1 Kings 14 (Part 1) Bible Study (Prophecy Against Jeroboam/His Death) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

First, Kings chapter 14. I was wrestling over this

chapter today and I'll tell you the main reason why.

I was wrestling over this chapter because I was trying to

determine whether or not we should complete it in one

sitting or we should divide it in two parts.

And I have concluded that we will divide it in two parts.

We could do it in one shot, but I would feel that we would do a

great disservice to this text and that we would have to force

ourselves to ignore certain verses that deserve much

attention. And So what we are facing with

in this chapter is very simple. We are looking at the record of

the final moments of two kings. The first king, the king of

Israel Jeroboam, and his final moments leading up to his death,

and then the king of the southern Kingdom, the king of

Judah Rehoboam. And So what we're going tonight

is do tonight is just look at Jeroboam carefully and see what

the spirit of God has preserved for us in the final moments, the

final glimpse of what we are to know about him before.

He will not be revisited again, at least in an active way.

His name will appear many times throughout kings because

unfortunately, he will be recognized as the worst example

of a king for the nation of Israel.

In the same way, David is used over and over again as the

exemplary king Jeroboam will be. The face will be the name,

measured against those who have not risen up to the standard

that God desired for them. So before we before we begin,

let's pray and ask the Lord to help us with these verses.

Father, it is with our greatest desire and longing that you

would help us by the Spirit of God to understand your mind and

your heart behind this passage. And we ask, Lord, that we would

be renewed in our joy and our affections for you and our

strength to serve you. Lord, inspire us afresh.

We We beg you, Lord, that the Holy Spirit's presence and power

would be recognized in this Bible study.

But whether this place is full or half full or barely full, we

long for your presence to dominate our midst.

And so we desperately yearn for you to captivate us and help us.

Lord, see you above everything else and hear you above anybody

else. We need you, Lord.

Desperately our hearts cry out for your nearness, and we pray

that that would be recognized tonight.

And so, Lord, we pray for your grace and mercy and wisdom to

cloak this pulpit. And we asked, Lord, that our

eyes would see Jesus more clearer than we did before we

entered in Win our hearts, Lord, to You win.

Our hearts are fresh to you, Lord.

And may not this Bible study be done in the power of the flesh

or in the cleverness of the mind.

But through the assistance of the Spirit of God, who's been

granted to us as a gift, we ask these things in Jesus name.

Amen. First, Kings chapter 14.

Let's read the first few verses. At that time Abijah the son of

Jeroboam fell sick and Jeroboam said to his wife.

Arise and disguise yourself that it not be known that you are the

wife of Jeroboam and go to Shiloh.

Behold, Ahijah, the Prophet is there who said of me that I

should be king. Over this people, take with you

10 loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him.

He will tell you what shall happen to the child.

We have been studying Jeroboam for a few weeks, and one of the

things that we notice about Jeroboam is that though he was

walking further and further away from God, God in his mercy

sought His attention, pursued him aggressively, whether that

be through messages or through miracles.

The Lord was relentless and trying to rescue Jeroboam from

destroying himself and destroying the people that were

under His leadership. And we get the impression from

the first verse of this chapter that there's something else,

almost a final attempt to get Jeroboam's attention.

And it was not going to be through Jeroboam directly, but

through his son Abijah. And what we read in verse one is

that at that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.

Now for it to be written at that time is telling us that we are

to connect this statement with the context that we just

finished reviewing. Something happened just before

this that is meant to link it to this news at that time.

What? What time?

We'll scroll back to chapter 13 and look here in verse 33.

After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but

made priests for the high places again from among all the people.

Any who would he had ordained to be priests of the high places.

So we remember here that Jeroboam shoot away the hand of

God through the the messages and the miracles that he performed

in his life. And he headlong went along with

doing what he was doing before hiring priests, an illegal

priesthood for his false religion.

And then we're told here in verse 34 and this thing became

sin to the House of Jeroboam, so asked to cut it off and to

destroy it from the face of the earth.

So because he was so stubborn he was so diamond hard against God

trying to win him into repentance.

We're told here in verse 34, the last verse of this chapter, that

it has been decided that the House of Jeroboam was to be cut

off and destroyed from the face of the earth.

And verse one of chapter 14 is declaring that the fulfillment

of this judgment is beginning. The House of Jeroboam now is

determined to disappear, and it's going to begin with this

boy Abidja, who fell sick. And this is what Jeroboam is

ready to do. He's ready to do something about

it. But we're reminded that this is

not the first time that someone has suffered, even someone else,

suffering as a result of one's sin, the consequences of one's

disobedience leading to the affliction of another.

This is not foreign to us. We've seen this before.

And who comes to mind? Who is a person who is also a

king, who saw other people suffering because of his

decisions and disobedience? David, David because of his

murder, David, because of his adultery with Bathsheba, saw

that baby that he had with this woman suffer a disease that

would lead to his own death. But the the response of David in

comparison to Jeroboam, who finds himself in a in a very

similar situation, it's quite striking.

What does David do once he hears the news that his boy is

actually going to perhaps die? He repents even more.

He cries out to God. He fasts.

He seeks the face of God, hoping that the Lord would extend mercy

upon this boy. And then we come to Jeroboam,

and we see that his son now is suffering.

And what will he do with the sight of his boy now, who's

showing little sign of surviving?

What is he going to do? Is his heart now going to

finally give up? Is he now going to fall on his

knees and surrender and repent, or at least inquire of God and

brokenness? No.

Instead he has his wife disguise herself to go to a true prophet,

you might think, well, this is kind of good.

He's seeking a true minister to give some guidance about what's

happening here. But why is he sending his wife?

And why is he sending his wife in disguise?

And why is he not going directly?

All these questions arise, and they're legitimate questions.

Any idea why Jeroboam is sending his wife cloaking herself to be

someone else? I'm actually asking if you have

any idea. Doesn't have to be a long

explanation. Yes, he's ashamed of what he is

doing. Any other reason perhaps?

So he probably doesn't want to deal with the prophet

confronting him like that other prophet that man have got from

Judah, right? That's another good answer.

Any other idea why? So he thinks he can trick the

prophet. How silly do you think people

attempt to fool God? They do all the time.

Do you think it looks good for this man who said behold your

gods pointing to golden calves who delivered you from Egypt,

now seeking a prophet of Yahweh for help?

It doesn't look very good, does it?

And perhaps it's a mixture of all those things that he doesn't

want to reveal his lack of faith in his own gods.

But I believe it's more than that.

I believe it's what we heard earlier, that here's Jeroboam,

who is fully aware of how far he has walked away from God, and so

he does not feel confident to approach God's messenger openly.

And so instead, aware that this prophet is old and as we're

about to discover, he has his sight that's impaired.

He would disguise his wife and have her speak on his behalf.

And Jeroboam shows us something here.

He shows us that he's not only distant from God from the

standpoint of disobedience, he is far from God from a

theological understanding as well.

This shows just how out of touch Jeroboam is with the character

and the true nature of the Lord. You know why?

Because if Jeroboam understood who God was, then he would know

that he could approach God directly and freely.

You and I have studied the word of God to know enough and be

convinced that the Lord is always ready to be approached,

that he has open arms for the One, no matter how long they've

been away from God, no matter how far they have distanced

themselves from God. That the Lord is always ready to

receive us and hear us and heal us and restore us.

Jeroboam got it all wrong. He did not perceive the true

purity and beauty and loveliness of the Lord, and so he comes up

with this scheme. But Jeroboam here is not

demonstrating the hesitation of a person who's broken because of

their sin and is unsure of the depths of God's mercy for

idolaters and deceivers. Expectedly, Jeroboam here is

acting cunningly. Jeroboam here is trying to be

smart and predictably. We can see here that Jeroboam is

a picture of people who want God to save them out of their

trouble, but not out of their sin.

Other people like that, other people who are ready to turn to

God when they're in trouble, but not ready to turn to God.

To see God heal them from their sin and bring them into

righteousness and right relationship with God all the

time, all the time go talk to the man of God.

I need some answers for this predicament.

But he's not ready to go to God and say God, I I see and I hear

you now I'm ready to give my life over to you.

And so he does now send his wife, his poor wife.

And we read what happens in verse 4.

Jeroboam's wife did. So she arose and went to Shiloh

and came to the House of Ahijah. Now Aija could not see, for his

eyes were dim because of his age.

And the Lord said to Aija, behold, the wife of Jeroboam is

coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is

sick thus and thus shall you say to her, This moves me.

So now the scene shifts over to Aija, who is this prophet that

we've seen before, who is well advanced in years?

And not only is he advanced in years, he's suffering to some

degree because of his old age. And this is moving because we

don't have to think too long to think about the disadvantages

that physical blindness can bring about someone.

But at the same time, we learn here that this man who is blind

is in a greater position than those who can see but are not

with God. The man who can't see has

greater perception than those who do see with their physical

eyes but are blinded in their hearts.

So this man here, he does not have his eyes, but you know what

he does have? He has God, and you can sense

the tender intimacy that God has.

Here, You read this, and you can see that there's almost like a

friendship going on here, where the Lord now comes to the ear of

his servant. Ah, He John.

He whispers into it, and he gives some insight of what's

about to take place before it even happens.

He gives them a heads up. And so you see this nearness.

You see here again, this companionship of the Lord, and

you see the Lord as a friend, deeply caring for his other

friend. He extends these thoughts that

would give him the grace to deal with what's about to take place

and we would be tempted to think, well, that's the

advantage of a prophet in these times, that they had access to

God's provision and protection in such a way.

And I say no, yes, he's a prophet.

Yes, he could hear God's voice in a unique manner.

But the protective care of God in this moment, the Psalmist

says it's available for a different category of people.

I think of Psalm 33 verse 18 where it says that the eye of

Psalms 33:18

the Lord is on those who fear him.

The eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope

in his steadfast love. You know what I just

experiencing that God is ultimately his eyes.

God is ultimately his ears, and through that perception that is

beyond him. There was protection in his

life. And that's extended to a

different group of people, not just a roster of prophets in the

Old Covenant. But the Psalmist says for those

who fear him, the Eye of the Lord is on them.

What does that mean? For the Eye of the Lord to be on

those who fear him? What?

We're told in Psalm 33, verse 19, that he may deliver their

Psalms 33:19

soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

You know God can do what he did here with a hijah.

He can supernaturally reveal to you the next step.

He can tell you what's going to happen to the stock Stock

market. He's going to.

He can tell you what's going to happen in this election year.

He can tell you anything. If he desires.

He can. He can supernaturally reveal it.

But if he doesn't, there's not one moment in your life where

his careful eye is not on you, if it's not going to be there,

supernaturally manifested, it is always there, providentially,

always there, guiding and leading, pivoting, reacting,

shielding. It is always in our favor.

For for who? For those who fear him.

So you don't have to wonder even for a moment, Can I know such

grace in my life? Can I know such shepherding?

As long as you walk in the fear of the Lord, you win God's eye

on your life until you meet him face to face.

The eye of the Lord is on those who fear him.

I see the eye of the Lord here for a blind man who can't see

for himself, but he's not at a disadvantage at all.

He was prepared for what was to come, because the Lord will not

allow his servants to be overcome by the evil. 1 So the

wife of Jeroboam is now coming, and the Lord says she's coming,

and she's going to inquire of you concerning her son, for he's

sick. So this is what you're going to

say. Let's read what happens.

It says here when she came, she pretended to be another woman at

the end of verse 5 But when Ahijah heard the sound of her

feet as she came in at the door, he said, come in, wife of

Jeroboam, why do you pretend to be another?

Imagine how frightening that would be, for I am charged with

unbearable news for you. So we see here that the man

knew, and then he says something in the middle of this, right,

that you can imagine how jaw-dropping this experience

might have been. Here you are thinking that

you're going to have this advantage over a man who could

not see you have these gifts that makes you seem like a

commoner, right? These loaves and this jar of

honey, and you have everything set up.

And before you even meet the man, you even open your mouth,

the Prophet knows. Come in, wife of Jeroboam.

Let's not play these games now. But he asked this piercing

question. It's a question that applies to

her, and it's a question that applies universally to all men.

Did you see it? Look here again in verse six, he

said, Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be

another? That's a good question to ask

some church people. Wouldn't you agree?

Why do you pretend to be? Why do you feel the need to

masquerade as someone else in the presence of God's people, in

this case, in the presence of God's prophet?

God can't be misled, he can't be fooled.

And the principle here deals with hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy may offer some kind of relief and advantage for a

moment, but its success is never long term.

It never works long term. It may work for a moment, it may

please you for a season. It might gain you some kind of

feat and some kind of accomplishment.

But it never, ever it. Just as the law of gravity is

established in the universe, so is the law of hypocrisy in God's

world. It can never go on without

eventually being exposed. It's a waste of time.

It's a waste of energy. And no matter how clever you

are, no matter how believable you are in God's universe,

whatever is hidden in the darkness will come to light

eventually. And Jesus is the one who defined

that law, not me. This is not me making it up by

inference. No, he says in Luke 12, verse

one and two, he warns his disciples of the leaven of the

Pharisees. What is the leaven of the

Pharisees? Hypocrisy is the leaven of the

Pharisees. He tells his disciples He's not

telling the world, he's telling his own.

He said, disciples, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.

You know what that tells me? That even followers of Jesus

Christ are tempted to pretend to be someone else.

Don't do it, he says beware, be careful.

And then he tells us why in verse two of Luke 12 nothing is

covered up that will not be revealed or hidden, that will

not be known. Why don't we go to verse 3?

Because he just elaborates on that.

Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in

the light, and what you have whispered in private room shall

be proclaimed on the housetops. It doesn't work.

It doesn't. And some disguise themselves to

be as someone else maliciously. Sometimes those people are

wolves. Sometimes those people just want

to impress others, and that's why it's not always malicious.

Sometimes it's out of insecurity.

Either way, just determine in your own heart that God

champions and he prizes authenticity.

God just wants you to be real. He just wants you to be true.

Not just before him in private, but before God's people.

Jesus was moved. Jesus praised Nathanael because

there was no guile in him. That tells me something about

the heart of Christ He loves. When people are simple, what you

see is what you get. This is who I am.

And I I want Jesus to praise my life, not just privately but

publicly. And so we have to understand

here that when we try to pretend to be another, it doesn't work

with God. It may work with others, but it

doesn't work with God, and it doesn't work with those who are

in tune with God. And so this woman tried it, and

it did not even work for a second.

Why do you pretend to be another?

And then verse 7 go tell Jeroboam.

Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, because I exalted you

from among the people, made you leader over my people Israel,

and tore the Kingdom away from the House of David and gave it

to you. And yet you have not been like

my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me

with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes.

But you have done evil above all who are before you, and have

gone and made yourself other gods and metal images, provoking

me to anger, and have cast me behind your back.

I mean, he's not even done yet. This is all in one breath.

Verse 10. Therefore, behold, I will bring

harm upon the House of Jeroboam, and I will cut off from Jeroboam

every male both bond and free in Israel, and will burn up the

House of Jeroboam as a man burns up dung until it is all gone.

I need to breathe. After that, here's what's about

to take place. The charade is now exposed, and

Jeroboam is going to give this discourse.

He's going to lay out in detail the indictment against Jeroboam

and his house. So he does in the first part,

explains why the judgment is coming, and then he explains

what the judgment is going to be.

That's what he does in the 1st 2 verses that we read.

Why? Why is Jeroboam going to

experience the wrath of God? Look again at verse 7.

Because I exalted you from among the people and made you a leader

over my people. The main reason for divine

retribution is because of God's grace being dispensed, but it

also being despised at the same time.

Jeroboam, I took you out of obscurity, Jeroboam.

I let my light of favor shine upon you when you did not

deserve it, and I pulled you up from among the thousands and the

hundreds of thousands and the millions.

And I've elevated you to this privileged place where I could

have secured your dynasty like the House of David, and you have

rejected that. And so we have to understand

here that God's grace was available and experienced by

Jeroboam. But because he did not allow

that grace to humble him and to cause him to adore him and to

stay close to him, he would not be free from guilt because of

that. And we see this in a personal

level, But let me talk about on a global level, You ready for

this? God's grace has been shown

ultimately through the person of his Son, Jesus Christ, and that

grace has been made available to all, right?

We can all, any person can approach the foot of the cross.

You will be held responsible whether you say yes to it or no

to it. And we're told in Second

Thessalonians 1/8 of what will become of those who will not

respond to the grace of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ?

What is prepared for them? We're told there that vengeance

is prepared in flaming fire for those who do not obey the gospel

of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know what Paul calls the

gospel? The gospel of the grace of God.

So on a macro level, what we learn here is true universally,

universally. When man rejects the grace of

God, that has already been expressed and demonstrated, he

will not be guiltless, he will not go free, he will be held

accountable with how he has treated God's mercy.

And that's what we see here with Jeroboam.

And the severity of his disregard for God reaching out

in this way is spelled out in a very particular way at the end

of verse nine. Look at verse 9 again.

But you have done evil above all who were before you, and have

gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking

me to anger and have cast me behind your back.

Think of that imagery. You've cast me behind your back.

So Jeroboam, while you're going on through life, my grace

crashed on the scene and instead of it bringing to your knees,

you extended your arms. Not so that you can embrace this

grace, but you placed your hands figuratively on my shoulders and

you thrust me behind you and you kept walking as though nothing

had happened. That's the picture.

We're not talking about a friend.

We're not talking about the president.

We're not talking about the most gracious St. that has ever

lived. We're talking about God being

cast behind the back of a person who drank deeply from the cup of

His grace. It's it makes you cringe to

think about it. This is what God is trying to

paint as a picture. You took me and you threw me

behind you and you just kept going your way in life.

And I can't help because David is mentioned in this context.

But think of another verse in David's life that contrast, this

language concerning compromise with faithfulness.

What's the imagery here? What's the language?

You've cast me behind your back. You know what David said about

God in Psalm 16/8. I have set the Lord always where

before me. I have set the Lord always

before me. And because he is at my right

hand I will not be shaken. What a difference.

Jeroboam took God and says you're you're behind me.

David understood God. He says please be before me,

always before me. You know what that says in Psalm

16, eight? It's a daily decision to filter

life with God in view. It's to go through life with God

as your priority, You know, unless you can find a medium, I

can't. There's no neutrality in how one

relates to God. He's either first or he's behind

you. He's either everything or he's

nothing. He's either leading or you're

leading. There's no in between here.

He's either before you or he's behind you.

We everybody has to make that choice.

And there's reward for him being before you and there's

consequence if he's behind you. Jeroboam, you've cast me behind

your back. You're not like David because

David said I've set the Lord always before me.

You know this language of casting God behind our backs,

that that idea of casting behind one's back.

Doesn't that ring a bell of another awesome truth?

Doesn't that ring a bell? Does anybody have an idea of

what I'm referring to? I know I'm being very generally

on purpose. I don't want to give it away.

Casting behind one's back. Thank you, brother.

Did you hear that? Well, if you didn't, that's OK

because I want you to see with your own eyes in Isaiah and

Isaiah 38, verse 17. This is Old Testament, by the

Isaiah 38:17

way. This is under the old coven.

That's very true in the New, in the person of Jesus Christ.

But look at what is said in Isaiah 3817 as this is directed

towards the Lord. Behold, it was for my welfare

that I had great bitterness. But in love you have delivered

my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast

all my sins behind your back. And speaking to the Lord, you

know what God's willing to do with His back concerning you.

Take every sin that you've ever committed and to put it behind

him and to never turn his head again.

And you know what some do with this God who's willing to do

that with our sins? This God of grace, of mercy, of

love, this kind of God to say you're going to go behind my

back. The God who's willing to take

all your filth, all your wrong, all your transgressions, and to

throw it behind him and to walk anew with you is the God that

millions and billions of people see and say, I don't want you to

be before me. I want you to be behind me.

And they're willing to keep their sins clung to their bosom

even unto damnation, and reject this God who's willing to take

their damnation, throw it into the sea of forgetfulness, and

embrace you into eternal life. So if you feel a righteous in

nation, good. The God who takes the sins of

humanity, cast them behind his back, is rejected by billions,

and it's cast behind their backs because they left sin more than

the Savior. And that's Jeroboam.

I endeavor by the grace of God to echo David's prayer.

I have set the Lord always before me, and may you have that

same heart cry, and now we're told of what the judgment will

be, he says in verse 10. Therefore, behold, because

you've cast me behind your back, I'm going to bring harm upon the

House of Jeroboam. I'm going to cut off from

Jeroboam every male both bond and free in Israel, and will

burn up the House of Jeroboam as a man burns up dung until it is

all gone. Can you imagine your family and

your dynasty being recognized as dung?

I'm going to take your little empire and burn it up for the

waste that it really is. This is strong language, and for

good reason. But after all that was said,

Aijah addresses the immediate concern of Jeroboam, which is

the fate of his son. So this unbearable news, listen,

it's only going to get compounded more because the

Prophet assures the mother of the sick child that your son is

going to die the moment that you step foot back into your house.

The moment you go back home is the moment your son is going to

give his final breath and live no more.

This would also be a sign that everything else that was

declared would surely come to pass.

And you know, interestingly, with all of this, you get a

fragrance of God's mercy. There's a perfume of his

gentleness. Even in this you're saying

where? Let's read here in verse 11,

anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city, the dog shall

eat. This is, this is, this is

astounding. Anyone who dies in the open

country, the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the Lord

has spoken it. Arise, Therefore go to your

house. When your feet enter the city,

the child shall die, and all Israel shall mourn for him and

bury him. For he only of Jeroboam shall

come to the grave, because in him there's found something

pleasing to the Lord. You're going to go home.

Your child's going to die. But every other male connected

to Jeroboam's name is going to die in the field, and dogs will

chew on their flesh. And if they die in the open

country, the birds will have a buffet with their body.

And if you know the law, then this sounds very familiar,

because in Deuteronomy 28 we're told there in verse 26 that to

die and have your body exposed to the elements and to be

feasted on by the beasts of the air, the beasts of the field is

the result of God's curse upon somebody.

You, you read the Old Testament and you get the impression that

this culture prized and highly valued not just your life, but

how you died and where you were buried.

It was a disgraceful thing for a Jew to die in such a manner.

It was a horrific thing. And yet with all of this, with

the dynasty of Jeroboam, having that faith, we're told about

this one son who's suffering the sickness, who's ready to pass on

from this life to the next, that he will have a proper and

honorable burial, that he'll be mourned and he will be esteemed

in his death. Why you're told exactly why in

verse 13, the last part of verse 13?

Because in him there is found something pleasing to the Lord.

God saw something in this boy. I I don't some people believe

he's an infant. I don't believe he's an infant

for this very reason. There is something in him that

God was pleased by, and we're not told explicitly what it was.

What was it that moved God's heart to extend this kind of

mercy? Perhaps he did not participate

in the false worship of these golden calves.

Perhaps his heart was inclined down.

Deep inside, he knew my dad is a false man, a false God

worshipper, a Pagan. And I know what God's law says,

and I know that the true place of worship is in Jerusalem of

the temple. And I know Yahweh is the true

and living God. We're not told what it was, but

it was enough for God to be moved to say, I'm going to honor

this young man. There's something in him that

pleases me. You know why this excites me?

Because in the midst of this blackness and all this darkness

and corruption in Jeroboam's family, in Jeroboam's Kingdom,

there is this flickering light in Abidja.

And you know what? In this day and age when you and

I are being surrounded more and more by apostasy and idolatry

and satanic worship and blatant and obvious allegiance to evil

and darkness from every front, we have the same opportunity to

offer something to the Lord as this man, young man did.

Who cares? Who cares If you grew up in a

family that hates God, you have a chance to stand out before

God. OK, who cares?

If all your friends want to be lukewarm and worldly and be

corrupt? Determine in yourself that you

will offer something from your heart to the Lord that will

please him. Who cares?

If this nation and this culture wants to abandon God and make

you pay a price for fault, you have an opportunity today to

give something to the Lord that can please him.

Don't get so overwhelmed by how many people are turning their

backs on God and on Christ. I know it should break our

hearts. I know it should cause us to

have tears streaming down our face.

Yet at the same time, you have an opportunity to shine brighter

for Christ. That's how I view it.

That's how I sense it. Lord, thank you for the

privilege that you've dispensed enough truth in my life to know

that I can serve you and honor you in this day of so much

pollution. Let my life be unto you as a

perfume, not concerned with anybody else.

They want to be spiritual skeletons.

Let them be spiritual skeletons. They want to add to the word of

God. Let them deal with that between

them and the Lord. As for me, I want to serve the

Lord. I want to pursue it.

I want my life to be marked by that theme.

He loved his God. He served his God.

He was unwavering to his God. He pleased his God.

And that's what this young man did.

Moved God. You might be thinking to

yourself, OK, that thank you for that.

That was exciting. But where do you see mercy in

this? Where's the grace in this?

Oh, that he wouldn't be eaten by dogs and by birds.

OK. I guess it's better to have a

nice formal funeral. Do you know why we would have

trouble in seeing God taking the life of a young man who had so

much life to live? Because we don't view death the

way God does. That's why to us, death is

always a heartbreaking tragedy, especially for those who had so

much to look forward to. But to God, sometimes death for

the righteous is him rescuing them from unforeseen tragedy and

calamity. So the honor is beyond just what

his funeral would look like. The honor in him bringing him

out of the world that he was in was because of what the Prophet

said would come about for the House of Jeroboam.

This would be so horrific that to witness alone would be so

overbearing and overwhelming. And instead of this young man

being numbered among the other sons and males of the House of

Jeroboam, he would exit this world early and he would be

retrieved, hopefully to be with God.

And if you think that this is a stretch, that is exactly what

the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 57, verse one and two and

Isaiah 57, one and two, in a context of judgment being

declared an invasion ready to come, the heaping idolatry now

reaching a point that it's going to be dealt with, with God's

wrath. We're told something so

interesting in those first two verses of Isaiah 57.

The righteous man perishes and no one leads it to heart.

Devout men are taken away while no one understands.

For the righteous man is taken away from calamity.

You see what's being said here? Some people don't consider and

are not moved by the fact that the righteous are taken away

from this life, either through persecution or early death or

whatever the case may be. In this context, it's more

persecution from evil men, and the Lord gives a little bit of

an insight for why sometimes that is the case.

You know, it's so funny. Last week we studied a man of

God in First Kings 13 who disobeyed the Lord to such a

degree that he would die because of it.

Remember that God's discipline would be expressed through him

being cut off from the earth. And now we come to this passage

and read of an example of another young man who had

something in him that pleased the Lord.

And according to Isaiah, there's sometimes where the righteous

are taken from the earth. Not because God disciplined

them, because it's an act of mercy that he is going to

preserve them and protect them from enduring and witnessing

calamities that would make death a greater experience in

comparison. That's what's being said here.

So we don't understand the ways of God.

Like in First Kings 13. Sometimes the Lord does

discipline his own and he takes them home early and sometimes

the Lord takes his own home because he is preserving them

from something else. In this life that would be more

horrific than death itself. We don't know the ways of God,

but we do know who God is and he gives us glimpses of his ways

from time to time to reassure us.

You know, we read this and we're reminded something about what

death is in verse 2 for the righteous.

For the righteous man is taken away from calamity.

Verse two he enters into where does it say it?

Peace. They rest in their beds who walk

in their uprightness. That's how the righteous

experience death. That's how God views death for

the righteous. And we see here that this young

man was being saved from something for God to take him in

the way that he would take him. And I think of when I was

meditating on this today, I thought of the words of Balaam

Balaam who try to curse the people of God.

His mouth was overtaken by the oracles of God and he would

pronounce blessings over Israel instead.

And you can't help but see that this man, as he's having these

visions of the people of God and even eventually of the Messiah

that would come through that people group.

He also gets a glimpse of the way of the righteous and the

Numbers 23 verse 10. He says this about not the life

Numbers 23:10

of the righteous, not the promises that they experience

when they are rightly related to God, but even of their death.

Here's what Balaam says in Numbers 2310.

Let me die the death of the righteous and let my end be like

his. So Balaam is seeing something as

he's going through these ecstatic supernatural

experiences and as a prophet he he envisions the death of the

upright and he goes, I want that.

That's how the that's how the upright get to die.

That's what death leads to. I want that.

Can you imagine? We shrink from death and

rightfully so. Got to put a desire in life for

us, for life in US. But this man says something so

strange. I want to end my life in that

way. And you know what?

Balaam desired it so badly that he expressed it in a way that it

was inscribed in Scripture. But you can't have the death of

the upright unless you live the life of the upright.

You can't die the death of the righteous and know the rewards

there, and unless you're willing to live the life of the

righteous. And you can't even begin to live

the life of the righteous unless you first embrace the

righteousness of Jesus Christ that empowers you unto

righteousness. Oh, let my death be like the

death of the upright. And it was only a wish because

he did not die. The death of the upright.

He died as a fool. He died in his apostasy and his

false worship and his Pagan ways.

You know there are a lot of people who have desires, but

it'll never be realized as long as they are there in your heart

and in your wishful thinking has to come to a point where you

say, OK, whatever it costs for me to know this, I will pay the

price. Does anybody know as we come

back to our story in First Kings 14 what the name Abijah means.

Daniel Bennett, You can't answer.

Any idea what that name means? The last part should give

something away. Yeah, There's no J, right?

In Hebrew, there's no pronunciation of the letter J.

Yeah. Jehovah is my father.

That's what this name means. I was trying to think, at what

point did Jeroboam give that name to his son?

Jehovah is my father. I'm not sure, but I hope that

Abijah actually lived up to his name.

I hope the extent of his pleasure offered to God was that

he recognized Jehovah as his father.

And if that is true, then how encouraging is it for those who,

like Abijah, did not have a father in this life, a mother in

this life, a household that they grew up in, that honored God as

such? Because although Jehovah and his

name was his father, Jeroboam was far from an example of what

it means to serve God. You know, you have a lot of

people who blame their perpetual shortcomings, the unwillingness

to completely surrender to the Lord due to their upbringing due

to the lack of example in those who were meant to lead them to

the environment that they were familiar with.

And you can make that excuse all you want, or you can make a

decision and realize that identity in Christ crushes all

of that. Because if there be any man who

is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has gone. Behold, the new has come.

Either this gospel really changes us, or we're just

singing empty words and hearing useless sermons.

If you really do come in Christ, and you have a lot of people

even out there that try to justify this theology of

generational curses, which I don't understand.

Biblically, I don't see it anywhere.

In scripture. You can see patterns being

passed down for generations. But even if that case, even that

was something that was held to, what does the blood of Christ

do? It cancels it anyway.

It cancels it anyway. We have to revisit again in our

gospel presentation, our gospel of faith, our gospel singing,

our gospel living, the power of the new birth.

He changes you. He does.

No matter where you came from, no matter how perverted and

twisted and blasphemous and evil and might have been when you're

in Him, there's true transformation.

A new future, a New Hope, a new trajectory.

No matter how it's been like for centuries.

Abijah here shows Jehovah is my father, and there was something

in him that pleased the Lord despite all the negative evil

examples around him. He was able to stand out.

So can you. So can you.

You just have to make a choice. It's called faith to believe it

for yourself, to believe it through the truth and the word

of God. That's why we're hearing these

things. Oh, if it's possible for this

guy who lived in a household that threatened people that

serve the true God, to serve the true God to some extent, then

let it be so of my life. Jehovah is my father.

Oh, I hope that that was true in a practical way in this young

man's life. It was Matthew Henry.

You said those that are good and bad times and places shine very

brightly in the eyes of God. Yeah, it's true.

So what happens? There was found something

pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the House of Jeroboam

verse 14. Moreover, the Lord will raise up

for himself a king over Israel, who shall cut off the House of

Jeroboam today. And henceforth the Lord will

strike Israel as a Reed is shaken in the water the and root

up Israel out of his good land, out of this good land that He

gave to their fathers, and scatter them beyond the

Euphrates, because they have made-up their ashram, provoking

the Lord to anger. And he will give Israel up

because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned and made Israel

to sin. So not only now is he dealing

with the household of Jeroboam, he extends the judgment to the

nation of Israel as a whole. Judgment is not just coming to

your family, Jeroboam judgment is coming to the 10 tribes of

the north. And where this is leading to is

an exile, not the Babylonian exile.

The Babylonian exile would come after this one.

This is what kind of an exile from who?

Tell me. The people group that would

exile the the tribes of the north, the Syrians.

The Syrians would come in and would remove these people, these

10 tribes from the good land. And then Judah will follow

through the Babylonian exile, taking them from their land as

well. You know what's interesting is

what we read here. In verse 16, he will give Israel

up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and

made Israel to sin. So because of Jeroboam's sin,

the nation will go into exile. Well, how does that work?

Here's the here's the truth, Here's the lesson.

When we sin, there are consequences for sure.

But when leaders sin, the shockwave is greater.

Don't strive to be a leader in in ministry.

Don't, don't, don't itch for that.

Don't fight for that. Don't push doors open because

yes, there is a great reward in that, but there is a heavy

responsibility and that's what we see here.

Jeroboam sins would lead to Israel being given up over to

the Assyrians. You know, I want to show this

truth, this, this is a truth that was mentioned in the study

of Leviticus. I'm not sure how many, how many

of us remember those lessons in Leviticus, but here is one of

them. Let's turn there.

This is not planned. But why not?

Let's go to Leviticus. I want you to see something.

Look at Leviticus 4. These are the laws for sin

offerings, and we're told of different categories of people

within Israel of what the protocol would be if they

sinned. And the first category of people

is found here in verse 3. If it is the anointed priest who

sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, then he shall offer for

the sin that he has committed A what a bull.

Remember that a bull from the herd without blemish to the Lord

for a sin offering. So if the anointed priest, that

class of ministers that was rarely shared among the people,

that was distinct and separate onto a particular group for

generations. If the anointed priests sins, it

required a bull to be sacrificed.

Then you read on and you see different things.

But look what happens here in verse 13 of the same chapter.

If the whole congregation of Israel's sins unintentionally

and The thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they

do any one of those things that by the Lord's commandments are

not to be done, and they realize their guilt when the sin which

they have committed becomes known.

The assembly shall offer a what? A bull from the herd for a sin

offering and bring it in the front of the tent of meeting.

That doesn't mean much unless you continue to read on and you

see other things. For example verse 27.

Look at verse 27. If any one of the common people

sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by

the Lord's commandments are not to be done and realizes his

guilt or the sin which he has committed is made known to him,

he shall bring for his offering. A what?

A goat, Not a bull, right? What's bigger, a bull or a goat?

A goat, a female without blemish for his sin which he has

committed. And then you read of another

category of people. We won't get into that.

You know what I find interesting?

That when the anointed priests sins, it was the same process

and the same protocol and the same sacrifice as though the

whole community sinned. When leaders sin, there are

different consequences. They're much bigger

consequences. And Jeroboam would sin and it

would cause the people to sin and eventually be LED into

exile. Now let's come back to this

final verses of his life before we finish this study for

tonight. It says here in verse 17.

Then Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and came to Tirza.

And as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died,

and all Israel buried him and mourned for him according to the

word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Ahija, the

Prophet. Now the rest of the acts of

Jeroboam, how he ward and how he reigned, behold, they are

written in the books of the Chronicles of the kings of

Israel. And the time that Jeroboam

reigned was 22 years, and he slept with his fathers.

And Nadab, his son, reigned in his place.

That's how this guy is going to be remembered forever.

That's how he's going to be remembered for the rest of human

history. And when you close this chapter,

at least this part of the chapter of his life can't help

but think, even here at this final moment, what would it look

like if he had just turned to the Lord?

If he had just stopped? And he said, OK Lord, I'm done.

I'm done running. I'm done ignoring.

I'm done rebelling. I need you.

Forgive me. You know, some of us might think

after everything, maybe that wouldn't make any difference.

Maybe that's it. Maybe he had no other choice.

He's gone so far off the deep end that he might as well have

continued in his sin. You know, there's some people

think like that about their lives.

There's some people who think I'm so torn up, I'm so scarred,

I'm such a mess, that I might as well make the most of it.

Let me eat, drink and be married for tomorrow.

I die. I've seen such hopelessness.

I've seen it. You don't see it much in the

church scene. But if you step outside of the

four walls a little bit and tell some people about Jesus who've

never heard the name Jesus or have heard it but don't even

know what the gospel is, you'd be amazed to know the tragedies

that people in your classroom have experienced in your

workplace have experienced. And when you come to the

invitation of them receiving Christ, it's almost, they can't

even fathom it because of how trash their lives have been.

And just recently had a conversation with somebody who

could not even imagine being a Christian because they could not

see themselves living up to the standard of Christianity.

And we just have to revisit what it means to embrace the gospel

of grace. There are people who believe

that, and This is why I was wrestling with this Bible study,

whether they continue into the life of Jeroboam, at least the

final moments of his life. Because when you come to

Jeroboam story, it looks just as hopeless as as Jeroboams.

But then when you look at a different part of the Bible, you

see that Rehoboam made a different decision than

Jeroboam. And it solidifies this truth

that it's never too late to look to the Lord and say please

forgive me, never too late. Even in the final moments of

your life you can turn to the Lord and it can make the

remainder of your life much sweeter than you could have

imagined. And I want to tell you tonight,

because you you might be a Bible study.

You might come every single week.

I don't know what you do after these nights.

I don't know what your life looks like.

I'm not God. But it could be that you are

equally broken and that you feel as though it can't really turn

around. The damage has been done.

The history of my own family is almost prophetic in the sense

that I know where I'm headed. And that's how people talk.

That's how people talk. Their marriage is on the brink

of divorce. And you know what they say?

I've talked to people like that. Oh, well, you know, my my cousin

got divorced. My brothers got divorced.

My sisters just divorce all of my family.

This is just something that I'm going to have to This is just

part of our history. This is part of our family line,

not in Christ. He breaks all of that.

That's the power of the gospel. He plucks you out of any

pattern, any destructive path, and He makes you a new creation.

And he can transform your future and the future that would come

through you. And that's what I want to extend

to you today. You might have come in here

broken, sinful, filthy, heavy, discouraged to the bone.

If you just turn to Christ and give him your heart, you can

leave here a different person with a different future.

It's possible, Lord, I pray, that people would believe.

It's possible, We pray, Lord, that our hearts would be

reminded that even with a heavy chapter like this, your yoke is

easy and your burden is light. Thank you, Lord, that as

Christians we get to shine before you.

We might be despised by the world.

We might be a fragrance unto death by those who love their

sin and hate the truth of the gospel, But Lord, our concern is

what you see and hear. And, Lord, we want to be greater

than what Abidja was. We want to be in greater ways a

pleasing aroma unto you. And we pray, Lord, that you

would give us the strength and the energy to live the remainder

of our days where people are worshipping things and giving

their lives and their allegiance to things that are very similar

to the foolishness of Jeroboam's golden calves.

Help us, Lord, be set apart unto you.

Help us, Lord, please you. It warms our hearts to know that

you see our our inner man, and you can recognize something that

blesses you. And Lord, we want to declare to

you that we love you. We love Your Son, the Lord Jesus

Christ. We love Your gospel.

We love your word. We love your church.

We love holiness. We love to sing to you.

We love to obey you. We love to serve you in any

capacity. Lord, we love you, Receive our

worship even now. And Lord, may it be only

stronger and stronger as you lead us from glory to glory.

This is our heart cry, O God, even studying kings, we are more

encouraged to stand out for your name's sake.

In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Amen. Well, do you believe it?

Yeah. Do you desire it?

I hope so. I know Friday nights are tough.

You worked all week, and you have to endure a guy that can't

let go of the microphone so easily.

You made it. Praise God.

Indeed. Thank you for the encouragement.

Let's stand and worship the Lord.

Together we worship a living Christ.

He hears us tonight. And listen, If you really speak

to him and give your heart to him, he will bless you tonight.

Let's do that.