Stewards of God's Word (June 17-23)
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God pleads with with His people
God pleads with with His people
2 chron 24
19 Nevertheless, he sent them prophets to bring them back to the Lord; they admonished them, but the people would not listen.
8 Listen, my people, and I will admonish you. Israel, if you would only listen to me!
9 There must not be a strange god among you; you must not bow down to a foreign god.
10 I am the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 “But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel did not obey me.
Psalm
13 Still, the Lord warned Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commands and statutes according to the whole law I commanded your ancestors and sent to you through my servants the prophets.”
15 But the Lord, the God of their ancestors sent word against them by the hand of his messengers, sending them time and time again, for he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.
16 But they kept ridiculing God’s messengers, despising his words, and scoffing at his prophets, until the Lord’s wrath was so stirred up against his people that there was no remedy.
25 Since the day your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until today, I have sent all my servants the prophets to you time and time again.
26 However, my people wouldn’t listen to me or pay attention but became obstinate; they did more evil than their ancestors.
4 The Lord sent all his servants the prophets to you time and time again, but you have not obeyed or even paid attention.
25 Since the day your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until today, I have sent all my servants the prophets to you time and time again.
God sends a witness of Himself to Assyria
God sends a witness of Himself to Assyria
God always sends a witness of Himself before judgement.
God proclaims judgement so that men will have an opportunity to repent
He did this to Pharoah in Egypt (Abraham, Joseph)
He did this to the people of Canaan (Abraham’s altars—Rahab, Ruth)
7 Elisha came to Damascus while King Ben-hadad of Aram was sick, and the king was told, “The man of God has come here.”
8 So the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift with you and go meet the man of God. Inquire of the Lord through him, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’ ”
9 Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift: forty camel-loads of all the finest products of Damascus. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son, King Ben-hadad of Aram, has sent me to ask you, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’ ”
10 Elisha told him, “Go say to him, ‘You are sure to recover.’ But the Lord has shown me that he is sure to die.”
11 Then he stared steadily at him until he was ashamed. The man of God wept,
12 and Hazael asked, “Why is my lord weeping?” He replied, “Because I know the evil you will do to the people of Israel. You will set their fortresses on fire. You will kill their young men with the sword. You will dash their children to pieces. You will rip open their pregnant women.”
13 Hazael said, “How could your servant, a mere dog, do such a mighty deed?” Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”
14 Hazael left Elisha and went to his master, who asked him, “What did Elisha say to you?” He responded, “He told me you are sure to recover.”
15 The next day Hazael took a heavy cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over the king’s face. Ben-hadad died, and Hazael reigned in his place.
Notice that Hazael considered what Elisha was saying to be crazy. He didn’t think he was capable of doing such things.
However, as the story unfolds, Hazael and the Assyrian army reeks havoc on the Northern kingdom of Israel.
2 Kings
5 Then the people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth—from the greatest of them to the least.
6 When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7 Then he issued a decree in Nineveh: By order of the king and his nobles: No person or animal, herd or flock, is to taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink water.
8 Furthermore, both people and animals must be covered with sackcloth, and everyone must call out earnestly to God. Each must turn from his evil ways and from his wrongdoing.
9 Who knows? God may turn and relent; he may turn from his burning anger so that we will not perish.
10 God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—so God relented from the disaster he had threatened them with. And he did not do it.
It had been approximately 60-70 years since Elisha had spoken to Hazael. So after this time, Jonah shows up in Nineveh.
Hazael has died, but his son, Ben-Hadad probably remembers what Elisha told him. He remembers that what God told him would happen…happened.
When Jonah said that Nineveh would be demolished in 40 days, he believed it. He called the city to repentance.
God raises up stewards of His word.
God raises up stewards of His word.
Elijah
fought the Baal worship in Israel during the reigns of Omri and Ahab.
Elisha
performs many miracles and provides the first witness of God’s power among the Assyrians. Through Elisha, God holds the Assyrians at bay, giving Israel more time to repent.
The ministry of Elijah and Elisha lasted approximately 70 years.
Jehu
God called Jehu as king over Israel and commanded him to end the perverseness in Israel. Jehu was commanded to execute God’s wrath on Joram (Israel) and Ahaziah (Judah), take vengeance on the house of Ahab and Jezebel (God’s vengeance for the prophets), (God’s vengeance for God’s servants, like Naboth).
Jehu kills Joram and Ahaziah
When he killed Joram, he threw his body in the field of Naboth.
Jehu kills Jezebel. He commanded her servants to throw her out of her window.
Jehu kills all seventy sons of Ahab.
Jehu kills the priests of Baal.
After he had obeyed the Lord in everything, he refused to destroy the gold calves that Jereboam set up at Dan and Bethel.
29 but he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit—worshiping the gold calves that were in Bethel and Dan.
30 Nevertheless, the Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my sight and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in my heart, four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel.”
31 Yet Jehu was not careful to follow the instruction of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart. He did not turn from the sins that Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.
29-
Jehoiada
Athaliah was Ahaziah’s (Judah) mother. She is the only queen to rule in either country. When she took the throne she killed all of the royal heirs.
However, Jehosheba, Ahaziah’s sister, hid Joash in the temple for six years. Jehoiada was the chief priest.
Jehoiada made Joash king, had Athaliah killed, and he called the nation of Judah to repentance. He called the nation and the king to covenant with the Lord.
At this point in history, we have seen two reforms in Judah. Asa reformed Judah and now Jehoiada is reforming Judah.
Joash
reigned 40 years in Jerusalem. 7 years old when he became king.
Joash refurbished the temple. The sons of Athalia had broken into the house of God and presented all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord to the Baals.
After Jehoiada dies, Joash turned from the Lord. Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son begged them to return to the Lord, but they stoned him.
Hazael (Assyria) came to attack Jerusalem, so Joash sent all of the dedicated things of the temple to him to appease him.
His servants rebelled against him and killed him.
Joel is the first writing prophet. The chronological Bible places him last (after Malachi) because there is no specific time stamp in his prophecy. But He prophesied that a nation like locus would come against Judah in the fourth generation. This is about 350 years before Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem.
Uzziah
16 when he took the throne of Judah. He reigne 52 years.
He became famous and his fame went to his head. He burned incense on the altar of incense to the Lord. Only the priests were to do this. The Lord struck him with leprosy.
Jonah (Israel)
During Uzziah’s reign in Judah and Jereboam II in Israel, Jonah goes to Nineveh.
Amos (Judah)
a contemporary of Jonah.
a shepherd.
he announces judgement on the surrounding peoples, Judah, and Smaria. His main message was for Israel. He and Hosea are the only writing prophets that primarily focused on Israel.
Amos sees a day when there will be a famine of the word of the Lord. 8:11.
jer
15 But the Lord, the God of their ancestors sent word against them by the hand of his messengers, sending them time and time again, for he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place.
15 The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. Also, the gatekeepers were at each temple gate. None of them left their tasks because their Levite brothers had made preparations for them.
2 chron
2 kings 17