THE INTOLERANCE OF TOLERANCE The book of 2 Kings Dr. Jon McNeff, Senior Pastor April 2, 2017 Note: The following are the pastor s notes used in preaching this message. This is not a complete, word-for-word transcription of what was preached. These notes serve as a companion to the complete message, which is available by listening to the audio version. Bible quotes are primarily from NASB and ESV, respectively. We live in precarious times: Mohler liberal leaders fought for recognition, then acceptance, then legality, now they want to punish and destroy all who oppose them Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Church in New York City given 2017 Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Witness from Princeton Seminary but prize was withdrawn letter from Princeton Seminary President Craig Barnes said, it is not my practice to censor the invitations to campus from any of our theological centers or student organizations. This commitment to academic freedom is vital to the critical inquiry and theological diversity of our community. In talking with those who are deeply concerned about Reverend Keller s visit to campus, I find that most share this commitment to academic freedom. 1 Carol Merritt, writing in Christian Century I am literally shaking with grief as I write this. I have spent years with women who have tried to de-program themselves after growing up in this baptized abuse. Also calls Keller a man who has championed toxic theology for decades. 2 Who did Princeton listen to? The homosexual activist! This is crazy! Bad sign business community now throwing their weight behind pagan thought NBA, NFL, NCAA have all threatened to move their product out of states that discriminate No friends academia, government, and business are now poised to destroy Christian culture 2 Kings is a series of kings from Israel and Judah (12 from Israel, 19 from Judah) covers 300 years a cascading avalanche of kings falling so fast it s hard to keep track The story of 2 Kings is the fall of a nation northern kingdom of Israel falls to Assyria in 722 B.C. (2 Kings 17) southern kingdom of Judah falls in 586 B.C. to Babylon (2 Kings 24-25) 2 Kings ends with march into exile in Babylon sad! Death of a nation death of a culture death of people who should have trusted in God, but didn t Kings written to explain reasons for exile same rules apply today! I. THE MORAL MINORITY A. God rejected 2 Kings 1 Ahaziah, king of Israel, falls from lattice on his house 2 Kings 1:2 Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this sickness. Amazing start of book King of Israel is calling on pagan god of the flies (rules diseases brought by flies ) from the land of the Philistines, Israel s western foe Messengers confront that man Elijah was sitting on top of a hill when messengers approached 2 Kings 1:10 If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty. Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 2 Kings 1:11 another messenger sent same thing why does God do this? Because the king of HIS PEOPLE has stooped so low that he will consult the pagan lord of the flies from Philistines before he will consult God! What audacity!! Ahaziah dies! There was no respect for God s prophets! Same thing today removed prayer abortion God has been expunged from our collective vocabulary B. Elisha s ministry 1 Craig Barnes, Update on the 2017 Kuyper Lecture and Prize, at tsem.edu, on March 22, 2017 accessed on 3/25/17. 2 Carol Merritt, Does teaching submission encourage abuse? at christiancentury.org, March 17, 2017, accessed on 3/25/17. 1
2 Kings 2 Elijah passes mantle to Elisha 2 Kings 2:9 Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me. 2 Kings 2:10 if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you... Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind and Elisha saw it! The sons of the prophets recognized Elisha had the mantle of Elijah 2 Kings 2:13, 14 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the banks of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over. Elisha s ministry: He heals the bitter water in Jericho that had been cursed by Joshua in Joshua 6:26 Curses young infidel men who taunt him to go up like Elijah 2 Kings 2:23-25 Provides water for kings of Israel and Judah 2 Kings 3:1-27 Multiplies widow s oil 2 Kings 4:1-7 Prophesies a son for Shunammite woman he dies Elisha raises him from dead 2 Kings 4:8-37 Heals great Syrian general Namaan from leprosy 2 Kings 5:1-14 2 Kings 6-7 shows stark contrast between God s ways and man s ways: Elisha defeats the king of Aram with kindness to his troops 2 Kings 6:8-23 2 Kings 6:24 Ben-hadad, king of Aram, returns with whole army and besieges Samaria results in cannibalism 2 Kings 6:31 King Jehoram of Israel blamed Elisha for the siege because he thought God had brought it and Elisha wasn t doing anything to end it rather than repent, he wanted to kill Elisha! 2 Kings 7:1 - Elisha prophesies delivery the next day (2 Kings 7:2) the king s advisor said, Behold, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, could this thing be? Questions God Elisha answers, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it. 2 Kings 7:3 Four lepers know they are starving decide to take a chance and enter Arameans camp to get food it s deserted! 2 Kings 7:6 God had caused the army of the Arameans to hear a sound of chariots and a sound of horses thought Israel had hired foreign armies fled in the night and left all their gear! 2 Kings 7:10 went and told the king he doubted them told his troops the Arameans were hidden in the fields waiting to trap them sent troops who confirmed their camp was empty! 2 Kings 7:16 the people plundered the camp famine was broken the man who doubted Elisha s promise was trampled to death in the gate of the city We are called to be Elishas in a world that doubts God this means we must show our dependence is on God not on the political processes of man Years ago the Moral Majority tried to make a difference politically in America failed wrong issue main issue is never morality it s spiritual depravity man doesn t need to be healed! His soul is dead needs to be spiritually resurrected America is at a political crossroads already passed the spiritual crossroads only hope will the Trump administration be able to re-instate enough religious freedom to allow Christian beliefs to flourish if only millennials had voted in 2016, Hillary would have had 473 electoral votes and Trump on 37 II. THE TOLERANCE OF TOLERANCE A. No shame Story line jumps back and forth between kings of Israel and kings of Judah in 2 Kings 8-15 regresses to time before 2 Kings 6-7: 2 Kings 8:7-15 Elisha went to foreign capital of Damascus to fulfill Elijah s work God had told him to anoint Hazael as king over Aram when he gets there King Ben-hadad is sick sends his servant Hazael to ask the man of God if he will recover 2 Kings 8:10-12 - Go, say to him, You will surely recover, but the Lord has shown me that he will certainly die. He fixed his gaze steadily on him until he was 2
ashamed, and the man of God wept. Hazael said, Why does my lord weep? Then he answered, Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel: their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword, and their little ones you will dash in pieces, and their women with child you will rip up. Hazael denies he has any intentions of it but 2 Kings 8:15 On the following day, he took the cover and dipped it in water and spread it on his face, so that he died. And Hazael became king in his place. B. Open wickedness Lack of conscience leads to overt wickedness even for good kings 2 Kings 8:9 good king Jehu kills both Joram, the King of Israel (2 Kings 9:24) and Ahaziah, king of Judah (2 Kings 9:27) killed Jezebel in 2 Kings 9:30-37 in brutal fashion! 2 Kings 10 Jehu also purges Ahab s house tracks down Ahab s 70 sons to Jezreel elders of Jezreel cut their heads off and send them to Jehu in a basket (2 Kings 10:7) Jehu also kills 42 relatives of Ahaziah (2 Kings 10:14) 2 Kings 10:18-25 traps all worshipers of Baal by pretending to worship with them but kills them all 2 Kings 10:28 Thus Jehu eradicated Baal out of Israel. However 2 Kings 10:29 However, as for the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin, from these Jehu did not depart, even the golden calves that were at Bethel and that were at Dan. Evidently, his motivations were strictly political 2 Kings 10:31 But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel sin. Hosea 1:4 Hosea s first son Name him Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will punish the house of Jehu for the bloodshed of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. Further wickedness 2 Kings 11:1 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose and destroyed all the royal offspring. Bloodthirsty daughter of Ahab and Jezebel What s the answer to moral confusion and open wickedness? Benedict Option by Rod Dreher we ve lost the culture war so now we must retreat and learn how to live in pagan society based on sixth century monk who saw the collapse of Roman civilization and formed a monastic order in response not calling for monastic orders, but Christians must learn how to live in Christian community if we are to survive the coming theological winter in our culture C. A righteous remnant We d like to think the cavalry arrives it does, but it can t win against engrained wickedness: 2 Kings 12 Joash was a good king who repaired the Temple but his tragic end is referenced in 2 Kings 12:20 and explained in 2 Chronicles 24:17-25 when Jehoiada dies, Joash is influenced by princes from Judah who turned his heart away from God forgets Jehoiada s kindness in shielding him for six years and making him king when Jehoiada s son Zechariah, the new high priest confronts them about their sin, they stone him in the courtyard of the Temple with Joash s approval Zechariah s dying words were May the Lord see and avenge! (2 Chronicles 24:22) God did when Syria came against Judah the next year God delivered Judah into their hands because of the sin of Joash Joash was wounded in battle these same princes killed Joash while he was recovering from his wounds 2 Kings 13 Two bad kings follow Elisha dies (2 Kings 13:14) 2 Kings 14 Amaziah (bad king) ruled over Judah Jeroboam II (bad king) rules Israel 2 Kings 15 Azariah and Jotham (both good kings) rule Judah Zechariah (bad king) rules Israel three bad kings in Israel follow Jotham (good king) rules in Judah though he did not destroy the high places (2 Kings 15:35) What role are we to play in confronting wickedness? Where was Nixon when Roe v. Wade was enacted? Obama on Obergefell? 3
III. HOW LOW CAN YOU GO? 2 Kings 16 introduces the low point in Judah: Low point of Judah 2 Kings 16:1-4 16 year rule of Ahaz begins Pivotal midpoint of book is 2 Kings 17 when northern kingdom falls Low point of Israel 2 Kings 17:1-16 Assyria invades in 2 Kings 17:6 2 Kings 18 once Israel is conquered, Assyria moves to conquer Judah Ahaz s godly son Hezekiah comes to the throne in Israel ruled 29 years 2 Kings 18:9-11 (Read) interlude Israel falls People carried away! One of the most brutal conquests in history Assyrians conquered Jews at Lachish displays in British Museum Ashurbanipal (669-626) described his treatment of a captured leader I pierced his chin with my keen hand dagger. Through his jaw I passed a rope, put a dog chain upon him and made him occupy a kennel 3 - in his campaign against Egypt, Ashurbanipal also boasted that his officials hung Egyptian corpses on stakes [and] stripped off their skins and covered the city wall(s) with them 4 Ashurbanipal II (883-859) boasted, I stormed the mountain peaks and took them. In the midst of the mighty mountain I slaughtered them; with their blood I dyed the mountain red like wool. The heads of their warriors I cut off, and I formed them into a pillar over against their city; their young men and their maidens I burned in the fire regarding a captured leader I flayed [him], his skin I spread upon the wall of the city - also wrote of mutilating the bodies of live captives and stacking their corpses in piles. 5 2 Kings 18:13-16 Hezekiah (king of Judah) thinks he can buy Sennacharib, king of Assyria, off with a little gold 2 Kings 18:17-30 Sennacherib comes for more threatens Judah thinks Hezekiah has no gods since he is tearing them all down! 3 Ibid., 2:319. 4 Ibid., 2:295. 5 Daniel David Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, 1:146-148. 4
2 Kings 18:22 Sennacherib taunts Judah But if you say to me, We trust in the Lord our God, is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem? 2 Kings 19:1-7 Hezekiah is distressed sends messengers to Isaiah promises God would deal with Sennacharib personally for asserting himself over God The theological focal point of both 1 and 2 Kings is found in 2 Kings 19:8-37 Can the God of Israel deliver His people? He then defies God again 2 Kings 19:10 Thus you shall say to Hezekiah king of Judah, Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you saying, Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Hezekiah s prayer God promises to deliver Judah then delivers big time 2 Kings 19:34, 35 I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David s sake. Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians, and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead. Sennacherib returns to live in Nineveh 2 Kings 19:37 20 years later, in fulfillment of Isaiah s prophecy in 2 Kings 19:7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land. He was killed by Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, while he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch, his god recorded to show the impotence of his god compared to the deliverance of Judah by God 681 B.C. How low can we go? 60 million aborted since 1976 Obergefell in 2015 now transgendered discussion you are either XX or XY this is the greatest revolution America has ever seen 19 times more likely to commit suicide no chance for normal relationships no chance for marriage and children war on God IV. THE END OF THE ROAD A. Hope There are continued bright spots for God s people however: 2 Kings 20 Hezekiah s illness and recovery but he made the fatal mistake of showing off the treasures of his kingdom to the king of Babylon (2 Kings 20:13) Isaiah prophecies all the treasures would be taken by Babylon (2 Kings 20:17) Hezekiah fortifies the city and builds the famous tunnel to divert water into the city in case of attack (2 Kings 20:20) 2 Kings 21 Wicked son Manasseh succeeds Hezekiah 2 Kings 22 Good king Josiah becomes king high priest Hilkiah recovers the book of the law in the Temple leads to many reforms under Josiah 2 Kings 23 he broke down every remnant of pagan worship he could find but it was too late 2 Kings 24:1, 2 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. The Lord sent against him bands of Chaldeans, bands of Arameans, bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites. So He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken through His servants the prophets. The beginning of the end weep! B. Final fall The final demise of Judah occurred Neco II, Pharaoh of Egypt, is allied with Assyrians against Babylonians 609 B.C., Neco comes through Israel on his way to support Assyria 2 Kings 23:29 King Josiah good king prophesied in 1 Kings 13:2 defiled pagan altars by burning bones of pagan priests on them in fulfillment of 1 Kings 13:2 removed altars, tore down idols, burned the bones of priests who offered human sacrifices in 1 Kings 13:2 Josiah opposes Neco at Megiddo Josiah may have been trying to assert his independence from Egypt, or siding with Babylonians 5
Josiah was killed in the ensuing battle (2 Kings 23:29; 2 Chronicles 35:20-27), and Judah s independence was lost. His son Jehoahaz (bad king) imprisoned in Egypt while his brother, Eliakim is placed in power in Jerusalem as a puppet of Egypt under the name Jehoiakim (2 Kings 24:1-6) Jehoiakim paid silver and gold tribute to Egypt this was risky because it created the impression in Babylon that Judah was an ally of Egypt In 604 B.C. Jehoiakim switched his allegiance to Babylon for three years then rebelled against Babylon (2 Kings 24:1) As a result, when Babylon invaded in 598 B.C., Egypt did not come to aid Israel (2 Kings 24:7) Jerusalem surrendered in 597 B.C. The new king, Jehoiachin, was deported to Babylon with many other leaders and plunder (2 Kings 24:15) Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, then placed Jehoiachin s uncle Mattaniah on the throne and gave him the new name of Zedekiah. Zedekiah revolted two year siege began Jerusalem finally fell in 586 B.C. The fall of Jerusalem was followed by a devastating blow to the people of Judah then Jerusalem fell homes and royal palace destroyed defenses gone Temple destroyed thousands killed Nebuchadnezzar s siege lasted almost three years thousands deported to Babylon only poorest were left pain and grief of the time is well expressed in Lamentations 1:1: How lonely sits the city that was full of people! She has become like a widow who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a forced laborer. What did it all mean? Was Israel s God not in fact in control of nature and history, as Mosaic religion claimed? Were there other, more powerful gods in Babylon who had engineered the Babylonian victory over Israel? If the God of Moses did exist, and was good and all-powerful, how was it that God s chosen city and temple had been destroyed, and how was it that God s chosen royal line (the line of David) had all but come to its end? QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What signs of intolerance do you see in our world today? 2. What is so startling about 2 Kings 1:1-16? 3. What would it have been like for Elisha to minister in 2 Kings 8:7-15? 4. What is the problem and the solution presented in 2 Kings 19:8-19? 5. What happened in 2 Kings 25:10-16? 6. What can Christians do to live in a time of intolerance? 6