2 Kings 11-14:22

Hidden Agendas

As Jehu is bringing judgment on the house of Ahab he also kills Ahaziah king of Judah. Ahaziah’s mother, Athaliah, is the daughter of Jezebel. Athaliah was married to Jehoram, king of Judah. He was the son of Jehoshapht who was also a king of Judah. Ahaziah ruled Judah for one year.

When Athaliah learned that her son was dead she killed all of his sons in order to seize the throne for herself. In doing this she was also eliminating the line of David through which Jesus would come.  The plan of the devil was to prevent Jesus from coming and to claim the world for himself. The Devil will make several more attempts but all will fail. The process will be harmful to the people of God.

When God raises up a leader He often starts with a baby. Moses was born in threatening circumstances. Isaac, Samson, and Samuel were miracle babies born to barren women. When Jesus was born He was seen as a threat to the throne of Herod. Herod had all the babies killed who were born where Jesus was born within a two year period of His birth.

Athaliah thought she had secured the throne for herself by killing all the heirs but one baby was saved by the priesthood and when he was seven he became king of Judah. His name is Jehoash or Joash. Joash was a godly king as long as he followed the instructions of Jehoiada. After Jehoiada died Joash listened to the leaders in Judah and began to worship idols. He killed Jehoiada’s son who was warning Joash not to go down the road to idoltry. His downfall and death are recorded in more detail in 2 Chronicles 24 which we will study in more detail later in the year.

The Devil couldn’t stop Jesus from coming so he resorts to his other plan which is to corrupt God’s people. The corrupting influence of Jezebel reached not only her daughter but also the leaders of Judah bringing great harm to the nation. The Devil is still trying to corrupt God’s plan.

In Revelation 2:18-29 we read that the church in Thyatira tolerated the woman Jezebel and her teaching. God said that her teaching and so called prophecies were leading His bond-servants astray. This is serious for bond-servant was what Paul, Peter, James, and Jude called their relationship and commitment to God. The book of Revelation was written to bond-servants. A bond-servant is one who is in permanent servitude to their master. In the case of the Church one makes that commitment when they become a Christian. A Christian makes a commitment to permanent servanthood. To follow the teaching of Jezebel would be to corrupt that commitment and have the potential to mislead others into sin. God warned the church inThyatira that they needed to repent or there were  going to be great consequences of sickness, tribulation, pestilence, and death.

Jezebel will not repent but she will be judged. Those who follow her will be judged with her. When Jehoiada the priest ordered his men to seize Athaliah he also ordered his men to kill anyone who followed her.

 As the Church we need to be careful that false teachings of immorality and idolatry do not creep in and influence the Church and its leadership.  God desires us to make a total and permanent commitment to Him. He sees that type of commitment as a marriage vow. To make a casual commitment, as it appears Joash did, is to set ourselves up for a fall and ultimately judgment. Certainly, God will warn us as he did the church in Thytyria but if those warnings go unheeded because we refuse to listen, God will allow us to fall and suffer the consequences. The devil will keep sending Jezebels and Athaliahs who bring with them the pestilence of his hidden agenda. Don’t let them infect you and make you sick. Keep your relationship and commitment to God strong. He will keep that commitment healthy.

 Pastor Dave

2 Kings 8-10

Traditions and Old Wineskins

 

In our study today we read of the fulfillment of the instructions God gave Elijah back in 1 Kings 19:15-17. Elijah was to anoint Hazael king over Aram. He was also to anoint Jehu, king of Israel and Elisha as prophet to replace Elijah. Elijah did anoint Elisha but it would be years before Hazael and Jehu would be anointed kings over their respective nations. Elisha would be the one who did the anointing.

Jehu started out well it would seem and it looks like the ten tribes of Israel will finally have a good king after he eradicated Baal worship in Israel. Jehu, however, followed the practices of Jeroboam and kept the golden calves for the people to worship. Also, he did not live according to the Law of God as the kings were instructed in Deuteronomy 17:14-20.

It is one thing to clean the house but if true change or repentance does not come, that which caused the mess in the first place remains and the mess eventually returns. Jeroboam set up the calves and the worship system because of his fear that the rebellion would eventually fail and Israel would want to reunite with Judah. The calves and the worship became a tradition. King after king followed the tradition and the tradition became stronger. There is no evidence that any of the kings of Israel followed the law found in Deuteronomy. The tradition became the law of the land by default.

God raised up Jehu and had him anointed as king. Jehu did bring about reform but because he ultimately followed the tradition that was in place he was like new wine that was poured in old wineskins. Matthew 9:14-19. When tradition overrules the law of God things begin to fall apart. God promised Jehu that four generations of his children would rule Israel but because Jehu did not follow God with a whole heart, God allows portions of Israel to be cut off by Aram and Assyria. The fourth generation of Jehu, Zechariah, only reigned  for six months before he was assassinated. Thirty years later the nation will be taken by Assyria.

The tradition Jeroboam started was strong but not strong enough to save the nation. The nation rejected God for their tradition and eventually God rejected them as a nation but did preserve a remnant of faithful followers.

The Pharisees did the same thing. They corrupted the Law of God with their traditions and the nation was taken from them in 70 AD by Rome. It is important that we have a working knowledge of the Word of God so we don’t let traditions take the place of God’s Word. Reading the Bible as we are with this plan and trying to complete it in a year may be difficult if we are not in the habit of reading the Bible. But the more we read it the more we will be hiding the Word of God in our heart and the more it becomes a part of our everyday life. I want to encourage you to keep reading.

I once heard a message titled, Are You Green and Growing or Ripe and Rotting?”

The nation of Israel was ripe and rotting. That which they had been given by God was being lost because they were not using what they had received. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will remind us of the things Jesus said. Since He is the Word, what He said includes the whole Bible. John 1:1-5&14

As we continue to read the Bible we are storing up the Word of God and the Holy Spirit can draw from what we have stored and bring to mind verses that apply to any given situation we may be facing. As we read the Word of God we will be growing in the Lord. If we follow traditions and ignore the Word of God we will be distancing ourselves from the Lord.

Be Green and Growing! Spend time in God’s Word and put it into practice.

Pastor Dave