A history of the world - 1 Kings 15-16

So, what is happening in the world?

Is Britain leaving or staying?

Are we going to get another referendum?

Will Russia engage in war with the rest of Europe as they provoke Ukraine?

And what about Iran?

Will they become a world power as they develop their nuclear weapons?

And what about the wars in Yemen and Syria?

It seems that the conflicts there are getting worse, not better.

Or what about the thousands of people that are waiting on the Mexican-US border?

Or the tens of thousands around the world without homes?

Or the 10,000 homeless people in this country?

Turn on any news program and you will not be short on opinion or solution.

What in the world is happening?

Well, 1 Kings chapter 15 to 16 show us what is happening in the world.

1 Kings 15 · chapter mention

These two chapters cover roughly 60 years and introduce us to no less than eight different kings.

But this is no chronicle of events.

This is history from God's perspective.

What we see here is not isolated to the past.

Rather, it is a picture that speaks about the present.

1 Kings 15 to 16 shows us what is going on in the world.

Three things we see that are going on in the world from our text this morning.

First, we see that the world is in dark decline.

Sociologists will tell us that we are brighter, faster, stronger than at any other point in history.

But that's not how God sees it.

After Solomon died, as we were looking at in the last couple of weeks, the great kingdom divided into two.

We had Jeroboam, who was the king of Israel in the north, and Rehoboam, the king in the south, which was Judah.

Their relationship is summarized in chapter 14, verse 30.

Have a look at chapter 14, verse 30.

There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.

And that seems to set the tone for what's to come.

Another eight kings follow.

And if you just look at the headings, just to get an idea of where we're going,

we've got two kings in Judah.

Abijah, king of Judah, chapter 15.

Next heading down, we've got Asa, king of Judah.

And then we've got six consecutive kings in Israel.

All the way through from Nabab, all the way to Ahab at the end of chapter 16.

And it's a history that spirals into dark decline.

Abijah, the first king that we meet in chapter 15,

is king for three war-torn years.

Nadab, the first king of Israel, well, he only lasts two years,

having been knocked off by internal rivalry.

Elah, which we meet in chapter 16,

he seems to spend most of his time getting drunk,

and lasts only two years, disposed by a military coup.

And after him, we meet Zimri.

He only manages seven days.

And rather be overthrown, he decides to set himself on fire.

It's hardly peaceful or stable.

Instead of things getting better,

they appear to be getting worse.

Look at how it is summarised for us at the end.

Chapter 16, verse 25.

But Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord,

and sinned more than all those before him.

And if that was bad enough,

just have a look down at verse 30.

The next king.

Ahab, son of Omri, did more evil in the eyes of the Lord

than any of those before him.

Verse 33.

Ahab also made an Asherah pole

and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord,

the God of Israel,

than did all the kings of Israel before him.

You see, the pattern of man is not onwards and upwards,

but backwards and downwards.

The world is in dark decline.

You see, we can take great pride in our achievements.

If you've been watching the news,

we can now send robots to planet Mars,

225 million kilometres away.

Driverless cars are no longer the stuff of science fiction.

We've conducted organ transplants

and limb replacements.

In the past 100 years,

the average life expectancy of the world

has gone from 31 to 71.

We've developed electricity,

skyscrapers,

we have the internet.

We are better educated and more sophisticated

than ever before in all of history.

But let's think again.

In Yemen,

130 children die every day

due to the ongoing war.

Of the 28 population,

28 million population of that country,

3.5 million have had to flee their homes.

Just try and get that into your head.

In Syria,

almost 500,000 have died

or are presumed dead

due to the genocide that is taking place there.

Over half the population,

that is 11 million people,

have been displaced from their own homes.

Today,

40.3 million live in various forms of slavery,

bonded labour,

sex trafficking,

forced marriages,

children as young as eight.

2.3 billion

of the world's population

have no access to basic sanitation,

which results in 5.5 million children

under the age of five

every year

dying from preventable disease.

The world is in dark decline.

Rather than getting better,

we are getting worse.

How did it get to be like this?

It seems that we follow on this same pattern.

We just do more and more evil

in the eyes of the Lord.

Well, we're given two reasons

as to why this dark decline.

First,

worthless idols.

Go back to chapter 14.

The problem

stems

from the worship

of idols.

So, in chapter 14,

verse 9,

Abijah,

the prophet,

is speaking to

Jeroboam,

who is king of Israel,

and he says to him,

verse 9,

you have done more evil

than all who lived

before you.

You have made for yourself

other gods,

idols made of metal.

You have aroused my anger

and turned your back on me.

Idols are God's substitutes.

We remove God

and we replace God

with our own gods.

In other words,

as it says at the end of verse 14,

you've turned your back on me.

The God who made us,

the God who loves us,

who's designed us,

and has put this universe together,

has been pushed out.

We decide what is best

and what is right for us.

In our ignorance,

we think we can run our lives

in the world without God.

But look at how the author

describes our God replacements.

Chapter 16,

the end of verse 13,

they're described as

worthless idols.

idols.

Idols.

Idols.

The gods that we replace

the true God with

are empty

and powerless.

Worthless.

despite all of these kings

coming to power

and their kingship

over great nations,

well, what happens?

All the kings died

and they're just replaced

by another king.

All that they managed to gain,

all their conquering of lands

and of great wealth

that they put together,

all get stripped away

and it's all passed on

to somebody else.

In fact,

with each king,

the kingdom they leave

is in a worse state

than which they received it.

You see,

replacing God

will never ever

make the world

a better place.

It only leads

to dark

decline.

But there's another reason

apart from

worthless idols

and that is

this futile legacy.

Jeroboam's legacy

was clear.

It did not end well.

He started

this whole pattern

of setting up

other gods.

But it doesn't seem

to stop

his successors.

So look at

chapter 15

verse 25.

Nadab,

son of Jeroboam,

became king of Israel

in the second year

of Asa,

king of Judah

and he reigned

over Israel

for two years.

What was he like?

Well,

he did evil

in the eyes

of the Lord.

Following the ways

of his father

and committing

the same sin

his father

had caused

Israel to commit.

Would things

get better?

Well,

look at verse 34.

Here we're

introduced to

Basha.

the next king.

And he did evil

in the eyes

of the Lord

following the ways

of Jeroboam

who committed

the same sin

Jeroboam had

caused Israel

to commit.

And we can read on

chapter 16

verse 19.

Here we have

Zimri.

Zimri.

And he committed

evil.

Doing evil

in the eyes

of the Lord

and following

the ways

of Jeroboam

and committing

the same sin

Jeroboam had

caused Israel

to commit.

And if we

haven't quite

put it together,

look at Ahab

at the end

of chapter 16

verse 31.

He not only

considered it

trivial to

commit the sins

of Jeroboam

son of Nebat,

but he also

married Jezebel,

daughter of

Ethbaal,

king of the

Sidonians,

and he began

to serve

Baal

and worship

him.

Not only

is it sad,

it is so,

so tragic.

They could

not see

the tragedy

of the sin

of their

fathers and

they just

followed blindly

down the same

tragic path.

And isn't

that what we

just see

happening in

our world

today?

Generation

after generation

walking down

the same path.

Doing what

their fathers

have done.

Removing

God and

replacing God

with our own

laws and our

own desires.

As a

society,

we've moved

on from God.

We've been

there,

we've done

that,

and we are

not going

back.

After all,

we know

what's best,

don't we?

We know

how to make

the world

good and

beautiful.

We have

wonderful things

like abortion

and euthanasia

and drone

missiles

bombing at

will.

What a

good and

beautiful world

we have

made.

be careful

of worthless

idols,

their futile

legacy.

It leaves

the world

broken

and destroyed.

so as we

look at

1 Kings

15 and

16,

we see

what is

happening

in the

world.

There's a

dark

decline,

but we

also see

that there

is a

sovereign

Lord.

The author

carefully

recounts

history for

us.

We're just

taking kind

of some

big themes

out of

these chapters,

so we're

going backwards

and forwards,

keep with

me.

So chapter

15,

verse 1,

in the

18th year

of the

reign of

Jeroboam,

son of

Nebat,

Abijah

became king

of Judah.

Verse 8,

and Abijah

rested with

his ancestors

and was

buried in

the city

of David

and Asa,

his son,

succeeded

him as

king.

Verse 9,

in the

twentieth

year of

Jeroboam,

king of

Israel,

Asa

became king

of Judah.

Verse 24,

then Asa

rested with

his ancestors

and he

was buried

with them

in the

city of

his father

David.

Chapter

16,

verse 8,

In the

twenty-sixth

year of

Asa,

king of

Judah,

Elah,

son of

Basha,

became king

of Israel

and he

reigned in

Tirzah

for two

years.

Verse 14,

As for the

other events

of Elah's

reign and

all he

did,

are they

not written

in the

books of

the annals

of the

kings of

Israel?

I think

we get the

pattern here,

don't we?

Kings come

and kings

go.

They live

and they

die.

But their

rise and

their fall

are all

overseen

by the

sovereign

Lord.

First

ruling

word.

While kings

plot and

plan,

God

rules.

Look at

what God

says to

Jeroboam

through the

prophet

Ahijah

back in

chapter 14.

God has

seen,

God has

watched as

Jeroboam

has done

his own

thing.

He has

seen the

evil he

has done

by making

up these

God

replacements

and God

has something

to say to

him.

Verse 14,

chapter 14,

The Lord

will raise

up for

himself a

king over

Israel who

will cut

off the

family of

Jeroboam.

Even now

this is

beginning to

happen.

verse 16,

And he

will give

Israel up

because of

the sins

of Jeroboam

has committed

and has

caused

Israel to

commit.

So God

has said

Jeroboam

and his

whole family

are going

to be

wiped out.

Now look

at chapter

15,

verse 28.

Here we

see the

rise of

another

king,

Basha,

who killed

Nadab

in the

third year

of Asa,

king of

Judah,

and Basha

succeeded him

as king.

And what

did he do

when he

became king?

As soon

as he

began to

reign,

he killed

Jeroboam's

whole family.

He did

not leave

Jeroboam

anyone that

breathed,

but destroyed

them all.

Why?

According

to the

word of

the Lord

given

through his

servant

Ahijah,

the

Shalonite.

God's

word

is

ruling.

Now,

just because

Basha moves

in and

destroys

Jeroboam,

that doesn't

mean to

say that

Basha is

now off

the hook.

Have a

look at

chapter 16,

verse 7.

Moreover,

the word

of the

Lord came

through the

prophet Jehu,

son of

Hanani,

to Basha

and his

house,

because of

all the

evil he

had done

in the

eyes of

the

Lord,

arousing

his anger

by the

things he

did,

becoming

like the

house of

Jeroboam,

and also

because he

destroyed it.

Verse 11,

another king

comes to

power,

and as

soon as

he began

to reign,

this is

Zimri,

as soon as

he began

to reign

and was

seated on

the throne,

he killed

off Basha's

whole family.

He did

not spare

a single

male,

whether

relative or

friend,

Zimri

destroyed the

whole family

of Basha.

Why?

In

accordance

with the

word of

the Lord,

God had

spoken against

Basha through

the prophet

Jehu.

Kings may

reign,

but they

are always

under the

sovereign rule

of God's

word.

In fact,

what God

says will

always come

to pass.

Have a look

at chapter

16,

verse 34.

In

Ahab's

time,

heel of

Bethel

rebuilt

Jericho.

Now,

we'll

remember

Jericho

from the

past,

about 400

years before

these events

that we're

reading in

1 Kings.

God's

people came

out of

slavery and

into the

promised land.

The first

city they

came up

against was

Jericho,

a pagan

city,

which they

destroyed.

And God

said very,

very clearly,

we can see

it on the

screen,

God spoke

through

Jeremiah at

that time,

he said,

at that time

Joshua pronounced

this solemn

oath,

cursed before

the Lord

is the one

who undertakes

to rebuild

this city,

Jericho.

At the cost

of his

firstborn son,

he will lay

its foundations.

At the cost

of his

youngest,

he will set

up its

gates.

Now read

the rest

of verse

34.

Let's read

it again.

In Ahab's

time,

Heel of

Bethel

rebuilt

Jericho.

He laid

its foundations

at the cost

of his

firstborn son,

Abiram,

and he set

up its gates

at the cost

of his

youngest son,

Segub.

Why?

It's in

accordance with

the word

of the

Lord spoken

by Joshua,

son of

Nun.

Centuries

may have

passed,

but when

God speaks

his word,

it is always

active and it

is always

powerful,

and it will

always accomplish

what he has

set out to

do.

God rules

over the

nations

and over the

kings of this

world

by his

word.

God

and isn't

this the

same God

that rules

by his

sovereign

word today?

Remember

what God

said to

the prophet

Isaiah?

You can

follow on

the screen.

He,

that's God,

sits enthroned

above the

circle of

the earth

and its

people are

like

grasshoppers.

He brings

princes to

naught,

reduces the

rulers of

this world

to nothing.

No sooner

are they

planted,

no sooner

are they

sown,

no sooner

do they

take root

in the

ground,

then he

blows in

them and

they wither

and the

whirlwind

sweeps

them away

like

chaff.

Every

leader,

every

president,

every

Taoiseach

is in

the hands

of God.

No one

gets to

be ruler

without

God's

say-so.

And when

they fall

away,

it is

simply

at

God's

command.

Now that

of course

raises all

kinds of

questions for

us.

If God

is sovereign,

then why

does he

let Syria's

president

Bashar

al-Assad

carry on

the genocide

like he

is?

Or why

does God

allow America

to sell

arms to

the Saudis

so that

they can

go and

bomb the

life out

of Yemen?

Well,

these things

may concern

us,

and rightly

so,

but as we

think about

these hard

questions,

let us

not forget

there is

only one

sovereign

king and

one sovereign

lord who

holds every

nation and

every leader

to account,

who can

use their

evil ways

to accomplish

his purposes.

Everyone

is accountable.

Everyone

will be

responsible

to God.

The world

may look

like it's

in freefall

descending

into dark

decline,

but let

us be

sure of

this,

God is

in supreme

control of

all things

and all

people.

So,

we see

that the

world

is in

dark

decline,

we see

that there

is a

sovereign

lord,

and in

the midst

of it

all,

there is

greater

grace.

It all

appears very

depressing,

but not

all is

doom and

gloom,

because in

the midst

of darkness

and decline

shines the

glorious

light of

God's

grace.

grace.

Our

sovereign

God,

by his

powerful

word,

is working

his purposes

out through

history for

our good

and for

his glory.

Remember,

history is

God's

story.

This is

God's world

that we

live in.

Let's see

this grace

first,

faithful God.

Go back

again to

chapter 15.

Abijah,

Solomon's

grandson,

has come

to power

in Judah,

and we're

told what

he is like

in verse

3.

He

committed

all the

sins his

father had

done before

him.

His heart

was not

fully devoted

to the

Lord his

God as

the heart

of David

his

forefather

had been.

It's

just part

of the

dark

decline,

isn't

it?

Here's

another

hopeless

failing

king,

another

futile

legacy,

and the

expectation

is,

well,

what's

God

going to

do

with

this

king?

Just

write

them

off,

have

them

destroyed?

Well,

you could

do worse,

I guess,

but that's

not what

happens.

Look at

verse 4.

Nevertheless,

for David's

sake,

the Lord

his God

gave him

a lamp

in Jerusalem

by raising

up a

son to

succeed him

and making

Jerusalem

strong.

God

says he

will not

write them

off because

or for

David's

sake.

God

had promised

David in

the years

before that

there would

always be a

king on

David's

throne,

a faithful

king who

would bring

blessing,

a righteous

king who

would rule.

So why

doesn't God

write Judah

off and

condemn it

to history?

Because of

God's

faithful

promise.

That's what's

holding the

whole story

of one

king together.

God's

faithfulness.

Everyone that

we meet

fails

spectacularly,

yet in it

all is

God's

persistent

faithfulness,

ruling

history by

his powerful

word and

fulfilling

his promise.

It seems

there is

nothing and

no one that

can derail

what God

is setting

out to

do.

So greater

grace is

seen in

God's

faithfulness.

Second,

the shining

light.

Because this

promise of

God's

faithfulness,

his promise

to preserve,

is like a

shining light

through the

darkness of

history.

Look at

verse 4

again.

God said

he would

give a

lamp in

Jerusalem.

There would

be a

succession of

kings, and

even though

they are bad

and terrible

and evil

in many of

their ways,

we are

reminded that

each king

that comes

along the

way is

just a

light, a

flicker of

God's

promise that

it will

never be

extinguished.

He will

always have

a king, and

from that

king would

become God's

king.

We even

get a glimpse

of that if

you look down

at verse 11.

That light

begins to

flicker a

little bit

brighter.

Verse 11,

Asa did

what was

right in

the eyes

of the

Lord as

his father

David had

done.

out of

all these

kings, one

king, out

of all these

other kings,

only one

who does

right, God

showing his

persistence that

yes, he will

raise up a

king who will

do what is

right and

what is

good.

But we only

need to read

on and discover

that Asa was

not all that he

ought to be.

so we have

a shining

light of

God's

faithfulness

through the

darkness

giving us

a glimpse

of what is

to come.

And third,

our glorious

hope because

in the course

of time

that flickering

lamp that

God had

promised

would become

the light

of the

world.

Remember

how John

introduces us

to Jesus?

the true

light that

gives light

to everyone

was coming

into the

world.

Here is

this promised

light, the

one that God

said would

come, that he

persisted through

all the failures

down through the

history of the

world.

Amidst the

darkness, that

glimmer, that

light begins to

shine and

becomes as

brightest as

Jesus Christ

enters the

world.

You see, when

the light of

Christ shines

into our

lives and

when the

lamp of his

truth cuts

into the

darkness of

our hearts, we

begin to see

how worthless

our idols

are.

We see how

futile life

is without

God.

And as we

turn to

Jesus, so

the light

banishes the

darkness of

decline, giving

us a new

way to

live.

Turn with

me, please,

to Colossians

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

Colossians

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

Remember what

we read at the

very beginning

this morning?

here we see

what God's

true king

would do.

Colossians 1

Colossians 1:12

verse 12,

joyfully, or

giving joyful

thanks to the

father who has

qualified you

to share in

the inheritance

of his holy

people in the

kingdom of

light.

for he has

rescued us

from the

dominion of

darkness

and brought

us into the

kingdom of

the son he

loves, in

whom we have

redemption, the

forgiveness of

sins.

Here is God's

king who brings

glorious hope,

taking people

from this dark

decline of

emptiness and

nothingness and

a root that

just ends in

judgment and

separation from

God brings

us into the

kingdom of

his son.

What amazing

redemption, what

glorious hope

there is.

But you know

what?

This light, this

lamp doesn't

stop with Jesus

Christ.

Go back with

me to Matthew's

gospel, chapter

5.

Matthew chapter

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

5.

5.

Because as we

come to

Jesus, as we

submit to the

true king, as

we bow

before him,

then we in

turn become the

light to the

world.

Matthew chapter 5 verse 14.

Matthew 5:14

Jesus says,

You are the light of the world.

A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before others,

that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

The church, God's holy people,

who have come to the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ,

are transformed.

The darkness is banished.

Instead, the church is to be a shining, glorious beacon of hope

to a world that is shattered and broken.

That is what we are as we go out into the world,

as collectively as we live, as God's people.

Shining lights.

Beacons of hope.

Amidst this darkness of decline.

Showing people the true Saviour.

The true King.

Who is in control of this world.

And who longs that all people would turn to Him.

So let your light shine before others,

that they may see your good deeds

and glorify your Father in heaven.

Let's pray.

Father, we look out upon your world,

and we do see the brokenness all around us.

The tragedy, the sadness, and all the pain.

And your heart is broken.

You grieve at what you see.

And yet in Christ,

shines the glorious hope

for us

and for this world.

We thank you that in Jesus,

we have been brought into an eternal kingdom.

The kingdom of His Son.

And we pray that we would be people

who shine forth your light.

And that together,

you would use us collectively

as your people here in Karigaline.

And as we are scattered throughout this week,

that we would be a light shining for you.

Pointing people to the hope,

the glorious hope,

that there is to be found in King Jesus.

Help us, we pray.

Be merciful and use us.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, let's sing in response

and encourage one another as we sing

What Grace Is My...