Elijah and Elisha 13
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Elijah and Elisha 13.
We are drawing near the end of the story of Elijah. Last time we looked at 2 Kings chapter 1; a story that is not often told. After chapter one comes ……? Chapter two! In chapter two there is a story that is often told; Elijah going up to heaven in a whirlwind, passing his mantle onto Elisha. But there is another mention of Elijah, and it is often overlooked. And because it is a bit more obscure, and for completeness; I thought that I would deal with it. The thing is that it is not even found in the book of Kings, but in 2 Chronicles 21 [P] which is unusual – why is that unusual? I need to give a bit of background in order to explain. Do you remember this picture from the last time I spoke? [P] King Ahaziah sent messengers from Israel, to Ekron in Philistia to inquire of their god. He didn’t send to Judah, which was a nation to the south. Judah and Israel were, at one time, a single nation. That nation’s monarchy only lasted 120 years: Saul reigned 40 years, David reigned 40 years and Solomon also ruled 40 years; a total of 120 years. After that the nation split in two. Jeroboam split 10 tribes from the 12, forming the nation of Israel; leaving two tribes remaining in the South, the nation of Judah. Two separate nations. Elijah lived and prophesied in Israel, the northern nation. Now, you have to understand that we have 2 accounts of the history of Israel’s monarchy: one in Kings, one in Chronicles. They cover quite a bit of the same material; but there are some notable differences. Chronicles was written much later, after Israel returned from exile in Babylonia; some say that it was the work of Ezra. But it was Judah who returned from exile in Babylonia, not the 10 tribes of Israel; so, for that reason, the book of Chronicles is written from Judah’s perspective. Whilst the books of Kings record the history of the kings of both Israel and Judah; the book of Chronicles only deals with the kings of Judah. So, all these stories of Elijah do not appear in Chronicles, because he was a prophet to Israel, not Judah. Yet Elijah does figure in 2 Chronicles 21; or at least what he wrote does. And that is unusual too, because, the record of Elijah is all about what he did. He was a man of action, as were Samuel and Elisha – they weren’t prophets who left their writings behind. Look at the majority of the prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel; we have what they wrote, books of prophecy. But 2 Chronicles 21 contains the only written words of the prophet Elijah that we have. Let’s read the chapter: [2 Chronicles 21:1–20 Then Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers (he was a good king) and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Jehoram his son became king in his place. Now when Jehoram had taken over the kingdom of his father and made himself secure, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and some of the rulers of Israel also. Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. (he was not a good king. He murdered his brothers and those who threatened his rule. He was concerned just with himself making himself secure) He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab did (for Ahab’s daughter was his wife), and he did evil in the sight of יהוה. (This was the lowest ebb of the kingdom of Judah. Judah was where the worship of יהוה was preserved. But through Jehoram the corruption of idolatry of Israel infected the nation. He married Athaliah, Ahab’s daughter. Through her, Baal worship came into the nation. She went on to become the only queen Israel ever had, she was also the only monarch not of the dynasty of David. She almost wiped the line of David out. If it hadn’t been for Joash being hidden away, the line leading to the Messiah would have been wiped out! Jesus would not have been able to be born! This was a satanic attack right at the very heart of יהוה’s plans and purposes! This was a massive threat to the whole plan of redemption – yet still God is patient, gracious:) Yet יהוה was not willing to destroy the house of David because of the covenant which He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and his sons forever. In his days (that is, Jehoram’s reign) Edom revolted against the rule of Judah and set up a king over themselves. Then Jehoram crossed over with his commanders and all his chariots with him. And he arose by night and struck down the Edomites who were surrounding him and the commanders of the chariots. So, Edom revolted against Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time against his rule, (things were turning to custard all around him – why?) because he had forsaken יהוה God of his fathers. Moreover, he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot and led Judah astray. (not only did he go astray, he led others into apostasy. When you lead the innocent into stumbling there is a terrible consequence; there is a warning in [Mark 9:42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.] And warning from יהוה indeed there came:) Then a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet saying, “Thus says יהוה God of your father David, ‘Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father and the ways of Asa king of Judah (good kings), but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, (brothers and sisters, there is a consequence for the way we walk) and have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot as the house of Ahab played the harlot, and you have also killed your brothers, your own family, who were better than you, (accusations of leading into apostasy and of murder – this man was king; but Elijah pulled no punches. He boldly confronted him with his sin. Because sin has consequences!) behold, יהוה is going to strike your people, your sons, your wives and all your possessions with a great calamity; and you will suffer severe sickness, a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the sickness, day by day.’” (not a pleasant death! A drawn out painful and ignominious death. There is the written prophecy of Elijah). Then יהוה stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabs who bordered the Ethiopians; (yet another rebellion, who stirred them up against Israel? יהוה did! He is sovereign! The nations did as He directed them. Something to bear in mind as we see the posturing of North Korea and USA, and the rise and fall of politicians in our own country) and they came against Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions found in the king’s house together with his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. So, after all this יהוה smote him in his bowels with an incurable sickness. (why was he sick? Who smote him in his bowels? יהוה did!) Now it came about in the course of time, at the end of two years, (two drawn-out years of excruciating, humiliating, disgusting disease and suffering) that his bowels came out because of his sickness and he died in great pain. (he lost his possessions, he lost his loved ones, he lost his own life, his life ended in agony, ignominy and disgrace) And his people made no fire for him like the fire for his fathers. He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years; and he departed with no one’s regret, and they buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.] He died in agony, no one regretted he was gone, no one mourned his death, he died in shame. There was no honour in his death. He was not honoured. People were glad that he was gone. His life counted for nothing! It is a tragic picture. He made a decision which way to walk and had to die with the consequences of that. Our choices have consequences. It is a depressing discouraging story; but I want to focus on the message of Elijah. His message too, is harsh. It is not a pleasant message. In fact, when you take the messages of the prophets in the Scriptures, on the whole they are not pleasant words. But there is a reason! Why the doom and gloom? The prophets were a miserable bunch; always telling the people off, kill-joys! Why were they so harsh? How would you like to get a letter like that?! There is a reason; and, if we think about it, we all know it only too well. How many of you have had children? Delightful creatures and we love them dearly. We rejoice in their progress and delight as the begin to explore this world that is new to them. And inquisitive creatures they are. As toddlers, they are into everything, and investigate everything around; usually with their mouth. So, you have to keep your eye on them! [P] What do you do in a situation like this?! There is real danger, there could be devastating, life-threatening consequences! We love them, they are precious to us; so, we lovingly say: “Darling, perhaps you should be careful. That nasty power-socket could hurt you. I don’t want to be mean, but your Mummy and I really would prefer if you didn’t do that. You are exposing yourself to high voltages which may be detrimental to your health. Don’t you think that you should stay away? How about going and playing with your nice dolly?” I don’t think so! Can they even understand your words? Can they reason and logically see the wisdom of what you are saying? No! They are in danger – and whether the government forbids or not; I can guarantee what we all would do: slap their hand, yank them away and say: “No!” That, they will understand. Yes, they will cry and be upset. That doesn’t matter; we have saved them from being electrocuted. Harsh action. Harsh measures are called for because of the seriousness of the situation, the imminent danger, the threat to the life of one we love dearly. This, as parents, we understand. Why did the prophets deliver such a harsh message; because of the very real danger of continuing any further in what they were doing. [Nehemiah 9:26 “But they became disobedient and rebelled against You, and cast Your law behind their backs and killed Your prophets who had admonished them so that (this is the reason and purpose that they admonished) they might return to You, (to bring about repentance).] [Nehemiah 9:30 “However, You bore with them for many years, and admonished them by Your Spirit through Your prophets, yet they would not give ear. Therefore (there was a consequence for not heeding the admonition) You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.] It was corrective discipline. So, let’s have a look at the only written words of Elijah that we have. If there were a book of the prophet Elijah in the Scriptures, what he had written: this would be it: [P] [Thus says יהוה God of your father David, ‘Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father and the ways of Asa king of Judah, but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot as the house of Ahab played the harlot, and you have also killed your brothers, your own family, who were better than you, behold, יהוה is going to strike your people, your sons, your wives and all your possessions with a great calamity; and you will suffer severe sickness, a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the sickness, day by day.’] First Elijah reminds him of his pedigree: [P] (“Thus says יהוה God of your father David”) It is a reminder that יהוה is God. יהוה Himself is speaking. He is God and He was God of Jehoram’s ancestor, David. David served יהוה as God. Jehoram was of a dynasty that was godly, that was devoted to יהוה and walked in His ways. That was his heritage, his pedigree. He was of the Dynasty of David. יהוה does not say that He is Jehoram’s God, but he was David’s. Jehoram should be carrying on in the footsteps of his father, David. He was of his dynasty, of the house of David; he should walk as David walked. We are sons of God. God is our Father! Called to be sons! We should walk worthy of your calling: [Ephesians 4:1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,] [1 Thessalonians 2:11–12 we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.] Jehoram had not followed in the ways of David, a good example. Elijah says that he had not follow the example of the good: [P] (“you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father and the ways of Asa king of Judah”) It wasn’t just David, way back in history; His own father and grandfather were good, godly men who served יהוה. We have the Scriptures, God Himself tells us how we should live; but, we are also to learn from the example of others. We see men who have walked consistently with what is right and good, faithfully serving God. We can use them as mentors, examples of how to live. Paul said: [1 Corinthians 11:1 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. Philippians 3:17 Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. 1 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.] Jesus, when He was on earth took to Himself 12 men who lived with Him, saw how He worked, then He sent them out in pairs. They learnt from Him and put it into practice. Sort of an apprenticeship model – observe, work alongside, then do it yourself. In [Matthew 28:19 it says: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.] Jesus told us to make, not converts, but disciples – mentoring people. I go out to the prison and preach; but I had gone out for years with John and learnt from him, just as he had from Brian Booth before him. It is on the job training, John showed me how it was done; and I followed his example. You may identify someone who stands out as a man of God, and follow their example. It is the people you remember – I cannot remember what my Sunday School teachers taught me; but I remember them. It is the lives we see, that we emulate. But Jehoram had not followed the good example of those that had gone before him. He knew what to do, how to live; but had chosen to depart from that example. He had followed an example, but it was the bad one! He had copied a bad example [P] (“but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel”) There was the good example of his father and grandfather; but no, Jehoram copied the kings of Israel. Elijah rebukes him for going in the ways of the kings of Israel; kings that had consistently worshipped idols. In particular, he had followed Ahab, allied with him, married his daughter. Often relationships can lead us astray spiritually. It did so with Solomon. The N.T. tells us [2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?] I remember warning a girl at work; she was a Christian and maintained her witness in a flat with non-Christians. She was engaged to a guy who was not a believer. She was sure that she would still maintain her Christian walk when they married. But it seldom happens. It is usually the believer who changes to the way of the unbeliever; not the other way around. Athaliah led Jehoram astray into Baal worship. We go out to the prison and see guys come along consistently to the meetings, some make Christian noises. But it can happen, that when they get on the outside, that they go back into their old ways. Why? Because they make contact with their old friends, and they end up in their old ways. We are influenced by those we associate with, be they good or bad. [3 John 11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.] It comes down to a choice: are we going to follow the example of the good or the example of the bad. Which we choose will affect the way we live: The way we walk [P] (“have not walked”; “have walked in the way”) Elijah draws attention to the way that Jehoram walked. Robin has been talking about this in looking at Ephesians 4. [Ephesians 4:1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.] In the early church, believers were not known as “Christians” initially (the word only occurs 3x in the Bible); rather, they were known as those of “the Way”. They were known by the way they walked. Walking is not one step but many steps; it is the consistent way you live – not just one decision made when you became a Christian but the whole direction your life is headed. When you walk there is a direction, leading to a destination. And the way you consistently live your life, the example you follow, has consequences. Because our lives affect others [P] (“have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem”) we are influenced by example but we ourselves are an example too. The way of life that Jehoram walked affected others! He walked the way of idolatry, of Baal, rejecting יהוה. But he was king, he led a nation; and the nation walked the same way he walked: he caused the whole city of Jerusalem, and the whole nation of Judah to go the same way. The way we walk influences others. I remember to my shame when I was a teenager and rebellious, that there was a young guy who emulated me. It was horrifying to see someone deliberately become as ugly as I was. Paul said it: [Romans 14:7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself.] Like it or not, the way you walk affects others. It is one thing to go the way of evil yourself; but to cause others to do the same is a terrible thing with dire consequences. Jesus gave a dreadful warning about causing an innocent one to stumble, to fall into sin: [Luke 17:1–2 He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.] There is a problem when all we consider is ourselves, what we want to do; rather, than the affect we have on others. When we do that, morality goes right out the door. The definer of what is right becomes: “what I want”. You end up selling your soul to the highest bidder [P] (“to play the harlot as the house of Ahab played the harlot”). That is the essence of idolatry, a religion of man’s own design, in order to please himself, give him what he wants. The Bible uses the picture of prostitution for idolatry. Sexual relationship is good and right, designed and ordained by God. Designed to be in the context of a covenant commitment: marriage. But what does the harlot/prostitute do – violate that covenant, use sex for her own material gain. She sells herself. The one who worshipped an idol, broke covenant with יהוה, gave themselves to another for the perceived gain they could obtain. Baal was supposed to guarantee good crops, ensure plentiful rain. They were in idolatry for what they could get! Once we live for what “I want” there is no limit to the ends we will go. We will sell out own body, even our own soul. All that matters, is getting what we want. Are you a Christian for what you can get out of it? There is a brand of “Christianity” that is based on this premise: God will supply your needs, make you prosperous, come to him for healing, blessing. It is entirely self-centred, based on what I can get out of it. It is idolatry! Or to use the term Elijah did: prostitution! The house of Ahab worshipped for what they could get. Forsook יהוה for material gain! And multitudes of Christians have done the same! We have placed having “things” above honouring God. When you do, there is no limit to the ends people may go. Having defined “having things” as priority; ethics vanish. All that matters, is possessing; so, in order to obtain, you destroy what stands in the way: Destroying good [P] (“you have also killed your brothers, your own family, who were better than you”) Jehoram wanted power, wanted security; so, he destroyed those who were a threat to what he wanted. He killed those who were better than he. The good, the righteous, stand in the way of those who have no scruples; so, you just get rid of them. Jehoram’s family were “good” – that is what he Hebrew says, but they stood in Jehoram’s way. What matters is getting what I want – murder? – no problem. Obstacles? – remove them! Just like Jezebel did with righteous Naboth. Selfishness destroys ethics. All that matters, is accomplishing your goal, asserting your will, carrying out your plan. What is right, is defined as what accomplished your purpose: pragmatism. This is the ruling philosophy of our society and it DESTROYS GOOD! Unnatural affection [P] (“killed your brothers, your own family”) Jehoram killed his own family! There is no end to what man will go! Once you destroy that which is good, throw ethics out the window; then your very soul is tainted. Even natural affection is lost. Paul describes this process in: [Romans 1:18 men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, (a deliberate rejection of what is right) Romans 1:25–26 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, (that is idolatry) who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason, God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, Romans 1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, (he goes on to say that they become:) Romans 1:31 Without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection,] God Himself gives them over to that which is totally contrary to natural affection. Talking of the end-times he says: [2 Timothy 3:2–3 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, ….. Without natural affection, ….., despisers of those that are good,]. You see, Choices have consequences [P] (“Because .… יהוה is going to strike ….. with a great calamity”) Jehoram did not follow the good example, he copied the bad; He chose to walk in the wrong way. He sold his soul, destroyed the good and God gave him over to what is contrary to nature. The way we walk has a destination! There is a consequence. יהוה was going to strike Him with a great calamity – it was BECAUSE [P] of the way he walked. It had consequences for him – not only on you [P] (“a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out”) – if we reject God’s way and go our own way, the way of evil there will be devastating, painful, tragic and terminal consequences. But worse than that! It not only affects us but those close to us [P] (“your people, your sons, your wives and all your possessions”) Those that are near and dear to us are affected. Not only are we affected. But evil is like gangrene, it spreads, corrupts and destroys those around. Sin has miserable consequences. Yet still we play with it! Satan came to steal, kill and destroy. He is not there with your best interests at heart! When Elijah was to come he was to [Isaiah 40:3 Prepare the way for יהוה in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.] A way to walk, a highway of righteousness. This is Elijah’s letter, his message to us to walk in the right way, [P] follow the good, do not copy the bad. Our lives affect others and there are consequences for the path we are on. [P] [Psalm 23:3 He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.]