1 Kings 15:33-16:7 describe the 24-year reign of Baasha king of Israel. He had deposed the dynasty of Jeroboam. The Lord said he would as a judgment on him setting up golden calves to rival the temple in Jerusalem. Baasha came along and killed his son Nadab, and then he did the same things. So Jehu son of Hanani came and said that his dynasty would end.
Elah, his son, is described from 16:8-14. He reigned only two years. His official Zimri plotted against him and assassinated him. Then he became king for 7 days. His reign is described from 16:15-20. Omri became the commander of the army and set a seige to the city of his palace. Zimri set his own palace on fire and died, and Omri became king.
In history, Omri set up northern Israel as a world power such as it became known as Omri-land. In the Bible, he only gets a blip in verses 21-28. He's more known as being the father of the most notorious evil king of Israel, Ahab.
Northern Israel was formed as a judgment on Solomon beginning to follow false gods. Then the northern kings immediately set up false images and said the people could worship the true God through them, which goes against God's commandment against setting up graven images. And each dynasty was eliminated for doing things only to be followed by another king who did the same things and only made it worse.
Meanwhile, in the southern kingdom of Judah, they had kings who followed God but also compromised with false forms of worship.
But each time, God kept his promise. In the south, he kept David's dynasty going until it became so wicked that he kept his other promise of sending them into exile. In the north, he kept his promise and send them into exile as none of the kings followed God.
And as we see leader after leader fail to correct wrongs in society such as abortion and sex trafficking, we may see the same judgments on our countries. But I sure hope that the only true King, Jesus, comes back before things get worse. He kept his promises in the BC days. He will keep his promise to us to send him back to complete his kingdom and end evil and death for all time. And if you do not come to believe and follow him, then you will be swept away in his judgment, the one we all deserve had it not been for his grace in saving the people of his Church.
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Sunday, October 6, 2019
King Nadab - true v. false worship and the irony of God's justice
In 1 Kings 15:25-32, we have the account of King Nadab of the northern kingdom of Israel. He is Jeroboam's son. Since Jeroboam apostatized from the true worship of the true God by setting up golden calves to rival the temple in Jerusalem, prophets told him that his dynasty would end.
Under his son Nadab, the dynasty did end. Baasha killed Nadab after two years and became the next king of Israel.
It's interesting that Jeroboam's son bears the same name as a son of Aaron who also was killed instantly when he offered strange fire at the altar in a way that was opposed to what Yahweh commanded. Both Nadabs prove true the classic Reformed interpretation of God's second commandment to not make graven images to try to worship him. The classic reformed view is that if a kind of worship is not commanded by God in Scripture, if it has not positive precedent in the Old or New Testaments, then it is to be forbidden.
God commanded Aaron's sons to offer sacrifices through a kind of fire. Nadab and Abihu offered a different kind of fire and were killed instantly. God does not kill other people on the spot who offer a strange kind of worship other than what God commanded, but we must beware that we are not worshiping God the way that the pagans worship their gods.
The second Nadab is the son of the man who said Israel could worship the true God through images of calves, much like Aaron did when Moses was on Sinai. God specifically commanded not to worship him through images.
But here is the irony. God used Baasha to kill Nadab and end Jeroboam's dynasty, and then Baasha did the same things. It is up to God to bring judgment by whoever he wants whenever he wants, or to have mercy and save the people from their sins. But I still can't help thinking why. Why would God use someone to punish someone else when they do the same things?
Even today, we see political divisions arguing for life when each side demeans life. Trump says that unborn lives are sacred, and I wholeheartedly agree and that's why I voted for him. At the same time, foreign families are living in cages at the border. Then again, the people that speak against having immigrants living in cages at the border are doing nothing about it. They are only wasting time trying to impeach Trump. Meanwhile, I vote knowing I can't do anything about the unborn or the immigrants. I want to find ways to protect all life from conception to natural death. And I want people to come into the country legally but not be treated as animals while they await legal process.
I can do nothing but pray and await God to sort things out in his time. And I also am a hypocrite and don't want to be. Only by the grace of God go I.
But ultimately God will bring justice to all people, and he will have mercy by bringing that justice onto Jesus instead of those he saves. He has mercy on whom he will have mercy. And both his mercy and justice make no sense at times.
Under his son Nadab, the dynasty did end. Baasha killed Nadab after two years and became the next king of Israel.
It's interesting that Jeroboam's son bears the same name as a son of Aaron who also was killed instantly when he offered strange fire at the altar in a way that was opposed to what Yahweh commanded. Both Nadabs prove true the classic Reformed interpretation of God's second commandment to not make graven images to try to worship him. The classic reformed view is that if a kind of worship is not commanded by God in Scripture, if it has not positive precedent in the Old or New Testaments, then it is to be forbidden.
God commanded Aaron's sons to offer sacrifices through a kind of fire. Nadab and Abihu offered a different kind of fire and were killed instantly. God does not kill other people on the spot who offer a strange kind of worship other than what God commanded, but we must beware that we are not worshiping God the way that the pagans worship their gods.
The second Nadab is the son of the man who said Israel could worship the true God through images of calves, much like Aaron did when Moses was on Sinai. God specifically commanded not to worship him through images.
But here is the irony. God used Baasha to kill Nadab and end Jeroboam's dynasty, and then Baasha did the same things. It is up to God to bring judgment by whoever he wants whenever he wants, or to have mercy and save the people from their sins. But I still can't help thinking why. Why would God use someone to punish someone else when they do the same things?
Even today, we see political divisions arguing for life when each side demeans life. Trump says that unborn lives are sacred, and I wholeheartedly agree and that's why I voted for him. At the same time, foreign families are living in cages at the border. Then again, the people that speak against having immigrants living in cages at the border are doing nothing about it. They are only wasting time trying to impeach Trump. Meanwhile, I vote knowing I can't do anything about the unborn or the immigrants. I want to find ways to protect all life from conception to natural death. And I want people to come into the country legally but not be treated as animals while they await legal process.
I can do nothing but pray and await God to sort things out in his time. And I also am a hypocrite and don't want to be. Only by the grace of God go I.
But ultimately God will bring justice to all people, and he will have mercy by bringing that justice onto Jesus instead of those he saves. He has mercy on whom he will have mercy. And both his mercy and justice make no sense at times.
Saturday, August 31, 2019
King Asa
1 Kings 15 starting at verse 9 tells of a righteous king of Judah named Asa. If Abijam, his father, really did repent of his ways and become Abijah, then Asa would have been influenced by that. He was the first king since Solomon to work at clearing his country of Baal and Asherah worship. He even removed his grandmother from being queen mother. He made many reforms. There's this odd story in the passage where Asa went to war against King Baasha of Israel. He took treasure from the temple, gave some to the king of Aram to betray Baasha and help defeat him, and the king of Aram did so. This shows great compromise on Asa's part.
Which should not surprise me when I read 2 Chronicles 14-16 that at this point afterward, Asa would not listen to God's prophets and when he got a serious disease in his feet, he would not trust God but only doctors. And then he died leaving Jehoshaphat as king, a good but compromised man.
What happened? Was he man that God saved from his sins but who still became more sinful in his old age through senility? Was he not truly a follower of God after all? Nobody but God can say for sure, but God still used him to clear Judah of idolatry. God can use anybody. But since Judah and Israel were once one nation, he should never have looked to help from a pagan king in his war against the north. And instead of repenting and turning from his ways when confronted by the prophet Hanani, he put him in prison.
It is like in recent days when Joshua Harris defected from the faith. God used him in many ways to get the church thinking about how best to be pure and faithful to the Lord with our bodies (though he proposed a legalistic way that doesn't really work for our culture), but then he must not have truly followed the Lord or else he wouldn't have defected. Perhaps he'll return, and perhaps God still saved Asa despite himself. Doesn't he do the same for me and you?
All the same, true followers of the Lord may backslide, but it won't be permanent, and the Holy Spirit will bring them back to the church in this life. I hope we can say the same for Asa.
Which should not surprise me when I read 2 Chronicles 14-16 that at this point afterward, Asa would not listen to God's prophets and when he got a serious disease in his feet, he would not trust God but only doctors. And then he died leaving Jehoshaphat as king, a good but compromised man.
What happened? Was he man that God saved from his sins but who still became more sinful in his old age through senility? Was he not truly a follower of God after all? Nobody but God can say for sure, but God still used him to clear Judah of idolatry. God can use anybody. But since Judah and Israel were once one nation, he should never have looked to help from a pagan king in his war against the north. And instead of repenting and turning from his ways when confronted by the prophet Hanani, he put him in prison.
It is like in recent days when Joshua Harris defected from the faith. God used him in many ways to get the church thinking about how best to be pure and faithful to the Lord with our bodies (though he proposed a legalistic way that doesn't really work for our culture), but then he must not have truly followed the Lord or else he wouldn't have defected. Perhaps he'll return, and perhaps God still saved Asa despite himself. Doesn't he do the same for me and you?
All the same, true followers of the Lord may backslide, but it won't be permanent, and the Holy Spirit will bring them back to the church in this life. I hope we can say the same for Asa.
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Abijah v. Abijam and staying accountable to true worship
1 Kings 15 introduces us to Abijah, Rehoboam's son and successor to David's throne. The NIV calls him Abijah to match his story in 2 Chronicles 13. The ESV calls him Abijam. Abijah means "my father is YHWH", and Abijam means "my father is the sea."
The 1 Kings account shows a wicked king who followed after the idolatry of his father, and the name Abijam would more reflect the pagan leanings of Rehoboam and his son. The 2 Chronicles account gives a story of a man who was attacked by Jeroboam but rebuked him and all of northern Israel for turning away from the worship of the true God and setting up golden calves and pretending to worship him. So which man do we have? Do we have Abijah who loved God's glory or do we have Abijam who fooled around with idols?
Since both accounts are in the Bible, and the Bible is all true, then both accounts are true somehow, but I'm not sure how.
Just like the Bible shows a Rehoboam who was foolish in his young days and caused the kingdom to split, but then humbled himself when a prophet told him to stop attacking the north, but then still had constant warfare with the north, the inspired Scriptures also show a much compromised Abijah. Maybe he grew up in a compromised religion where he could worship God one day but then play with the world on other days. Perhaps when he was older and could no longer take the constant warfare with Jeroboam, he came to his senses and rebuked the other king for his apostasy, much like the thief on the cross who repented and rebuked the other thief for mocking our Savior as he was dying.
In the end, I don't know completely how the two accounts jive, but they do somehow. Much like how God doesn't always make sense in my life, but I know he's good and that he loves me. One thing is true. Judah still had the worship of the true God, and Israel abandoned him but pretended that they still worshiped him. And that accountability of worshiping God on his terms kept the southern kings on David's throne no matter how much their hearts strayed. In the same way, we must stay with the God of the Scriptures who sent Jesus to die for our sins. Our hearts will naturally stray from the path, but if we have the accountability of reading the Bible every day and going to church every week, especially when we don't feel like it, the Holy Spirit will be faithful to guide us back to the right way of worship and living.
The 1 Kings account shows a wicked king who followed after the idolatry of his father, and the name Abijam would more reflect the pagan leanings of Rehoboam and his son. The 2 Chronicles account gives a story of a man who was attacked by Jeroboam but rebuked him and all of northern Israel for turning away from the worship of the true God and setting up golden calves and pretending to worship him. So which man do we have? Do we have Abijah who loved God's glory or do we have Abijam who fooled around with idols?
Since both accounts are in the Bible, and the Bible is all true, then both accounts are true somehow, but I'm not sure how.
Just like the Bible shows a Rehoboam who was foolish in his young days and caused the kingdom to split, but then humbled himself when a prophet told him to stop attacking the north, but then still had constant warfare with the north, the inspired Scriptures also show a much compromised Abijah. Maybe he grew up in a compromised religion where he could worship God one day but then play with the world on other days. Perhaps when he was older and could no longer take the constant warfare with Jeroboam, he came to his senses and rebuked the other king for his apostasy, much like the thief on the cross who repented and rebuked the other thief for mocking our Savior as he was dying.
In the end, I don't know completely how the two accounts jive, but they do somehow. Much like how God doesn't always make sense in my life, but I know he's good and that he loves me. One thing is true. Judah still had the worship of the true God, and Israel abandoned him but pretended that they still worshiped him. And that accountability of worshiping God on his terms kept the southern kings on David's throne no matter how much their hearts strayed. In the same way, we must stay with the God of the Scriptures who sent Jesus to die for our sins. Our hearts will naturally stray from the path, but if we have the accountability of reading the Bible every day and going to church every week, especially when we don't feel like it, the Holy Spirit will be faithful to guide us back to the right way of worship and living.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Rehoboam concludes: Mixed testimonies
When we are first introduced to Rehoboam, he succeeds his father Solomon to the throne and then the kingdom divides into northern Israel (Ephraim) and southern Judah. Rehoboam rules the south and tries to wage war against the north to reunite, but a prophet tells him to stop, and he does. It seems that Rehoboam humbled himself.
However, in the conclusion to his reign in 1 Kings 14, it says that he had constant war with Jeroboam. Perhaps his repentance was a false repentance, and he had to keep up with the north. Jeroboam in the north set up golden calves to compete with the temple in Jerusalem in the south. Then maybe Rehoboam decided that it would be a good idea to set up Asherah poles and sacred stones to bring them back to the south. Neither king followed the true God who set him up on their thrones. So God sent Pharaoh Shishak from Egypt who plundered the temple's treasures, and Rehoboam replaced the gold shields with bronze ones and set up guards.
However 2 Chronicles 12:12 says that the southern king did humble himself and that there were true worshipers of God in Judah. The Lord did not destroy him and kept his line going.
If God had not saved me, my heart would be just as wayward. It is anyway from time to time. I go days and years without a spot, and then I make a huge error and either I or somebody else gets the consequences to it, and I have to repent and rethink God's plan for me. But I rest on God's mercy given through Jesus's blood, and I realize I need to let him work and stop thinking. But I can't shut down my brain. I'm setting up my own versions of Asherah poles and golden calves, and I need to stop and obey the Lord.
And then, I see a nation that never truly followed God following him even less, and I have to sit with the faithful ones and call out sin where I see it, but am powerless to turn the tide of depravity all around me. Lord help us all. Send Christ soon before things get worse.
However, in the conclusion to his reign in 1 Kings 14, it says that he had constant war with Jeroboam. Perhaps his repentance was a false repentance, and he had to keep up with the north. Jeroboam in the north set up golden calves to compete with the temple in Jerusalem in the south. Then maybe Rehoboam decided that it would be a good idea to set up Asherah poles and sacred stones to bring them back to the south. Neither king followed the true God who set him up on their thrones. So God sent Pharaoh Shishak from Egypt who plundered the temple's treasures, and Rehoboam replaced the gold shields with bronze ones and set up guards.
However 2 Chronicles 12:12 says that the southern king did humble himself and that there were true worshipers of God in Judah. The Lord did not destroy him and kept his line going.
If God had not saved me, my heart would be just as wayward. It is anyway from time to time. I go days and years without a spot, and then I make a huge error and either I or somebody else gets the consequences to it, and I have to repent and rethink God's plan for me. But I rest on God's mercy given through Jesus's blood, and I realize I need to let him work and stop thinking. But I can't shut down my brain. I'm setting up my own versions of Asherah poles and golden calves, and I need to stop and obey the Lord.
And then, I see a nation that never truly followed God following him even less, and I have to sit with the faithful ones and call out sin where I see it, but am powerless to turn the tide of depravity all around me. Lord help us all. Send Christ soon before things get worse.
Thursday, August 8, 2019
Abijah and Ahijah
Chapter 14 of 1 Kings starts with Jeroboam and ends with a recap of Rehoboam. Jeroboam's son, Abijah, gets ill, and he sends his queen out in disguise to Ahijah the prophet to ask about Abijah. The king did not want the prophet who made him king to know that he had sent his wife.
But when she approached the door of Ahijah's house, he said, "Why is the king's wife in disguise?" He told her that he made Jeroboam king, but Jeroboam has done nothing but betray the Lord with his false idols and golden calves. He tells her that when she gets home, her son will die and that his dynasty will end. The passage also says that Jeroboam's son actually followed the true Lord.
When we consider Abijah and That Guy who got eaten by the lion in the previous passage, we wonder why God took them away from this earth so soon. There are no truly good people on earth except for Jesus, but there are people God redeemed from their sins who do follow him to the best of their ability although not perfectly. Why did God take the one good son of this treacherous king away so young, and why did he have That Guy killed so soon when he committed the one sin of eating with someone before he got home? Also, why did my faithful mother die of cancer at age 50 and why did the thirteen-year-old son of one of our pastors get killed in a car wreck many years ago?
It's like God has mercy on some of his faithful people by taking them home at a young age. They don't have to live to see further corruption in our society, and they are taken before they can be corrupted themselves. Although we who are still living grieve them, they are happy in the arms of Jesus and will never cry again.
Meanwhile, the wicked people live on and on, and unless God rescues them from themselves, this is the only heaven they will know. In the end, it is much better for the faithful ones who live short, but impactful lives on earth, then for the ones who live long but only waste their potential.
I will finish with Rehoboam in the next post.
But when she approached the door of Ahijah's house, he said, "Why is the king's wife in disguise?" He told her that he made Jeroboam king, but Jeroboam has done nothing but betray the Lord with his false idols and golden calves. He tells her that when she gets home, her son will die and that his dynasty will end. The passage also says that Jeroboam's son actually followed the true Lord.
When we consider Abijah and That Guy who got eaten by the lion in the previous passage, we wonder why God took them away from this earth so soon. There are no truly good people on earth except for Jesus, but there are people God redeemed from their sins who do follow him to the best of their ability although not perfectly. Why did God take the one good son of this treacherous king away so young, and why did he have That Guy killed so soon when he committed the one sin of eating with someone before he got home? Also, why did my faithful mother die of cancer at age 50 and why did the thirteen-year-old son of one of our pastors get killed in a car wreck many years ago?
It's like God has mercy on some of his faithful people by taking them home at a young age. They don't have to live to see further corruption in our society, and they are taken before they can be corrupted themselves. Although we who are still living grieve them, they are happy in the arms of Jesus and will never cry again.
Meanwhile, the wicked people live on and on, and unless God rescues them from themselves, this is the only heaven they will know. In the end, it is much better for the faithful ones who live short, but impactful lives on earth, then for the ones who live long but only waste their potential.
I will finish with Rehoboam in the next post.
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
That guy: Prophet dies doing what God wants
Here in my study of Kings, I come to the first of many disturbing stories in 1 Kings 13. Jeroboam is king of northern Israel, but he betrays the Lord by building golden calves so that people would not go south to worship in Jerusalem like the Lord wanted. A nameless prophet comes from Judah as he is sacrificing at an altar and says that one day Josiah will come smash the altar and turn it into a bathroom.
King Jeroboam tries to seize him and kill him, but That Guy calls on the Lord who shrivels Jeroboam's hand. Jeroboam apologizes and That Guy restores his hand. The king invites the prophet to dinner, but That Guy says no, he must go home a different way and not eat or drink with anyone or the Lord will kill him.
On the way back home on a different route, That Guy is stopped by an older prophet who invites him over for dinner. That Guy says no, the Lord will kill him if he stops to eat. The old jerk lies and says God told him to stop there. That Guy goes in to eat, and then the old jerk tells him that since That Guy disobeyed God, he would send a lion to kill him. That Guy leaves, and sure enough, a lion comes to kill him. The lion stands next to his body and his donkey on the road. Finally the old jerk buries him and tells northern Israel that God will indeed keep his word and destroying King Jeroboam who is still betraying God by sacrificing to false idols.
The main thing I think in reading this account is "Why God?" That Guy really thought he was doing the right thing and finally getting a break along the road back home. But I'm reminded of two things.
1) God keeps his promises. If God says That Guy will die if he eats with someone as he goes back home, then he will follow through. Nobody deserves a reprieve from the Lord, not even his most devout people. He killed That Guy right away. He killed Jeroboam later on, and even later on sent Israel into exile to Assyria. All people deserve to die for their sins right away, including me. When he sends his collectors is up to him. He caused Rachel Held Evans to die young. Rob Bell is still alive. They both deny core teachings of Scripture and face judgment if they don't repent. We must all repent and trust in Jesus to die in our place if we don't want to die for our own sins.
2) God will not say one thing and then say the exact opposite later. He will not contradict himself. If he says to not eat with someone on the way home on your journey, he will not change his mind and say, "Okay, you can eat here." I certainly don't think he commanded the old jerk to lie to That Guy. That was the old prophet's sin. He did want to test That Guy. This proves true today. If God says that any sin outside marriage between in a man and a woman is sin, he's not going to change his mind with the times. People may say he did that with the kosher laws, but he actually fulfilled those laws in Jesus. His sexual standards have not changed. His roles for men and women have not changed. Our God does not change his mind.
And because God does not change his mind, you can still believe that he saved southern Judah's kingdom and that there will always be a man on David's throne. And although Judah also got exiled to Babylon, they came back, and Jesus was born. And he died and yet is alive forevermore and always lives to intercede between his Father and us. And we need no one else.
King Jeroboam tries to seize him and kill him, but That Guy calls on the Lord who shrivels Jeroboam's hand. Jeroboam apologizes and That Guy restores his hand. The king invites the prophet to dinner, but That Guy says no, he must go home a different way and not eat or drink with anyone or the Lord will kill him.
On the way back home on a different route, That Guy is stopped by an older prophet who invites him over for dinner. That Guy says no, the Lord will kill him if he stops to eat. The old jerk lies and says God told him to stop there. That Guy goes in to eat, and then the old jerk tells him that since That Guy disobeyed God, he would send a lion to kill him. That Guy leaves, and sure enough, a lion comes to kill him. The lion stands next to his body and his donkey on the road. Finally the old jerk buries him and tells northern Israel that God will indeed keep his word and destroying King Jeroboam who is still betraying God by sacrificing to false idols.
The main thing I think in reading this account is "Why God?" That Guy really thought he was doing the right thing and finally getting a break along the road back home. But I'm reminded of two things.
1) God keeps his promises. If God says That Guy will die if he eats with someone as he goes back home, then he will follow through. Nobody deserves a reprieve from the Lord, not even his most devout people. He killed That Guy right away. He killed Jeroboam later on, and even later on sent Israel into exile to Assyria. All people deserve to die for their sins right away, including me. When he sends his collectors is up to him. He caused Rachel Held Evans to die young. Rob Bell is still alive. They both deny core teachings of Scripture and face judgment if they don't repent. We must all repent and trust in Jesus to die in our place if we don't want to die for our own sins.
2) God will not say one thing and then say the exact opposite later. He will not contradict himself. If he says to not eat with someone on the way home on your journey, he will not change his mind and say, "Okay, you can eat here." I certainly don't think he commanded the old jerk to lie to That Guy. That was the old prophet's sin. He did want to test That Guy. This proves true today. If God says that any sin outside marriage between in a man and a woman is sin, he's not going to change his mind with the times. People may say he did that with the kosher laws, but he actually fulfilled those laws in Jesus. His sexual standards have not changed. His roles for men and women have not changed. Our God does not change his mind.
And because God does not change his mind, you can still believe that he saved southern Judah's kingdom and that there will always be a man on David's throne. And although Judah also got exiled to Babylon, they came back, and Jesus was born. And he died and yet is alive forevermore and always lives to intercede between his Father and us. And we need no one else.
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