mess, that I might as well make the most of it. 889 00:54:29,760 --> 00:54:32,360 Let me eat, drink and be married for tomorrow. 890 00:54:32,360 --> 00:54:36,600 I die. I've seen such hopelessness. 891 00:54:37,840 --> 00:54:40,760 I've seen it. You don't see it much in the 892 00:54:40,760 --> 00:54:43,200 church scene. But if you step outside of the 893 00:54:43,200 --> 00:54:46,840 four walls a little bit and tell some people about Jesus who've 894 00:54:46,840 --> 00:54:49,360 never heard the name Jesus or have heard it but don't even 895 00:54:49,360 --> 00:54:52,400 know what the gospel is, you'd be amazed to know the tragedies 896 00:54:52,600 --> 00:54:54,760 that people in your classroom have experienced in your 897 00:54:54,760 --> 00:54:57,160 workplace have experienced. And when you come to the 898 00:54:57,160 --> 00:55:00,720 invitation of them receiving Christ, it's almost, they can't 899 00:55:00,720 --> 00:55:05,080 even fathom it because of how trash their lives have been. 900 00:55:08,080 --> 00:55:09,920 And just recently had a conversation with somebody who 901 00:55:09,920 --> 00:55:12,240 could not even imagine being a Christian because they could not 902 00:55:12,240 --> 00:55:14,360 see themselves living up to the standard of Christianity. 903 00:55:14,640 --> 00:55:17,080 And we just have to revisit what it means to embrace the gospel 904 00:55:17,080 --> 00:55:19,480 of grace. There are people who believe 905 00:55:19,480 --> 00:55:23,400 that, and This is why I was wrestling with this Bible study, 906 00:55:23,400 --> 00:55:25,840 whether they continue into the life of Jeroboam, at least the 907 00:55:25,840 --> 00:55:27,640 final moments of his life. Because when you come to 908 00:55:27,640 --> 00:55:33,080 Jeroboam story, it looks just as hopeless as as Jeroboams. 909 00:55:33,680 --> 00:55:35,520 But then when you look at a different part of the Bible, you 910 00:55:35,520 --> 00:55:38,480 see that Rehoboam made a different decision than 911 00:55:38,480 --> 00:55:41,520 Jeroboam. And it solidifies this truth 912 00:55:41,520 --> 00:55:45,280 that it's never too late to look to the Lord and say please 913 00:55:45,280 --> 00:55:49,760 forgive me, never too late. Even in the final moments of 914 00:55:49,760 --> 00:55:52,120 your life you can turn to the Lord and it can make the 915 00:55:52,120 --> 00:55:55,720 remainder of your life much sweeter than you could have 916 00:55:55,720 --> 00:55:58,600 imagined. And I want to tell you tonight, 917 00:55:58,720 --> 00:56:00,760 because you you might be a Bible study. 918 00:56:00,760 --> 00:56:01,800 You might come every single week. 919 00:56:01,840 --> 00:56:03,480 I don't know what you do after these nights. 920 00:56:03,520 --> 00:56:04,760 I don't know what your life looks like. 921 00:56:04,760 --> 00:56:08,240 I'm not God. But it could be that you are 922 00:56:08,240 --> 00:56:14,040 equally broken and that you feel as though it can't really turn 923 00:56:14,040 --> 00:56:16,480 around. The damage has been done. 924 00:56:17,600 --> 00:56:21,080 The history of my own family is almost prophetic in the sense 925 00:56:21,080 --> 00:56:25,560 that I know where I'm headed. And that's how people talk. 926 00:56:26,200 --> 00:56:29,520 That's how people talk. Their marriage is on the brink 927 00:56:29,520 --> 00:56:30,800 of divorce. And you know what they say? 928 00:56:30,800 --> 00:56:34,000 I've talked to people like that. Oh, well, you know, my my cousin 929 00:56:34,000 --> 00:56:35,880 got divorced. My brothers got divorced. 930 00:56:35,880 --> 00:56:37,600 My sisters just divorce all of my family. 931 00:56:37,600 --> 00:56:39,480 This is just something that I'm going to have to This is just 932 00:56:39,480 --> 00:56:41,560 part of our history. This is part of our family line, 933 00:56:42,440 --> 00:56:46,040 not in Christ. He breaks all of that. 934 00:56:46,360 --> 00:56:49,840 That's the power of the gospel. He plucks you out of any 935 00:56:49,840 --> 00:56:54,840 pattern, any destructive path, and He makes you a new creation. 936 00:56:55,840 --> 00:56:59,120 And he can transform your future and the future that would come 937 00:56:59,120 --> 00:57:02,000 through you. And that's what I want to extend 938 00:57:02,000 --> 00:57:03,800 to you today. You might have come in here 939 00:57:03,800 --> 00:57:09,320 broken, sinful, filthy, heavy, discouraged to the bone. 940 00:57:12,160 --> 00:57:18,560 If you just turn to Christ and give him your heart, you can 941 00:57:18,560 --> 00:57:21,160 leave here a different person with a different future. 942 00:57:21,760 --> 00:57:25,080 It's possible, Lord, I pray, that people would believe. 943 00:57:25,080 --> 00:57:28,120 It's possible, We pray, Lord, that our hearts would be 944 00:57:28,120 --> 00:57:37,440 reminded that even with a heavy chapter like this, your yoke is 945 00:57:37,440 --> 00:57:45,200 easy and your burden is light. Thank you, Lord, that as 946 00:57:45,200 --> 00:57:48,880 Christians we get to shine before you. 947 00:57:49,400 --> 00:57:51,200 We might be despised by the world. 948 00:57:51,200 --> 00:57:55,320 We might be a fragrance unto death by those who love their 949 00:57:55,320 --> 00:57:59,240 sin and hate the truth of the gospel, But Lord, our concern is 950 00:57:59,240 --> 00:58:04,040 what you see and hear. And, Lord, we want to be greater 951 00:58:04,040 --> 00:58:07,680 than what Abidja was. We want to be in greater ways a 952 00:58:07,680 --> 00:58:11,600 pleasing aroma unto you. And we pray, Lord, that you 953 00:58:11,600 --> 00:58:14,400 would give us the strength and the energy to live the remainder 954 00:58:14,400 --> 00:58:18,960 of our days where people are worshipping things and giving 955 00:58:18,960 --> 00:58:21,800 their lives and their allegiance to things that are very similar 956 00:58:21,800 --> 00:58:24,120 to the foolishness of Jeroboam's golden calves. 957 00:58:25,760 --> 00:58:28,840 Help us, Lord, be set apart unto you. 958 00:58:30,240 --> 00:58:34,040 Help us, Lord, please you. It warms our hearts to know that 959 00:58:34,040 --> 00:58:39,680 you see our our inner man, and you can recognize something that 960 00:58:39,680 --> 00:58:44,400 blesses you. And Lord, we want to declare to 961 00:58:44,400 --> 00:58:49,120 you that we love you. We love Your Son, the Lord Jesus 962 00:58:49,120 --> 00:58:51,320 Christ. We love Your gospel. 963 00:58:51,600 --> 00:58:54,760 We love your word. We love your church. 964 00:58:55,040 --> 00:58:57,560 We love holiness. We love to sing to you. 965 00:58:57,720 --> 00:59:00,480 We love to obey you. We love to serve you in any 966 00:59:00,480 --> 00:59:04,880 capacity. Lord, we love you, Receive our 967 00:59:04,880 --> 00:59:09,000 worship even now. And Lord, may it be only 968 00:59:09,000 --> 00:59:11,880 stronger and stronger as you lead us from glory to glory. 969 00:59:12,200 --> 00:59:16,120 This is our heart cry, O God, even studying kings, we are more 970 00:59:16,120 --> 00:59:19,600 encouraged to stand out for your name's sake. 971 00:59:19,600 --> 00:59:21,680 In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 972 00:59:22,120 --> 00:59:23,960 Amen. Well, do you believe it? 973 00:59:24,640 --> 00:59:26,560 Yeah. Do you desire it? 974 00:59:27,320 --> 00:59:29,200 I hope so. I know Friday nights are tough. 975 00:59:29,200 --> 00:59:32,920 You worked all week, and you have to endure a guy that can't 976 00:59:32,920 --> 00:59:34,520 let go of the microphone so easily. 977 00:59:35,240 --> 00:59:37,240 You made it. Praise God. 978 00:59:37,240 --> 00:59:40,200 Indeed. Thank you for the encouragement. 979 00:59:40,600 --> 00:59:41,640 Let's stand and worship the Lord. 980 00:59:41,640 --> 00:59:44,640 Together we worship a living Christ. 981 00:59:55,840 --> 01:00:01,040 He hears us tonight. And listen, If you really speak 982 01:00:01,040 --> 01:00:03,440 to him and give your heart to him, he will bless you tonight. 983 01:00:03,840 --> 01:00:04,520 Let's do that.