A Dangerous Intermingling

We have been as a church walking through in our study of scripture, the book of second Kings. So if you've got a journal with you, we have scripture journals available in the back.

We'd love you to have one if you're new. If you've got a Bible that works to the whole book, the whole books open up to second Kings. We're going to be reading in chapter eight and we're actually going to finish the chapter today.

Second Kings chapter eight. And I'll begin reading for us in verse 16. We'll go through the end. And today's going to be a little different because we're going to spend a fair amount of time.

I'll have some scriptures on the on the screen behind me. A fair amount of time looking over at the parallel account in the book of second Chronicles.

So some of you might want to put a finger in second Chronicles chapter 20, 19, 20, 21. Or you can just read on the screen. But there's going to be some overlapping material and some other details that help us put together some of what we're seeing here.

2 Chronicles 20 · chapter mention

Excuse me. Seeing here in second Kings chapter eight. So follow along with me as I read for us.

In the fifth year of Joram, the son of Ahab, king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign.

He was 32 years old when he became king and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done for the daughter of Ahab was his wife.

And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah for the sake of David, his servant, since he promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.

In his days, Edom revolted against from the house of Judah and set up a king of their own. Then Joram passed over to Zair with his chariots and rose by night.

And he and his chariot commanders struck the Edomites who had surrounded him. But his army fled home. So Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day.

Then Libna revolted at the same time. Now the rest of the acts of Joram and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

So Joram slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Ahaziah, his son, reigned in his place. In the twelfth year of Joram, the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign.

Ahaziah was 22 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah. She was a granddaughter of Omri, king of Israel.

He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was son-in-law to the house of Ahab.

He went with Joram, the son of Ahab, to make war against Hazael, king of Syria, at Ramoth-Gilead. And the Syrians wounded Joram. And king Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him at Ramah, where he fought against Hazael, king of Syria.

And Ahaziah, the son of Joram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram, the son of Ahab, in Jezreel, because he was sick. Let's pray that the Lord helps us figure out all these names.

Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, in all seriousness, we come today ready to hear what we can learn from your word. So Lord, quiet our hearts, quicken our minds, and Lord, lead us today in what you want us to hear from you.

And it's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Amen. So, it has been 12 years. Mark it 12 years since a very ominous prophecy came from Elijah against the house of Ahab.

So let me just give you a reminder of what that prophecy was. This is 1 Kings chapter 21, verses 21 and 22. This is what the Lord through Elijah said.

1 Kings 21:21

Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up and will cut off from Ahab every male bond or free in Israel. And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat.

And yet, oddly enough, in response to the Lord's word, what happened right after this was given to Ahab is he had a rare moment of humility and actually repented, at least momentarily.

He put on sackcloth and showed the Lord enough remorse and repentance that what it did is it postponed, it didn't cancel, it postponed the judgment on Ahab one full generation.

Well, that generation is now here. His son Jehoram in Israel is that generation. And as we have been seeing, this generation is just as wicked, if not more, than the house of Ahab or Ahab himself had been.

But in case you didn't notice, this morning these four paragraphs that we read in the ESV are not about the northern kingdom of Israel. No, we're reading about southern Judah.

For the first time in over eight chapters, first time in this book of 2 Kings, our focus has now moved south to Judah, the kingdom of Judah.

And maybe we should ask ourselves, why? Why does our narrator choose to oddly insert these four paragraphs about Judah when he's going to turn right around after this and go back to the northern kingdom and continue with their story?

Well, there is a reason. And in the verses you just heard, you might have noticed the reason. Did you notice how many times we mentioned the name Ahab?

Ahab, son of Ahab, daughter of Ahab, house of Ahab, Ahab, Ahab, Ahab. It occurs nine different times in just 14 verses. And that's the connection.

I want you to understand, that's the reason why our narrator is spotlighting the southern kingdom of Judah here. It's because the influence of house Ahab has crept southward.

Like it or not, for better or for worse, and it's for worse, these two kingdoms are intermingling. The house of David in the south, remember David is the line of kings in Judah, has gotten itself now mixed up and mixed in with the house of Ahab in the north.

And that is only going to spell trouble for Judah, which is what we are seeing. Because the influence of Ahab's house, the sickness of Ahab's house, is spreading and is infecting this southern kingdom to totally corrupt it.

So it starts out in verse 16, take a look. We're told that it's during the fifth year of Joram, the king whom up to this point we've been calling by his full name Jehoram, that we now are introduced to another Jehoram, a second Jehoram who comes to the throne in Judah.

Isn't that convenient? Isn't that nice? And complicated, right? We've got two Jehorams who incidentally both like to go by their nickname, their shorter name, Joram.

So just to kind of keep it straight, we've got a Joram Jehoram 1.0 up north. And now we've got a Joram Jehoram 2.0 in the south. And I'll let you in a little secret, they're brothers-in-law.

Isn't that nice? I knew a family like this growing up. The name was Don. There was dad, Don. Son, Don. There was a daughter, Don, D-A-W-N. And she went and married a guy named Don.

True story. So here it's Joram Jehoram. And as our new king Joram comes to the throne, he's only 32 years old. And we're told he reigns about eight years in the capital city of Jerusalem.

And this is because his father, a man named Jehoshaphat of Judah, we might have heard of him before, he's now gone. And so it's out with the old, in with the new.

And we mean this in more ways than one. Because with Jehoshaphat gone, there is going to be a major shift within this family. And it's not a good one.

If we remember a little bit about Jehoshaphat back in 1 Kings, he was actually a pretty good king for the most part. Aside from maybe one or two, and especially one big colossal mistake.

And it was big. It's something that we learn about, again, over in the book of 2 Chronicles. So check this out from 2 Chronicles 18, verse 1.

2 Chronicles 18:1

We read that Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor, and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab. Oof. Stop right there. Marriage alliance.

What this means is that King Jehoshaphat has set up an arranged marriage for his son Joram with the daughter of Ahab, whose name is Athaliah.

And Athaliah, suffice it to say, if you know anything about her, she is definitely a daughter of Ahab in every way. In every bad way. She's taken, she is what you might call the perfect diabolical combination of her father.

And remember who her mother is. Jezebel. Ahab. Jezebel. This is the woman that King Jehoshaphat has decided would be good for his son. Ahab and Jezebel's girl.

This is the alliance. The marriage alliance for political purposes, right? That he has decided would be good for his son and good for his kingdom.

He's taken the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel and put her in line to be the queen of Judah. And she will one day be just that.

Well, if we think this is a bad move for Jehoshaphat, and it is. We're not the only ones. In fact, again, in 2 Chronicles, we're told that a certain prophet is about to show up.

A prophet named Hanani, he shows up and he goes to King Jehoshaphat and he blasts the king for what he's done. Here it is. 2 Chronicles chapter 19, verse 2.

2 Chronicles 19:2

He says it like this. Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? The prophet goes on to rebuke King Jehoshaphat for doing this.

And then to a large degree, after this point, at least for the rest of his reign, it appears that the rebuke worked. And our king turned a very good corner for the good.

This is Jehoshaphat. What he did is he went on, and we read about it in Chronicles. He proceeded to make very good reforms throughout Judah.

Spiritual reforms. Civil reforms. He appointed godly judges. He elevated the priests and Levites to important positions of authority in the land.

And basically brought the people of Judah back to the Lord. In fact, by the time a great horde of an enemy coalition showed up outside the gates of Jerusalem, in 2 Chronicles chapter 20, we find Jehoshaphat not going to some calf god, not going to Baal.

2 Chronicles 20 · chapter mention

He goes to the true God. And he prays a prayer. He prays a Solomon-like prayer. In fact, he even echoes some of the very same language of his great-great-great-grandfather Solomon when he prayed the temple dedication prayer back in 1 Kings 8.

And it turns out to be a powerful moment that showed real spiritual zeal for the Lord. And that zeal was immediately tested because here's the answer God gave him to his prayer.

This is what he was told to do. The Lord told him, I want you to go out to meet the enemy, march out, and I want you to have leading you your worship team.

Seriously. Worship team. Not your special forces, Jehoshaphat. Don't lead with your chariots. Take your singers and lead with them. And they did.

They literally sang their way into battle. And then you know what happened? The Lord made this enemy coalition of several different people groups turn on each other.

And they all killed each other. And the Lord, just like that, gave victory to Israel. Well, that was Jehoshaphat. Joram's father. And although the two did overlap for a few brief years, maybe five or six years, where they reigned together,

once Jehoshaphat dies, again, like we said, out with the old, in with the new, and he's going to do things his own way. And you know what he does first?

Joram? No doubt on the advice of his new wife, Athaliah. Here's his first move with regard to his brothers. 2 Chronicles chapter 21, verse 2.

2 Chronicles 21:2

He had brothers. The sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, Shephetiah. All these were the sons of Jehoshaphat, the king of Israel.

Their father gave them great gifts of silver, gold, and valuable possessions, together with fortified cities in Judah. But he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.

So far, so good, right? Everybody's happy. Everybody's getting nice gifts from dad, right? All the brothers are going to get along real well.

Wrong. Next verse, verse 4. 2 Chronicles 21, 4. I can imagine there being a little wife in his ear who's saying,

Okay, husband, now that your dad is dead, you can go kill off all your brothers and eliminate any other possible claimants to the throne. This is actually a common practice in the ancient world called regicide, where you kill off all the rival claimants to the throne.

And maybe even go a little beyond that. He's killing some extra princes, just to be sure. And we know that this was Athaliah's advice. It was her idea.

Because she is advising him. Not to mention, if you know her story, she's going to do precisely the same thing with her own family a little later.

Well, that, as they say, that's how it started, right? And now we wonder, well, maybe, maybe, how's it going? Well, verse 18 tells us how it's going.

Verse 18 says that, And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done. For the daughter of Ahab, Athaliah, was his wife.

And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. The way of the kings of Israel, the way of the house of Ahab, is a way of calf worship. Worshipping those despicable idols that the original northern king, King Jeroboam, had set up.

But he's also now branching out. It appears that Jehoram down south, Jehoram, same guy, he's going to add another idolatrous option for his people.

Now, because my wife has brought it in, now you can worship Baal too. So take your pick of what idol you want to worship. Directly mentioning Ahab's daughter tells us that she is the influence.

Our narrator wants us to understand that she is literally what you might call patient zero. Patient zero carrying the disease, infecting the south.

She and this ill-fated marriage have completely infected Judah with varieties of worship of idols. In fact, we'll learn just a few chapters from now in chapter 11 of 2 Kings that Joram is even going to buckle to the point

that he allows his wife to construct a Baal temple. Not just up in Israel, but now down in the kingdom of Judah. They too will have a Baal temple.

Yes, Judah in the south is now looking very much like her big sister Israel in the north. Again, more perspective from the chronicler. 2 Chronicles 21, verse 11.

2 Chronicles 21:11

Moreover, he made high places in the hill country of Judah and led the inhabitants of Jerusalem into whoredom and made Judah go astray. Let me tell you, there's one thing in Scripture that you don't want to do and that's not just be disobedient yourself, but encourage and lead other people in your life,

other people under your influence to do bad things, to go wayward. And this is exactly what Joram has done. So that it now makes two kings, two brothers-in-law, both currently named Joram Jehoram, who not only share the same name

and the same family by marriage, they also share the same love for idolatry. Judah's Joram, spiritually speaking, is now basically indistinguishable from Israel's Joram.

So if you can't keep them straight, that's okay, because they're basically the same person now. Ahab's house has completely overrun both kingdoms.

And again, that's why, as we learn over in the Chronicles account, at the very end of his time on earth, there's a certain prophet who, before he dies, he doesn't die, before he's taken to heaven, it's Elijah, he actually sends a letter, did you know that?

To King Joram of Judah. Again, over in 2 Chronicles chapter 21, we find this letter, and it wasn't really a very nice letter. You wouldn't think it would be.

2 Chronicles 21 · chapter mention

Here's what the letter said. Here's how he started out. A letter came to him, 2 Chronicles 21, 12, and a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, thus says the Lord, the God of David, your father, because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat, your father, or in the ways of Asa, your grandfather,

king of Judah, but, have walked in the ways of the king of Israel, and have enticed Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, into whoredom, as the house of Ahab, led Israel into whoredom, and also, you have killed your brothers, of your father's house, who were better than you.

I'm sure he really liked that part, right? Hearing Elijah tell him, that all his brothers that he killed, were better than him. But what our king heard next, would have been even more disturbing.

He goes on in verse 14, 2 Chronicles 21, 14, Behold, because you've done all of that, the Lord will bring a great plague, on your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions, and you yourself, will have a severe sickness, with a disease of your bowels,

until your bowels come out, because of the disease, day by day. Oh, that sounds awful. Joram's sin, has infected this nation, and so everybody's going to suffer plague, because of it, but for Joram himself, his own body,

would be completely destroyed, by this plague, as a punishment, from the Lord.

And yet, that's what Chronicles tells us about, but here in Kings, the consequences we read about, in Kings here, it appears that Judah, has more than just plague, to worry about, because we read in verse 20, we go on to hear, that Judah, is now losing territory, they're losing control,

first up is the, vassal kingdom of Edom, they revolt, Joram, clearly doesn't like that, doesn't want that, and so he intends, to do something about it, and so he, the scene painted for us, in verse 21, is actually, kind of embarrassing, they say the Hebrew, is a little rocky, but let me try,

to reconstruct what happens, it appears that, Joram and his men, lead a sneak attack, at night, only we learn, that the Edomites, end up ambushing them, and surrounding them, we imagine, they're encamped at night, they think they're going to, pull the surprise on Edom, and Edom, pulls the reverse on them,

the way the verse reads, it sounds like, Joram, and his charioteers, do manage, barely, to break through, the enemy lines, so that the army, can get away, but after that, the army, they're all like, we're done, that's enough of that, and they all go home, not exactly,

the mighty Israelites, of old, are they, and with Edom, seeing success, with their revolt, we're now told, that this border city, of Libna, they want to do, the same thing, and they do, Libna was supposed, to be a major, fortress town, in the south, that sat along, the Philistine border, it was one of,

Judah's best defenses, and now, they're gone too, another, deep gash, into the security, of this now, very vulnerable, southern kingdom, and we're not, the only ones, who notice, how vulnerable, they are, because again, this is not, recounted in second, kings, but it is, in second chronicles,

apparently, Edom is the first blow, and then Libna's, the second blow, and somehow, these Arabian invaders, get word, of how weak, Jerusalem, and Judah are, and they decide, to invade, the city of Jerusalem, itself, and they are successful, they get, in fact, all the way, inside Jerusalem, to the king's palace,

and the chronicler, tells us, that they carry off, the entire, royal of family, of King Joram, they take all his wives, all his sons, leaving only, the youngest one, behind, Ahaziah, and if all that, weren't bad enough, to be bereft, of most of your family, to be humiliated,

on the battlefield, humiliated, in your own palace, then, Elijah's prophecy, comes true, second chronicles, chapter 21, verses 18, to 19, and after all this, the Lord struck him, in his bowels, with an incurable disease, in the course of time,

2 Chronicles 21:18

at the end of two years, his bowels came out, because of the disease, and he died, in great agony, as we have seen, over and over, the Lord, is true, to his word, but what's interesting,

and sad, is what we see, the reaction, of the kingdom to be, as we go on, in the next, well the second half, of verse 19, and we see that the kingdom, isn't really very bothered, that their king has died, second chronicles, 21, 19, his people made no fire, in his honor, like the fires made, for his fathers,

he was 32 years old, when he began to reign, he reigned eight years, in Jerusalem, and he departed, get this, he departed, with no one's regret, they buried him, in the city of David, but not in the tombs, of the kings, departed, with no one's regret, nobody was sorry, he was gone,

and yet, although, although, his line, is almost wiped out, it's not, we remember, he's got that youngest son, and this is probably, as good of a time, to back up a verse or two, to verse 19,

and see this, note of mercy, in verse 19, what does it say, verse 19, yet, the Lord, was not willing, to destroy Judah, for the sake of David, his servant, since he promised, to give a lamp, to him, and to his sons, forever, in other words, God said, I am not going to have,

the line of David, extinguish, and believe it or not, through this son, Ahaziah, he's the link,

however bad it may get, and it's going to get, even worse down here, in Judah, the promise, to keep the Davidic line alive, to keep the lamp burning, still stands, and thus, verse 25, in the twelfth year, of Joram, the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah,

the son of Jehoram, ascends to the throne, sadly, things aren't any better, with him, for our new, 22 year old king, his reign, is going to be, very very short, just one year, which scholars think, is actually, probably a few months, and that's because, he's no different,

than his father, and he's still, under the influence, of the same wicked woman, his mother, queen Athaliah, daughter of Ahab, he's described, as a son-in-law, to the house of Ahab, but don't get confused, what the Hebrew, really means, is that he is, maternally related,

on his mother's side, to the family of Ahab, and I can tell you, he bears a strong, resemblance, to his mother, and her family, and I don't mean physically, maybe he did, but I am sure, he did morally, and spiritually, because he is apparently, taking all his cues,

from his mom, verse 27, tells us, that he also, walked in the way, of the house of Ahab, and did what was evil, in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Ahab, had done, and 2nd Chronicles, chapter 22, adds this little part, 2nd Chronicles 22, verse 3, he also walked, in the ways,

of the house of Ahab, for his mother, was his counselor, in doing wickedly, he did what was evil, in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Ahab, had done, for after the death, of his father, they were his counselors, to his undoing, they, as in,

house of Ahab, were his counselors, you say, well who else is there, besides his mother, who's left, good old uncle, Joram of Israel, that's who, Athaliah's brother, I have that, little tree, little chart up there, does that help, his mother,

her brother, his uncle, apparently, they are directing, young king, Ahaziah, so, when uncle Joram, calls up, and says, hey I got an idea, let's go to war, with Syria, you know that border city, of Ramoth Gilead, we'd really like it back, so let's go fight, king Hazael, and I want you to come with me,

bring your army too, and then your wicked mother, is just egging you on, oh yeah, do what uncle J says, I guess you go, I guess it never dawns, on anybody, that Ahaziah's own, grandfather, Jehoshaphat, and uncle Joram's, own father Ahab, once tried the very same thing,

1st Kings 22, they teamed up, do we remember that, and tried to take back, this very same city, of Ramoth Gilead, but if you go back, to 1st Kings chapter 22, it spelled doom back then, they were not successful, somebody was mortally wounded, and guess what's going to happen, again right now,

but who's paying attention, to history, when you've got the counsel, of a wicked mom, and a good old, bad uncle, Joram, telling you what to do, bad counsel, leading to yes, another doomed team up, because the outcome, is very similar,

we read in verse 28, of how the battle, does not go well, and at the end of verse 28, it tells us, that the Syrians, wounded Joram, so that uncle Joram, has to be rushed home, to his winter capital, to the fortress city, of Jezreel, where he can rest, and recover,

only he's not going to stay, recovered, for very long, for as nephew, Ahaziah, now heads up, to Jezreel, for a visit, to go see his uncle Joram, the son of Ahab, in Jezreel, we're going to find, that grandma Jezreel,

is alive, not only is she still alive, she's also in town too, so that means, we have two kings, an uncle and a nephew, along with one, very very wicked grandma, now all in the same city,

all at the exact same time, conveniently, in the exact same location, talk about, not coincidence, providence, and we might remember, this location, from 1 Kings 21, it was the scene, of a crime, some years back,

can't you just picture, everyone in the palace, relaxing, in the beautiful palace, of Jezreel, looking out next door, to that beautiful vineyard, that somehow, would be Joram's father, Ahab, acquired, by murder, this would be Naboth's vineyard,

that's where they are, I like the way, that scholar Peter Lightheart, captures this closing scene, when he describes it like this, and this is a quote from him, everyone gathers, in one place, like the characters, in the concluding chapter, of an Agatha Christie novel,

so that when the bomb drops, it will have maximum effect, and that bomb is coming, and his name, is Jehu, remember that name, because you're going to hear, a lot about him next week,

yes, next week, we're going to introduce, what we would call, a wrecking ball of a man, this man named Jehu, we don't want to look past, what we have here today though, do we, in these two, brief accounts, of these two, very bad kings, in Judah,

this morning, let me suggest to you, that there are several things, that should grab, our attention here, because I think we are seeing, some realities, on display, and in the time that remains, I would like to draw, your attention, to three of these, realities, three realities, that speak very loudly,

and very clearly, from our account, the first two, could be described, as dangers, or warnings, and the third one, offers much more hope, so let's get started, reality number one, is this, faithfulness, in one generation,

can quickly give way, to waywardness, in the next, faithfulness, in one generation, can quickly, give way, to waywardness, in the next,

have you been struck, by the contrast here, in the opening verses, between, what we know about, Jehoshaphat, and his son, Joram, father, and son, like father, like son, no, not with these two, this son, is unfortunately,

nothing like his father, he's much more, like his, mother's side, or I should say, his wife's side, he's much more, like his, father-in-law, Ahab, than his father, Jehoshaphat, much more, like his new wife, Athaliah,

much more, like his current, brother-in-law, the other, Jehoram, Joram 1.0, for a king, like Jehoshaphat, who does all those, good reforms, recorded in 2nd, Chronicles, appointing the right, kinds of leaders, in the land, putting the right, kinds of people, with good character, godly character, to judge, over the land,

like he does, leading the people, of Judah, back to the Lord, like he does, to a son, who now, completely reverses course, doesn't he? Murdering his own family, to secure the throne, walking in the ways, of the house of Ahab, allowing your new wife,

to construct the temple, to Baal, leading the nation astray, into whoredom, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, young adults, and teenagers, take heed, faithfulness, in one generation, maybe that generation,

before you, can all too quickly, all too quickly, give way, to waywardness, in the next, it doesn't take long, I have known, and maybe you have known, or maybe you currently know, of families, who are living, a lot of heartache,

as they watch, something like this, play out, do not assume, take advantage, of the opportunities, you have, the time that you have, no, you cannot make decisions, for other people, but if you have influence, use your influence, if you pray, and you should pray,

pray for them, lead, encourage, don't give up, it's not too late, for anyone, so long as they're still, with us on this earth, I mean even for Ahab, there was that, moment of repentance, I sometimes wonder, what kind of a parent, Jehoshaphat was,

looking at this, this contrast, did you make some mistakes, Jehoshaphat, I'm sure he did, I mean we know about the big one, the marriage, but no parent is perfect, are they, King David was a great man, but a terrible parent, this is a pretty,

pretty major shift, with his son, and it does make us, wonder how it happened, and that leads us, to our next reality, the second one, number two, reality number two, sin, is infectious, and compounding, sin, is infectious, and compounding,

and we intermingle, with it to our detriment, we intermingle, with it, to our detriment, it matters, who your kids, close friends are, it matters, it matters,

who's influencing, your children, who's educating them, it matters, who, teens, who you hang out with, who your closest friends are, it matters, young people, single people, who you date,

it really matters, who you marry, and the kind of family, someone marries into, just look at these kings of Judah, and what tempted, ask ourselves, what tempted, dad Jehoshaphat, to set up his son, Joram, with Athaliah, daughter of Ahab,

what tempted him to do that, it was a marriage alliance, a beneficial arrangement, to gain something, he would gain influence, he would gain partnership, a security, he probably could justify, all the ways, that this was helpful,

to the kingdom of Judah, we'll have the security, of the neighbor to the north, I mean we're only two tribes, there are ten tribes, we'll have a lot more, security, from the threats, emerging in the world, you'll also have influence, you get in with good, getting good with important people, you move up in the world,

I mean my son's royalty, but now he's like double royalty, because we're merging the families, do you know people, and I mean other people of course, not any of us, do you know people, who are tempted, to get connected in this life, to gain influence,

to get popularity, to gain prestige, or a higher social standing, or maybe higher socioeconomic standing, we must be careful, and carefully guard, against these kinds of temptations, because if there is a sinful influence,

that comes with it, remember sin is infectious, and compounding, if there is a godlessness, a lack of living faith, in this person, sin is infectious, and that has a tendency, to progress and get worse,

notice that when Joram, married Athaliah, daughter of Ahab, it wasn't Joram's good influence, that changed Athaliah, was it? It was the other way around, by literally marrying into Ahab's house, and bringing this new wife, into his palace in Jerusalem,

what he did, is he brought the infection, what one scholar describes, as an Ahabian virus, into Judah, don't bring a virus, into your own life, through a close partnership, through a close friendship,

a close relationship, and especially not, through an unequally yoked marriage, this is why, in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul says, what he does, in 2 Corinthians 6, verse 14, he says this, do not be unequally yoked, with unbelievers, for what partnership,

2 Corinthians 6:14

has righteousness, with lawlessness, or what fellowship, has light, with darkness, so teenagers, young people, not so young, single people, you never know, right, if you're not married, and if marriage,

if marriage, should happen to be, in your future, please understand, that next to following Jesus, there is no more important decision, in your life, than who you will marry, be equally yoked, with another believer, whatever God, God calls you to do, in your life,

also make sure, that you match up there too, do you want to marry someone, that has, no calling, like you have, if God, gives you a calling, and you're supposed to devote, your life to something, and you marry someone, who doesn't share that, that's going to, either mean, you're unfaithful, to your calling, or you're,

going to have a really difficult marriage, think about approaches, to family, approaches to parenting, this is why we talk about these things, in premarital counseling, we should probably have, pre, premarital counseling, so that we get these things out, before you get engaged,

match up well, with someone who, shares similar, biblical values, and priorities, because money, is just money, fame, is fleeting, so is beauty, performance, doesn't last,

people forget, but a foundation, of faith, will remain, and you can pass, that on, and guess what everyone, not just young people, not just single people, here's the good news, the good news, is that we are not, left, to work at these things,

in our own strength, it's not, all left, to you and me, and thank the Lord, it's not, because today, we're reminded of this, third reality, and we'll close with this, reality number three, even in the darkest moments, the Lord, mercifully, still keeps a lamp,

burning for his people, even in the darkest moments, the Lord, mercifully, still keeps a lamp, burning for his people, that's what David, was referred to originally, he was the lamp, of Israel, King David,

the king, after God's own heart, and choosing, and God made a promise, to him in 2 Samuel 7, a promise, that was much, much bigger than David, and his ability, to be a good man, or a good king, which he failed, both, in both capacities,

but he had a promise, for a future, a promise, for a line, that would never burn out, a lamp of descendants, into which one day, a very special son, of David, would be born,

these decorations, these trees, around me, are here today, to proclaim this, the birth of this son, our lamp, Jesus Christ, the son of David, our promised Messiah, and if, verse 19, here in 2 Kings 8,

if verse 19, is true, and it's in the Bible, so it must be, if verse 19, is true here, that the Lord, was not willing, to destroy his people, even when he probably, should have, for the sake, of his servant, David, if it's true, that he promised, to give him, a lamp,

a lamp to him, and his sons forever, and you can capitalize, that lamp, if you want to, in your Bible, that lamp, has now come, we call him, also the light, of the world, and the lamb, of God, and he's been offered, for us,

and that spells, a whole lot of hope, for otherwise, hopeless people, like you and me, because this lamp, who is also our lamb, was perfect, and spotless, and without sin, and he was sent, and given for us,

to be our sacrifice, to pay our price, in our place, to be our substitute, and then to be raised again, in power, and in new life, promises for what, those who come, and receive him, and submit to him, and repent, receive themselves,

so I want you, to remember this, in those dark moments, I want you, to remember this, when you do slip up, and make bad decisions, I want you, to rejoice, in what you've been given, in what's been mercifully, kept for you, in Jesus,

and if you're praying, for someone, if there is someone, on your heart, as a burden, who is still lost, in darkness today, I want you to hear, that the lamp, of the Lord, means that, if they're still with us, if they're still, in this world, there is still opportunity,

the Lord judges, yes, and we're about to see, a whole lot of judgment, in this kingdom, come chapter nine, but the Lord, is ever so merciful too, not because of us, but because of him,

let me ask, if you'd stand with us, stand with me, and let's pray, as the team comes, to lead us, in a final song, gracious, and merciful God, heavenly Father, that we could, even call you, Father, is only because, of the lamp, that you have given, to us Lord,

that lamp, that you kept, burning through generations, until, it was fulfilled Lord, ultimately, the greatest son, of David, your very own son, son of God, came in the flesh, living, living the perfect life, that we could not live, taking all the steps, that your people, had stumbled,

and trying to take, and walking, a perfect life, successfully, and then going, to the cross, taking upon himself, our shame, our sin, Lord, receiving the just punishment, that we should receive, we are so thankful, we are so grateful,

and Lord, yet as we think about, not only our own mistakes, but Lord, the lives of those around us, Lord, I pray for people, who are far, from your grace right now, the people we care about, and love, who are not walking, and following in your ways, I pray Father, that you would graciously, draw them to yourself,

and I pray for your people, that they would, they would come to you, continually with prayers, like the persistent widow, and that they would, also look for opportunities, to encourage, to speak words, Lord, in ways that will do good, that will bring, Lord, light into their lives,

Father, as we have entered, into a season, where we see many family, many friends, many gatherings, I pray for your grace, that we would recognize moments, and that we would seek you, Lord, and for those of us, that are young, that are perhaps, in a place in life, where we have many decisions, still yet ahead of us,

I pray, that some of the warnings, Lord, that we have seen here, this morning, from this moment, in Israel's history, would be very, very keenly felt, Lord, and recognized, and heeded, that we would make, wise choices, Jesus, we pray this, in the name of your son, in the name of the lamp, and the lamb of God,

in Jesus name, Amen.