1 Kings 15 Bible Study (Abijam, Asa, Nadab & Baasha's Reigns) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Well, I don't have much to say apart from open your Bibles with me and meet me in the Old Testament in first Kings chapter 15. I hope that you have been following with us in this study. If not, everything that we do here on Fridays is recorded and is archived. So you can just go to our YouTube channel if you feel a little lost, and you can catch up. But what we have before us today is pretty straightforward, because it is in this chapter that we are provided the documentations of four kings, four kings in the nation of Israel who followed the reign of Rehoboam and Jeroboam.

And in this chapter, what you're gonna see is that we have the first two kings who represent the Kingdom Of Judah. Is that the North or the South? It's the Southern Kingdom. So the first two kings will be representing the Kingdom Of Judah, and the last two kings in this chapter will be representing the Kingdom Of Israel, the northern tribes. And that is a pretty straightforward overview, but I want to give you a heads up in our study of kings, first and second kings.

It's gonna become a little challenging to try to master the chronology of these kings, the timeline of these kings for two different reasons. The first reason is because we're gonna discover that as we study the Southern Kingdom and and then revisit the Northern and vice versa back and forth, the the careers of some of these kings will overlap the other. And so it's gonna require a little bit more effort to try to put these things together in terms of timing. Second to that is when we come to the writings of first Kings and try to reconcile it with the thematic accents accents of the book of first and second Chronicles, that also will be a little bit challenging because you're gonna see Chronicles come in a different light than the author of Kings. And they will mostly complement each other, but there will be times where we'll be like, well, how do these things two connect?

How do they make sense? And perhaps at some point, what we'll do is we'll take a timeline, and we'll present that timeline, and you and I will have a visual of the family tree of both kingdoms and how they coincide. And so that will come down the line. But for now, until then, what we're gonna do is patiently, step by step, conquer the content of first Kings as we go the way we've been going in this pace. And in our study tonight, we'll we'll simply divide what we're going to learn today in the way that this chapter divides it naturally.

In other words, you and I are just gonna look at each of these kings and seek to see what we can learn from them and even what we can learn and how they intersect with one another. So, again, I repeat, we have four kings to study, and we're going to seek to, grasp this entire chapter in one setting. And so let us read together beginning in verse one of chapter 15. Now in the eighteenth reign or year rather of king Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah. He reigned for three years in Jerusalem.

His mother's name was Maacah, the daughter of Absalom. And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him. And his heart was not wholly true to the Lord, his God, as the heart of David, his father. Lord, we ask that as we open this text together, that there would be a grace from your Holy Spirit to understand it. And, Lord, as we discover different names and jump from text to text, give us the ability to stay focused and to understand everything that we are trying to grasp from this text.

We need your help, Lord. You are the great teacher that has been promised to us. You have told us that there is an anointing that we each have received internally, and that is the anointing of the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit. May he guide us now in first Kings 15, for you have preserved this text for our instruction and your glory. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. Let's stop here in the first three verses because we are introduced to the first king of Judah after Rehoboam. And it is the son of Rehoboam, and his name is Abijam. And he ruled in Judah, evidently, and he actually ruled only for, surprisingly, three years. That should stand out to us.

Three years. It's obvious also here that Jeroboam, he's the king of the 10 tribes of the North. He outlived Rehoboam, who ruled the southern part of the nation of Israel. So Rehoboam dies and his son takes his place, and Jeroboam is still ruling and reigning in the North. But what a brief tenure.

What a brief governance. For three years alone did he exercise his throne. And, unfortunately, the summary of such a brief breath is given to us in verse three. The characteristic of his rule is mentioned in that he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God. That's disappointing, and prepare to be more disappointed as we study the kings.

But notice there's a specific phrase about how he related to the Lord. It says here that his heart was not holy. It was not wholly true to the Lord. And that is an important distinction to make. Because when you read of Abidjan in second Chronicles 13, which maybe you should turn there in preparation.

In second Chronicles 13, in the way that the chronicle presents Abidjan, you would actually see that he did have a facet of his character and his devotion that did honor the Lord. In fact, this is the setting, this is the one scene that second Chronicles 13 presents of this very same king. He is actually gonna go to war with Jeroboam, and he has half the men that Jeroboam has. And he stands on a mountain, and before he even goes to war, he actually preaches a sermon. He gives this wonderful speech, this this speech that entails the history of Israel, especially the monarch, who God made a covenant with, and more than that, he makes a proclamation of his personal devotion to the Lord.

Now we're not gonna read the entirety of it, but let me read to you two verses from that chapter, and you'll get a sample of where he stood and what he believed. So you're there in second Chronicles 13, I hope. Look at verse eight in the middle of his message to Jeroboam and Israel. He says, and now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for made you for gods. Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands?

Whoever comes for ordination with a young bull or seven rims becomes a priest of what are not gods. Now look at verse 10. But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests ministering to the Lord who are sons of Aaron, and Levites for their service. K.

This is undoubtedly an allegiance that he proclaims a statement of honor to the true God. Is it not? But the problem is now when we come to this, how do we reconcile it with what we read here? And more than that, not only does he honor the Lord, God actually honors him. So scroll down in verse 18 of second Chronicles 13, and notice what happens.

Thus, the men of Israel were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers. I bring this to your attention because it seems as though we are reading about two different kings, when in fact it's one and the same. In first Kings, we're we read what? That Abigem walked in all the sins that his father did. Then you come to second Chronicles and you realize that he's being showcased as a man of God, and God even honors him when he makes this incredible defense of the truth.

So how do we connect these things? How do we make sense of what seems to be two different biographies? It's very simple. In those three brief years, second Chronicles 13 displays for us the beginnings. Some that we've seen so many times and we're gonna see on different occasions, the beginnings of Abidjan's faith.

And first Kings 15 will describe the dominating feature of his life and of his character. So Abidjan teaches us something that you and I need to take heed, something that's far too common. People who start off with courageous, consecrated, and even bold faith, and over time, who can even testify of God's interventions in their lives, but then not continuing on that path. Something that you and I are very familiar with in our study of God's word. And it makes you wonder, well, what was the turning point for this man?

How was it that he could say the Lord is our God? How was it that he can even rely on God and God would honor him only for him to be described in our original text to be an apostate? It's actually in second Chronicles 13. So look at verse 20. Jeroboam did not recover his power in the days of Abijah.

By the way, Abijah is another name for the same person. And the Lord struck him down and he died. But Abijah grew mighty. Does that ever turn out good for most people? But Abijah grew mighty, and here it is, and he took 14 wives and had 22 sons and 16 daughters.

Why is it a problem to have more than one wife? For many practical reasons, I'm sure. But it's a theological issue, especially for kings. Because as you know, in Deuteronomy seventeen seventeen, the kings were instructed not to have too many wives, not to have more than one wife according to the Genesis account, obviously, but to not have too many wives for this reason, lest their hearts be turned away. That is exactly what happened to this man.

His heart was turned away because he did not trust God concerning the area of marriage. And ultimately, that was disobedience that caused many other problems in his life, including apostasy. And so this man disobeys the Lord at that juncture. Now we come back to first Kings 15, and look again here in verse three and five four to five. Nevertheless, for David's sake, the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him and establishing Jerusalem, because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life.

This is not the only lesson from Abadjan's life. You see here that we are being reminded that the reason why God didn't give up on the Southern Kingdom, why he didn't just throw away the tribe of Judah is because he made a covenant with David. And despite the lack of faithfulness of David's sons, God is faithful because he made a covenant with David that is unconditional. I made a promise to one man, and I'm gonna keep it no matter what. And despite seasons of discipline, he would never revoke.

He would never turn away from what he originally promised to this man, that there would be a throne, that it would last forever, and that he would have one of his sons sit on that throne and rule forever and ever. And so again, even early on here, when we're seeing now this this new moment for Israel, where you have two kingdoms, those are supposed to be one, we want to be able to understand that what we see here and what we're gonna see moving forward is that despite men's disobedience, God is a God who keeps his word. But more than that, it's supposed to also remind us what God was really looking for in the sons of David. He made a promise to David and his sons, but though it's unconditional, he wants something from them. He wants the same heart that was in the very one that he made a covenant with.

And you see this contrast between one of the sons of David and David himself. And here's what's so important about this, because we see here that Abidjan's faith is often the reflection of many people's walk with the Lord. Perhaps you have seen this. I've seen it at least. When when some people try to make a fire, they're they're very impatient.

And so they pour gasoline on it. They they stuff a bunch of paper, whether that's a pit or a fireplace, and they just light the thing up and hope to get something big and bright, and it shows up in that way, combust, and you even feel the heat of that moment touching your skin. But very quickly what happens, that fire dwindles and it becomes nothing, and you're back to square one. And that's what many people are like in their walk with the Lord. It's called firework faith.

It shines in the sky. It's impressive. It makes a lot of noise, but then within seconds, it turns into smoke. That's not what God is after. God is not after that kind of quality of faith.

God wants what's in our hearts for him to burn long term. God wants what's in our hearts for him to persevere, to endure, an enduring flame, if you will. And that's what you see in David. And you see this contrast in this text. You see a man who started.

He started well. He started with the right theology. He started with boldness. He started with actually confronting compromise, and seeing God move in his life, and then now he turns into what his father and his grandfather were like. And then we mentioned David in this text, and we see someone who, though he even sinned look at this.

We read that in verse five. Right? He commanded them all the days of his life in the last part, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. To remind us that he was he was human and he did have shortcomings and he did sin grievously. But he had something that was of persevering value and it was precious in the sight of God.

And you can almost hear God's heart in these texts. Oh, that I would see the same heart that was in David and the sons of David. Despite it, I will be faithful to my promise. But, oh, how I long to see the same thing that I saw in that man who was after my own heart. God is not after what we see here in Abi Jim.

He wants what was in David. And there's one more thing about this man's biography worth mentioning before we move on. Look at verse six. Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. Why are we talking about that?

In fact, if you remember last week's study, that's where we concluded. We concluded about how the summary of Rehoboam and Jeroboam, the first kings of the divided kingdoms, they were continually at war with one another. And then we have that resurface in our text. We're talking we're not talking about Rehoboam. We're talking about his son.

But we're reminded here that Rehoboam and Jeroboam were at war all the days of his life. And I believe it's the next verse that gives us the understanding of why this is brought up. The rest of the acts of Abijah, 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 Abidjan and Jeroboam. So there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.

Now you have Rehoboam's son Abidjan, and there was war between Abidjan and Jeroboam. And these are mentioned side by side for a reason. It's as though the spirit wants us to see that Abidjan's relationship with Jeroboam was heavily influenced by the example and the pattern of his father Rehoboam. This is a lesson. This is a lesson.

Listen, young guys, pay attention. Yeah? Especially young men who want to be fathers. Men who are fathers of children today. Men who are fathers of adult children.

Can I ask you a question on this Friday night? What kind of legacy are you gonna leave your children? What kind of legacy are you gonna leave your sons? What kind of legacy are you gonna leave your daughters? Because you see Rehoboam, who was generally characterized by warfare with the brethren, and his son follows suit.

Here's what I thought to myself when I read this. Lord, it is my prayer that my life, my life, would testify, if you were to give me a family, would testify that your word is a treasure, that the local church is a priority, and that there is no greater honor in this life than to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in any capacity. You know, I heard an interesting, phrase that stuck with me all week of a minister who who taught about how to win your children for Christ. And he he made this statement that touched me, and I didn't hear need to hear anything else. I understood the implications of that.

At least I think I did. If you wanna see your kids come to Christ, if you wanna see them won over to the gospel, do your part in this. Amaze them with God. Amaze your children with God. Let them through your life, your words, your actions, your priorities, your responsibilities, let them see that God is indeed a treasure.

The treasure of all treasures. The delight of all delights. The most supreme thing you can know. And listen, if he's not gonna be that in your life now, if he's not gonna have that kind of a place in your heart, in your schedule, in your resources. Don't be like one of those parents who down the line will come to the pastor and ask the pastor to rescue your kid.

Endeavor today to believe in the outcome of your life for God overflowing and spilling on your children. And I believe it's as simple as that. I know that there are complicated cases, and I know that there are very devoted fathers and mothers who are struggling with their children. But the best thing that you can do is stare at God, love God, worship God, and let your offspring witness someone who actually prizes God above all things. To at least cause them to be curious enough to be like, is God that real?

Because he's so real to daddy and mommy. Is he that worth it for our lives to revolve around serving him and serving God's people and learning about him in his word? That can be true for the positive, that can be true for the negative. You had a dad who went to war with one of the brethren and his son had no issue following in that same example. With your children, see with them how amazing God is.

Now we move to the next king of Judah. And mind you, we're just touching on some things. We can stay on one king for one Bible study, but we won't do that. Let's read verse nine and ten. In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah, and he reigned forty one years in Jerusalem.

His mother's name was Maca, the daughter of Abishalom. And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord as David his father had done. Now let's pause here. If the three year reign of Abijam stood out to us, then surely the forty one year reign of his son, Asa, should stand out to us. Because think about it.

He actually is in the position of a king longer than David and Solomon. They were there for how long? Forty. And now you have one of their sons who is there for forty one. Now some people have problem with a problem with verse 10.

What stands out to you that seems to be an issue concerning the description of this man? Who is the mother to Abidjan? Maakah, the daughter of Abid Shalom. Right? And in Chronicles actually says Absalom.

And then you see here that Abidjan's son, Asa, has the same mother. Right? Look at verse 10 again. Maca, the daughter of Absal Abishalom. So you what's going on here?

Father, son, and brothers at the same time? Here's the thing to remember, that there are terms in the Bible that do not have this strict definition and description that we might assume. So I'm gonna do something rapid fire with you to show you how, even though the word son is used or the mother's name rather is used in this case. It's not a contradiction. It's not an error.

It's that the definition of this relationship is broader than what we might understand. So if you wanna write these references, you can, and maybe, we can look it up on the screen together instead of turning to these places. But this is all from first and second Samuel. If you look at first Samuel chapter three and six, it's Eli who calls Samuel my son. When Samuel is hearing the voice of the Lord, he mistakes it with Eli's voice, so he approaches Eli while he's sleeping, wakes Eli up, and Eli refers to him as my son.

Question, is Eli Samuel's father? No. So this is a relationship, like a mentor relationship, father son, son of education, so to speak. So he calls them my son, but they're not really father and son. It's not just there.

You go to first Samuel twenty four first Samuel 24 verse 16, and you see somebody else calling another person his son when, in fact, they don't have that real relationship. It is Saul who calls David what? Is this your voice, my son David? Is Saul David's father? No.

But he's his father-in-law. And so though David is a son-in-law, he still calls him my son. And here's the most important example. It's not in first Samuel, but in second Samuel. In second Samuel chapter 19 verse 24.

Look what it said here. In second Samuel 19 verse 24, Mephibosheth, the son of Saul, came down to meet the king. He had neither taken care of his feet nor trimmed his beard nor washed his clothes from the day the king departed until the day that he came back in safety. Question, is Mephibosheth the son of Saul? No.

Who is Mephibosheth's father? Jonathan. And Jonathan is a son of Saul. So you you even see this. Right?

You see that a grandfather is related to his grandson as though they were actually father and son. That's exactly what you see here in Asa's case. The mother of Asa is actually his grandmother. And it could be that Maca actually took a prominent place in Asa's life. Though she was the grandmother, she played a motherly role.

And so it's simple as that. There there's no copyist mistake. There's no issue here. It's simply a thing of description and how the Bible uses terms and has broader definitions in some areas. And so we see here that he had a grandmother who was really, a mother figure to him.

And that's true in many cases today where grandparents have such influences over their grandchildren. Now to our surprise, despite a similar upbringing to his father, you have a different future described. Because look at verse 11, and Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord as David, his father, had done. That's incredible. We just heard that that's what the Lord was longing for from the descendants of David.

And here early on, you see Asa reflecting the heart of David. This is a breath of fresh air, is it not? And we look at this, and we think, well, this is not predictable. And it's true. It's not predictable.

And here's where it gets even more important. Asa not only was a worshiper of such a caliber, Asa was one of the reformer kings in Israel's history. In fact, he was the first reformer for the kingdom of Judah. To reform some things means to correct or make changes where there is great error or corruption. And what Asa is known for is cleaning the kingdom of Judah spiritually.

He brought revival. And from time to time, God will raise up a person to lead the charge of bringing spiritual cleansing in different contexts. Sometimes it can be in the home. Sometimes it can be in the local church. Sometimes it can be in a region where many ministries and churches purifying our hands, so that we can be where God wants us to be.

And so many people pray for revival. It's a wonderful thing to pray for. Many people believe that we need revival today. I'm one of those people. Revival, by the way, is not for the world.

Revival is for the church. Evangelism is for the world. You don't revive something unless it was once alive. And so when you revive it, it comes to life and then it operates in the way that it was designed to operate. So, yes, one of the benefits of revival in the church is that the community feels it, but it begins in the house of God.

And what you see here in first Kings 15 is a model of what happens when reform, spiritual reform comes, whether that be to a church, a region of churches, or even an individual's life. There are three things that stand out from this that give us an example, at least an illustration of what happens when your heart is revived again by God. Look at the first thing with me in verse 12. So Asa, again in verse 11, he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. And in verse 12, this is the first consequence of that.

He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his father had made. When God revives a church, when God revives a person, one of the first things that will be changed is that the way they view the culture, the way they relate to society. You see, these male cult prostitutes were state sanctioned worshipers who performed homosexual acts in idol temples as acts of devotion to false gods. It was gross. It was contrary to God's will in so many fronts.

And we see here that these perversions were tolerated for generations. They were tolerated by Asa's father and grandfather, even encouraged, but this man would not would not submit to the norms of his culture. He stood against it. And you may not have the capability or the authority to physically remove such things, but you do have a voice, and you will be put in positions where you have to voice your opinion, which is ultimately the truth in a way that might influence others for good or not up to us for the negative. And when the Lord listen, when he does a true work in the heart, you will not be fearful.

You will not be submissive to the narratives, and to the patterns, and the practices of the culture. You will stand against it. You will speak out if need be against it. And that's exactly what this man exemplifies. And we see here that he stands for the truth in a way in which he refuses to be stained by the world.

James tells us in chapter one verse 27 that true religion that is pleasing to God is not that you would visit orphans and widows in their distress, but that you would you would be undefiled by the world. And a person whose heart is revived, listen, they want to protect themselves from being stained from the world. And they want to be as consecrated as possible as they interact with the world. And here you see this man who uses his ability and his authority to do more than just that. He makes an offensive move and he begins to cleanse the culture.

And listen, when the church begins to be pressured by the culture and sounds like the culture and tiptoes around issues because they know that it will offend the culture, that church needs revival. It does. Because revival does what we see here. But it doesn't just do that. Look at verse 13.

This is the second thing that revival would do. He also removed Maacah, his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah, and Asa cut down her image and burned it at the Brook Kidron. When the Lord moves in a person's heart, brings it to life, brings it to alignment with his will, that spiritual reform will change the condition of a home. So we see that this woman is the queen mother. She has a position of authority, and and Asa was not selective with his righteous pursuits.

He He didn't just deal with the culture, but didn't deal with the closest relationships with him. Now he came home and he made a dramatic shift because when God shifts your heart, it's gonna shift the closest relationships with you and to you. So he goes to his mother and he says, you're fired. You're not you're not gonna be doing this anymore. You're not gonna be influencing.

You're not gonna be having your say in anything. You don't fear God. You don't know God. So this is it. And she gave into it, obviously, because he came with that authority.

And in Asa's case, listen, he removed his grandmother from that position. That obviously doesn't relate to you and I much, but it does in this, that when God does a work in your heart, it will change something about your day to day interactions and the closest people to you. Forgiveness will be given. Forgiveness will be sought. Reconciliation will be realized.

Purity will happen in the home. Things that were entertained in the home. Things that were tolerated in the home. Things that were justified in the home that grieve the Holy Spirit will no longer be justified, will no longer be entertained. Something happens.

Worship is no longer just a once a week thing. Worship is there in the home. Your home becomes a tabernacle. And especially if you're the leader of the home, something will happen as the head of the house, where the overflow of your decision will bless those around you. And there's no work that when there's no doubt that when a purging work takes place in one person in a home, it will have an effect on those who are around him.

Look at the last thing here. In verse 14, but the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was holy true to the Lord all his days. And here it is in verse 15, and he brought into the house of the Lord the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver and gold and vessels. So not only does revival personally change the way you view the culture, not only does it change the condition of your home, it will change the way you associate and relate and invest in the house of God.

What does he do? It says here, he brought into the house of the Lord the sacred gifts of his father, not just of his father, and his own sacred gifts. He now made a personal investment. I'm going to actually make a personal conscious decision that I'm going to be responsible to what it is that God called me to, and I'm going to contribute to what I can contribute to as an individual person. When a person is truly walking with the Lord where he needs to be, the temperature that God desires him to be at, he will have this fervency about the house of God.

It won't be an afterthought. It won't be tertiary in his priorities. It will be something that he, again, will prize and he will treasure. And Asa shows that here, that when a person has a David like heart, a heart after God's own heart, he will actually make much of the house of God. And when he does a deep work in you and I, the same will be true of us.

You will love, you will attend, you will serve, you will sacrifice for the place where God is worshiped and where he promised to speak and meet with us. Little glimpse of what reviving does by the Holy Spirit. I know you agree with me in saying that we need it in this land, but that's not the only thing that happens about Asa. Look at verse 16. And there was war between Asa and Baasha, king of Israel, all their days.

You can't have this kind of devotion that Asa exemplifies, and you can't have this kind of reform without opposition arising at some point. And at this point, Vashj'ah takes the place of Jeroboam and another king following him. Again, remember I told you that the overlap of some things requires a little bit more effort to to make sense of. But you see this king Basha who comes now and wants to interfere with the very thing, listen to the very thing that Asa was trying to revive. He revived the house of God, the priority of it from a cultural standpoint.

And what is Baasha? Do look at verse 17. Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. A similar strategy of Jeroboam originally. Remember Jeroboam?

He institutes idolatry because he's worried that if the people go down to Judah where Jerusalem is, they will worship the true God and they might shift their allegiance to the kingdom of the South. He's not gonna let this happen. So he sets up this barricade, where it's near impossible for the people of the North to travel down and worship at the house of God. Opposition will always come when God does a work in your heart, a true work where it overflows into culture, overflows into your house, overflows into the house of God. Don't be surprised when it happens.

And be careful praying that prayer for God to do something in your life where you burn for him. Because because when you burn for him genuinely, the enemy will take notice. And there will be barricades, and there will be hurdles, and there will be attempts to try to stifle that. And that should be no cause to be fearful. Listen, it should be causing you to be ready.

I'm reminded of a verse that Paul mentions to the Thessalonians who attest to the truth that there will always be satanic resistance against anyone who is serious about advancing the work of God, living for the glory of God. And we're gonna touch on that this Sunday. It is a lifelong experience for the true Christian who is walking with the plow in their hands, moving forward for the glory of God. You will have an unending cycle of experiences with satanic resistance. Paul experienced that almost immediately.

And he says something in first Thessalonians chapter two in one verse, verse 18. He says to this church, because we wanted to come to you, I, Paul, again and again, but Satan hindered us. Can I encourage you to pray about something if you haven't been praying about it? Always ask God for discernment. Always ask God for discernment.

This man, Paul, had discernment. You know how I know he had discernment? Because he knew when something was closed, when it was the Holy Spirit and when it was Satan. In Acts 16, him and his team knew that the resistance against their missionary efforts was the Holy Spirit. It was the spirit of Jesus.

And in this situation, he knew that when he was trying to do a work with these Christians that it was Satan hindering him. The only way you can know is if you have Holy Spirit inspired discernment. He had that. And because he understood that, he responded in the following way. It's it's right there in the same verse.

I, Paul, again and again. Again and again. I tried over and over to make my way to you because I know that the enemy is trying to halt this. And I know you will benefit from this. I know we will benefit from this.

So I'm doing what I can to make sure that this will be realized. And it seems as though in this verse that he confesses defeat. Because he says, I, Paul, again and again, but Satan hindered us. He hindered us. So what happened, Paul?

Does that mean that you never were able to minister to this group? You know what I find so amazing about this? That though he tried to physically arrive to this group of Christians, he he couldn't evidently. So what does he do? What do you think he do does to minister to this group of people?

Any idea? Let me give you a hint. It's the verse that we're quoting. He wrote them a letter. He wrote them a letter.

So he writes this epistle to them, and he's explained to them, I tried to get to you, but I can't. So let me explain this to you, and let me let me give you some instruction instructions by way of letter. You and I are familiar that Paul wrote many letters, but you know what's significant? Theologians believe and scholars believe that this is the first epistle that Paul ever wrote. You know why that's important?

Because think about it. Here's Satan thinking that he's gonna hinder the work of Paul. And what Satan really did was he started a new ministry for Paul. Paul couldn't arrive there physically, so you know what began to happen? Paul started writing letters.

I wonder if Satan regretted hindering Paul from going to the Thessalonians. You and I should never fear satanic opposition. We should be prepared for it, and we should never be discouraged when it comes. We should never lose our zeal and our passion in whatever it is that we are committed to. Whatever it is that we're believing God for, there will be moments that will frustrate us, maybe confuse us even.

But here's the thing, we will always overcome. If it's the will of God and if we're in tune with God, perhaps the very thing that Satan thought he had victory over and that we might think that Satan had victory over is the start of something new. You never lose when you're walking with the Lord. You never lose if you're on the team of the kingdom of God in Christ Jesus. Never.

So this very man admits that there was a hindrance, but it really started something fresh that you and I are benefiting from today. How did Asa respond to this surprise attack from the kingdom of the North? Unfortunately, not the same way. He didn't rely on the Lord. He didn't stay the course when he learned about the schemes of Vashti.

Instead, look what he does. Look at verse 18 of first Kings 15. 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 gave them into the hands of his servants. And king Asa sent them to Ben Hadad, the son of Tabramon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria who lived in Damascus saying, let there be a covenant between me and you as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I'm sending to you a present of silver and gold.

Go break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel that he may withdraw from me. So Asa's panicking, and he goes to the house of the Lord, he empties it of its treasures, and he seeks the assistance of the king of Syria, and he says, hey, you have an agreement with the Northern Kingdom, break that agreement, join with me, here's a here's a price for that, and and help me out here. Good thing or bad thing? Tell me why. That sounds like a good strategy politically speaking.

Fear. Fear is bad. But just from the plain reading of the text, there's no explicit statement, at least in King's account, the first King's account, of it being wrong or evil. But what do you see from this text that should give you the indication that this is a no no? Okay.

It's two people at the same time, but I got it. Maybe it's the same answer I heard from you. Don't you think it's unthinkable for somebody to empty the house of the Lord, the very thing that you replenished it with? What did he do with the house of the Lord? He he he funded it again.

He brought sacred gifts, silver and gold. And at this time now, he withdraws everything from it, and he gives it to a pagan king. You don't need to be a theologian to realize that's not good. That belongs to God, and you took what belongs to God and you gave it to a guy who worships another God. And it's when you go to second Chronicles where you realize the extent of the evil that Asa committed in his fear, in his unbelief.

But here's the thing that we learn already from this. Even if you're just reading first Kings 15, Here's what you learn when you rely on the armor of the flesh, when you remove yourself from what God has to say, and you exercise human wisdom at the expense of God's clear commands. This is what happens. The same thing that happened to Asa. Asa robbed God.

When you and I, whether it's in fear, whether it's in concern or anxiety, whether it's in moments where we're being opposed or threatened and we rely on sinful means to try to save us or provide an answer, you too will rob God. Of what? His glory. We rob God of his glory when we don't trust him, when we don't submit to him, even when everything in us calls for a different direction or approach. In the same way God was robbed of physical treasures, you and I in disobedience rob God of his glory.

But it's not just that. There is a different price that this man paid. It's found in second Chronicles. Look at it with me in chapter 16. You see Asa mentioned in, I don't know, half a chapter in first Kings 15.

In second Chronicles, he's given three chapters. Second Chronicles fourteen, fifteen, and 16. And look at second Chronicles sixteen, seven and eight. Right after Asa did this, a prophet arise arises and he arrives on the scene. And look look what he says in verse seven.

At that time, Hanani, the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, because you relied on the king of Syria and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Which army escaped him? Well, think now. Which army was Asa concerned about? Israel.

Hanani shows up on the scene, he goes, because you didn't rely on the Lord your God, read it slowly, the army of the king did he say Israel? No. What does he say? The army of the king of Syria has escaped you. The hand and I miss it?

No. He he he's showing something that's heartbreaking. Because you relied on the king of Syria and you didn't rely on God, you were so unbelieving. You think that you got your answer, because we're gonna find out that it worked. What he did worked.

But what he's reminding him is, I would have given you Israel and I would have given you Syria. If you had trusted in the Lord, not only would I have given you the northern tribe, I would also given you Syria. But you didn't. You didn't. You know, because when you read in first Kings 15, you see that it actually worked.

Syria did break the covenant with Israel, and Asa was able to know peace again. He was able to gather in some towns and a little bit of resources. But no matter what we succeed apart from God, it will always be less than what you could have had in God. No matter what you accomplish without God in disobedience to God, it will always always always fall short of what you could have known with God. That's what this prophet is saying.

You could have had Syria with Israel, but because you didn't rely on God, you have a little bit of victory. What could have Asa done then? What was it that God was expecting from Asa? Well, look at verse eight. The prophet reminds him, were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans, a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen, yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand.

Asa's war with Israel was not the first war that he had. Again, when you read second Chronicles 14, Asa had a much bigger problem with the Ethiopians. A 1,000,000 man army and he was able to overcome that. You know how? Read it when you have time.

Asa prayed and God intervened. And many years passed, and now he has this problem with Israel, a much smaller problem by the way. And he doesn't believe God then. Something happened over time. His faith weakened.

He lost track. He lost sight of God. And because of that, he's reminded, you lost touch of your prayer life. It was prayer that helped them overcome the Ethiopian invasion. Again, many people can do things without prayer.

Do you know how I know? Because many people do things without prayer. They don't really believe it works. And here's the thing, like Asa, you can do you can do things without prayer. People do it all the time, but you always miss out.

There could have been more you could have known if you had committed it to the Lord. So learn to commit it always to Lord. Yes. Be practical. Yes.

Be realistic. Yes. Strategize. But learn to prioritize and seek God's wisdom and intervention before all things, And you will never fear missing out. Unfortunately, this man missed out, and he was reminded of that.

Asa stopped praying, and it cost him. He robbed God originally when he partnered with Syria, reward that he also forfeited. And you and I do the same when we lose touch with the Lord in the place of dependency on him. So you and I are ready to turn our attention to the two kings of Israel. But before we do that, let's summarize the two kings of Judah.

You have Abidjan and you have Asa, father and son. Abidjan ruled for how long? Three years. His son Asa? Did they have the same outcome?

Pretty much. Because you realize that after Asa was confronted by the prophet, Asa got angry, and he wanted nothing to do with repentance. And come back to first Kings 15, and notice what happens. It's the same thing happens in second Chronicles verse 23. Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah, but in his old age, he was diseased in his feet.

You'll read that in second Chronicles 16. He was dizzy that wasn't coincidence. That was an act of God. Because even when he was confronted about his disconnection with God, he still didn't see God. He still didn't come broken before the Lord.

You know what? The Lord didn't try to get his attention. He afflicted him with a pain. He afflicted him with a disease. There's debate about the nature of the sickness, but it was enough enough to debilitate him.

And we're told there in second Chronicles that even after that, he did not seek the Lord. That's how Asa finished. And here's the reminder as we end with the Kings of Judah in this chapter. Both of these men turned from the Lord, reminding us that no matter how old you are, no matter how advanced you are in your walk with Christ, there is no one, absolutely no one who is impervious to sinning in such a way where they harm their testimony. Three years.

If you have three years to live, you and I must be careful that in those three years, we would not do anything that would harm our our testimony before the Lord. If you have forty one years, equally dangerous. And this man shows us that in your old age, be careful. Right? It happened to Solomon, it happened to Asa.

So we have to, by God's grace, rely on him every step, every day, and trust that he will complete the work that he began in us as we walk with him. And so we see here that the conclusion arrives now to the kings of Judah. Now we shift over to the kings of Israel. Look at verse 25. Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years.

He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin, which he made Israel to sin. Here's what you're gonna notice with me as we study first Kings. First Kings, from this moment on, is gonna be preoccupied with dealing and describing the kings of Israel, the Northern Kingdom. When you read first and second Chronicles, the author is more concerned paying attention to the kings of Judah, David's descendants. So from this moment on, we're gonna be a lot more with the Northern kings than we are the Southern.

And that's the opposite is true when you come to the first and second books of Chronicles. And what's also interesting here is what you're going to see is a trademark of the nation of Israel. The northern tribes of Israel will be recognized for political and spiritual instability. Like severe. Much more severe than the Southern Kingdom.

And that is obviously a result of their total apostasy to the Lord, whereas the Southern Kingdom had moments of, return and reform. And the example of that is even in these first chapters that we're gonna discover in this divide. Listen, Asa reigned forty one years, and in those forty one years, you have several kingdoms that rose and fell in the North. You see it with Nadab, you're gonna see it with Vashti, and and it's gonna continue on. Zimri and Omri, it's just gonna keep going.

So while there is one king in Judah, you're gonna have several in the North. And it begins with this man who was the son of Jeroboam. His name is Nadab, and he began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah. He only reigned two years. So if you have three years were short, imagine two.

If you want an idea how short that feels, we've been in this church building for over two years. That's very brief to be a king. But I wanna combine Nadab and Basha. I don't wanna look at them separately because they are connected. So we read here that he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

And look at verse 27. Basha, the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Basha struck him down at Gibethon, which belonged to the Philistines, for Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibethon. So Basha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah and reigned in his place. And as soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam.

He left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed until he destroyed it according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shiloh night. So Basha, this man from the tribe of Issachar, fulfills prophecy because Jeroboam was told that his dynasty would die, and this is the fulfillment of it. This man ransacked and absolutely destroyed the entire household of Jeroboam. But I want you to see one thing. There's many things to pull out of this.

I I want us to conclude here this bible study on one note to encourage you. I hope this stirs you to not be one to give in to the temptation to overlook details. Nadab was assassinated. Right? But notice where he was assassinated.

Vashhur, the son of Ahijah, in verse 27, of the house of Issachar conspired against him. Vashhur struck him down at Gibethon. Ever heard of it? Probably not. Unless you memorize the book of Joshua.

He struck him down at Gibbethon, and then it's we're we're we're told it again. Says here that Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon. Well, where is Gibe Thon mentioned? And is there anything about it that makes sense of this or at least gives us insight to this? Yes.

But if you're still with me, you have to turn to Joshua to see it. So Joshua, and look at verse 20 of chapter 21. Joshua 21 verse 20. In this chapter, you have the list of areas and lands and villages that were allotted to the Levites. Levites the Levites had certain cities to their name, though they didn't have a a tribe tribal areas, the other tribes said they did have different parts within those tribes, including the list mentioned here of Joshua 21 verse 20.

Let's read it together. As to the rest of the Kohathites belonging to the Kohathite clans of the Levites. The Kohathites are descendants of the tribe of Levi. The cities allotted to them were out of the tribe of Ephraim. To them were given Shechem, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasture lands, Kibzim with its pasture lands, Beth Horon with its pasture lands, four cities.

Now be honest. How many of you would read this with great attention in your devotional time? I wanna show you why it's important. Look at verse 23. And out of the tribe of Dan, we read here, Elkaki with its pasture lands, Ghibethon with its pasture lands.

There it is. So here's one clue. Where this man was assassinated was a city that was meant to be purely populated by the Levites. And the Levites were set apart by God to be the communicators and the teachers of his law. They were to be models of holiness and godliness, not just in word, but also in deed.

Did anything click yet? This was a place that was supposed to be occupied by the Levites in Israel, the northern tribes. Anything click yet? What happened to the Levites in Israel around this time? Good.

If you didn't hear it, you can read it in second Chronicles 11 verse 14. We gotta do work if we want the reward, my friend. We read this text many times in our study of first Kings, especially after the reign of Solomon. Look at second Chronicles 11 verse 14 to be reminded what happened to the Levites in the time of Jeroboam, and not just Jeroboam. You'll see it now.

Second Chronicles 11 verse 14. For the Levites left their common lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the Lord. So Gibethon was supposed to be populated by the Levites. But when Jeroboam took position of the ruler of the tribes of Israel, he and his sons, including the son that we read read here in first Kings 15, Nadab, they kicked them out and they cast them off and they migrated to the South. So what happens when all the Levites live Gibbethon?

Is it populated anymore? No. It shouldn't be when everybody is gone. And because everybody was gone, what happened? Come back to first Kings 15.

Verse 27. The second part says, at Gibethon, this is where he was killed, which belonged to the Philistines. What do you mean it belonged to the Philistines? Ibizan is given over to the Levites. Yeah.

But they were kicked out by this time. So who took over? The Philistines. Listen, when you kick god out, the devil moves in. That's the lesson.

So the Philistines moved in, the enemies moved in, and now you have pagan presence, false god worship, war, and more than that, an assassination. Assassination between two people who supposedly come from the same family. You don't want light? You don't want God's light? There's nothing as an alternative except darkness.

That is true for a church. That is true for a city. That is true for a state. That is true for a nation. You kick God out.

You kick his word out. You silence the messengers of God who stand for the truth. The devil moves into that place. And it doesn't matter what scale. Again, if it's a whole nation, even if it's a nation like The United States Of America, there's no other nation like The United States Of America in all of history.

But they are not immune to the same principle. You kick God out, the Philistines will come in. You kick God out, Satan will come. And so what do you and I do even in a time where that seems to be more and more true? I was thinking about that.

Because I'm not a king. You're not a king. You're not a president. I'm not in Congress. None of us have any authority politically.

None of us can do anything really about laws. There's a lot of questioning even about the integrity of our voting system. Here's what you do. Let the nation do what it will. Let the states do what they will.

Let cities do whatever they want. You acknowledge God. You invite God into your marriage, into your home, into the lives of your children, into your business. And here's what we're promised according to Isaiah chapter three, it shall be well with the righteous. And that's given in the context of national judgment orchestrated by a holy God.

Even in that setting, it will be well with the righteous. And so we see here that Baasha here assassinates him, and I'll read it here from verse 30 down in closing. It was for the sins of Jeroboam that he sinned, that he made Israel to sin, and because of the anger to which he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel. 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? And there was war between Asa and Basha, king of Israel, all their days.

Verse 33. In the third year of Asa, king of Judah, Basha, the son of Ahijah, began to reign over all Israel at Tirzah, and he reigned twenty four years. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin, which he made Israel to sin. Lord, we thank you for this Bible study. We pray, oh God, that the truths that we heard would not escape our memory, but that by your grace, we would recall these things.

Give us perfect recall, Lord. Help us, Lord, with our meditation, with our reading and studying of the word to be able to connect these truths with future truths that we discover. Lord, almighty, help us be mighty in the scriptures. And Lord, on that final note, we pray, we want you to have the supreme place in every area of our lives. So, lord, even now tonight, as we live in an age where darkness is creeping in and intensifying and the blackness of sin seems to be thickening.

We can feel it. Lord, make us like Goshen where we know light though there's darkness around us. Make us like Goshen where there is life though there be death around us. Make us like Goshen that though there may be plagues that cover the lands and sweep up sinners and the wicked, we are safe and secure in your presence. Lord, we ask you in the end of this bible study because, lord, we're not just studying a history.

We're not studying just a piece of a moment of a past time thing. Lord, we realize that this is revealing how we should relate to you now. Lord, please rule and reign over our lives afresh. And Lord, if we need reform, so be it. Let there be reform by your spirit and let it change the way we view the world, Let it change the way we live in our homes, and let it change the way we commit to the local church.

We ask for these things to be true by your grace and mercy. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.

You're doing well. You guys made it. Let's stand and worship the Lord.