obedience

Spiritual reform

Hezekiah’s intentional effort to revive his nation’s worship system began immediately after he became king of Judah. It says in 2 Chronicles 29:3, “He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them.” During his father Ahaz’s reign, idolatry had replaced worship of the LORD and the temple of God had been desecrated by foreigners (2 Kings 16:17-18). Hezekiah took responsibility for his nation’s spiritual reform and acted quickly to make things right again.

Hezekiah saw the connection between Judah’s trouble and the neglect of God’s temple. Hezekiah’s personal commitment to the LORD resulted n a national revival at a time when there was little to no interest in God’s blessing (2 Chronicles 30:10). Much of what Hezekiah did could be attributed to supernatural circumstances or divine intervention. After the temple was restored to daily activity, it was noted that it happened suddenly, as if in the blink of an eye (2 Chronicles 29:36).

The primary focus of Hezekiah’s spiritual reform was restoration of the Passover celebration. The Passover was key to the Israelites relationship with God because it not only represented their deliverance from Egyptian slavery, but also signified their forgiveness of sin. The Day of Atonement was a national celebration in which the priest made reconciliation in order to atone for the sins of all Israel (2 Chronicles 29:34). The sacrifice literally wiped the slate clean for the entire nation in a single moment.

The positive effect of having their sins forgiven resulted in the people of Judah giving generously to support the priest and Levites who served in the temple. It says in 2 Chronicles 31:5, “as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly.” The people brought so much stuff to the temple that it took four months to process and store their offerings (2 Chronicles 31:7).

Hezekiah’s spiritual reform shows that the kings influence had a significant impact on the people. His actions were described as “that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God” (2 Chronicles 31:20). But, perhaps the best testimony to Hezekiah’s positive spiritual example was the condition of his heart. It says in 2 Chronicles 31:21, “in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart.”

Divorce

Joash king of Judah, who began his reign at the age of seven, was obedient to the LORD, but only during the lifetime of Johoida the priest (2 Chronicles 24:2). After Jehoida’s death, Joash listened to the princes of Judah and abandoned the house of the LORD God of their fathers (2 Chronicles 24:18). This prompted God to once again warn the people of his impending judgment (2 Chronicles 24:19).

Zechariah the son of Jehoida the priest delivered a message that had not been heard before. “Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath forsaken you” (2 Chronicles 24:20). Previously, Israel had been told the LORD would not forsake his people (1 Samuel 12:22), but God’s promise to Solomon contained a stipulation that his commandments must be kept (1 Kings 6:12).

Joash’s reaction to Zechariah’s message from the LORD showed that his interest in doing the LORD’s will only went so far as to further his superiority over the people. As Joash matured and surpassed Johoida’s influence, he became self-righteous and thought he could rule the kingdom without any spiritual leadership.

Jehoash took a bold step and ordered Zechariah to be killed. “And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 24:21). The stoning of Zechariah was a significant turning point in Israel’s history noted by Jesus when he condemned the scribes and Pharisees shortly before his death (Matthew 23:35). The king of Judah had crossed a line similar to that of divorce.

Left to themselves, the people of Judah were no match for the Syrian army. Not only did God not help them, he gave victory to the other side. It says in 2 Chronicles 24:24, “For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, and the LORD delivered a very great host into their hand because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.”

Joash was forced to payoff Hazael king of Syria in order to avoid complete destruction (2 Kings 12:18). The hallowed things and all the gold that was found in the treasures represented a recognition of defeat. Afterwards, Joash was assassinated by his own servants (2 Chronicles 24:25). Joash’s 40 year reign in Judah ended with the country in shambles.

Respect

The Israelites were promised blessings in exchange for their obedience to God’s commands. The first condition God stipulated was, “Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down to it, for I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 26:1). King Ahab violated this condition when “he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria” (1 Kings 16:32).

After Jehu killed all the Baal worshippers, and destroyed Baal out of Israel (2 Kings 10:28), his son Jehoahaz returned to worshipping two golden calves made by king Jeroboam (1 Kings 12:28). Because of this, “the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael, all their days (2 Kings 13:3).

By the time Hazael was finished with them, the army of Isreal had been reduced to “fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen” (2 Kings 13:7). Near the end of the reign of Jehoash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz began to reign in Samaria. Jehu’s grandson continued the practice of worshipping the two golden calves, but when Elisha became sick and was at the point of death, Jehoash the king of Israel visited him and asked for Elisha’s help (2 Kings 13:14).

Elisha gave Jehoash an opportunity to exercise his faith. “And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice and stayed” (2 Kings 13:18). The smiting of the arrows on the ground symbolized Jehoash’s victory over Syria. In spite of the desolation Hazael had caused Israel, Jehoash was less than enthusiastic about overcoming his enemy. Elisha rebuked Jehoash, “and said, Thou should have smitten five or six times, then had thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice” (2 Kings 13:19).

Even though Jehoash’s faith was small, his willingness to ask for God’s help delayed the Israelites from going into captivity. “And the LORD was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet” (2 Kings 13:23).

Wash, and be clean

Naaman  the leper was the commanding officer of the Syrian army, one of Israel’s fiercest enemies. During one of his raids, he “brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife” (2 Kings 5:2). The young girl told her mistress about Elisha and suggested that if Naaman went to see him, Elisha would heal Naaman of his leprosy” (2 Kings 5:3).

The idea that it would be God’s will for Naaman to be healed was most likely a result of the girl’s own personal experience with Elisha. She may have lived in an area of Israel where Elisha spent a lot of time or had a family member healed by him. In spite of her captivity, she understood that God loved everyone and the little girl was willing to share her knowledge with Naaman’s wife.

Naaman was a powerful man and no doubt had a significant influence in Syria’s relationship with Israel. It could have been God’s plan to heal him in order to protect Israel from attack. Naaman’s violent temper was evident when Elisha refused to speak to him face to face. It says in 2 Kings 5:11, “But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper…So he turned, and went away in a rage” (2 Kings 5:11-12).

Naaman wasn’t a good man and probably didn’t deserve to be healed, but he was offered the opportunity to get well, if he wanted to. All he had to do was obey Elisha’s instructions and God would take away his disease. “And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, wash, and be clean? (2 Kings 5:13).

The obstacle to Naaman’s faith was his pride. He thought too highly of himself to immerse himself in the muddy waters of the Jordan river. And yet, he listened to his servants and did what Elisha told him to. The key to Naaman’s action was his desire to be well. When Elisha told Naaman to wash, and be clean, he identified Naaman’s real problem, guilt. Naaman was a sinner. “The baleful effect of sin was recognized when a person contracted the dread disease of leprosy” (2891).

Naaman experienced not only a complete healing of his leprosy, but also a purification from his sins. As he immersed himself in the Jordan, Naaman was made clean, uncontaminated by sin, similar to what Christians experience when they accept Christ. After he was healed, Naaman “returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel” (2 Kings 5:15).

A fatal mistake

Ahab’s insistence  on going his own way is evident in his decision to attack Syria after entering into a peace treaty with king Ben-hadad (1 Kings 22:3). Ahab didn’t seem to understand that he was not free to do as he pleased. As God’s representative to the nation of Israel, Ahab was required to do God’s will, even if that meant staying at home and minding his own business.

The role of the  prophets was to inform the king of God’s will, but the prophets in Ahab’s kingdom were telling him what he wanted to hear rather than speaking God’s word to him. At the request of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, Ahab agreed to consult a prophet that was faithful to God, Micaiah, before attacking Syria.

And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak. (1 Kings 22:13-14)

At first, Micaiah told Ahab what he wanted to hear, that he should attack the Syrians and the LORD would deliver them into his hand, but Ahab knew he was lying. “And Ahab said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD?” (1 Kings 22:16).

Ahab knew it was a mistake to attack the Syrians, but he did it anyway. Ahab believed he could beat the Syrian army in his own strength, without the LORD’s help. Under normal circumstances, Ahab’s army might have been able to beat the Syrians, but the covenant between Ahab and Ben-hadad prevented Ahab from attacking Syria. Therefore, “the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel” (1 Kings 22:31).

With Ben-hadad’s entire army coming after him, king Ahab didn’t stand a chance. Ultimately, it was the LORD’s divine judgment that sealed Ahab’s fate, but Ahab’s foolishness put him in harm’s way unnecessarily. If Ahab had listened to Micaiah, his life would have been spared.

Revival

By the time Jehoshaphat replaced his father Asa as king of Judah, the kingdom of Israel had already been in existence for more than 150 years. Much of what David had established in the way of worship had deteriorated into false religion and idolatry. Like his father Asa, Jehoshaphat focused on reform and he appeared determined to keep Israel’s faith alive.

It says in 2 Chronicles 17:3-4 “the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim; but sought to the LORD God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.” Like David, Jehoshaphat led by example. Before he did anything to change the people, Jehoshaphat made sure his own house was in order.

Jehoshaphat understood that the key to his success was living consistently with God’s word, obeying his commandments. Jehoshaphat did not try to fake it. He actually read God’s word and then he sent the Levites out “and they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people” (2 Chronicles 17:9).

As a result of Jehoshaphat’s effort, the nations surrounding Judah saw a change taking place “and the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat” (2 Chronicles 17:10). Jehoshaphat managed to revive his kingdom to the point where no one dared to take him on because they knew God was on his side.

Be prepared

Even though king Rehoboam was not an evil man, he ended up doing wicked deeds because he just let his life run its natural course. He was a go with the flow kind of guy. Whereas king David prayed about almost everything and Solomon prayed on special occasions (holidays, major events), king Rehoboam never consulted the LORD, he just did what he thought was best. It says in 2 Chronicles 12:14, “he did evil because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.”

When we think about being prepared, we usually think about doing things ahead of time, getting ready for something. The Hebrew word translated prepared in 2 Chronicles 12:14 is kûwn (koon). Properly translated, the word kuwn means “to be erect (i.e. stand perpendicular). This root used concretely connotes being firmly established, being firmly anchored and being firm. Used abstractly, kuwn can refer to a concept as ‘established,’ or ‘fixed’ so as to be unchanging and unchangeable.” (3559).

King Rehoboam’s heart was not set on doing the will of God. In other words, Rehoboam was not committed to the LORD. He trusted his own judgment more that he did God’s. It was only when he got into trouble that Rehoboam listened to the LORD and did what He said.

In general, king Rehoboam’s life was uneventful compared to his grandfather David’s and father Solomon’s. There were no real disasters or major accomplishments. The most notable event was the Egyptian raid of Jerusalem in which the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house were taken (2 Chronicles 12:9). This robbery took place because the LORD was not protecting Rehoboam as he had previous kings (2 Chronicles 12:5).

 

Civil War

After Jeroboam became king of Israel, Rehoboam had to decide whether or not he was going to let Jeroboam get away with it. In essence, what Rehoboam decided to do was start a civil war, north against south, similar to what the United States did in 1860 when the U.S. Army fought against its own citizens. “And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam” (2 Chronicles 11:1).

Surprisingly, when the LORD sent Shemaiah the man of God to Rehoboam to tell him to stop what he was doing, Rehoboam “obeyed the words of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 11:4). Rehoboam was not an evil man. He merely got caught in the middle of God’s plan to take away the kingdom from Solomon’s descendants. As a result of his obedience, the LORD strengthened the kingdom of Judah under Rehoboam’s leadership for three years (2 Chronicles 11:17). During that time, everyone in all the northern tribes of Israel that had set their hearts to seek the LORD, disobeyed Jeroboam and came to Jerusalem to worship (2 Chronicles 11:16).

The nameless prophet

King Jeroboam’s pagan practices did not go unnoticed by God, in fact, God sent a prophet to deliver a personal message of judgment (1 Kings 13:1). Strangely though, the judgment would not come for another three hundred years (2 Kings 23:15-20). Instead, God wanted to get Jeroboam’s attention  and see if he would repent.

God’s messenger remains nameless and is referred to only as “a man of God” (1 Kings 13:1). The term “man of God” is a common way of referring to a prophet, but I think it is interesting that in this particular situation the prophet’s name is withheld. After delivering his message to Jeroboam, the man reveals that he is not allowed to go home with Jeroboam. “So he went another way, and returned not by the way he came to Beth-el” (1 Kings 13:10).

The Hebrew word translated returned is shûwb (shoob). “The basic meaning of the verb is movement back to the point of departure” (7725), so it is clear that God did not want the prophet to go back to anyone’s home after delivering his message to king Jeroboam. It is possible that the prophet’s life might have been in danger, but more than likely, God was trying to prevent him from compromising his integrity with the people of Israel.

It says in 1 Kings 13:11 that an old prophet dwelt in Beth-el. The reason God did not use this man to deliver his message to Jeroboam was that he had become untrustworthy. The old prophet intercepted the man of God on his way out of Beth-el and invited him back to his home. “He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him” (1 Kings 13:18).

False prophets had probably become common place in Israel due to their pagan worship. The man of God’s message might have been ignored because of his disobedience, so God punished him for going to the old prophet’s house.  “And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way and slew him: and his carcass was cast in the way” (1 Kings 13:24).

Self-control

When we are born again, our spirits become alive. Like our bodies, our spirits grow and mature, and must be nourished in order to develop properly. We know our spirits are healthy if they are producing fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). One of the fruits of the spirit is referred to as temperance, which is the exercising of self-control (1468).

Solomon was talking about self-control in Proverbs 25:28 when he said, “He that hath no rule over his spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls.” In other words, a lack of spiritual maturity leaves a person open  to attack. This is an interesting point because in Solomon’s time, people were not born again, the entire population of Israel was dead spiritually. That is why it was inevitable that the Israelites would end up in exile. They were spiritually defenseless.

Being born again doesn’t guarantee spiritual success. After I became a Christian, I read my Bible, attended church, and talked to God on a regular basis, but I still failed miserably with regards to spiritual growth. What I was lacking was spiritual exercise. The apostle Paul used the phrase “walk in the spirit” (Galatians 5:16) to describe spiritual exercise. What Paul meant was for us to allow the Holy Spirit to control our behavior. Really, self-control is not about us being in control, but the Holy Spirit overruling our sinful desires. We have to give him permission to do that.

It is natural to do what we want to. God made man with a free will, therefore, he respects our right to choose for ourselves what we do with our time on earth. When we choose to follow Christ, we are in essence saying that God knows better than we do what choices to make, and yet, most of the time we still do what we want to. It wasn’t until I became “like a city that is broken down, and without walls” (Proverbs 25:28) that I decided to exercise self-control and actually do what God told me to.