How Did We Get Here?
TGP A Kingdom Divided • Sermon • Submitted
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· 29 viewsGod's miracles reveal He is the one true God. Jesus' miracles proved he is the Messiah - Gospel of John
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Introduction
Good Morning, how are you doing today the very first Sunday of 2020?
I remember some years when many ministries, organizations even the Church I was serving at that time started setting long terms goals with this year in mind. It was a very catchy thing to lay out your goals with this label of “Vision 2020”. This is vision for where we want to be by 2020…and here we are. I don’t know if you had a “Vision 2020” plan or if you even are one of those people who do planning like this, but the arrival of a new decade often brings the planners among us into gear. We think back over some period of time to wonder if we are where we thought we would be way back when. Have you ever put yourself through that?
Have you ever put yourself through that?
Many of us have, I am sure. I bet you a
Many of us have, I am sure, and for some of us life has taken us right along that path that we expected…but for others of us we find ourselves in a place today that we never expected to be. But just because it wasn’t expected doesn’t mean it isn’t good, right?
As we look back we could have wanted all the wrong things for ourselves and over time those things that we thought were going to remain so important faded away and new things rose up in our lives.. Things that have become so much better than we ever could have imagined back then. So along the way we switched our major, or went back to school, or interviewed for a new job, or moved to a new city and things are actually better than they would have been if we had followed our “Vision 2020”. that’s possible…
but it is just as possible that looking back on past plans is a very hard thing. Life has unfolded in some tragic and difficult ways. Ways that have hurt us and even left us with this feeling of being stuck…stuck on this new path that doesn’t feel like it fits and we are desperate to see some hope that something will bring us in a new direction soon.
Or…maybe looking back on past plans is a very hard thing. Life has unfolded in some ways that have left us feeling stuck…stuck on a path that doesn’t feel like it fits and we are desperate to see some hope that things will turn around very soon.
Either way, for the better or for the stuck, there are times in our life when we are drawn to look back and ask ourselves the question: How did we get here?
How did we get here?
I don’t know if you had a “Vision 2020” plan or anything, but the arrival of a new year often does bring us to asking questions along those lines. What are our goals in life? What have be been aiming for? new year typically does get seeing 2020 - looking forward to “vision 2020” and what did you plan to see? Was it like it is now? If it isn’t why not? Have you ever taken some time to look back to see how you go where you are - good or bad?
What have be been aiming for?
Maybe you had a ten year plan at one point, how is that going?
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself questions like these. new year typically does get seeing 2020 - looking forward to “vision 2020” and what did you plan to see? Was it like it is now? If it isn’t why not? Have you ever taken some time to look back to see how you go where you are - good or bad?
Tension
I think that God has wired us to ask that question. I think He wants us to ask this question. I think that it is a question that He has placed in the hearts of mankind since the beginning of time. How did we get to the place that we are? What circumstances led up to this? How did we get here?
in order to are we ask in order to discover how to sustain the good direction that we have come from, if we don’t like where we are then we ask more of a place of desperation, hoping that this is not all there is. Hoping that there is more to our story than what we are currently seeing.
It is very helpful line of questioning, because If we like where we are, then we ask the questions in hopes to discover how to keep moving in the same direction.
If we don’t like where we are then we ask the question in hopes of making changes so that we don’t continue down the same path that got us here in the first place.
This morning we are returning to our Gospel Project series and we are going to pick up right where we left off in 1 Kings, but before we do I feel like we need to to take some time to re-introduce these Old Testament books that we are going through. You see the series of books we are in right now, including Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings were first written to a people who were asking themselves this same key question:
How Did We Get Here?
So open up your Bibles with me to , p. 299 in the Bible in the chairs. I promise we will eventually get here to chapter 17, but we are going to walk up through some earlier verses in order to get some context to where we are now in the history of God’s people. So lets pray together and then we will dive back into the Gospel Project together.
Truth
Sometimes we mistakenly read the Bible as if it a story that are unfolding in front of us, but it is really a record of things that have unfolded behind us. It something called “historical narrative” which means that the stories it contains have happened in the past. I know... that is not news that draws you to the edge of your seat. We all know the Bible is an old book about things that happened long ago…but it was not as long ago for the first people who read it. And that is who the authors first wrote it for.
Sometimes we mistakenly read the Bible as if it a story that are unfolding in front of us, but it is really a book that has unfolded behind and way before us. It something called “historical narrative” which means that it is stories that have happened in the past. I know... that is not news that draws you to the edge of your seat. We all know the Bible is an old book about things that happened long ago…but it was not as long ago for the first people who read it. And that is who the author first wrote it for.
We are not certain on who all contributed to these books, but we can deduce from the settings described in 1 Kings that the author, or more likely compiler, of the book lived in the time period when God’s people were living in exile. They were “aliens and strangers” in a foreign land. This is sometime around 550 to 600 BC. So the first audience head these stories after the Temple and all Jerusalem had been destroyed. After the Kings and all their people had been completely conquered and carried off into exile. At the point that the first audience was hearing these stories, Israel was not just a divided Kingdom, it wasn’t a destroyed one. At best, the world remembered it as a small hiccup in the Babylonian quest for World domination.
Having this background information can paint new colors into the pictures of these stories. We read these stories as ancient history, but the first audience had already heard parts of these stories from their grandparents and great-grandparents. We read these stories through lens of “a long time in a far away land”, so we have little to offer from our personal experience that can argue with them. But this was not the case for the Children of Israel in exile:
This Do you see how this background information paints new colors into the pictures of these stories. We read these stories as ancient history, but the first audience had already heard parts of these stories from their grandparents and great-grandparents. We read these stories through lens of “a long time in a far away land”, so we have little to offer from our experience that would argue with their truthfulness. But this was not the case for the Children of Israel in exile:
books then history books seen more like fairythat God’s people first read of the stories of 1 Kings. It was here that they sat. Defeated. Isolated. Feeling like they were no longer a part of anything significant. The stories that their grandparents and great grandparents told them seemed almost like fairy tales. Something about their mighty warrior King David and this amazing city called Jerusalem where they could go and worship the God of their people…and He would meet them there.
That’s a nice story Grandpa, but if all of that is true then How Did We Get Here?
In the Hebrew Bible these books are from a section of their Scriptures called “The Former Prophets”. These were written and collected by many different prophets over these years and then given to the God’s people when they were inAnd you are like “duh, pastor, the Bibles an old book it all happened in the past.” That is true, but the first readers of these books
So the scenes, characters, events and plots of these books are being given to a audience in the future so that they can learn about the past. How is that for being clear as mud.
If our Kings were so great, then why are they not ruling over us?
If our nation was so strong then why are in exile?
If our God is the one true God then why are we slaves to the people who serve other gods?
Why isn’t this promise keeping God you speak of still keeping his promises to us?
These are the questions that the prophets of God sought to answer through these books, showing a questioning people how God is still keeping his promises, just as He always has. He has not forgotten His promises, but His children have...or at least parts of them. There are two promises God made to His children that stand out in these books. He promised:
If our God is the only true God then how come we are enslaved to these people and their god Marduk? Why doesn’t this promise keeping God keep his promises anymore?
God is…working out his purposes just like He always has. God is…still reaching out to His people just like he always has.
You see with every promise that God made to bless His people He also promised to remove that blessing
1. A forever king of David’s lineage
This was written to the exiled people who we were asking the question, “What Happened?”
that the authors have been most clear on:
1. That God will provide them a reigning King from the line of David for all time.
1 Davidic Covenant to have a descendant of the throne
2. A forever place to worship God.
But the establishment of these promises came with stipulations. And these weren’t just arbitrary things, pointless hoops that God set up just to see if these people would jump through them. The whole point of the Kingdom of Israel was for it to showcase to the world what a right relationship with God looks like.
When God’s people reject and rebel against Him, that display is tainted and God is portrayed to be someone that He is not. He cannot allow this, so in His character of truth and justice He removed His protection and provision for the people- just like he promised that He would.
You see God promised David, “If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ ()
At the point where God’s people chose to reject Him and His ways, the display of this relationship became a lie. They made the God of Truth into a liar, and so He can no longer allow these people to represent Him to the World. The relationship has been broken, the display is no longer valid, so in His justice God removed His protection and provision over the people - just like he promised that He would.
And He promised Solomon “if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel.” ()
1 When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, 2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, 3 and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, 4 that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
These are very big “If”s. These books were written to show how God was faithful to his promises, it was the people of God who broke their part of the deal. It is a good question - How did We get Here” - and I fervently believe that God wants us to keep asking it.
4 that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
Later on Solomon prayed the same thing over his sons, in echo of this moment with his father David at the end of his life.
“If” they will be faithful…that is such a big “if”. And the same promise was laid out when it came to the Temple that Solomon built. Again you can turn back to if you want or just listen as I read:
And in the promise of the establishment of the dwelling place of God with His people, we read how God gave the same kind of stipulation
11 Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, 12 “Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. 13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel.”
1 Kings 6:
And as God’s people suffering in exile continued to read these books of the prophets they were shown how God is still faithfully keeping his promises, it is God’s people who have been unfaithful to theirs. It is a good question - How did We get Here”. - and I fervently believe that God wants us to keep asking it.
When we last left the Gospel Project, Solomon had proven himself to be exceedingly unfaithful to the Lord and…just as our promise keeping God promised…the Kingdom was torn from his son and given to someone else. But not all of it…and in this we see God’s desire to continue in his faithfulness to David and his sons and grandsons. About Solomon God said:
At the end of our last unit in the Gospel Project entitled “A Kingdom Provided”, we were introduced to the theme of our current unit: A Divided Kingdom. Solomon had proven himself to be exceedingly unfaithful to the Lord and…just as our promise keeping God promised…the Kingdom was torn from his son and given to someone else. But not all of it...
Through one of His prophets God speaks this of the reign of Solomon’s son Rehoboam:
Listen to the continued faithfulness of God as he speaks of Solomon’s son:
35 But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and will give it to you, ten tribes. 36 Yet to his son I will give one tribe, that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name.
[slide of northern and southern kingdoms]
slide of northern and southern kingdoms
So this conversation is being had with another King, his name is Jeroboam. God allows the Kingdom to be divided in two, and he gives the ten Northern tribes to Jeroboam to rule and they will continue to be called “Israel”. The 2 Southern tribes, Judah and little Benjamin, will be ruled by Solomon’s son Rehoboam and be called “Judah”.
2. Place of worship chosen by God - In Jersusalem- “The way of Jeroboam” was to worship God in a place of his chosing
1 Kings 12:26
And God offers this new King of the northern tribes the same sweet deal he gave to David descendants. “If” you faithfully follow my commands, I will bless you as King. We would hope that maybe Jeroboam would learn from his predecessors mistakes but he doesn’t. Out of fear and jealously, Jeroboam goes so far as to create his own religion complete with his own Temple in his own cities of worship directed at his own gods.
32 (but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel),
26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. 27 If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” 29 And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
1 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”
5 but do not seek Bethel, and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing.”
25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. 27 If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” 29 And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one. 31 He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. 32 And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. 33 He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings.
1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. 4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. 8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods. 9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. 12 Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.” 14 And the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was of the royal house in Edom. 15 For when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army went up to bury the slain, he struck down every male in Edom 16 (for Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom). 17 But Hadad fled to Egypt, together with certain Edomites of his father’s servants, Hadad still being a little child. 18 They set out from Midian and came to Paran and took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and assigned him an allowance of food and gave him land. 19 And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. 20 And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house. And Genubath was in Pharaoh’s house among the sons of Pharaoh. 21 But when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers and that Joab the commander of the army was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Let me depart, that I may go to my own country.” 22 But Pharaoh said to him, “What have you lacked with me that you are now seeking to go to your own country?” And he said to him, “Only let me depart.” 23 God also raised up as an adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master Hadadezer king of Zobah. 24 And he gathered men about him and became leader of a marauding band, after the killing by David. And they went to Damascus and lived there and made him king in Damascus. 25 He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon, doing harm as Hadad did. And he loathed Israel and reigned over Syria. 26 Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, also lifted up his hand against the king. 27 And this was the reason why he lifted up his hand against the king. Solomon built the Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of David his father. 28 The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious he gave him charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph. 29 And at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had dressed himself in a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the open country. 30 Then Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes 32 (but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), 33 because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and they have not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my rules, as David his father did. 34 Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of David my servant whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes. 35 But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and will give it to you, ten tribes. 36 Yet to his son I will give one tribe, that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name. 37 And I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel. 38 And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you. 39 And I will afflict the offspring of David because of this, but not forever.’ ” 40 Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. 41 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? 42 And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43 And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
1 Kings 12:
Seriously! This tired old song again! Haven’t we learned anything from the whole golden calf thing? Did you even know that the golden calf thing happened more than once? Apparently, in ancient times God’s people had to learn the same lesson over and over again.
Aren’t you glad we never have to learn the hard way like that?
And Jeroboam had two golden calves made. How convenient! One was placed way up north in Dan and the other closer to Jerusalem in Bethel. I mean it was quite a journey or those northern tribes to have come all the way down to God’s appointed place of worship. Now they can worship in their own way right from the comfort of their own region.
Aren’t you glad we never sacrifice anything good or godly for the sake of our convenience? ( sarcasm!)
sarcasm!)
So the nation is thouroughly divided. Geographically, politically and religiously. And if you quickly thumb through the rest of the the books of 1st and 2nd Kings you can see that the pages are riddled with these short little accounts of the Kings from both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms.
The nation is truly divided. Geographically, politically and religiously. And if you quickly thumb through the rest of the the books of 1st and 2nd Kings you can see that the pages are riddled with these short little accounts of the Kings from both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms.
Their isn’t a lot there for most of them. Typically the authors just tells us which kingdom they reigned (North or South) when they reigned (compared to the previous King) and how they too “did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord”. There were a few good kings along the way, but not many, so the authors really don’t focus as much on each on these evil Kings, instead they tell the story from a very different direction. They focus on the way God was still working among His people.
So the focus of the rest of these books was on a different way in which God was still working among His people.
Just because these Kings were not faithful to the LORD does not mean that God had given up on leading His people back to Himself. God is always after a right relationship with His children where they turn back from their sin, selfishness and rebellion to obey him in loving submission. So God sent his people messengers called “Prophets”, to speak to His people and they play are the ones that play the prominent roles in these books.
but in his story we will see how prophets operated
Now God had used prophets before, but for the remainder of the Old Testament the role of in the stories that we are going to cover over the next many weeks we find a select group of “Prophets” were a wacky bunch. They held no official position like a King, they were often These prophets had no God gave these prophets his messages to proclaim to the people, but since they were so entrenched in paganism and sin they often didn’t listen
Because these many kings were not walking with the LORDobeying God and they were constantly being wiped out, God used other voices to speak for Him. This is where the prophests come in so strong. To the best of our knowledge it was the prophets themselves who wrote these books for the exiles to be able to learn how God was still working throughout all of this wreckage. So their stories are hightlighted with much more detail than the many kings. Especially two major prophets named Elijah and Elisha. It is their story that we are focusing on this week.
just as He did for David and Solomon, the LORD sent prophets to speak his words to the Kings of Israel. They would not listen, but that doesn’t mean that God wasn’t sending them.
Do you see how this would be so helpful for the first audience, even as it is for us. The nation was suffering under the consequences of these Kings actions, but that did not mean that God was done calling out to His people and inviting them back into a relationship of faithfulness with Him.
11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
fact that these Kings disobeyed so they were suffering the consequences for their decisions did not mean that God left His people without hope. He did not give up His right and role as
13 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
2 Chron 7:
obeying God and they were constantly being wiped out, God used other voices to speak for Him. This is where the prophests come in so strong. To the best of our knowledge it was the prophets themselves who wrote these books for the exiles to be able to learn how God was still working throughout all of this wreckage. So their stories are hightlighted with much more detail than the many kings. Especially two major prophets named Elijah and Elisha. It is their story that we are focusing on this week.
So that was a long introduction - you will learn more on Elijah in your groups but I do want to quickly walk through the themes with you
Include Title: Pictures of God’s Authority?
How did we get here? We did not get here alone! Prophets and Jesus.
You did not get here alone!
I know that was a crazy long introduction, and I promised we would get to chapter 17, but I didn’t want us to lose track of where we are in the history of God’s people. So for the remainder of our time we are going to just being to look into one of God’s prophets named Elijah. We will talk more about him in our study groups after the service and in the weeks in the come. So if you still have your finger in we are finally getting there.
you would think thatTheir worship practices are all foreign to us - what is the big difference? Jeroboam did was from his own heart, he was not following the LORD, but his own power play of religious control.
Elijah
In the previous Chapter 16 we learn of the King that the prophet Elijah was sent by God to confront. His name was Ahab, and he was a very evil King. In fact, the text says that “Ahab did more to provoke the Lord... to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.” (16:33). Not a good guy, so God sent the prophet Elijah to tell this evil King of the consequences for His provocation against the LORD:
33 And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
1 Kings 16:
30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him.
So up to this point he was the most evil, so God sent
Truth
(Last Time…) Foolish sinful choices create problems for others ()
(Last Time…) Foolish sinful choices create problems for others ()
1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2 And the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
Of course this is true for all of us, but it was especially true for one in Solomon’s position. Not only will his son have the kingdom ripped from him, but this will be the end of the “Glory Days” of Israel, as from here on out the nation of Israel will be divided into a northern and southern kingdom. All of this will take place when Solomon’s son Rehoboam listens to the foolish advice of his young punk friends, instead of the wise advice of the mature men in the kingdom. The irony here is so profound, that the son of the wisest King who ever lived would watch the Kingdom torn from him by listening to foolish advice. A company of representatives from the norther tribes came before the now King Rehoboam, led by a man named Jeroboam. The fact that their names ryme is about all they have in common. Jeroboam and company were asking the King to lighten up on the building projects because it was becoming a great burden on the people. The King sent them away for three days while he consulted with his advisers. First he consulted with the elders of the city, they encouraged him to agree to these terms. But he didn’t really like their answer so he went to talk with his friends. Guys who he grew up with in the luxury of his Father’s extravagance. They said to come down even harder. When Jeroboam and company returned here is the answer they were met with:
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, “Come to me again the third day.” 13 And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, 14 he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 16 And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah.
While every prophets story is a little different, one common theme that God often used was to provide in unusual ways. Our first theme is that
ESV12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, “Come to me again the third day.” 13 And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, 14 he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 16 And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah.
And the nation of Israel would never be the same again.
Did God then give up on His people? No, he just used a different role to minister to them. As the Kings were no longer faithful to God, He sent his prophets.
Prophet, Priest and King - communal roles
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;
9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
God Provides in unusual ways ()
God Provides in unusual ways ()
1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2 And the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
Remember last week when we talked about how God would open the “treasures of heaven” and what he meant was that He was going to provide rain for His people. Well he can just as easily lock that vault up, and that is what he did. But prophets are subject to the same consequences as everyone else around them, unless God intervenes as we see him do here.
You see God set it up that it would not rain until Elijah said so, with the understanding that Elijah would not say so unless God told him so. So to keep Elijah from wrestling over this decision God hid him and provided for him.
I wonder, as he sat next to that brook, if Elijah ever thought about where God was sending the Ravens to get the meat they were bringing him each day? Ravens were ceremonially unclean birds as they were scavengers…Road Kill Grill anyone? And maybe even more curious was where they got the bread, but we know where he got his water…at least until the brook dried up.
1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2 And the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
1 Kings 17:1-
But without the rain the brook eventually dried up, so God sent Elijah out from hiding to a widow in a particular town. Listen to how this part of the story unfolds:
Then God sent Elijah out from hiding to a widow in a particular town. Listen to how this part of the story unfolds:
- Prophets are subject to their own prophetic declarations, but God can intervene
- Ravens - unholy bird
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.”
In a middle of a drought, he asks for a cup of water like it is laying around all over the place. But he had to make sure this was the right widow, so he even went a step further...
11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
God Provides in miraculous ways ()
God Provides in miraculous ways ()
Wow, now he wants some bread. No rain mean no crops, no wheat , no flour, no bread. But listen to the widow’s response to this unusual request:
7:12-
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”
12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”
We don’t respond emotionally to the word “drought” like people in other parts of the world who have actually experienced it. We think, “oh no, a drought my lawn might turn brown!” but in parts of the world a drought is one of the most deadly natural disasters there is. Can you imagine what that widow was going through that morning?
Making plans for the last meal of your families life? And then she meets this prophet who wants her to make her some bread - very unusual - but he offers her much more than he demands:
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’ ” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
Making plans for the last meal of your life? And then she meets this prophet who puts all these demands on her - but he does much more than just that.
13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’ ” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
puts all these demands on her - but he does much more than just that.
13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’ ” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
God Provides in unusual ways ()
God Provides in unusual ways ()
God Provides in miraculous ways ()
God Provides in miraculous ways ()
Lastly we see in the Prophets of God how
God provides through His servant ()
God provides through His servant ()
1 Kings 17:17-
17 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!”
This is something else that prophets do. We don’t know what this sin is that she is confessing, but it must have been something she thought deserved great consequences.
This is something else that prophets do. They bring peoples sins to their mind. (Yeah, they don’t typically get invited to many parties) We don’t know what this sin is that she is confessing, but it must have been something she thought deserved great consequences. Had the prophet come to save the life of her son, only to have him die soon after from something that she had done? This was not why God brought Elijah here.
1 Kings 17:19
17 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” 19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. 20 And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” 22 And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” 24 And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. 20 And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” 22 And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” 24 And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
Gospel Application
Do you see how these stories of the Prophets would be so helpful for the first audience, even as they are for us today. They and we can see how things were in dire straights. The nation was divided and suffering under the continual reign of evil Kings, and yet God was still working among His people. He had not abandoned them, it was they who had turned from Him, but He was still calling them back to a right relationship with Him.
How did they get here? They got here by rejecting God as their King, but He never gives up on us - He sends us messengers to call us back to himself.
He was still calling out to them to return to a right relationship with Him. He sent Elijah and it strengthened the widow. He sent th but that did not mean that God was done calling out to His people and inviting them back into a relationship of faithfulness with Him. The Kings were not being the leaders that they were appointed to be, but God was still speaking his truth and love through His prophets.
It should at least have answered their question of How did we get here? We got here by rejecting God as our King, but He never gave up sending us messengers to call us back to himself.
Of course today, the way back into a right relationship with God is no longer about a specific nation, a specific city or an earthly king. While some of the Kings of Israel were better than others, none of them were perfect. Their failure to live up to the perfection need or a relationship with a perfect God was not surprise. Just like our failure to live up to that perfection is no surprise. That is why God provided His Son Jesus for us,
Who was born from the lineage of David according to His promise.
Who lived in very unusual ways, completely free from sin and selfishness
Who worked miracles greater than every prophet before Him.
Who came as a servant, to serve us in a way that was infinitely beneath Him.
Who suffered and died in our place so that if we would trust in Him,
We can meet with and worship God in His forever city according to His promise.
Landing
He came towe could never serve ourselves. To give his perfect life up for us, so that we can meet with and be with God forever.
was not surprise toBut there is a King who is from the line of David who has lived just as God intended. He is our prophet, our priest and our King.
It is through Jesus Christ, the promised messiah, that we are all called back to a right relationship with God.
Over Christmas we celebrated the one born King of the Jews. Soon Easter will be upon us and we will again be celebrating the one who died under the sign that read “the King of the Jews”. But in fact Jesus is much more than that. He is the King of Kings. He is the Lord of Lords. and his death, burial and resurection made a way for all of us to
How did we get here? We rejected God as our King and even though he warned us over and over again we
1. That God will provide them a reigning King from the line of David for all time.
2. That God will provide them a city, to meet with Him and worship Him for all time.
From the book of the Chronicles we get the verse
14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
If
Jesus’ miracles proved he was who He said He was - more than just a messeger from God, He was God in the flesh, The Messiah.
Landing
So whether the answer to How did I get here? brings you joy or sorrow, know this, you did not get here alone! Even today, God is using your presence in this service to remind you that He has been with you through the good and the bad, but his highest goal for each of us is to bring us to a place where we will turn back from our sin and selfishness and live again in a right relationship with Him. Where we trust in Him as our Savior and Lord. When this happens, then God’s people will once again be the light that He designed us to be all along.
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
Let’s pray
(Communion)
If you are new here at Friendship Church we practice something called “Open Communion”...
As a reminder, Parents, we trust that you will lead your children into communion when you think they are ready.
To prepare for Communion we feel it is important to read out loud the caution that God’s word gives us