Podcast: 2 Chronicles 23-24, “The Right King”

As wonderful as it was for the kingdom to be restored to the Davidic line following the threat of the usurping evil Queen Athaliah, Joash had his own mix of right and wrong. He was the right king, but (like all of us) it was possible for him to follow the wrong influences.

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The Right King

2 Chronicles 23-24, “The Right King”

With the advent of social media, a new career has joined the ranks of teacher, plumber, accountant, etc.: influencer. These are men and women who gather giant followings online, being able to monetize their videos/posts, enabling them to be in business for themselves. Whether they influence others for good or ill is debatable based on the person; that they carry great influence with others is certain.

We cannot help but be influenced by those with whom we surround ourselves. We had better choose our influences wisely!

For much of King Joash’s life, he had a wonderful influence: godly Jehoiada the priest. And while Jehoiada lived, he helped Joash not only gain the throne, but to live for the glory of God serving the people of God. When he was gone, Joash turned the other way, gravitating toward the loudest voices. He forsook the Lord, and found the Lord forsaking him.

Backing up, Chapter 22 ended on a cliffhanger. Things were dire in the kingdom of Judah, with a usurping queen on the throne. Queen Athaliah was a daughter of Ahab, the wicked former king of Israel (Samaria). She had been given to Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat as wife in an attempt to form an alliance between the northern and southern kingdoms. That bit of compromise by Jehoshaphat started a downward trend in his own kingdom as his successor Jehoram followed not in the footsteps of his father, but those of Ahab his father-in-law. Jehoram’s eight years of evil was followed by a single year of evil from his youngest son Ahaziah (who was only made king because he was the only son who survived God’s initial judgment). Ahaziah lived long enough to receive the throne, but nothing beyond that, as he was killed by Jehu in the north (continuing God’s judgment upon the house of Ahab).

That left a power vacuum in Jerusalem – one which Athaliah quickly seized for herself. She proceeded to destroy all the potential heirs to the throne, hoping to eliminate all competition. It also had the effect of nearly killing off the Davidic (and thus, Messianic) line. It was a Satanic attack, once which seemingly left God’s promises hanging by a thread.

Thankfully, God’s promises are not so easily thwarted! A single son of the royal line was saved by his older sister (who was the young wife of the priest). Baby Joash was stolen away and kept safe by Jehoiada the priest. For six years, Queen Athaliah ruled over the land as a usurper. But God had a king in waiting, one that would soon come forth!

As much as we rejoice in the restoration of the Davidic kingdom, this proper king of Israel was soon seen with all his good and bad. Joash certainly had the bloodline, but not the faith. He was the right king at the time, but would act in both right and wrong…leaving us looking for a better King to come. Jesus is that perfect King, and everything He does is right!

Today, our responsibility is to wait vigilantly for Him, following after Him. It’s easy for us to be influenced by others, to let down our guard, and naturally stray. May God help us not look to others, but to look to Him! Not to forsake Him, but to be ever-ready to see Him!

2 Chronicles 23:1–21 – The right king.

• Proclaiming Joash as the rightful king (1-11).

1 In the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and made a covenant with the captains of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri. 2 And they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the chief fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. 3 Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the LORD has said of the sons of David.

1. It was in the “seventh year,” referring to the previous six years seen in 22:12. This was the seventh year of Athaliah. Interestingly, because of her attack on the Davidic/Messianic line, she could technically be seen as a (small-a) antichrist queen. This antichrist had a ‘week’ of her rule, before she was cut off by the appearance of the rightful king of Israel. Surely, it is not a coincidence how the Great Tribulation will last for seven years, during which the future Antichrist will rule the nations, even forming a covenant with Israel for a time, until the point that true Christ will appear, forever casting Him into judgment.
   1. And we will be with Jesus when it happens! Maranatha!
2. In that seventh year, “Jehoiada strengthened himself,” meaning that he gathered courage as he prepared to gather the national leadership and restore the kingdom to the rightful heir. For six+ years he kept young Joash in hiding, raising him as his own son. But although Joash was still barely six/seven years old, it was time to bring him forth in full view of the nation. This couldn’t be done haphazardly. Jehoiada needed to be careful, lest he be discovered, captured, and killed along with Joash. He reached out to the various military commanders who remained loyal to the house of David, as well as the Levites under his own influence, and the various civic leaders in the land. All the leadership needed to be united if this was to succeed. They needed to be bound together in covenant with the king, fully subsumed under the Lord God.
   1. Leadership requires courage, commitment, and conviction. Often, we’ll see two of three. Someone might be bold, willing to do whatever for his cause…but without convictions, he blows about like a flag in the wind. Someone else might be committed to the cause, having solid convictions that don’t change…but without Spirit-given courage, nothing happens. But when God unites a people together unto Jesus in the Spirit, giving courage, commitment, and conviction together…that is when great things are done! This was seen in the early church when the apostles were willing to suffer shame for the name of Jesus, when they were filled with the Spirit and the walls shook. 

4 This is what you shall do: One-third of you entering on the Sabbath, of the priests and the Levites, shall be keeping watch over the doors; 5 one-third shall be at the king’s house; and one-third at the Gate of the Foundation. All the people shall be in the courts of the house of the LORD. 6 But let no one come into the house of the LORD except the priests and those of the Levites who serve. They may go in, for they are holy; but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD. 7 And the Levites shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the house, let him be put to death. You are to be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

1. The plan was straightforward. They would wait for the right time, on the Sabbath day when everyone was supposed to be resting, coming to the temple to worship the Lord. With the people gathered together corporately, Jehoiada and those covenanted with him would make their move. It would be done carefully and orderly, having an armed guard with them keeping things from dissolving into chaos. It would be done publicly, so that all the people would see and receive the true king. It would be done intentionally, with the men fully prepared to face opposition. Jehoiada had a role for everyone involved. If done properly, the young king would be presented to God before the nation, and none would doubt that this was the true king.

8 So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each man took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were going off duty on the Sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest had not dismissed the divisions. 9 And Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and the large and small shields which had belonged to King David, that were in the temple of God. 10 Then he set all the people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and by the temple, all around the king. 11 And they brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, gave him the Testimony, and made him king. Then Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, “Long live the king!”

1. The plan worked perfectly. Jehoiada took advantage of the shift change of the priests and Levites, bringing in his own covenanted men, while not fully dismissing the others. The royal armor of David (even the decorative pieces) was distributed among the military as they flanked the boy-king. Then in full view of all the people, they put the crown on his head, poured the anointing oil upon him, and with the Testimony in his hand, proclaimed him king. – We can imagine what it would have been like for the people who were present at the temple at the time. They were bringing their normal offerings for their Saturday Sabbath, when all of a sudden the courtyard becomes crowded. Priests and Levites are everywhere, with the military commanders suddenly very present. Looking around the room, they see various elders who represented towns throughout Judah. And there in the midst, a young boy is brought out, declared to be the son of David, and made king. A son of David?! For the past six years, you had believed they had all been killed. You were stuck with this evil woman on the throne, this daughter of Ahab, and you had all but lost hope for the covenant promises of God. But then God showed Himself faithful! His chosen king miraculously stood before you, and a new day dawned on your nation!
   1. There are many people today who have all but lost hope in the promises of God. Our world sinks deeper and deeper into sin, and it seems like Jesus will never come back. But He will! His promises will prove true. 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” Our Lord Jesus will return…right now, He is giving the opportunity for people to be saved.
2. What was the “Testimony” given to Joash by the people (along the crown and public recognition of his kingdom)? The text doesn’t provide specific details. The word was often used in the books of Exodus and Numbers to refer to the “ark of the Testimony,” the “Testimony” in that case referring to the tablets containing the 10 Commandments, written by the finger of God. It’s highly doubtful that Jehoiada the priest handed young Joash the original Commandments or the ark, but it’s certainly possible that the young king was given a copy of the 10 Commandments, or perhaps his own copy of the book of Deuteronomy. Kings were supposed to make their own personal copy of the law (Dt 17:18), which served as practical way of ensuring the kings were intimately familiar with the covenant between God and Israel, helping them learn the word of God literally letter-by-letter. Perhaps due to Joash’s age, Jehoiada brought out a copy for him, the young king not yet able to write. (It’s impossible to say for certain, but it is a plausible possibility.)

• Athaliah deposed (12-15).

12 Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people in the temple of the LORD. 13 When she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, also the singers with musical instruments, and those who led in praise. So Athaliah tore her clothes and said, “Treason! Treason!”

1. Athaliah heard the commotion and discovered the coup. (‘Coup’ seems like the wrong word, considering Joash was the rightful king in the first place!) Jehoiada’s plan worked, as she was taken completely by surprise. In an instant, nearly the entire kingdom turned against her. In her twisted view it was treasonous mutiny; in reality, it was justice.
2. Her cry of “Treason!” might just as easily be translated “Conspiracy,” as the Hebrew word is derived from the verb meaning “to tie, bind, league together.” If seen through that lens, the literal label of conspiracy was not inaccurate. The covenant that Jehoiada made with the priests, the military, and the civic leaders was technically a “conspiracy” against Athaliah. They bound themselves together in a covenant, planning her overthrow. But that didn’t make it wrong. It certainly was not “treason,” for their loyalty was rightly to the one true God and His chosen king. It was Athaliah who committed treason when she destroyed the royal heirs of David and stole the throne for herself. She might have accused others of treason, but her words really applied to herself.
   1. There are certain things we might need to do as Christians that will act in opposition to our culture. And like Athaliah, they might throw various charges at us. They might accuse us of disloyalty, or spreading misinformation, or bigotry. They can use whatever words they want, but it doesn’t make their accusations true. We should be more loyal to Jesus than to any earthly government or president. We should hold to the unchanging truths of the Bible rather than state-sponsored propaganda. We should discriminate between right and wrong, truth and fiction, and even male and female, even while being merciful to those who are lost in their delusion. We could name any number of things Christians believe that are opposed to the dominant culture of this world. In past generations, American Christians have not encountered much pushback to their Biblical convictions. Those days are gone…so be it. Let us hold fast to Jesus and His word, regardless of any accusation thrown at us!

14 And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were set over the army, and said to them, “Take her outside under guard, and slay with the sword whoever follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not kill her in the house of the LORD.” 15 So they seized her; and she went by way of the entrance of the Horse Gate into the king’s house, and they killed her there.

1. Jehoiada ordered Athaliah’s arrest and execution. Notice that this was orderly justice; not mob rule. The priest did not allow her to be tossed to the crowds, stoned, or worse; he commanded that she (and whomever followed her) be taken outside the city and slain. [The death penalty has its Biblical place.] FYI: The “Horse Gate” was on the east side of the city by the temple, facing the Kidron Valley and the Mount of Olives. Again, it is likely no coincidence that when the Lord Jesus returns, He will set foot on the Mount of Olives, and that is when Antichrist’s claim of power will end!
2. Note also that Jehoiada specifically commanded she be taken “outside,” i.e., outside of the temple of God. She was not to be killed “in the house of the LORD.” Why? Because the only deaths that were supposed to take place in the temple were the animals sacrificed unto God for the atonement of sin. Every death that took place at the temple was supposed to be a death that ultimately pointed to the cross of Jesus. Athaliah’s execution was necessary, but it was not a picture of the gospel.
   1. If anything, it was a picture of why we need the gospel! Each of us ought to be slain for our own treasonous sin against our Creator God. We each usurped His rightful place in our lives. Death is our earned wage. It is only by His grace through Jesus’ sacrifice that we might be saved! 

• Cleansing the temple (16-19).

16 Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, the people, and the king, that they should be the LORD’s people. 17 And all the people went to the temple of Baal, and tore it down. They broke in pieces its altars and images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

1. Jehoiada had already made a covenant with the leadership to ensure that Joash would be installed as king. Now, he makes a covenant with the people and the king, renewing their national commitment unto the Lord. The only reason the Davidic king should be on the throne was because this was the promise of the Lord God. If they were going to follow God’s chosen king, they needed to follow and worship the Lord God Himself. They couldn’t pick and choose which covenant they could have with God…if they received the king, they also needed to receive the law. (Davidic and Mosaic covenants.)
   1. In a sense, it isn’t unlike how we follow Jesus as Lord and Savior. Those who are saved by Jesus, serve Jesus. We obey Him as Lord and King. Our obedience does not prove our faith (no more than driving the speed limit makes you a police officer), but our obedience comes with our faith. Before we believed upon Jesus, we didn’t want to serve Him. Now, we do. He gave us that desire when He gave us a new heart. Does it mean we obey Him perfectly? Of course not…but it is our desire.
2. As for the people of Judah, their recommitment to the Lord found immediate expression in their repentance from idolatry. Athaliah, being a Baal-worshipper from a long line of Baal-worshippers, brought her idolatry not only into Jerusalem, but also had a new temple built in the city, along with her own pagan priest. All this was destroyed. The people left out nothing in their commitment to the true God. 

18 Also Jehoiada appointed the oversight of the house of the LORD to the hand of the priests, the Levites, whom David had assigned in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was established by David. 19 And he set the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the LORD, so that no one who was in any way unclean should enter.

1. Finally, Jehoiada ensured that order was restored at the true temple. Whatever disarray had been allowed in the days of Athaliah was thrown out. The priests and Levites were to get back to the Bible, back to the way things were set up during the days of David being commanded in the Law of Moses. And just to ensure that things stayed that way, care was given to set up “gatekeepers” at the temple, keeping people out who weren’t supposed to be there. It wasn’t that they were to keep people from worshipping; rather, they were to ensure that distractions did not stop people from worshipping. Fundamentally, it was getting the temple worship back to the Biblical foundations, the way things were supposed to be.
   1. There are many different ways that various Christians worship, and there is room for different styles. Some people prefer organs and choirs; others prefer small ensembles – some recite the creeds; others rarely mention the creeds. All that is okay, being ancillary stuff. The foundational stuff should be the same, judged by the same question: Is it Biblical? If it has a grounding in the Scripture, great! If not, throw it out. The Bible is our standard on all of these issues…that is the way God designed it to be.

• A happy ‘ending’ (20-21).

20 Then he took the captains of hundreds, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the house of the LORD; and they went through the Upper Gate to the king’s house, and set the king on the throne of the kingdom. 21 So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword.

1. We almost expect to see the words, “And they all lived happily ever after.” It was a great day, with a wonderful end to a horrible seven years! It is no wonder the people rejoiced the way they did. There was joy in Jerusalem when the proper messianic king sat on the throne. – If they rejoiced over Joash, consider what they will do over Jesus! When King Jesus finally sits on the throne, the joy will be palpable!

2 Chronicles 24 – The right and wrong of the king.

• Introduction (1-3).

1 Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

1. Typically, when we’ve seen kings reign for “forty years,” it has been associated with God’s blessings. David reigned for 40 years, as did Solomon. Joash also reigned for 40 years (and no doubt he was blessed for much of it), but when we consider how young he was when he became king, there was no reason Joash couldn’t have reigned for far longer. He was only 47 when he died.
2. What happened? After all, he did “what was right in the sight of the Lord.” True…but notice the qualification on that phrase: “all the days of Jehoiada the priest.” Already in v2, the Chronicler gives a hint at the failure to come for Joash. As long as his foster father lived, he did great; once he was gone, Joash struggled.

3 And Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters.

1. That Jehoiada took wives for Joash is understandable, being part of his role as a foster father. Like any father, he sought to provide for his son, and culturally speaking, this included arranged marriages. [Save commentary for upsides of arranged marriages for another time!] In Joash’s case, this had the added benefit of ensuring the continuation of the Davidic line. Through Athaliah’s wickedness, the lamp of David was very nearly extinguished, saved only by the sovereignty and promise of God. The arranged wives for Joash basically ensured children, the idea being the more, the better.
2. At the same time, we might take note of the number of wives: two. While it would be difficult to lump this in the same category of multiplying wives (particularly when comparing Joash’s two with Solomon’s 700!), it must be acknowledged that there is zero indication that God commanded Jehoiada to do this. Jehoiada had a responsibility to take one wife for Joash; it was purely cultural that he took two. Biblically speaking, this act of the priest (despite his otherwise godly life) was wrong. God did not design marriage to involve more than two people. Neither was a second wife required for propagation of the royal line. Adam and Eve did just fine in being fruitful and multiplying, and they only ever had each other. – Likewise, we are to have only one spouse. God’s design for marriage is one man + one woman, submitted under God, committed to each other, for life. While there are occasions when our sin or other circumstances get in the way of this, this is His plan for us. And it is one we should not abandon!

• Restoration of the temple (4-14).

4 Now it happened after this that Joash set his heart on repairing the house of the LORD. 5 Then he gathered the priests and the Levites, and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you do it quickly.” However the Levites did not do it quickly.

1. Once he got a little older and was able to truly take the reigns of leadership, Joash started well with a great desire. His heart was set on repairing/restoring the temple. No doubt, it had fallen into much disrepair. Athaliah surely didn’t give any attention to the temple, and Joash’s father and grandfather were each faithless men. Joash, however, having been raised in the godly counsel of Jehoiada, had (at this point) a heart to see God’s temple restored. Thus, he gave the command to collect a freewill offering from the people to get the work done.
2. The problem was that despite his command for the project to be done quickly, the Levites failed to do so. The parallel account is found in 2 Kings 12, but neither gives the specific reason why the Levites didn’t do as they were commanded. The implication is that they indeed received money, but they didn’t use the fund for temple repair. What happened to the money is unknown.

6 So the king called Jehoiada the chief priest, and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the LORD and of the assembly of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness?” 7 For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God, and had also presented all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD to the Baals.

1. Recall that Jehoiada was the king’s foster father. Joash had to call this man to account, knowing that despite Jehoiada’s age and honored position in his life, the king was still the final human authority in Jerusalem. He had to ask Jehoiada why the men under his authority hadn’t followed through on a direct command from the king. And besides that, didn’t they care about the house of the Lord? Athaliah and those with her had defiled it in many ways. Surely the priests and Levites would want to cleanse the house of God, restoring it to the fullest extent.
2. Who were “the sons of Athaliah”? As far as we know, Athaliah’s sons were dead either through various circumstances before she took the throne, or by her own murderous hand. And since she was a grandmother when she took the throne, it is highly unlikely that she bore any children during her almost-seven years. The people labeled as her “sons” were likely her followers. Although her reign was illegally founded, built upon wicked betrayal and idolatry, there were some in the land whom she persuaded. Some chose to follow her, even as a replacement for the true Davidic king.
   1. This is the story of our own culture! Although Jesus’ gospel has been clearly proclaimed in this land, many still choose to follow the Usurper.

8 Then at the king’s command they made a chest, and set it outside at the gate of the house of the LORD. 9 And they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the LORD the collection that Moses the servant of God had imposed on Israel in the wilderness.

1. Joash took a bit more control this time. Instead of trusting the Levites to gather the money as commanded, the king ordered an offering box be made and set at the temple gate. This way, no money would change multiple hands; it would go straight to the offering of the Lord.
2. As to Moses’ specific command for Israel to give an offering, this is a reference to the census money of Exodus 30:11-16, the “ransom” of a half-shekel that was supposed to be paid by every person who was numbered among Israel. Although this was originally a one-time offering, because it was used for the construction of the tabernacle, Joash saw this as precedent for him to use with the restoration of the temple.

10 Then all the leaders and all the people rejoiced, brought their contributions, and put them into the chest until all had given. 11 So it was, at that time, when the chest was brought to the king’s official by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, that the king’s scribe and the high priest’s officer came and emptied the chest, and took it and returned it to its place. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance.

1. This was orderly and accountable giving. Everything was done above reproach, to the glory of God. – This is the way God-honoring giving works! No hype needs to be made – no tear-stained appeals of how God is going broke – no guilt trips laid on the people of how they aren’t giving enough…none of that mess. The king put out the call of the need, gave an opportunity for people to give, and the people were assured that whatever they gave would be used appropriately. When we do that, God takes care of the rest!

12 The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of the LORD; and they hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the LORD, and also those who worked in iron and bronze to restore the house of the LORD. 13 So the workmen labored, and the work was completed by them; they restored the house of God to its original condition and reinforced it. 14 When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; they made from it articles for the house of the LORD, articles for serving and offering, spoons and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada.

1. All the money was used appropriately, given to the craftsmen (rather than the priests and the Levites). This was a special offering meant for the restoration of the temple. God already provided the tithes for the priests and Levites to eat; here, God was providing for the craftsmen to eat. The workers were worthy of their wages, and they were rightly paid for their services. (And because it was all done for the Lord, even their work of construction was ministry!)

• Joash’s downfall (15-27).

15 But Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, and he died; he was one hundred and thirty years old when he died. 16 And they buried him in the City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and His house.

1. Jehoiada had been blessed with an extremely long life! 130 years old is older than many of the Old Testament saints, including Moses. He had a very productive life, his greater contributions coming towards the end. For all his decades of priestly service, he did not ‘adopt’ Joash until he was in his 80s. God had good things for Jehoiada, even as an elderly man. (Who knows what God has for us in our later years?)

17 Now after the death of Jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king listened to them. 18 Therefore they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass. 19 Yet He sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the LORD; and they testified against them, but they would not listen.

1. As wonderful an influence as Jehoiada had been on Joash, he now had new advisors, new influencers. And sadly, with that came new idolatry. Although he had been raised in a godly environment, he did not share Jehoiada’s convictions of faith. Joash’s profession of faith was pure surface level. As long as Jehoiada was around, Joash did the things that pleased Jehoiada. Once other men were around, Joash did the things that pleased them. He was conviction-less, which left him open to following all kinds of deception.
2. Did it mean that Joash wasn’t God’s chosen king? No…this was still the Davidic king, but just like many of his forefathers, he still had an inconsistent heart towards the Lord. (There is only one perfect Davidic King, and His name is Jesus!) Because Joash was in a covenant with the Lord, God repeatedly reached out to him, warning him through judgment upon the land and through prophets. Sadly, it fell on deaf ears…

20 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He also has forsaken you.’ ”

1. Priests did not always prophesy, but this one did when the Holy Spirit came upon him, temporarily filling him. This particular priest had a personal tie to Joash. Zechariah was a true son of Jehoiada (or grandson), physically descended from him. He was likely much older than Joash, but he would have been well acquainted with this king whom his father had taken in. He was the perfect man to confront the king, telling him of the judgment the Lord had determined. Because Joash had forsaken the Lord, God had forsaken him. The king’s actions had consequences. He was under the covenant of the Lord God, and these were the specific consequences specified.

21 So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD. 22 Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son; and as he died, he said, “The LORD look on it, and repay!”

1. The conspiracy once claimed by Athaliah against herself, Joash now truly committed when he and others plotted the murder of Zechariah. The priest-prophet was stoned to death in the temple, the very place were Jehoiada had refused to allow the righteous execution of Athaliah. It seemed that Joash was living life in reverse, undoing all the good that his foster-father had done.
2. Although Zechariah is described in v20 as “the son of Jehoiada the priest,” it seems possible that he is also the man referenced by Jesus, when the Lord was condemning the scribes and the Pharisees. Matthew 23:34–35, “(34) Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, (35) that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.” Although the book of Zechariah is specifically said to be written by “Zechariah, son of Berechiah,” (Zech 1:7), we don’t know anything about that prophet’s death, and he was a post-exilic prophet at that. He wrote during the days that the temple was being rebuilt. Jesus’ description is certainly possible of him, but it seems unlikely. The description of Zechariah’s death seems to far better fit the account in 2 Chronicles, although there the issue of lineage. It should be noted that we don’t know anything about Jehoiada’s own family tree. It is possible he had a father named Berechiah. Or, due to Jehoiada’s age, it is certainly possible that Zechariah was either his grandson or great-grandson, with his own immediate father being named Berechiah. It is difficult for us to say. Undoubtedly, Jesus got the reference correct (for the Son of God makes no mistakes!), even if our understanding is lacking. – With that in mind, if this is indeed the reference that Jesus made, then it makes His wording far more visual to the cultural Hebrew listening to Him. In the Hebrew arrangement of canon, Chronicles (combined 1-2) is the very last book. The Tanakh is arranged first with the Law (Torah), then the Prophets (Nevi’im), then the Writings (Ketuvim). Chronicles is the last book of what are considered the “Writings.” For Jesus to say that the Pharisees and religious rulers rejected all the prophets from Abel (in Genesis) to Zechariah (in 2 Chronicles) was to say that Israel rejected every prophet in the entire book. It would be like telling a falsely professing Christian that he/she rejected everything from Genesis to Revelation (from “In” to “Amen”). Jesus told them they were guilty of all the blood of all the prophets, for the Pharisees and their forefathers had rejected every single one…just like they were currently rejecting Jesus and would soon reject His disciples.
   1. It ought to be noted that some use the Jewish rejection of Jesus to justify their own hateful antisemitism. Sadly, the institutional church did exactly that for centuries, the Catholics using the Jewish rejection of Jesus to force Jews into ghettos and the like. Such Satanic hatred is to be rightly condemned, even as it is again seen today. The antisemitic groups seen among colleges and universities today is Satanic in its origin and in its expression. True born-again Christians cannot hate Israel, for we understand that we as the Church are grafted into the promises of Israel. God still loves Israel, and one day all of Israel will be saved as they finally recognize Jesus as Messiah and Lord.

23 So it happened in the spring of the year that the army of Syria came up against him; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the leaders of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. 24 For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men; but the LORD delivered a very great army into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash.

1. This was God’s judgment against Joash. The Lord removed His protective hand from the nation, to the point that it was not possible for Joash to “prosper” (v20). The Syrians (Arameans) ransacked the land, killed many of the local leaders, and plundered the spoil. The small band of Syrians should have easily been defeated, but God did not allow it, instead delivering His own people unto defeat. This was clearly God’s judgment, and it didn’t go unnoticed by Joash’s own people…

25 And when they had withdrawn from him (for they left him severely wounded), his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed. So he died. And they buried him in the City of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings. 26 These are the ones who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess.

1. This time, the conspiracy was turned around against Joash. He was apparently wounded in battle against the Syrians, and the Gentile servants among him took advantage of his condition and assassinated him. And it was to no one’s sorrow. Despite the wonderful beginning of his reign, with all the joy expressed by the nation to have the restoration of their king, in his adult life, Joash wasted all that goodwill. His faithlessness brought death to his nation and the people did not forget.

27 Now concerning his sons, and the many oracles about him, and the repairing of the house of God, indeed they are written in the annals of the book of the kings. Then Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

Conclusion:

As wonderful as it was for the kingdom to be restored to the Davidic line following the threat of the usurping evil Queen Athaliah, Joash had his own mix of right and wrong. He was the right king, but (like all of us) it was possible for him to follow the wrong influences. As long as Jehoiada spoke into his life, Joash did great. It was when Jehoiada was gone that Joash opened himself to other counselors, from which he forsook the Lord.

Our parents were right: who you hang out with is who you become…your friends and influences matter. On one hand, we don’t want to be so easily led as apparently was Joash. We want our first and foremost influence to be Jesus! The more we are in His word, the more we pray, the more we seek His face and strive to live in His grace…the better off we’ll be. When He is our biggest influence, then He will conform us into His own image, transforming us from the inside-out.

On the other hand, at some level, we are each influenced by someone/something. Whatever it is, it is bound to have an effect in our lives. It will either lead us closer to Jesus or further away from Him. Pick your influences wisely! Use your influence wisely! You are bound to have an impact on the people in your lives. God forbid that any of us would cause someone else to stumble or to forsake the Lord!

More important than the issue of influence in our lives is the King who is on the throne of our lives. Each of us serves a king. The question is whether it is the right one. Of course, that can be easily answered. The right king is the king God has chosen…and His chosen King is Jesus! Do you serve Him? Are you looking for Him? We live in a world in which His claim to rule has been challenged – a world in which a Usurper rules as a prince of the power of the air. One day, our King will return to claim His throne…and that day will be glorious!

Podcast: Hebrews 3:7-19, “An Error to Avoid”

The writer of Hebrews provides an example from Israel’s past, which they ought to avoid: the nation’s initial failure to enter the Promised Land. Their lack of faith kept them out of the promise of God, and the same thing might happen with the current generation. Let us heed the warning! Don’t harden your heart to the promise of salvation in Jesus! Look to Him in confident faith and be saved!

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/preach-the-word/id1449859151?mt=2
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2aSveQvIs7SPHWB4UcmSUQ

An Error to Avoid

Hebrews 3:7-19, “An Error to Avoid”

Those learning to study the Bible for themselves, using the inductive method of Observation, Interpretation, Application, often ask several questions of the text when searching for the application of the text. Is there sin to confess? A promise to keep? A command to follow? An example to follow? Or, is there an error to avoid? Occasionally, we know precisely what to do when we carefully learn what not to do. When little Johnny sticks a paperclip in the power outlet and gets the shock of his life, we have a very clear picture of an error to avoid.

We see the same thing in the Bible. Sometimes, we have great examples to follow – such as the convictions of Paul, the faith of Peter, and of course everything about the life of the Lord Jesus. Other times, we have certain errors to avoid, whether it is the hypocritical lying of Ananias and Sapphira in the New Testament, or the initial doubting of God’s word in the Garden of Eden.

As the book of Hebrews continues, the author draws his readers’ attention to one example in the Old Testament (the Hebrew Bible), showing a very specific error to avoid – one that was committed by the ancestral forefathers of each of these Israelite readers: the sin of unbelief that kept their nation out of the Promised Land. If the then-current Hebrew Christian readers were not careful, they might just end up walking in those same footsteps.

Recall how we got here… As the book’s writer pointed his readers to the awesome person of Jesus as the Son of God supreme over all, he did so through comparative studies. First, Jesus was compared with the angels. Although He often appeared as the Angel of the Lord, Jesus is not an angel, and His primary mission involved being made a “little lower” than the angels (not in terms of worth, but in respect to His physical body). Jesus did not come to save angels, but to save men and women. Thus, Jesus came as a Man, becoming our perfect substitute. As a human, He was able to taste death on behalf of all humans, at the same time remaining God making Him able to provide an acceptable propitiatory sacrifice for all.

The second major comparison began in Chapter 3 as the author turned to Moses. Moses is rightly honored by all Hebrews everywhere (and should be honored by all Christians, too!). This was a prophet who proved faithful to God, serving God in many ways…not the least in how he gave God’s law to the people. But as great as Moses was, Jesus is better. Jesus is not only a Prophet, but also God’s own Apostle and High Priest. Jesus is more faithful to God and worthy of more honor than Moses because Jesus is God. Jesus not only served the Father, but He is the Son to the Father, having all rights and authority over God’s “house,” His people.

With that comparison made, the author introduced a warning. When speaking of Christ’s house, how do we know if we are part of it? The writer was convinced his readers were saved, being partakers of the same heavenly calling. But what about others who might be among them? What about other Hebrews who started to turn away from Jesus as Messiah/Christ? A warning was required, something that is explored through the rest of the chapter.

The warning comes through an example from Israel’s past, one with which the original readers would have been very familiar: the nation’s initial failure to enter the Promised Land. Their lack of faith kept them out of the promise of God, and the same thing might happen with the current generation.

It might happen with current Christians, too. Many people hear of the promises of Jesus in the gospel, even seeing the wonders of His work. What they lack is saving faith due to hardened hearts. Don’t harden your heart to the promise of salvation in Jesus! Look to Him in confident faith and be saved!

Hebrews 3:7–19

• What happened in the past (7-11). OT precedent.

7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: …

1. Before we get to the quotation of Psalm 95 (which sets up the argument through the rest of Chapter 3 and into Chapter 4), we first get a glimpse into the doctrine of Biblical inspiration. (Can’t pass this up!) Inspiration referring to the idea that the text of Scripture is divinely given, that it is breathed out by God into the Biblical writers, who wrote the words they were supernaturally given, while maintaining their own intellects and personalities. The words that Paul wrote in his epistles were truly his words, written with a Pauline style that is consistent through Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, etc. Likewise, with Luke with his gospel and the book of Acts – with John and his gospel, epistles, and Revelation, etc. Each of their writings have commonalities because of their respective authorships, Paul sounding like Paul, John sounding like John, etc. At the same time, all their words were divinely intended to be there, being perfectly inerrant and without contradiction, because the source of those words is ultimately God the Holy Spirit. The classic prooftexts are 2 Timothy 3:16-17 which specifically speaks about the Spirit breathing out the words of Scripture, and 2 Peter 1:21 as it describes holy men of God speaking as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. While those are the two main Biblical support verses, the general idea of inspiration is found throughout the Scripture, including here in the book of Hebrews. Who was it that said the words of the psalm that follows in vv7-11? “The Holy Spirit.” The original text of Psalm 95 does not explicitly state an author, although the writer of Hebrews later asserts that Psalm 95 was penned by David (4:7 ~ which is certainly plausible, considering how many other psalms David wrote). Does the writer of Hebrews contradict himself on this point? Not at all. David did indeed write many psalms preserved in our Bibles (not all of which have a superscription identifying him), but the Holy Spirit inspired David to write each and every one of them. All Scripture is fundamentally prophetic, for all Scripture is given by God. More than the prophecies recorded by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others could be described as words spoken by God; quite literally all the Bible is God’s word. From Genesis to Revelation, the Holy Spirit spoke it all.
   1. That doesn’t mean that every quotation pulled from the Bible is a command to be obeyed or a commendable practice. After all, parts of the Bible speak about Satan, even recording some of his words and the devil is known to be a liar (and the father of them). Parts of the Bible record the bad advice of the so-called friends of Job. Did the Holy Spirit inspire these words too? Yes…the Holy Spirit inspired the accurate recording of these words, even if the words recorded are contemptible. The responsibility falls upon us to ensure that we read the Bible rightly, interpreting each passage appropriately within its own context (grammatical, historical, and literary).
   2. The bottom line is simple: all the Bible is God’s word. All of it is something said by the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, people look last certain Scriptures, only paying attention (or at least special attention) to the ‘red letters,’ i.e., the words of Jesus. Are Jesus’ words important? Certainly…but His words include all 66 books of the Old and New Testaments.
2. As for Hebrews 3, the Holy Spirit’s authorship of Scripture is mentioned just as background for the lengthy quote that follows from Psalm 95. The song itself is relatively short, being only 11 verses, the writer of Hebrews quoting the final third (or so). For as much as the end of the psalm both chastises and warns the people of God, the opening is an invitation to sing joyfully to the Lord, praising the Rock of their salvation. YHWH God is declared to be the great God and King over all the earth, being the Creator of the earth. In light of this, a call goes out to God’s people to come worship and bow down, to kneel before the Lord their Maker. They are His sheep, and He is their Shepherd.

It is after that declaration of faith in Psalm 95:7, that YHWH is their God and they are His sheep and the people of His pasture, that the appeal and warning comes…

… “Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years.

1. The appeal begins with the urgency of “today,” (something that will be repeatedly referenced in Ch 3-4) the present-nature of this day (to-day!) implying a limited window of opportunity to act. “Today, if…” the “if” introducing a true hypothetical condition. Not everyone who was visibly among the nation of God would actually hear the “voice” of God. Not everyone who was in the pasture of the Lord was a sheep belonging to the Lord, attuned to hear the voice of his/her Shepherd. But some were, and some did. Those who heard the voice of the Lord, who experienced the prompting of God were to respond. They could not ignore the voice of God that called to them. If they heard His calling, they were both hear and heed (listen and obey). And what were they to do? Better yet, what were they not to do? “Do not harden your hearts.” If they stopped their ears to the voice of their God who called them, they would be hardening their hearts against Him. They would callous themselves to the call of God, thus denying God His rightful place as their Shepherd, King, Maker, and God.
2. For us, the idiom of “hardening our hearts” against God perhaps makes literary sense. It isn’t difficult to figure out. The harder a callous is on your feet, the less you feel the sharp edges of the rocks upon which you step. The better callouses a guitar player has on his/her fingers, the less the strings will hurt when playing. Of course, that is us listening to the phrase from a Gentile perspective. Yet to a Hebrew, the idea of a hardened heart calls to mind a very specific person: the Egyptian Pharaoh. Although the figure of speech is used sporadically throughout the Old Testament (sometimes referring to Israel itself), it is used 13x alone in Exodus, speaking of Pharaoh’s response to the miracles of God. When Moses initially showed up in Egypt, Pharaoh hardened his heard against the Lord. Nearly midway through the plagues, the Bible says that the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart. God confirmed what Pharaoh chose for himself, giving the Egyptian king over to his own sin and judgment. – To the point, the Hebrews had become like Pharaoh. They did what he did, hardening their hearts against the Lord God, even after witnessing the amazing power and miracles of God. The Hebrews had become their own worst enemy.
   1. Isn’t that what we sometimes do? The very things we decry, we end up imitating. There is a reason why children of alcoholics often become alcoholics, or those who have been abused often abuse others. (Or, name any other sin…it so often follows us cyclically!) Sin is its own slave-master, and though we might break free for a season, unless we replace it with a better Lord, we will end up bound once again.
3. Sadly, the people of God had a track record of doing just this. They routinely hardened their hearts against the Lord, closing their ears to the voice of their God. The psalmist picked one clear example (although he could have picked many): “the rebellion…the day of trial in the wilderness.” Any number of days from Israel’s past might have easily been labeled as days of rebellion and trial, but no Israelite needed to be told which one was in mind: it was the day Israel refused to enter the Promised Land, when they stood in Kadesh Barnea accusing God of bringing them to that place to die. – The account is recorded in Numbers 13-14, how while encamped in the wilderness of Paran, Moses sent certain men as representatives from each tribe in Israel to spy/scout out the land that God promised the nation. After 40 days, the men returned, bringing back examples of the fruit of the land, testifying how indeed it did flow with milk and honey just as the Lord had said. Of course, they also spoke of how it was inhabited by mighty people (something which the Lord had also repeatedly told them!). These people looked like giants, while the Israelites seemed like grasshoppers. According to the report of the spies (excepting Caleb and Joshua), entering the land was a suicide mission…it was hopeless. Numbers 14:1–3, “(1) So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. (2) And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! (3) Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”” Is it any wonder that the Lord God remembered this as a day of rebellion? There they were, on the edge of a land flowing with milk and honey – the land for which they had waited for 400 years, which God promised to give them even though it was inhabited by the Canaanites, Amorites, and the rest. They had seen proof of the land’s fruitfulness, and better than that, they had seen proof of God’s power. They had personally witnessed God’s work in the plagues, the Passover, and the Red Sea. They had seen God produce bread in the desert and water from the rocks. Surely, giving them possession of the Promised Land was a small thing in His eyes! Yet there in Kadesh Barnea, the faith of Israel failed. They wept as if they were already dead. They wailed that it would have been better if they were dead, that it would be better to return to Egyptian slavery than to receive the gift that God offered them. And of course, their attitude wouldn’t be any better over the next 40 years. They not only lacked the faith to walk in obedience, but they acted as if they hadn’t known God at all, defaming His character as well as His promise. “Has God brought us here to die? To be victimized?” They attributed to God the worst motives, although He had demonstrated to them amazing grace.

10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ 11 So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

1. The “therefore” makes much sense! God’s anger and judgment of that generation was truly justified. Why shouldn’t He be “angry” with such people? Why shouldn’t He have much “wrath” towards them? After everything He had already done for them – after everything He freely offered them, they still despised Him. God had every reason in the world to be angry with them, even to wipe them from the face of the earth if He so chose.
   1. People sometimes have a problem with the idea of God’s angry wrath, using that as an excuse not to believe in Him. “I can’t believe in a God of wrath and vengeance! Surely God is loving and forgiving…that’s a God I can get behind.” God is indeed loving and forgiving…more than we can possibly express through words. But He has anger towards sin. He will judge the wicked in His righteous wrath. How could He not? When we think of all the murders, rapes, kidnappings, and abuse that have gone unanswered by the courtrooms of this world – when we think of all the evil that has taken place under the guise of government…how could we not desire God to judge in righteousness? A good God must judge these things, otherwise He would not be good at all.
      1. Of course, if God being perfect judges those major crimes, then certainly a God who is perfect will also judge ‘minor’ ones. A good and just God will also judge us for all our sins. He has every right to be angry with us, just like He had every right to be angry with Israel. That is exactly why He sent Jesus! At the cross, Jesus satisfied the anger of God on our behalf, taking our judgment in our place. Now, we can experience the love and forgiveness of our good God because Jesus placated our good God’s anger and wrath.
   2. More fundamentally, how do we know that God loves and forgives? Through the Bible. There is absolutely no basis to assume through our intuition that God is a loving, merciful, and forgiving God. That might be what someone wants God to be, but there is no reasonable and objective standard to assume it, any more than we can assume the dark side of the moon is green and made out of cheese simply because we like the idea. The only way we know anything definitive about God (apart from general revelation) is through the Bible. It is the Bible that tells us God is love (1 Jn 4:8). It is the Bible that tells us God is merciful (Dt 7:9). Guess what? It is also the Bible that tells us God is angry with the wicked every day (Ps 7:11). It tells us that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience (Col 3:6). The Bible tells us both…we cannot pick and choose which Scriptures to believe and which to discard. If we receive the Bible as God’s own revelation (which we should!) we need to receive all of it.
2. God’s anger towards Israel was justified, not only because of Israel’s then-current rebellion at Kadesh Barnea, but also their past history of rebellion. The psalmist wrote “they always go astray.” Always is a big word! Is this poetic exaggeration? Was God (through the psalmist) using literary hyperbole to describe Israel? Surely they did not “always” sin, any more than we “always” do something or the other. As when teenager tell their parents, “You never let me do anything fun!” In this case, however, the description is accurate. While there were certain times Israel actually did obey the Lord, those times were the exceptions that proved the rule. Yes, they did put the blood of the Passover lambs on their doorposts. Yes, they did cross the Red Sea, gather manna on a daily basis, and agree to the covenant at Mt Sinai. Those were times of sweet obedience. But even here, they tested the Lord’s patience the entire time. They complained when Moses first arrived in Egypt asking for their freedom. They complained at the edge of the Red Sea. They complained in the wilderness prior to receiving manna – they complained after receiving manna – they complained about the manna. At Mt Sinai, they begged Moses to speak to God on their behalf, then complained that Moses was speaking with God too long. They engaged in a form of Egyptian idolatry at the base of Mt Sinai, basically spitting in the face of God despite all the powerful miracles they personally witnessed. And all of this was well prior to them rebelling against God at the edge of the Promised Land. The description of “they always go astray” was not hyperbole; it was downright accurate!
   1. Let us be careful pointing fingers. If it could be said of Israel, surely it can be said of us. We always go astray. Obviously, some days are better than others. But what day has there ever been when you have been sinless? As a born-again Christian, what day has gone by where you could claim, “I guess I didn’t need Jesus’ forgiveness today. I’m good to go…” It doesn’t happen! Regardless our level of maturity and growth (and hopefully, we are always growing), we still require daily forgiveness.
3. What was Israel’s judgment for their constant “always” rebellion? The oath of God that “they shall not enter My rest.” What does the “rest” of God entail? That is the primary issue in Chapter 4. For now, it is enough to see that in the Promised Land, God gave Israel an offer of rest. Interestingly, the word is not the term used for Sabbath, although the ideas overlap. This is a resting place, somewhere that the people could be comforted and cease from their work or activity. Contextually for Israel, they had been ‘busy’ wandering from place to place, but God offered them a place to settle down. (Chapter 4 will argue that God’s true rest is something far more than the Promised Land or even the Sabbath day…the writer of Hebrews will build that argument in time.) It was offered to Israel, but that offer was no more. “They shall not enter My rest.” The decree of the Holy God was that His people would not receive His rest, due to their terrible persistent rebellion. This was God’s oath, and it would not be broken. His judgment cannot be overruled.

• Warning for the present (12-15). NT warning.

12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

1. The application comes in the form of a warning. To his Hebrew Christian brethren, he told them to watch out for their own potential hardened hearts, the attitudes that would result in unbelief. Importantly, the writer does call his readers, “” Once again, he affirms that he believes the best about his readers. He believed they were each “partakers of the heavenly calling,” his own “holy brethren,” (3:1). To the best of his understanding, his readers believed that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Christ (the Messiah), the Son of the living God who died for them on the cross and rose from the grave. He believed that they were his saved brothers and sisters in Jesus. But even “brethren” need warnings. Brethren especially need warnings! For instance, I don’t want to see anyone get involved in an automobile accident, and my heart goes out to those involved whenever I see a car wreck. I would do what I could to warn any potential traveler about a bridge out ahead (or whatever). But my warnings and pleadings would become far more vehement with my bride or my daughter. I know them more – I love them more – thus, if I knew of imminent danger, I would warn them more. Likewise, when it comes to warnings of potential departure (and even apostasy) from Jesus, those who are brothers and sisters in Jesus (born-again believers) are who need it most. More than anyone, we need these warnings.
   1. This is what God does with us in His word, and what we see throughout the book of Hebrews. As we get further into the book, we will find several explicit warnings to Christians not to fall away from Jesus (Heb 6), to sin willfully and draw back to perdition (Heb 10). People tend to get scared as we read the warnings, and due to that fear (and the controversy surrounding them), simply write them off as being unnecessary. Do we as God’s children need to fear our heavenly Father ripping His promise of salvation away from us? No, not in the slightest. We are brought into a new covenant with God, sealed with the blood of Jesus Christ. The covenants God makes, God keeps! Even so, these warnings matter…they are meant for us. Because He loves us, He warns us.
2. With that in mind, the issue being addressed in Chapter 3 is not whether a born-again Christian can lose his/her salvation. There is nothing in this chapter about God casting someone away from His covenant or removing His seal of salvation. As hard as we might look for that language, it is not there. In Chapter 3, the issue is “departing from the living God.” Although some might want to rebrand this as ‘total spiritual apostasy,’ or ‘losing salvation,’ that is simply not the language used. The language is that of departure, of someone who once walked (or seemed to walk) with Jesus, who now no longer walks with Jesus. – If we’re being honest, that perhaps makes the topic a bit tougher. As long as we’re debating eternal security, we can stay in the realm of the theoretical, the hypothetical. We ask questions like, “Is it possible…? Might this actually happen…?” It removes a bit of the sting from the argument, keeping our debates academic (if not still passionate). Yet when we look at the language used by the writer, it isn’t ‘ivory tower,’ but down to earth. This isn’t a theoretical apostasy; this is actual relational departure…and it is something that happens every day.
   1. Probably every person in this room knows of at least one person (if not several) who once seemingly walked with Jesus, yet later departed from Him. An increasingly prevalent trend among Millennials and Gen Z involves so-called ‘ex-vangelicals’ who desire to deconstruct their faith. These are (mostly) young men and women who grew up in church environments and once claimed to be Christian, who now repudiate nearly everything they believe to be representative of evangelical Christianity. (Whether who ideas are actually Biblical, rather than merely cultural or purely legalistic, is another question altogether.) But the issue remains: these people have departed from the living God. This is not theoretical to them; it is their lived experience, witnessed by the rest of us.
3. What is at the root of these departures? “Unbelief.” The word might be translated “no faith.” Gk: apistia (ἀπιστία), the alpha-privative which negates the word + pistia, related to faith/belief. Like “atheist” is “not-theist / un-theist,” so “apistia” is not-belief / unbelief. In the past, the hardened hearts of the Israelites demonstrated their unbelief, as they refused to have faith that God could/would give them the land as He promised. They did not believe rightly about the living God, defaming His character through their accusations against Him. This, wrote the author to his readers, is the “evil heart” of which they needed to beware. As long as they believed, having softened hearts toward the Lord, everything was okay. Yet if there were some among them who harbored unbelief, then that person’s lack of faith would become known when he/she departed from the living God. When writing of small “a” antichrists (those who are opposed to Jesus Christ), John wrote: 1 John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.” When it came to false teachers or others who were flatly opposed to Christ, yet sometimes mingling among the church, how would they become known? Through their departure. Someone who truly believes in Jesus Christ as Lord doesn’t give Him up. Born-again believers might have days (or seasons) of disobedience, of laziness, of apathy, etc., even days of doubt…but they don’t give up Jesus entirely. They don’t chuck Jesus along with the church, becoming altogether pagan. In some way, shape, or form, they continue with Christ. Why? Because true born-again believers know that Jesus is our only hope! We cannot be saved, unless Jesus saves us. We cannot be forgiven, unless Jesus forgives us. If we ever hope to be reconciled to God and go to heaven when we die, it must be through the work of Jesus…or it doesn’t happen. That kind of fundamental faith isn’t given up. When that baseline isn’t there, then ‘belief’ isn’t there. All that is left is unbelief, and departure from the living God isn’t far behind.
4. With that in mind, a modicum of unbelief might take place among true born-again believers. Even if we haven’t totally given up on Jesus, we might get enticed by the things of this world – we might allow ourselves to be attracted to the “deceitfulness of sins,” resulting in our hearts becoming hardened over time. How can we combat that? This is one area in which being part of a local church is so helpful! We can “exhort one another daily,” as we walk with Jesus. I can encourage you, and you can encourage me. We can pray for one another, send Scriptures to each other, and generally bear one another’s burdens to help us each ‘keep on keeping on.’
   1. Who are you exhorting? Often, we’ll come to verses like this in the Bible and start grumbling, “No one has been exhorting me, lately!” Sadly, that might be true. (And where I’ve personally failed in this, forgive me!) But let’s not forget that Christianity is not a spectator sport. The idea that a born-again Christian can just show up among a church congregation and do nothing except watch and receive is flatly unbiblical. Tragically, it was encouraged throughout much of church history with the division between the clergy and the laity, with congregants showing up to watch as the priests did all the ‘work.’ That might be a traditional understanding, but it is not a Biblical one. In the New Testament, men and women came together in one accord as they continued in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers (Acts 2:42). They came offering themselves, serving and loving one another, participating in their joint worship of Christ. They came not to watch, but to participate. So…who have you exhorted/encouraged lately? You might have just the word (or hug or smile) to help someone else who’s been struggling. You might be just the person God intends to use with someone who is getting distracted by the deceitfulness of sin. 

14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

1. How can someone know if they’ve partaken of Christ? Simple: through believing in Him. The writer speaks of holding fast one’s confidence in Christ, which is another way of speaking of faith. Remember, the danger of which he warned was “unbelief.” What is the antidote to unbelief? Instead of departing from the living God, we hold fast to the living God. We’ve already grabbed hold of Jesus; now we don’t let go. This is the urgency implied from the earlier quotation in Psalm 95. If you’ve heard God’s voice (if you’ve heard Christ’s call and believed on Him), don’t harden your heart against Him. If you’ve felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit calling you to be saved, don’t proverbially plug your ears to Him. If you’ve felt the stirring of faith, don’t walk away with a hardened heart. Believe! [Maybe you’re hearing the call today!]
2. And once you believe, keep on believing. Keep on walking with Jesus, keep on trusting Him to save. In this, be careful not to get the wrong idea. The author of Hebrews is not saying, “Jesus has saved you by His grace, but now you need to keep yourself saved by your works.” How do we know he isn’t saying this? (1) We have to read that conclusion into the Bible, for it certainly doesn’t arise from the text itself. (2) If the author was saying that, he would be contradicting many other places in the Bible where it says the opposite, and the Bible never contradicts. – So, what is he saying? Merely that our faith in Jesus is active. Does He give us the faith we need to trust His grace? Sure (Eph 2:8-9), but the faith He gives is faith that we exercise. Faith doesn’t work any other way. The story has often been told of acrobat Charles Blondin, who crossed Niagra Falls on tightrope some 300 times in the late 1800’s. Sometimes, he would cross with a wheelbarrow, with the crowd being amazed. One day, he reportedly asked the crowd if they believed he could do it with someone in the wheelbarrow and everyone cheered “yes,” but the moment he asked for a volunteer, no one raised his hand. Real faith is not only believing that Jesus can save, but using the grace Jesus gives you, getting into His own wheelbarrow and trusting Him to That is an active faith. And it is one we are called to hold steadfastly to the end.
   1. Don’t give it up for anything! Don’t let the deceitfulness of sin rob you of the joy that is rightfully yours in your salvation. Don’t let the trials of this world harden your heart to the Jesus you know has saved you. You can’t do much about those trials; you can hold fast to Jesus. Do it!

• Exegetical conclusion (16-19). Questions and answers.

16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?

1. The questions are rapid-fire in their issuance, as well as their answers. It should have been quickly obvious to all his original readers with their Hebrew background. Who was it that rebelled against the Lord? It was the very people that God had brought out of Egyptian slavery. Who experienced the Lord’s anger for 40 years? Those same people who sinned, God’s anger evident in their death. Who would not enter God’s rest? All those who disobeyed and thus died in the wilderness. – It is the first question that sets the tone for all the rest. The ones who rebelled – the ones who sinned by disbelieving in the Lord – the ones who refused to obey God…every single one of them was someone who personally witnessed the Lord’s work in delivering them out of Egypt. Every one of them had gone through the Passover and the Red Sea. They experienced these things first-hand, and should have had more faith than any other generation of Hebrews before or since. They didn’t. They had evil hearts of unbelief and rebelled.
2. Takeaway: it is possible to hear God’s promise of rest, to see and intellectually understand His power to save…yet still fail to believe. This generation of Israelites had all the evidence in front of them. They had all the instruction that was required. They could not have been more led by the hand if Jesus had come incarnate among them. After all, it was the Angel of the Lord who led them by the pillar of cloud and fire…Jesus was among them! Yet at the end of it all, when it was time for the rubber to meet the road, they refused to believe. What followed was 40 years of death, with the Promised Land given to the next generation.

19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

1. Unbelief kept them from entering God’s rest. Don’t gloss over the wording. The writer says of those ancient Hebrews that “they could not enter.” Not would not; could The Israelites of the time were not able to enter the Promised Land. They had been brought to its edge – they knew the fruit that lay within it. They had their covenant with the Lord God promising His protection and provision as well as the prophet of God leading them. Yet “they could not enter in.” Why? What did they lack? Faith. The writer specifically tells us: “they could not enter in because of unbelief.” A lack of faith kept them from the promise of God. A distrust of God robbed them of the ability to receive what God freely offered them. They had a marvelous opportunity before them. Their unbelief made it impossible for them to use it.
2. That word is intentional. It was not unlikely; it was impossible. Their unbelief did not make things more difficult, as if all the Israelites needed to do was to try harder. They did not require more will; they required better faith. Apart from faith, it is impossible to receive any of the promises of God. We this in ancient Israel itself. Once they rebelled at Kadesh Barnea, refusing to enter the land, they heard the judgment of God proclaimed upon them through Moses. God decreed that their dead bodies would fall in the wilderness, that they would proceed on a 40-year death march. After hearing that, all of a sudden the people of Israel found the will to obey! (Which at this point, was continued disobedience.) They rose early the next day to enter the land, even while Moses ped with them not to try. They had lost their opportunity, and this was God’s judgment upon them. Further disobedience would lead to further death…which was exactly what happened. The Amalekites and Canaanites drove back the Hebrews who tried to enter (Num 14:45). These were nations who were originally supposed to flee before Israel when Israel followed the Lord. In Israel’s faithless disobedience, those nations now caused Israel to flee. – The bottom line is clear. They could not enter the land. Their opportunity was lost through their unbelief. And their continued unbelief only made things worse. They didn’t believe God enough to enter when He told them to enter, nor did they believe God enough to turn around when He told them to go. Their lack of faith made it impossible to please God and experience His blessings and His rest.
3. Without jumping too far ahead, this is exactly what the writer of Hebrews will clearly tell his readers in Chapter 11. Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” We cannot please God apart from faith. It is impossible to do so. Faith allows us to take hold of His offers of grace. Grace is appropriated by no other means. It doesn’t come through rituals – it doesn’t come through baptism (though baptism is commanded!) – it doesn’t come through acts of service or giving (though we are to serve and to give). Nothing takes hold of God’s grace in Jesus other than faith. Without faith, we have no share in Jesus. Without Jesus, we have no share in the rest offered by God.

Conclusion:

The writer of Hebrews pointed out to his readers a very important error to avoid: unbelief. This was something that plagued their fathers, for despite all the wonders of God that they witnessed, they still failed to enter the Promised Land when brought to its borders. They failed to believe God, which evidenced their hardened rebellious hearts.

The author wanted his readers to beware the same danger. While he believed they were his brothers and sisters in Jesus, he understood how easily we can become beset by sin, with our own hearts becoming calloused to Jesus. His desire was to warn them of the danger, so that they would hold fast to Christ.

I wonder sometimes how many people have passed through our doors over the years professing faith, who later ended up departing from the living God? It’s impossible to know as people come and go all the time. When it comes to true, abiding faith in Jesus, that is a question each Christian must answer individually. No one can look at another person’s life and determine the difference between a false profession of faith and a temporary backslidden state. What you can do is look at your own life. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, you can (and should!) “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves,” (2 Cor 13:5). Is your abiding faith in Jesus? Is He your one hope for salvation, knowing you have zero hope apart from Him? (Are you in His wheelbarrow?) The Bible is clear on this point: Romans 10:9, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” If Jesus is your confession, knowing that He is Lord and God – if you believe that He died for your sins and rose from the dead, then the promise from the Bible (God’s own inspired word!) is that you will be saved.

Hold fast to Him as your confession! Hold fast to Him as your confidence and your joy! Don’t be one of those who heard the promise of good news, who sat on the edge of God’s forever rest, but still hardened your heart against Him. Take hold of Jesus and rest in the promise of His salvation!

Podcast: 2 Chronicles 21-22, “Two Kings and a Queen”

The marriage into Ahab’s family introduced Ahab’s wicked influence into the Davidic line, resulting in murder, political chaos, and even the usurpation of the Davidic line itself. Spoiler alert: God’s promises never fail! His plan of salvation through Jesus does not depend on us, nor can even the devil put it at risk.

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/preach-the-word/id1449859151?mt=2
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2aSveQvIs7SPHWB4UcmSUQ

Two Kings and a Queen

2 Chronicles 21-22, “Two Kings and a Queen”

It’s either the start of a great poker hand, or the start of a really terrible joke: “Two kings and a queen walk into a room…” In the case of the particular kings and queen in question, it really would be terrible for them to walk into the room, because they were some of the evilest rulers in Judah’s history. How bad were they? They put the very dynasty of David at risk, which meant that even the Messianic promise was at risk. It doesn’t get any worse than that!

Judah had just enjoyed one of their best kings since the days of David and Solomon: the reign of Jehoshaphat. Being the son of another relatively good king (Asa), Jehoshaphat had a fervent, if inconsistent desire to seek the Lord. He led in religious and judicial reforms throughout the land, and built up Judah’s military among its fortified cities. Yet even here, his trust was not in his national agenda, but in the Lord as his God. He understood his one hope was the Lord, thus he strove to honor the Lord in his works.

Where he struggled was his consistency. Perhaps Jehoshaphat’s biggest failure was the marriage alliance he made with Ahab, the evil king of Israel (one of their worst!). Despite Ahab’s trust in the Baals and his other many examples of wickedness, Jehoshaphat took one of Ahab’s daughters as a wife for his son. Not only did this commit Jehoshaphat and Judah to go with Israel to war against Syria (endangering Jehoshaphat’s own life in the process), but it also set up his descendants for trouble yet to come. Jehoshaphat’s unwise compromises as king would lead to dire consequences for his people.

Those consequences begin to be seen in Chapters 21-22. The marriage into Ahab’s family introduced Ahab’s wicked influence into the Davidic line, resulting in murder, political chaos, and even the usurpation of the Davidic line itself. By the end of Chapter 22, the Davidic dynasty held on by a thread, a Gentile queen descended from Ahab sitting on the throne in Jerusalem.

This is more than mere political palace intrigue; this was an existential threat to the promise of the Messiah. The Messiah was to be the Son of David, extending the length of David’s dynasty into eternity. Yet if David’s lineage itself was at stake, from what family would Jesus come? God’s very promises about the Lord Jesus Christ hung in the balance.

Spoiler alert: God’s promises never fail! His plan of salvation through Jesus does not depend on us, nor can even the devil put it at risk. What God promises, God fulfills…and not a thing on earth can stop Him from doing so.

This is good news! Not only can we rejoice in the fulfillment of God’s promise to bring forth Jesus, but it also gives us hope in the yet-future promises of our Lord. Whatever chaos takes place in the world (even taking hold of this world), we need not despair. We wait for the fulfilled word of Christ, and we can know that He will bring His word to pass!

2 Chronicles 21 – Jehoram.

• Transition (1-3).

1 And Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jehoram his son reigned in his place. 2 He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azaryahu, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. 3 Their father gave them great gifts of silver and gold and precious things, with fortified cities in Judah; but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn.

1. Wrapping up the account of Jehoshaphat. The account picks up after the appendix that was included at the end of Chapter 20. Despite his failure which repeated an alliance with Israel, causing him to lose all the investments he made into sea-faring ships, Jehoshaphat was beloved by the people and at his death, was buried in honor.
2. Interestingly, v2 describes Jehoshaphat as “king of Israel.” Although some Bible translations change this to say “Judah,” the Hebrew is clear that the label is “Israel.” At first glance, this seems unexpected considering that at the time there was a kingdom called “Israel,” but its throne was not in Jerusalem. When Jehoram took the throne in Jerusalem, there was another Joram who was king in Samaria (2 Kings 8:16). What gives? This gets to one of the main themes of the book of Chronicles: the line of kings preserved by God is the rightful line of Israel. Even when the northern kingdom is overthrown by Assyria, the Chronicler consistently shows people from the northern tribes joining the southern tribes in worshipping the true God. There is one nation chosen by the Lord as His own, with whom His covenant blessings through Abraham and Moses and David rest: Israel, whose capital is forever in Jerusalem.
3. As for Jehoshaphat king of Israel (Judah), he had seven sons. As the firstborn, Jehoram had the right to rule as king. It didn’t mean the other sons were left out. Their father loved all of them, blessing all of them with “great gifts” of various sorts. But the kingdom belonged to Jehoram as the eldest.

• Jehoram’s evil reign (4-7).

4 Now when Jehoram was established over the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and killed all his brothers with the sword, and also others of the princes of Israel.

1. To murder one’s own brothers is an act of horrendous evil, but it had the effect of eliminating all potential competition to the throne. It was ‘job security’ for Jehoram, because the people would not be able to rid themselves of him, regardless how bad he was. If there was no other Davidic heir to elevate as king, Jehoram was all that was left.
2. The practice itself was semi-common among the Gentiles and even the northern kingdom, but it ought to have been abhorrent in Judah. This was what the pagans did; not the covenant children of God. This was the evil of the world; not the behavior of those who belonged to YHWH the Lord.
   1. We could issue similar condemnations of various behaviors often seen among the professing church. Quite often, we engage in the practices and behaviors of the world. Born-again Christians should not look at lustful images – we shouldn’t practice manipulation – we shouldn’t lie or gossip – we shouldn’t burst into unrighteous anger, etc. We shouldn’t…but we often do. As born-again Christians, we are forgiven by Jesus, but we aren’t perfect (yet). That isn’t said to excuse our behavior. Sinful, pagan-like behavior should be called out for what it is. When we engage in it, we should confess and repent. Far better not to practice these things…but when we do, we should be quick to seek Jesus in humility and repentance.
3. The kingdom had already been promised to Jehoram and given to him. That should have been enough for Jehoram. It wasn’t, as demonstrated by his killing spree among his brothers. Why couldn’t Jehoram have rested in the promises of his father? Because Jehoram wasn’t a man of faith. He rejected the God of his fathers, as seen in his other chosen associations…

5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he had the daughter of Ahab as a wife; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.

1. Although Jehoram’s father Jehoshaphat was the true spiritual king of Israel, he rejected that example. Instead, Jehoram chose the example of his evil father-in-law Ahab (although Ahab was dead by the time Jehoram rose to the throne). “He walked in the way of the kings of Israel,” aligning himself with his pagan family members, rather than his godly ones. (Everyone makes his/her own choices of who to emulate. Choose wisely!)
2. Remember where the root of this originated: Jehoshaphat. The otherwise-godly Jehoshaphat made certain spiritual compromises in his life, the fruition of which begins to be seen here. If he hadn’t taken Ahab’s daughter as a wife for his son, Jehoram would never have had Ahab as a father-in-law. The entire trajectory of his life (as well as that for his nation) might have been different! – It serves as a reminder that the decisions we make today have ripple effects on our lives later. The Bible tells us that we reap what we sow. If we sow to the flesh, we will undoubtedly reap corruption (Gal 6:7-8). 
3. Does this mean that there is a one-to-one correlation between the bad things in our lives and the bad choices we’ve made? No…be careful not to make the Biblical principle of sowing and reaping into an unbiblical (and pagan!) idea like karma. No doubt, it was ‘bad’ for Paul to be in prison, but he wasn’t in prison because of his disobedience to God; he was there because of his faithfulness to the gospel. We cannot always judge what circumstances in our lives are the result of God’s judgment. We can trust that all the circumstances in our lives are allowed by God’s sovereignty. Our job isn’t to try to parse out which is there because of our previous sin; our job is to trust Jesus in the midst of those things. – With that in mind, we cannot ignore the possibility that some of the things we face in life are indeed the fruits of our own actions. If you get pulled over for drunk driving, the consequence of losing your license is a direct result/fruit. The key for us is to try to look ahead. Before we make major decisions, take the time to determine whether it is sin or Biblically wise. Instead of just ‘going with our gut,’ be intentional in your discernment. If it isn’t a godly choice, consequences will be sure to come. If you can see those consequences and steer clear, all the better!

7 Yet the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.

1. Neither the foolishness of Jehoshaphat nor the sin of Jehoram invalidated the rock-solid promises of God to David. God made a promise that David’s son would sit on the throne “forever,” and “forever” means forever. God’s word is not so easily erased! Though every man be a liar, God will always be true! 
2. In the context of 2 Chronicles 21-22, this affirmation of God’s promise to David is especially important. The compromises of Jehoshaphat might have easily led to the destruction of the “house of David,” and indeed gets very close to doing so. But this was a covenant of God, and God’s covenants do not go void. In the immediate context, God had every right to destroy Jehoram in judgment for sin. But until there was another Davidic king that could take Jehoram’s place, God would not allow the current king to perish. As evil as he was, he was still the current “lamp” of David, and that light would not be put out.

• God’s judgments against Jehoram (8-20).

8 In his days Edom revolted against Judah’s authority, and made a king over themselves. 9 So Jehoram went out with his officers, and all his chariots with him. And he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots. 10 Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah’s authority to this day. At that time Libnah revolted against his rule, because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers.

1. Although the nation of Israel had not originally conquered Edom upon entering the Promised Land (indeed, they had been forbidden from doing so ~ Dt 2:5-6), at some point during the reign of David and Solomon, Edom came under the military might of Israel. By the time of Jehoram, the Edomites determined they had enough, and threw off the yoke of Israel and Judah. Quite possibly, this is the fulfillment of the ancient prophecy of Isaac to Esau back in the day that Jacob (Israel) ‘stole’ Esau’s blessing (Gen 27:39-40). Whether the revolt in the days of Jehoram was the final fulfillment of this prophecy is unknown; the Chronicler seemed to believe it to be a possibility as the Edomites were still in “revolt” at the time of his writing.
2. Jehoram had troubles not only to his southeast (Edom), but also to his northwest, as “Libnah” was a city in Judah close to the region of the Philistines. In both cases, the reason was clear: Jehoram “had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers.” Because the king abandoned the Lord, God gave him over to the promised consequences of the covenant. Instead of the nation flourishing, it began floundering. If Jehoram had the same love of God as did his father, he would have experienced similar blessings as did his father. As it was, the blessings were being stripped from him one-by-one.
   1. As a reminder, we as the church are in a different covenant with God than the ancient kings. God is not going to treat us the same as He treated Jehoram. Even so, we cannot forsake the Lord and expect to escape all consequences. God loves us enough to allow us to persist in that kind of rebellion. Like any loving father, God disciplines those whom He loves. Should we forsake God, we need to expect Him to spank us and bring us back in line.

11 Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit harlotry, and led Judah astray.

1. Recall that his father made a point to remove many of the high places and wooden images of the land (17:6). All those previous reforms were ignored and undone by the son. Jehoram put these high places right back up. He didn’t merely turn a blind eye to the occasional person committing idolatry; he downright provoked his people to engage in it! He “led Judah astray.” As God’s anointed king, Jehoram had a God-given responsibility to lead God’s people rightly. Instead of being a shepherd, Jehoram was like a wolf among the sheep, leading God’s people directly to danger.

By no means would God allow this to endure forever. God may not have originally been able to judge Jehoram unto death, but at some point Jehoram would have some sons. And when he did, his own life (if still unrepentant) would be forfeit, the Davidic dynasty continuing without him. Such was the news God conveyed to the king in a letter from Elijah…

12 And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus says the LORD God of your father David: Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah, 13 but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot like the harlotry of the house of Ahab, and also have killed your brothers, those of your father’s household, who were better than yourself, 14 behold, the LORD will strike your people with a serious affliction—your children, your wives, and all your possessions; 15 and you will become very sick with a disease of your intestines, until your intestines come out by reason of the sickness, day by day.

1. There are a few things that make this letter from Elijah interesting. (1) This is the only writing we have from Elijah preserved in the Bible. Although he is perhaps one of the most famous prophets (second only to Moses, if that), he is known for his miracles and confrontations with the kings. Unlike Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc., Elijah wrote no book. (2) Normally, Elijah’s ministry was in the northern kingdom. Although he once fled from Jezebel to Beersheba in Judah, there is no recorded ministry of his to Judah. (3) Dating this letter is extremely difficult. In fact, some have questioned if the letter is authentic, charging that Elijah was already translated to heaven by the time Jehoram became king. Technically, that is true. Although we don’t know the exact date when Elijah was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire, by the time of Jehoram’s reign, it seems that the prevalent prophet was Elisha. That isn’t to say it is impossible. Looking at the various ages of the kings, it becomes apparent that Elijah was alive by the time Jehoram became an adult (even if not yet the sole reigning king, apart from a co-regency with his father). Elijah would have known of the man. But even if the events of his evil reign had not yet taken place, is it not fully possible (even reasonable) for Elijah to have written a prophetic letter in advance of Jehoram’s reign, the Lord God being fully aware of everything Jehoram would do? Notice the text in 2 Chronicles never claims that the letter was hand-delivered by Elijah; only that the letter “came to him from Elijah the prophet.” Surely he might have written it in advance, entrusted it to Elisha while instructing him to send it at the proper time.
   1. How can we say this with certainty? Because we serve a God who knows the future! There are no limits on His knowledge. There are many prophecies in the Bible that spoke of people and events long before they came into history. Surely, God could give advance knowledge to Elijah…especially when the future sinful actions of the next king of Israel was like writing on the wall!
2. As for the letter itself, it is clear. God’s judgment was coming upon Jehoram “because” (v12) of his sin. (1) He walked in the evil ways of Israel. (2) He led Judah into idolatry. (3) He murdered his brothers. – For all those things (and more), God would righteously judge Jehoram, judging not only his family (“your children, your wives, and all your possessions” – some of this surely coming true in the next verses as well as the next chapter), and condemning him to an awful death filled with much pain. – It is that last part that makes some Christians uncomfortable. Might God judge someone through debilitating sickness? Sure…God is God, and He has the right to do what He wants. If this is His declared method of judgment for Jehoram, then so be it. That isn’t to say that every sickness someone experiences is a punishment. There was a man encountered by Jesus and the disciples, who had been born blind, and the disciples asked if it was that man or his parents who had sinned. Jesus responded that neither had sinned, but that these things had come to pass, “that the works of God should be revealed in him,” (Jn 9:2-3), going on to heal the man as a sign of Jesus’ power over blindness.
   1. God’s actions aren’t always easily explained by us. Sometimes He judges someone through sickness; other times He does not. His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts.

16 Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabians who were near the Ethiopians. 17 And they came up into Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king’s house, and also his sons and his wives, so that there was not a son left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.

1. Again, because of the consequences of the Hebrew king violating the Mosaic covenant, God’s protection of the nation was removed. Invaders were able to enter from Philistia and Arabia, and just like Elijah predicted, Jehoram’s children, wives, and possessions were carried away. Only one son remained (Jehoahaz, also known as Ahaziah), allowing the Davidic lineage to continue. Most of the man’s family was judged, but God remained good to His word not to extinguish the lamp of David. (God’s will never allow His promises to go void!)

18 After all this the LORD struck him in his intestines with an incurable disease. 19 Then it happened in the course of time, after the end of two years, that his intestines came out because of his sickness; so he died in severe pain. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning for his fathers.

1. It was an awful, painful death. Some have suggested this was a severe form of dysentery, but there is no way to know. The diagnosis might be uncertain; the cause is not. This was the specific judgment that Elijah declared God would send. And God’s word (as always) proved true.
   1. Question: What would have happened if Jehoram had repented? Might this judgment have been avoided? God turned away His wrath from Nineveh when its king and city repented at the preaching of Jonah. Perhaps God would have done something similar with Jehoram. Ultimately, we cannot know because Jehoram did not repent. He remained in his sin, so we’ll never know what might have been.
   2. How many people today are in similar situations? God’s judgment is promised them. They are headed straight for His righteous wrath. Might it be avoided? Yes! Anyone who turns from sin to trust in Jesus can be immediately forgiven and saved. “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved,” (Rom 10:13). But if you never call upon Him, you will never know. Those who say, “It’s too late for me,” are deceived. It is only too late if you never turn to Jesus in faith. But as long as you hear the voice of the Lord, you can respond and be saved!
2. As for Jehoram, he never turned to the Lord. His death was as evil as his life. How bad was he as king? No one mourned his passing. They may not have wished upon him the painful death he received, but they didn’t shed any tears over him when he was gone. (What a terrible legacy!)

20 He was thirty-two years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one’s sorrow, departed. However they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

1. He was a relatively young man, only 40 years old at the time of his death. His eight years as king were wicked enough…it is terrible to think how much damage he might have incurred if he had been allowed to endure. Again, the people didn’t mourn him. They buried him in old Jerusalem, but not among the kings. They honored his office and his lineage, but not him personally. (His son wouldn’t be much better!)

2 Chronicles 22

Ahaziah (20:1-9)

1 Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his place, for the raiders who came with the Arabians into the camp had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, reigned.

1. As the last surviving son of Jehoram, Ahaziah became king. In 21:17, he was known as Jehoahaz; in Ch 22 he is known as Ahaziah. Why the name change? Technically, the names translate identically (“Yah has grasped”), only the order of the consonants being different. As to the reason for the change, none can say.
2. More important than his name was his elevation to the throne. Because the Arabians had taken all his elder brothers, he was the only royal prince remaining. There was no other choice for the throne. What this meant is that Ahaziah was likely the least prepared, the least trained to be king. As the youngest, all his brothers before him had stronger claims to succession. The eldest (and perhaps second eldest) would have sat alongside their father in meetings, learning from others. Not Ahaziah…there was no need. Even so, he became king, his lack of experience being taken advantage of by those around him.

• Ties to the house of Ahab (2-6).

2 Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri. 3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother advised him to do wickedly. 4 Therefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD, like the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction.

1. Regarding his age, the NKJV/KJV are likely incorrect with their listing of 42 years old, the correct age more likely being 22 (NASB, ESV, etc.). Although the traditional Hebrew text clearly says 42, the manuscripts vary with the Greek, some Hebrew and some Syriac saying 22. Considering the clear Hebrew of 2 Kings 8:26 which also says Ahaziah was 22 years old at his coronation, this is far more likely the correct age. He reigned only a year, making him the shortest-lived king among all of those in the south.
   1. FYI: the earlier description of Jehoram’s death also shows this to be the case. He died at age 40, making it impossible for him to have a 42 year old son. Jehoram would have been a young father at age 15-16 with his other kids, fathering Ahaziah at age 18. That is young, but theoretically possible. Having a son two years older than him is not.
2. The bigger controversy with Ahaziah comes with his associations. Like his father, he also chose to walk “in the ways of the house of Ahab.” His largest influence came from his pagan mother “” This was the woman received by Jehoshaphat as a bride for his son. Her grandfather was evil King Omri – her father was evil king Ahab, her stepmother wicked queen Jezebel – and she followed straight in their footsteps. Despite her living among the royal house of Judah for decades, she did not follow the God of Judah nor did she value His law. Her desire was to bring the wicked ways of the north into the southern kingdom, bringing Judah down to the level of Samaria/Israel. (And she nearly succeeded!)
   1. This is always the problem with unequally yoked marriages. When one spouse is a believer in Jesus and the other is not, it is always the Christian who compromises. Is there a possibility that the unbeliever might be saved? Sure…but more often than not, the unbeliever continues in sin, tempting the Christian to join him/her in the sin. And why not? If the Christian’s walk with Jesus wasn’t enough to keep him/her loyal to Jesus when it came to marriage, why would it keep him/her loyal to Jesus in other areas?
   2. In the case of Jehoram and Athaliah, it is quite possible that the two of them were equally yoked, as Jehoram obviously had no love for the Lord God. In that case, it was the otherwise godly Jehoshaphat who compromised, for he was the one who arranged the marriage for his son. And in so doing, he set up not only his future descendants for trouble, but also his nation.

5 He also followed their advice, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. 6 Then he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which he had received at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

1. Following the terrible “advice” of his evil counselors (which serves as a reminder for us to surround ourselves with godly people!), Ahaziah actually walked in the footsteps of Jehoshaphat. Sadly, it was all the missteps of Jehoshaphat when he did wrong. Ahaziah ended up making another terrible alliance with Israel (Jehoram son of Ahab also known as “Joram”), which led to another war against Syria and another battle at Ramoth Gilead. And just as before, the king of Israel was severely wounded in battle. There was one difference: unlike Ahab who died of his wounds before reaching home, Joram was able to get back to his palace. While he was there recovering from his wounds (which seemingly led to sickness), Ahaziah decided to pay his cousin a visit.

• Execution (7-9).

7 His going to Joram was God’s occasion for Ahaziah’s downfall; for when he arrived, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab. 8 And it happened, when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, and found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers who served Ahaziah, that he killed them. 9 Then he searched for Ahaziah; and they caught him (he was hiding in Samaria), and brought him to Jehu. When they had killed him, they buried him, “because,” they said, “he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart.” So the house of Ahaziah had no one to assume power over the kingdom.

1. The account in 2 Kings 9 fills in a few more details, the few minor differences with the Chronicler easily explained as being a different perspective, nothing contradicting the earlier account. Jehu had been anointed by Elisha the prophet to be the next king over Israel, Jehu intended by the Lord to bring judgment on the house of Ahab and Jezebel. Previously being a commander in Joram’s army, Jehu rode furiously from the newly-won battlefield at Ramoth Gilead back to the king, where it became clear that Jehu had violence on his mind. Though confronted by his king, Jehu shot an arrow clear through Joram’s heart, and upon seeing Ahaziah, pursued him as well (which was right, considering his family ties to Ahab). Though shot by Jehu, Ahaziah’s servants carried him back in his chariot to Jerusalem, where he was buried in the City of David.
2. It is the stuff of action movies, but this wasn’t fiction; these were the real events of the royal house of David. And right there was the problem. Who would now head the house of David? A 23 year-old king doesn’t have any children yet of age to take his place. There was a power vacuum in Jerusalem…something of which the devil took full advantage through the person of evil Athaliah, the queen mother.

Athaliah (22:10-12)

• Seizing power (10).

10 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs of the house of Judah.

1. Although this sounds parallel to what Jehoram did when he first rose to the throne, Athaliah’s murders are so much worse. “Her son” Ahaziah “was dead,” so who would remain for as “royal heirs” to destroy? Her grandchildren. Recall that Ahaziah was the only son of Jehoram who remained, after the rest were plundered by the Arabians. Any heirs that would exist would have been Ahaziah’s own children, young as he himself was. This means that Athaliah looked for any of her young grandchildren (even infants) to murder them in cold blood.
2. This puts Athaliah in the midst of terrible company. It makes her like Pharaoh, who tried to destroy the sons of the fledgling nation of Israel. It makes her like Herod, who tried to destroy the Christ child. Additionally, Athaliah had the same motivation. She wanted to destroy the Davidic line. If that dynasty was wiped out, she could replace it with a dynasty of her own. The house of Omri and Ahab could live on through her, a proverbial antichrist sitting on the throne in Jerusalem. 
3. If she had been successful, the result would have been nothing less than the destruction of the Messianic promise. It would have been the everlasting slander of God as covenant-keeper. After all, He promised that the Messiah would be someone descended from David’s own body (2 Sam 7:12), just like God promised through Jacob that the scepter and lawgiver would never depart from Judah (Gen 49:10). The Messiah had to come from the tribe of Judah, just like He had to come from the family of David. This was God’s unalterable word. If God’s word failed here, His plan of salvation would be void, unable to be trusted. Our salvation hinges on God’s promises regarding Jesus being true. If His promises failed during the usurping reign of Athaliah, you and I could not be saved.

• Baby Joash saved (11-12).

11 But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered, and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah so that she did not kill him. 12 And he was hidden with them in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

1. Although Athaliah attempted to destroy all her grandchildren, there was one who escaped. Baby Joash was saved by his elder sister (perhaps half-sister? We don’t know.) who was the young wife of Jehoiada the priest. She took her baby brother and stole away to the protection of her husband. Was Athaliah aware of the existence of her young grandson? If she was, who can tell how angry she was when she discovered the boy missing? Whatever the case, the true king was saved by his sister. Although Queen Athaliah temporarily ruled the land as a usurper, the true king lay in wait. At the right time, the king would be brought forth and the lies and wickedness of the usurper would be laid bare.
2. This is the time for which we long! Right now, this world is ruled by a usurper. Although the devil is the prince of the power of the air, it is the Lord Jesus who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. He does not yet exercise that power on earth, because the time is not yet ripe. But that time is coming very soon! One day the Lord Jesus will burst forth in full view of all the world, His church coming with Him, and the power of the usurper will be broken! Our King is Of that, we can be sure. God has promised it, and God’s promise will never be broken.

Conclusion:

Historically, things look bad at this point. If the Biblical text stopped right here with no other revelation given, we might despair, believing that the promises of God concerning Jesus were in danger…and might just get wiped out. Certainly, it would have appeared that way at the time. Jehoiada the priest, Jehoshabeath his wife and sister to the king, and everyone else loyal to the Davidic line would have been frightened, believing that their kingdom and God’s promises to their kingdom barely hung on.

The good news is that we know the rest of the story. God did preserve His covenant with David, not allowing the light of David to be extinguished. The line of David continued through this time, remaining unbroken even through the 70 years of Babylonian captivity and the centuries that followed, all the way to the point a carpenter from Nazareth became betrothed to a peasant girl in town. Joseph and Mary were each of Davidic lineage, whom God used perfectly in His will to bring forth the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus, being virgin-born of Mary, had the bloodline of David, while through His adopted father Joseph inherited the right of succession as king.

This isn’t something we celebrate only at Christmastime, but something in which we can rejoice all year long as we give thanks and praise for our Savior. But to the point of 2 Chronicles 21-22, the reason we can give thanks for Jesus’ birth is because God ensured that Jesus would be born. Despite the best attacks of the devil, nothing could stop the eternal plan of the Triune God to bring forth Jesus as Messiah. What God promised, God fulfilled…just as He does with everything else.

Good news, Christian: we can trust the word of God! If God kept His word regarding Jesus, what else could possibly be in doubt? There is no promise of God that we cannot trust to the uttermost, even when it seems like circumstances make it impossible to fulfill.

Whatever it is you’re going through, don’t despair; trust Christ! The promises we have in Him are certain: they are yes and amen. Though the rest of this world (even the rest of the church) fail us, Jesus never will.

Podcast: Hebrews 3:1-6, “Better than Moses”

Moses was a faithful servant of God, a friend of God, and a truly honorable man. Even so, Jesus is better. Jesus is better than Moses because Jesus is the Son of God. We are to look to Him alone, holding fast to our confession/profession of faith.

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/preach-the-word/id1449859151?mt=2
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2aSveQvIs7SPHWB4UcmSUQ

Better than Moses

Hebrews 3:1-6, “Better than Moses”

If you’re like me, you buy a lot of generic brands as opposed to the big brand names. Typically, I find the generics to be almost indistinguishable from the brand-name products, and because I’m cheap, I don’t mind buying the off-label stuff. That said, every so often, substitutes just won’t do. When I ate a lot of ice cream, Blue Bell was worth the extra expense. Off-label only takes you so far…it can’t get you a scoop or two of good homemade vanilla.

It should go without saying that when it comes to our salvation, there is no substitute for Jesus. It should go without saying, but experience proves it needs to be said. Why? Because people (even professing Christians) tend to replace Him at the slightest prompting. Someone comes along with promises of shortcuts or special prayers to special people, and all of a sudden, we start switching out Jesus with substitutes.

It was the same way with the Hebrew Christians to whom this book was originally written. These were men and women who, while in their Hebrew backgrounds and traditions, professed faith in Jesus as Messiah. It was wonderful, but there was a problem: some of these Hebrew Christians were starting to turn back from their initial professions. Instead of finding their sacrifice and security in Jesus, they started looking again to their past substitutes, things like the temple sacrificial system and the law of Moses. They weren’t holding fast any confidence in Christ, thus opening themselves to great spiritual danger.

Thus was the necessity of the book of Hebrews with its author systematically demonstrating Jesus’ superiority to the Hebrew traditions and practices of the past. By no means were these things bad, but Jesus’ fulfillment of them is far better. For instance, Jesus is better than the angels even though the angels are messengers and ministering spirits of God. Jesus isn’t a spirit; He is the incarnate Son of God. He was made temporarily lower than the angels, but this was God’s plan in order that Jesus might be the captain of our salvation paving the way for us to be brought back into the glory of God.

If the first major comparison of the book was between Jesus and the angels, the second is between Jesus and Moses. Among men of the earth through history, perhaps none is so revered by those of Israelite backgrounds than Moses. It was through Moses that God freed His people from Egyptian slavery. It was through Moses that God gave His law. It was through Moses that God gave the Biblical books of the Pentateuch. Moses was a faithful servant of God, a friend of God, and a truly honorable man. Even so, Jesus is better. Jesus is better than Moses because Jesus is the Son of God. We are to look to Him alone, holding fast to our confession/profession of faith.

How should we look to (consider) Jesus? (1) As the faithful Apostle and High Priest, (2) as the worthy Builder of God’s house, (3) as the superior Son of God.

Hebrews 3:1–6

• Jesus, the faithful Apostle and High Priest (1-2).

1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, …

2. Before we consider the main point of the verse, we need to first consider the brotherhood of Christians seen in this first part of the sentence. The author plainly considers his readers to be his peers, his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. The terminology he uses in the beginning of v1 calls back to some of the previous ideas in Chapter 2.
   1. They are “brethren” in that Jesus declared them to be His own “brethren” (2:11), being unashamed to do so, as they (we!) are those whom Jesus sanctifies (sets apart) unto God.
   2. They are “holy brethren” because Jesus made them (us) holy through His work of propitiation as our merciful and faithful High Priest (2:17). As will be seen in later chapters, Jesus not only presents our sacrifice unto God, but He Himself is our sacrifice unto God, which why His sacrifice on our behalf is permanently accepted by God.
   3. They are “partakers of the heavenly calling,” in that not only has Jesus “called” us as brothers (2:11), but our call is upwards, God’s plan being to “[bring] many sons to glory,” (2:10). Our calling is from heaven, to heaven…it is from the Son of God sent from heaven, who does His work of salvation in our lives making it possible for us to go to heaven when we die. It is a true heavenly calling!
3. These were all descriptions the original author felt certain of, regarding his original readers. What is less certain is whether it applies to us. That is a question you and I must each answer honestly before the Lord God. Ask yourself: does this apply to you? Have you “partaken” of Jesus’ heavenly calling, having been made “holy” by His sacrifice, certain that He will recognize you as one of His own brothers or sisters? It is one thing to claim certain truths about yourself; it is another to actually partake in those things. You can claim you love Texas BBQ, that it’s your favorite food in the whole world – maybe you even love the smell of it and the thought of it…but until you actually take a bite, you haven’t partaken. Until you taste it, you don’t actually know anything about it. – It doesn’t stretch the analogy to apply this to a person’s faith in Jesus as Lord. You can say certain things about Him – you can claim to worship Him and even love Him…but until you actually partake of Him by faith, you don’t truly know Him. Psalm 34:8: “Taste and see that the Lord is good; bless is the man who trusts in Him.” Have you yet ‘tasted’ of Jesus by faith? Stop talking about Jesus and talking around Jesus; put your talk into practice and commit your trust to Him!

… consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,

1. The command to “consider,” which is exactly what we might assume the word to be: to think – in this form, to “think about,” or “think upon.” The idea is that of careful consideration and notice. The writer doesn’t want his readers to give Jesus a passing thought and some lip-service; he wants them to sit up straight and pay close attention.
2. Consider whom? “Christ Jesus,” as “the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.” If you’re following in a different Bible translation, this might stand out as different, as many Bible versions don’t use the term “Christ” in v1, waiting until v6 to introduce it. As with many other variances, this is due to differences in the ancient manuscripts. Whereas the oldest manuscripts do not contain the word in v1, the large majority do (upwards to 97%). The word does have bearing on the overall passage, as seen in its undisputed use in v6. – With that said, this first section in Chapter 3 is the first time in the book that the writer uses the title “” Depending on how one counts the word, it is used 13 times throughout the entire book. For a book of this size, that is relatively rare. Compare that with some of the other NT books. To the Romans, Paul used it 68 times. In the book of Acts, Luke uses it 31 times. The far shorter letter of 1 Peter uses it 21 times in its 5 chapters. Obviously, not every Biblical writer is the same, each having his own style and emphasis. If nothing else, it shows a glaring difference between the writer of the book of Hebrews and other writers like Paul. But besides the issue of authorship, there is the issue of theme. The writer of Hebrews certainly believes that Jesus is the Christ (the title is repeated 13x, after all!), but the writer was more interesting in demonstrating Jesus as both priest and propitiatory sacrifice, more than showing Him to be the Davidic king. Of course, He is this…He is simultaneously King, Prophet, Priest, and Passover Lamb. It should not surprise us that some authors emphasize certain aspects while other authors emphasize different ones.
3. What does it actually mean for Jesus to be Christ? We tend to use the term as Jesus’ name, as if He lived in the home of Joseph and Mary ‘Christ,’ this being Jesus’ family-name or surname. Not so! “Christ” is not a name, but a title. To call Jesus the Christ is like calling Jesus the King. Christ Jesus is King Jesus (although “king” is not a direct translation). Christ = Messiah = Mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ) = Anointed One. Someone who was anointed and set apart for a divine service might easily be termed as lesser ‘christ / messiah.’ When David refused to harm King Saul in the caves of En Gedi, David said that he would not stretch out his hand against the “Lord’s anointed,” (1 Sam 24:11). Here, the word is mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ), which the LXX translates as christos (χριστός) = christ. The kings of Israel were anointed by God’s prophets to reign over God’s people, having been set apart for this purpose, the physical anointing of oil symbolizing the powerful anointing of the Holy Spirit. – When the writer of Hebrews (and all the Bible) describes Jesus as the Christ, the description is that of Jesus being King in the lineage of David. It is the declaration that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah sent by God to Israel, the fulfillment of not only the Davidic promises, but of all the promises that God made to His people throughout history beginning in the Garden of Eden.
4. What difference does it make here? The writer tells his readers to “consider” Jesus. Who is He? He is “Apostle…High Priest” and “Christ.” He is the One for whom Israel was waiting. Jesus is the Seed of the woman promised to Adam and Eve – He is the blessing to the world promised to Abraham – He is the prophet promised to be greater than Moses – He is the King in the lineage of David, perpetuating David’s kingdom forever. Jesus is the fulfillment of all these promises. The people of Israel need not look for anyone else. God already sent the very best…He sent them Christ.
   1. It is the idea of sending that is reflected in the title of “” We don’t normally think of anyone other than Jesus’ initial 12 disciples (along with Paul and a few others) being called “apostles,” but the term literally means “one who is sent.” In this sense, any number of people might be considered ‘apostles’ of God. God sent Moses to Pharaoh – God sent Elijah and Elisha to the evil kings of Israel – God sent Jonah to the wicked Assyrians calling them to repentance, etc. More than all of them, God sent Jesus. God sent Jesus when He gave His only begotten Son, sending Him to seek and to save the lost. None was sent on a more important divine mission than Jesus, God the Son sent by God the Father in the power of God the Spirit to save rebellious sinners like us. Praise God He sent the preeminent Apostle for our sakes! (And now, we are sent by Him to take His good news to the world.)
   2. As for Jesus being our great “High Priest,” this was introduced to the readers in Ch 2 and will be a primary theme through much of the book. The mention in v1 is basically still part of the idea’s introduction which was given in 2:17. (Remember that chapter breaks are not part of the inspired text.) As our High Priest, Jesus has a dual function: to represent God to us, and to represent us to God. He brings to us God’s word, God’s judgments, and God’s forgiveness, while He takes our prayers, worship, and atonement to God on our behalf. He is our Mediator, the one Mediator between God and men (1 Tim 2:5). We go to God not through saints, nor through Jesus’ earthly mother Mary; we go to God only through the High Priest He sent to us: the Lord Jesus Himself.
5. It is this Man the writer called his readers to consider. Think upon this One, this Christ Jesus. This is the One we confess as Lord, our “confession” being more than mere words we recite in a creed, but the true belief and conviction of our hearts. Don’t get the wrong idea: creeds can be helpful in that they distill basic theological truth from the Bible, but our salvation is not found in the recitation of creeds (as if they are ‘magic words’ that save); our salvation is found our confession that Jesus is Christ the Lord. Paul affirmed as much to the Romans: Romans 10:9, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Here, the idea of confession is not that of being honest about your sins to God, confessing them to Him and receiving forgiveness and cleansing through Jesus (which He does gladly according to His promise ~ 1 Jn 1:9). Rather, confession is agreement, contextually agreeing with God the truths about Jesus. If you confess (agree) with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, truly believing in faith that God raised Jesus from the grave after being crucified for your sin, “you will be saved.” Our salvation is not found in our good works (even the fruit of repentance that comes as a result of our forgiveness and regeneration) – nor is it found in ritualistic recitation of a bunch of theological truths, regardless how Biblical those truths might be. True salvation is found with true faith, held in our hearts and expressed through our lips that Jesus is Lord and Christ.

2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house.

1. The writer introduces Moses at this point, even while understanding Moses required no introduction with his original Hebrew readers. To these Hebrews, perhaps none of their ancestors was as faithful to God than Moses or perhaps Abraham himself. Moses had been faithful to represent God to the nation of Israel, not as a priest, but as the premier prophet and (arguably) the initial judge. Without exaggeration, the entire civil and theological system for the Hebrews was founded on the faithful work of Moses. If Moses had not been steadfast to communicate God’s word to the people, then the people would not have had their covenant, their society, their sacrificial system, or even their freedom. Who knows how much longer the Hebrews would have suffered under Egyptian slavery, if it had not been for the faithful obedience of Moses? When it came to the “house” of God (either in terms of the people of God on the temple of God), none was as faithful as Moses.
2. Yet along with him (and soon to be shown as superior to him) is the Lord Jesus, as the “faithful” One who was “appointed” by God the Father. This was God’s work, set apart for Jesus, the role for which Jesus’ incarnate humanity was made. On this, we need to be careful. As God the Son, Jesus was never He is eternally begotten of the Father and was in the beginning with Father. As the Son of God (the Logos), there was never a time He came into existence, because as God, He has always ‘been.’ From eternity past, there has always been Father, Son, Spirit, the Triune God existing as One. Yet, as affirmed in Chapter 2, there came a point in time when God the Son was made incarnate…and in that sense, God “appointed” Jesus, making Him human. This was Jesus’ everlasting appointment and role…and He fulfilled it perfectly, being faithful in every respect. Not one thing that needed to be done was left undone. He taught what needed to be taught – He performed the signs that needed performing – He endured all the wrath that required enduring – He died the one death that was necessary, in His dying breath declaring, “It is finished,” (Jn 19:30). That statement could not be said if Jesus had been even the slightest bit unfaithful. He couldn’t have done 99% of the work and called it ‘good enough.’ He did it all, being completely faithful.
   1. There is good news in this for you and for every Christian: It means that there is no sin you can commit which is outside the scope of Jesus to forgive. When Jesus died, He died for it all. When Jesus faithfully finished the work of your atonement, He didn’t go half-way; He finished it all. As a born-again believer, you will never get to the point that you trip and stumble ‘one time too many,’ as if Jesus died for 1 million of your sins, but not 1 million and one. His faithfulness unto God guarantees your total and forever forgiveness! 
   2. That said, Jesus’ forgiveness is never something to take for granted. The writer of Hebrews will have other things to say about those who trample the blood of Jesus underfoot, and it isn’t good. For those who ritualistically claim Jesus without any sincere confession of faith, hoping to use Jesus’ cross as permission for their sin…there is no assurance for them. Yet there is still hope: forsake that sin, turning to Jesus in true faith and be saved!
3. Exactly how faithful was Jesus? There is no “was” about it! The past tense “was” is an unfortunate translation carried by most major Bible translations, one not used by the writer of Hebrews. When referring to Jesus in v2, the writer does not use the past tense, but the present. Jesus was not only faithful to God the Father in the past; He still is faithful to God the Father today. A more literal translation might be: “being steadfast (faithful) to Him who did appoint Him, as also Moses in all His house,” (YLT). Jesus has always been faithful to His Father, He still is faithful, and He will always be faithful. Although Jesus had a historical earthly ministry completed nearly 2000 years ago at the cross, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus’ life and service to God the Father is ongoing. He lives today. We see it even in our everyday language. The official date is April 21, 2024 AD, AD = anno domini = “in the year of our Lord.” e., the year 2024 is the 2024^th year of our Lord’s resurrection. He is alive, recognized even by our worldwide calendar (despite the atheist and secular attempts to erase the connection).
   1. Today, Jesus is alive, and Jesus is active. Today, Jesus serves at the right hand of God, making constant intercession for His saints, advocating on your behalf. Today, Jesus is alive and well, and one day very soon will return this earth in power and glory. Even in the day in which Jesus administers God’s judgment upon the world, He will still be faithful in every regard.

• Jesus, the worthy builder of God’s house (3-4).

3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house.

1. This is when the writer probably started raising some eyebrows among his original readers. It was one thing to consider the Messiah to be better than the angels (as amazing as angles might be). It is another for Him to be better than Moses. Yet that is exactly the point of the writer. Jesus (known as “this One”) is inherently “counted worthy of more glory than Moses.” Notice the writer didn’t say that Moses was a lowdown rotten sinner (though Moses knew his own heart just like each of us know ours!). Surely Moses does deserve honor among the believing Hebrews and Gentiles alike, revered as a true servant of God and a great example in many ways for us to follow. Moses certainly wasn’t perfect, but he wasn’t to be cast away. Even so, Jesus is better. Jesus is to be considered worthy of “more glory,” and in fact, has already “been counted worthy” of such glory. God the Father has already given His Son more glory than Moses ever received. Surely Moses was honored and blessed by God, being able to personally witness the back-parts of the glory of God, and be called the friend and servant of God. But it is Jesus who received all authority in heaven and on earth. It is Jesus of whom the Father twice said, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.” Moses cannot help but have less glory than Jesus, simply because of their roles. Moses is part of the “house” of God, being just like the rest of us (sinners requiring God’s forgiveness and grace). But Jesus is “He who built the house.”
2. At this point in the argument of the writer, that is the key: Jesus built God’s house, so it is right for him to have “more honor than the house.” Question: Has Jesus built the house? Arguably, Moses built the original tabernacle, which laid the groundwork for the later temple. What did Jesus do regarding the house of God? Quite literally, everything! Jesus, being the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15) is the One whom Moses saw, from whom Moses received instruction. The preincarnate Jesus Christ is foundational to both the Old Testament tabernacle and temple. Beyond that, Jesus personally builds God’s house in the New Testament. Remember what He told Peter about Peter’s grand confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God? Matthew 16:17–18, “(17) Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. (18) And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”Who builds Jesus’ church? Jesus Himself. As the church, we are the house of God, and Jesus builds us. He saves us – He sanctifies us – He makes us His own. He fills us with His Spirit, enabling us to glorify God. Without Jesus, we are nothing; with Jesus, we are His church, blessed to be the dwelling place of the living God. – Is Jesus thus worthy of more glory than Moses? Absolutely, and He has already been counted as such.

4 For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God.

1. It seems almost as if this is a mere sidenote, but the author makes the specific point that God is the builder of all things. He is the Creator, and thus, the Owner of all things. No house stands without it being designed and constructed by at least one person (if not several!), and nothing in the universe exists without it having been conceived and created by God. He is our world’s builder, its Creator. The same point was made back in 2:10 when the writer asserted of God the Father, “for whom are all things and by whom are all things.” The meaning is clear: God is our Creator. He made us and we exist for Him. We do not exist as the result of happenstance. Our world is not here because of the formula: time + matter + chance. You are not the result of human chaos. You are not an accident. God created this universe, this planet, this human race, and you. You have value because you were designed, formed, guided, and loved by God.
   1. This isn’t the message we get from the world! Our culture would have you believe that you are nothing but a random conglomeration of meaningless chemicals that have no purpose in existing other than perhaps passing on your DNA to another generation, and even that is of debatable significance. If that didn’t lead a person directly to despair, it certainly leads the person to idolatry. How so? If there is no personal Creator, then we are our own ‘creators,’ being the masters of our own fate, the final arbiters of who we are. We end up worshipping ourselves, doing exactly what Paul wrote in the opening chapter of Romans, describing how people suppress the truth in unrighteousness, ultimately worshipping the creature rather than the Creator (Rom 1:18-25).
   2. Want proof? Just look at our nation. Many of the hot-topic touch points in our culture war are (foundationally) rejections of the idea of God as our Creator. If we reject God making men and women in His own image, then we start remaking ourselves declaring men to be women (or dogs or cats or trees, etc.). When we reject God as the Author of life, then we believe we have the right to take life when we want, even when it is still in the womb (not even recognizing a baby as human, rather calling it a ‘clump of cells’). It all stems from rejecting God as Creator, refusing to recognize Him as the Builder of all things, the One to whom we rightly owe our allegiance and worship.
2. Why does this matter in Hebrews 3? Follow the comparison of the author. In v3, it is “this One” who is “counted worthy of more glory than Moses,” in the same way that the builder of a house has more glory than the house itself. The author then goes on to say that the One who build the house (along with “all things”) is God. Thereby, Jesus is The comparison throughout this passage is not between the Father and Moses. For the original readers, that was obvious. Of course God the Father is worthy of more glory than Moses…that was never in doubt. What some of the original Hebrew Christian readers were doing was not pulling back from God the Father, but Jesus the Son. Jesus was being shown to be worthy of more glory than Moses (as beloved as Moses was among the Hebrews). Why is He worthy of more glory? Because He built the house. But who can possibly build God’s house other than God Himself? Only God can build God’s house. Because Jesus built the house (being worthy of the same glory as the builder), then it follows that Jesus is God. In this light, v4 is no mere sidenote commentary on creation; it is a statement of Jesus’ own deity!
   1. This is the stumbling block for so many today. They are glad to see Jesus as a wonderful teacher and example. They revere Jesus as being the one who died on the cross, and perhaps even give lip-service to the idea that Jesus rose from the dead. But Jesus being God of true God? That is where they stop short. Beloved, know this: apart from Jesus being God of true God, we cannot be saved! In Hebrews 2, the author wrote of the wonders of Jesus’ incarnation. He had to be made human (“to be made like His brethren,” 2:17) if we were to have a faithful High Priest and a substitution-sacrifice who would “taste death” on our behalf (2:9). Apart from Jesus being made human, we have no salvation. But likewise, apart from Jesus being fully God, we also have no salvation. Jesus cannot be ‘partly’ God or ‘mostly’ God and save. A ‘mostly’ God is not A ‘kind of’ God is a liar, guilty of His own sin for He claimed to be the “I AM” worshipped by Abraham and Moses. Only the true God can say the things Jesus said and not be guilty of blasphemy. Only the true God can face temptation straight in the eye and not sin. While only a human can take the place of another human, only God can offer life of infinite value for untold numbers of human lives. Jesus must be both God and Man (1) for Him to offer substitutionary sacrifice, and (2) for His sacrifice to be legitimately offered to every man, woman, and child in history.

• Jesus, the Son superior to the servant (5-6).

5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward,

5. Notice that while the writer affirms Jesus’ superiority to Moses, the writer never denigrates Moses. Moses too, was “faithful” to all that God gave him to do. Specifically, the writer says that Moses was faithful “as a servant” in the “house” of God. The term for “servant” is interesting in that it isn’t one of the other two normal words in the New Testament often translated servant (diakonos or doulos). Here, the word is therapōn (θεράπων ~ therapeutic, therapy), the verb form of the word often used to translate the idea of healing. Someone who heals, helps…thus, someone in a household that helps might be considered a servant. Again, it is an unusual word in the New Testament, this noun being used only here in Hebrews 3:5. That said, it is a common word in the LXX, even used explicitly with Moses in both Exodus and Numbers. No doubt, when the writer of Hebrews called Moses a therapōn-servant of the Lord, it would have called to mind the Exodus and Numbers accounts. In fact, v5 might be a summary of the LXX translation of Numbers 12:7, in which God defends Moses’ reputation against the grumbling of his brother and sister (Aaron and Miriam). Moses hadn’t promoted himself to be something he wasn’t; the Lord God set Moses in place as His own prophet and God knew him to be faithful. Numbers 12:7, “(7) Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house.” The Greek terms for “servant” and “faithful” and “house” are precisely the terms that the writer of Hebrews used in 3:5. This was a commendation of Moses, and the writer was not taking away from it whatsoever. God used Moses in momentous ways! There was no doubt that this man had been truly “faithful” to God, serving God in whatever way he could, desiring to be a help to his Lord.
6. Where was Moses faithful? “In” the house of God, “as a servant” of God. Moses had important work to do among the people of God, work that God Himself gave him to do. But the work that Moses did was as a servant. (Which is worthy work! All of us who are saved desire to be used as God’s servants!) And the work Moses performed was effective. The “testimony” of what he did still lives even to our own present day. Not only was Moses’ testimony still repeated among the Hebrew Christians to whom this book was originally written, but Moses is still read 2000+ years later in synagogues and churches alike. Every time you read the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, you read the testimony of Moses (and in the New Testament, we can see how it points to Jesus). In the end, we all can be sincerely thankful for his faithful service unto God!

6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

1. Jesus is specifically (and undisputably) said in v6 to be “Christ,” and as Christ, He is “a Son” over the house of God, God’s house being “His own house.” Much could be in view here, especially when we remember that the Christ/Messiah was the Davidic king according to the promise of God, and with God specifically promising to David that the promised Messiah would be claimed by God as His own: “he shall be My Son,” (2 Sam 7:14, also referenced in Hb 1:5). With that in mind, the context speaks less of David and more of Moses, seemingly referring to Jesus as the Son less as the King of Israel and more in His role/identity as the Son of God. Moses, as valuable and honorable as he was, was only a servant; Jesus is the Son. Obviously, Jesus Himself is a Servant (the premier Servant!) and He specifically said that He came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mt 20:28). He gave the ultimate illustration of serving when He laid aside His outer garments to wash the feet of the disciples (Jn 13, which itself was a picture of the cross). With that acknowledged, Jesus’ many acts of service, along with His humble incarnation when He took on the form of a bondservant (Phil 2:7) does not lessen Jesus’ innate identity as God the Son. He is, was, and always will be the eternal Son of God. This is who He is, whereas His acts of service are things that He does. As the Son, Jesus has rights, authority, and honor that are His alone. Moses was a friend of God, and by the grace of Jesus Christ might even be born-again and adopted as a child of God, but that is a privilege and grace assigned to him (just like it is to us). No one needed to make Jesus the Son; this is who He has always been. Thus, Jesus has honor as the Son. Jesus has position as the Son, having the right to rule His own house. Jesus, for all of the ways that He graciously becomes like us in His incarnation, as well as for all of the ways He brings us into His own inheritance with God through His gifts of grace…He will always be distinct from us because He will always be God the Son and we will always be created men and women.
   1. This is where the ‘little gods’ doctrine taught by so many of the word-faith teachers goes so wrong, diving headlong into heresy. We cannot do all that God does, be it God the Father, God the Son, or God the Spirit. The only things we can do are the things that God allows and empowers us to do. At times, it may be miraculous. Paul was able to cast demons out of people, and Peter was able to heal the sick, not because of any inherent power they had, but because the Holy Spirit empowered them for the moment. Such is the case with any exercise of the spiritual gifts. What God empowers us to do, we can do…but that is the end of it. We cannot control or claim these things for ourselves. We do not hold any power of creation in our faith. We dare not believe we are in any way equal with God, for we most certainly are not. For all the blessings that we have in Christ, at the end of the day He is God and we are not. He is worthy of honor, worship, and glory, and we are not.
2. Contextually, the writer of Hebrews speaks of Christ’s authority over His own house as a Son (showing Jesus to be better than Moses yet again), affirming that we as the New Testament church “are” the “house” Jesus has built. All of us who believe in Jesus as Lord and Christ, be it the Hebrews to whom this letter was originally written, or the Gentiles all over the world who heard and responded to the gospel in faith…all of us are included: “whose house we are.” Jesus has built us, including us in His beloved church (the house of His own creation, the temple of the Holy Spirit, and His own future bride). What grace! What blessing and privilege! 
3. Yet while we read of this blessing and privilege, we also read a sobering tiny word that follows: “” It’s sobering in this case because of the way that it is used. It isn’t always this way. Sometimes, the Greek can indicate a ‘presumed-true’ condition, where the ‘if’ actually gives us more confidence that something is true. Other times, it is truly what we would consider to be a conditional clause, a hypothetical possibility. Hebrews 3:6 is one of those times. This is a hypothetical condition: What is the only way we know we are part of the house Jesus builds? “If we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.” Christians are to hold fast to Christ, our adhering firmly to Jesus not being optional. The implication being that if someone does not hold to Jesus, that person does not have confidence and rejoicing in hope…he/she does not have sure confidence of heaven. – Admittedly, this raises all kinds of questions for many Christians. People tend to struggle with eternal security already, and warnings like this might add to the burden. Does this mean that Christians can lose our salvation? Does it mean that we can never have assurance of our salvation because no one can guarantee that they will always hold fast to Jesus? The answer to both questions: No. Remember to read the text for what it says; not for what it doesn’t say. Nowhere does the writer say anything about anyone losing his/her salvation. Neither does he say that Christians can never be secure in Jesus’ promises. People like you and me might read those ideas into the verse, but we cannot read the verse and see those ideas already there. Is this passage a warning? Sure, and there are several similar warnings throughout the book (many of which have been very controversial), but please do not divorce this warning from the Biblical context. (Context is crucial in Bible interpretation!) Even with this warning, the writer does not question the salvation of his readers. Remember how he addressed them in v1: as “holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling.” Those are not terms used with the unsaved. The writer truly believed his readers shared his common confession that Jesus is the Christ.
4. Why then, did he give the warning? Because his readers needed it! Someone headed for a cliff needs to be warned away from the edge, even if they aren’t yet driving off it. We warn people ahead of danger, precisely so they aren’t harmed by it. So too, in spiritual matters…especially in matters of salvation. Even as born-again Christians, we need these kinds of warnings. After all, we don’t always hold fast. We sometimes slip into sin and seasons of doubt. These seasons do not void our salvation, but they certainly rob us of our joy of it. And regarding those who might actually be false converts, these warnings are necessary to awaken them to their danger. Someone who makes a quick profession of faith yet walks away from Jesus not looking back is certainly someone not holding fast to the confidence and hope of Jesus. Jesus Himself warned us that there would be many like this, who seemed to receive and respond to the seed of the word, yet has no abiding root and wither, or have the word choked out of their lives through the distractions of this world (Mt 13). Not all who hear the word and raise their hand at an invitation are actually saved. Certainly, those who do not hold fast to Jesus, who have turned away from Him, refusing to find refuge and confidence in Jesus have no assurance in Jesus’ promises.
   1. But they can! Those who have not yet trusted in Jesus, can trust in Him. Even those who are not 100% of their confidence being in Him and His offer of salvation can respond to Him in true and/or renewed faith today.

Conclusion:

As for the original readers of this letter, they needed the warning provided by the writer. They were in danger of not holding fast to the confidence that could have in Christ, instead turning more of their attention to Moses. But Jesus is far better than Moses! 

• Moses was sent by God and faithful to his own calling, but only Jesus is God’s faithful Apostle and great High Priest.
• Moses had honor in his own fashion, but Jesus is counted worthy of more glory as the Builder of God’s house, being God Himself.
• Moses was a faithful servant of God, but only Jesus is the Son of God, having authority over all God’s people.

Is Jesus better than Moses? In every way, yes! 

Some of us might be thinking, “Okay, I can see how this is highly relevant to Christians with Jewish backgrounds. But what about the rest of us? As a Gentile, I’ve never wondered about Jesus’ superiority to Moses. It’s never been an issue for me.” Fair enough. Two responses: (1) The Bible isn’t all about you. God gave it to all of us as His people, and certain parts will hit a bit harder for some than others. That’s okay. There are still Jewish people getting saved every day, and this is just as relevant for them as ever. (2) As Gentiles, we might not have compared Jesus to Moses, but we certainly compare Him to everything else. At least the Hebrew Christians were starting to substitute Jesus with another godly Biblical figure like Moses; we tend to choose a lot worse than Moses!

Jesus cannot be replaced…by anyone. Not by Moses – not by Mary – not by any person in history, be it religious, secular, philosophical, or whatever. There is no replacement for Jesus because He is better than all. No one else has been sent by God as His own Apostle, serving as our High Priest. No one else is worthy to build the house of God. No one else is God’s own Son, in whom our salvation rests. It is Jesus alone…so we are to consider Him alone, holding fast to Him alone.

Is that what you’re doing? Are you looking to Christ, finding all your hope in Him? When we are partakers of His heavenly calling, we have grand assurance of His forgiveness and promise of eternal life. When we rely upon Him alone to make us His holy brethren, then we have confidence that holds firm, despite our stumbling and seasons of doubt. When Jesus is our all, then whatever else hits us – however else we trip ourselves up…we know we still belong to Christ. We are part of His house, and He will not let us go.

Podcast: 2 Chronicles 19-20, “Two Steps Forward, One Step Back”

Jehoshaphat had a true desire to seek the Lord, following God in faith. The sad thing is that he did it inconsistently. Perhaps that’s something to which many of us can relate, as we each struggle with faithfulness. The good news for us? Jesus is faithful! He is faithful to us, despite our faithlessness to Him.

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/preach-the-word/id1449859151?mt=2
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2aSveQvIs7SPHWB4UcmSUQ

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

2 Chronicles 19-20, “Two Steps Forward, One Step Back”

Progress isn’t always easy. Sometimes it is almost painfully slow, as we take two steps forward and one step back. Those who have gone through physical therapy and rehabilitation know the feeling. As you do your exercises, you finally feel like you’re moving forward in your healing, when there is a little ‘tweak,’ and all of a sudden your mobility is reduced (or whatever). You aren’t quite starting from scratch, but it sure isn’t where you were.

If it sounds familiar to our spiritual walks with Christ, there is a reason for it: it is! We go through our seasons when our walk with Jesus is so good, so sweet – times of faithful obedience and deep prayer. And then…there’s a snag, a tweak, a slip into sin, and all of a sudden we’re dealing with some of the same stuff we’ve dealt with before. It isn’t that we’ve started all over again from scratch, but it’s definitely a regression. It is two steps forward, one step back.

If Jehoshaphat were sitting among us, he could probably offer an amen with his own testimony. As faithful a king he was, he still jumped in and out of faithfulness. All his life, he struggled with inconsistency. While he had great experiences in faith with the Lord, at other times he acted directly from his flesh. His walk was like ours: two steps forward, one step back.

He was certainly more faithful than several of the kings that came before him. Following the premier example-setting kingdoms of David and Solomon, there had been four other kings, lesser than their fathers: Rehoboam and Abijah (both of whom were evil), Asa (whose record was mixed), and Jehoshaphat. Compared to his grandfather and great-grandfather, Jehoshaphat was golden. Yet like his own father Asa, Jehoshaphat was inconsistent. 

His reign began well enough, as he strengthened the fortified cities and removed various places of false and/or idolatrous worship. Where things went wrong was his foolish alliance with Ahab king of Israel, as Jehoshaphat took Ahab’s daughter Athaliah as a wife for his son Jehoram. He thus joined the Davidic line with one of the wickedest kings in Israel’s history. This first step of foolishness opened the door to further failure, which came in the form of battle against Syria. Jehoshaphat unwisely rushed to agreement with Ahab to go to war, only belatedly seeking a word from God as to whether he should do it. Upon finding a true prophet of God in the northern kingdom, a word was given that Ahab and Jehoshaphat should indeed go to battle, but it would be God’s judgment on Ahab, bringing about his death. And sure enough, despite the attempted manipulations of Ahab, he received a mortal wound from the battle while Jehoshaphat escaped death solely by the grace of God.

Chapters 19-20 pick up from that point, following the account of Jehoshaphat until his death. And like before, he does much right! He had a true desire to seek the Lord, following God in faith. The sad thing is that he did it inconsistently. With all the account of his faith in these chapters, it is bookended on either side with a rebuke of Jehoshaphat’s foolishness. Did it mean that he lost his relationship with the Lord, as if God cast him away? No…but without question, Jehoshaphat’s record of faith was stained. This was a man who struggled.

Perhaps that’s something to which many of us can relate. Obviously, we are in a different covenant relationship with God, having been saved and cleansed through the work of Jesus Christ. We are not in danger of being cast away from God. But perhaps our own records are a bit stained as we struggle with faithfulness. The good news for us? Jesus is faithful! He is faithful to us, despite our faithlessness to Him.

2 Chronicles 19 – Jehoshaphat’s leadership

• Rebuke after Ramoth Gilead (1-3).

1 Then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned safely to his house in Jerusalem. 2 And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Therefore the wrath of the LORD is upon you. 3 Nevertheless good things are found in you, in that you have removed the wooden images from the land, and have prepared your heart to seek God.”

1. The first few verses of Chapter 19 might have just as easily been placed at the end of Chapter 18. (Recall that the chapter breaks and verse numbers are not part of the inspired Scripture.) Jehoshaphat returned home from the battle against the Syrians at Ramoth Gilead. He had very nearly lost his life, having been mistaken for the king of Israel, when God by His grace turned the Syrians aside allowing Jehoshaphat to escape. Thus, he returned to his home in peace (18:16), whereas Ahab did not.
2. But just because Jehoshaphat was allowed to survive and return home didn’t mean that God had no words for him. He sent a prophet to rebuke the king, this particular prophet having a bit of history giving Godly rebukes to royal figures. A man with the same name and father was mentioned in 1 Kings 16 as being the prophet who spoke God’s word of judgment to Baasha king of Israel (Ahab’s grandfather). And even if that wasn’t the same man, there is little doubt that Jehu’s father Hanani was indeed the same prophet who rebuked Jehoshaphat’s own father Asa for his own inconsistency in relying upon the Lord (16:7). He shouldn’t be confused with Jehu son of Nimshi who became king in Israel; this Jehu had the specific (and sole) role as a prophet of the Lord. And like his father had to take a hard word to the king of Judah, so did he have to do the same in his own generation.
   1. Sometimes we may be called upon to share hard, difficult truths with those we love and respect. While we ought to be careful to maintain our own humility (knowing how easily we too get tripped up in sin), it would be wrong for us to remain silent. Paul wrote to the Galatians that if they saw someone overtaken in a trespass, those who are spiritual ought to help restore the person in gentleness. This was part of them bearing one another’s burdens and fulfilling the law of Christ (Gal 6:1-2). Sometimes, a loving gentle rebuke is the loving word to speak.
3. Why was the rebuke necessary for the king? Because of Jehoshaphat’s foolish alliance with Ahab. In a very real way, it was hating the wicked and loving those who hated the Lord. It was a betrayal of the Lord God Himself, committed by the Davidic king in Judah, and someone who purported to love God and desired to honor Him. Some might object, saying, “A political marriage might not have been ideal, but it was common. Why shouldn’t Jehoshaphat have done what he could to seek peace for his people? As long as he had an alliance with Ahab in Israel, it meant that Israel would not attack Judah.” The answer is simple: Jehoshaphat had a greater allegiance. His primary duty was to the Lord. As long as Jehoshaphat was faithful to God, then God would protect his people. That was part of the Mosaic covenant between God and the Hebrews. For Jehoshaphat to rely on his own political machinations to secure peace, especially by aligning himself with someone as wicked and anti-God as Ahab was a terrible betrayal and lack of faith. It should be no wonder that “the wrath of the Lord” was upon him. Jehoshaphat truly earned the wrath of God!
   1. So have we! How many times have we turned our backs on Jesus’ promises to us? How many times have we been disloyal to the One who has always been faithful to us? We have earned God’s wrath many times over. Wonderfully for us, God’s grace is so much greater than all our sins!
4. Thankfully for Jehoshaphat, God’s word to him through the prophet was not only that of rebuke; it also included a word of mercy. “Good things” were “found” in him. God knew Jehoshaphat’s heart (even better than Jehoshaphat himself knew it!). The king’s track record wasn’t all bad. He had fruit in his life that evidenced his faith…even when he temporarily lapsed in faith.
   1. Are good things found in us? When we are in Jesus, they are! Because of Jesus, we are clothed in His righteousness. Because of the Spirit inside us, we do works of the Spirit, even bearing His fruit and fruits worthy of repentance. Guaranteed that anything good found in us did not come from us…it came from Jesus.

• Appointing godly judges (4-11)

4 So Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem; and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim, and brought them back to the LORD God of their fathers. 5 Then he set judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, 6 and said to the judges, “Take heed to what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment. 7 Now therefore, let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take care and do it, for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes.”

1. To speak of “Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim” is to speak of the length of the land, in terms of the southern kingdom. Although Jehoshaphat dwelt in the Jerusalem palace, he did not isolate himself from his people. He went throughout his land, leading the people in revival.
2. What did this revival look like? We aren’t given all the details, but we are told of one: the appointment of judges. The king traveled the land, but he couldn’t be everywhere all at once. Like Moses of old, he delegated the responsibilities of judging smaller matters unto various local and regional judges, so that most matters could be settled locally.
   1. In a sense, this entire section (vv4-11) is a fulfillment of the king’s own name. “Jehoshaphat” = YHWH is Judge. Does this mean (as some claim) that the account is merely literary rather than historical? Of course not. Hebrew names commonly carried dictionary meanings. Abraham = father of nations; Zechariah = YHWH remembers; Malachi = My messenger; Jesus/Joshua = YHWH saves. That isn’t to say that Jehoshaphat’s name was purely coincidental with what he did…but perhaps his name inspired him to do what he did. Appointing godly judges was an appropriate duty of all the Hebrew kings. What makes Jehoshaphat’s record of doing it stand out is that (apparently) this appointment of judges rarely happened. Few of the kings took care to ensure the proper spiritual instruction of the people (i.e., instruction in the law of Moses), despite the fact that as kings they were stewards for Israel’s true king: God. If the kings weren’t doing what they could to point people back to God and His law, then they weren’t doing their job!
3. As these men were appointed, they were also solemnly charged to judge rightly. They weren’t to be men-pleasers, but God-pleasers. Justice was not to be perverted by bribes or politics or other agendas. What the judges required was a proper and healthy “fear of the LORD.” The more these men saw themselves in the light of their holy covenant God to whom they would one day give account, the better! Jehoshaphat tried to instill in them the idea that one day each of them as earthly judges would one day receive judgment, and their judgment would come via the most Righteous Judge of all.
   1. So will we. Regardless of our vocation or responsibility on this earth, one day each of us will give account of our stewardship of this life to God. Even as born-again Christians, we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Thankfully, our sins are forever forgiven because of what Jesus has done in His cross and resurrection, but our stewardship of our Christianity will be held accountable by Christ. We will look Him in the eyes as our lives are laid bare before Him. In light of that day, a bit more of the fear of God would do us good! (Good news: Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eyes!)

8 Moreover in Jerusalem, for the judgment of the LORD and for controversies, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites and priests, and some of the chief fathers of Israel, when they returned to Jerusalem. 9 And he commanded them, saying, “Thus you shall act in the fear of the LORD, faithfully and with a loyal heart: 10 Whatever case comes to you from your brethren who dwell in their cities, whether of bloodshed or offenses against law or commandment, against statutes or ordinances, you shall warn them, lest they trespass against the LORD and wrath come upon you and your brethren. Do this, and you will not be guilty.

1. Much of the same he did elsewhere, he also did in Jerusalem. He took care to appoint men to their duties, charging them to do what was right unto the Lord. Although in vv4-7 we aren’t told what backgrounds the men had who were appointed as judges, for the men that Jehoshaphat appointed in Jerusalem, he “appointed some of the Levites and priests, and some of the chief fathers of Israel.” He looked for men who were competent in both knowledge and application of the word of God (the law), so that they would judge appropriately. Of course, their main motivation in doing a good (and impartial) job was also “the fear of the LORD.” They weren’t to allow varying circumstances dissuade them from declaring what God’s word said on whatever issue. They were solemnly charged to “warn” the people, according to how God said to warn them. Should these judges & teachers fail, then they themselves would be guilty, earning the wrath of God for themselves.
   1. Again, silence is not an option. It isn’t an option for us when it comes to difficult confrontations, and it especially isn’t an option when it comes to the gospel. When those we know have broken God’s commandments, they need to be warned. And who can warn them, other than those who know God’s commandments? We who know the word have a responsibility to warn people according to the word. We who know Christ have a responsibility to tell other people of Christ, so that they might flee to Him and know Him also. We are to do it wisely, winsomely, and Biblically…but we are to do it. Silence in the face of their destruction is guilt on our

11 And take notice: Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the king’s matters; also the Levites will be officials before you. Behave courageously, and the LORD will be with the good.”

1. The section of Jehoshaphat’s appointment of judges ends with a note of their hierarchy, as well as a final charge for them to be faithful in their duties. The hierarchy is expected, as God is a God of order and not of chaos. The charge to be courageous is also expected, as God knows our fearful hearts. Even Joshua the warrior needed to be repeatedly encouraged to take courage. Fear comes naturally to us. It takes courage to step out on faith…and thankfully, God equips us for that courage in the times we need it.

Jehoshaphat himself would need to take a step of faith. Whereas it was good for him to take steps towards religious and judicial reform in his nation, helping his people seek the Lord, at a certain point the rubber would need to meet the road. Jehoshaphat had prepared his heart to seek the Lord (19:3). How would those preparations fare when tested?

2 Chronicles 20 – Jehoshaphat’s step of faith (1-30)

• A threatening alliance (1-4).

1 It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. 2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi).

1. Reports of a massive alliance came to Jehoshaphat: an army unlike any he had yet faced. He had been to battle in the past, but he was the one allied with Israel/Samaria against their enemy. It was different when an alliance of armies came against Judah. And with Ahab gone, Judah and Jehoshaphat were now standing alone. They faced a legitimate crisis, which would have caused just about any of us to fear.
2. Depending on what Bible version you read, the makeup of the alliance can sound very different. Although KJV/NKJV refers to some other people “besides the Ammonites,” NASB/ESV/NIV refer to “some of the Meunites.” The difference in translation is due to the difference between the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. Although the Hebrew clearly uses the word for “Ammonites,” the ancient Greek translation (LXX) uses “Meunites.” The actual people group is somewhat uncertain, although most believe they lived in the region of Edom (modern southern Jordan). Considering the references later in the chapter to Mount Seir, it seems reasonable to link the Meunites with the Edomites. Whatever translation you prefer, it does not change the overall meaning. The Meunites are people other/besides the Ammonites, by definition.
3. Another difference in Bible versions is seen in the geography of the area from whence the invading alliance came. All agree that they came to “Hazazon Tamar which is En Gedi” (located basically halfway up the western shore of the Dead/Salt Sea). Where they differ is whether they came from Syria/Aram (different terms for the same area, held by NKJV, KJV, NASB) which was in the north, or if they came from Edom (ESV, HCSB, NIV) in the south. Again, the manuscripts vary, this time the differences found among various Hebrew versions. Considering that the alliance was comprised of Moab, Ammon, and Edom, a march from Edom northwards to En Gedi makes far more sense, as Syria was well out of the way for them to travel, especially if they were headed all the way south back to En Gedi. Either way, it doesn’t affect the overall meaning of the passage. Wherever this group began its march, the alliance ended up in En Gedi, ready to do battle against Judah.

3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

1. Again, the fear was natural. Who wouldn’t fear, when facing this kind of invasion threat? Jehoshaphat’s response was wonderful! (For all the ways he can be criticized for his alliance with Ahab, give credit when it is due.) Jehoshaphat personally sought the Lord, and he gathered the people of his nation to fast, pray, and to all seek the Lord together.
2. The Chronicler goes on to give us the content of Jehoshaphat’s prayer as Judah together sought God, but even if vv3-4 were all that was said of the matter, this would be wonderful. It is so good, we might even wonder if God sovereignly allowed Moab, Ammon, and Edom to pose this invasion threat specifically to prompt Jehoshaphat and Judah to seek the Lord so fervently. Might God allow the possibility of great harm, solely to help us turn to Him in faith? Sure! What else was the occasion of Jonah’s trip to Nineveh when his only recorded words to the people was, “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown”? It was the threat of judgment that brought the people to repentance. Likewise with God’s use of the Babylonians in the lives of those in Judah and Jerusalem. Their furious conquest of the land would prove God’s word as true, helping turn the captive Jewish people back to God. As God repeatedly declared through Ezekiel: “Then you shall know that I am the LORD.” Quite often, God allows our circumstances to be hard, precisely so that we would turn our hearts to Him in faith.
   1. Perhaps this is why God is allowing our own nation to be given over to such sin as it is. If nothing else, it is a wakeup call for His people to pray!

• Jehoshaphat’s prayer (5-13).

5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, 6 and said: “O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? 7 Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? 8 And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, 9 ‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’

1. Jehoshaphat called a national assembly to the Jerusalem temple, and as he stood in the place, he went to God in prayer, on behalf of all the people. He addressed God according to His past work and promises. He declared that:
   1. God is Creator, “God in heaven”
   2. God is sovereign, that He rules “over all the kingdoms of the nations.”
   3. God is omnipotent, having all “power and might.”
   4. God gave the land to Israel, driving “out the inhabitants.”
   5. God had a people in Israel, “the descendants of Abraham.”
   6. God had a temple in Israel, the “sanctuary” before which the people stood.
   7. God had made promises to Israel, in v9 summarizing some of Solomon’s prayer of dedication from 2 Chronicles 6.
2. Notice that all of this was preface. Jehoshaphat has not yet made a specific appeal to God, instead declaring all these foundational truths about God. Is this our pattern to follow? It could be, although Jesus gave us a specific pattern already in the Lord’s Prayer (the Disciples’ prayer). It serves a good reminder for us: before we start making our laundry list of requests to God, it is worth us spending a bit of time reminding ourselves of the person of God. To Whom exactly do we pray? It is easy for us to take for granted simply the privilege of prayer, because when we pray we appeal to God (the sovereign Creator, the omnipotent God who sent His only begotten Son for our salvation). If we would spend a bit more time considering God’s person and past actions, it might very well change the content of the rest of our prayers!

10 And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them—11 here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

1. “Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir” (Edom) were each ancient relatives of Israel, descended either through Lot or through Esau. Together, the nations make up the modern land of Jordan, their ancient holdings given to them as their own land possessions by the Lord. As Jehoshaphat rightly remembered, God did not allow the Israelites to fight their brethren in their lands, being forced to travel all the way outside their borders prior to entering the possession that God was giving to Israel. (Deut 2:5; 2:9; 2:19.) There had been occasional conflicts between the Hebrews and these other kingdoms in the past, but never had one attempted to completely overthrow the other. Yet that was what was now happening, as Edom, Moab, and Ammon wanted land that God had not given them; they wanted what God had given Israel.
   1. In our current times, Jordan does not typically go to battle against Israel for land, but the actions of these ancient people are not very different than what has been going on the past 80 years. Various nations have determined that they want the land that God has given to Israel as Israel’s own inheritance, and they are willing to do just about anything to get it. They will fail. Unless God Himself removes His people from the land (as He did in times past with the Babylonian captivity), the Jewish people will remain in the land because it is their perpetual inheritance. For the nations of the world to fight against Israel’s homeland is for the nations to fight against God.
2. In Jehoshaphat’s case, he understood the trouble he faced. He and his people had “no power against this great multitude,” so their only hope was to cast their eyes upon the Lord. – When we get the point that we understand we have no power to fight our enemy, that’s a good thing! That is often the start of when God will do something great among us. Too often, our confidence is a worldly confidence, a flesh-based confidence, as we feel we can work hard enough and have enough ingenuity to solve our own problems. In those times, we might acknowledge the Lord, but only in passing, perhaps only as lip-service. But in the times that we feel desperate – when we have no other choice other than the Lord Jesus to move…those are the times that we see God move the most! Those are the times that we understand we have no power, but that God has all power…and God works wonders!

13 Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the LORD.

1. It is a short note, pointing out the agreement all the nation had with their king. They “stood before the LORD,” their presence adding a virtual “amen” to everything Jehoshaphat prayed. They all looked to God, understanding their own powerlessness, depending on God to move in their midst.
2. The whole picture is awesome: All the people (men, women, children) all in one accord seeking the Lord in holy dependent prayer. Imagine what might happen in our own nation, if something similar happened in the church? What might God do if every single born-again Christian looked to Jesus with this same kind of faith? (Only God knows!)

• God’s word to Judah (14-19).

14 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.

1. God gave an answer, speaking through “a Levite of the sons of Asaph.” Judging from the psalms, this man was one of the worship leaders in Jerusalem, the sons of Asaph being the composers of several of the songs of Israel. Had he previously been a prophet? We don’t know…but he prophesied this day! “The Spirit of the LORD came upon” him in a very public way, and he gave God’s answer to the assembled people.

15 And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.”

1. God’s answer to the people contained a specific answer to them, comprised of two exhortations with an instruction in the middle. On either side of the instruction were exhortations not to be afraid. As with Joshua centuries earlier, God repeatedly commanded His people not to fear. Though it would seem that they had much reason to fear (a “great multitude”), fear was not necessary because the battle was the Lord’s. God wasn’t at this time calling the people to fight; He was calling them to faith. They needed to believe that YHWH God was with them and would fight this battle on their behalf. – The instruction was for them to watch. Although they were to go to the battlefield, they weren’t expected to raise their swords. Instead, they were supposed to witness what God did for them. They were supposed to “see the salvation of the LORD.” 
2. This was not the first time God told Israel to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. When did it happen previously? The Egyptian exodus. When Moses and the Israelites stood at the edge of the Red Sea, the people nearly panicked when they saw the dreadful approach of the Egyptian army and chariots. At that time, in that hour of near-hopelessness, Moses called upon the people to have faith. Exodus 14:13–14, “(13) And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. (14) The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”” Did God fight for them? Yes! The Red Sea parted, allowing Israel to cross on dry ground, and then the sea crashed again on the heads of the Egyptians, drowning the army of Pharaoh.
3. This was why Israel (both in the days of Moses and Jehoshaphat) could move past fear. God fought for them. All they needed to do was stand and see the salvation that the Lord would bring, and fear would be abolished! – How can we abolish fear of death? How might we take comfort in God, not fearing His righteous wrath that we deserve? By standing still and seeing the salvation of YHWH! Note the translation of “salvation” in v17: yeshua (יְשׁוּעָה). Beloved, stand still and look to Jesus! This is how our fear is canceled – this is where our hope is found. All our hope is in Him!

18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. 19 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with voices loud and high.

1. The response of king and people to the word of the Lord: worship. What should our response be to the promises of God’s salvation? Worship. When it comes to all that we have in Jesus, we cannot praise Him enough!

• The ‘battle’ (20-30).

20 So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the LORD, For His mercy endures forever.”

1. The king and the people ended their assembly the previous day with praise and worship, and started singing all over again when they headed out the next day. The faith they demonstrated at the proclamation of God’s word was evident again as they prepared to obey God’s word. Note the exhortation from Jehoshaphat: believe in God – believe in God’s word. He was encouraging his people towards faith, exactly as he needed to.
2. Don’t discount the value of a little bit of encouragement. We all need reminders to believe upon the Lord, to look to Jesus and have faith. Part of the reason we gather as the church so often is to keep encouraging each other along these lines.

22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. 23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

1. Exactly as Jahaziel prophesied through the Spirit of the Lord, God defeated their enemies. The children of Judah didn’t raise a single sword in battle. The only thing they raised was their voices in praise. The ‘frontline warriors’ (as it were) were singers. Just as God promised, God did the work. The battle was His, and He proved Himself more than enough. He miraculously caused the alliance to crumble. First, Ammon and Moab fought Edom, then Ammon and Moab fought each other. And Judah was literally witnesses to it all. All they needed to do was show up and trust the Lord, and God did the rest.
   1. Isn’t this what we’re called to do? Trust and obey. Believe God’s word for what He says, then do what He commands. Sometimes, obedience is merely showing up; other times, it involves a bit more. Whatever the case, the bottom line is the same. Believe God’s word and act according to God’s word. If you do that, you can know that God will do the rest. He always has, and He always will.

24 So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much.

1. To what extent did these nations destroy each other (by the miraculous hand of God)? So much that whatever survivors remained (if there were any) had to leave everything behind. Judah hadn’t raised a single sword in battle or shot a single arrow, yet they were able to plunder the spoil of their enemies. More than merely surviving this threat of invasion, they actually thrived and profited from it. (This was the grace of God!)

26 And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they blessed the LORD; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day. 27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies. 28 So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the LORD.

1. Just as their journey from Jerusalem to En Gedi had begun, so did they do on their return: worship and praise the Lord. First, they blessed God at a place they later called “the Valley of Berachah” (barak = bless). Second, they continued to sing praises to God all the way back to the temple.

29 And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.

1. Not only did God give victory to Judah over these three enemies, granting peace from the immediate threat of invasion, but as word of the battle spread throughout the region, no other enemy wanted to chance coming against the God of Jehoshaphat. These other nations didn’t necessarily come to faith, but they had enough “fear of God” upon them that they knew better than to threaten Judah with invasion. Thus, Jehoshaphat and Judah had peace beyond the initial threat. How good was the salvation of God? It didn’t only provide for them in the immediate time; it was provision for years down the road.
   1. How good is our salvation through Jesus? He doesn’t provide for merely a few sins; He provides for all of them. He doesn’t care for us in a few things today; He cares for us in all ways, both today and throughout eternity. The rest and salvation we have in Jesus is not partial; it is total.

• Jehoshaphat’s end (31-37).

31 So Jehoshaphat was king over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 32 And he walked in the way of his father Asa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD. 33 Nevertheless the high places were not taken away, for as yet the people had not directed their hearts to the God of their fathers. 34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.

1. This is the typical ending record of the kings, describing Jehoshaphat’s age, the length of his reign, and his family. It also describes a mixed record of faithfulness. He did much that was “right in the sight of the LORD,” but he didn’t do all that he could have done. Although the Bible tells us that some high places were removed (17:6, 19:3), his reforms were not complete. There was much that could have (should have) been done that was left undone. Jehoshaphat was a very good king, but he wasn’t perfect.

35 After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted very wickedly. 36 And he allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion Geber. 37 But Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” Then the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish.

1. Remembering the previous alliance with Ahab, it is like everything was on repeat. (1) There was a second alliance with Israel, whether by marriage or other means we don’t know. The end result was that Judah and Israel went into business together, building long-range ships for commerce. (2) There was a second prophetic rebuke. This wasn’t something Jehoshaphat was supposed to do. He had already become unequally yoked with Ahab’s family through his son’s marriage; he was now also becoming unequally yoked with Israel through business ventures. (3) There was an example of judgment/discipline. Earlier, it was Ahab who was struck down by God (who deserved it due to his sins). This time, all the ships that were built “were wrecked.” God wasn’t going to let Jehoshaphat profit off of this venture of the flesh. Jehoshaphat would eat the cost, both in terms of money and of his reputation. – It is a sad appendix to the record of an otherwise admirable king.

Conclusion:

How so many of us can relate to Jehoshaphat! There were times he walked so faithfully with God, seeking God’s face, desiring revival among his countrymen. He strove to be the man (the king) that God wanted him to be, and his heart was one of worship and praise. Then, there were other times…times of fleshly foolishness when he would rashly commit himself and his people with wicked neighbors.

We can relate! We have days we do great, seeking the Lord and praising Him for His faithfulness. There are days we bask in the love of Christ, thanking Jesus for His abundant goodness. Then, there are other days…the days we take a step backward, stumble and fail.

All of this begs the question: how do we stop? How might we get to a point when we stop moving two steps forward and one step back, and start moving forward all the time? I’ve got bad news and good news. The bad news is that we are promised that this life will always be a struggle. Paul wrote in Romans 7 of his own personal war, in which the fleshly part of him desired evil while the spiritual part of him desired good. Though he desired to serve the law of God, his flesh desired the law of sin. But then he wrote in Romans 8 of the victory he (and all of us) had in Christ: Romans 8:1–2, “(1) There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” God does not condemn us for the battles we wage in our minds and hearts. The condemnation we deserve has already been fulfilled by Jesus. Jesus now sets us free from condemnation as well as the power of sin over us. We are no longer enslaved to sin; we are free in Christ, by the grace of God.

Does it mean that born-again Christians never struggle? Not at all. We do struggle, but we need not struggle as those who are condemned, but as those who are saved, firm in our faith that God has made us His children. There will indeed be days that we take two steps forward and one step back…but those days do not condemn as failures; they confirm what we already know: we need Jesus! We need Jesus to save us from the sins of our past – we need Jesus to save us from our foolishness and rebellions of the present – and we will keep needing Jesus to forgive us in the days down the road. There will never be a day that we stop needing Jesus, as if we can mature to the point that sin will no longer be a struggle for us. We will always need Him…thus, we should always seek Him and rely upon Him.

The problem for many Christians is that they struggle for a bit and give up. They have a failure, being rebuked by the Lord (perhaps like Jehoshaphat), they get discouraged and throw in the towel. Beloved, know this: Jesus hasn’t given up on you…don’t you give up on Him! Keep seeking His face – keep asking His forgiveness – keep relying upon His faithfulness, for He will always prove faithful to His people.