Ahaziah - King of Israel

Introduction

I began to name this the ‘Bible Person Study’, but chose to go with the ‘Bible Character Study’. I hesitated to name it that, as I don’t want to diminish the fact that these are real people we’ll be examining. But the reason that it’s named the Bible Character Study is because we’ll be focusing on the person’s character throughout. But don’t forget that these were real people, with real lives that made real choices that had real consequences.

I. Ahaziah’s Nature

((What is their History / Background?)

8th King of Israel

Jeroboam; Nadab; Baasha; Elah; Tibni; Omri

(Not counting Tibni as he wasn’t recognized as a king [1Ki. 16:21-22])

Son of Ahab & Jezabel

Reigned for 2 Years

During the Reigns of Jehoshaphat & Jehoram Kings of Judah

If we look at 2 Kings 8:16 “And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign.” we see that Jehoshaphat made his son Jehoram king while he himself was king as well. They ruled as ‘co-regents’ for a period of about 5 years before Jehoshaphat died and Jehoram would take the throne by himself.

Thus, it was during this time where Ahaziah would rule Israel.

Left No Heirs to the Throne

Would be Succeeded by His Brother (2Ki. 3:1)

Because he had no heirs, one of his brothers took the throne after him. (Remember, Ahab had seventy sons - 2Ki. 10:1)

A Contemporary of Elijah

Elijah would come on the scene in the days of his father Ahab, but was still serving the LORD in Ahaziah’s day as witnessed in 2Ki. 1.

Elijah would interact with his father and would go off the scene directly after this event.

A Contemporary of Elijah

II. Ahaziah’s Notoriety

(What they are known for?)

Mainly known for 3 things - two of them related.

A Failed Navy with King Jehoshaphat (1Ki. 22:48-49; 2Ch. 20:35-37)

The third of Jehoshaphat’s compromises (2 of which were w/ Ahab - compromise of Remoth-gilead (1Ki. 22), the other with Ahab’s daughter’s marriage to his son Jehoram (2Ki. 8:18)

It’s interesting when you put these together - in order to make sense of it, we need to read the Chronicler passage, THEN the one in 1Kings:

2 Chronicles 20:35–37 “And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly: And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Ezion-geber. Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the Lord hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.”

1 Kings 22:48–49 “Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not.”

They’d joined together to build up this navy to go for Gold, then God destroyed them & chastised Jehoshaphat - Ahaziah tried to revive the expedition, but “Jehoshaphat would not”.

Jehoshaphat learned, but Ahaziah obviously didn’t.

A Fall From Which He Didn’t Get Up (2Ki. 1:2)

‘I thought of the commercial ‘I’ve fallen and I can’t get up’ - every time you see that think of Ahaziah.

The Bible says that he fell down through a lattice. I’m not sure exactly what or how that occoured, but it’s apparent that he’d fallen from at least a 2nd story position and was severely hurt. Most likely experienced some internal hemorrhaging or something that would kill him over a span of time, but leave him with enough sense to converse.

A Fall from which he didn’t get up

A Stubbornness that Killed 102 (2Ki. 1:9-12)

After the fall, Ahaziah would send for word from ‘Baal-zebub the god of Ekron’. Ekron was a town typically controlled by the Philistines.

Thus, he was sending messengers into Philistine territory to inquire of a god who was no god.

When a true man of God - Elijah intervened by the Spirit of the LORD and they returned word, he sent 50 men & a captain out to arrest him. God slew them all. Then another…

And it would have been a third if not for the humility of the captain of the 3rd fifty.

IN FACT THERE’S A WONDERFUL LESSON IN THAT LAST CAPTAIN:

Because he saw the judgments of God, he humbled himself - and in doing so, he not only saved himself from judgment, but 50 others with him as well!

A Stubbornness that Killed 102

III. What Makes him Noteworthy

(What Lessons we can Learn from them?)

Your Bounds are Determined by the LORD (The True Sovereignty of God) (2Ch. 20:35-37)

I want to take a simple illustration here to explain a great, misunderstood & misrepresented truth.

If you spend anytime studying the Word of God and are exposed to teachers often on the internet or radio, and even in many Baptist churches, you’re libel going to come across people speaking about the ‘Sovereignty of God’. It’s a big, religious-sounding word that many don’t understand.

Doctrine of Calvinism: (Show Tulip pic)

Calvinist teachers such as:

John MacArthur

John Piper

Eddie Vaughn

RC Sproul

Will use this word ad nauseam. If you look up any of these men with the word Calvinist or Sovereign in it, just listen to what they say. WHICH LEADS US TO A BIG PROBLEM

The problem is this: God is Sovereign… but they aren’t using the word properly. In other words, they have taken the word ‘sovereign’ and given it a whole different definition.

(Ill.) Take any word with a known definition. ‘Screwdriver’. Everyone knows what a screwdriver is, right. Suppose I then say ‘this is my screwdriver’. You’d know that I’ve given a name to something and applied it to something else instantly. Now suppose you don’t know exactly what a hammer is & I say ‘this is my hammer’. Then you’d be like ‘well, it looks like a nice screwdriver’.

So, what is the definition of the word ‘Sovereign’? (It’s not in the Bible, btw)

Sovereign (def) Supreme in power; possessing supreme dominion; ‘over all’

God is Sovereign in that He’s supreme in power, He is Lord over all. That’s why we read the truth in Philippians 2:10–11 “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

God is over all and answers to no one. He is ‘over all’.

The Calvinist on the other hand, take the word ‘Sovereign’ to not mean ‘over all’ but ‘controls all’. It’s a subtle, but drastic change in doctrine.

In this passage of Scripture, we see true Sovereignty at work.

Jehoshaphat and Ahaziah were out of God’s Will in making these ships together. But God broke the ships & said ‘you’re not going!’ The Sovereign God said ‘this is as far as I’m letting you go on with this mess’!

True Sovereignty simply means that we still make whatever decisions that we desire to make. We can accept the counsel of God or ignore it - but every decision that we make we will give an account to God for it. And when God has had enough of our foolishness, He’ll put a stop to it one way or another.

Your bounds are determined by the LORD

Parents Impact their Children (1Ki. 22:52)

It’s sad but true that Ahaziah had 2 strikes against him when he came forth from the womb. His mom & dad.

THAT’S NOT TO SAY THAT HE DIDN’T HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO END UP DIFFERENTLY THAN HE DID. It’s just that he had really bad influences that made it easy for him to end up the way he did.

Two things that this brought to mind:

Most kids:

Most kids do not have a TRUE Christian foundation to build upon. Most kids grow up with idols in their homes no different than Ahab & Jezabel. Ahab & Jezabel were wealthy, successful people who taught their children to worship idols. Our society is exactly like them by & large!

Psalm 115:4–8 “Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: Eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: Noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: Feet have they, but they walk not: Neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; So is every one that trusteth in them.” (show pic)

Most kids are groomed to seek out false idols - and think that in their times of despair and grief somehow they can help - BUT THEY CAN’T.

Everyone has opportunity to be saved, but parents oftentimes make it a lot harder than it needs to be.

My own kids

I want (like most) want my children to have a solid, Godly foundation in this life - because it’s the best like they could have and I want the best for them. However, if they don’t choose that I want it to be because I did everything I possibly could have to guide them there, yet they rejected it, rather than for me to make it an easy decision for them.

Parents Impact their Children

Walking Wicked Leads to a Fall (1Ki. 22:52; 2Ki. 1:2)

Notice how it says that Ahaziah walked… 1 Kings 22:52 “And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin:”

It’s no wonder why he fell - he wasn’t watching where he was walking

Paul said: Ephesians 5:15 “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,”

(Ill.) I’m sure that many if not all heard about Mary Lou Retton… recently arrested for DUI. Tragic. She was America’s darling - so much so that 30+ years after her Olympic medals she was extremely ill, and people sent a ton of money to help with her costs. Yet, many will never look at her the same because she didn’t walk circumspectly, but foolishly.

When you walk wicked, take heed, for as it was to the COI, so shall it be with thee: Deuteronomy 32:35 “To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; Their foot shall slide in due time: For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things that shall come upon them make haste.”

Walking Wicked leads to a Fall

You can Reject God, but you’re still Accountable to Him (2Ki. 1:2-4)

Another aspect of the Sovereignty of God which we spoke about earlier.

It’s telling that when Ahaziah needed a word, he didn’t seek the God of Heaven. He’d essentially been rejected in favor of Baal-zebub.

However, just because he rejected God, it didn’t make him any less accountable unto him.

(Ill.) I tried giving a tract to a cashier in Walmart a while back. He politely said ‘no thank you’ which stunned me for a second. Then before I could consider what I should say back, he said ‘I don’t believe’. My response was ‘you will’. He said ‘no I won’t’ and with that I left.

This man had rejected God, church but he’s still going to stand before that same God that he rejected and give answer unto him. If he doesn’t get saved, I believe that God will replay that very moment unto him and ask why he rejected Him.

You can reject God, but you’re still accountable to Him

Rejection Doesn’t Negate God’s Word (2Ki. 1)

Another aspect of this is not just the rejection of God, but of God’s Word.

There’s many Christians who accept Christ, but reject God’s Word because it doesn’t fit their perceptions or world view.

Let me fill you in on something: As a Christian it’s not my job to take the Word of God to make it fit my view, but to change my views to fit the Word of God!

Why? Because ‘let God be true and every man a liar’. We can reject God’s Word if we want, but it doesn’t make it any less-true.

Rejection doesn’t negate God’s Word

Rejection of God’s Word Places Others at Risk (2Ki. 1)

Next we see another effect of Rejecting the Word of God - others pay the price for it.

(Ill.) Consider the thought that the road of rebellion and rejection is a toll road. When you detour off the right lane, you enter this toll road. When you enter, there’s a price you’re going to have to pay… but then when you’re at the booth, you look back and there’s a bunch of people lined up behind you. You’ve led others down this road of destruction as well.

Whenever we reject God’s Word, it places others at risk. The first two captains had no remorse about going down to arrest Elijah, therefore they met their fate - but we’re not sure about the 50’s they commanded. They might have been reluctant, but had no authority to get off it.

(Ill.) Reminds me of children (going full circle with the responsibility of parents) some children might be reluctant of the paths that their parents train them on - however, they have no authority to avoid it - therefore, they suffer the destruction just the same.

Rejection of God’s Word places others at risk

Remember the Work of the LORD, or be Judged by the Word of the LORD (1Ki. 18)

I’m not sure how old or Ahaziah was when Elijah called down the fire in 1Ki. 18, but one thing is for sure - the story would have been told him! Something like that doesn’t happen in a closet and kept from them.

So what I’m saying is that yes, he had his mother and father’s teachings, but he’d also had had the story of who Elijah was (he obviously knew him - 2Ki. 1:8) and what he’d done to the prophets of Baal.

He COULD HAVE let that make a difference in his life, but he didn’t.

Church I believe the truth in 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” In that God wants EVERYONE to be saved, and because of that, he puts all who will hear someone there to tell.

There’s a testimony somewhere for them to hear - any you ignore it at your own peril.

Remember the Work of the LORD, or be Judged by the Word of the LORD

Conclusion