2 Kings 14 (Part 2) & 15 Bible Study (Kings Reign in Israel & Judah) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Let's go to second Kings chapter 15, please, in our bibles. Second Kings chapter 15. Throughout the study, it has been a recurring pattern that whenever we cover a chapter, usually it includes the obituary of one or two kings. That being said, as we approach chapter 15, a quick glance will reveal that there are several kings mentioned in this section. In fact, there are seven main kings that are brought to our attention.

And this is between both kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Now obviously, these are brief accounts, but it makes you and I wonder why is it that the Holy Spirit mentions these rulers in such rapid succession? Why is he wanting to give us a speedy montage of these administrations? And I believe the answer is because he longs to communicate the growing political and spiritual instability of this time. It was increasing.

It was getting more dire. It was getting more dramatic. And so the structure of this chapter in essence is meant to convey that the insecurity of this time and of these kingdoms is something that you and I will inherit on a personal and societal level if we turn our backs on God. So if you read this section and you feel overwhelmed by the end of it, that's intentional. It's designed for you and I to feel frustrated and disappointed as we go from one king to another and realize they just keep failing.

And it's headed towards a dangerous direction. And so really the main overview of this is that the spirit longs to drive in your heart and in mind that there is no better way to build your life than to set it on the foundation of the Lord. And here we're gonna get many insights of what happens when you ignore him and choose to walk independently from him. But this Bible study is gonna be a little bit more unique than our usual studies. I'm not sure if you noticed, but we didn't complete chapter 14.

And the reason for that is because the majority of this chapter focused on a king by the name of Amaziah and we looked at his pride and some of the truths related to pride. Whereas the last few verses of that chapter introduces to us Jeroboam the second, the king of Israel at this time. And so what we're gonna do is we're gonna include Jeroboam in this section of chapter 15, which will bring our total of kings in our study to eight. And I'm gonna try my best to contain our insights, at least the main insights to eight insights from eight kings. That's really the title of this Bible study.

Eight truths that we can learn from eight kings. And forgive me if I go beyond that, but let's begin here at the end of chapter 14 and look at our first king and see what the spirit of God can teach us. Second Kings 14 verse 23. In the fifteenth year of Amaziah, the son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria. And he reigned forty one years.

And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. He restored the border of Israel from Lebo Havath as far as the Sea Of The Ereba according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath Heifer. For the Lord saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter, for there was none left, bond or free, and there was none to help Israel. But the Lord had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.

Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam and all that he did and his might, how he fought and how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah and Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, the kings of Israel, and Zechariah his son reigned in his place. You know you're destined for trouble when your parents give you the name of the man who caused division in the nation of Israel, split it into two kingdoms, and reintroduce golden calf worship to the people of God. This is Jeroboam the second. And strangely, he is the longest ruling king in Israel.

Look again here, forty one years at the end of verse 23. Forty one years. That seems strange concerning all the trouble that he brought to the people of God. In fact, you and I actually can know the very details of the atrocities that was committed under this rule. Do you know why?

Because there are many notable prophets who were raised up to minister during this time. Notably, Hosea and Amos. There was another one that we read in here. Didn't we? But let's look at the beginning of Amos and Hosea.

Let's turn to Amos one one. Just to confirm what I'm saying here. Amos one one. You have to comb through the latter portion of the Old Testament there where all the minor prophets are, but you'll find it. Amos one one.

We read the words of Amos who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel two years before the earthquake. So Amos was raised up and he preached prophetically during the reign of Jeroboam the second. But not just Amos, we have Hosea. Look at Hosea one one, not too far from Amos. Hosea one one.

The word of the Lord that came to Hosea the son of Biri. And in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, there it is again, in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel. And so if you just read Hosea and Amos, you will get a very descriptive understanding, a a widened understanding of the great crimes that were committed against God and his law. But if you want a summary about what's taking place, it's in Hosea chapter four. Look at verse one.

Hear the word of the Lord, oh children of Israel, for For the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love and no knowledge of God in the land. That's a summary. No faithfulness. There is no steadfast love.

And it's all tied to this. There is no knowledge of God in the land. And what's so interesting is you see the outcome of a willful ignorance of a people when they choose to turn their eyes away from God's word and turn their backs on his presence. Look at verse two. There is swearing, lying, murder, stealing and committing adultery.

They break all bounds. In other words, there's no limit to their sin and bloodshed follows bloodshed. So again, notice the connection between no knowledge of God and the sins that thrive in that kind of cultural climate. Limp in this evil is possible when there is willful ignorance of the Lord. And that was exactly what was taking place under Jeroboam the second.

Whereas restraint and regeneration is made possible when there is an acknowledgment of the truth of the truth. That was not the case here. Now you would think with such evil that was happening, the unbelievable mounting chaos because of people's sin, that judgment was around the corner. And it's true, Hosea and Amos did preach impending punishment from heaven. But when you go back to the text that we read earlier, there's something that is staggering that takes place under Jeroboam's rule.

Again, we have to go back again. By the way, there's gonna be a lot of bouncing between scriptures, just to give you a heads up. Go to second Kings 14 and notice what the Lord does for Jeroboam the second in verse 25. This seems out of place for people who are persisting in spiritual adultery. Says here in verse 25, he restored the border of Israel from Lebo hamath as far as the Sea of of The Arabah according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath Heifer.

Hold on. You are sinning. You are rebelling. You are persisting in your stubbornness and God gives you more land. The last time Lebo hamath is mentioned is back when King Solomon was able to secure a very wide dimension for the people of God concerning their real estate.

That's the last time it happened. And over time was we saw especially the the borders of Israel being taken over by foreign nations and at this time the Syrians were dominating these regions. And so hold on. We we read just a glimpse of what Hosea was saying about this people. You would think that they would have to give up more land because of the unfaithfulness, but the exact opposite.

The Lord is encouraging them to actually advance and be blessed. How do we know that? Because he sent a prophet by the name of Jonah. This is the same Jonah that fled from the presence of the Lord when God told him go and preach the Ninevites by the way. So think about it.

A contemporary to Amos and Hosea, you had an amazing roster of prophets preaching at the same time. And God spoke to Jonah at one point and said, go tell the king that he should advance to Lebo Hamath and I will give it to him. Even though there's no faithfulness in that, even though there's no steadfast love, even though there is no hunger for the knowledge of God, how can this be? Well, here we have our first lesson from the first king in our study, that our God is profoundly encouraging and delights in drawing us back to himself with kindness. I don't think any of us would be surprised if Israel lost more, but to gain more.

How can that be? One simple answer. Because the riches of God's grace are unbelievable, and yet he calls us to believe in it. And there are times when the Lord allows suffering in order to awaken a sinner, and at the same time, there are times when he alleviates suffering with the same purpose in mind. Suffering is not the only way that God gets the attention of a wayward person.

He also does so by providing gifts and treating them in a way that they don't deserve and preserving them and providing for them and protecting them. So we have to broaden our understanding of how the Lord works in people's lives. It's not one dimensional. And you and I might think one strategy will work for somebody else, but God knows best. That being said, there is a danger for those who are in sin and are experiencing God's grace, and it is this, that you would confuse his help for his approval.

So the Lord giving more land to Israel was not him saying, you know, it's okay. You guys can continue sin. I'm just winking at it. No. Because he raised up Hosea and he raised up Amos to call them to repentance.

And I'm sure Jonah as well. But he does want to communicate at the same time, do don't you see my kindness? Doesn't this want you to surrender to me? This is exactly what is happening here and that's the first lesson. That being said, I think there's something worth noting here.

Jeroboam the second, when he dies, it will be a major door shut for the people of Israel to be able to reclaim the opportunity to be restored to the Lord. It's gonna get worse after he dies. In fact, there's going to be a powerhouse of a nation that's gonna approach the people of God, threatening them with invasion and exile. So God's patience, though it is great, it is not infinite. There is a limit to it.

And that's what we're gonna see in the text to come. Now I said one main lesson. Already I'm gonna fail at that attempt. Alright? Look back at Jonah's description here.

Verse 25. Jonah the son of Amittai the prophet who was from Gath Heifer. Be honest. How many of us would just overlook that insight? You shouldn't.

And if you were with us when we studied Joshua, we touched on many places that are brought to our attention in that book when the people of Israel were gaining the promised land to themselves. Gath Heifer, according to Joshua nineteen thirteen, you don't have to turn there, but just a reference for you. Joshua nineteen thirteen tells us that Gath Heifer was a place that was associated with the territory of the tribe of Zebulun. Zebulun, the northern part of Israel. And what's interesting to us is when we come to the New Testament, we learn that this region called Galilee, where Jesus spent most of his ministry is associated with the area called Zebulun.

So Gathavir we can say was a part of Galilee. Now why is that important? Do you remember when the Pharisees were trying to find a way to arrest Jesus? And at one point they sent officers and Jesus was preaching. And when he preached, the officers that were sent to apprehend him came back empty handed.

Why? Well, they were asked, where is he? And they said, you don't understand. Nobody speaks like this man. They were spellbound.

They were disarmed. And so they came back empty handed and they began to hurl accusations against him and and there was one person there who said something to defend Christ, Nicodemus. He says, hey, doesn't this man deserve a fair trial? And then they say this in John seven fifty two, search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee. Now here's what really makes me laugh.

These are the supposed experts of the law. They're supposed to know the details of the scriptures. And in their attempt to discredit the ministry of Jesus and him being a candidate for the Messiah. They say there is no prophet that arises from Galilee. Jonah did.

So they were wrong. You know, some people attempt to sympathize with the Pharisees in this way. Well, you know, they they try to study the scriptures and some things were ambiguous or were in code or were kind of veiled and so when Jesus came it was a hard it was a hard thing for them to try to reconcile the truth that they studied and who Christ claimed to be. I don't agree with that. I believe that the Pharisees, one, did not really know their Bibles because they have elevated the traditions of men above the word of God.

And two, wherever the scriptures were clear, if it did not line up with their desires or their notions, they were willing to dismiss it. And even Nicodemus was accused by the Lord when he was speaking about being born again. Are you a teacher in Israel and you don't know these things? So a lot of these PhDs were actually ill informed. And we see it even here.

And it goes to show you just how important it is to know our Bibles in detail as much as possible. Because you have one detail here that only added to the callousness of the hearts of the Pharisees in rejecting Christ. That's why we're studying the Old Testament. Because we wanna know everything that the scriptures has to say. Because ultimately, it all points to the lord Jesus Christ.

Well, that can be considered as a second truth, but we come to the second king to learn the second major insight from these kings. Let's come now to chapter 15 of second kings. In the twenty seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign. Don't be discouraged if you don't memorize all these names. Okay?

Verse two. He was 16 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord according to all that his father, Amaziah, had done. Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away.

The people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. And the Lord touched the king so that he was a leper to the day of his death and he lived in a separate house. And Jotham the king's son was over the household governing the people of the land. Now the rest of the acts of Azariah and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And Azariah slept with his fathers and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Jotham his son reigned in his place.

There's a unique element to Azariah's story, isn't there? It's quite obvious. It's the staggering comment in verse five that the Lord touched Azariah and he received what? Leprosy. This is strange because we read here that he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet the language of verse five strongly implies that God struck him with what could be considered one of the most dreadful diseases to endure at this time.

How does that work? How do you have the rare occurrence of a king walking rightly before the Lord and him receiving one of the greatest, most painful ailments? Does anybody know who Azariah is? He has another name. And if I mention him, I think all of you would recognize him.

Azariah is the same person as Uzziah. Uzziah from second Chronicles. And this is where second Chronicles fills in the gaps, helping us understand how it was that a man who was walking right with God could receive this punishment. So some of you are already ahead of me. In second Chronicles 26, I want you to see with your own eyes.

This will help explain what happened here. Again, this king was raised up at the age of 16. Can you imagine a 16 year old ruling a nation? That's when many teenagers are just starting to drive. This man was given a throne and he was very successful.

He was one of the most cherished kings in all of Jerusalem's history because he was extremely successful. And he was successful because he walked in the fear of the Lord. But something happened. It's here in verse 16. It happens to many people, even those who initially start walking in an awe of God.

But when he was strong, he grew proud to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and enter the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. Why is that wrong? If you were a king, you were not allowed to assume the role of a priest. Two separate lanes and for great reasons.

But here you have this man who grew proud and this pride led to him to act presumptuously. He assumed that as a king he could function as a priest so he enters into the temple which was already a bad thing to do and he begins to now offer a specific sacrifice that was reserved just for the line of Aaron. And what's interesting here is that pride convinces us that the repercussions for certain sins do not apply to us, because pride tells you that you're someone special even in God's sight. That I can I can do this because the Lord will give me a pass because he needs me or he understands me? So he'll allow me to dabble in this for some kind of relief.

Now if you think that's a stretch, I can tell you that I read with my own eyes accounts of ministers who have fallen from their position in ministry. And many of them came to a point where they persuaded their own heart because of their pride that they could sin and God would allow it because they've served them for so long. Because they've devoted their lives to him. And so in order to know some kind of reprieve, some kind of enjoyment, they have developed this false notion that the Lord will overlook this, and he'll let me enjoy this without any problems. That's what happened to Isaiah.

He thought that he can just waltz into the temple. He's the king. He brought reform to some degree, some success to the kingdom. So surely the Lord will understand. Pride is powerfully deceptive.

We learned that last week. But notice that it wasn't primarily Uzziah's pride here that led to his destruction. It was something else when he was confronted about his pride. Let's continue to read in verse 17. But Azariah the priest went in after him with 80 priests of the Lord who were men of valor and they withstood king Uzziah and said to him, it is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense.

Go out of the sanctuary for you have done wrong and it will bring you no honor from the Lord God. I applaud these priests because all it would take is for the king to snap his finger and they could all be slaughtered right there. It's happened before in the accounts of the kings. But they came collectively and they would they stood against him and they resisted him and they confronted him lovingly. Notice what happens in verse 19.

Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a sensor in his hand to burn incense and when he became angry with the priest, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priest in the house of the Lord by the altar of incense. So if you don't see this carefully, then you might understand that Uzziah goes into the temple. He tries to perform the sacrifice and then the Lord allowed leprosy to break out on his forehead and the priest escorted him out. That's not what happened.

The leprosy broke out after he was confronted about his sin, and he responded wrongly. It's observations like this that remind us the absolute treasure it is of studying the scriptures carefully, especially the old testament, because it deepens our understanding of God's character. And what we learn here is our second lesson. While sin does offend God, what deeply matters to him is how we react when we are confronted about it. This is the second thing that we are granted by this king.

You and I listen may say or do something that is not in line with Christ likeness, but when the Lord gives you an opportunity to acknowledge that sin, to confess it privately or publicly, How you respond greatly matters to him. He watches very carefully to see. You must always remember that because pride will keep you from confessing. I I just I'm moved by God's mercy here. It was pride that led him to the temple to try to do this, but what really crossed the line for the Lord was when it was exposed and he doubled down.

So you and I have to remember this for ourselves. When conviction comes when you hear bible study, when a a parent or when a friend approaches you and brings something up, what you do with that information that's brought to your attention will determine so much. And God who sees all things, who's closer to you than your skin, will take into account how you respond. And just give me I'll just give you a word of advice. Even if something is brought to your attention that you may not see for yourself, humbly receive it.

And you can even admit I I may not see it for what it is at this point, but I will take it into consideration and bring it before the Lord. Anything. Listen, whether that person is doesn't have the good intentions that you hope for or they come off in a certain way, it never is a wrong thing for you to say, let me bring this before the Lord. You'll protect yourself in that way. Now before we move on, did you notice where the leprosy broke out on Uzziah's body?

Where was it? His forehead. Do you think that's an accident? No. That's intentional.

Let me ask you another question now. Are there any instructions that God gave specifically to the priest relating to their foreheads when it comes to the temple service. I'm curious to know if somebody actually has an answer. People are whispering. Yes, brother.

Yes. Very good. And what was supposed to be inscribed on that plate of gold? There was a phrase, holiness to the Lord. Okay.

Some of you are staring at me, so go to Exodus 28. Exodus 28 verse 36. This is the chapter that defines the garments of the priest and the high priest, and notice this detail. I love the Bible. Exodus twenty eight thirty six.

You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it like the engraving of a signet, holy to the lord. And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. It shall be on Aaron's, where? Forehead.

And Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead. They may be accepted before the Lord. So for the Lord to strike Uzziah in that specific place conveys a deeper meaning. Uzziah, this position is not for you, because you were not consecrated unto me.

You are not set apart onto me like the priest are. So instead of you having the seal of my approval, holiness to the Lord, I'm gonna give you a seal of my disapproval. Here's leprosy. But it's more practical than that. Where does pride begin?

You can say the heart, but you can also say the mind, with lofty thoughts of self. And you can be assured that pride is much more prevalent in the person who does not have the preoccupation of holy thoughts unto the Lord, but high thoughts of self. Is it any wonder that the scriptures command us in the New Testament to set our minds on things above where Christ is seated? For we are dead and now hidden in Christ. That's Colossians chapter three.

So even in our own thinking, we are to meditate and we are to muse over the truths of who he is, the glory of who he is, where any of our strength or goodness come from. It's him. It's him. It's him. Stay there.

Remain there. Yes, this was a specific piece for the high priest, but we can also apply to ourselves that we should think on the things that God wants us to think about, Because it provides a shield amongst many other rewards. And in Uzziah what we find is that he did not have the right thoughts about God, which led to the wrong thoughts about him and brought him to a place where he would be exiled from the temple. And not just the temple, but the kingdom. And he'd be treated as a leper for the rest of his days.

And so the forehead here is intentional. There's a message there, and there are still many more to come from these kings. Let's come to king number three. Second Kings 15 beginning in verse eight. In the thirty eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel and Samaria six months.

And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. Shalom the son of Jabesh conspired against him and struck him down at Ibliam and put him to death and reigned in his place. Now the rest of the deeds of Zechariah, behold they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. This was the promise of the Lord that he gave to Jehu.

Your son shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation and so it came to pass. Remember Jehu was the one called by God to eliminate the house of Ahab and to destroy Baal worship. And because of his faithfulness in that area, God visited Jehu and promised him, you will have four sons, four descendants who will occupy the throne. And here we have Zechariah who is the fulfillment of that promise. He is the last of the four.

This is where we see the faithfulness of God. And you can imagine how painful it must have been to God's heart to keep his word to Jehu because every single one of Jehu's sons were doing evil in the sight of the Lord. Every single one of them. Not one acknowledged God's love, his favor towards their father. They kept walking in disobedience.

And generation after generation, king after king, the Lord still kept his word to Jehu. The third lesson from the third king, that he is a promise keeping God. You and I should recognize our rest in his promise keeping ability. If God keeps his word even for those who are wicked, how much more for you and I who have lovingly embraced the Lord Jesus Christ? And yet here you and I are more willing to believe that he is faithful to an evil dynasty, but when it comes to our lives, we question him.

How can that be? That is strange, is it not? We cannot doubt his willingness to keep his word. And again, if he was willing to do it for those who didn't deserve it, how much more for us who in Christ are seen and are loved by the father as he does Christ. Do you know where we find ourselves in great trouble?

Do you know why we have anxiety in different areas of our lives? It stems from one thing, not believing God. Not believing God. If you don't believe me, let me quote you John fourteen one. Let not your hearts be troubled.

Believe in God. Believe also in me. What is Jesus saying there? That the reason why your heart is troubled is because you don't believe God about it. The reason why you can't sleep, the reason why you are visited with that flush of worry is because in that specific area, with that specific person, in that circumstance, you are not ultimately trusting in the Lord.

So what's the antidote for us for for our hearts not to be shaky? Believe God. Bring that thing in his presence. Let the promise of God shine its light upon it and trust in him. No matter how frightening or threatening that thing may be.

And so again, you and I supposed to be here confronted and impressed and reminded that this God kept his promise to a house that was wicked. And here I am, part of the household of God. Here I am, a child of God. What did Jesus say? If those who are evil know how to give good gifts, how much more your heavenly father?

How much more? So when I come to this king, here's what I take away from it. Lord, you keep your word. You did it for Jehu and his sons. Surely you'll do it for me.

He'll do it for you. This is the third lesson. He is a promise keeping God. Let's come to the fourth king, King Shalom in verse 13 to verse 16. Shalom the son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirty ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah and he reigned one month in Samaria.

Then Menahem the son of Gadi came up from Tirzah and came to Samaria and he struck down Shalom, the son of Jabesh in Samaria and put him to death and reigned in his place. Now the rest of the deeds of Shalom and the conspiracy that he made, behold, they are written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. At that time, Menahem sacked Tifscha and all who were in it and its territory from Tirzah on because they did not open it to him. Therefore, he sacked it and he ripped open all the women in it who were pregnant. If you're thinking this is getting more intense, that's the point.

Again, we're faced with the sequence, these snapshots of these kingdoms, and it's almost like this unfortunate highlight reel. It's getting worse. It's getting worse. It's getting worse. What do we learn from this though?

What stands out about Shalom is the conspiracy that is brought forth. In verse 15, now the rest of the deeds of Shalom and the conspiracy that he made. What's that conspiracy? It's what we touched on earlier. Look at verse 10 Kings 15.

Shalom the son of Jabesh conspired against him and struck him down at Ibliam and put him to death and reigned in his place. So the same Shalom who conspired against Zechariah was later conspired against by a name by a man named Menahem. Here lies the fourth truth from the fourth king in our study. Whatever a man sows that he will also, what? Reap.

And shalom is a sobering reminder that sometimes the reversal of events can take place very quickly. How long was he king? A month. The Lord did not delay in bringing swift judgment to this man, but we have to be careful because he doesn't always act so speedily. Many times there is delay before the fruit of our sin appears with the receipt.

And so you and I have to remember that always, that whatever we invest in will come back to us. And there is a way that Proverbs presents this that I wanna bring to your attention. Let's turn to Proverbs 26. In this chapter, there is a specific kind of warning. In verse 27, whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.

So there are two scenarios there. You have one who digs a pit, which speaks of what? When you dig a pit for something to fall into it, what is that called? Starts with the letter t. It's a trap.

Right? Now if I go up on a hill and I know that there's somebody who's gonna be taking this road at a specific time and I push over a giant stone, what am I seeking to do? Hurt somebody to ultimately destroy them. And what we learned there is that for a person who schemes to try to trap somebody else, they will fall victim to their own scheme. And a person who musters up all this energy and planning and effort to try to crush someone else will be crushed by their own efforts.

It really is a sobering warning. And if if you want to, stay very far away from this being a possibility, here's the counsel. Be a man, be a woman of integrity in all your actions, in all your reactions, in all your interactions. And when the temptation to do wrong visits you, trust in the sovereignty of God. Do not place it in your own hands.

Because those who set traps and those who try to cause harm to others will be surprised. Don't we see it in the book of Esther? Don't we see it in Daniel? The very ones that tried to make Daniel get in trouble for praying. We're launching the very same pit with the lions, and we're devoured by those lions that were designed for Daniel.

I I love to be on the other side of that promise that God protects us if we do choose to walk in holiness and in righteousness. But oh, what a warning it is for those who do not take heed. So this is what we learn here. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. Shalom thought that he can get away with killing Zechariah and he himself was assassinated.

Now we come to the fifth king, Menahem in verse 17. Hopefully you're not overwhelmed by this. In the thirty ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gedi began to reign over Israel and he reigned ten years in Samaria. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart all his days from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebath, which he made Israel to sin.

Paul, the king of Assyria came against the land and Menahem gave Paul a thousand talents of silver that he might help him to confirm his hold onto the royal power. Menahem exacted the money from Israel. That is, from all the wealthy men, 50 shekels of silver from every man to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back and did not stay there in the land. Now the rest of the deeds of Manahem and all that he did, are they not written in the books of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

And Manahem slept with his fathers and Picaiah, his son, reigned in his place. Let's take a deep breath. Shall we? It's a mouthful. So let me give you a little bit of insight of how I approach this chapter.

I'm I'm looking here. Yes, there there is much repetition, but is there anything that stands out with each of these kings? And I encourage you to read the Bible in that way, especially when you come to repetitive text. Is there anything that stands out? And when we come to this king, we realize that there is indeed a very unique element to his administration.

It was the fact that the superpower of a nation encroached upon the land and was ready to invade it. This is very scary for the people of God. This is very unique to their history. And you would think that Menahem would respond to this by repenting and crying out to God for help. Assyria is ready now to take over.

They are a threat. Instead of doing that, what does he do? He imposes this heavy tax on the wealthy men of his nation in order to pay off his Syria. So instead of humbling himself and receiving God's help because he's now reconciled to the Lord, he chooses to solve this his own way. So with the fifth king, we have our fifth lesson.

Men are often tempted to manage the consequences of their sin with short term solutions. Because what Menahem fails to realize is although he will have temporary relief, Assyria is gonna come back and take over. There are many who want salvation without surrender. They want restoration without repentance. They want counseling without Christ.

And like Menahem, many want to fix their lives without giving up their lives. And they even turn to Christians to try to receive some kind of advice because from the outside it looks like their lives are are put together and they have order and there's some sort of blessing that's obvious. So they come into the house of God or they approach people's homes and they seek counsel with the hope of gaining some kind of wisdom without actually living for the Lord. I've had unbelievers over the years come in their desperation because they are struggling or because they are suffering because of sin, and they they hope to get some kind of intel or some kind of insight or some kind of instruction without really embracing the lordship of Christ. And I have more than once lovingly told such people, I have nothing to offer you except for Christ.

There is nothing that I can give you because everything that I have to say is rooted in the word of God and is tied to relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. So if you want help with your wayward child, if you want help with the patterns of destruction in your own life, then you have to be willing to embrace the word of God and the God of the word. And if not, then I'm sorry that I'm I'm I'm limited here because my life has been given over to the author of life. My soul is kept by the one who saved my soul and he's the one who also wants to save you. He's the one who also made you.

So why would you attempt navigating through this life without his guidance? And that's what you have here. You have men like Manheim who who are willing to even pay a price as long as it's not total devotion, as long as it's not total repentance. And if they are willing to apply themselves in such a way, they are going to be disappointed as we're gonna discover by the end of the study. That's what Menahem teaches us.

But let's come to the sixth king in verse 23. In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Picaiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. And Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain conspired against him with 50 men of the people of Gilead and struck him down in Samaria, in the citadel of the king's house with Argob and Irae.

He put him to death and reigned in his place. Now the rest of the deeds of Picaiah and all that he did, behold they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. If you're thinking to yourself, this sounds like a copy paste of Zechariah and Shalom stories, you're absolutely right. It is almost a copy paste. And that would tempt you to say, okay, I've seen this before.

Don't do that. The Holy Spirit, there's no waste space in his word. So if there is something that's so strikingly similar, especially in close context, ask yourself, what does this say? What is the Lord trying to say? Well again, these reigns are short, are they not?

So here's my question. How is it that Picaiah didn't learn from his predecessors? How is it that you haven't figured it out that when you walk in the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, it doesn't end well for you? It didn't register yet, did it? And and we're also seeing here that there is a lot of assassination taking place.

So you're seeing this and it's like, yeah, this is just a a repetitive cycle. Yes, but people still don't learn from it. People still don't take it to heart. People still don't apply it to themselves, which brings us to our sixth lesson from the sixth king in our study. People often believe that they can sin and expect better outcomes than others.

May I say that one more time? Many people indulge in sin thinking that they can escape the consequences that have visited other people. I believe that was the deception that haunted Picaiah. And one thing that I love about the Bible is that it invites us to examine the fruit of sin and sinners. It does.

It calls you to observe it. It calls you to look at it as a catalyst for salvation and sanctification. Can I show you one of my favorite examples of that? I brought this up more than once. This is worth highlighting in Romans six twenty one, where Paul tells the Romans, what fruit were you getting from the things that you are now ashamed of?

In that context, he's talking about living a sanctified life, a crucified life, a life that's been buried with Christ. And then he just gets really practical. He goes, hey, Romans. I want you to really think about it. Think about the outcomes of the things that you are now ashamed of.

Why would you even consider going back to them? Why would you even linger with temptation? Look at it. And this shows me that Lord is so confident about his description of the misery of living in sin, that he actually calls you to look at the outcomes for yourself and be persuaded by them. Just look at it.

And for someone like Picaiah to know the rotten fruit that comes from willfully walking away from the Lord and still walk in that direction, it's the epitome of foolishness. It's crazy and yet millions are doing it today. You know, there's a lot of people who believe in this notion of generational curses. I don't adhere to that view, but I do understand that there are generational patterns. And that's what we see here in a sense, where this king refuses to break free from the cycle that plagued his predecessors.

And many people are doing the same today, unfortunately. So the lesson here is that people often believe that they can sin and think that they can have better outcomes. King number seven. Hold on tight. We're almost there.

Verse 27. In the fifty second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah, the son of Remaliah, began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twenty years. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ejon, Abelbeth Macca, Genoa, Kadesh, Hazor, Gilead and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and he carried the people captive to Assyria.

Then Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Ramaliah and struck him down and put him to death and struck him down and put him to death and reigned in his place in the twentieth year of Jotham, the son of Uzziah. Now the rest of the acts of Pekah and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. Another deep breath. If you were to look at a map of Israel during this time, you would learn that Naftali occupies the northern part of it. And the Assyria that we just read about has now come again, but this time, a check isn't gonna work.

They take over very important strategic cities and they're essentially occupying the northern part of this people. And this is so staggering because who would have thought that this would have happened? God promised long ago that one of the final acts of judgment would be exile because he didn't just take over cities, what he took captive some of the people of God to Assyria. This is a very pivotal moment in our study of the book of second Kings. People are now being taken from the promised land.

And to live under a rule that is foreign, that is evil, that essentially is God's punishment for those who wanted evil. Okay. Live under evil. Here's the seventh lesson from our study of these kings. God is just as serious about his promises to punish as he is to provide, to protect, and to prosper.

Because as I said, the Lord warned in Leviticus, in Deuteronomy, that exile is your future if you persist in rebellion and we're seeing it come to pass. If you actually read the prophets, one of the boast of the sinners was there's no way that God will allow exile to happen. You're you're telling me that he he had all that happened with Abraham and with our patriarchs and our forefathers. He did all of that and brought us here just to take us out. And so they were they were willing to believe the grace of God, but when it came to the judgment of God, they had all these false ideas about it.

And it just solidified them in their sin. But here's the seventh lesson, he's just as serious and willing to perform his promises to punish than any other good promise that we love and enjoy. There's a hymn that's found in the New Testament, many hymns actually. People debate if they're hymns or if they're Christian sayings that were popular in the days of the early church. And sometimes we're prepared to know one of these sayings or these hymns with the statement, this saying is trustworthy.

Have you read that in the New Testament? This saying is trustworthy. And there's one that Paul shares with and reminds Timothy of in second Timothy two. In verse 11 he says, this saying is trustworthy. If we have died with him, we will what?

Also live with him. And he goes on to say, if we endure, we will also what? Reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. If we are faithless, he is what?

He remains faithful. Out of those four lines, those four conditions, which one do you think is most quoted by people today? I hear the last one all the time. I rarely hear if we have died with him, we will also live with him, that if we endure that we will also reign. I I usually hear, especially in times of counseling or conversation, if we are faithless he remains faithful.

Right? And for good reason, I suppose. Because this is usually interpreted as, well, even if we veer off and we disobey, that does not nullify the grace of God and the love of God and the ability to be restored to God. And I believe that's true. But I want you to consider another possible interpretation.

That when you look at these statements, you have two that are positive and two that are negative. The first two is if we die with him, we'll live with him. If we endure, we will reign. And then we come to if we deny him, he'll deny us. And could it be that when he says if we are faithless he remains faithful, is connected to the statement that just came.

In other words, we can also understand this to me that for those who deny Christ and sever their loyalty to him, I. E. Being faithless. God is faithful to carry out his warnings he promised to those who do so. You may be faithless in your vows to the Lord or in your empty profession, but God is faithful in everything that he has said, including to what he will do and how he'll respond to those who have denied him.

God is serious about all of his word, not just some of his word. And what we have here is that the Assyrians in our main text have arrived because God said something many many years ago and he hadn't forgotten about it. Let's come to our final lesson. The eighth lesson with the eighth king in verse 32 of second Kings 15. In the second year of Pekah, the son of Ramaliah, king of Israel, Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah began to reign.

He was 25 years old when he began to reign and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord according to all that his father Uzziah had done. Isn't that refreshing? Nevertheless, the high places were not removed.

The people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of the Lord. Pause. When's the last time we heard about anything related to the house of the Lord? So obviously this king had great respect for the house of God and he invested in its restoration.

But let's read on. Now the rest of the acts of Jotham and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Now you would think it would end there, and it would make sense. Here we have a righteous king who did great things for the kingdom, but verse 37 comes. In those days, the Lord began to send Rezin, the king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Ramaliah against Judah.

Jotham slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father and Ahaz his son reigned in his place. So he did what's right in the eyes of the Lord. He invested in the house of God. Everything is looking well. And then at the end of this text, we read that two nations now come against Judah.

You might be thinking, is this another case of Azariah or Uzziah where he started out well and then he ended wrong? No. Jotham actually ended well. So how is it that you have these foreign entities, these enemies surrounding the people of God with a righteous ruler? I think there are many ways to answer that.

And I want to give you one that is fairly new in our understanding how things work in the days of the kings. If you still have energy, we'll go to one more place in the bible. It's in second Chronicles. And here's where we'll end. Second Chronicles 27 is the parallel account to this one.

And I want us to look at the first two verses, please. Jotham was 25 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord according to all that his father Uzziah had done except he did not enter the temple of the Lord. Don't you love that?

So this man's father was Uzziah, the one who entered into the temple and assumed the position of a priest. Now his son reigns and we're told he didn't enter the temple. So he made a willful choice. I'm not going to imitate my father in this way. You can make the same choice no matter how you grew up.

But it's the last part. But the people still followed corrupt practices. I believe that's one of the reasons why the Lord allowed for Israel and Syria to come against Judah. Here's the final lesson from the final king. Godly influences do not guarantee godly imitation.

I love how this is brought to our attention because the Bible is very realistic. You may have a godly pastor. You may have godly pastors. You may have godly fathers, mothers, older siblings, younger siblings, friends. That doesn't mean that you'll walk in the same way they walked.

That should encourage those who had hoped that their presence and their example would be replicated. Because you have some people and I have spoken to them with tears in their eyes that have wondered, was I not godly enough? Did I not pray hard enough? Did I not teach my children the Bible enough? How is it that they're walking in this way while I've served the Lord all the days of my life and have brought Christ into our marriage and into our home?

How is this possible? Well, you have one of many examples just like this. That you can have a godly leader and a godless people under that leadership. That is even true for a local church. You can have a bible preaching, bible living teacher week in and week out, and people still leave unchanged.

Moved here and there, but not truly transformed. So what does this really teach us? We are each responsible for our own sanctification, and we will each be held accountable by God for what we have done with the influences in our lives, including godly leadership. And so we see here that the Lord is trying to get the attention of his people when they chose to ignore a godly king. Things are getting bad for the people of god.

And as we come to chapter 16 next week, we're gonna discover that together. Let's pray and seek the lord in thanksgiving. Lord, we tried our best with this chapter to mine it so that we can discover gold in it. Lord, we could have easily have just scratched the surface, but Lord, we didn't want to do that. But, lord, we also know that we are finite and we are limited and things can be overwhelming, so we ask that the things that we have clicked on would be retained and remembered.

So, Lord, help us chain these insights around our hearts. Help us remember these truths when they matter the most. And help us, lord, if there's gonna be anything that we take away from this, help us believe that every part of your word is an ocean of truth. Lord, we pray that if anything has resonated with us, we would not ignore it, that we would take heed of Uzziah's example and not shooing away or becoming even angry with conviction in our hearts. Help us never become angry for those who speak truths to us.

Help us see them as a friend, as a gift always. And so Lord, if there's anything that you have touched on even now, we believe that you see how we will respond to this conviction, and we will respond rightly by the grace of the Holy Spirit who helps us remain in humility. Lord, thank you that you keep your promises. Thank you, lord, that we may forget but you don't. Thank you Lord that when we are faithless you are faithful.

And that's a good thing and it can be a terrifying thing. But Lord we now as a church choose to sing to you in thanksgiving because you have brought us yet through another text in your word that will not be in vain in our lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's stand.

Let's sing to the Lord. We have eight reasons to sing to the Lord tonight. I'm sure many more.