Candidates for Assasination

And as i was going through thdem again i wa just struck by all the assasinations that take place. In 2 Kings 14 ans 15 we have 9 kings of Israel, 5 of which are assasinated.

And i spent a while wondering if there was a lession in all this and indeed there is - I picked the first King to be assasinated Amaziah and investigated his life and the events that led to his assasination and i was blessed.

First lets understand what assasination is.

Yes its murder, but its more specific than that.

Muder is the killing of a person, be it out of anger or hate, or even to take theiur possesions from them.

But assisnation is not about killing a person, though it alweays involes killing a person. assasination is about ending a persons plans, dreams or hopes.

We could say that assasination is the prematiured end of a plan, dream or hope.

For example:

Abraham Linclin was assasinated because he had plans to abolish sleavery and the democrates killed him becasuse they loved owning slaves (nothing has chnaged). So his plan to end slavery was ended prematurley and it took another 100 years for slavery to end.

The attempted assasination on Adolf Hitler by Clous von Stuffenberg. Clous and others knew of hitlers plans to kill milliojns of peole and tried to prematurley end those plans through assasination.

If t had succseed the death toll of WW@ would have reduced by millions.

ok so assasination is the premature end of a persons plans, hopes and dreams.

The 5 kings

now as i read on the kings i noticed somthing intresting. They were all major contributors to their own assasination. God warned them that their actions would have consequences and they ignored him.

The plans, hopes, dreams that they had came to nothing all because of their own sinful attitudes.

And this made me sit up in my seat.

AI have plans, I have hopes, I have dreams - that i would very much like to see come to a wonderful comnpletinn or fruition.

So the question I must ask is one of deep self examination: Am i a candidate for the premature end of my pans as a result of not listening to God? Am I contributing to my own “spiritual plans” assasination?

Lest examine the Evidence

So King Amaziah. He was the 9th king of Judah, and at the start seemed like a realy good guy.

For example is was common back then to condem a whole family for murder even if only the father was guilty. Now men had killed his father and as king he of course exicuted them - BUT unlike others he was fair and just and only exicuted the people who had done the killing - sparing their family to live in peace.

And so I wonder in this mans future might have been very different if he had just continued oberying the Word.

The First criteria for Spiritual Assasination is: Unbelief

Amaziah decided to attack Edom and reclaim lost terrortry back to God’s people. It was a good idea and it was the right thing to do.

So as any good king he took a cencus to see how many fighting men he had. The results came 300,000.A good number indeed, but of course even more important, God was with him so in reality even if he only had 300 like Gidion uld have still had the victory.

At this moment Amaziah had a choice, trust God with the 300 000 or have unbelief.

he chose unbelief. He went to wicked Israel and hired 100 000 mercineries to join his army of 300 000.

His faith was in numbers and not the Lord.

2 Chronicles 25:5–8 AV

5 Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and made them captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, according to the houses of their fathers, throughout all Judah and Benjamin: and he numbered them from twenty years old and above, and found them three hundred thousand choice men, able to go forth to war, that could handle spear and shield. 6 He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver. 7 But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the LORD is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim. 8 But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down.

Unbelief in the beggining of the end when it comes to our future. The bible expressly warns us against the spirit of un belief and tells us that it brings premature ends.

In fact the bible says that unbelief prevents us from entering into the rest that we recieve when our plans actually come to pass.

Hebrews 4:6 AV

6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:

Hebrews 4:11 AV

11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Hebrews 3:19 AV

19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Unbelief stops us from entering into that place of joy. We must have faith, we must walk by faith. This is exacally what i preached on this morning: I bet you Amaziah FELT like he could not defeat Edom, but FAITH should have told him with God he could.

And the thing about unbelief is that when it comes in, it open us to all sorts of evil. As i said: Unbelief is the beggining of the end. it was certanly for Amaziah.

What started as a simple doubt in God’s provodence quickly became a lifesyle of evil as he departed more and more form God.

Hebrews 3:12 AV

12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

The Second Critera for Spiritual Assasination is: Idolatry

Andrew Bonar “Let us be at watchful after the victory as we were before the battle”. - Somthing Amaziah and many others need to hear.

Juda’s army eventually defeated EWdom and a great victory was won by the grace of God.

But as as so often Satanic attack often increases after spiritual victory.

2 Chronicles 25:14 AV

14 Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them.

He brough false gods back with him and put therm in aplace of worship.

See how quicly unbelief turns into Idoletry!!!!

Idolatry is a MAJOR problem! Many people think of idolorty as having an actually little statue of a god and physically bowing diown to it. Now of course this is idolatry but this is not all that idolerty is.

Idolery is whenever something, ANYTHING occupied the place in our hearts that is reserved only for God.

Wgat do you think about? Is it God? Or do you spend more time thinking aboout money, sex, why you are right and your spouyse is wrong, your weight, your looks, your stuff - ALL of these things are idolertous.

Now whats always very intresting is how pwoiple react when you threaten their idols.

When you tell people that they may have an obsession with money or drugs or alchohol this or that, you are now threatenig their idol and they will often get very threatening towards you!

Amaziah did the same thing. God sent a prophet to warn the king and look what hapened:

2 Chronicles 25:15–16 AV

15 Wherefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand? 16 And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said unto him, Art thou made of the king’s counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel.

Some people jjst refuse to listen. As i pastoir i often in my gifting see exacaaly what a person needs to do to find peace or hope, but more often than not they will not listen, they refuse. And i have often thought:

“I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel.”

And church after more than 10 years, i have yet to be wrong.

The Final criteria for Spiritual Assasination is: Pride

It was by God’s grace that Amaziah defeated Edom, but his succsess went to his head.

Who else can i conquer he thought? And his attention turned to the King of Israel Joash.

2 Chronicles 25:17 AV

17 Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us see one another in the face.

2 Chronicles 25:19 AV

19 Thou sayest, Lo, thou hast smitten the Edomites; and thine heart lifteth thee up to boast: abide now at home; why shouldest thou meddle to thine hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee?

Joah said to him that this is not going to turn out well for Judah.

Remeber that Israel was composed of 10 tribes while Juhada was only 2. The king of Israel put a very fare warening against Amaziah, but as we all know:

Proverbs 16:18 AV

18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

Pride comes of self righteousness. And God actually hates pride.

Proverbs 8:13 AV

13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

God hates it because pride is the cause of most people rejecting Jesus. And pride is the cause of most falling away.

If you ever hear about a person who was fallen away from the faith chances are extreemly high that it was because of pride. in fcat, if was not because of pride then it was because on unbelief and as we have seen unbelief becomes idolerty which becomes pride anyways.

Proud people cannot take correction. They are always right. They take little or no responcibility for anything. They love to blame others.

The End of Amaziah

When Israel finally attacked Judah, they destryed most of the walls, making the city vunerible. They lso took all the gold and silver, leaving the city in poverty.

Knowing that all this happened because of King Amaziah’s disobedience and knowing that it was going to get worse so a group of planned at assasination to end this mans evil plans.

2 Chronicles 25:26–27 AV

26 Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? 27 Now after the time that Amaziah did turn away from following the LORD they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish: but they sent to Lachish after him, and slew him there.

Unbelief, Idolerty Pride - are you a candiate for yourn plans to come to an abrupt end?

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