The Demonic Duo, Ahab and Jezebel

Ahab And Jezebel

The Demonic Duo


1Kings 21


Last week our lesson was about the courage of the man of God named Elijah.

The name Elijah has this meaning "whose God is Jehovah"!

At the end of last weeks lesson we know that Elijah had fled from the wrath of Jezebel and during that time God had one simple question for Elijah.

1Ki 19:9  And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

In other words what are you doing here Elijah?

After such a great victory on Mount Carmel, Elijah could only think of a great revival in Israel and the possibility again of the united kingdom but he soon realized the government of Ahab and Jezebel was not going to allow that to happen.

***So, Elijah could only see his life's work for the Lord as a failure.

The proof that this was not true is the fact that the work of this great prophet of God has been preserved for all the world to read about and also the promise of his return.

Jesus said:

Mat 17:11  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.

When Elijah returns he will be even more dynamic in his work for the Lord.

***Next Elijah got the feeling that he was the only believer left in all of Israel.

1Ki 19:14  And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

What was God response?

1Ki 19:18  Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

Sometimes standing up for the Word of God places us in a lonely position but in reality that is never the case!

God said to Israel:

1Sa 12:22  For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.

God says to the Church:

Heb 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Heb 13:6  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

What is God's promise to every believer?

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Once we have been accepted into the family of God, God will use us until the day we meet Jesus!

We will see that Elijah has gotten over his self pity and returned to the work of God before this lesson is over.

**Ahab was the son of another evil king named Omri.

Because of his idolatry, his lust, and his covetousness, Ahab is presented as a type of all wicked kings and rulers.

Mic 6:16  For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people.

1Ki 21:25  But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
1Ki 21:26  And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

It is Ahab who is a "type" of all those who have made a bargain with the devil and made themselves slaves of Satan!

**Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal the king of the Zidonians.

Ezekiel tells us the end result of such people:

Eze 32:30  There be the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.

Solomon had a wife of the Zidonians but Ahab was the first king of the Northern Kingdom to take such a wife.

Jezebel is a type of every woman in history that has a designing nature who is also crafty, malicious, revengeful and cruel!

Jezebel can be said to be the first great instigator of persecution against the people of God!

Jezebel had no principle in her beliefs.

Jezebel had no fear of God and no fear of men!

Jezebel was extremely zealous of her heathen and immoral worship in idolatry!

Jezebel spare no cost for the government to maintain her idolatrous and heathen practices.

Jezebel ruled Ahab, and two other of Ahab's sons that sat on the throne of Israel after Ahab's death.

Jezebel is remembered as someone who influenced the Church to do evil!

Rev 2:20  Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
Rev 2:21  And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
Rev 2:22  Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
Rev 2:23  And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

Let's see this demonic duo in action:

*****1Ki 21:1  And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
1Ki 21:2  And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.

Jezreel was a city in Samaria where King Ahab had decided to build his ivory palace:

1Ki 22:39  Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

This palace was on the eastern side of the city and actually formed part of the city wall.

The vineyard owned by Naboth was just outside this wall.

Because no other information is given we can believe that this was the only piece of property that Naboth owned.

The one thing we will find out about Naboth is that he took a stand on the Word of God and it cost him his life!

King Ahab was a man that was used to having his way just by conveying his wants to others.

But God has explained to us all in terms that we can understand that we are not to covet what belongs to someone else.

Exo 20:17  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

From the fall of Adam the principle of sin is in the heart of every man!

Every moral law of God begins with covetousness!

Covetousness is the strong desire for worldly things!

Covetousness leads to a strong desire to gain and greediness!

Covetousness is cold-hearted worldliness!

And God says that worldliness is the downfall of every generation.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

These things describe Ahab but Jezebel was even more evil!

Naboth said no to the King.

*****1Ki 21:3  And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.

Had the Lord forbid Naboth to see his land?

Naboth understood what the Word of God said about this thing.

Lev 25:23  The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.

Naboth knew that the land was not his to sell because it all belong to the Lord and the Lord was allowing Naboth to use it in his generation!

To the Jew this meant that under certain circumstances the land could be sold as long as it could be redeemed in the year of the Jubilee.

If not then it could never be his again and could not be left as an inheritance for his own children which is the way he had come by the land.

Lev 27:20  And if he will not redeem the field, or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more.
Lev 27:21  But the field, when it goeth out in the jubile, shall be holy unto the LORD, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest's.

Either way, Naboth knew he would have to go against the Word of God to sell this land to Ahab!

Ahab then acted like a spoilt child.

*****1Ki 21:4  And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.

Ahab was not used to the Word "no"!

Ahab knew enough about the Word of God to know that what Naboth had said was true to the believer.

That word "heavy" meant that Ahab resented what Naboth had said and he became angry that he did not get his way.

That word "displeased" meant that Ahab became offended and enraged because someone had stood up to him.

Just as Ahab lived in his own white house there is another one who occupies our own White House today that acts just like Ahab and I am not sure that he is not also married to a Jezebel!

No doubt that the servants to the king after witnessing these things went straight to this evil Queen and she had these words for her pitiful husband:

*****1Ki 21:7  And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.

Jezebel was a full blooded politician. Get what you can no matter the cost!

Jezebel was raised in an absolute monarchy where her father King Ethbaal of the Zidonians took whatever suited him.

Naboth had a simple reason for not selling his vineyard. To Naboth he knew that it was Jehovah who owned all the land and it was Jehovah who had given the land to him for his use and it was not his to sell.

This was the truth of God to the nation of Israel and Jezebel hated the truth of the Word of God and she was not about to let the Word of God to stand in the way of what she wanted.

Her again we can see these things in our own government and our own judicial system.

God has an answer for the Jezebels of this world:

Mic 2:1  Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.
Mic 2:2  And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
Mic 2:3  Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.

Thirty eight times the Old Testament uses the word "Woe" and they never pleasant!

God says there is only one place suitable for such people:

Isa 5:24  Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

*****1Ki 21:12  They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
1Ki 21:13  And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.
1Ki 21:14  Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
1Ki 21:15  And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.

All through the Bible, God emphasizes the importance of speaking the truth. In fact God has given us a commandment relating to speaking the truth.

Exo 20:16  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Ahab was already guilty of covetousness.

Truth is the basis of a working society. When truth is gone, everything else will begin to fall apart!

Not only had Jezebel and the government of Ahab intended to obtain the land of Naboth by any means, Jezebel had decided that Naboth was not the type of person she wanted in her kingdom only because Naboth was a God fearing man.

Today here in America it is those that break the law that are protected while the innocent are being punished just because they stand up for the truth!

Jezebel had no right to issue a death warrant on Naboth.

Christ Jesus teaches the Church with these words:

Mat 20:25  But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
Mat 20:26  But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
Mat 20:27  And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
Mat 20:28  Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

It is these "type" of leaders we need to insure hold all our public offices!

The truth is, it is the Jezebels and the Ahab's that rule our world and we have allowed these things to happen!

A true leader will use his or her authority to build up the people while a tyrant will use people to build on their authority while the people are expendable!

Naboth died simply because he was a believer in the Word of God and he never said a harsh word to his government other than "no my land is not for sale, it was a gift of my Savior".

It was time for Elijah who had been re-energized by the Lord.

*****1Ki 21:17  And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
1Ki 21:18  Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it.

The one thing we owe our Savior is to be ready when He calls.

God will provide each of us certain opportunities!

Gal 6:10  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

We can be sure that Elijah had still been busy in the work of the Lord but Elijah also had a special purpose and it took a special man of God to stand up the evils of Ahab and Jezebel.

If we open our eyes to the truth we will be able to see that the Lord does not do anything that He has not already warned us about and He says so.

Amo 3:7  Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

God has also provided nations with great opportunities.

God gave Rome an opportunity to teach nation building.

God gave Greece an opportunity to show the arts and philosophy and cultural things.

God gave Israel an opportunity to preserve the Word of God and the meaning of God-fearing worship.

These have been examples and lessons we were to learn from and grow from!

God has now given us the opportunity to tell the world what we can learn from the truth of God!

Elijah then answered the call of God and God gave Elijah the exact words to say!

*****1Ki 21:19  And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.

Ahab knew his wife very well and Ahab knew that Jezebel could not have obtained the land of Naboth except by evil means.

Ahab did not care for Ahab was like a child with a brand new toy!

Ahab had not ordered these things to take place but it is obvious who God held to blame.

As husbands and as parents, God will hold us responsible for many of the things that happen in our families if we have not followed the Word of God ourselves!

There is the sin of commission but there is also the sin of omission!

Jezebel had not only seen to it that Naboth was killed but she had also seen to it that Naboth's sons were killed so that no future claim could come for the land that Naboth had.

2Ki 9:26  Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the LORD; and I will requite thee in this plat, saith the LORD. Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground, according to the word of the LORD.

Ahab had allowed for the innocent blood of Naboth and his sons to be shed and it would cost him his own life.

But God always has a special way for these things to be remembered!

Naboth had been murdered outside the city of Jezreel.

1Ki 21:13  And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.

This is where the blood of Naboth fell.

If at all possible it was a bad thing for blood to be shed on the city streets in that day.

And what was Ahab's future?

1Ki 22:37  So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria.
1Ki 22:38  And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according unto the word of the LORD which he spake.

According to Josephus a Jewish historian who also was not a believer wrote that this pool of Samaria was the place used by harlots to bath and therefore considered to be unclean. This was the same place where the government equipment was taken to be cleaned so as not to spoil the drinking water of the city.

The blood of Ahab was added to the unclean waters of this pool and some mongrel dogs drank of this water just as God had said.

And how did Ahab accept the Word of God on this occasion?

*****1Ki 21:20  And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.

Just as suddenly as Elijah had appeared on his first occasion, Elijah reappeared before Ahab while he was gloating over his newly acquired property.

Ahab thought that his ordeal with Naboth was over but no doubt fear now came upon King Ahab at the sight of Elijah!

What is God's truth?

God is the God of the second chance!

Elijah was never Ahab's enemy!

Elijah was Ahab's friend, it was Ahab's own wife who was his true enemy!

No true man of God is an enemy of this world.

No true Christian is an enemy of this world.

The Church is not the enemy of this world, in fact the Church is the only true friend this world has left!

We all have the same purpose and that is to shine as Christ Jesus shines!

We are only to be a witness for the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

But what do we see today?

Mat 5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

The world insists on having contempt for the Church and persecution of the Church is on a steady rise.

Ahab had thought he had escaped the consequences of the death of Naboth because it was Jezebel who had conspired to have him murdered by twisting the twisting the Word of God in her favor.

God always knows the truth.

In the eyes of God Ahab had surrendered his own wants and desires into the hands of others in this case Jezebel.

It was Ahab's sin of covetousness that had led to the death of Naboth, through the evil mind of Jezebel.

God is not fooled by our actions!

Ahab had been warned and he will now learn of the results of his sin.

*****1Ki 21:21  Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,
1Ki 21:22  And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.

God announced doom upon all the house of Ahab.

When we think our own sin will not affect our own household we are truly foolish!

That word posterity when used with the phrase "will cut off" means that every man, every woman, and every child, including Jezebel would die before their time.

Because of the foreknowledge of God, He knew that not one of the descendants of Ahab would ever come to know the Lord and was because of the influence that Ahab and Jezebel had on their lives.

Num 14:18  The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

As the unbelievers are so easy to remind us that we serve a God of love, it is because of God's love that He must punish evil!

All the family and descendants of King Jeroboam had died out most of them being murdered.

All the family and the descendants of King Baasha had died out most of them being murdered.

It would be the same for all the family and all the descendants of King Ahab!

Jezebel was part of the family of Ahab by marriage but Jezebel would meet a specific doom.

*****1Ki 21:23  And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.

To God it did not matter that Jezebel was a Queen of Israel.

To God it did not matter that Jezebel could paint herself up or fix her hair to be an enticing woman.

To God it did not matter that Jezebel came from a royal family and married into a royal family.

God is no respecter of persons in salvation and God is no respecter of persons in His judgement!

In the walled cities and towns in those days there was a space outside the walls but still uncultivated.

This is the space where the refuse of the city was cast until it was gathered and burned.

This was the place where the mongrel dogs roamed freely.

How does the Bible describe the end of Jezebel?

2Ki 9:30  And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.
2Ki 9:31  And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?
2Ki 9:32  And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs.
2Ki 9:33  And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot.

The body of Jezebel was not gathered for a burial and nor was the bodies sons of Ahab!

*****1Ki 21:24  Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.

The Jewish people normally took great pains in the burying of the dead.

The body was covered in herbs and spices and then wrapped in linen clothes as it was still in the time of Jesus.

Joh 19:40  Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

A proper burial of the dead was a great concern for those left behind.

Even the Bible still shows a specific reverence of the dead in Christ!

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

This does not mean that burial is the only way a Christian should be treated after death because can restore any body just as He created them to begin with.

These deaths of the descendants of Ahab are in fact a "type" of all those that die without Christ.

That dead body without Christ will be in the torments of Hell just as Ahab's dynasty would suffer from wild dogs, vultures and other beast that devour things that die and are left on the side of the road.

Why would all these things take place?

*****1Ki 21:25  But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.

Up until the time of Ahab there had been no other human being that knew God, and knew the Word of God, and had been warned by the Men of God but who rejected all the things of God and Jezebel was a great influence on the sinful life of Ahab.

Ahab was the perfect picture of sinful man!

2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Questions?

Let's Pray!

Elijah, Christian Courage

Elijah, God's Prophet Of Courage

1 Kings 17--2 Kings 2


From our previous lessons we know that Israel had been divided into two separate nations, one being Judah and the other the 10 tribes now called Israel.

Israel had departed from the Living God, Jehovah and had turned to idolatry.

Because of God's mercy and God's grace, He is still God of the second chance and the God of opportunity.

The word "repent" would not be necessary in any language if it were not for the fact that God knows that we are all only sinners who can only be saved by God's grace.

The Grace of God still means---"God's Riches At Christ's Expense".

God needed a man who was willing to boldly stand up a government that promoted idol worship and God sent the prophet Elijah.

The name Elijah means "my God is Jehovah"!

If you are a believer in the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ then your name is also Elijah but only if you possess one more thing.

Elijah had courage!

Courage in the believer is much more than the bravery of the average man.

Courage is the quality of the mind that allows a believer to encounter dangers and difficulties because they already know the truth of God and know they have eternal life.

Biblical courage is showing that you are strong in the Lord!

Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

It takes courage to overcome the lies of Satan but the rewards are worth the pain of abuse.

Rev 21:7  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Courage to the believer is opposite from the cowardice of the unbeliever!

Rev 21:8  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

It can be said that Elijah was the most dramatic person in all of history, second only to Jesus Christ.

Elijah was a man of action. Elijah did not take the time to write things down for us because he was a man that things were written about!

Elijah appeared on the scene and in much less than a lifetime Elijah just as quickly disappears!

Long after Elijah disappeared, the Jews have been continually expecting him to return, to again stand up the the falseness of this world.

The Bible says this will actually take place but Elijah will not return in his personal capacity, Elijah will return in his spiritual capacity.

Mal 4:5  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Mal 4:6  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Many believed that John the Baptist was actually the second coming of Elijah. but John himself said this was not true.

Luk 1:13  But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
Luk 1:14  And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
Luk 1:15  For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
Luk 1:16  And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
Luk 1:17  And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

John informed the world that he was not that Elijah.

Joh 1:19  And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
Joh 1:20  And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
Joh 1:21  And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
Joh 1:22  Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
Joh 1:23  He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

John the Baptist was also a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.

Mal 3:1  Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

John the Baptist did preach in the same power of Elijah but there was another who also preached in the power of Elijah and his name was Jesus.

Mat 16:13  When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
Mat 16:14  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
Mat 16:15  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
Mat 16:16  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

And it is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who says that Elijah will certainly return again to this Earth.

Mat 17:10  And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
Mat 17:11  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.

Israel was suffering from a drought of the Word of God, so God decided Israel should also suffer from a drought of life giving water.

We first meet Elijah as he delivers his first message to the government of Israel.

*****1Ki 17:1  And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

Elijah was from Tishbi a city of very few people and he had relocated to Gilead. Gilead was a mountainous region north of Samaria but east of the River Jordan and was known as a good place to raise cattle.

Num 32:1  Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;

It is not mentioned in the Books of Kings, but Elijah had prayed before he entered into this work of the Lord.

Jas 5:17  Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

What should we immediately notice about Elijah?

He was just a man subject to the same passions as we are!

What should we remember about God's prophets?

Deu 18:21  And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
Deu 18:22  When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

Elijah had not prayed for Israel not to receive rain!

Elijah was stating the pure facts!

If Israel would not return from their evil ways they would face the judgement of God. There had been no rain or even dew already for 6 months and Elijah said this would last for another 3 years unless God saw a change and Elijah would then become an "intercessor" for the people of Israel.

Rom 11:2  God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,
Rom 11:3  Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.

All the kings of Israel since Jeroboam had attempted to kill or remove all of God's prophets and had destroyed the places for true worship and Elijah was well aware of all these things.

What are the facts?

Israel had turned to Baal worship along the worship of many other false man-made idols.

Baal was supposedly the storm god and the god of good crops.

For the words of God's prophet's to be true, then Baal would have to be a complete failure as a god and he was!

Elijah had just proposed a direct challenge to the god of Ahab and the god of Jezebel.

Elijah would not have been a true prophet of God if he had stayed and asked God to bless these people, so God sent Elijah away until the proof of Elijah's words were seen.

*****1Ki 17:2  And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,
1Ki 17:3  Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

We must realize that God tells us up front that our future home is in Heaven once we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior.

Up until that time, God will only lead us through this life one day at a time!

Our prayers should center on, "Lord what next step should I take" and once that step is revealed we must take that one step while trusting in the Lord to show us how to take that next step in our walk with the Lord.

After Elijah had revealed his message from God, it was time for Elijah to remove himself and allow God to do what He had said He would do.

We will never be able to confront this sinful generation, until we have spent some personal time with God!

Notice this drought was to last 3 and 1/2 years.

The ministry of Jesus and the teaching of the Apostles was 3 and 1/2 years.

The time the Apostle Paul spent in the wilderness alone with God was 3 and 1/2 years.

I believe we can see that each child of God should spend some time alone with God before we can begin our own ministries and we all have a ministry and by example, 3 and 1/2 years would seem to be a reasonable time.

What does God do during that time period?

God prepares each of us for the work He has called us to do!

Elijah was not sent to hide from the wrath of Ahab or even Jezebel.

Elijah was sent to God's proving ground to teach Elijah a lesson in truth and patience!

We are never to fear what man can do to us, we are to have a Godly fear of the Lord!

The remembrance of Elijah as true man of God is well documented in the New Testament and we find his named mentioned at least 30 times.

God gave Ahab 3 and 1/2 years to see the truth of God and God caused Elijah to vanish out of the sight of Ahab.

God removed Elijah so Ahab would have no contact with him for this same period!

The brook of Cherith was only a rainy season stream that dumped into the River Jordan but it would always dry up during the dry season.

So what is the truth of Scripture?

David wrote in the Book of Psalms these words:

Psa 37:25  I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

The truth is that God will always provide for those that serve Him!

*****1Ki 17:4  And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

It was God's intention to keep Elijah safe to complete the work he had started.

It was God intentions to keep Elijah fed and watered during all this time.

It was also God's intention for Elijah to grow in the Lord during all this time.

Jer 32:27  Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

Elijah had not been raised in luxury. Elijah was a man of the wilderness. In fact Elijah did not even dress as most men dressed. If you had ever seen Elijah you would always remember that you had seen him!

2Ki 1:7  And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words?
2Ki 1:8  And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.

Many depict Elijah as some hairy man wearing leather for his clothes and this could have been true but the Scriptures only say that Elijah was a man of hair.

In the Hebrew this means that Elijah was the owner of hair or that Elijah wore the skins of animals, probably cattle that still had the hair attached to that skin.

This why John the Baptist was associated with Elijah and it was intentional on God's part!

Mar 1:6  And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;

John's message was the same as Elijah's!

Joh 1:23  He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

Just as John was a voice in the work of the Lord, so was Elijah!

This is our only job after we accept the Lord Jesus Christ into our hearts, we are to be a voice in the work of the Lord!

God will provide for all those that lend their voice to the work of the Lord and if you notice most Christians will dress differently from the world!

We should also realize that Elijah would have perished by the brook of Cherith if God had not shown him the next step to take.

Our faith must wait on God's plans!

Elijah next went to Zarephath which was located in part of the land that was ruled by the father of Queen Jezebel, which made it the last place that Ahab and Jezebel would think to search for Elijah.

It amazes me how God will many times use our enemies to provide our needs.

There are many great stories and great miracles shown by the Lord during this 3 and 1/2 year period which we do not have space for in this lesson so let's pick up with the end of this period of time.

It was also during this time that Elijah first began training his replacement Elisha.

So, Again Elijah meets Ahab.

*****1Ki 18:17  And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
1Ki 18:18  And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim. 

When Elijah had first called on Ahab, Elijah had presented a direct challenge to the false gods of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.

We would be foolish not to look at Ahab's response.

The very first thing all false religions will do, is to blame all the problems of this world on Christians!

Our own President said all Christians are Neanderthal!

The theory Evolution teaches that Neanderthal were just a step in the development of the true human.

In other words our own government considers a Christian to be hung up in the past refusing to accept modern humanism.

In other words Christian beliefs are so far in the past that they cannot comprehend the truth of real human life that exists in our world today.

This is an insult to the truth of the Word of God!

Our own Vice-President said that if not for the antiquated Word of God, Christians could accept the gay lifestyle and abortion as just being the truth of society!

The Muslim blame everything on the Christian and simply strive to remove all Christians from the face of the Earth!

Christians will continue to get the blame for everything even including climate change, which lies only in the hands of God.

Evolution teaches that there has been at least 7 Ice Ages so even evolution teaches of many climate changes over billions of years, years when there where no humans on this earth. So why are they showing such great concern now and blaming it all on humans? It's called money, to make the rich get richer and the poor kept dependant on the rich to survive!

What was Elijah's response?

Now it is not that false religion causes all the problems of this world!

It is the rejecting of the truth of God and God Himself that brings these problems!

What words were spoken to the Apostle Paul as he strived to begin the early church?

Act 17:6  And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, "These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also";

What words were said of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Luk 23:5  And they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirreth up the people", teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place.

All that call on the Lord Jesus Christ can be sure of one thing, Christianity will always get the blame for the problems that are in this world!

What is our job?

Our job continues to be, to turn this world upside down!

In the end we will see who has the most truthful message.

So Elijah just said, let's just see who is telling the truth!

*****1Ki 18:19  Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.

We must realize that during the absence of Elijah, Queen Jezebel had searched the entire land trying to find him and she had caught, tortured and murdered as many of God's prophets as she could find in trying to locate Elijah but to no avail.

1Ki 18:13  Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORD'S prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?

A man named Obadiah, not the prophet Obadiah, who was a servant to King Ahab had actually helped to preserve as many of God's prophets and preachers as he could.

1Ki 18:4  For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)

If we look closely at those two words "cut-off" we will see that these words come from the Hebrew word "karath" which mean to cut up into pieces or to mutilate, much like someone would fillet a fish!

Jezebel was a very evil and cruel woman and we can see this same type of evilness is performed by that group called ISIS today along with some others who persecute God's people!

Our world is still filled with evil men and women and God says many will get even more evil than these we see today!

2Ti 3:13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Jezreel was the home of the palace of Ahab and Jezebel and also a place where a temple for Jezebel to worship her own false gods was built.

Mount Carmel was a high place of beauty directly across the valley from Jezreel and in full view of all those in  this evil city.

The Mediterranean Sea could also be seen from Mount Carmel.

This was the place God had chosen for Elijah to challenge the false prophets of Israel.

God does not hide the work that He causes to happen from the view of those who are evil!

As we know, Baal was considered to be storm god and the fire god of Jezebel. It was Baal who was worshiped so that there could be fruitful harvest.

There were 450 prophets of Baal.

There were also 400 prophets of the groves that were fed, clothed, and housed at the expense of the government of Israel, according to the command of Jezebel who had absolute control of King Ahab.

We see our own government housing many of the enemies of Christ Jesus today!

That word "groves" means the prophets of Asherah. Remember Asherah was worshiped as the wife of Baal and she supposedly was the goddess of fertility, love, and war!

Baal was worshiped as the Sun god and Asherah as the Moon god!

Elijah had directly challenged the false gods of the government Israel but Elijah also confronted the people of Israel with this challenge.

1Ki 18:21  And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

You see it's not only important to confront the government but the people must also be confronted. It is the people who can eventually do something to cause a new government to be in place!

What did the Apostle Paul say about the Jew that still holds true today?

1Co 1:22  "For the Jews require a sign", and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

It's remarkable that a sign is never asked of false religion but a sign is always required of the truth of God!

These false prophets had tried everything they knew to get a response from these false gods but they had no success!

Why? Because man-made idols are powerless because they are man-made!

Psa 115:4  Their idols are silver and gold, "the work of men's hands".
Psa 115:5  They have mouths, but "they speak not": eyes have they, but "they see not":
Psa 115:6  They have ears, but "they hear not": noses have they, but "they smell not":
Psa 115:7  They have hands, but "they handle not": feet have they, but "they walk not": "neither speak they through their throat".
Psa 115:8  They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

False gods have no power to do anything at all!

So Elijah set about to call on the true God, the Creator of our world.

*****1Ki 18:31  And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:
1Ki 18:32  And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.

Notice Elijah was well aware that all eyes were focused upon him and he was very deliberate in the things he did.

It was Moses who had written the Books of the Law that these Jews were to follow and Moses used 12 stones to build an altar one stone for each tribe of Israel showing that God had intended for them to remain united as one nation.

Joshua had used 12 stones to build a memorial as Israel had crossed Jordan into the Promised Land.

Jesus would later choose 12 disciples showing all of Israel that they were also to be united "in faith" in the Living God.

And the truth of the Church is that all believers are to be united in one faith!

Eph 4:4  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5  One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Eph 4:6  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

That trench was to hold all the water that would be poured over the entire altar.

But as water is a "type" of the Holy Spirit, that trench also represented a healing of new flesh or "new skin" to cover the wounded nation of Israel.

To the Church we are taught by the Word of God that we are not only to be washed in the blood of Jesus, we must be washed in the water of the Holy Spirit and all these things require our "Faith" and only then will come a "new life"!

1Jn 5:5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
1Jn 5:6  This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
1Jn 5:7  For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
1Jn 5:8  And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

And the wood then had to be placed in order!

*****1Ki 18:33  And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.

There can be no doubt that this wood placed in specific order then represents a "type" of Jesus Christ.

It was Jesus Christ who was cut to pieces by the "cat-o-nine tails", His body ripped to shreds and then laid on that cross for all the world to see.

It was the Lord Jesus Christ who was then in the control of the Holy Spirit, represented by the water.

It was those two measures of seed that represent the truth of the Gospel, the Gospel Seed!

And it is on Mount Calvary where the Church is tried by fire!

How had Elijah approached the people that day?

1Ki 18:21  And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

If the people of God would just be settled in their beliefs, we could all come together at the foot of the cross where all the people of God stand on level ground.

Even more so today in America we struggle between two opinions when we all have only "one" true Word of God!

And what is the truth of the Gospel?

1Co 3:13  Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Elijah had very little concern for King Ahab and his government which was actually controlled by Queen Jezebel.

Elijah had no concern for those 850 false priests.

Elijah was concerned only with the people of God!

Notice there were also 12 barrels of water that were poured upon the altar built by Elijah.

According to the laws of Moses, one lamb would be offered in the morning by the high priest in atonement for their souls. Then later that same day another lamb would be offered in the evening sacrifice still in atonement for their souls.

Exo 29:41  And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
Exo 29:42  This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.

Elijah had waited until it was time for this evening sacrifice!

*****1Ki 18:36  And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.

Elijah had done all these things according to the truth of the Scriptures!

Elijah had taken the Word of God as literal!

It was only then that Elijah called on the Lord, not for his own sake but for the peoples sake!

Elijah became an "intercessor" for the children of Israel.

What is the truth?

Elijah will return sometime in the near future to stand in the gap between Israel and our Holy God!

Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
Rev 11:4  These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

Then Elijah prayed for all those present, and loud enough for all to hear.

Elijah was not ashamed of the Word of God!

*****1Ki 18:37  Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
1Ki 18:38  Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

I fully believe that in His own way, God makes contact with every national leader that have risen to that level.

I believe that God gives them specific instructions in His Word and has made His Word available to each nation and each government on this earth.

BUT, God deals with the ordinary people who are restrained and constrained by those governments because "it is the people of God who can make the necessary changes to those governments", if those people would have enough "faith" to just follow the written Word of God!

And God responded to the prayer of Elijah.

Prayer changes things!

Elijah had confronted the government of Israel that day.

Elijah had challenged all false religions and their leaders to prove their false gods.

Elijah had mocked all false religion because that's what they are, they are false and powerless!

This fire that came down from Heaven attested to the truth of God's prophet!

This fire that came down from Heaven demonstrated the falsehood of Baal the fire god of Jezebel!

Ahab became confused.

Jezebel would fly into a  rage when she heard of these things.

But many of the people began to see the truth of idol worship, but it would not last and Elijah soon realized this truth!

*****1Ki 18:39  And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.

What is the truth of our world?

At some point in the life of every individual, God will make Himself known!

And God only requires a short prayer of "Faith" for Him to take His "salvation" action!

Act 4:12  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

It is the Lord, He is God!

God requires our "faith" in order to do His work!

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

What was the truth of Elijah, God's prophet?

Just as he had informed Ahab at the first, rain would not come to Israel until he prayed that the Lord would end the drought!

And God's people then began to eliminate those who preached a false religion!

And Ahab ran home to Jezebel to tell her what Elijah had done.

*****1Ki 19:1  And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.

It had been Jezebel who had made pagan worship the national religion of Israel.

And we must not be fooled it is taxpayer money and our own government that is allowing pagan worship in America!

Jezebel herself had seen that most all prophets of God located in Israel had been slaughtered!

It was the government of Israel that was killing God's people!

1Ki 18:13  Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORD'S prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?

Jezebel hated God's prophets and Jezebel became Elijah's darkest and most dangerous enemy!

To be quiet honest, it is our own government has become the greatest enemy to all those Pastors who take a stand on the truth of God!

Jezebel was so deep in her paganism, she could not be moved to believe the truth!

*****1Ki 19:2  Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.

Just when Elijah felt that there would be a great revival in all of Israel, he found out that the entire force of the government of Israel would be seeking his life.

So it is true that for the first time in his life Elijah had a fear for his own life.

But it is also true that Elijah knew revival could not come to Israel at this time and it broke his heart!

We sometimes have a greatest let downs after a sure victory and needless to say when you are up on the mountain, this world will always find a way to knock you down, if you are a true child of God!

Elijah began to trust in his own power to save himself, after all Elijah was only a man with a man's weaknesses.

*****1Ki 19:3  And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
1Ki 19:4  But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.

Elijah's hope for revival had come to a quick end and Elijah was heartbroken for the people he loved.

Elijah was not a coward we have seen the proof of that.

Elijah was not afraid to die because we see he asked the Lord to take his life.

Elijah was discouraged!

Remember courage is the quality of the mind which enables men to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness.

To be discouraged is to be disheartened, a loss of confidence and dejected.

Elijah felt that if such a great miracle as God had shown to Israel on Mount Carmel could not win the hearts of the people then Israel could not be won back to the Lord.

God says this:

Gal 6:9  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Gal 6:10  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Many of God's men have felt that they were alone in the the work of the Lord but we should remember a few things.

This is God's plan of salvation and we just need to be a part of His plan!

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

And these things will not end until God says it's time for them to end!

2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

God was not through with Elijah!

On the contrary God has great plans for Elijah even beyond the Church age!

Mat 17:11  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.

What will Elijah's job be at that time?

Mal 4:5  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Mal 4:6  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

It was not Elijah's job to restore Israel because that has always been the Lord's job!

Elijah was just one small part of the plan of God just like we all are!

Jesus preached in all the synagogues and included these things in His message:

Luk 4:25  But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
Luk 4:26  But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.

Our job is to go where the Lord leads us and respond to the opportunities that He gives us and continue to do good, without getting weary in well doing.

And to take our stand on the Word of God!

It takes as much courage today to stand for the truth, as it took in the days of Elijah!

Questions?

Let's Pray!

Man Made Religion

Jeroboam and Asa

A Contrast In Worship

1 Kings 12-16

2 Chronicles 11-16

It is the choices that we make in this life that define our existence and our legacy!

What is the truth that cannot be denied by any people?

1. Sinful life style choices will have an immediate effect on any people!

2. Sinful choices will always produce failure to acknowledge the truth of God!

3. Sinful choices will always bring God's judgment!

Rom 1:32  "Who knowing the judgment of God", that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Remember at the end of last weeks lesson we saw that Jeroboam had already began to rebel against the Word of God given to him by God's prophet Ahijah.

What had God's prophet told Jeroboam?

1Ki 11:37  And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.
1Ki 11:38  And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.

How quickly will power cause most men to exalt themselves above the truth of God!

Lets begin:

*****1Ki 12:26  And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
1Ki 12:27  If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.

The dictionary says that "history" is an account of facts, respecting nations or states. True History then is an accurate record of the events that have transpired.

What is the real truth of "history"?

True "history" is that God is teaching this entire world by examples from true history!

What have we seen from our past and continue to see in our own lifetime?

Foolish men in power never learn from true history, so history repeats itself over and over again!

Jeroboam had been a man that had been a part of Solomon's abuse of the people of Israel. When he had confronted Solomon about this abuse of people, he had to flee to Egypt to escape the wrath of Solomon.

God had taken Jeroboam and made him King of the Northern Tribes of Israel, which were ten tribes and Israel had become a divided nation.

Jeroboam had established his capitol city in Shechem in Samaria. Shechem already held great history for the nation of Israel for it was the place where Abraham had built his first altar in the Promised Land.

Shechem was the place where Abraham had received the covenant promises of God!

Jacob had also bought some land from the children of Hamor and had made this area his home place.

It was at Shechem where the bones of Joseph and Jacob were buried.

It was in this same place where the well of Jacob does still exist and where the Lord Jesus met with a certain woman at a well.

What did Jesus explain to this woman?

Joh 4:21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Jeroboam built Shechem in this place but he also built Penuel.

Penuel is best known for the battle of Gideon with the Midianites.

So we see that even historical places will have a way of revealing themselves in our own actions when we do learn our history very well!

Jeroboam then built his own home in Tirzah which had a history and a reputation for it's beauty for even Solomon recognized the beauty of Tirzah.

Son 6:4  Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.

But once Jeroboam had settled into his royal life, he began to realize that all these things could come to an end just as fast as they had begun.

Jeroboam began to doubt the Word of God as he entered into deep sin and he began to repeat the same things that had divided the nation of Israel to begin with.

In fact Jeroboam began to invent a totally new religion!

Even Solomon had found this to be true of mankind late in his life as he wrote these words:

Ecc 7:29  Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

All Jeroboam had to do was to obey the Word of God, he had received from God's prophet Ahijah.

1.) He needed only to walk in the ways of God, and he already had all the Books of Moses.

2.) He needed only to do right things and not wrong things. God's Word explains this very well even in the first 5 books!

3.) He needed only to realize that God had His eyes on everything that he did!

God keeps good records of all things done on this earth!

God says on Judgment Day those "books" would be opened!

What did Jeroboam do instead?

Jeroboam realized the great power of the Temple that Solomon had built had over the people and he knew that worship could become a most unifying force!

The Radical Muslim movement in our world today also take great advantage of this one thing in our world today!

Jeroboam had been given a great opportunity to unite God's people and to be a witness for Jehovah to the world, but Jeroboam could only think of himself!

The believing Jewish people were to journey to the Temple at the minimum 3 times a year and Jeroboam sought to put an end to these things and to end all contact with God's people

Jeroboam decided that he needed a state sponsored religion so he invented a new man-made religion just as many other have done!

*****1Ki 12:28  Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
1Ki 12:29  And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.

We may not know who Jeroboam took counsel with, but Jeroboam had an Egyptian wife and he had spent much time in Egypt and was well aware of false religions of Egypt, just as Moses had been.

Jeroboam caused the Jewish people to remember their own history of the time of Moses and Aaron.

Exo 32:1  And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
Exo 32:2  And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
Exo 32:3  And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
Exo 32:4  And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

Jeroboam decided if he could twist this sad history of the beginning of the nation of Israel around just a little bit, he might be able to substitute an idol in place of the Living God!

Living bulls were important in Egypt and a thing of worship and still are today.

The great basin in the Temple of Solomon had 12 bulls as it's support.

Aaron had made a golden calf as an image of God.

In Egypt many bulls were worshipped as being sacred and a resemblance of this idol was first placed at Bethel.

Jeroboam already knew the "history" of Bethel and how the Jewish people had gone to Bethel in times of trouble throughout history.

Jdg 20:26  Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
Jdg 20:27  And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
Jdg 20:28  And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand.

In fact Hosea later wrote that Bethel meaning the "house of God" should be changed to Bethaven the "house of idols" for that is what it had become!

Hos 10:5  The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it.
Hos 10:6  It shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.

Another false bull idol was placed in Dan.

Again if we remember "history" we will know the story of Micah and how Dan already had a history of idol worship.

Jdg 17:5  And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.
Jdg 17:6  In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

This place of false worship still existed and Jeroboam took advantage of this and the people of the Northern Tribes of Israel fell into the deep sin of idolatry!

*****1Ki 12:30  And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.

Sin can be said to be, when any person expresses their own sinful nature passed down from Adam!

Adam's sin, was that he did not obey the Word of God!

Sin then is anything that goes against the Word of God!

1Jn 3:4  Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

Sin is the inward habit of the soul that shows in the outward conduct of life, whether by omission or commission!

What is God's number one rule?

Rom 6:12  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Rom 6:13  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

What is the "Royal Law" of King Jesus?

Mar 12:30  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Mar 12:31  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Anything we place before the Word of God is an idol and living in deep sin!

Jeroboam did not just stop here!

Jeroboam was on his way to creating an entirely new religion, just as the Atheists have done, and the Evolutionist have done and these people of Climate Change are trying to do now!

Climate change religion is more about the control of the undeveloped countries and the control of population than anything else which is another reason abortion is not eliminated and the gay lifestyle is allowed to fester.

If the entire world was gay, the entire world would die off in one generation.

These evil people take advantage of the fact that when people see things of nature that affect their lives, they hunt something to blame it on whether good or bad!

Evil men also take advantage of the fact that skills are no longer taught in most schools but only philosophy.

They take advantage of the fact that the Word of God has been removed from the schools along with Prayer to the only true God.

This has resulted in the growth of false worship and false priests.

What did Jeroboam do next the same thing our  world is doing today!

*****1Ki 12:31  And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.

There were many of the Levite priests that still had their homes in this territory of these ten tribes whom God had placed there for many reasons, but Jeroboam did not allow them to be the priests in this new religion but cast them out and most all of them returned to Jerusalem and to Judah.

2Ch 11:14  For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office unto the LORD:
2Ch 11:15  And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.

Jeroboam was afraid that these men of God would go against what he was trying to do, so he created an entirely new order of priesthood again going against the Word of God.

A priest or preacher or pastor who is not God called, is not a true man of God!

In America today, every effort is made by our own government to shut the mouths of our men of God even by causing the Word of God to be included as hate speech!

When the truth becomes hate speech, we are all doomed to evil!

Jeroboam assumed himself to be the highest priest and selected other men who did not follow the Word of God to be the false temple priests.

It is a fact that our own President has surrounded himself with non-believers including the Muslim Brotherhood and has also exalted his own self above the Word of God!

That word lowest would truly mean the most degraded humans he could find.

2Ch 13:9  Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods.

Jeroboam needed one more thing, Jeroboam needed some special feast days.

*****1Ki 12:32  And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
1Ki 12:33  So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.

What had Jeroboam devised in his own heart?

Jeroboam had seen in his years that most all people will choose a religion of convenience rather than seek the truth, if seeking the truth required some difficulty on their part!

Jeroboam had seen in his years that many people would not have a problem with substituting an image of God for the invisible God.

Jeroboam decided to set aside the days that God required, for mock holidays that he had determined in his own mind.

Jeroboam devised these things himself, in his own heart.

What does God say?

Mat 15:18  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
Mat 15:19  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Mat 15:20  These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

These are all traits of the Antichrist!

Rev 13:5  And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
Rev 13:6  And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

We know that many Christian holidays, such as the birth of Christ (Christmas), the resurrection of Christ (Easter), and a day of thanks (Thanksgiving), have lost their true meaning and purpose because of commercialism and man's influence, deliberately changing the meaning of these days from the truth.

The Temple in Jerusalem was available for worship everyday of the year but there were 3 specific times that all of Israel were required, if at all possible to return to the Tabernacle and now the Temple to worship the Lord!

1.) The Feast of the Passover was a memorial day, a symbolical memorial to the memory to that very first passover night when Israel escaped from the "iron furnace" of Egypt and freedom.

The meaning is best illustrated in the Book of Hebrews.

Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

We cannot know true freedom without the "Blood of Jesus"!

2) The Feast of Weeks, best known as Pentecost, was 50 days from the end of the Feast of unleavened bread which came just after the Passover.

This day was a memorial to the day that God gave the Law to Moses which was 50 days after they had escaped from the bondage of Egypt.

We cannot know freedom without the Word of God!

3) The Feast of the Trumpets, or the Day of Atonement.

This was the only day of the year that the High Priest could enter into the Holy of Holies and intercede on behalf of the Jewish people.

This was the only day that the "intercessor" for all of Israel, could sprinkle the blood on the "Mercy Seat".

The people were to afflict their souls on this day:

Lev 16:29  And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:
Lev 16:30  For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.

This event was to represent the mourning and sadness of Israel, just before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

My day of atonement was the day the Lord Jesus Christ interceded on my behalf and I got saved!

Zec 12:9  And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Zec 12:10  And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Zec 12:11  In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
Zec 12:12  And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;
Zec 12:13  The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;
Zec 12:14  All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.

God had a purpose for all these things and there is no man on earth that can change the things of God!

Jeroboam had placed politics above the truth of God!

Jeroboam had installed his own government ordained religious system born out of selfish motives!

Jeroboam's appeal was that these things were good for the nation of Israel.

How often have we heard this thing?

Israel could now have a religious system that they truly would not have to share with others or any other nation.

Many in Israel have always said that Jehovah was just the God of the Jew and this was a great problem for the early Church!

And then Jeroboam decided that he should be the high priest of his own new religion!

Every false religion in the world was begun by such men as Jeroboam!

BUT, we can be sure God was not going to allow Jeroboam to escape His wrath for this disobedience.

*****1Ki 14:14  Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now.
1Ki 14:15  For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.
1Ki 14:16  And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.

What did God promise to Jeroboam?

1. God would raise up another king who would put and end to the dynasty of Jeroboam. Jeroboam would never have a son to sit very long on the throne of Israel.

2. God would remove His hand of protection from the ten tribes of Israel and allow a foreign power to chasten and punish Israel. We know that history says this was the Assyrians.

3. We think of reeds as plants that grow in a marsh. The Hebrew word "Kaneh" is used here to denote a "reed of any kind".

Reeds give the appearance of being firmly rooted in the ground but by the violence of many storms and the movement of the wind and the waters, they can be uprooted and scattered over and on dry land to die.

That phrase "beyond the river" means that these reeds would be scattered in lands other than the "Promised Land".

SO, How does Jesus say we are to avoid these things?

Eph 3:17  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
Eph 3:18  May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; Eph 3:19  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Jesus said if we are to be the messengers of the Gospel then we cannot be like a reed that is easily shaken.

Mat 11:7  And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
Mat 11:8  But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
Mat 11:9  But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
Mat 11:10  For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

Israel had become a nation of reeds and God would fulfill this promise as He does them all!

We know these things began with Solomon and Jeroboam had been given an opportunity to restore Israel to the Word of God but Jeroboam had allowed his own lust for power to interfere with the work of God.

Jeroboam had sinned and he had caused Israel to fall even deeper into sin.

AND, Because our own government is so caught up in sin, America is now also caught up in and is falling deeper into sin!

But before Jeroboam died Judah had a new king named Asa.

AND, Asa had a heart for the truth of God!

*****1Ki 15:9  And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah.

Asa was the son of Abijah and his grandfather was Rehoboam.

King Asa would rule Judah for 41 years.

We know that Rehoboam had also sinned greatly against the Lord and Abijah his son had followed in his footsteps but Asa was an entirely different man from his two predecessors.

Even though Asa had been raised by parents that rebelled against God, Asa became zealous in maintaining the true worship of Jehovah!

The name Asa means physician and one of the few blemishes in the record of Asa was near his end when he sought the physicians help rather that God's help.

1Ki 15:23  The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet.

2Ch 16:12  And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.

This does not mean we are not to go the doctor. It does mean we must not forsake the Lord, by allowing our heart to depart from serving God, even when our health begins to interfere with our daily walk in this life!

The Bible says it takes great strength to handle our elder years:

Psa 90:10  The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

The Bible also tells us where our strength will come from:

Isa 46:4  And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.

God does not just make us sick so we can then call on Him for healing and God simply does not do bad things to us just to get our attention!

Paul said he once acted like a child but as he grew in the Lord. he did away with childish things!

BUT, God may remove His protective hand and allow Satan to do some things!

Jer 17:5  Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
Jer 17:6  For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
Jer 17:7  Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

Asa did not have a god-fearing father nor grandfather and Asa did not have a god-fearing grandmother!

*****1Ki 15:10  And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.

Maachah was actually Asa's grandmother or we would say the Queen Mother in this case.

Maachah was also David's son Absalom's granddaughter, so we can see that she came from the side of the family that had always rebelled against God.

2Ch 11:20  And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; which bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith.
2Ch 11:21  And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines; and begat twenty and eight sons, and threescore daughters.)
2Ch 11:22  And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah the chief, to be ruler among his brethren: for he thought to make him king.

These things meant that Asa was very young when He assumed the throne of Judah!

SO, What is the biblical truth of King Asa?

King Asa was more like King David than he was of his father or his grandfather!

No doubt Asa had learned much about his heritage as a child.

2Ch 14:2  And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God:

*****1Ki 15:11  And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father.

Unlike Rehoboam and unlike Jeroboam, Asa sought to please God!

Israel is still today looking for a king that does right in the eyes of God, as did King David!

In fact Israel is still looking for someone to return to the throne of David and remove the threat of all those nations that hate them!

In the time that Asa ruled Judah, Israel would see King Jeroboam die along with all his sons but also King Baasha and his son Elah, King Zimri who was king for just one week, King Omri and King Ahab and the short live throne of King Tibna.

Judah had once again found peace with God, while Israel found turmoil in sin without God!

Good things can always be accomplished when a nation is at peace and is strong enough to keep it that way, and the only way for these things to happen is for that leader to do right in the eyes of God!

How did good King Asa go about making Judah a better nation in the eyes of God?

Asa did things according to the Word of God!

*****1Ki 15:12  And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

Being a Sodomite did not mean these were descendants of the city of Sodom that was destroyed many years earlier in the time of Abraham.

These Sodomites were all those who practiced the same immoral acts that took place in that city of Sodom!

In America, these Sodomites have even been granted the freedom to be marital partners!

In the time of Jeroboam these sinners made sodomy a religious rite just as they have in America today!

They made unnatural sex acts an open part of their lives, just as the gay movement has done in America today.

They committed abominable sin against the Lord by rejecting the Word of God!

You have to go against the Word of God to approve of such things!

Rom 1:26  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
Rom 1:27  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.
Rom 1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Rom 1:29  Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Rom 1:30  Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Rom 1:31  Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Rom 1:32  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

To the dismay of these people, God has only one answer for such sin.

Jud 1:7  Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Unless they repent of their sin, they will end up in a burning fiery Hell because they have corrupted their own selves.

People simply are not born this way, this is a lie straight from Hell, they corrupt themselves!

Jud 1:10  But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things "they corrupt themselves".

This is just the truth of the Word of God and not some hate speech aimed at anyone in particular!

We are always to love all people but we are also to hate all sin including the gay lifestyle!

Asa's answer was not to kill these Sodomites but to remove them for the land.

This should also be the response of our own nation!

BUT, Asa did much more than this one thing!

Asa removed any image or idol that the government of his father and his grandfather had put in place!

The truth is that America was built on the principles of Jehovah God and it is about time we acted like it!

Asa demanded for Judah to remember their heritage.

We need a leader now, who will step up and that America remember her heritage!

2Ch 14:2  And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God:
2Ch 14:3  For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves:
2Ch 14:4  And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.
2Ch 14:5  Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.

Regardless what we see in the news and the bold mouths of the gay community, it is only the truth of God that will bring peace to America and only then can America begin to rebuild as a Nation!

2Ch 14:6  And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest.

Biblical principles bring peace and prosperity to any nation!

Asa could not show the proof of his intentions to restore Judah and if he allowed such sin to be seen in his own household, so Asa began by clearing out his own household!

*****1Ki 15:13  And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.

King Asa removed all the appearances of government involvement in religious practices except those that concerned Jehovah God.

King Asa knew that we cannot know the peace of God until we have peace with God!

King Asa told his nation, let's work together in rebuilding the sure platforms of our nation!

We need a leader today that we can work together with to rebuild the platforms of our own nation!

Our true foundation is still Jesus Christ!

2Ch 14:7  Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.

It was during the time of King Asa that most all the Levites relocated to Judah from Israel.

It was during the time of King Asa that most all believers of the ten tribes of Israel returned to Judah from Israel.

It was during the time of Asa that many of those deep in sin and the sodomites, left Judah to go to other places where they could practice their sin openly.

Israel was in turmoil and at this time, but Judah was at peace!

And King Asa said to all of Judah, let us just seek the Lord!

God did not put all these things in the Bible, just for us to read!

God put all these things in the Bible for us to learn from so we do not make the same mistakes!

History is only useful when we avoid the mistakes of the past that have caused such errors in the lives of mankind!

Now we can just sit by and allow all these things to keep happening in America or we can insists that those we place in leadership positions honor the Word of God.

Either way we deserve the results that we get!

Questions?

Let's Pray!