Sunday Morning Service (I Kings 15:1-24)

I Kings 15:1-24

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"Loyality To The Lord"  •  3.12.17  •  Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service

Intro.

- As we enter into chapter 15, the tenures of Jeroboam and Rehoboam have come or are coming to an end. Both have been apostate, those who have not held to faith given to Israel.

- Today, we will cover two Kings of the South, the Kingdom of Judah, whose reigns are measured against the concept of "loyalty" to God.

- Our task will be to consider what the Holy Spirit means when He speaks of this concept and to allow His penetrating gaze to expose what may or may not be missing in our hearts. Verse 1.

 Text

• I Kings 15:1-3 : "In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maachah the granddaughter of Abishalom. And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David." : Jeroboam's reign in the North intersected with three Kings of Judah and their relationship was increasingly testy.

- Jeroboam fought battles against Rehoboam and Abijam until God worked against him.

- II Chronicles 13 details Abijam's march into northern territory with a force that was outnumbered two to one.

- He decries the North's legitimacy and speaks out against it's practices, not realizing that Jeroboam's forces had settled an ambush around him!

- Abijam cried out to the Lord and God struck Jeroboam, who never recovered.

- At that time in Abijam's short reign, he lead the people to rely upon the Lord and God gave the victory. Unfortunately, after that incredible victory, Abijam's reign was marked by Rehoboam's sin.

- Despite the fact that his name means "God is my Father," it is clear that Abijam didn't think it necessary to live according up to his name!

- Why did he walk after the sins of his Father? The Holy Spirit diagnoses a heart that was not loyal, perfect or complete before the Lord God! We will never walk right if our heart is not!

- When the Lord speaks of where evil comes from, he directly states that it emanates from the heart of mankind. (Matthew 15:19)

- This precisely why Solomon wrote in his earlier years that men should be diligent to keep their hearts, for from it "springs the issues of life!" (Proverbs 4:23)

- What does a disloyal heart look like? Some of the other translations provide us with color.

- Abijam's heart was not "faithful" to the Lord (NLT). It was not "wholly true." (ESV) It was not "completely devoted." (CSB) Would any of these descriptions be used of you? I pray not.

- Here we have a moment to consider what God valued more. Was it the single battle or the tenor of the heart? In a three year sample size, you might have gone with the impressive battle.

- God goes with the heart, that which is unseen before men, but is clear before Him!

- When God presents a paradigm of heart loyalty, He refers us to King David, both to show us the contrast to the current Kings and to reveal what He longed for in authority.

- A man of David's character wouldn't have been welcome in Abijam's Kingdom because of his heart for the Lord! Yet, the Lord allows the King of Judah to remain. Why? Verse 4.

• I Kings 15:4,5 : "Nevertheless for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, by setting up his son after him and by establishing Jerusalem; because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite." : God allowed the Kingdom of Judah to remain as a lamp before Him because of the faithfulness of King David.

- The Kings could easily have followed but they chose otherwise! Instead, they turned aside from everything that they were commanded to follow. Two notes for your consideration.

- First, for those who struggle with God's decision to give favor to infinitely ill deserving Kings, please keep in mind that He is doing that with you right now!

- As Christians, we are the light of the world because of our relation to the perfect King, Jesus! We are no better than these Kings were and our light is reflective of His!

- Second, understand that when speaking about human Kings and loyalty of the heart, perfection is neither expected nor required. God brings up the sole exception in David's life.

- When he orchestrated the execution of Uriah that he might cover his sin with Bathsheba, he had turned from God's command. God is neither hiding or minimizing that fact.

- The difference, as we have previously noted, is that he eventually turned back toward the Lord. He never entirely abandoned the Lord and he never turned to an idol.

- Loyalty to God is revealed in understanding that one need not remain in their sin! Most of the Kings chose to remain in their sin. Verse 6.

• I Kings 15:6-8 : "And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. So Abijam rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Asa his son reigned in his place." : Abijam's sole claim to fame is found in his singular battle against Jeroboam. Otherwise, he goes down as a King that reigned for 3 years and didn't move the needle away from idolatry!

- The warning from Abijam's life is quite simple: Beware of measuring your Christianity by major victories of the past! God won't count your past if your heart doesn't beat for Him now!

- Abijam's passing brings us to the reign of his son, King Asa. Verse 9.

• I Kings 15:9-11 : "In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king over Judah. And he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother’s name was Maachah the granddaughter of Abishalom. Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did his father David." : When you understand the level of influence that bore upon Asa's life, the next sentence provides even greater refereshment.

- Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord as did His Father David!

- He stops the trend and steps into the gap and takes action! Whatever he could do, he was going to do! This is the hidden gem that is given to those that study the Kings.

- They reveal that a single person can defy expectation and rise above circumstance. They do not have to cave to their previous influence! How much more is this true for those in Christ!?

- Paul tells the Corinthians that any person in Christ is a new creation, behold, all things are made new! (II Corinthians 5:17) "Generational curses" have no place in the pages of a Bible!

- King Asa took great strides to reverse the idolatrous trend in Judah. Of the 20 southern Kings, he is the first of four reformers to come on the scene. Verse 12.

• I Kings 15:12-15 : "And he banished the perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. Also he removed Maachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. And Asa cut down her obscene image and burned it by the Brook Kidron. But the high places were not removed. Nevertheless Asa’s heart was loyal to the Lord all his days. He also brought into the house of the Lord the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils." : His first action was public and extensive.

- He expelled the male cult prostitutes, the "sodomites" that had been welcomed into Judah. They were either suddenly deported and their practice was deemed "illegal."

- He also took the idols that darted the landscape and put them out of his and Israel's sight!

- Now, consider this: Idolatry had been a matter of cultural acceptance since the end of Solomon's reign plus the combined 25 years of Rehoboam and Abijam. We're talking a 50 year gap!

- An entire generation of people had grown up in an idolatrous environment! This had become a "normal" way of life, and one that I might suggest, would have been popular!

- Asa doesn't respond to that. He takes no thought to what has become accepted. He knows what God wanted and he brought it to pass!

- Can you imagine the courage that would take? King Asa faces an entire generation's preference and says, "Not on my watch!"

- Do you have that kind of courage in your sphere of influence? A loyal hearted Christian will have to say, "It might happen there at that person's house, but it won't happen here in mine!"

- You must be able to hear Judah's justification. "Oh, but every one is doing it! This is all we've ever known!" Asa didn't listen and made sure that they were educated in the way of the Lord!

- II Chronicles 14:4 states that he didn't merely take away the false idols, but commanded Judah to seek God and observe His law!

- For those in such a place of authority, it's never enough to simply stop a behavior. It must be clear that you are turning from something to another thing!

- To merely turn away from sin is moralism. To turn oneself to Christ and His righteousness is conversion and salvation!

- At this point, you might assume that this set everyone on the same page. You might be of the mind that simply making an announcement and removing things out of your home will do the trick!

- Unfortunately, reforms are rarely made without some level of resistance! After ridding the land of idols, Asa had to contend with idolatry in his very home!

- After Asa's decree, the language seems to indicate that Maachah, Asa's Grandmother rebelled and produced an obscene asherah pole constructed for her own use.

- The word "obscene" speaks of something horrifying to behold. When an old woman is this perverted, you have to stop and wonder at the spiritual condition of the land!

- Asa didn't let her position in his family change his heart. He immediately deposed her.

- Incidently, when you are talking about loyalty to God, you must understand that that requires exclusivity. We aren't told of the bond that existed between Maachah and Asa.

- But when it came to a decision, whether to honor a Matriarch or the the Lord, the answer was simple: It was the Lord! Does He get the "win" against those you normally honor?

- Asa removed his Grandmother from a place of authority and then removed the scandalous image that she procured from his sight, burning it in the Brook Kidron.

- He had gone quite a way in reducing the effect of idol worship, but he didn't go all the way. The high places, the elevated platforms, remained.

- We'll see this comment repeatedly as we travel through the book of Kings. This was the one foundational piece that didn't seem to ever be fully vanquished!

- God takes note of that and reminds us that we can be doing great with him and still leave a few stones unturned spiritually! Are there still items you've refused to let the Lord's touch?

- But aside from those in Asa's heart, the word declares his loyality to the Lord all of his days. We've seen him deal with the negative by removing it. At the end of the section we see the positive.

- He brings an offering into the house of God of that which his Father had dedicated, likely to other gods. He says, "This rightly belongs to the real God!"

- Then, as you can see, through his own wealth, he dedicated silver and gold and utensils for the house of God. He didn't simply expect this from the people. He gave to the Lord Himself!

- These things mark a heart that is loyal to the Lord. Verse 16.

• I Kings 15:16-21 : "Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. And Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. Then Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, 'Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a present of silver and gold. Come and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.' So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. He attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maachah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah, and remained in Tirzah." : As you can see from verse 16, the tension that existed between the north and the south continued past Jeroboam's life.

- Baasha initiated the war against Judah and raised up the city of Ramah as a border stop between the two Kingdoms, in order to control the import and export of goods through Judah.

- We can also be sure that this was a measure intended to keep people from deserting back to the true religion of God! At this point, Asa makes an interesting deal with the King of Syria.

- Asa essentially pays Ben-Hadad to break his treaty with the Northern Kingdom, in order to experience relief from their campaign against him.

- Ben-Hadad was happy to accept his money and to wreak havoc in the North. Asa's plan worked. Baasha retreated and went back to his home base in Tirzah.

- What seems like a victory in the sight of the world and in the realm of practicality was in actuality a dismal failure before the Lord.

- The issue is that Asa had sought to depend upon the arm of the flesh rather than seeking after the Lord to bring him victory. It wasn't long before God voiced his displeasure.

•  II Chronicles 16:7-10 : "And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: 'Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.' Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time." : In Asa's earlier days, his loyal heart issued in a dependance that saw victory against great odds.

- II Chronicles 14:9-11 details a million man force that came up from Ethiopia to challenge Asa. Listen to Asa's response then, 15 years prior to his deal with the Syrians.

• II Chronicles 14:11 : "And Asa cried out to the Lord his God, and said, 'Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!'" : He had barely completed his prayer when the Lord "struck the Ethiopians" and they fled!

- Here he is, 15 years later, facing a force that was roughly half the size and he doesn't even call upon the Lord! He partners instead with a heathen enemy that is happy to take his money!

- I wonder if we looked upon our lives and compared an earlier version of ourselves with the latest model, if we wouldn't find a less dependant spirit.

- When you were first saved, how quick were you to call upon the Lord? Now, would you be more inclined to call upon your financial advisor? Something is very wrong if that is the case!

- God brought this story up to remind Asa that He still stood at the ready to reveal His strength. This is a mighty verse that you would do well to put to memory!

- God ever waits to show Himself strong on your behalf. Will you take Him at His word? Because Asa did not, the very thing he sought to avoid, would be the thing that plagued him.

- From that point on Asa would have war and the King did not take the news well! Asa took all of his rage out on the man that brought the message as well as the people.

- It's interesting that when you lose perspective regarding God, it will be the people in your life that are victimized! King Asa oppressed the people with his labor demands. Verse 22.

• I Kings 15:22-24 : "Then King Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted. And they took away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for building; and with them King Asa built Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. The rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. So Asa rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. Then Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place." : The last thing that Asa did publically was to move what had been collected at Ramah to build up the cities of Judah.

- This was a combined effort involving the entire of Judah was recruited. The materials left behind by Baashah were sufficient to build three cities!

- Asa's closes his public life with the building of these cities. Privately, he suffered as he entered his final days, being diseased in his feet, perhaps an affliction similar to gout.

- We discussed last week the inevitable nature of sickness and death in this world.

- We aren't told that God afflicted him, but we can say for certain that God allowed it for a specific reason that is given us in II Chronicles 16:12.

• II Chronicles 16:12 : "And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians." : King Asa had become accustomed to seeking every other resource available to him, but not God.

- The implication left here by the Holy Spirit is that if he had He sought the Lord, God might have healed him!

- The text isn't teaching that you and I should not seek medical care. There is no shame in seeking physicians, but there is no excuse for not seeking God!

- This doesn't dismiss Asa's overall goodness as a King, but it stands as a warning for us not to follow these parts of his story. Gratefully, the Bible doesn't view it's heroes with rose colored glass!

Conclusion

- As we close, I believe we've been able to receive some poignant instruction on what it means to be loyal to God.

- Loyalty to God requires whole hearted devotion, single minded resolve to please Him and a dogged willingness to remain dependant upon Him for everything in our lives!

- Loyalty to God means that you will choose His way over the popular norm of your time and at times, to choose Him against your own pedigree and your most beloved relatives!

- Loyalty to God today is much preferred to battles accounts from yesterday and is greater than the misguided strategies of today!

- In the end, we will find ourselves, at best, to have spotted records. The best of Kings were merely men, whose lives are on display for our admonition.

- They are merely shadows of the ultimate King Jesus, who displayed nothing but loyalty to God, fulfilling His law perfectly, dying sacrificially and raising victoriously to defeat death.

- Today, Jesus lives eternally so that God can treat us generously with the riches that His life deserves. May His love for us inspire our loyalty to Him!