Wednesday, October 15, 2008

A Walk with the Kings of Israel Wednesday

2 comments
 

Baasha
King Baasha reigned over Israel for 24 years. He also did evil in the eyes of the Lord like the kings before him. He took the throne by force. You see a pattern of decline here? It is so obvious that when God is taken out of the center of a place it goes downhill. Evil prevails. That is not what God desires for us. John 10:10 states, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Again, God raises up a prophet to speak against this evil. The prophet Jehu declared the word of the Lord saying, "I lifted you up from the dust and made you leader of my people Israel, but you walked in the ways of Jeroboam and caused my people Israel to sin and to provoke me to anger by their sins. So I am about to consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat. Dogs will eat those belonging to Baasha who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country" (1 Kings 16:2-4).

We have to understand. We serve a God who is compassionate and slow to anger (Psalm 145:8). God is good. God is also just. He is the perfect balance. In these times of the kings there was a huge amount of sin. Generation after generation of decline in morality. It makes me stand in awe of God who is so patient with His children. He desires that all will come to Him in repentance but it is our choice (2 Peter 3:9).

As the prophet stated, Baasha’s family will fall like Jeroboam’s did. Again, he had a chance at making a difference. A chance for turning the people back to God but he failed. Consequences follow disobedience.

Elah
Baasha’s son takes the throne. His name is Elah. He is a man who also lacked judgment. He was killed by a commander of some of his chariots. His killer was named Zimri. Zimri comes into a situation where he finds Elah drunk and murders him. He then takes the throne by force.

Zimri
Zimri was also a man who lacked judgment. As soon as he took the throne read what he did.

As soon as he [Zimri] began to reign and was seated on the throne, he killed off Baasha's whole family. He did not spare a single male, whether relative or friend. So Zimri destroyed the whole family of Baasha, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken against Baasha through the prophet Jehu- because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, so that they provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their worthless idols” (1 Kings 16:11-13).

This act, though evil, fulfilled the prophecy spoken over Baasha’s family. A very sad ending. Remember these are choices that wicked men make. God is sovereign and knows what choices will be made. God does not make this evil happen. God cannot tolerate wrong (Habakkuk 1:13).

The people did not like what Zimri did. So they appointed Omri, the commander of the army, king and went after Zimri. Zimri then locked himself in the citadel of the palace and set it on fire all around him. This was his end. He also did evil in the Lord’s eyes.

Omri
Now Omri has a chance to do right in the eyes of the Lord. Let’s see what happens during his reign.

Unfortunately the northern kingdom was split over a new leader. Half of them wanted Omri and the other half wanted a man named Tibni to reign. Because Omri’s group was stronger than Tibni’s, Omri became king and Tibni died.

The things Omri did are listed here:

He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city on the hill, calling it Samaria, after Shemer, the name of the former owner of the hill.

But Omri did evil in the eyes of the LORD and sinned more than all those before him. He walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit, so that they provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their worthless idols” (1 Kings 16:24-26).

So we see a horrible cycle of sin. It seems that each generation gets worse. Each king falls further away from God. It is such a sad thing to watch. Next week we will look at Omri’s son, Ahab. He will turn out to be the wicked king of all.

1-Looking at our nation, do you see a pattern of decline? Yes or No. Explain.

2-If we chose leaders who morally disagree with what God’s law states we are setting ourselves up for judgment. Just like the people of Israel. Remember Romans 15:4 tells us that the things from the past were written to teach us. What can we learn from their patterns and apply to our lives today?

3-Like father-like son. Generational patterns are showing here. The things we do will greatly affect our kids and the next generation. Are we making choices with this in mind?

4-Like the times during Omri’s reign the nation was divided. Does that sound familiar? We are called the United States of America yet we are far from united with this election coming up in three weeks. Any thoughts about this?

5-When men make choices separate from God they are wrong choices. Can you testify to any decisions you have made without consulting with God and the outcome?

Copyright 2008-Refresh My Soul Ministries-Angela Parsley

2 comments:

Leah Adams said...

Oh my goodness, girl. You have so spoken my heart. Check out what I posted today. Seems the Holy Spirit is speaking to many. Our nation is in deep trouble and if we don't humble ourselves and repent of our sin quickly, and I mean quickly, He might just give us over to our sin.

Leah

Kay Martin said...

You asked:
1-Looking at our nation, do you see a pattern of decline? Yes or No. Explain.

For decades I have been most concerned about our nation. There was a sliver of hope following 9/11, but then "business as usual" cranked back up in society, but most regretfully in the Church. Being a "revial historian" my hope lies in the people of God being so convicted of our sin that we fall on our faces and cry out in true conviction with His repentance falling on us.

Until this nation built on the "Rock" comes back to Him we are not going to be doing anything worthwhile in eternal terms.

So.....I'm hearing enough frustration in "world hope" that I have to say I'm the most expectant of the best that has ever been in my lifetime on what matters: the Kingdom of God here on earth. My hope is that the Church will know who she is: the Body of Christ. He is the Head and He is the main thing which means Love, Mercy, Salvation, Wholeness, Togetherness and outreaching compassion will be all over the nation.

I'm believing we've come to the end of the greatness of man; and coming into the revelation of the majesty of Almighty God.

 
© 2012. Design by Main-Blogger - Blogger Template and Blogging Stuff