2 Kings Recap
Notes
Transcript
So - today we come to our RECAP of 2 Kings…and to close we’ll see how this book finishes off.
As I went back this week - and looked at the sermons that compiled this series (this book)....
It was amazing to see the - PROGRESSION of GOD’S STORY FOR MAN - in what God was teaching man along the way - THRU this book!
Where did it start?
It started with God - REMINDING mankind that - HE ALONE is the TRUE GOD!!
And in this - we SEE this..
SLIDE: 2 Kings Recap: Who God Is
2 Kings Recap
2 Kings Recap
Think back -
English Standard Version (Introduction)
Second Kings continues with the disobedience begun in 1 Kings, opening about 850 B.C. with the conclusion of Elijah’s prophetic ministry in Israel and the beginning of the work of his successor, Elisha.
And so - -
Israel (mankind for that matter) - has ALWAYS had a PROBLEM - and it’s this - - IDOLATRY!
And early on in this book - we saw King Ahaziah - Son of Ahab - get injured - and he SEEKS the counsel of an IDOL...
God KNEW this - and responded:
3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?
4 Now therefore thus says the Lord, You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ ” So Elijah went.
And what do we SEE here?
SLIDE:
Every Idol Submits to the True God
God HERE - SPEAKING to who HE IS!
Every IDOL - - is CONSTANTLY proclaiming Christ to me!!
How so?
It’s CONSTANTLY proving that it cannot satisfy me...
It’s CONSTANTLY proving that it’s TEMPORARY!
And so - it’s constantly PREACHING - JESUS - to me
But OFTEN - I STILL choose INSTEAD - to bow down to the IDOL!
Think about it -
Money
Youth
Food / Drink
Possessions
Fame
None of these things can SATISFY - we always want - MORE.
And just like the KINGS BEFORE Ahaziah - Ahaziah himself - lives out this same pattern of idolatry!
And he pays for it - DEATH COMES>
God here - teaching the world that HE and HE ALONE - is the ONE TRUE God!
AND - that HE - BEING GOD - is UNCHANGING!
Back in 1 Kings - we saw the ministry of the Prophet Elijah!
But now - in 2 Kings - Elijah is about to go away - and ELISHA - is about to take the baton from HIM...
Elisha NEEDED Elijah!
How so?
Elisha’s FAITH - needed to see Elijah’s FAITH & WORKS.
Elisha’s FAITH - was EMBOLDENED by Elijah!
When they crossed the Jordan - and Elijah knew his time was near…what did he say to Elisha?
9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.”
He says - YOUR SPIRIT (lowercase S)
He was saying - I want to SHARE in the STRENGTH that YOU HAVE...
YOUR SPIRIT
And that’s how God has set this up!
SOME may have been VERY CONCERNED that ELIJAH was about to DEPART...
AND YET - God reveals that HIS PLAN - was STILL in MOTION!
That He was STILL COMMITTED to the GOOD of His people!!
Elisha was to CARRY ON - with Elijah’s work.
And IN ALL OF THAT - we know that this is GOD’s PLAN...
The Ministry of Reconciliation - is GOD’s MINISTRY!
He OWNS IT!
He STARTED it!
And so THE MISSION of ELIJAH - became the MISSION of Elisha!
No different!
And it’s for OUR GOOD - that God WRAPS ALL OF HIS CHILDREN into this ministry...
to WORK together
to STRIVE together
to encourage one another
It was for Elisha’s GOOD - that Elijah mentored him...
And it was for Elijah’s GOOD - that he mentored Elisha!
NOW - early on in this book we ALSO saw something VERY interesting during the time that THIS BATON was handed from Elijah - TO - Elisha!
The Bible tells us the path that they took right before Elijah departed -
AND in that ROUTE they took - the cities that they visited - we saw that GOD was UNCHANGING in regards to His plan!
When we looked at these different locations/cities that Elijah and Elisha visited… we saw this...
SLIDE:
Gilgal: Separated
Bethel: The Presence of God / Knowing God
Jericho: Walk of Faith
Jordan: Death / Resurrection
These are the locations - and the corresponding spiritual significance (DESCRIBE)
GILGAL...
8 When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed.
9 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.
It’s v9 here - that we see the SIGNIFICANCE of Gilgal for Israel.
GILGAL - means - rolling - to roll away
And so when - after the men of Israel - are CIRCUMCISED - and God says - TODAY I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you”...
He’s saying - I have ROLLED away the past...
I have SEPARATED you from the past...
SEPARATED you out - for ME...
And Gilgal was a BASE - for Israel. It was where they would start from!
Bethel was described this way by Jacob in Genesis… Bethel dealt with the Presence of God!
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”
17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
18 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.
19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.
BETHEL -means - House of God.
And so Bethel became significant because it was about God’s PRESENCE…for His people!
It was about - KNOWING God
That’s Bethel!
Next up= Jericho
What’s the significance of Jericho?
I think many of us probably remember the story of Jericho.
Joshua and the Jewish people walked around the city of Jericho once a day - for 6 days - and then on the 7th day - walked around 7 times… for a total of 13 times.
The people give a loud SHOUT - and the walls collapse...
The walls FALL DOWN - and the city is captured...
And so this city of Jericho represents - “Walking by FAITH”...
The last location = was the Jordan.
And the Jordan of course is where Jesus was baptized - and BEGAN His earthly ministry!
With ALL this said -
SLIDE:
Gilgal: Separated
Bethel: The Presence of God / Knowing God
Jericho: Walk of Faith
Jordan: Death / Resurrection
we saw how GOD’S PLAN - was still in motion!
And THESE cities - TRACED by God in the handing of the torch from ELIJAH - to ELISHA!
ALL OF THIS - teaching US - teaching MANKIND - that God is IN CONTROL!!
GOD - teaching US - WHO HE IS!
Further along in this book of 2nd KINGS - we broke into another THEME…and it was this...
SLIDE: 2 Kings Recap: Who Man Is
2 Kings Recap
2 Kings Recap
Early on in 2 Kings - we see God DECLARING WHO HE IS - in the lives and situations of the people of this book.
AND NOW - God is going to SHINE a LIGHT - on who MAN IS...
And we can see this - even by looking at one verse in chapter 4 of 2 Kings...
1 Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”
IN this story - we see this:
SLIDE:
Physical Death Brought Physical Debt
This prophet - this man of God - had died...
And BECAUSE of that - Debt came (or at least Debt was DUE)
And so - the 2 young sons were about to be sold into slavery…to be able to WORK OFF that debt.
And so - this MOTHER - she felt the WEIGHT of this debt.
And it was a REAL DEBT...
It was OWED.
It had to be PAID...
And so what does this SCENARIO point to - within the overall story of Christianity…?
SLIDE:
Spiritual Death Brought/Brings Spiritual Debt
There is a VERY - VERY - VERY - LARGE blind spot within Christianity!
And it’s this...
SLIDE:
Spiritual Deadness
But why?
Why do you think SO MUCH of Christianity DENIES this truth?
SEE - most of Christianity - thinks that people are just - SPIRITUALLY INJURED…
but why?
Answer? - Pride
It’s the SAME TODAY - as it was back then!
And Spiritual Deadness - EQUATES TO - - hopelessness… UNLESS...
There’s A REMEDY!
And that’s why we’re even HERE!
And so - SO FAR - up to this point in 2 kings -
We’ve seen - WHO GOD IS...
IT then moved to - WHO MAN IS...
And we SAW this truth - OVER and OVER again - in KING after KING that came into power - who did what was - EVIL…in the sight of the Lord!
And it was this CONSTANT HAMMER blow - of the depravity of MAN - on display!
And from there - it continues to BUILD- -
- UNTIL it finally reaches THIS - - HOW GOD REMEDIES Man’s PROBLEM!
And the next theme that comes along is this...
SLIDE: 2 Kings Recap: How God Reconciles Man
2 Kings Recap
2 Kings Recap
If we remember back to the account of Naaman, the valiant commander of the Syrian Army...
who was a LEPER...
Word made it to the King of Syria that Naaman wanted to be cured...
SO - the King of Syria sent word to the King of Israel - to CURE Naaman.
And the king of Israel was like - WHAT??
Who does this king THINK I AM - - God?
And so ELISHA catches wind of this interaction - and he ends up sending a message to the King of Israel...
8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
And so Naaman makes his way to ELISHA...
And after a BIT of a BACK-n-FORTH - Naaman is eventually HEALED by obeying Naaman to WASH in the - Jordan 7 times.
And so GOD HERE - Putting on DISPLAY - WHO PROVIDES the REMEDY...
In Chapter 7 we find an amazing story of God PROVIDING GLIMPSES of His future saving work in Christ on the cross...
And it’s the story of when God brings judgment on Samaria - by surrounding it with the Syrians!
AND - while the city is surrounded - a FAMINE had come...
And 4 men - LEPERS were STUCK at the entrance gate of the city...
There was a FAMINE in front of them - inside the city walls...
And there was the ENEMY behind them - SURROUNDING THEM!
They felt stuck!
2 Kings 7:3–4 (ESV)
3 Now there were four men who were lepers at the entrance to the gate. And they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die?
4 If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also...
The Lepers here - represent SINNERS...
Sinners - CAST OUTSIDE the gate!
Death up ahead of them - and the ENEMY - the Syrians - behind them!
NOW - do you remember what the Syrians represented?
The Syrians CAME - by way of - God’s Judgment!
But here’s what we know about God’s judgment!
God’s judgment is the ENEMY of SINNERS!
God’s judgment ALWAYS wins.
So...
What do they decide to do?
4 If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die.”
They decide to - THROW THEMSELVES at the mercy of the SYRIANS...
And the SYRIANS - represented - God’s Judgment...
These men THROW THEMSELVES at the mercy of - GOD
these LEPERS - here - REALIZE that their ONLY HOPE - was to SEEK - - MERCY!!
And GOD HERE - putting on display - that MERCY only FLOWS FROM GOD!!
And as we know - ONLY thru the person and work of Christ - God in the flesh!
AND LEST WE THINK that this MERCY - from the God of Israel - was SIMPLY a WITHHOLDING of Judgment...
…we find in chapter 8 of this book - God RESTORING to his own - what had been lost DUE to his judgment coming!
In chapter 8 - - ELISHA comes across the woman who’s child he had raised to life back in chapter 4...
And Elisha WARNS her - on behalf of GOD...
1 Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can, for the Lord has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.”
And what we see here is God’s PROVIDENCE on display!
What is Providence?
Providence is...
SLIDE:
Providence: The care, guardianship, and control exercised by a deity; divine direction.
So it’s God’s care and guidance over His people.
God here - warns this woman - a woman who...
showed favor to God’s prophet
A woman who (some believe may have been a widow at this point)
But God - in His PROVIDENCE - warns this woman and her household of the coming FAMINE - and helps her escape the weight OF it.
GOD HERE - teaching man - HOW GOD reconciles man to HIMSELF!
Throughout this book we see mankind...
continually REBEL against God
continually go after other gods (idols)
continually believe that ONE DAY - they would find the PERFECT KING among - - themselves!
BUT GOD -
CONTINUES to show mercy...
Providentially sustaining His people through trials
Restoring life and land to them...
ALL the while demonstrating that His word can be TRUSTED!
GOD - BRINGING prophets to the world - to speak INTO the world...
ELISHA
Elisha as a Type of Christ:
He Foreshadowed the Coming Messiah
He Foreshadowed the Burial of the Coming Messiah
He Foreshadowed the Resurrection Power of The Messiah
God - REMINDING HIS PEOPLE - that He is...
The God of Covenants:
A Covenant-Making God
A Covenant-Keeping God
That the God of Israel:
The Holy, Preeminent One
The All-Authoritative, All-Sovereign One
The All-Powerful One
As MEN - we FORGET these things.
We WANDER… and as we’ve seen throughout this book - nothing has changed.
In the closing chapters and pages of 2 Kings - we see...
English Standard Version Introduction
Israel spiraled downward in faithlessness, ultimately being defeated and dispersed by the Assyrians in 722. Judah, the southern kingdom, had several kings who trusted God and attempted reforms. But after many years of God’s warnings through Isaiah and other prophets, Judah’s sins were punished by Babylonian conquest starting in 605 and ultimately in the fall of Jerusalem in 586. The people were exiled to Babylon for seventy years, as prophesied by Jeremiah (Jer. 29:10). God remained faithful to his covenant despite his people’s faithlessness.
SUMMARY
SLIDE:
2 Kings Recap:
Who God Is
Who Man Is
How God Reconciles Man to Himself
Throughout this book - we see the constant STRUGGLE - of mankind - to ESTABLISH its own - KINGDOMS on the earth...
It’s OWN paradise - on the earth!
And therefore - we watched mankind’s FUTILE attempts at - PEACE on EARTH.
The God we serve - is the same God we’ve read of these past several months.
He is faithful
And He is worthy to be trusted!
His mercy awaits YOU today...
Let’s Pray (someone get kids)
SLIDE:
The Lord’s Table
Lord's Table: THE GOSPEL MESSAGE
This brings us to the Lord’s Table…a time for each of us to reflect on our lives, to examine ourselves spiritually, and to remember the cost of our faith. We were bought with a price, and these elements remind us of this.
1. Have you experienced the Saving Power of Christ at the cross?
The Bible tells us that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God
That the wages of SIN - is death - AND SO we all deserve death
BUT - that God sent His son - Jesus - to LIVE a perfect life...
to DIE on the cross for sinners
to take upon Himself the wrath due us!
to be RAISED again on the 3rd day - conquering DEATH!
He’s alive today...
The Bible tells us that we if REPENT of our sins and TRUST in Jesus for His work...
Jesus - the MERCY seat...
If we trust in Him - we will BE SAVED!
FREE from death and SEALED IN CHRIST
We can TASTE the MERCY of God - In Jesus Christ
AND IF YOU ARE SAVED?
If you are a child of God - Saved from your sins by the Blood of Christ...then I ask -
Are you RESTING in the Mercy of God…or have you TAKEN credit for God’s work!??
Are you living a life FOUNDED on God’s mercy....proclaiming a Gospel of Mercy?
OR have you been neglecting this?
This is our call - As BELIEVERS!
BUT - IF you are NOT a believer -
If you haven’t SURRENDERED to Jesus...
- ..you should not partake.
The Bible says not to take this lightly. Scripture says – “ whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
Take time now and examine yourself before the Lord.
22 While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” 23 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
“do this…in remembrance of me.”