1 Kings 15:25-16:34
Kingdom, Come • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Won’t Be Here Next Sunday or Wednesday
Marshall & Maggie have Very Generously Invited Us to Go on Vacation with Them
2 of Norah’s Brothers will Teach for Me Next Sunday
Her Youngest Brother, Levi, on Sunday Morning
Her Oldest Brother, Titus, on Sunday Night
They are Both Awesome People…
So Be Sure to Be Extra Hospitable & Welcoming to Them
1 Kings 15:25-16:34
1 Kings 15:25-16:34
Last Time, We Looked at the 2nd & 3rd Kings of Southern Judah
Abijam, Son of Rehoboam, Only Reigned 3 Years
Then His Son Asa Reigned for 41 Years
We Focused Primarily on the Reign of Asa
For Most of His Reign, He was a Fantastic King
His Reign was Characterized By…
His Restoring Judah to Seeking God
But By the End of His Reign…
He Himself had Stopped Seeking God
Now the Author is Going to Move North…
To Focus on 6 Subsequent Kings of Israel…
That Came After the 1st King, Jeroboam
One Thing to Notice is:
The Author Seems like He’s in a Hurry
He Doesn’t Spend a Whole Lot of Time…
On These 1st Several Kings
It’s like He’s Skimming Over Them…
In Order to Get to a Certain Point
It Seems that Way Because that’s Exactly What He’s Doing
By the End of Our Text…
We’ll Meet One of the Most Infamous Kings in Israelite History
And with Him will Come…
One of the Most Famous Prophets in Israelite History
And the Author is Going to Spend a Lot of Time…
Talking about Them
Now, Let’s Jump into Our Text
Now, Let’s Jump into Our Text
Nadab, Jeroboam’s Son Became King and Only Reigned for 2 Years
He was as Wicked as His Father had Been
Nadab was Assassinated By a Man Named Baasha
So Baasha Became King of Israel
1 Kings 15:29–30 (NLT)
29 He immediately slaughtered all the descendants of King Jeroboam, so that not one of the royal family was left, just as the Lord had promised concerning Jeroboam by the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh. 30 This was done because Jeroboam had provoked the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, by the sins he had committed and the sins he had led Israel to commit.
The Entire Royal Family was Taken Out, Just as God had Said
God has Given the Kingdom to Baasha…
And He Reigns for 24
But He, Like Nadab, is Just as Sinful as Jeroboam
So He Receives the Same Prophesy as Jeroboam…
Revealing that His Family will Receive the Same Fate as Jeroboam’s
1 Kings 16:1–4 (NIV)
1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu son of Hanani concerning Baasha: 2 “I lifted you up from the dust and appointed you ruler over my people Israel, but you followed the ways of Jeroboam and caused my people Israel to sin and to arouse my anger by their sins. 3 So I am about to wipe out Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat. 4 Dogs will eat those belonging to Baasha who die in the city, and birds will feed on those who die in the country.”
After Baasha’s Death, His Son Elah Takes the Throne
He will Only Reign 2 Years Before He is Assassinated By His Commander, Zimri
Zimri will Go on to Do to Baasha’s Descendants…
As Baasha had Done to Jeroboam’s
He Murdered All of Them
Zimri is Now Ready to Start His Own Royal Dynasty in Israel
But that’s Not Going to Work Out for Him…
Because He’ll Only Be King for 7 Days
The Israelites were Fighting the Philistines at Gibbethon…
When They Heard that Zimri has Assassinated King Elah
They weren’t Happy about that…
So They Made Omri, the Commander, Their New King
Then They Marched Up to the Capital City of Tirzah…
And Besieged Their Own Capital City
1 Kings 16:18 (NET)
18 When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he went into the fortified area of the royal palace. He set the palace on fire and died in the flames.
So, Zimri is Dead, But Omri Didn’t Immediately Become King Over Israel
Even Though Zimri was Only King for 7 Days…
He had Started a Civil War in Israel that Needed to Be Sorted Out
Half of Israel Wanted Omri to Be the Next King…
But the Other Half Wanted a Man Named Tibni to Be the Next King
1 Kings 16:22 (NLT)
22 But Omri’s supporters defeated the supporters of Tibni. So Tibni was killed, and Omri became the next king.
Omri Reigned 12 Years in Israel
6 of Those Years He Reigned in the Capital of Tirzah
But Then He Moved the Capital to a New City
1 Kings 16:24 (NLT)
24 Then Omri bought the hill now known as Samaria from its owner, Shemer, for 150 pounds of silver. He built a city on it and called the city Samaria in honor of Shemer.
Samaria would Become the Capital City…
Of the Northern Kingdom of Israel…
From Then Until its Destruction By the Assyrians
In Jesus’ Day, that Entire Region Between Judea & Galilee…
Would Be Called “Samaria”
The Mixed Breed of People Who Lived There…
Would Be Known as the Samaritans
Just like Every Northern King that’s Come Before Him…
Omri was Wicked and Sinful
But His Wickedness was No Match for the Wickedness of His Son
1 Kings 16:28–30 (NET)
28 Omri passed away and was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab replaced him as king. 29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Omri’s son Ahab became king over Israel. Ahab son of Omri ruled over Israel for twenty-two years in Samaria.30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the sight of the Lord than all who were before him.
King Ahab will Be One of the Most Wicked Kings in Israel’s History
Much Worse than Any that Came Before Him
1 Kings 16:31–33 (NLT)
31 And as though it were not enough to follow the sinful example of Jeroboam, he married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and he began to bow down in worship of Baal. 32 First Ahab built a temple and an altar for Baal in Samaria. 33 Then he set up an Asherah pole. He did more to provoke the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than any of the other kings of Israel before him.
Being as Sinful as Jeroboam was Too Easy for Him
He Went Far Beyond that
He Married a Foreign Princess…
Who We’ll See in the Upcoming Weeks…
Was the Evil Mastermind Behind Many of His Wicked Acts
She Introduced Him to Baal Worship…
And He Introduced Israel to Baal…
By Building Him a Temple and Altar
We’ll See Lots More of Ahab and Jezebel in the Coming Weeks
The Last Verse of the Chapter Seems a Bit Random/Out of Place
But, as with All Passages of Scripture, I Believe it was Placed Here Intentionally
It Illustrates Perfectly the Hearts of the People at that Time
1 Kings 16:34 (NLT)
34 It was during his reign that Hiel, a man from Bethel, rebuilt Jericho. When he laid its foundations, it cost him the life of his oldest son, Abiram. And when he completed it and set up its gates, it cost him the life of his youngest son, Segub. This all happened according to the message from the Lord concerning Jericho spoken by Joshua son of Nun.
After the Walls of Jericho Fell and Israel Conquered the City…
Joshua Set a Curse Against Anyone Who would Ever Rebuild it
Joshua 6:26 (NASB95)
26 Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, “Cursed before the Lord is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates.”
Around 400 Years After Joshua Set this Curse…
Hiel Decides to Rebuild Jericho
And in Doing So, the Curse Proved to Be True
His Oldest and Youngest Sons Died
As to How They Died is Up to Interpretation
Was it God’s Judgment Upon Hiel for Rebuilding the City?
Or was it Because Hiel Sacrificed His Sons to Build the City?
In Ancient Times There were “Foundation Sacrifices”
Children would Be Sacrificed and Then Placed in Jars…
And the Jars would Be Placed in the Masonry
Pagans Believed this Made the Gods Happy…
And would Ward Off Evil Spirits
Regardless of the Interpretation, We See the Reason this Verse was Put Here
During Ahab’s Reign:
People Didn’t Take God’s Promises/Warnings Seriously
People were Living in Horrendous Idolatry
Application
Application
Regardless of How the Deaths of These Children Came about…
God’s Word Stood Firm
It Always Has
It Always Does
It Always Will
Isaiah 55:10–11 (NIV)
10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
That’s One of the Most Praiseworthy Characteristics of God:
If He Says He’ll Do it, He’ll Do it
If He Says it’ll Happen, it’ll Happen
He Cannot Lie
The Passing of Time Doesn’t Make Him Any Less Trustworthy
It Doesn’t Matter if it’s Been 400 Years or 2,000
If Jesus Said He’s Coming Back to Resurrect/Rescue His Followers…
Then that’s Exactly What He’s Going to Do
Are You Following Jesus?