1 Kings - Chapters 15-16 with Psalm 14 and 53

I am Julie Callio, your host, and thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to tune in with me today. If by chance you want to contact me, you can do that at vab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today we are covering chapters 15 and 16 of 1 Kings with Psalm 14 and 53, which are almost identical Psalms of David. So far in 1 Kings, King David died and his son Solomon, the son of Bathsheba, became the next king. Chapters 1-11 cover Solomon's reign, which was the heyday of Israel's United Kingdom. The kingdom was the biggest and the strongest during his reign, but I will say that Israel was never a world power. Chapter 11 shows us the decline of Solomon's reign, which at the heart of the matter had to do with Solomon's heart. Chapter 11 verses 1-2 say, King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts from their gods. They did, and Solomon brought wicked idolatry into Israel. At his death, his son Rehoboam became king, but on the day all Israel was going to anoint him king, they asked him to lighten their load, because with all of Solomon's building projects the Israelites were forced to work hard, even though they were not slaves. Rehoboam sought counsel, and after three days he told the people, You thought my dad was bad? You haven't seen anything yet. The people then rebelled against Rehoboam, and made Jeroboam king of the ten tribes of Israel, and Rehoboam reigned over Judah and Benjamin. Now we have the divided kingdom, which happened around 930 BC. Jeroboam, the king of Israel, was told that he would be king someday, but Ahijah the prophet in Shiloh made it clear that he would only have ten tribes, and then in chapter 11 verse 32 it says, But for the sake of my servant David, and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he, Rehoboam, will have one tribe. Now chapter 14 verse 20 tells us that Jeroboam reigned in Israel for 22 years, and rested with his father, and Nadab his son succeeded him as king. The story switched back to the southern tribe, and verse 31 said, Rehoboam rested with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David. His mother's name was Nema, she was an Ammonite, and Abijah his son succeeded him as king. So the first kings of the divided kingdom have died, and in these two chapters today it goes back and forth to show the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. One other thing that is important in understanding the ten tribes of Israel, the northern tribes, is when Jeroboam became king, he did not want the Israelites to go to Jerusalem and worship at the temple the three times a year they were directed by the Lord to go. So Jeroboam made two calves, and placed one north in Dan, and the other in Bethel. He made up his own holidays for the people to celebrate, he allowed anyone who wanted to be priest to that position, and northern tribes began in pagan idolatry, and continued in that until they were conquered by Assyria. One thing we will find is that all of the kings of Israel never followed the Lord, but some of the kings of Judah would be like King David. Also we will notice that since the northern tribes did not follow the line of David as king, their kings came from different families. Chapter 15 begins, In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah became king of Judah. So the story took a step back before Rehoboam the king of Israel died, since Jeroboam the king of Judah died first. Verse 3 tells us Abijah committed all the sins his father had done before him, his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. Verses 4 and 5 talk about King David's faithfulness, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. And for David's sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, by raising up a son to succeed him, and by making Jerusalem strong. Through the reigns of Jeroboam and Rehoboam, and then through their sons, there was war over boundary lines between the north and the south. Then we learn that Abijah reigned in Judah just three years, and then Asa his son became king, and he reigned for forty-one years. Verse 11, Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done. He did not remove the high places, but his heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. Now that Asa is the king of Judah, and that he reigned for forty-one years, the story switches back to the northern tribes of Israel, and there were a lot of changes in the kingship while Asa was king of Judah. During Asa's second year of reign in Judah, Jeroboam died and Nadab became king, but only for two years. He followed the sinful ways of his father, and then the phrase, which he had caused Israel to commit. Verse 26, Now a man named Basha arose, killed king Nadab, and took the kingdom. He then killed all of Jeroboam's family, which fulfilled the prophecy that the servant Ahijah the Shilonite made to Jeroboam in chapter 14. There was still war between the north and the south. Basha went to a border town of Ramah to fortify it in order to keep people from going into Judah. So king Asa of Judah in the south made a treaty with the king of Aram, also known as Syria, to the north of Israel, and in exchange for treasuries in the Lord's temple, he asked Ben-Hadad to attack Basha in Israel from the north. This made Basha leave the town of Ramah on the border of Israel and Judah, and he left all the fortified materials there. Then Asa from Judah took those materials and built up his own cities of Geba and Benjamin and Mizpah. Asa was still king of Judah when Basha died, and his son Elah succeeded him, but he reigned for only two years, until Zimri. One of his officials came in and killed him and succeeded him as king of Israel. He also killed all of Basha's family, which fulfilled the word from the prophet Jehu in chapter 16 verse 7. Zimri also followed in the wicked sins of his predecessor, and again in verse 13 we find that his sin also caused Israel to commit sin of worshipping worthless idols. Now Zimri reigned a total of seven days, but when the people of Israel learned how he became king, they proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, as king over Israel. Omri seized Tirzah, the capital at the time, and when Zimri noticed that there was no hope for escape for him, he set the palace on fire around him and he died. Again we see the phrase in 19b that his sins had caused Israel to commit sin. Not everyone wanted Omri to be king, and half of the people wanted a man named Tibni to be king, but Omri was stronger and Tibni died. When Omri became king of Israel, he bought the hill of Samaria and made this his new palace. But Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him. He walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit, so that they provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their worthless idols. Omri died and was buried in Samaria, and Ahab his son succeeded him as king. It was Asa's 38th year as king of Judah. Verse 30 and 31 say, Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel, daughter of Ishmael, king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. Chapter 16 ends with verse 34. In Ahab's time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Sagub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua son of Nun. Now Joshua's oath is found in Joshua chapter 6 verse 26. After the Israelites entered the promised land with the leadership of Joshua, the walls of Jericho fell tumbling down, with the Lord's plan of walking around it for seven days. And this was the first city conquered in the promised land. Its ruins represented what the Lord did for Israel. Joshua pronounced a curse on anyone who undertakes to rebuild this city. At the cost of his firstborn son will he lay its foundations, at the cost of his youngest will he set up its gates. The interesting ending of this chapter may mean that the Israelites had total disrespect of the miracle that the Lord did when Joshua took the battle of Jericho. It also could mean, as two of the commentators mentioned, that it may be that since Baal worship included child sacrifice, that it may be that Hael purposefully sacrificed his sons with the rebuilding of this city, instead of their deaths just being an act of God. But either way, Joshua's curse came to fruition. If you noticed, with each king, the writer described if they were evil in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the ways of their father, and then gave the father's name. But of the kings of Judah, with the few who followed the Lord, they were described as doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord as their father David did, because they were descendants of David. And David was faithful to the Lord God Almighty. He wasn't perfect, but he was faithful. One of the things these good kings had were David's Psalms to reflect on. Today we're going to look at Psalm 14, which is in the first book of the Psalms, and then Psalm 53, which is in the second book of the Psalms. They are almost identical, except in Psalm 14, verses 5 and 6 are different, and in Psalm 53, they are combined into just one verse, number 5. I have mentioned before that the Hebrews wrote the scriptures on scrolls, which would limit their length, and some believe that depending upon which book of the Pentateuch, or the first five scrolls of Moses, was used in a worship service, then a certain psalm scroll was also used, which is why there are songs that are similar in various books. Verse 5 of Psalm 53 says, There they were, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread. God scattered the bones of those who attacked you. You put them to shame, but God despised them. If you have time, please compare these two Psalms and see some of the other slight changes between the two of them. Now let me read Psalm 14 in its entirety. The fool says in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt, their deeds are vile, there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt, there is no one who does good, not even one. Will evildoers never learn, those who devour my people as men eat bread, and who do not call on the Lord? There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous. You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge. Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion, when the Lord restores the fortunes of his people. Let Jacob rejoice, and Israel be glad. David wrote that the Lord is present in the company of the righteous. He cried out that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion, and it did, ladies, about a thousand years later. Jesus, the son of David, was born in Bethlehem, the town of Judah, and lived about thirty-three years, and he died on a cross in Zion, in Jerusalem. He was buried, and rose again, and his death paid the price for all our sin, because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, Romans chapter 3 verse 23. Jesus' gift for salvation is not just for Israel, but for all who believe on him, and in Revelation chapter 7 verses 9 and 10 it says, After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude, that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue, standing before the throne, and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes, and were holding palm branches in their hands, and they cried out in a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb. There will be a day of rejoicing and gladness, when King Jesus comes for his children, and John, the beloved apostle of Jesus, wrote in his first letter, chapter 3 verse 2, Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known, but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. The godly kings of Judah were like King David, but one day King David, as well as all believers, will be like Jesus, so ladies, if you have heard his voice today, please don't harden your heart against him like the kings of Israel, instead let's be like King Asa, who was like King David, who was not perfect, but as chapter 15 verse 14 says, Asa's heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. Oh ladies, let's hear and obey, until our final breath. Until next time, and thank you so very much for listening.