Following a Bad Example (AM, 8.25.24)
Elijah • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Scripture
Scripture
29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years.
30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him.
31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.
32 He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria.
33 And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
34 In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.
We are going to be in 1 and 2 Kings for the next few weeks. These two books, along with 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Chronicles are historical books that deal with the Israelite monarchy.
1 & 2 Kings deal specifically with the death of Solomon and then the inevitable fall of the divided kingdom of Israel and Judah.
We are going to look specifically over the next few weeks at a man by the name of Elijah.
Elijah was a prophet of God. What does is meant when we say prophet? Typically we think of a prophet as someone who predicts the future. In actuality a prophets primarily spoke of either punishment to come or a better life if you remained faithful. They spoke the truth about what they saw, regardless of the outcome and they encouraged others to flee from the passions of the world and to return to God.
Elijah is referenced in both Old and New Testaments.
We do not know much of where Elijah came from, he simply shows up during the reign of a guy by the name of Ahab.
Elijah’s life is a life marked by faithfulness, it is marked by experiencing the highs and lows. Elijah’s life sets as an example for each of us in what it means to give all of ourself to God and then to watch as God works out the details.
Today though we do not start by talking about Elijah, but instead we start by talking about Ahab. We understand the world that existed when Elijah stepped on to the scene.
We begin in our study of Elijah by looking at Ahab and specifically three things. First, we look at the sins of the fathers.
Sins of the Fathers
Sins of the Fathers
30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him.
31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.
Let’s talk about the kings who came before Ahab.
Solomon has died and a power struggle has taken place.
Divided kingdom. Rehoboam (leader of uprising due to unfair taxation and overburdening of the people by royalty) and Jereboam the son of Solomon, heir to the throne.
Jeroboam set up idol worship by making golden calves.
He started people on a path lead them away from God.
Now Ahab was not a direct descendant of Jeroboam, God destroyed that line. But the damage had already been done. It says here that he walked in the sins of Jeroboam.
What kind of legacy are we going to leave? The decisions I make today are going to have a direct impact on the generation that takes over tomorrow. Guess what, you are teaching your kids, your grandkids, your nieces and nephews, the people around you, everyday to decide what is important. Is God important or is something else.
22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.
We as the current generation need to be laying a foundation for the next.
4 One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.
One generation to another. Speaking to the goodness of God. Showing a watching world what a life lived for the glory of God looks like.
Here is the thing, if we are not careful we will be like Jeroboam and set up golden calves that will steal the hearts of the next generation.
That does not mean that the sins of the father are the only ones to consider.
Sins of the Son
Sins of the Son
31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.
32 He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria.
33 And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
It would be easy for Ahab to blame the generation before him. I see this a lot in our world today. We blame the parents and then don’t take responsibility ourselves.
Yet, we are responsible for our out actions.
Look at what he did.
He took Jezebel as his wife. Married a foreigner, something expressly forbidden to Jews.
He erected an altar for Baal. More than the golden calfs, he set up idol worship of the neighboring nations. Baal was the chief god of rain and thunder.
Made an Asherah. This could be he either planted a grove of trees, or pole of some sort. Asherah was the goddess of fertility and was often worshipped along side Baal in a carnal festival that was full of what the bible would define as wicked and deprived.
Here is the thing. God didn’t overlook Ahab’s sin because he had generations of bad examples. He instead was responsible.
20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Ahab messed up, bad. But Ahab is responsible for his sin. He can’t blame anyone else. He can’t say well I had bad examples. You have to decide what you are going to do today.
What happens though is that sin goes out from the father, to the son, and then over takes the people.
Sins of the People
Sins of the People
34 In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.
This is no Ahah, this is Hiel.
Jericho was not supposed to be rebuilt, but Ahab would have had to give permission.
26 Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, “Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. “At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates.”
Let me ask you, who is looking to you for permission, explicit of implicit, to take the next step in walking about from the one true God and to give ourselves over to the false gods of the world. You are being watched. You are an example. You claim to be a follower of Jesus.
Let me ask you, who are you following. Hiel chose to allow Ahab to be his example and it led to disastrous results. He lost his family.
Remember you are responsible for your actions, but your actions have sway over others. You are being watched.
12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.
People are looking, they are watching us. Ahab had influence, you have influence, how are you using that influence?
Righteousness of Jesus
Righteousness of Jesus
How to we change what is compounded from one generation to the next.
We look to Jesus, who gives us a new start. Who gives us new birth.
The question is what are you going to do with Jesus?
We want to talk about victory and yet we don’t want to talk much about the one who gives the victory.
We want to talk about prayer and yet we don’t talk much about the one who gave us access to the Father.
At some you, you have to decide what you are going to do with Jesus.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
You can’t blame the generation before you and then go on living your life just as they lived it.
What are you going to do with Jesus.