judgment

Burdens

God was not only  interested in the sins of Israel, but also the sins of the entire world, when he put together his plan of salvation. What differentiated God’s children from everyone else was his mercy toward the nation of Israel. As God had promised Abraham that he would make of him a great nation, so also he said he would “bless them that bless thee and curse them that curseth thee” (Genesis 12:2-3).

The Assyrian empire was a key enemy of the nation of Israel because it wanted to create a single world system that its king would rule over. Within the Assyrian empire was a city known as Babylon that would one day rise to the top of God’s most evil list. Babylon symbolized the world powers arrayed against God’s kingdom and its role in the downfall of Judah and Jerusalem made it a target of God’s judgment.

In his burden of Babylon recital, Isaiah stated, “the day of the LORD cometh cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners  thereof out of it” (Isaiah 13:9). Isaiah spoke of a purging of sinners that would be cruel, meaning it would be violent and deadly (393). God intended to punish the world for its mistreatment of his people. In particular, Isaiah said of Babylon, “the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah” (Isaiah 13:19).

In his discourse, Isaiah spoke of the king of Babylon as if he were Satan himself. Isaiah said, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit” (Isaiah 14:12-15). The king of Babylon was a type of antichrist, perhaps the first leader that attempted to exterminate the Jews.

God’s overthrow of the Assyrian empire was intended to set in motion the collapse of Satan’s kingdom on earth. The link between Jewish captivity and the destruction of Babylon was necessary to establish the true source of Israel’s spiritual weakness, idolatry. God said he would break the Assyrian and tread him under foot, “then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders” (Isaiah 14:25).

 

Judgment

God’s government system operates in such a way that once a verdict has been rendered it cannot be appealed or pardoned. The sentence must be carried out. There were two situations in king Ahab’s life where judgments were pronounced against him. The first was when he made a covenant with Ben-hadad, king of Syria (1 Kings 20:34) and the second was when he stole Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21:16).

The second message of judgment was delivered to Ahab by Elijah. “And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD, behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel…And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel” (1 Kings 21:20-21, 23).

After hearing God’s judgment against him, Ahab repented (1 Kings 21:27), so God delayed his punishment until after Ahab was dead (1 Kings 21:29). It wasn’t until 15 years later, during the reign of Joram the son of Ahab, that Jehu was anointed to be king of Israel and God’s judgment was carried out (2 Kings 9:8). As Jehu road in a chariot toward Joram’s castle, a watchman saw him and told Joram he was coming. “And Joram said, Take a horseman and send to meet him, and let him say, Is it peace?” (2 Kings 9:17).

Joram was unaware of the purpose of Jehu’s visit. As soon as Jehu was anointed to be king, he rode in a chariot 45 miles to Jezreel where Joram was (2 Kings 9:16) in order to surprise him. If Joram knew what Jehu intended to do, he could have protected himself and foiled Jehu’s plan. As it was, Joram ended up right where Jehu wanted him. “And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out each in his chariot, and they went against Jehu, and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite” (2 Kings 9:21).

With one shot, Jehu killed Joram and his body was thrown into the field that Ahab had stolen from Naboth. Then, Jehu went to the apartment where Jezebel was staying. “And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? And he lift  up his face to the window, and said, who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs. And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot” (2 Kings 9:33).

Judgment

Israel’s miraculous defeat of the Syrian army (1 Kings 20:29) made it clear that God intended to eliminate the threat of a future attack from Ben-hadad. Ahab’s decision to form an alliance with the king of Syria may have been an attempt to accomplish God’s will in a different manner, but it did not guarantee that Ben-hadad would leave Israel alone.

While it is true that God is merciful, he judges those who choose to follow Satan. King Ahab was determined to maintain his secular lifestyle and was willing to align himself with one of Satan’s chief agents in order to do so. Ahab was more concerned with accumulating wealth than he was worshipping and serving God, so God punished him for his disobedience.

Even though he may not have been specifically instructed to kill Ben-hadad, it was obvious that God had delivered the king of Syria over to Ahab so that he could kill him. It was because Ben-hadad acknowledged his inferiority and subordination to Ahab by designating himself Ahab’s servant (1 Kings 20:32) that Ahab wanted to keep him alive. Ahab went so far as to refer to Ben-hadad as his brother, a sign that he intended to develop a close relationship with him.

After making a covenant with Ben-hadad, Ahab was visited by an unnamed prophet. “And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people” (1 Kings 20:42).  The Hebrew word translated appointed, cherem is derived from the word charam. “Charam is a religious word of great importance representing the devotion of some object to destruction or to a sacred use, not for the gratification of any selfish purpose” (2763).

Israel’s defeat of the Syrian army was meant to bring glory to God. Ahab could have sent a strong message to the surrounding nations by killing Ben-hadad. Instead, the covenant he formed with Ben-hadad let everyone know that Ahab’s relationship with Ben-hadad was more important to him than his relationship with God.

God is in control

It is a mistake to believe that pagan worship is pointless. Satan has much power and can make a difference in the life of a person that will worship him. There are things Satan does not have power over, the most important of which is death. Satan cannot give life, neither can he take life without God’s permission (Job 2:6), so when Jeroboam’s son fell sick, he tried to bribe God into sparing his life (1 Kings 14:3).

The problem with Jeroboam’s plan was that he thought he could trick God into doing what he wanted him to. Jeroboam did not know God, nor did he respect God’s power. Jeroboam was only concerned with getting his own way. Through the prophet Ahijah, God let Jeroboam and his wife know that he was in control.

Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in my eyes; but has 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; therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.

After receiving the bad news of God’s judgment, “Jeroboam’s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died” (1 Kings 14:17).

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).

Laws of nature

When calamity or an unexpected event occurs, it might feel like our lives have been turned upside down. It says in Psalm 146:9, “The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.” The word translated way, derek means a road, but figuratively it can mean “a course of life or mode of action” (1870). God often intervenes in our lives to draw us closer to him and to make us aware that our actions are inappropriate or going to get us into trouble.

God’s judgement is good in that it shows us that we belong to him. It says in Psalm 147:20, “He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgements, they have not known them.” Only Israel has had the privilege of receiving God’s commandments. The Bible would not exist unless God had communicated with his people and helped them to understand his way of doing things.

Even though we may not like God’s way of doing things, it is not optional. It says in Psalm 148:6, “He hath made a decree which shall not pass.” The word translated decree, choq (khoke) means an enactment. God’s laws were enacted at the time of creation, but were not revealed to man until much later. God did not make up the ten commandments when he gave them to Moses, they had already been operating since the beginning of time.

God is our judge

I have only had to stand before a judge a few times in my life and only for traffic violations, but having been in a courtroom, I can imagine what it must feel like to have someone determine your guilt or innocence and for him to be able to punish you for something he thinks you have done wrong. One of the responsibilities of the priests of Israel was to render a proper verdict regarding the sins of the people. They were actually ordained into their ministry to be representatives of God and to bring about or fulfill a divine intent.

The responsibility of the priest was so important that David himself oversaw the process whereby the priests were assigned a position in the temple according to a casting of the lot, a tool used to discover the will of God (1486). After the process was completed, it says in 1 Chronicles 24:19, “These were the orderings of them in their service to come into the house of the LORD, according to their manner under Aaron their father, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him.”

I believe the governmental system that was established for the Israelites was intended to convey two messages. First, that there is judgment for breaking God’s laws and second, that judgment should come from God, not man. It says in Ecclesiastes 12:14, “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”

The word translated orderings in 1 Chronicles 24:19 is a form of the word pâqad (paw- kad´) which means to visit. This word is used in Genesis 21:1 where it says, “The LORD visited Sarah,” meaning that the LORD intervened on her behalf (6485). God’s intervention in Sarah’s life was intended to demonstrate that divine intervention can be used in the normal course of events to bring about or fulfill a divine intent. In some cases, the conviction of sin and judgment are appropriate, but in others, the person is not guilty and needs to be set free. The Israelite priests were trained to let God be the judge.