Four Kings of No Renown

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. Their Nature

((What is their History / Background?)

The 14th - 17th Kings of Israel

Jeroboam; Nadab; >

Baasha; Elah; >

Zimri

Omri (Tibni - not counted); Ahab; Ahaziah, Jehoram, >

Jehu, Jehoahaz, Johoash, Jeroboam II; Zachariah, >

Shallum

Menahem; Pekahiah

Reigned collectively for 12 years & 7 months

Zachariah - 6 mo. (v8)

He would be the last in the line of Jehu to reign as king in Israel.

Shallum - 1 mo. (v13)

Menahem - 10 years (v17)

Pekahiah - 2 years (v23)

During the Reigns of Uzziah (Azariah) King of Judah

Remember Uzziah reigned for 52 years. All of these kings came and went during end of his time.

II. Their Notoriety

(What they are known for?)

A Kingdom in Chaos

Several things explain to us the magnitude of chaos that was going on in Israel at this time.

Rapid turnover in Leadership

3 of the 4 were assassinated - 2 of which were conspired against

But as I say this I want to make it clear that the Northern Kingdom in the everyday day did not look apocalyptic.

Markets still functioned

Religious rituals continued

Daily life (farming, trade, family life) went on

(Ill.) Consider the time of the Great Depression. If you were in New York City you saw calamity but if you were in Iowa you wouldn't have known what was going on. Life simply carried on.

But as we know what took place in New York and Washington, D.C. would surely catch up to life in Illinois and Iowa. The chaos that began on the East Coast would filter throughout the rest of the nation.

Continued Warnings Ignored

When we examined Jeroboam, we recognized the beginning of the prophetical warnings, specifically those of Amos and Hosea.

While the Bible says that Amos was written in Jeroboam's day: Amos 1:1 “The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.”

The book of Hosea actually spans the time period from Jeroboam all the way until the northern kingdom goes into captivity. Hosea 1:1 “The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.”

Micah & Isaiah would both begin just after these kings, and both of their writing would last several years into the time of exile for the northern kingdom.

So Hosea would have been the main prophet speaking during this time. I think it is important to examine his message for these people.

Keep in mind as well that Hosea was not an author who wrote these down in secret but he was a preacher and these writings are a summation of the message he preached in his day.

Read Hos. 7:1-13; 8:1-4; 9:1; 10:11-15; 12:6; 14:1

(Ill.) I'm curious to know the popularity of this man, Hosea, what he was deemed like by his contemporaries. There's really just one of two scenarios that it could possibly be.

He was very popular and that's why his writings were recorded.

He wasn't popular at all and his writings were held in posterity by God.

Can you imagine if there were a popular preacher that preached like this man Hosea today? There is none for sure, truly popular preachers that preach like this. It's quite possible that God recorded the words of someone like me when he had Hosea's pinned down: A God-fearing preacher in the midst of a God-rejecting society.

America as a whole has become much like the Israel of that day. Some might say, "Well what makes you say that, preacher?" The answer is very simple: 48% of people voted for Kamala Harris.

My prayer is that enough Hosea’s will stand up, make their voice heard before it's too late.

The Beginning of the End (v29)

III. What Makes them Noteworthy

(What Lessons we can Learn from them?)

God’s Promises are:

Faithful (2Ki. 10:30)

I want to clarify what I mean when I say the promises of God. See because God's promises might look a little different than man's promises. You see everything that God says in the affirmative is a promise because he cannot lie. Titus 1:2 “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;”

You see you and I will use the words "promise" to give it an extra solidifying because often times men say things that they don't mean. However God does not have that problem. Everything God says comes to pass.

Salvation: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

God’s Presence: Matthew 28:20 “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Our Refuge: Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.”

God’s Provision: Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Death and Judgment: Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”

The problem with God's promises isn't that He has a problem fulfilling them. It's that we have a problem believing them and then acting in accordance.

God's promises are faithful.

Unconditional (2Ki. 10:31)

Let me clarify that as long as the promise is unconditional, it's unconditional. For there are promises that do have conditions attached. Such as Exodus 19:3–6 “And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.”

But in this instance we see that the promise was given in verse 30 and then we see how J. Hugh acted after giving that promise and not only him but every one of those in his lineage after him. They were all wicked.

Yet their actions could not nullify the promise of God.

This is very important concept to understand concerning the doctrine of Eternal Security: John 10:27–29 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”

This is what Jesus said. Now - providing that the same thing holds true for you and I as it did for Jehu, Jehoahaz, Johoash, Jeroboam II; Zachariah - then my actions cannot nullify the promises of God.

Your Actions Reflect on your Family and Upbringing (v8; 13; 17; 23)

One thing that is very interesting when we examine men in the Bible, especially men of note, is that it is almost always accompanied by who their father was. We see some instances just in this passage today but you'll find it all throughout scripture.

What this tells us is that our actions reflect on our family and our upbringing.

I read a perfect example of this account recently in the book of Judges. (Read Jg. 6:27-30)

We hear and sometimes ask the question: "Is it nurture or nature?" The truth is, typically it's some of both, But either way it's a reflection of those who birthed me and raised me… Good or bad.

Now let's take this a step further.

If you are a Christian, you've been given a new nature by the God of Heaven, as you were ‘born-again’.

And whether you know it or not, or like it or not, whatever you do out in public, however you carry yourself on social media, you are a reflection of your spiritual father and your upbringing - Whoever is responsible for that, whether that's also a reflection on the church, possibly your parents, etc.

Your actions reflect on your family and upbringing.

A Sellout Precedes Servitude (v19)

We see a significant interaction when Menahem is king with the Assyrians. He was willing to sell out to Assyria in order to have them help him gain the kingdom.

Fast forward in time a handful of years. 2 Kings 15:29 “In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.”

And then a few more: 2 Kings 17:6 “In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.”

And the Northern Kingdom would be no more.

But before they became enslaved by Syria, they were compromised and sold out to Assyria.

This is how sin takes root and how corruption happens - and this is why we must guard against compromise in our Christian walk.

(Ill.) Consider David. When David sat home when the kings went out to battle, it set in motion a chain of events, where one sin led to another.

Was home - it led to him looking & lusting

Which led to adultery - which led to pregnancy

Which led to murder

His ‘sold-out’ his principles at the start, which then in turn led him to feel enslaved to each subsequent decision.

(Ill.) I was warned of this concerning the lobbyists: He said they’d try to work on you and get you to sellout in something, then they got you. Then you are ‘enslaved’ in your following decisions.

You can quickly go from Sellout to Servitude if you’re not careful

You Reap what you Sow (v10; 14)

We see this with the kings that are willing to kill to get the kingdom, who in turn are killed themselves.

This is a principle as old as time.

You reap what you sow in fruit: Galatians 6:7–8 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”

You reap what you sow in quantity: 2 Corinthians 9:6 “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”

Church, we should be sowing to the Spirit - and doing it often if we hope to live Godly in an ungodly world.

You reap what you sow.

Rejecting God Comes at a Cost (v16)

In this verse we see an ugly episode that happened.

At first glance it appears that it took place because this town rejected Menahem as king but in truth it happened because they rejected God.

Church, know this: the ills in our society are not there because of who we did or didn't elect. They are there because we have rejected God.

We have gay marriage in our nation today not because we elected Barack Obama but because we rejected God.

I'm not saying that our elections don't matter. What I am saying is that our first priority, we need as a nation, is to get back to God. It's then when we'll see true change for the positive happen in our nation. He is the only one who can fix what's broken.

Rejecting God comes at a cost.

Conclusion