Reading #621 The ebb and flow

Transcription

1 Reading #621 The ebb and flow From now on we read of the behaviour of God s witnesses in two different camps Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Although they were former brothers and sisters, now they became enemies, and spent as much time fighting each other as they had previously fought God s opposers in the time of Saul and David! Sometimes the king of Judah in the southern portion of the former nation was a good witness for God during his lifetime, and sometimes his successor was not, and vice versa. However, the kings of Israel were consistently rebellious, and continually led the nation closer and closer to their extinction. First we look at Judah: 1 Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat [in Israel] reigned Abijam [aka Abijah] over Judah. 2 Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the [grand]daughter of Abishalom [aka Absalom]. 3 And he walked in all the sins of his father [Rehoboam], which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his [great grand]father. 4 Nevertheless for David's sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp [an opportunity] in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem: because David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside from any thing that He commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. [How our influence can live on after our death!] That influence can last a long time! Paul wrote: By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaks [continues to influence us]. Hebrews 11:4. Abijam, Rehoboam s son, carried on the conflict between Judah and Israel, and the Son of God was only able to keep him alive to reign for three years, which took Jeroboam to his twentieth regnal year. However, during Abijam s reign the people of Judah were generally more righteous than those of Israel, even though his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God. 1

2 As we have seen before, the LORD wants to protect every one on both sides, but He is severely limited by our choices. That s why it is written, And think you this, O man, that judges them which do such things, and do the same, that you shall escape the judgment of God? Or despise you the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance [is designed to lead you]? But after [because of] your hardness and impenitent heart [you] treasure up to yourself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds... Romans 2:3-6. The LORD is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9. The Message version is very blunt and to the point: 3 You didn't think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? 4 Or did you think that because he's such a nice God, he'd let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he's not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change. 5 You're not getting by with anything. Every refusal and avoidance of God adds fuel to the fire. The day is coming when it's going to blaze hot and high, God's fiery and righteous judgment. 6 Make no mistake: In the end you get what's coming to you 7 Real Life for those who work on God's side, 8 but to those who insist on getting their own way and take the path of least resistance, Fire! Romans 2:3-8 (The Message version.) In this case, it was the armies of Baal against the armies of the living God as we are told in The Chronicles. 2 Chronicles 13: 1 Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah [aka Abijam] to reign over Judah. 2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Michaiah [aka Maacah] the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah [granddaughter of Absalom. Jewish usage of the terms son and daughter is very loose. Jesus was often called the Son of David and they were 28 generations apart. Matthew 1:17.] And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3 And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand 2

3 chosen men: Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, being mighty men of valour [two to one!] 4 And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in mount Ephraim, and said, Hear me, you Jeroboam, and all Israel; 5 ought you not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? [Numbers 18:19.] 6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, is risen up, and has rebelled against his lord. 7 And there are gathered to him vain men, the children of Belial [who follow Satan s ways], and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them. 8 And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and you be a great multitude, and there are with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods. 9 Have you not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? So that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods. 10 But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the priests, which minister to the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business: 11 and they burn to the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the showbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but you have forsaken Him. 12 And, behold, God Himself is with us for our Captain, and His priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. [Then he pleaded] O children of Israel, fight you not against the LORD God of your fathers; for you shall not prosper. 13 But Jeroboam caused an ambushment [a brigade of soldiers] to come about behind them: so they [the main army] were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them. 14 And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind: and they cried to the LORD, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. 15 Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16 And the children of Israel fled before Judah: and God delivered them into their hand. 17 And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men [more than half!] 3

4 18 Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers. 19 And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Bethel with the towns thereof, and Jeshanah with the towns thereof, and Ephrain [Ephraim] with the towns thereof. 20 Neither did [the army of] Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah: and the LORD struck him, and he [soon] died. [Jeroboam s son Nadad succeeded him (verse 25), but for the next few verses we still follow the fortunes of Abijah, the son of Rehoboam.] 21 But Abijah waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives [before and after becoming king], and begat [fathered] twenty-two sons, and sixteen daughters. Principle: It is not the perfect person who wins out in these earthly battles, but he who stays closest to the ways of the LORD for the longest period. 6 And there was war between [the son of] Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life [three years as king]. 7 Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in The Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. 8 And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. After working through a semi-righteous follower of His way, the LORD was given a dedicated one whom He was able to keep alive and reigning for over forty years. 9 And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah. 10 And forty-one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his [grand]mother's name was Maachah, the [grand]daughter of Abishalom. 11 And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his [great great grand]father. 12 And he took away [most of] the [religious] 4

5 sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. 13 And also Maachah his [grand]mother, even her he removed from being queen [mother], because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron. [Idol worship was always present among God s people, just as it is today.] 14 But the high places [which showed the pride of the nation] were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the LORD all his days. 15 And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into the house of the LORD, silver, and gold, and vessels. [This action was in accord with God s request. When you shall vow a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not slack to pay it: for the LORD your God will surely require it of you; and it would be sin in you. But if you shall forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in you. That which is gone out of your lips you shall keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as you have vowed to the LORD your God, which you have promised with your mouth. Deuteronomy 23:21-23.] The faith of Asa was put to a severe test when Zerah the Ethiopian with a host of a thousand thousand [Asa had 400,000], and three hundred chariots, invaded his kingdom. 2 Chronicles 14:9. In this crisis Asa did not put his trust in the fenced cities in Judah that he had built, with walls, and towers, gates, and bars, nor in the mighty men of valour in his carefully trained army. Verses 6-8. The king's trust was in his God the LORD of hosts, in whose name marvellous deliverances had been wrought in behalf of Israel of old. Therefore, setting his forces in battle array, which was all he could do, he sought God s help. The opposing armies now stood face to face. It was a time of test and trial to those who served the LORD. Had every sin been confessed? Had the men of Judah full confidence in God's power to deliver? Such thoughts as these were in the minds of the leaders. From every human viewpoint the vast host of attackers would sweep everything before it. But in time of peace Asa had not been giving himself to amusement and pleasure; he had been preparing for any emergency. He had an army trained for conflict; he had endeavoured to lead his people to make their peace with God. And now, although his forces were far fewer in number than the enemy, his faith in the One whom he had made his trust did not weaken. Having sought the LORD in the days of prosperity, the king could now rely upon Him in the day of adversity. His petitions showed that he was not a stranger to God's wonderful power. It is nothing with You to help, he 5

6 pleaded, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; let not man prevail against You. So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. Verses As the victorious armies of Judah and Benjamin were returning to Jerusalem, the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: and he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, Hear you me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while you be with Him; and if you seek Him, He will be found of you; but if you forsake Him, He will [have to] forsake you. 2 Chronicles 15:1-2. Be you strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded. Verse 7. Greatly encouraged by these words, Asa soon led out in a second reformation in Judah. He put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from Mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD. And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers [foreigners] with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month [at Pentecost], in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. And they offered to the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought [from the Ethiopians], seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep. And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul. 2 Chronicles 15:8-12. And He was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about. Verse 15. Lateral thought: The prayer of Asa is one that every Christian believer may fittingly offer. We also fight in a warfare, not against flesh and blood as they did, but against principalities and powers, and against spiritual wickedness in high places. (See Ephesians 6:12.) In our Christian conflict we must meet evil agencies that have arrayed themselves against the right. Our hope is not to be in man, but in the living God. With full assurance of faith we may expect that He will unite His omnipotence with the efforts of human instrumentalities, for the glory of His name. Clad with the armour of His righteousness, we may gain the victory over every spiritual foe. The idolatrous worship introduced by Jeroboam into the ten tribes had brought upon the guilty offenders its results, and yet the rulers who followed 6

7 - Baasha, Elah, Zimri, and Omri - during a period of nearly forty years, continued in the same fatal course of evil-doing. We are still following Asa, king of Judah: 16 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel [he had murdered Nadab] all their days. 17 And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built [the city of] Ramah [into a fortress], that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 18 Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, 19 There is a league [an agreement] between me and you, and between my father and your father: behold, I have sent to you a present of silver and gold; come and break your league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. 20 So Benhadad hearkened to king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelbethmaachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. 21 And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in [retired to] Tirzah. Asa's long record of faithful service was marred by some mistakes, made at times when he failed to put his trust fully in God. When, on one occasion, the king of Israel entered the kingdom of Judah and seized Ramah, a city only five miles from Jerusalem, Asa sought deliverance by forming an alliance with Benhadad, king of Syria. This failure to trust in God alone in time of need was sternly rebuked by Hanani the prophet, who appeared before Asa with the message: Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD your God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of your hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you did rely on the LORD [at that time], He delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of 7

8 them whose heart is perfect [single] toward Him. Herein you have done foolishly: therefore from henceforth you shall have wars [in place of His rest]. 2 Chronicles 16: Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. 23 The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in The Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? Because his stratagem worked for a while, Asa, instead of humbling himself before God when he was reproved because of his mistake, was wroth with the seer [prophet], and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa [in his anger] oppressed some of the people the same time. 2 Chronicles 16:10. Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. 24 And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead. In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians. 2 Chronicles 16:12. The king died in the forty-first year of his reign and was succeeded by Jehoshaphat, his son. Until called to the throne at the age of thirty-five, Jehoshaphat had before him the example of his father, the relatively good king Asa, who in nearly every crisis had done that which was right in the eyes of the LORD. Therefore, during a prosperous reign of twenty-five years, Jehoshaphat [also] sought to walk in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside. 1 Kings 22: For a short time we go to the kingdom of Israel: 25 And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years. 8

9 26 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin. 27 And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon [Baasha rebelled on the battle field!] 28 Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him [Nadab], and reigned in his stead. 29 And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he spoke by His servant Ahijah the Shilonite: 30 because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger. [The LORD lost him and his family!] 31 Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in The Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? It was soon after Asa took over the kingdom of Judah that Jeroboam of Israel died. Nadab, his son, occupied the throne of Israel for only a few months. His career of evil was suddenly stopped by a conspiracy to gain control of the government headed by Baasha, one of his generals. Nadab was killed, with all his kindred in the line of succession, according to the saying [prophecy] of the LORD, which He spoke by His servant Ahijah the Shilonite: because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and [through] which he made Israel sin. Thus perished the house of Jeroboam. Now we come back to Asa and Baasha: 32 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty-four years. 34 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin. We should note that the Son of God was able to keep some alive longer than others even when they were really wicked, for all of us have some good moments, unless we have committed the unpardonable sin. However, in that 9

10 latter situation we are totally under Satan s tender mercies and he likes his followers doing these things because of their influence on others, so he also refrains from killing some! So length of life is not a good indicator of righteousness, or the lack of it. However, from the time of Jeroboam's death to Elijah's appearance before Ahab the people of Israel suffered a steady spiritual decline, so God s positive witnesses came mainly from the kingdom of Judah. Bye for now, RonP In this reading the old-fashioned words of the KJV have been modernised, and in some instances, the man-made punctuation has been altered for greater understanding. Some of the comments are adapted from books in my library. No recognition is given because they are not intended as authorities, but are used because they express my understanding clearly. All the ideas expressed in these readings, right or wrong, are my own. Some of these readings are available at Past books will be available from time to time. 10