Month: October 2023

1 Kings 17:15-16 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and he, and her house did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.

After the brook dried up, Elijah went to the area of Sidon to Zarephath. There he met a widow gathering sticks for a fire to prepare a last meal before hunger took her and her son. Elijah spoke the word of the Lord to her telling her to prepare a meal for him, herself, and her son. This little bit of meal and oil was all she had left, and after that she would die.

Nevertheless, and against all reason, the widow woman went and did what she was told by the man of God. In itself, this was a miraculous response of trust and obedience, in addition to the miracle of the meal and never running out. God takes care of His own and looks after those who do what He says. He says to us, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” Our Lord has done everything to save you, and He will do anything to provide for you. Only believe! Then do.

1 Kings 17:5 So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

During the days of Ahab, Elijah prophesied a drought and famine in the land, and so it happened. But the Lord provided for Elijah by commanding him to go to the brook Cherith and drink the water and be fed by ravens. Elijah heard the word of the Lord and obeyed. He trusted the Lord, and the Lord kept His promise. He knew the voice of the Lord, and he trusted enough to do what He says.

Because he believed and obeyed, the Lord was able to take care of Elijah and keep him alive in ways that a man would never think of during the years of drought. For those who listen to Him, God makes a way where there is no way. When we know God’s Word we just do it without questioning or asking why. We don’t have to know the reason why; we just do what He says because He says so. We can trust Him to take care of us. His way is always best. We would not have thought that sacrificing one’s own son for our sins was the best or only way, but we believe it.

1 Kings 16:13, 19, 25-26, 30-31, 33 For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their vanities….Zimri…Omri…Ahab.

The succeeding four kings after Jeroboam continued in his sins and idolatry and in making Israel sin. Each generation got even more evil than the previous until Ahab, who was the worst in worshipping Baal. They all sinned and led the people to sin and provoked the Lord to anger with their vanities.

Idolatry is spiritual adultery. The Lord is a jealous God, who cannot tolerate His wife going a-whoring after other gods. Other gods are actually demons and not gods at all. They are vanities: empty, vacuous nothings. They deceive people by making them think they will receive good from them when all they can give is sin, evil, death and destruction.

This is the story of the kingdoms of the world, exemplified in the history of the kingdoms of Israel and of Judah. And it is our story, too. God created and redeemed us, making us both His bride and His children. But every one of us has rejected our Husband for the sake of vanities with every sin we commit and every good we omit. Every sin is an idol, which often turns out to be self.

However, the hound of heaven relentlessly hunts and catches His whoring wife and wayward children. He sends the Son and the Spirit to woo us with the Word of Gospel to bring us back to Himself and His Kingdom. And He never quits; so we never stop repenting and believing.

1 Kings 16:2-3 Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel, and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins.

Baasha had taken over as king in place of Jeroboam’s house. Jehu spoke God’s words against Baasha: “I made you king, but you repeated the sins of Jeroboam and made Israel sin. Thus, your house will be destroyed also.” God destroyed Jereboam’s descendants for their sins, and yet Baasha repeated the same mistakes. He did not learn from the example of those before him.

We can learn from our past, the experiences of others, and the lives of those whose stories are told in the Bible. If we do, we can avoid repeating many of the mistakes others have made. “These things are written for our learning.” God gives time and opportunity to listen, learn, repent, and believe the gospel. But time does run out and judgment does come. Sinning and leading others to sin will be judged, but thanks be to God, Jesus took the judgment upon Himself.

1 Kings 15:30 Because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.

Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, continued the sins of his father. Not only did he sin, but he also made Israel sin. Sin is always judged harshly but the harshest judgment is given to those who lead others into doing wrong. Jesus says such people will have millstones tied around their neck and drowned. Take responsibility for leading others the right way.

Sin provokes God to anger, and the provocation of making others sin is especially egregious. Offending a little one provokes God’s wrath, even as it stirs up anger in most people. Holding any position of authority, whether as a father, an employer, or a government official, demands wise, moral leadership. We all need to be aware of the influence we have on others, for good or ill.

We take seriously the righteous wrath of God to avoid sin and lead others to sin. We also take seriously the loving grace of God to give the desire and ability to overcome the temptation to sin and make others sin. We fail, and we repent and believe and are forgiven.

1 Kings 15:11-14 And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did David his father. and he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his father had made….and removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol. But the high places were not removed; nevertheless Asa’s heart was perfect with the Lord all his days.

This spiritual summary of Asa’s reign is typical of the several good kings of Judah. He did what was right by removing idolatry from the land because his heart was perfect with the Lord. Faith-full devotion to the Lord impelled him to do what was right, and live according to his faith. He destroyed the idols his father built, and he even burnt the idol his mother made. His faith was evident in his commitment to the Lord over against the wishes of his own family. “He who loves father or mother than Me is not worthy of Me,” Jesus says.

However, Asa actually did not go far enough, even though his heart was perfect. The high places were not removed. This was said of many of the good kings: they did a lot of good, but left some remnants of sin and unbelief. This note is similar to our own Christian life: we keep doing certain besetting sins, even though our heart is perfect with God through Jesus Christ. Some sins remain with us all our life long and we don’t remove some “high places.”

We are forgiven by grace and declared righteous by faith, but sin remains. It does so with every human until we die and lose this mortal body and gain a spiritual, resurrected body. Then we shall become as perfect as He is. Until then, we live with places in the heart where sin still rules. Therefore, we daily repent and believe.

1 Kings 15:3 And he walked in all the sons of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father.

This verse sums up the career of Abijam, king of Judah, and it becomes a refrain used for many of the succeeding kings. The refrain: “he walked in all the sins of his father, and his heart was not perfect with God as the heart of David.”

The kings’ faith and life is always compared to David. He was a man after God’s heart. We all know he was also a great sinner and we know his famous sins, but his heart drew him back to God in sincere and heartfelt repentance and in the assurance of forgiveness. He did not continue to walk (live his life) in sins for he believed God in his heart.

We also are sinners, but our heart is with God, toward God, and from God. Since Jesus lives in the heart we do not want to grieve Him or offend Him. But we do, and when we do we turn to him in repentance and faith for forgiveness and restoration of our relationship with God. We are perfect with God because we are identified with Jesus by faith. It is true that we are sinners, but it is equally true that in Christ we are perfect with God. Because He is our Lord and King we live in God’s eternal kingdom, which is not like the earthly kingdoms that perish because of sin.

1 Kings 14:22-24 And Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill,, and under every green tree.And their were also Sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.

The Southern Kingdom of Judah did better than Israel in remaining faithful to the Lord, but they also did evil in the sight of the Lord by setting up idols of demons all over the place. It took a while, but in time they, too, were sent into Exile, though they did return after turning back to God.

In the midst of such evil, idolatry, and judgment God still kept a faithful remnant in Judah who would bring the Son of God, the Savior, into the world. While the faithful wait in faith the rest of the kingdom slips into idolatrous evil. The faithful remained wholly devoted to the Lord. It was not that the evildoers completely rejected the Lord; it was that they wanted it both ways, to have one foot in both worlds, and to limp on two opinions.

And so it is with us: the saint in us believes and follows Jesus; the sinner in us at the same time does evil and trusts in other things besides God. Somehow, we think we can do both, but we need to see that the ways we trust the world is really doing evil and setting up idols. Daily repentance and constant gospel reminders are necessary to keep us on the right track.

1 Kings 14:9 But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back.

Jeroboam’s wife had gone in disguise to the prophet Ahijah to ask for the healing of their son. But Ahijah was told by the Lord that it was Jeroboam’s wife, and He had some harsh prophetic words to tell her. He prophesied, “God gave the kingdom to Jeroboam away from the house of David, but he has not been as David who followed Him with all his heart. Instead, he has done evil, made other gods, and cast the Lord behind his back. Therefore, God will bring evil (disaster) upon the house of Jeroboam.” Which is what happened.

In addition to the fall of his dynasty, and several other dynasties of the Northern Kingdom, the entire kingdom was destroyed in 722 BC, never to be found. Disaster happened because the kings and the kingdom did evil and made other gods. The kings of Israel walked in the sins of Jeroboam, while a few of the kings of Judah walked in the way of David, a man after God’s heart. The leaders were compared to these two men.

The Lord made us a royal priesthood, a spiritual kingdom. We may respond either by casting God behind our back or by following Him with our whole heart. Jesus has come to make us like David, not Jeroboam. Our Lord rules the kingdom within, not self, Sin, Satan, or another god. Faith in Christ does not ignore God.

1 Kings 13:33-34 After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way…and he became one of the priests of the high places. And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from the face of the earth.

Jeroboam’s sin and idolatry is seen as the initiator of the idolatrous sin of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and as contributor to its eventual downfall. Jeroboam, like the nation, was given every opportunity to repent and to turn from their evil ways. However, he returned not from his evil way. It was not just one sin and you’re done. It was also that he did not repent and turn to the Lord. God gave him chances but he stubbornly refused to return. Therefore his dynasty was ended.

And so it was with Israel for a couple hundred years. God sent prophet after prophet to call the people to repentance, but they did not return. God is patient and longsuffering, waiting for his people to return, but judgment must finally come. “He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Those who return find forgiveness. Those who don’t see judgment.

Our Lord is continually offering opportunities to repent and return, for His compassion never ends. If we do not return, we are left to the judgment. Therefore, daily repentance is a really good idea. We sin every day; we are forgiven every day. We keep accounts up to date. God extends mercy endlessly, but He extends a limited amount of time. So return daily.