In this lesson, David Capoccia takes us back into the Answers Bible Curriculum from Answers in Genesis with an overview of the kings of Israel and Judah after the kingdom divides. David Capoccia first reviews some background regarding the Old Testament covenants, then samples the kings of Israel and Judah and their legacies, and then briefly considers application for Christians today.
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Finance from a Biblical perspective not only because he gave me some time off but because I think what he taught was really valuable so if you didn’t get a chance to listen to all of those or watch all of those please check them out on our website or via our podcast on iTunes but we’re back with the answers Bible curriculum and this is the third quarter of the second year of the curriculum remember we we go through three quarters and then take the summer off what um our theme this quarter is God’s justice and mercy what will we be talking about in the 13 lessons of this quarter well if you look in your bulletins you’ll see the specific lesson breakdown but to summarize we start in the divided Kingdom Period we hear the messages of many of the latter prophets calling both Israel and Judah to return to God and to follow him and then we see Israel and then Judah conquered and taken into Exile so that’s where we’re going to end up at the end of this quarter we’re going to end up in Exile throughout this quarter we’re going to be looking at a number of less well-known sections of the the Bible so I find that really exciting I hope you find that exciting too because we get to explore those things those passages together and I’ll will be able to finish out the whole quarter with you before I have to leave and go spend some time in my foreign land em and I will be heading to California but we’ll be able to go through all of these lessons before that just a note before we go on go on if you want to make use of the student guides make sure you picked one up the men in the back have those the little purple student guide that goes with the lessons for this quarter remember they have the background information for you to read before each lesson and then as the lessons are being taught there are sections for you to take notes or if we do one of the activities in the book there are sections for you to fill in the information there but back to today’s lesson if you could hit the second slide uh we’ll see what we’re going to look at today our title for today’s class is Kings of Israel and Judah and here’s our outline we’re first going to review the promises of God the far-reaching promises of God that have appeared so far in our study of the Old Testament then we’re going to sample the Kings of Israel discern what kind of patterns we see among those kings then we’ll turn to the kings of Judah do the same thing and then finally we’ll consider what application can we discern from looking at the Kings of Israel in Judah let’s pray father I pray that you bless your people now in the in the explanation and the understanding and application of your word please help me to be able to explain it well work in the hearts of the people so that they can understand it and apply it our trying God we pray that you would uh work mightily among your people through this teaching and through the teaching of the other Sunday school teachers and then the teaching that that comes from the pulpit later in Jesus name amen all right please hit the next slide our theme for this quarter is God’s justice and mercy and certainly we’ve seen those two aspects repeatedly in the Old Testament up to this point thanks hopefully this will this will work what were some of the demonstrations of God’s justice that we’ve already seen so far what’s one of them what was one demonstration of God’s justice yeah the flood right man was rebelling against God violence was increasing the thoughts of his heart were continually evil God sends the flood and wipes out the world save a few yeah Rob Hep out canites and amorites of wiem that’s right so or to bringing the people of Israel the people of the land of Canaan were judged by the Israelites as the Israelites made war with them and completely destroyed them they were not to be spared at all none of their animals none of their children whatever and that was God’s judgment what’s another example yeah right so already we’ve seen that even Kings have been judged by God Saul lost the kingship because he his heart was not following after God he did not um obey to the full God’s commands and even David received judgment for what sins he committed his major sin with basba the sin of the census which we didn’t talk about but those also brought God’s judgment so we’ve seen certainly that God is a God who judges evil he’s a holy God but we’ve also seen examples of God’s mercy what’s an example of God’s Mercy that we’ve seen yeah Roy isra Wilderness yeah especially because Israel was being very stubborn and doubtful But as God took Israel through the Wilderness he continued to provide for them even several times he said let me alone Moses I’m going to destroy them they are an obstinate people but go but Moses interceded and God says all right I’ll be merciful I will not give them as they deserve uh I will continue continue to allow them to live and bring them into the land what else is another example of Mercy yeah exactly yes yes so the deliverance from the the Deliverance of Israel from Egypt not only judging their oppressors but bringing them out bringing them out with many possessions bringing them out with mighty works not because they earned it or deserved it but it goes back to his covenants and it goes back to his character and what’s one other example of God’s mercy yeah Joe yeah we certainly saw God’s patience with Solomon and we could say that from many other instances in the Old Testament even though people were rebelling against them he gave them time he was very patient with with them or it’s particularly with Solomon that he he honored his Covenant with David he says I will chasten Solomon just like I promised I would chasten your seed just as he had promised to David but I will not remove the kingship totally from him he did Judge Solomon via his son and the divided Kingdom we’ll see in just a second we’ll remember in just a second but he remained kind to David and kind to Solomon uh so we could point to another another of other examples of God’s mercy but that’s part of his character too he is a loving patient compassionate God not giving people what they deserve in terms of judgment but also giving people what they don’t deserve in terms of undes or in terms of favor oops I mve my okay yeah but through out these manifestations of justice and mercy are God’s promises God’s covenants and we’ve seen a number of them they’ve been the basis for many his acts of justice and mercy but what are the far-reaching promises that we’ve seen so far in the Old Testament I want to remind ourselves of those things as well what was one of them promises or covenants yeah right the the davidic Covenant which we were just alluding to God promised that David’s seed would continue to rule in Israel and Judah or continue to rule in Israel and it ends up being in the Kingdom of Judah and even that his seed would have an eternal Kingdom a kingdom that never ends that was one of God’s covenants what was another one Dwayne is that a hand Abraham Covenant abrahamic Covenant right so God makes a promise to Abraham I will bless you and bless your seed and the number of blessings of that resulted to the um related to the land and multiplication and Abraham’s name but he also says your seed will be a blessing to every family and nation of the earth and This Promise was passed down from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob to all the sons of Israel what’s another one Denny very good right going back to Genesis 3 I don’t know if this one has a specific title but the curse on the serpent or part of the curse on the serpent that God gives is a promise related to emity between the seed of the woman and the seed of The Serpent and that the seed of the woman one would come from her seed who would crush the Serpent’s head and be merely bruised on the heel this was a promise of a deliverer via Eve seed via the seed of the woman can mention a few other covenants we have the noic Covenant God promised he would not flood the world again and he would cause its seasons and day night cycles to continue until the end of the world and then there’s the Mosaic Covenant where God promised to BL bless Israel exceedingly if they would follow him but he would also curse and Chas an Israel if they would turn away even to the point of removing them from the land that he was bringing them into but even then if he removed them he promised restoration if they would repent hopefully this thing works I haven’t tried using this before do I click the arrow yes okay all right yeah uh Hey Oh got one there um oh oh this seems to be the sweet spot right here oh are you you’re clicking it I’m not really doing anything I’ll just it’s not working okay yeah click a couple more there yeah thanks I want to say just a couple more things about the Mosaic Covenant because there are two interesting aspects to the Mosaic Covenant which we sometimes Overlook that I want to bring our attention to in Deuteronomy God gives this Covenant he says you follow me I’ll bless you you turn away from me I’ll curse you but God also foretells that they won’t follow him turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 31 for a second right after remember the book of Deuteronomy is the exposition of the law by Moses and after he finishes basically preaching to them via the law of the other books there are a number of pronouncements by God and Moses at the very end or towards the very end look at Deuteronomy 31:16 this is God speaking the Lord said to Moses behold you are about to lie down with your fathers and this people will arise and play the Harlot with the strange gods of the land into the midst of which they are going and will forsake me and break my Covenant which I have made with them go down to verse 26 7 we hear something similar from Moses to the people verse 27 chter 31 for I know your rebellion and your stubbornness behold while I am still alive with you today you have been rebellious against the Lord how much more then after my death and then look at verse 29 for I know that after my death you will act corruptly and turn from the way which I have commanded you and evil will befall you in the latter days for you will do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord provoking him to anger with the work of your hands so it’s not as if God was wondering well if you keep it things could go really well and if you don’t we’ll just see what happens now God says you won’t keep it I’m telling you right now you have every reason to keep it but you won’t because you are stubborn people but then there’s something else go back a chapter earlier and we see another little statement kind of stuck in here with many of the other words of Deuteronomy that is quite profound right after Moses is discussing this is chapter 30 now Moses discusses how God will bring all these curses on them when they did when they don’t follow him he’ll even remove them from the land but when they repent he’ll take them back Listen to This Promise from God in Deuteronomy verse or chapter 30: 6 so Deuteronomy chap 30:6 so this is right after God says I’ll bring you back into the land moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul so that you may live now that is really striking do you understand what God is saying God promises Israel that in the future though you have rebelled against me countless times I will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants what is God saying okay I that’s part of the explanation he will do something that the law cannot do he’s going to circumcise the heart but what does it mean to circumcise the heart uh I think it it is part of the New Covenant yes but and we certainly see their language of circumcision of the heart reflected in the New Testament but what is he promising to do for Israel in circumcising their heart yeah yeah he’s going to cause Israel to love him and be obedient he’ll put his spirit in them he will cause them as a nation to love him and not just a generation of Israel but he notice it says I will circumcise the heart of your descendants too so there’s going to be a profound Heart Change change in Israel that God himself will accomplish he says in the future after you’ve rebelled and after I brought you back I will do this a permanent Heart Change God promises will happen to Israel in the future so though the mic Covenant promises blessing and cursing to Israel depending on their obedience there is also this promise that God will one day fundamentally change Israel’s heart so we see these these various coven we’ve talked about each one of them want us to keep in mind these covenants as we talk about the items in this quarter because these covenants will help explain what we see happening to Israel and Judah and their kings furthermore when we hear from the prophets this quarter the latter prophets they’re going to be saying some of the very same things that God has already said in the Old Testament regarding his promises for the future question so far yes Steve um but in Deuteronomy 30 isn’t the context that you know it says so verse one so shall be when all these things have come upon you the blessings and the curse which I have set before you and you call them to mind in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you and you return to the Lord your God and Obey him with all your heart and soul according to all I command you to to you and to your sons so they have to have a foundation of repentance before God will give them the circumcised heart as interesting that you say that Steve just repeat your comment just going you’re pointing out that in the context of the verse that we saw in chapter 30: 6 it already mentions that Israel’s repentant before the circumcision takes place he says um when you repent basically then I’ll bring you back into the land but we know that repentance doesn’t doesn’t actually happen until God works in the heart so I think we’re actually seeing two different things here that God does promise when you repent I’ll bring you back into the land and historically as we go to the rest of the Bible we’re going to see that there is some measure of repentance in Israel and they do return to the land but they then they don’t continue to follow the lord that’s going to be the um uh the complaint of people like Nehemiah and um Ezra they bring the people back into the land and immediately they start compromising and they start turning away from God and um I think Nehemiah is like pulling people by the hair because he’s like what are you doing because their hearts have not been circumcised as a nation as a as a continual fundamental change that hasn’t happened so you’re right to say that in in one sense there is a there is some repentance that God will bring to Israel that will allow various acts of Mercy from God to happen to Israel including bringing them back into the land but I believe that verse six is actually talking about something greater this is a a a a more fundamental more total more longlasting change in the heart of Israel Joe okay so you’re you’re already piecing some things together I do believe that this promise promise along with some that we’ll see this quarter and some that are mentioned in in prophecies from Jacob and others that what we’re really talking about are some things that have never been fulfilled for Israel and so are going to have to be fulfilled in the millennial age This Promise of the circumcision of Israel’s heart and uh various promises given to Israel um related to how God will less and when that happens they’ve never taken place we’ll say a little bit more about that in the the lesson today all right let’s move on we’ve refreshed ourselves with some of the background on God’s promises let’s now look at the two Hebrew kingdoms and their kings starting with the northern kingdom hey nice thanks for the slide to do this we’ll be sampling a number of verses from Kings and Chronicles why was there a divided Kingdom in the first place it goes back to Solomon right what did Solomon do it comes back to his idolatry related to his polygamy but his wives turn him away from following God and and supporting these Idols serving these Idols so God says because you’ve done this I’m going to take away the Kingdom from you but I won’t take away the whole thing because of the promises I made to David so God takes 10 and a half tribes and he gives them to another person jeroboam and the northern northern kingdom of Israel is formed now this Kingdom is called Israel I know that’s a little bit confusing because the whole thing was called Israel before but the northern kingdom is referred to as Israel from then on also called Ephraim Ephraim was one of the largest tribes with among the 10 and a half Northern tribes so sometimes Israel is also referred to as Ephraim but Israel is the northern kingdom its first king jeroboam was anointed and chosen by God to be their King but what kind of a king was hit the next uh button please let’s see the Bible’s assessment of him turn to First Kings chapter 14 First Kings 14 so remember Kings Kings and Chronicles what we’ll be looking today they come after the books of Samuel after judges and Ruth so First Kings 14 and we’ll look at verses 7 to 18 to give you the context Jer Jobo is already king and the blind prophet ahijah in this passage is giving a message to jeroboam’s wife regarding their sick son the prince now look at verse 7even go say to jeroboam thus says the Lord God of Israel because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader Over My People Israel and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you yet you have not been like my servant David who kept my Commandments and who followed me with all his heart to do only that which was right in my sight you also have done more evil than all who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke me to anger and have cast me behind your back therefore behold I am bringing Calamity on the house of jeroboam and will cut off from jeroboam every male person both Bond and free in Israel and I’ll make a clean sweep of the House of jeroboam as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone anyone belonging to jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs will eat and he who dies in the field the birds of the heavens will eat for the Lord has spoken now you arise go to your house when your feet enter the city the child will die all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him for he alone of Jam’s family will come to the Grave because in him something good was found toward the lord god of Israel in the house of jeroboam moreover the Lord will raise up for himself um okay I just make sure I’m reading okay yeah the the Lord will raise up for himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house of jeroboam this day and from now on for the Lord will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water and he will uproot Israel from this good land which he gave to their fathers and will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River because they have made their asherim provoking the Lord to anger he will give up Israel on account of the sins of jeroboam which he committed and with which he made Israel to sin then jeroboam’s wife arose and departed and came to Tera as she was entering the threshold of the house the child died all Israel buried him and mourned for him according to the word of the Lord which he spoke through his servant ahijah the prophet okay somewhat larger section but let’s make some observations on it was Jobo a good or an evil King he was an evil King it’s said repeatedly to be so In this passage why was he so evil or what about his Reign was particularly evil he turned the hearts of the people he turned the hearts and the people away from God toward Ash asherim and molten images Idols of different kinds and we know from the other passages and I think we mentioned in previous Sunday schools he made two golden castes and said this is your god and that was a strategic decision by jeroboam because he says I don’t want the people go to Jerusalem to worship or else they might defect so I’ll say that I have their gods and they can worship me here in my territory brought idolatry he led Israel into idolatry what judgment did God promise on jeroboam Dwayne that’s right I’m going to remove every male of your house from Israel basically your name is going to cease to exist in Israel I’ll destroy all of your descendants and they won’t even be buried that’s a huge Mark of Shame remember in ancient world the worst dishonor is for for your dead to not be buried to be eaten by animals that’s even worse and this is fulfilled in First Kings 15 Basha or baa Rises up against jeroboam’s son naab kills him and then kills the rest of jeroboam’s household but God also promises something about Israel here what does God promise to do to Israel yes Wayne that’s right he’s going to remove them from the land he says I’ll take them beyond the Euphrates River remember the Euphrates rivers one of the rivers of Mesopotamia so they’re going to be going far to the Northeast in that map there I’m going to remove Israel why why does God say for the sins of jeroboam which again is idolatry God says specifically or what are you going to say Judy that’s right he says they made the asham they made these idols and they worshiped them for their idolatry I’m going to remove them so Israel the northern kingdom it’s a pretty bad start under jobon but let’s look at some of the other Kings of Israel and see if it is the same or if it gets better or if it gets worse we don’t have time to look at all of them we’re just going to look at five out of the 19 to get a sample turn over to First Kings 16: 25 28 well we’re going to look at omry omry is another king in the Northern Kingdom of Israel First Kings 16 25-28 here’s the assessment of King omry provided by the Holy Spirit and the writer of Kings omry did evil in the sight of the Lord and acted more wickedly than all who were before him for he walked in all the way of jeroboam the son of nebat and in his sins which he made Israel sin provoking the Lord God of is isra with their Idols now the rest of the acts of omry which he did and his might which he showed are’t they not written in the book of The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel so omry slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria and Ahab his son became king in his place how did omry compare to jobon he was even worse did the same sins walked in the way of jeroboam but he was more evil than any King who came before him now let’s look at his son Ahab just the the right after that in the in the text verse 29 we’ll read to verse 33 can you hit the next click thanks now Ahab the son of omry became king of Israel in the 308th year of Asa king of Judah and Ahab the son of omry reigned over Israel in Samaria 22 years Ahab the son of omry did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him it came about as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jobo the son of nebat that he married Jezebel the daughter of E b king of the sidonians and went to serve baale and worshiped him so just trying to remember okay we can stop right there it goes on to talk about how he erected altars to Baal and ashra and things like that how did Ahab perform as king he was even worse than his father who was already the worst King Ahab took Israel to a new level of sin rebellion and idolatry by marrying Jezebel the idolatrous queen from sidon and instituting baale worship in Israel he was the most wicked King in the history of the northern kingdom you don’t have to turn there but first Kings 21: 25- 26 says surely there was no one like Ahab Who Sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord because Jezebel his wife incited him he acted very abominably in following Idols according to all that the amorites had done whom the Lord cast out before the sons of Israel he was the most wicked King he had a wicked father but he was even more wicked now God prophesied to Ahab that his house would be wiped out just like jeroboam’s was all his descendants would be cut off Ahab humbled himself in response to this and God seeing at least the measure of repentance decided to forall the Judgment until the reign of ahab’s son jehoram but it did come to pass ahab’s house was wiped out the agent of God’s judgment on Ahab was J or jiu who killed jehoram and the rest of ahab’s house and was given the kingship by God hit the next click please so he’s going to make a new start in Israel but how did jiu perform as king well turn to Second Kings second Kings chapter 10 2 Kings chap 10: 28-31 let’s see the assessment of ji who’s Reign so chapter 10 2 Kings verse 28 going down to 31 thus J Who eradicated ba out of Israel however as for the sins of Jobo the son of which he made Israel Sin from these J who did not depart even the golden calves that were at bethl and that were at Dan the Lord said to ji who because you have done well in executing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel but J who was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord the god of Israel with all his heart he did not depart from the sins of jobon which he made Israel sin how does J Who compare to the king went before him a little better he’s still evil but he’s not as bad he’s not as bad as Ahab not as bad as omry what is most notable about jius Sin whom does he imitate jbam with the golden calves and the idolatrous system that he set up when he was the first king so though he’s not as bad I still evil God says your descendants will have the fourth generation on the throne you’ll have four Sons or you’ll have four descendants reigning on the throne but after that I’m removing you that’s what happens one final sample let’s look at the last king of Israel Hosea 2 Kings 17 verses 1 to two this is not Hosea the Prophet this is a different Hosea 2 Kings 17 1-2 in the 12th year of ahaz king of Judah Hosea the son of ela became king over Israel in Samaria and reigned nine years he did evil in the sight of the Lord only not as the Kings of Israel who were before him okay how does Hosea compare he’s still evil but not as evil as some of the other kings so it’s not like that the king’s visual simply get worse over time they they can vary but this king is still evil look at verse 6 we’ll see uh something else relevant here chapter 17: 6 in the 9th year of Hosea the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria and settled them in Hala and Habor on the River of Goan in the cities of the mes Israel’s taken beyond the Euphrates by the Assyrian Empire thus was fulfilled the prophecy of judgment made during whose Reign the first first Wicked King jerbo that was the prophecy God gave even back then so looking at these sample Kings of Israel what do you notice as patterns what are some commonalities yeah all they’re all evil though some worse than others they all fail to follow after or to obey God what else say that agains that’s that’s a good point it affects their family and descendants in a literal way and in a in a more spiritual way their dynasties are cut off repeatedly their sons are put to death um partially as a judgment for for what the fathers did and and how they reigned but also we can see that there’s some connection between the the evilness of a father and the evilness of the son Ahab was more wicked than his father other kings are looking back to uh previous Kings in Israel Wicked forebears have an effect on those who come after them and we also see that these Kings they lead the people into sin it says jeroboam caused the people to sin LED them into sin and the other kings did the same thing so though we’ve looked at only five of Israel’s 19 Kings this is really the pattern of all of them all of Israel’s kings that is the northern kingdom all of them are evil many of them have very short Reigns they are often usurpers to the throne that is they overthrow the previous King wipe out his clan and then they become king and they all lead Israel astray and God eventually removes the Kingdom of Israel by Assyria Answers in Genesis gives a date of this removal as around 721 BC 721 722 that’s when Israel is removed from being a kingdom the people are taken out of the land so not a great not a great record in the northern kingdom but how does Judah compare how did the kings of Judah compare let’s now do a sample of Judah so Judah the southern Kingdom always called by Judah or yeah usually called by Judah though it consisted of Judah and the Hal Tribe of Benjamin judah’s first king after the split and under whom the split actually occurred was RAB boham partly the judgment on Solomon and also ryab Bam’s own foolish policies let’s look at Rab’s Reign by turning to Chronicles so Chronicles comes right after the two books of Kings 2 Chronicles 12:1 2 Chronicles 2 Chronicles 121 and then we’ll read verses 12 and 14 sorry something in my throat let’s see the assessment of rabo when the kingdom of rabo was established and strong he he and all Israel that would be Judah there all Israel with him forsook the law of the Lord now look at verses 12 to 14 they forsake the law God sends Egypt against them as a judgment this humbles them and they say the Lord is righteous there’s some measure of repentance there verse 12 and when he humbled himself the anger of the Lord turned away from him so as not to destroy him completely and also conditions were good in Judah so King rabam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned now rabam was 41 years old when he began to Reign and he reigned 17 years in Jerusalem the city which the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel to put his name there and his mother’s name was nma the ammonius he did Evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord how was rabam as a king he was evil says that he forsook the law of the Lord and he was evil when he felt secure he turned away from God and the nobles with him the people of Israel with him but he returned in some measure after God humbled him but the final assessment of rabo was that he was an evil King by the way what’s the author point out ESP special about the city in which rayam Reigns the capital of Judah well he strengthens himself as a king and certainly that would be part of Jerusalem but what does the author say special about Jerusalem chose to put his name yeah the the the text the author wants to remind us the Lord specially set apart Judah he put his or Jerusalem that’s where he chose to put his name that’s where he chose to put his Temple God has a special relationship to Jerusalem there he doesn’t have with any other city in Israel and that’s part of the reason why we see the patience of God towards Judah he says partly because of what I said to David partly because I put my name in the city of Jerusalem so that’s the first king rabo an evil King but let’s look at one of his descendants his grandson ASA turn to back to First Kings chapter 15 First Kings 15: 8-15 and we’ll see the assessment of this King First Kings 15 verse 8 and abijam slept with his fathers and they buried him in the city of David and ASA his son became king in his place so in the 20th year of jeroboam the king of Israel I think that’s jeroboam thei ASA began to reign as king of Judah he reigned 41 years in Jerusalem and his mother’s name was mea the daughter of abalon ASA did what was right in the sight of the Lord like David his father he also put away the male cult prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols which his fathers had made he also removed ma his mother from from being queen mother because she had made a horrid image as an Ashera and ASA cut down her horrid image and burned it in the brook Kidron but the high places were not taken away nevertheless the heart of Asa was wholly devoted to the Lord all his days he brought into the house of the Lord the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things silver and gold and utensils how did Asa perform as king he was a good King he did what was right all the days of his life he followed the Lord with a whole heart the text says notice how long he reigned 41 years if you’re a king and you Reign more than 20 30 years that is an impressively long Reign and he reigned 41 years notice ASA removed various stumbling blocks toward idolatry in Judah including his own mother as the Queen Mother he removed her from that position he got rid of the cold prostitutes he took away the people’s Idols though he did not remove the high places to whom is Asa compared in the text David David it says his father technically not his father but it would be his forefather he’s just like David his righteous great great grandfather was there a hand I saw a question okay so we see ASA let’s look at his son Jehoshaphat turn to chapter 22 we’re just getting a sampling of the kings of Judah now First Kings 22: 41 to 44 we’ll here an assessment of jehoshaphat’s Reign now Jehoshaphat the son of Asa became king over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel so we see the Ahab and Jehoshaphat were reigning at the same time Jehoshaphat was 35 years old and he became king and he reigned 25 years in Jerusalem and his mother’s name was azuba the daughter of shii he walked in all the way of Asa his father he did not turn aside from it doing right in the sight of the Lord wh however the high places were not taken away people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places Jehoshaphat also also made peace with the king of Israel how did Jehoshaphat do as king he did what was right he didn’t remove the high places but he did what was right and whose way does the text say Jehoshaphat walked ASA his father he followed the pattern of his father now it’s not explicitly mentioned here the total assessment jeat is he’s a good King Jehosaphat makes a critical mistake that would lead the rulers of Judah into evil it’s not stated here but does anyone know what that mistake was Judy he allied with Ahab and not just Allied and went to battle with him but what else did he do with Ahab Judy he intermarried jehoshaphat’s son would marry into the house of Ahab and after that the kings of Judah are evil for a number of years you bring Ahab into the family things are not going to go well so but we see Jehoshaphat himself a righteous King David’s line continues despite some evil kings in the interim we get this other king Hezekiah look at 2 Kings chapter 18 you’ve heard Hezekiah I think before one of the famous Kings of Judah 2 Kings 8 18: 1 to8 let’s see what the text tells us about Hezekiah notice Hezekiah Reigns during the time of the last king of Israel in the north verse one now came out in the third year of Hosea the son of ela king of Israel that Hezekiah the son of ahaz King of Judah became king he was 25 years old when he became king and he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem and his mother’s name was Abby the daughter of Zechariah he did right in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father David had done he removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the ashra he also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it and it was called nushan he trusted in the Lord the god of Israel so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah nor among those who were before him for he clung to the Lord he did not depart from following him but kept his Commandments which the Lord had commanded Moses and the Lord was with him wherever he went he prospered and he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him he defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory from Watchtower to fortified city was Hezekiah a good or a bad King he was very very good how did he compare to the other kings of Judah he was like David says he walked in the way of David what was that George he was better he was better yeah right not only does the text tell us that he was better than any who came before him he was also better than any that came after him and specifically he removed the high places something that even the righteous Kings before him were not able to do or did not do he was the most righteous King in Judah in this way he contrasts which king in uh Israel the Northern Kingdom ah Ahab Ahab was the most wicked king in Israel Hezekiah was the most righteous King in Judah notice what oh yeah we mentioned that he he removes the high places he obeys the Lord’s commands and God prospers Hezekiah grants him military success though if you know the other scriptures God does allow Hezekiah to be invaded by Assyria and Jerusalem to go to the brink of defeat before God miraculously defeats hez or defeats Assyria and removes them from the land but Hezekiah was a extremely righteous King now we’ll look at one more king of Judah zedekiah he’s the last King 2 Kings chapter 24 turn over there please 2 Kings 24: 17 to 20 so verse 17 then the king of Babylon made his uncle that’s jeho Chin’s Uncle matah King in his place and he changed his name to zedekiah zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king and he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem and his mother’s name was hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of libna he did evil in the sight of the Lord according to all that jeim that’ll be one of I think it’s his U grandfather according to all that jeim had done for through the anger of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until he cast them out from his presence and zedi rebelled against the king of Babylon what kind of King was zedekiah he was an evil King and whose way to did zedekiah walk jeak Kim that’s his evil grandfather the text that told us that he was not someone who walked after the Lord zedekiah Rebels against Babylon this would be the uh this would cause Babylon to invade again this is I think the third invasion of Judah by Babylon and this time Jerusalem is destroyed the temple is torn down and the Judea King the Judean kingship is abolished and the people are taken into captivity so from these five Kings of Judah and some of the ones that we mentioned um briefly let’s see what we notice as patterns are the kings of Judah good or bad it’s mixed there are some bad kings there are some good Kings and some of the good kings are really good but there also are some really bad kings the good kings bring periods of genuine Revival and blessing from the Lord what else um what else do we notice that’s right though there are though the the kingdom of Judah lasts much longer than the North there are only 20 Kings in Judah one more than there was in Israel it’s not because they ended at about the same time it’s because the kings of Judah remained a lot longer there were fewer conspiracies in Judah and the kings in Judah are always from the same line whose line David’s they’re all from the line of David even the evil Kings but God preserves the line of David in Judah we see that in our samples but it’s true for all the kings of Judah indeed they are all from David’s house they generally reigned longer than the Kings of Israel some of the Kings did evil in the sight of the Lord some of them did good in the sight of the Lord and those that did good brought blessing to the people and forestalled God’s judgment but the evil of the evil Kings and the evil of the people of Judah as a whole was so great that it finally cus caus God to allow Judah to also be removed from the land this was accomplished by the Babylonian Empire probably first around 605 607 BC but by uh 587 586 BC you have Jerusalem destroyed considering all of these Kings now Judah and Israel let’s ask some interpretive questions next SL next slide please see if we can form some conclusions based on what we’ve observed hit the first question please which people in the text are shown as having a significant spiritual influence on the king I don’t mean specific people but which relations which types of people yeah D fathers right fathers and forefathers they have an influence Ro spouses yeah this was particularly true with Ahab but we also saw with Jehoshaphat what or who else not mentioned specifically but we know that prophets and religious teachers within the land they would have an influence too I think I heard something else any I’m I’m not sure I heard a couple people mumbling but certainly religious leaders within the kingdom parents mother and father cuz remember even mea had to be removed because she set up an ashim and the text is very diligent to tell us so and so was the mother of this King so we knowe that the mother has an influence too and even if not related to the previous King the legacy of a previous King especially the first king that has a big influence spouses are big influence and to some extent we could say the people have some influence that when rabam wanted to rebel against the Lord the people of Israel or the people of Judah were right there with him so he probably felt like he could do that certainly true right particularly in Judah uh not mentioned in the text that we looked at but a priest at the high priest particular will have a strong uh influence on the king and uh there are certain kings that will follow after the Lord long as as long as that high priest is alive and as soon as he dies they start to turn away so we recognize there are various influences um on the Kings you going to say something else Roy that’s a really good point Roy foreign Kings and foreign kingdoms could be an influence not only because they’re trying to secure alliances Jehoshaphat was an example that we even saw but sometimes they they um just want to get in his good graces one of the Kings of Israel I think maybe some people from Assyria were visiting and or maybe he visited their Kingdom and he’s like wow they have this really great altar I want to you know bring that back into into into our kingdom I can’t remember if it was the king of Israel or king of Judah but certainly other kingdoms had an influence in the kings of other kingdoms next question how do the people of Israel and Judah react to evil and idolatrous Kings when they have an evil King what do the people do they go right along with them they’re like okay you’re going to be evil well I guess we’ll be evil too how did they react to the righteous Kings it’s not quite the same it’s not like well if you’re going to be righteous we’re going to be righteous it’s more like okay well if you’re going to take away our Idols I guess that’s okay I mean notice how many times in the text talks about how the the good Kings of Judah they’re taking away the idols of the people it’s like they had set up these Idols they take the bronze serpent or they take this Idol and they set it up and the Kings have to take them away from the people so thinking about that how would you say the people are bent what is their spiritual bent is it towards good is it towards evil or is it neutral it is towards evil and so when an evil King arrives they’re like all right we’ll go into evil but when a good King arrives it’s more like all right is yeah exactly right this is a teaching from throughout the scriptures right man is naturally bent towards evil and with Israel is just like that they don’t have a circumcised heart so they are bent towards evil too uh next question God sends many prophets to both Israel and Judah exhorting the people and the Kings to return to the Lord and to escape judgment but both kingdoms are eventually taken into Exile so in somewhat similarity to our previous question what does this show us about the people of Israel and Judah if they have to be taken into Exile they are hard-hearted they are stubborn people they are an uncircumcised and heart people they are an evil people and they have to experience God’s judgment and chastening but the fact that he sends all these prophets and then he gives Israel so much time and he gives Judah so much time to return to him what else or what does this show us about God’s character he is merciful we see both his Holiness and his Mercy his Justice and his kindness I have to judge your evil I’m a good God I cannot let evil go unpunished however please return embrace the good way again have my blessing trust me return to me God is constantly making those appeals and giving Judah and Israel time to repent giving So Many Kings he says I’m wiping out the person before you in Israel now you follow after me I’ve appointed you but then they don’t we see God’s patience we see God’s kindness we see his Holiness and these interactions with the Kings of Israel and Judah one other question all of these Kings even the good ones are not perfect and they could not make a righteous kingdom last forever now for an Israelite thinking about the Old Testament covenants the davidic Covenant abrahamic Covenant Etc what does this mean God was going to provide in the future if no king of Israel in Judah could bring about an eternally righteous Kingdom what must happen if God keeps his promises Joe that’s right A King is yet to come even though the kingdoms were abolished there must be a coming King who’s going to really fulfill the promises that were given in these covenants in the Old Testament of course we know that’s the Messiah and that’s Jesus and that’s his first and second coming questions or comments before we look at some application questions yes John yeah good question Joe so these people who are judged by God and they were persistent in their evil in both Israel and Judah what was their Eternal Destiny well from the teaching of the New Testament and teaching the Old Testament if you don’t follow after God if you’re not truly righteous then you’re cursed both now and forever these people they’re suffering in hell and certainly that’s not true for every Israelite I’m sure there were righteous Israelites in the north and there were righteous Israelites in the South even when they had evil Kings but as Paul says in the New Testament not all Israel are of Israel there are many Jews back then and in Paul’s own time that were not true God followers he says and they don’t have a portion in God’s kingdom they’re not going to inherit the kingdom of Messiah they’re not going to be with the Lord in heaven yeah J I think that is the conclusion that we have to make that to to repeat your question Joe what about the Israelites in the future then if they’re going to have circumcised Hearts what will be their Destiny well I think that’s the whole point is that because they actually follow after the Lord have those circumcised hearts are truly righteous because God has done the work in them then they’re going to be with God forever they’re going to enter into messiah’s Kingdom they’re going to be um they’re going to be with God eternally and that’s what we’re seeing or what we will see happen to Israel is really another version of what God did with Abraham you remember may remember we were talking about the Covenant of Abraham how it’s an unconditional Covenant God says you I’m the only one who walks through in this Covenant ceremony you’re not walking through with me Abraham and yet God can say to Abraham at various points because you’ve obeyed me you’re going to be blessed in this way because you’ve obeyed me your descendants will be like the stars of Heaven Etc they say was it conditional or was it unconditional well it’s both it’s that God was going to make the conditions be fulfilled and so it is going to be with Israel Israel have these various promises and they weren’t totally fulfilled but that’s but they will be fulfilled because God will make Israel into a people that follows after him and we haven’t seen that yet so that’s why I say that’s something that’s going to happen in the future one other question Roy yeah yeah um you’re referring to Jeremiah where God says similar thing he says I’m going to put my spirit in you I’m going to cause you to to follow after me I’m going to make you my people a people that follows after me now we should understand that with these Old Testament prophecies there are some things about what God is going to do that are not revealed and that’s why I think there’s a lot of surprises in the New Testament among the Jews among the disciples they say we didn’t know this aspect of God’s plan or God’s interaction with Israel or God’s Kingdom so we need to understand that but God does have a program that he is um foretelling and bringing to pass as we move to the Old Testament we’re um basically only have one minute left so I’ll just show you the application questions you can go to the next slide and yeah just list all of those there certainly what we see happening in this book is relevant for us we shouldn’t say oh those Israelites they’re a bunch of you know hard-hearted people and I’m not like them well in a sense if you belong to Christ you have a circumcised heart and so you’re not like the majority of Israel in Judah but 1 Corinthians 10 tells us to him who thinks he stands let him take heed that he does not fall and the context of that statement is the rebellion of Israel in the Old Testament it says you can do the same thing you are weak and vulnerable in your flesh just like they were you need to take heed you need to make sure that you follow after God and are not LED away into stumbling and partly one of the ways we do that is by thinking about the kinds of leaders and authorities that we are under today we have we don’t have Kings and our even our political leaders are not religious leaders like they were in Israel’s time but we need to be aware that the influence of various kinds of leaders not just the political and National level but also your boss um the church leaders or religious leaders you put yourself under the celebrities that you follow or the the teachers that you expose yourself to or just the teachers that are in the world um you need to be aware of their influence you need to especially where you cannot remove yourself from your influence you need to um resolve to stand up against that influence like when your boss says oh this is just the way the business Works you’ve got to do it this way and they’re telling you to compromise you have to be ready and say I’m ready to sacrifice this job if that what it means so that I am not simply succumbing to this evil influence I was going to say something else um oh yeah and one of the most important things that we must do in order to counteract the influence of evil leaders and authorities today is expose oursel to the one true Authority right which is the word of God you’re going to be easily LED astray if you’re not exposing yourself regularly to the word of God if you don’t study it you don’t understand it you don’t hear it taught if you’re not talking about it with people you’ve got to be directed by God’s Authority as the Kings of Israel and Judah Were Meant to they were supposed to meditate on the law of God and pay attention to it and be careful to it and so we ought to as well or we’re going to be led astray we’ll say oh that sounds like a good idea or that seems righteous or that sounds biblical even though we don’t even know what the Bible says so we need to be aware of authorities and influence today well next week hit the last slide please we go to the northern kingdom we talk about specifically how was God appealing for the people to turn back how did he warn them we’re going to focus on the prophet emus let’s pray as we close father thank you for this word pray that you blessed the rest of this service today I pray God that you cause us to walk after you that you’d be merciful to us that You Deliver Us from Evil and that we would identify the evil influence and authorities and respond appropriately to them in Jesus name amen