Grace OPC Sewickley PA

Sermon Book: 1 Kings

  • Asa, the Revival King

    Asa, the Revival King

    About this sermon

    Asa was the first of Judah’s reforming kings: he removed the cult prostitutes and idols, deposed his grandmother Maacah for making an Asherah, and his heart was wholly true to the Lord. Yet when Baasha of Israel threatened him, Asa took the treasures consecrated to the temple and paid the king of Syria to break covenant with Israel. Even a godly king could fail. Christ is the true King, wholly devoted to the Father, who did not turn aside even when he prayed, “Let this cup pass from me,” and was enthroned in glory.

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    Sermon transcript

    Let us hear now the Word of God. Matthew 1, 1 and 7. The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Verse 7, Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. Let’s turn to 1 Kings 15. Give your attention once again. This is the Word of God. So in the 20th year of Jeroboam, the king of Israel, Asa began to reign as king of Judah. He reigned 41 years in Jerusalem and his mother’s name was Ma’akah, the daughter of Abishalom. Asad did what was right in the sight of the Lord like David, his father.

    He also put away the male cult prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols which his fathers had made. He also removed Ma’akah, his mother, from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid image as an Asherah. And Asah put down her horrid image and burned it at the Brook Kidron. But the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, the heart of Asah was wholly devoted to the Lord all his days. He brought into the house of the Lord the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things, silver and gold and utensils.

    Now there was war between Asa and Baasha, king of Israel, all their days. Baasha, king of Israel, went up against Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa, king of Judah. Then Asa took all the silver and the gold which were left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the king’s house and delivered them into the hand of his servants. And king Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram. who lived in Damascus, saying, Let there be a treaty between you and me, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your treaty with Baasha, king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.

    So Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa, and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel, Beth-ma’akah, and all Kinneroth, besides all the land of Naphtali. When Baasha heard of it, he ceased fortifying Ramah, and remained in Tirzah, Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah. None was exempt, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had built, and King Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin and Mitzpah. Now the rest of all the acts of Asa and all his might, and all that he did and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Now in the time of his old age, he was diseased in his feet. And Asa slept with his mothers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father. And Jehoshaphat, his son, reigned in his place.

    Let us pray. Heavenly Father, may we be as Samuel of old, saying, speak, Lord, for your servants are here. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Well, we come once again to another Lord’s Day. God has been gracious in not bringing the end of the world and not bringing the last day. He very well could have done that in this week past, but He did not. And so, the Lord has left things wide open for more sinners to come to faith in Christ. And maybe that is happening all over the world this day. People are hearing the gospel, maybe many of them for the first time. And God is doing his mighty work.

    But for us, it brings us to this king, Asa, who was a son of David and who was a son of Abraham. Here we have a king of Israel. But what is significant about this king is that he is in the lineage of Jesus. He is, we could truly say, a father to the Lord Jesus Christ. And in some ways, he is an apt picture of what the Lord Jesus Christ would be like.

    This is a man who is twice commended here in the text that we have just read. In verse 11, it says, Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. In verse 14, it says, the heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days. Would you not love for the Holy Spirit to shower such verbal accolades upon you? How wonderful that would be.

    Indeed, among kings of Judah, there are only two who receive greater commendation than Asa. Those two would be Hezekiah and Josiah. And if the Lord continues the delay of judgment day, maybe in His grace, He will give us opportunity to look more closely and more intimately at the lives of Josiah and of Hezekiah.

    I’d like you to think of Asa as the first of what we could call revival kings. Revival kings. He is the first of the kings that seeks to bring about a revival of true religion in the nation of Judah. Previous kings had contributed to the worship of idols, either causing it to happen or being complicit in it by their silence.

    At the time of Asa, idols are becoming more and more commonplace. It’s not just that people have images of family members or private personal gods in their homes. They are beginning to become more and more commonplace in the marketplace and in the public places.

    And this ought not to have been the case. So what happens is Ah Sah ignores the sentiment of the people and he follows the sentiment of the creator of the world. And he seeks to bring down these towering statues that people are bowing to and kissing and worshiping. And isn’t that the way things so often are?

    To please God, bring about the wrath of man. The opposite too. Please man, and bring about the anger of God. But He does not care. He wants to be commended before God, the creator of all things and the rescuer of Israel. Lest God should be angry with them and bring about catastrophes upon their nation. He must follow God. He must obey. And so he goes to do a cleaning, a cleansing of the land.

    He looks to the male cult prostitutes. Now this is just an indication of how bad things have become. There are male cult prostitutes. What happens is you go into a temple or some place of quote-unquote worship, and for a fee you have a priest. who is also a prostitute who will lead the women or maybe even the men in acts of which we ought not to speak.

    The apostle Paul says, we ought not to even speak of the wicked things that are done in the darkness, but these are being done in the open. This is how bad things have become. because of Abijah, because of Rehoboam, even because of Solomon, the fathers of Israel.

    Assah and so he’s casting all those things out. He is getting rid of them. He’s saying tear these down all of them cast out all of these idols and maybe God will have mercy upon us and we must reinstitute true worship worship that follows the God of our nation rather than the God that our fathers have not known. He is so much seeking to be a God pleaser and so little concerned to be a man pleaser, or in the example that I’m about to give, he is not concerned about being a woman pleaser. We read in our text about another good thing that he does. A number of good things are listed.

    One of them is he takes and dethrones the queen mother, Ma’aka. Now our text says that this is his mother. When we read that Ma’aka is Asa’s mother, we ought to read it in the same way that Jesus is David is the father of Jesus. Abraham is the father of Jesus. This is not his literal mother. It really is his grandmother. What happens is… If you turn back just a little bit, you’ll see that Ma’aka was actually the mother of Abijah. This is his grandmother.

    Why though, does it use this kind of language? We shouldn’t be surprised. The Bible talks about so-and-so being the mother of and the father of when it really is talking about distant relatives. But the question is, how is it that Maaka was able to be a queen in the first place, that she could lead the land to worship female deities? How did that happen in the first place?

    You see, Asa’s reign is 41 years. But the one who came before him, Abijam or Abijah, both names are used in the word of God. He reigns for three years, only three years. It seems that Abijah, his reign was over prematurely and Asa may have not been old enough to be the actual king.

    And so his grandmother steps in to rule, to be a sort of council until he comes along. It’s often the case that that happens in monarchies. or someone who is born a king or becomes king at the age of five or of six or something like that. Associates watch over the kingdom until that one becomes 18 or 13 or whatever the age that that one would begin to rule. But do you see the way that he takes things so seriously? He’s dethroning his own grandmother. Goodbye, Grandmother Maaka. Your reign is over. Because you worshipped idols.

    You can imagine what things might be said about that. What would she say? You know, you need to honor your father and your mother. And wouldn’t it be best if you would honor your mother, namely your grandmother, by allowing me to continue to reign that your life might be long in the land? What would a response to that be? If he’s thinking biblically, if he’s thinking according to the word of his God? And he would say, no. By deposing you, my grandmother, I am honoring God and you. And allowing my life to go long in the land. This is what is right for me. This is what is right for you. This is what is right for all of the land. Because you have brought uncleanliness on this land.

    And so, he defrocks her, he deposes her. We’re told of other good things that he does. He takes sacred things, gold and silver and other things, things that belonged to his father, things that belonged to Asa himself, and he puts those in the temple. The intention is that these would be used for a holy use, for consecrated means, for the worship of the true God. He is commended and commended and commended. But anytime you have someone commended in the Bible, There’s always a but, is there not? He did this wonderful thing and this wonderful thing. But he did this and this. And he did not do that and that.

    I believe every single person in the Bible, we are given major figures at least. We are told ways that they sin, just about everyone. Not Jesus, of course. He never sinned. I think of the only person who was not God, who evil things are not spoken of, is Daniel. We’re never really told so much what his sins are. Not to say he did not have sins. They’re just not told to us. The sins of men and women are laid before us in the Word of God. And there, an assah is no exception to that rule. He did evil, and there are other things that he did not do. What did he not do?

    He did not take the high places down. It’s one thing to get rid of all of the idols in the city where you can just see them, but the high places, that’s where there continue to be idols. Up upon the mountains, on the hilltops, people could still go and worship false gods. Those places seemed to be safe.

    We don’t know if he did not know about them. if they were outside of his sphere that he was able to see because he just did not go to those places? Or was it that he just did not go the extra distance and climb the hills and bring an army to destroy those statues and those pictures? Meanwhile, as he is conducting these reforms, Baasha, who is the northern kingdom of Jewish or Hebrew people, he is conducting war against Asa. And Asa and Baasha are at war with one another.

    They have then rival religions. Asa is trying to set up the true religion down in the south in Judah and up above Baasha following after Jeroboam, his father is bringing about idol worship and the land is becoming more and more filled. And there’s rivalry between these two kings because There are cities that you’re not allowed to cross in. People are being walled in to their own places so that they can’t leave the north, the idolatrous north, and go down and worship in the pure worshiping southern kingdom.

    And he begins, Baasha builds a town called Rama, which functions as a checkpoint. You may have gone to Mexico, you may have gone to Canada, you may have gone to other places crossing from one border of a country, crossing over a border of a country, and they have people who ask you questions. What is your business here? That’s what we have here in the text. Rama is that checking station.

    And they would not let people down to worship the true God. And because of this, and because of the growing power of Baasha, Asa needs to go to war with him. So there’s war after war. And it certainly is not wrong for him to go to war against the idols, but it is the method by which he conducts the campaign.

    You see, Asa goes into the temple and takes out the sacred objects that he had placed in there, the ones that belonged to himself and to his father. He goes in and he takes those out. And then he brings those to a king named Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria. He goes to Ben-Hadad and he says, break the covenant with my brothers in the north and I’ll give you these things.

    What wickedness. to take those things out of the temple. You could say, well, I put them in there in the first place. Yeah, you put them in there. But those were consecrated to the Lord. And once you gave them into the temple, they were no longer yours to take out.

    But it’s even worse, I mean, here he is using those things to bribe a pagan king to break a covenant with his brothers. You have two kingdoms, the North and the South, and neither are living up to what they ought to be, but they are brothers. They are sons and daughters of Abraham. And here, one son of Abraham, goes to a wicked king and he asks that wicked king to break the covenant with the other Hebrews. This is terrible.

    What would you say of a Christian who seeks to deceive a Christian, another Christian, and he uses the means that he has, he goes and hires an atheist to help to do that. That would be a Christian teaching an atheist to be deceitful. Here you have one who is the king of the righteous kingdom, who is to be a light to the nations, and he is teaching that nation deception.

    If he had trusted in the Lord, God would have given him victory over both Baasha and Ben-Hadad. But you see, Asa later in his life is as one who has lived the Christian life, in a sense, for a while. He has depended upon God in the past. And he begins to find the Christian life easy to live by his own strength. And his dependent is not upon the Lord so much anymore. His dependence is upon himself.

    Surely this could be a temptation to anyone who has been a believer for a long time in the young time of your Christian walk. You trusted, you prayed, you asked God for everything. But of recent, you’re trusting in yourself and your own ability to get things done. What a picture Asa is of that.

    And so he goes to war. He sends Ben-Hadad to go to war, break the covenant with Baasha in the north. And he does break that covenant. And it is very sad. He has taught deception. Now we are told elsewhere in God’s Word that a prophet comes to him. A prophet named Hanani. And he confronts him about these things. He confronts Asa. And Asa is so self-serving and trusting in himself at that time that he puts that prophet in the stocks. He punishes him publicly. Very evil. We’re told also that he has foot trouble. The book of Chronicles explains a little bit more of that.

    He had foot trouble, and rather than going to the Lord and asking for healing, he goes to the physicians. Now we understand that Israel, Judah, that was a supernatural kingdom. And God had promised to David. He had promised to Asa through David that he would do things like heal his feet. But no, I will take my own resources into my hands. I’ll go to the physicians.

    You see, his love for the Lord has grown cold. It’s not like it was at the beginning where the Apostle Paul There, you can imagine Paul rebuking Asa in the way that he rebuked the Galatians. Maybe the Apostle Paul would have ended up in the stocks like Hanani. But if Paul were to use the words that he used on the Galatians, you can hear Paul saying this, Asa, you were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. Oh, foolish Asa, who has bewitched you? You’re not running the race that you began. You see, Asa, he reigned for 41 years. 41 years is a long marathon. But he treated it like a sprint.

    And in the end, he was unfaithful to his God. Oh, that Israel had a king. That Israel had a king that was faithful. Faithful to the end. Trusting in the Heavenly Father all the way to the very end of His life and beyond. If only Israel had a King like that.

    Unlike Asa, Christ shows how great He is. Jesus Christ did not waver in His seeking of His Heavenly Father. He did not reach a point in His ministry wherein He was able to say, I’ve got this. I can take care of this on my own. Constantly, the Lord Jesus Christ was earnestly praying and seeking the Father’s will. Seeking the Father’s glory. And even in the most difficult of time, when Jesus was about to face the greatest horror that anyone could ever face, namely the cross wherein the Father poured out His wrath upon Jesus.

    When Jesus was close to that, Jesus went to the Father, not saying, I’ve got this, I’ll take care of this, I’m just going to grin and bear it and endure it. He says, let this cup pass from me. He would not ignore what his father would have him do. But still he was submissive to his father saying, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.

    And he went on. to endure the torment that came with being a ransom for sinners, showing His love for them. And after Christ’s resurrection, Jesus Christ was enthroned in heaven in yonder glory. And He was seated at the right hand of God the Father. He was enthroned to show that He was King of all things. King of the church. King of creation. King of recreation.

    But his task was not finished, and it is still not finished. For that one who trusted till the end of his reign continues to knock down the idols. About 40 years after Jesus died and rose again, the Hebrew people were continuing to sacrifice. They were continuing to look to the coming of the Messiah, sacrificing animals to atone for their sins.

    And that place, Jerusalem itself, after Jesus has died and risen from the dead, that place is the ultimate high place. That place is the ultimate place of idolatry. And so Jesus, the Sovereign Lord of Heaven, sends the Romans to destroy that city, calling it the abomination of desolation. And it was made desolate.

    Jesus warned that He was going to do this if they did not repent in Matthew 23. And He foretells how it’s going to happen in Matthew 24. You see, Asa purged the land of idols, but he didn’t go far enough. The Lord Jesus Christ is purging the land of idols, but greater than purging that land, Jerusalem, that rival kingdom, to His enthronement. Jesus Christ is felling the idols of His bride’s heart. And He is knocking them down, and He is throwing them to the ground and trashing them.

    Anytime the gospel is preached, And a sinner comes to repentance and says, I believe in a Savior like that who dies for me and gives his death for me to pay the ransom that I owe. Idols are being toppled. The idols of the heart. Anytime a Christian believer mortifies his sin, and puts it to death, and kills it. The Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ, the King, is knocking down idols, the high places of the hearts of His people. And anytime a believer sins, succumbs to the temptation of sin, partakes of the forbidden fruit, and comes under conviction, comes under contrition, the Lord Jesus Christ is victorious still, purging the idolatry out of that person as well. Glory to our God.

    Asad did not trust in God for the healing of his feet, But Christ the Lord trusted for the healing of far more than His feet. He did trust His Father for the healing of His feet, but also for the healing of His hands. For the healing of the spear that went into His side. For the healing of the crown of thorns that was upon His head. The healing of the beatings. All of the piercings. All of the horrible treatment. The Lord Jesus Christ was trusting His Father. Because He knew that His Father would heal Him. And He does heal the Lord Jesus. When he raises from the dead, he heals him for eternity and forever.

    And when he heals us, it will also be the final destruction of the last idols. For when we are chained in the twinkling of an eye, all the idols will be gone. And when we are changed, when we are raised, resurrected, all of the pain and illness and sickness will be gone. At our resurrection, the destruction of the idols and our healing will come together simultaneously. to the glory of our God and Savior Jesus Christ and His Father.

    And we shall rule with Christ the King because of His righteousness which is imputed to us. We serve a good God who is gracious to David through Christ. A God who is gracious to Christ through David. And He is gracious to us through both, who casts down our idols and raises us from the dead. May His name be ever praised. Let us pray.

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  • For David’s Sake

    For David’s Sake

    About this sermon

    First Kings 15 gives a short, unflattering account of Abijam, Rehoboam’s son: he walked in his father’s sins, and the Lord kept a lamp in Jerusalem only for David’s sake. Second Chronicles 13 adds that when Judah was outnumbered in battle, Abijah and his men cried out to the Lord and he gave them victory. Matthew includes him in Jesus’ genealogy. His name means “my father is the Lord,” a picture of grace, and it points to the one at the end of the list who is the Father’s own Son.

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    Sermon transcript

    Hear now the Word of God. The record of the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. Now verse 7, Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. Now let us turn to 1 Kings 15.

    Now in the 18th year of King Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Abisham became king over Judah. He reigned three years in Jerusalem and his mother’s name was Ma’aka, the father of the daughter of Abshalom or Abishalom. He walked in all the sins of his father, which he had committed before him, and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, like the heart of his father David. But for David’s sake, the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem to raise up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem. because David did what was right in the sight of the Lord and had not turned aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.

    There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. Now the rest of the acts of Abisham and all that he did Are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. And Abijam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David and Asa. His son became king in his place. So ends the reading of God’s holy word. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, Without your spirit, this is just sound and fury. It’s just a cacophony of syllables.

    Won’t you, O Lord, give us the ability to bring all of these things together, that we might know Christ in our minds. We ask that you would build up those who our downcast, we ask that you would challenge the apathetic, and we ask that you would show your love to all of your people by this holy practice given to us from the apostles. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. Our study in God’s Word by way of Matthew’s genealogy finds us going into some areas that for some may be deep waters. David, Abraham, Solomon.

    I feel somewhat comfortable with those people, but sometimes for some of us it gets a little bit blurry as we go deeper into the Book of Kings. It just seems like a number of strange names thrown together. May it not be that way. Today we come to look at the story of Abijah or Abijam. You may notice that I tend to emphasize the latter syllable. I think it’s more faithful to the ways of Hebrew names. I tend to do that unless there is a a standardized English pronunciation. Not David, but David.

    Well, we come to this then, this piece of the Word of God, and Matthew talks about Abijah. And Abijah is the great-grandson of David, the grandson of Solomon, and the son of Rehoboam, with whom we became a little bit more acquainted just two weeks ago. I’d have you notice, though, the difference in the names. Matthew says Abijah or Abijah. We turn to the Book of First Kings and it is Abijam. I wonder if there’s something going on there with the names. Our passage that we read about Abisham in 1 Kings 15 is not very positive, you might have noticed.

    Just simply by way of biography, we see that he comes to reign in the 18th year of Jeroboam. Remember the context. Jeroboam has taken over the ten tribes in the north. He’s ruling over those, and he has done so, he began that in an underhanded way, somewhat by trickery. Now, Abizham is only going to reign for three years. It seems that the Lord is not fully pleased with the reign of Abijah.

    What happened was David received a promise that you will have a son to sit on the throne forever and ever. And Solomon was that son in a typological manner, just a picture of what Christ was going to be. But at the end of Solomon’s reign, things begin to fall apart. His life begins to fall apart because he goes after strange gods, strange gods of the women that he had married.

    He begins to compromise, but the Lord will not go back on his promise. He will not take the kingdom away from Solomon. So Solomon has a son, and Rehoboam is his name. And Rehoboam is unfaithful by not trusting and following the advice of his elders and of those who had gone before him. And so because of some rookie mistakes, he splits the kingdom. That’s where Jeroboam comes in. Jeroboam, again as I said, takes over 10 tribes in the north. That leaves Rehoboam with just the southern tribes.

    Now, we must see in this that God is still being faithful to his promises. A son of David still sits on the throne in Jerusalem and he is ruling, but His kingdom has been substantially reduced. It has not been cut away. It has almost been cut fully away, but He still rules over Judah. God is true to His promises, often despite the sin of His people.

    As I said, the narrative here is not very positive because the Lord is not fully pleased with what Abijam had, the ways that he lived. Now, we are not told the specifics of the ways that he failed. We can imagine them. It may have had to do with compromising. It may have had to do with beginning to worship other gods, but we ought not to speculate very much because the Word of God doesn’t tell us. It doesn’t display for us Abijam’s dirty laundry. For some reason it doesn’t. Many of the people in God’s Word, even people we think highly of, their dirty laundry is set out for us on display. But not the case with this one Abijam.

    We are just told that his heart was not wholly faithful like David’s heart was. But it does display for us just a little bit of David’s dirty laundry, does it not? It says, David was fully faithful to the Lord his God in his heart, except for that one thing that he did, that one minor issue, just a little bit of murder, just a little bit of adultery. Other than that, his heart is fully devoted to the Lord We could say, though, that the writer of 1 Kings does not idealize the life of David. It doesn’t set him up as a hero. He had faith, but he was a man with feet of clay.

    He was a sinner who receives grace. To that, We must say, hallelujah. God is gracious. God is showing kindness. Jerusalem was to be a city set on a hill. A light, we are told, shines in Jerusalem. What is that light? That light is Habisham, this son of David. Jerusalem was to be a city set on a hill for all of the rest of the nations to see the greatness of God. How would they see the greatness of God? They would look and see the promises to David, even in Abizham.

    Certainly, this one light does not shine as brightly as it could have. It does not shine as brightly as in the days of David. But it shines bright for all of the nations to see, even though this man is a sinner, and though the Lord is not always grateful for his lackluster service.

    We are told in verse 6, and we’re told at the end, that during the whole life of Abijan, there was war. And during all of his reign, there was war between himself and Jeroboam. Jeroboam, you remember, was an idolatrous king. He set up rival religion in the north. You have Hebrew men and women being led to false gods by Jeroboam, the idolatrous king. So there you have our text. Not very positive.

    God, insofar as God seems to show any faithfulness to Abijam, it is only because of David, and his kindness to David, and the faith of David. It’s interesting though, as we look in other places in God’s Word, we have two different accounts of the life of Abijam. Understand that the book of Kings tells the story of the kings of Israel and Judah, but the book of 1st and 2nd Chronicles does the same thing. But there is a different flavor to each one of those. If you were to read 2 Chronicles 13, which I thought we might be best to keep things brief, we have an expanded discussion of the life of Abijam.

    It’s interesting, as we go there, it’s not as negative. It doesn’t seem to cast such a dark light upon the life of Abijam. We have a different picture. Not only that, we have different names. 1 Kings, his name is Abijah. In 2 Chronicles, his name is Abijah. Very different. Why could that be? May we wonder about that. In 2 Chronicles, we have a really riveting story, 2 Chronicles 13, where it talks about the war between Jeroboam and their, as he’s called, Abijah. And there Abijah goes to war against Jeroboam and we’re told one of the speeches that he makes there.

    It’s a very courageous speech and a powerful speech. They’re about to go into war. Now understand the context, the words that Abijah is saying when he is overmatched. He is going to war with 400,000 men. It sounds like a good number. 400,000 men. Until you see that Rehoboam, the idolatrous northern king, has 800,000 men. So it’s two to one. And Abijah does not cower and say, how will we win this?

    He makes a courageous speech going up before the war, and he really preaches to the idolatrous northern tribes. And this is the way he begins in 2 Chronicles 13, 4 and 5. I’ll just read the first verse and a half. He says, Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel. Ought you not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and to his sons as a covenant of salt? That’s the way he begins. He’s not shaking in his boots. He seems to be trusting in the Lord here.

    What is this language of a covenant of salt? That doesn’t seem very strong for us. God made a covenant of salt. You might think of something, you know, salt is just something you might throw over your shoulder or something for bad luck, not that we believe in luck. Salt is something that doesn’t seem to last, does it? What does he mean? God has given the kingdom to David and his sons as a covenant of salt. Let me explain what he means by this. It doesn’t mean something that lasts as long as a meal. You put a little salt on food and then the salt is gone.

    In the old covenant God gave the Levites, and especially the sons of Aaron, to be the priestly tribe. And in Numbers chapter 18, we have God explaining to the Levites that all that you will need will come from the offerings of the people. Listen to what he says there. numbers in 1819, all the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the Lord I give to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a perpetual due. For a definition of that, it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your offspring with you. God is saying that the Levites are going to receive that and it’s going to be perpetual. Even it’s going to be eternal in some sense.

    And so David, excuse me, so Abijah comes and he says, do you understand that the covenant that God made to David is still manifested in me? and by opposing me and my army, you are opposing God himself. He goes on in that speech, and it would be worth it for you to meditate upon it in the rest of your Lord’s Day, 2 Chronicles 13. He goes on in that speech to explain to those who would oppose him. that we have David’s son reigning in me, but we also have the sacrifices.

    We have the true worship. We have the priests. We have the temple. We have all the things that God has given as a gift. And what do you have over there? You have things that are rival to all of those. You have a king who is falsely anointed as the king. You have false worship that is idolatrous.

    It doesn’t sound like one who is not trusting in God in some sense. What Abijah is saying is that God has given David the throne forever and ever. Well, it didn’t do anything. Abijah’s Speech as preaching did not win him any converts, at least not from the opposing side.

    So war commences. The cavalry comes. The horns are blown. War begins. And it’s not long after they have begun that war that Abijaz men begin to be outnumbered. Jeroboam, being a skilled general, not only sends people against Abijah’s front, but he sends some around the back. You see, he has men to spare. He has twice as many. And in the thick of the battle, Abijah and his men realize that things aren’t going well.

    And they call out to the Lord their God. What are they doing? They’re demonstrating that they have faith in Him. And it really is not about numbers. It’s not about trusting in horses and in chariots and in swords. It’s about trusting in the Lord their God. And that is what they do. Because of their crying out to the Lord, the Lord blesses that, and He gives them victory. In fact, He wins the victory against Jeroboam and the idolatrous northern tribes, and they send them packing What ought we to think of this?

    Two testimonies of one man. Ought we to privilege one and think that that’s the true one, and the other one’s just a myth, something that came along later? Are they both wrong? And they’re both just ways of writing your own history. We ought not to take it that way either. Both are true, but you certainly can look at things from a different perspective. Both are true. We have the same thing going on in our Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. They don’t contradict one another. But each one is the word of God and they can certainly be reconciled, but they have worth and merit on their own to read on their own.

    But what really is in a name after all? Why is it that one would give the name Abijah, first Kings, and the other would give the name Abijah? What does Abidjan mean, after all? Abidjan means, my father is the sea. Seems a bit strange. I’m not even sure what’s meant by that. My father is the sea. I don’t think that he is saying that his father is Poseidon, the god of the sea in Greek and Latin mythology. Not at all. I don’t know what to do with that. My father is the sea. His father is not the sea. His father is Rehoboam. I don’t get any help there.

    Rehoboam, the best that I can uh… figure out by looking at the meaning of the word because uh… hebrew names have meanings it’s really just the pride of the people not exactly sure but if we look at the name Abijah we get a little bit more there my father is Yah Yah Just a shortened form of Jehovah.

    A shortened form of the Lord. So when you say hallelujah, you’re saying praise Yah. Praise God. It’s really praise a hallelujah-hovah. But it’s praise Yah. And that’s what His name is saying. My Father is Yah. This is a man who, like any of us, did good things, but did unrighteous things.

    Things that were detrimental to his kingdom, but things that were helpful to his kingdom. It may be the case that Abijah is a man who can just talk a big game, and he does that. but the Lord seems to reward it. He seems to have, in some sense, a bit of faith. Even if God was not wholly pleased with his reign, it seems that God was just a little bit so pleased with the reign of Abijah.

    It may be the case that because of the wrong things that he did, The writer of 1 Kings doesn’t want to dignify this one of old with a name that says, my father is God. And so he comes up with another name. My father is God. It may be the case that here we have one who is saved by grace.

    Though he did not do good things in his kingdom, he may have been saved himself.” Certainly there is redemptive history in all the things that go on in there. And what happens in redemptive history is more than not a difference. There’s a difference between redemptive history and the individual and particular salvation of a particular man. Will Adam be saved? We don’t know. Adam cast the whole world into the mess that it is in. It may be the case that he is saved. In redemptive history, he destroyed the world. But it may be the case that God applies the redemption of Christ to Adam.

    And I’ll put forward to you God and His grace, that that may be what He does with Abijah as well, though not fully pleased with his reign. He’s dignified, at least in some sense, to be given the name, My Father is God. For he looked to God the Father and found respite and he found deliverance from God. But look at the name that Matthew chooses. The name that he chooses is not Abisham, It is Abijah.

    My father is God. Now don’t think that Matthew did not have both Chronicles and Kings at his disposal. He would have had access to all of them. The Old Testament canon was settled. For whatever reason, he goes with Abijah. And I do believe that by the Holy Spirit and by Matthew, we have a picture of grace.

    One who, though he was not perfect as a king and God is not pleased with his kingdom and his rule, one who is truly able to say, my father is God. And it ought to point to the one who is at the bottom of the list of the genealogy. The one who, in a far greater and a far truer sense, is able to say, my father is God. My Father is Yah, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.

    Because Jesus is eternally begotten of the Father before all worlds. When Jesus was resurrected, He went and talked to Mary Magdalene. And what does He say to her? He says, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Truly Jesus understands my God is Yah, my Father is God. And so, as we read and as we sang, we have the book of Psalms 45, The Father is saying, My Son is God. And Jesus understands, My Father is God. Jesus receives that, what the Father says, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.

    Before Christ the Lord was enthroned upon the throne which is in heaven, the Lord Jesus was enthroned upon the cross. Enthroned upon the cross as King of sorrows and as King of pain. And we are told by the gospel writers that Jesus has seven sayings from the cross, and I’ll read two of them back to back before you this day.

    My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Upon the cross, Jesus understands, My Father is God. And the same One who forsakes Him is the same One into which He would commit His spirit. Because there is none greater for the Lord Jesus Christ to entrust and to commit His Spirit than in the one who is His Father and is His God. the one who He entrusts His Spirit to, is also the one who forsakes Him and pours out wrath upon Him so that we might be the recipients of eternal life by grace alone, by faith alone, not by works of any way, of any shape, or any form. and He does not forsake you. The reason is because He forsook His Son. But there is none greater for you in whom you would commit your spirit.

    But it is not only Abijah, I think, who can truly be called Abijah. For that certainly is the name of Christ. But it is a name that by grace you are able to take as well. And you are able to say, with Jesus, My Father. And you are able to pray to Him, praying to Him with Jesus. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. by grace, through faith, in union with Christ, you are those who can be found to be able to say, my Father is God. The significance of that must not miss you.

    We do not believe in the fatherhood of God and the sonship or the brotherhood of all mankind in Christianity. We’re all related in some sense, born of Adam. But God is not father to everyone. And to those he is not the father to, Abraham is their father. And the death and destruction and punishment which was deserving of Adam is to fall upon all those who are found in Adam who can at best say, Adam is my father. And as Jesus would tell the Pharisees, Satan is your father. We are born in sin with Adam as our father. We can really say we are born in sin with Satan as our father, and Adam as well, both of them. But in Christ, we are able to say, Abijah. And to that, how can we say anything other than hallelujah? Let us pray.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • Two Cities

    Two Cities

    About this sermon

    Ahab married Jezebel, served Baal, and in his days Hiel rebuilt Jericho, at the cost of his firstborn and youngest sons, as Joshua had warned. Rebuilding the city God had overthrown was defiance, a monument to human strength and a refusal to trust the Lord. Revelation 21 shows the other city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God, with gates of pearl and the Lamb as its lamp. The church is tempted to build in its own strength, but Christ builds and defends his church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

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    Sermon transcript

    And we welcome you, Mr. Dunn. Thank you. For our scripture this evening, I want to read from two portions of the Bible. One is the Old Testament and one from the New. Starting with 1 Kings chapter 16, 1 Kings chapter 16, 29-34, and then we’ll turn to Revelation chapter 21, 9-27. Starting then with first Kings chapter 16, this is the word of God as we read from the Holy Scriptures. Now Ahab, the son of Amorai, became king over Israel in the 38th year of Asa, king of Judah. And Ahab, the son of Amorai, reigned over Israel and Samaria 22 years.

    And Ahab, the son of Amorai, did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him. It came about as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, that he married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and went to serve Baal and worshiped him. So he erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. And Ahab also made the Asherah. Thus, Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel that were before him. In his days, Hael, the Bethlehite, built Jericho. He laid his foundation with the loss of Abiram, his firstborn, and set up his gates with the loss of his youngest son, Seacup. According to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua, the son of none.

    And then turning over to Revelation chapter 21, starting at verse nine. One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me saying, come here. I will show you the bride, the wife of the lamb. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a costly stone, as a stone of crystal clear jasper.

    It had a great and high wall with 12 gates, and at the gates, 12 angels. And names were written on them, which are those of the 12 tribes of the sons of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, and three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. And the wall of the city had 12 foundation stones, and on them were the 12 names of the 12 apostles of the land.

    The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and its wall. And the city was laid out as a square, its length as great as its width, and he measured the city with a rod 1,500 miles, its length and width and height are equal. He measured its walls, 72 yards according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements.

    The material of the wall was jasper. The city was pure gold like clear glass. The foundation stones of this city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. First foundation stone was jasper. The second, sapphire. The third, chalcedon. The fourth, emerald. The fifth, sardox. The sixth, sardus. The seventh, chrysolite. The eighth, beryl. The ninth, topaz. The tenth, chrysopaz. The eleventh, jacanth. The twelfth, amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls.

    Each one of the gates was a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold like transparent glass. I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb are its temple. The city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it. Its lamp is the Lamb. And the nation shall walk by its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it. And in the daytime, for there shall be no night there, its gates will never be closed. and they will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it, and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

    Thus far the reading of God’s holy word. Let us look to the Lord in prayer before we look at this passage. Our Father, we’re told in your word that all scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God might be adequate, equipped for every good deed. As we look at a passage which may seem a little obscure this evening, we pray, our Father, that we might see that all scripture truly is profitable and we might learn from it. Teach us, our Father, to understand your word and to apply it to our lives and to the life of the church. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

    In 881 BC, 49 years after the formation of the kingdom of Israel, that is the northern kingdom. Amrei, commander of the army, became king of Israel. He ruled for eight years and he established a dynasty in Israel which lasted for 40 years. These 40 years, particularly the years in which Amrei’s son Ahab ruled, are among the most important years in the history of the Northern Kingdom. Amri picks Samaria as a site to build a new capital and it remained the capital for the remaining one and a half centuries of the Northern Kingdom. Amri extended the borders of his kingdom, especially across the Jordan and into Moab. He also made alliances with Phoenicia. He was succeeded on the throne by his son, Ahab, who ruled over Israel and Samaria for 22 years.

    And it’s during these years that the most significant events occurred in the Northern Kingdom. There are events which set forth in important ways the conflict between those who are covenant breakers and, on the other hand, the Lord of the covenant. There’s this battle. that is set up most obviously, of course, in terms of the battle of Mount Carmel. But all throughout the reign, there was this battle.

    And as such, there’s great drama in the reign of Ahab and much to be learned from that reign. We read today the introductory verses to the reign of Ahab as found in Kings chapter 16. And this evening, rather than give a review of Ahab and his reign, I want to look particularly at verse 34, which, if understood correctly, can give us an insight into the important forces at play in the reign of Ahab. The conflict that existed throughout this period, as you see the opposition on the one hand of a king who was worshiping Baal, and on the other hand, Elijah, who was the servant of the Lord. The Holy Spirit, in compilation of the Book of Kings, saw fit to include a story that might seem rather obscure and unimportant in the account of the reign of Ahab.

    Having told us that Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him, we read, in Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid his foundations at the cost of his first born son, Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son, Segob, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua, the son of Nun.

    Now this account does not, of course, tell us that Ahab was the one who rebuilt Jericho. It was Hiel. But at the same time, it’s inconceivable that we are not to understand Ahab as being involved in the project. He did not build Jericho, but he must have authorized it, and he must have encouraged it. This was part of his kingdom, and only if it fit his policies would it be built. Ahab was finishing the work of Amrei, his father. work of establishing that kingdom that his father had started, or at least expanded. You must understand the strategic importance of Jericho.

    Originally, when Joshua divided the land, it was part of the inheritance of Benjamin. And we might expect that this in turn then would have been in the southern kingdom. but actually it was a border city of the Northern Kingdom. Geographically, Jericho was in a natural position to be of great importance. A main east-west road ran through it, and also a main north-south road. There were branches to Jerusalem and to Samaria. The early Canaanites recognized the importance of Jericho.

    That’s why it was a fortified city in the days of Joshua. It was a garrison on the border. It had walls and gates. And as the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, it was the first place that stood in their way of conquering the land of Canaan. It was, if you will, the gateway to the land. Now, we probably all know the story of how Jericho was conquered in Joshua’s day.

    The Israelites, at the command of God, marched silently around the city for six days with seven priests that were carrying ram’s horns and also the Ark of the Covenant. And on the seventh day, they marched around the city seven times. On the seventh time, the priests blew a loud blast on the seven ram’s horns And at the command of Joshua, the people shouted with a loud shout and the walls of the city fell down. And of course the Israelites were able then to proceed into the city and to destroy the city. Only Rahab and her family were spared.

    What we may not remember is the curse that was pronounced by Joshua after Jericho’s fall. We read in Joshua 6, verse 26. At that time, Joshua pronounced this solemn oath. Cursed before the Lord is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn son, will he lay its foundations. At the cost of his youngest, will he set up its gates.

    You ought to note, that this curse does not mean that Jericho would not be inhabited. In fact, it was inhabited. We read of the city in Judges 3, verse 13, and at the time of David in 2 Samuel 10, verse 15. But what it does mean is that the city was not to be fortified. It was to be an open city, not a walled garrison. And that is the way it remained for several centuries. But now, in Ahab’s day, the city is too strategic a place to have unfortified.

    It must be built back again as a fortress. We know that Mesha, king of Moab, was threatening Ahab. And so Hiel begins to build the walls. The moment he began to build the walls, The curse of the Lord pronounced centuries before came upon him. His firstborn son died. He did not stop, but he completed the project. And the day the gates were set up, the youngest son died. We don’t know how many sons he had, but presumably all his sons died during this building project. Why does the Bible make so much of this? Why are we told specifically of this ancient curse and its fulfillment? Well, evidently, all the kings before Ahab had known of the curse on Jericho and had respected it.

    For five centuries, no one had tried to fortify the city, even though they must have been sorely tempted to do so. They respected the fact that the broken down walls of Jericho were a vivid testimony to the great event in the Lord’s giving of the land of Canaan to the Israelites. Jericho stood as a statement to the world, really, that the battle is the Lord’s. It is God alone who overthrew Jericho. The fallen walls testified to that fact.

    Anyone who would rebuild these walls would be violating God’s rights. God had destroyed the gateway to Canaan, and God wanted all to know that his judgment on the Canaanites, know of that judgment on the Canaanites, and of his gift to the Israelites of the land. The walls of Jericho were never to be rebuilt for the Israelites were to remember their defense came not through cities and fortresses, garrisons, but their defense came in trusting the Lord.

    They must not put their trust in power and might and human defenses. They were rather to put their trust completely in their God, the true God of Israel. But now Ahab has a major problem. He doesn’t want to trust in the Lord. He’d rather trust in his army and the defenses that he could give him. He doesn’t want to believe what the ruined walls of Jericho tell him. They tell him that if he trusts in the Lord, he’ll be safe. He need not fear an open city, a defenseless border, but Ahab cannot trust in God. And so Ahab and Hiel begin, start to build the city, rebuild the walls. It must have known of the curse, but they’re not going to let that stop them. Jericho must once again be a statement of trust, not in God, but in human power. It must be a statement of the defense of Ahab and of his kingdom, not of God’s kingdom. Jericho would declare man’s independence, man’s greatness.

    Of course, this has always been the case since the fall. The very question in the test that our first parents, in the test that was of our first parents was whether or not they would believe God. whether they would bay him, whether they could trust him. And they failed. Man has since the fall wanted to put himself first and his authority first.

    And the crucial question that all must face is will they live by faith in what God tells them? Will they trust in him to defend them? Or will they put their trust in something else? and in particular in themselves and in their own strength and their own power.

    After the fall, Cain built a city and named it after his son Enoch. It was a memorial to himself and to his line. And we read of Ben who built the city and started the Tower of Babel as a memorial to themselves. They would build a city and make a name for themselves, we read.

    They would put themselves on the map, if you will. Later on, Babylon is a city that comes to stand for a city that champions man and his kingdom as opposed to God and his kingdom. Babylon despised God, takes the prerogatives of God. You remember Nebuchadnezzar?

    He stands up and says, I built this place. This is what I’ve done. This is what my right has done. This is what we can do. And of course, God brought judgment upon him. Babylon despised God. Isaiah, speaking at Babylon, says, you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit enthroned on the mountain of assembly in the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds. I will make myself like the most high. I will be God. But Isaiah says, you were brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.

    There would be many new kingdoms and new cities, but all would fail before the king and his city. Ahab and having Jericho rebuilt defied God. He wanted a monument to himself and his kingdom. He wanted to defend himself. He would not trust in God for he had denied God. Remember what we read?

    He married Jezebel. And she led him into worship of Baal and he sets up an Asherah. He is gone over to the other side in terms of worshiping Baal and Asherah rather than the God of Israel. His kingdom is a kingdom which represented not Christ’s kingdom, but that of the Antichrist. And God was not pleased. And God was not mocked. The curse that Joshua, on behalf of God, announced, of course, came to pass. That fact is recorded so that we, 28 centuries later, read about it and know about it.

    In the original destruction of Jericho, there was one man, Achan. who didn’t honor the command of God to destroy the city and not to take any of the possessions of the city, any of the spoils. He broke the covenant. He broke the ban that had been put on the city. Achan paid with his life and with his family’s life. Hiel did not respect the Lord’s word and he paid with the loss of his family. his future prosperity was cut off. He would have no abiding place among the people of God. And actually the same thing, when you read on further, happened to Ahab as well.

    We should contrast the building of the walls of Jericho with the building of another city, namely the city of Jerusalem and the walls of Zion. I’m thinking not so much of the physical city of Jerusalem, but of the New Jerusalem, the heavenly Zion. Jericho, the fortress of man, was built with the loss of life as God’s curse fell upon El and his family. The New Jerusalem is built with the loss of life, nothing less than the life of God’s own dear son.

    It’s he who bears God’s curse on sinful mankind. But it is he also who is risen from the dead and becomes part of the foundation of the new Jerusalem. He is the cornerstone of that new city, a cornerstone, the chief cornerstone precious in the sight of God. And all the walls and all the city, in a real sense, are built upon him. Jericho was built illegally as a monument to man. Its walls are built to protect the city and make it a fortress. Ahab had to build it because he could not trust in God to protect his kingdom.

    The New Jerusalem has walls and gates, but as we read in Revelation chapter 21, verses 13 and also 25, these gates are never closed. As long as the Lord God Almighty and the lamb are the temple of the new Jerusalem, there’s no fear of invasion. The inhabitants are safe from all their foes, even though this city is a wide open city. This is of course in fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 60 verses 10 through 14.

    Foreigners will build up your walls, and the kings will minister to you, for in my wrath I struck you, in my favor I have had compassion on you. Your gates will be open continually. They will not be closed, day or night, so that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations with their kings led in procession. For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish, and the nations will be utterly ruined. The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the juniper, the box tree, and the cypress together to beautify the place of my sanctuary.

    And I shall make the place of my feet glorious. The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing down to you. And all those who despise you will bow themselves at the soles of your feet, and they will call you the city of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

    Now, what is true of the final city of God is true even today, of course, of the Church of Jesus Christ. As Christians, we are members of Christ’s kingdom. And actually, we’re members of the New Jerusalem, city of Zion. I’ve been reading through the Old Testament. In particular, I’ve been reading Isaiah recently.

    When you read the history of Israel and the land of Canaan, you find over and over again the failure of God’s people to trust in him for their defense. Whenever they look to the Lord for help, as for instance Hezekiah did, when threatened by Zernacherib and the Assyrians, the Lord heard and marvelously defended his people and destroyed his enemies and preserved the city. When the Assyrians surrounded Dothan, Elisha prayed that his servant’s eyes might be opened to see the horses and the chariots of fire that surrounded Elisha and surrounded the city. But Israel constantly forgot to trust the Lord and sought to build their own defenses.

    They would look to Egypt or even to Assyria for help when threatened. They were always making foreign alliances. Even Hezekiah, who should know him better, even Hezekiah had the Babylonians come and he showed them everything that he had. He was severely reprimanded for that. but he was presumably making some kind of alliance with Babylon against Assyria.

    If you read the prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah, you will find they’re constantly telling the king he has nothing to fear from foreign woes as long as he trusts in the Lord. They warned the king of failure when he puts his trust in someone, somebody or something, other than the Lord.

    And all too often, as the new Israel of God and citizens of the new Jerusalem, we forget the one who said, I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. We use all kinds of means in an attempt to build the city by our own strength. to put up our own defenses. What we forget is that it’s Christ who builds the church and it’s Christ who defends the church.

    It was God who brought the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt and brought them through the wilderness and into the promised land of Canaan. It was God who would defend them in that land if they would simply trust him. That’s a lesson they didn’t seem to be able to learn very well. Every once in a while they did trust in God and he came to their defense, but then they would fall back in trusting on themselves.

    It is Christ who has brought us out of bondage in Egypt, bondage of sin. It is Christ who takes us through the wilderness of this world, feeds us and cares for us every step just as he did for the Israelites, if we trust in him. It’s Christ who will defend us no matter how bleak the circumstances may seem for the church and for his people. Do we believe that? Are we willing to live according to his word? Are we willing to trust completely in the Lord, no matter what the circumstances may be and may look like, how dire they may look like? Can we say with the psalmist in Psalm 124, if the Lord had not been on our side, let Israel say, If the Lord had not been on our side when men attacked us, when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us up alive.

    The flood would have engulfed us. The torrent would have swept over us. The raging waters would have swept us away. Praise be to the Lord who has not let us be torn by their teeth. We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare. The snare has been broken, and we have escaped.

    Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” Ahab couldn’t say that. So many of the kings of Israel and Judah even couldn’t say that, or often didn’t say it. But that is a fundamental thing that the church must say. Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

    Let’s pray. Our Father and our God, so often we see the forces of darkness and of destruction surround us or the church. So often we are afraid for ourselves and for others. We see in the world in which we live that the church is greatly persecuted. It’s even in some lands that they seek to exterminate the church.

    We pray our Father for ourselves, and we do pray for those who are thus persecuted in places like Nigeria and Eritrea and elsewhere, but also for ourselves, that we might be guarded by you, that our defense might not be walled cities or any kind of defense that we might throw out. but our defense might simply be a cry to the Lord for help, a trusting in his promises, a reliance upon Jesus Christ, who is the one who builds his church and against which the gates of hell cannot prevail.

    Help us, our Father, to have that simple trust. and thus be victorious, in Jesus’ name we pray, amen. Let us turn to hymn number 514, which I believe is actually based upon that psalm which I just read. Now this I now may say, and that can be true, is that the Lord hath not a right If that accord had not with us been made, When cruel men against us rise to strife, We surely had missed the load of the life. ♪ Against the fiercest foes ♪ ♪ The swelling tide adore us, red its flame ♪ ♪ O rage, it screameth, and become our grave ♪ ♪ The surging flood in the valley swelling up ♪ ♪ But surely they had overwhelmed us all ♪ ♪ Blessed be the Lord who made us stop their way ♪ ♪ Escapeeth free ♪ ♪ There that is reckoned ♪ ♪ So is kingdomly ♪ ♪ Our only help is in Jehovah’s name ♪ ♪ Who made the earth and the sky ♪ Receive the benediction of our God, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • The Living God and Dead Diana

    The Living God and Dead Diana

    This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Considering the Church” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, September 11, 1994.

    About this sermon

    Ephesus’s great temple to Diana stands behind Paul’s charge to Timothy, in a city where idolatry filled the architecture and the streets. Timothy faced real trouble from idolaters in the church. Against a dead goddess, God calls the church to be his own living glory.

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    Sermon transcript

    We begin this morning our scripture reading in the book of First Kings. We are in First Kings chapter eight. We are beginning our reading at verse one. Give your attention now to the reading of God’s inspired and fallible word. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto King Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto King Solomon at the feast in the month of Bethany, which is the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark, and they brought up the ark of the Lord in the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those that the priests and the Levites bring up.” King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him were with him before the Ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be told nor numbered for multitudes.

    And the priests brought in the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house, the most holy place even under the wings of the cherubim. For the cherry beans spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherry beans covered the ark and the staves thereof above. And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without. And there they are unto this day.”

    There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt. And it came to pass when the priests were come out of the holy place that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.

    Then spake Solomon, the Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. I have surely built thee a house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in forever. The king turned his face about and blessed all the congregation of Israel, and all the congregation of Israel stood.

    He said, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and half with his hand fulfilled it, saying, Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house that my name might be therein, but I chose David to be over my people Israel. And it was in the heart of David, my father, to build a house in the name of the Lord God of Israel. And the Lord said unto David, My father, whereas it was in mine heart To build a house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. Nevertheless, thou shalt not build a house, but thy son that shall come forth from out of thine own loins, he shall build the house unto my name.

    And the Lord hath performed his word that he spake. And I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel, and I have set there a place for the ark wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

    1 Timothy 3 verse 14. These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly. But if I carry long that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

    Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” Father, we are desirous of seeing your churches filled up in the full complement of those whom you would draw to yourself. We thank you, our God, that you are blessing your word throughout the world. Help us in our prayers for your servants who minister in your name, that they would be given grace, as also they are preserved in faithfulness, to declare your word aright. We also ask, Lord, that where your people suffer for the cause of the gospel, may they know that there are many who pray for them, even after the likeness of their Savior, who makes intercession for them in heaven without fail. Bless us now as we reflect upon your word, and Lord, we ask that we may go forth from this place, knowing your word better, understanding you, our God, better and better. This we ask in Jesus’ name, amen. It is difficult to imagine a structure more magnificent than the ancient temple to Diana, the goddess of the earth, truly a Mother Earth figure, and also the goddess of love. Her temple was recognized as one of the wonders of the ancient world.

    It was built in the city of Ephesus. Its foundations were laid approximately 500 years before the birth of Christ, just about The Israelites were looking at that pitiful excuse for a temple that they had erected upon their return from the Babylonian exile, their return under the leadership of Zerubbabel the prince and Joshua the priest. While the Jews were weeping over what they perceived to be the lost glories of the reigns of David and Solomon and Hezekiah and even Josiah, the Asians of Ephesus stood at the edge of a dawning golden age. That glory and all its glory burst upon the world two centuries later. in a marriage of East and West under Alexander the Great. Shortly before Alexander’s rise to world dominance, the Temple to Diana in Ephesus, having been in construction now for 260 years, often delayed by vandalism and fire, was completed. In length, it was 425 feet. In breadth, 220 feet. It is now recognized as the largest of Greek temples. On its massive stone and marble base stood 120 pillars, each of them 60 feet in height. This massive structure drew the attention of the entire world, and we can understand how.

    After all, Diana was sort of the native goddess to the world. She in herself drew the attention of the world. She offered not only love, but the promise of fertility, agriculturally, domestically and commercially. Her temple then had become the world’s largest religious center, and also the most famous and the most secure banking institution in the ancient world. The reputation of this temple was only enhanced by its beautiful surroundings.

    The temple faced west, across the Kayster River that meandered past a beautiful, extensive forest to the north, and then past the portal of the temple before flowing on the three or four miles to the Aegean Sea. On the south side of the temple flowed the Salinas River, which emptied into the Kastor. This river came from the city of Ephesus itself. A mile upstream was the port of the city itself. Imagine coming by boat. river from the Aegean, catching sight of that temple, then moving past the temple along its south side on the Salinas River, only then to be struck by the panorama of the city itself, which until that point had been hid behind the temple.

    Picture this boat ride in the early morning hours, the sun rising in front of you, radiating its brilliance behind the temple and city. Seeing this spectacle, you may conclude that you had arrived at the site of the world’s most perfect offering, a veritable paradise on earth.

    It would be nearly 400 years after Alexander’s death that a small Jewish man by the name of Paul, a convert to Christianity, would write to his dear friend, a son in the faith, and a young pastor named Timothy. presently serving a congregation of God’s people in the city of Ephesus, the very city that embraced the cult of Diana. Paul tells Timothy his purpose for writing. towards the end of the third chapter in his first letter. Verse 14, he tells Timothy that his intention is to visit soon. However, he may be delayed.

    Therefore, he feels compelled to write so that Timothy might know how to conduct his affairs in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and mainstay of the truth.” Now, certainly Paul’s statement is meant to be something of a put-down for Timothy. After all, we would fully expect Timothy, would we not be well acquainted and well instructed already in the proper ordering of the affairs of the church. But it seems that with this statement.

    Paul is calling attention to the fact that Timothy and his ministry stand in jeopardy. And the apostle’s letter now, in part, is intended to pull Timothy, the young pastor, back on track. But note Paul’s message. He is subtly critical of Timothy, but yet he lays his criticism within a statement that has a definite positive ring. In fact, so positive is Paul’s message that its sheer glory will literally overwhelm Timothy.

    And beyond Timothy, those to whom Timothy ministers For surely this letter will not only be read by Timothy, but it will be read to all who are a part of that assembly in Ephesus. But consider this assembly. Consider this church in Ephesus. For instance, in light of the temple to Diana, beyond the edge of the city itself, the saints at Ephesus are gathering in the shadow of that astonishing house of the goddess.

    It is a house made of the things of this world. It is a house made of wood, stone, and mortar. It is very cleverly and artistically decorated, elaborately designed. But the Apostle, you see, speaks of the house of God, which well might be put in contrast to the house of Diana.

    And when he speaks of the house of God, he means the people of God, who can hardly claim such an impressive structure as the cult of Diana. Think of where these Christians might meet. Do you think they had a structure to gather in that in any sense approached the grandeur of that temple beyond the edge of the city. Could it be that these saints actually gathered in a poor dwelling, one that was unadorned, one that was simple and even common?

    Paul speaks about the house of God, but you must now realize what the Apostle is doing as he uses such language. By that language, he is not speaking about a structure made of wood, stone, and mortar, elaborately designed and decorated. He is speaking about the people themselves. Paul’s interest is in the people, not the structure in which those people gather. And by calling those people the house of God, he is calling attention to a glory that is theirs far exceeding that of all the world’s wonders combined. This man is thinking and speaking on a different level.

    Now, every stroke of his pen will insist upon this very glory for the saints. They are the assembly,” he goes on to say. They are the assembly that is the Church. Did you know that that’s what the word Church means? The word Church does not mean the structure. It does not mean the building. The word Church means assembly.

    These are the assembly of the living God, he says. In the temple beyond the edge of the city, an assembly is gathering to honor a lifeless image to a nonexistent deity. And although there were many in that assembly gathered from the world over who gave testimony to all that that goddess had done for them in their lives, testimonies run rampant in paganism.

    Even though there were those gathered there who gave testimony to all that this goddess had done for them, this goddess has no life in herself. She can’t speak, she can’t move. She cannot act on anyone’s behalf, regardless of what is claimed for her. Neither life nor love are within her control in any sense whatsoever.

    But the true and living God That’s Paul’s word, the living God. The true and living God has acted in creating the world. He’s even created the wood stone that makes up the temple out of which now Diana’s sanctuary is constructed. He has even created the stuff out of which her idol has been constructed. This true and living God has acted in creating the world.

    He has also acted in saving Noah, calling Abraham, rescuing Israel from Egypt, establishing David, returning Israel to the land, and in sending his own dear son to die for sinners. among whom Paul identifies himself to be the chief, and in raising up his son from the dead on the third day, in order that sinners such as Paul might have eternal life. Diana’s temple boasts of 120 pillars, well anchored so as to reinforce her claims to the truth. But here in the house of God, the assembly of the living God, we witness the genuine pillar and mainstay of the truth.

    That which has all the outward splendor and visible glory is of no account to the apostle, while that which appears so mundane, so simple, so unadorned, is of great value. and the Church at Ephesus may feel inferior while living in the shade of Diana’s domain. They may even be tempted to move in a direction that they want not to move, just for the purpose of laying claim to a greater piece of outward glory. But Paul draws out before them their excellence, an excellence that is hidden, subdued, understated, and even dismissible as far as the world of Diana worshipers are concerned. But we must not think that this excellence of which Paul speaks is discerned mainly or even chiefly by contrast to pagan worship.

    You see, much more pressing for the church is the temptation to pursue the very spirit that would seduce us with pagan temples, but comes at us in the guise of biblical religion with the defense of God’s law. Much more pressing For the Church is the temptation of that spirit that would seduce us with pagan temples, to be sure, but comes at us in the guise of biblical religion and with the sanction of biblical law. Satan knows so well we may have sent enough to turn from idols and from their shrines. But can we resist an appeal that is clothed with the name of Jehovah, his temple, and his commandments?

    This is precisely the difficulty that Timothy is facing. Yes, the shrine to Diana is a threat, but there are those who are coming at him from an entirely different direction. Yet Paul would have him know that though they are coming at him from an entirely different direction, that they are imbibing of the same spirit that is responsible for that shrine to Diana.

    It can be said that Paul’s language here in the 15th verse of 1 Timothy 3 may have a target in Diana’s temple, but it is language lifted out of the Old Testament, language that described Solomon’s temple. The Church since Timothy’s day has self-righteously declared herself by idolatry, but sought at the same time to defend her lavish, expensive, and expansive structures by an appeal to Solomon’s temper. In fact, many a building campaign has been justified by an appeal to Solomon’s grand building enterprise sanctified by an appeal to God’s law and the commandments that rise out of the Old Testament.

    But you note once more now that Paul in his remarks, makes no reference to the structure in which the Church gathers in Ephesus. Actually, he takes his language from 1 Kings chapter 8, which we read this morning. All of the references that we find now Paul’s statement in that 15th verse of 1 Timothy 3 are lifted in some way or other out of 1 Kings 8. So Paul takes the language pertaining to Solomon’s temple, and now he applies it to the church in Ephesus.

    He takes language that is meant to refer to a building, and he applies it to the people. The house of God is not a building, any building, be it pagan or Hebrew, be it even the temple in Jerusalem, much less this place. Instead, the house of God is now defined as the people of God. that is, the Church of the Living God, which is now comprised of Jews, yes, but also Gentiles who have welcomed the Lord’s Messiah and the Lord’s Christ. This, then, in the assembly, in the congregation of the people, is where God, the Living God, now resides, where he dwells.

    But you must be impressed with how Paul now stretches the language that he lifts out of 1 Kings 8. So intimate is the bond that exists between God and his people, that not only are God’s people his house, but they are perfectly equated with the glory cloud that appeared on that day when the temple of Solomon was dedicated. You remember, the priests had to retreat. They couldn’t even stay in the house because of the cloud. Now Paul uses pillar language.

    He says that this assembly is the pillar of truth, and he identifies the church as the pillar cloud. of it. That pillar of cloud was the glory of God, and now the people of God are being described as His glory. Even further, they are the pillar of truth. They are the pillar of God’s faithfulness and a memorial to the fact that he has kept his promise. Solomon makes a point of making mention of the promise that God had given to David. God has kept all of his promises.

    We have been taken up into the cloud of His presence then, and we are bound to our God in our identity as the people of God. We are His glory, and He has made us to be such by the work and ministry of His Son, application of that work to us by his Holy Spirit. We are the mainstay. Not just the ground or the foundation or the support, as some translations have it, that we are the mainstay of this truth, the memorial to this truth. that is, an abiding testament to and a permanent fixture now in the world declaring his faithfulness. Here in us, God is pleased to establish a memorial for himself in the world.”

    Timothy, in hearing these words, is most certainly overwhelmed. with the superlative excellence of the church. Those people, in fact, who are gathered with him in the city of. The church has an excellence that cannot be superseded by the site that reach any pagan widening up the Kayser River as Diana’s temple and offices come into view. But the church has an excellent even a greater excellence that cannot be superseded by the site that reach any Jew climbing from the Jordan Valley to the Mount of Olives there to behold Solomon’s Temple in the city of Jerusalem. No, as Jesus once said, something greater than Solomon. Now, such a consideration as that forces a discipline upon Timothy and calls him back to the superlative glory of the Church that he serves.

    But think of yourself now. Does not such a consideration instruct you as to how you want to treat the Church, and how you want to conduct yourself in the Church, as part of the Church. For, after all, you are the house of God. are the assembly of the living God. You are the glory cloud and pillar of God’s presence. You are the mainstay, memorializing your God’s faithfulness in Jesus Christ, your Savior.

    Father, the sights of this world will blind us. But Lord, make us blind to them, that we might see those things that are not seen, and wonder at the glory. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, by the work of the Spirit in us, we have been made new, and we have been given new eyes so as to see the excellence, yes, of our God, but also of his church. We being that church. And all of this, O God, that your name may be praised and hallowed, and that we may be sanctified for service unto the end. Keep us, O God. May we bless you forever. Through Christ our Savior, amen.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • The Kings of the Northern Tribes

    The Kings of the Northern Tribes

    This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of “The History of Salvation” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, May 20, 1990.

    About this sermon

    The northern kingdom rose to glory and then fell into civil war, Ahab’s wicked reign, and Jeroboam II’s brief golden age. The speaking and writing prophets rise to bring God’s judgment on that long decline.

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    Sermon transcript

    Tonight our scripture reading is first of all from 1 Kings chapter 12. 1 Kings chapter 12 beginning with verse 21. 1 Kings 12 verse 21. See now what God says. Now, when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. But the word of God came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying, Speak to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying, Thus says the Lord, You must not go up and fight against your relatives, the sons of Israel.

    Return every man to his house, for this thing has come from me.” So they listened to the word of the Lord and returned and went their way according to the word of the Lord. Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel.

    Jeroboam said in his heart, Now the kingdom will return to the house of David if this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their Lord, even to Rehoboam, king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam, king of Judah.” So the king consulted and made two golden calves, and he said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Behold your God, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.” And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.

    Now this thing became a sin for the people who went to worship before one as far as Dan. And he made houses on high places, and made priests from among all the people who were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast which is in Judah. And he went up to the altar. Thus he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. Then he went up to the altar, which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised in his own heart, and he instituted a feast for the sons of Israel, and went up to the altar to burn incense.” And then turning over to 2 Kings chapter 17, this is 2 Kings Chapter seventeen, verse seven.

    Now, this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord, their God. And had brought them up who had brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they had feared other gods and walked in the customs of the nation. whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of Israel, and in the customs of the kings of Israel, which they had introduced. And the sons of Israel did things secretly which were not right against the Lord their God.

    Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city, and they set for themselves sacred pillars and asherim on every hill and under every green tree. And there they burned incense on all the high places of the nations did which the Lord had carried away to exile before them, and they did evil things, provoking the Lord. And they served idols concerning which the Lord had said to them, You shall do. You shall not do this thing.

    Yet the Lord were warned Israel and Judah through all his profits and every fear saying turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments my statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers and which I sent to you through my servants the problem. However they did not listen but stiffened their neck like their fathers who did not believe in the Lord their God. and they rejected his statutes and his covenant which he had made with their fathers and his warnings which which he had warned them and they followed vanity and became vain and went after the nations which surrounded them concerning which the Lord had commanded them not to do like them and they forsook all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves molten images even two calves and made an asherah and worship all the hosts of heaven and serve bail Then they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire and practice divination and enchantments and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him. So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his sight. None was left except the tribe of Judah. Pray with me now.

    What work, Lord, would your word do in our hearts? O Lord, by your word you created the world. By your word you did mighty things before the face of all the nations and for the sake of your people. By Your Word, You have saved Your elect. By Your Word, You give us new hearts that we might love You. You take away our stony hearts and You give us hearts of flesh that we truly might seek after You with all of our heart. May it be true, Lord, that we do just that so prompt us our God to follow you with these new hearts which you have given to us by grace through Christ our Savior. Amen.

    But on the surface of things, it seems like the same old story. On the surface of things, it seems no different from what happens world round to all the nations, each of them in turn. As the course of nations go as the affairs of state work themselves out. Is this not the case? We have nation rising after nation, each in turn, and particular nations rising through the strength of newfound harmony, a newfound unity internally.

    Things seem to come together, they meld, they mesh. And that’s usually under the eye of exceptional leadership, remarkable men, remarkable figures who orchestrate now the affairs of state. There is also a sense of destiny that invariably grips hold of a people under such leadership. And they, in a remarkable way, seem to be focused, intent, concentrated, and objective in view. pursuing a course.

    Is it the glory. Of the God Pharaoh. Is it the power of succeeding kingdoms. Syria. Syria. Is it the naturalist glory of Babylon. The incredible culture of Greece. the wonderful unifying legal system of Rome. So, nations rise. They flourish, it seems, for a time. For a couple of generations, they are exceedingly strong.

    But then, things begin to unravel. Things begin to fall apart, to disintegrate. Where there was once wisdom, even as it be the pragmatic wisdom of the sons of this world, it is replaced by foolishness. There had previously been that focus for the people. They set upon a singular objective, a sense of destiny possessed them. Now there are competing visions, a fragmentation, a breaking apart.

    The nation breaks apart and decline sets in. And eventually the state, with its culture, part and parcel of this civilization, crumbled. What we observe in one nation, we seemingly observe in all. We see the cycle repeated again and again and again. so regular, so predictable is the past pattern, that earlier in our century, an unknown schoolteacher in Germany by the name of Oswald Spangler shocked the world by publishing a book entitled The Decline of the West.

    And in that book, he claimed that there were scientific factors to be considered as you reviewed the rise and the fall of nations, the rise and the fall of civilizations. In fact, you could actually predict these rises and these falls. He said that you could chart nations from birth through development to death. And he held that nations and civilizations were like human beings.

    That they were conceived and born, they grew and flourished, and then like humans, they declined and finally died. So on the surface of things, given the eye of the naturalist, Given the eye of the historian, it’s just a case of the same old thing. The wheel goes round one more time. The cycle continues. Israel is but a nation of the world. But notice her rhymes. It has begun under an ambiguous figure, the figure of Saul.

    He reigned for 40 years, and despite his bad end, he had brought Israel to unprecedented heights as a nation. Then there were the subsequent reigns of David. He followed Saul, And David’s son Solomon followed him. Their combined reigns spanned 80 years, and bring before us the golden age of Israel’s national history. Eighty years of glory. Eighty years of unprecedented prosperity. remarkable progress for nation and for culture, expansion, conquest, economic boom, internal harmony by and large, despite that rebellion of David’s own son, Absalom. So, with the reigns of David and Solomon, Israel’s culture reaches its height. But then, you see, the premonitions of decline begin to appear. You know of Solomon. There’s a very interesting interpretation of the Song of Solomon. That interpretation goes along these lines.

    The girl who is a chief figure in the Song of Solomon is not a happy bride. Oh, she was happy once. She was happy when she was in the hill country with her intended. Her betrothed. But Solomon had an eye for a beautiful woman. And as if he hadn’t enough yet. He cites this beautiful country girl.

    And he takes her to Jerusalem to become part of his harem, thus breaking the bond between her and her shepherd lover. Solomon begins to act like the kings of the earth. One who takes what he wants, who grabs it selfishly, who possesses things in order to then raise a testimony to a monument for his glory, his greatness. So it is with Solomon that we have these premonitions of decline. Solomon wandering off after a number of pagan women. He actually joins their churches, an associated member. He worships their gods.

    And he who has so much to say about wisdom and the training of children leaves the country in the hands of a son who is neither wise nor well trained. Who is that son? We’ve read about him tonight. His name is Rehoboam. Rehoboam is a disaster. He’s a tragedy.

    The wise men tell him the route to follow in holding the nation together, rather than following the wise men He accepts the advice of his friends, those his own age, and they recommend increasing the burden laid upon the backs of the people, so that the splendor of Jerusalem may continue to shine brightly. So under Rehoboam, the nation is ripped apart in civil war.

    He ends up king over Judah, southern tribe, and over Benjamin. Two tribes out of the twelve are his, the territory to the south. The kingdom is given the name Judah, and Jerusalem is the capital. But then to the north. In the north, the figure of Jeroboam, takes center stage. He was a man of great promise. He was a man over whom prophets of the Lord prophesied. He’s a man who should have known better. He’s a man who should have believed.

    And as great a tragedy as Rehoboam is, Jeroboam is a greater tragedy, a greater disaster. He establishes himself then over the territory to the north, the other ten tribes. This kingdom is given the name Israel. The majority of the tribes are there. Its capital eventually will be the city of Samaria. We know something about that city.

    Now this all takes place around the year 975 B.C. If you are interested in dates, I’m trying to keep things chronologically straight. Around the year 975 B.C., and over the next 254 years, eyes directed to the north and to Jeroboam’s realm. will watch the rise and fall, will survey the rise and fall of seven separate dynasties. And finally, the tragic collapse of the nation as a whole in the year… Can anyone help me?

    721. So the Northern Kingdom will last from 975 B.C. to 721. It will finally be destroyed at the hands of the brutal Assyrians. The Assyrians, their empire, take shape to the north at the western end of the Tigris Euphrates Valley, the capital of which is Nineveh. Nineveh will be responsible for the destruction of Israel, the ten northern tribes, and Samaria in 721.

    During these years, 254 years, the northern nation of Israel experiences two periods of extraordinary strength. They come in back-to-back dynasties. Of course, we have the initial strength under the reign of Jeroboam I. But then comes another period of great strength in the third dynasty, under that infamous figure, Ahab, the son of Amri, King Ahab.

    Now, here’s a politically astute young man. Here’s a fellow who’s figured it out. He looks to his west. He looks to his east. To his east are the Syrians, not the Assyrians, but the Syrians. Get the difference between the two. The Assyrians are later. They’re in the north. Their capital is Nineveh. The Syrians are to the east. Their capital is Damascus. And presently, they’re a problem.

    Ahab realizes he can’t fight wars on two fronts. He can’t be running off to the east and looking over his shoulder, wondering what’s going to happen if the Sidonians, for instance, Those fellows from Tyre and Sidon decide to move against him, the descendants of the ancient Phoenicians. So what does he do? He’s learned lessons from King Solomon. He marries the king’s daughter. He strikes up a bargain. Now this girl’s a real prize. Her name happens to be Jezebel. And she is devoted to the most hideous of all the ancient gods. She’s devoted to Baal. And she introduces Baal worship into Israel, and that under the eye of her husband. Marriage secures the Western Front.

    It also multiplies income, because you know, Tyre and Sidon are coastal cities, they’re seaports, and now Ahab has access to the entire Mediterranean world. It’s a stroke of genius! His problem, however, continues to be from the East. from the Syrians, and he spends his entire reign trying to overcome them and the threat that they pose. And finally, because of the judgment of God, you know how wicked a man he was. He perishes in a battle with the Syrians. So that’s Ahab. You know about him. There’s one other notable figure.

    This one comes from the fourth dynasty, from the dynasty of Jihu, which was the most impressive dynasty in the history, the 254-year history of the Northern tribe. This dynasty of Jihu lasted 115 years. That’s how impressive it was. And its most formidable figure was a fellow by the name of Jeroboam II. and Jeroboam II.

    He reigned for 41 years, from 825 B.C. to 784 B.C. Now this fellow was even more remarkable than Ahab. Just as wicked, but more accomplished and more successful. For not only does he secure the western front, He actually defeats the Syrians, and along with them the Moabites and the Ammonites. Taboo!

    This fellow is riding on the crest of a wave, and under him the golden age of the northern kingdom comes. Now Jeroboam II’s reign is followed by rapid decline. Two dynasties, the fifth and the sixth, come and go quickly. The seventh lasts only as long as the reign of Israel’s last king, Hosea. Hosea had turned to the Egyptians. The problems now are not east-west as they were in the days of Ahab and Jeroboam. They’re north-south.

    You’ve got Egypt to the south, and you’ve got rulers in Egypt that think that they’re like the pharaohs of old and the glories of Egypt are going to return. But there’s this upstart empire to the north, the Assyrians. And they have some rather remarkable leaders themselves. You know of one of those remarkable leaders, a fellow by the name of Sennacherib.

    But the guy who’s now taking the throne is a fellow by the name of Sargon. And if there was an ancient Hitler, this man was him. No mercy. Extermination. So he comes down on the northern kingdom with all of his might. He ravages the land. He destroys the capital city of Samaria. And as if that weren’t enough, he then takes all the people in chains deports them and they are lost.

    Do you know where the ten northern tribes are? Does anyone? I mean with the exception of Herbert W. Armstrong and the Mormons. Now they know where they are. Well, the Northern Kingdom is gone. Gone. But has this just been another case of a nation having run its course, the same old thing? Object lessons for historians and scientists as they view the courses of civilization? Well, not quite.

    For these are the people of God. Therefore, when we read about them, we sit up and take note in a way that we might not in reading the histories of others. These people are playing a role in the history of salvation. A role which other people are not. God will speak to us, even, through his dealings with them.

    How tragically, two of the kings that we’ve spoken of ascended the throne to divine prophecy. We’ve already mentioned Jeroboam I. He had a prophet speak over him with respect to what could possibly have been his, and he deliberately chooses a different course. There was another, Jehu. Do you know that Jehu was anointed by Elisha? Remarkable fact. He was anointed by Elisha, the great prophet of God. But both of these figures, both of these kings, prove failures. We will see nothing of the Lord’s anointed in them. We will see nothing of God’s Christ in them. Now, this failure is especially clear to us in Jeroboam’s case, and that’s why I read the passage that I did this evening from First Kings.

    You see what he has done. He’s a man who Solomon feared at one time. Did you know that? And in order to be saved from Solomon’s wrath, he had fled to Egypt of all places. He had sought sanctuary there, and when Solomon was dead, then he returned. He ran right into Rehoboam.

    But what does he bring with him when he comes back? He brings the gods of Egypt. And he sets up altars and sanctuaries for them at Dan to the north, the northern border, and then at Bethel, the southern border. He’s hemming the people in, north and south, with his altars and his false gods.

    Keep them at home. Don’t let them wander. And whatever you do, don’t let them go up to Jerusalem. Don’t let them in any way show deference to the throne of David, God’s truly anointed King. So he sets up his golden calves in Dan and Bethel He doesn’t want the people going up to worship at Jerusalem.

    The act of Jeroboam, given the prophecies, given the actions themselves, it’s a case of pure apostasy. The man has deserted the truth and that wholesale. And in so doing, he is rejecting then the claims of David’s dynasty over him and his people. God would have used him. But he rejects David’s dynasty and the claim of that dynasty.

    And God is absolutely committed to David. and David’s lineage, from which ultimately comes the Lord Jesus Christ. So, this apostasy then with which the Northern Kingdom began with Jeroboam was never corrected throughout the 254 year history. Not one of its leaders corrected the apostasy of Jeroboam the first.

    How deep, just how deep this apostasy ran is evident from Ahab’s reign. We now arrive at that point where the state attempts to eradicate the voice of God. You remember what Ahab did after being goaded by Jezebel? He set about to execute all of the prophets of God, to eradicate any testimony concerning God, the true God.

    This was the period, you know, for Elijah’s ministry. Rain stops three years. None of it. The people are congregated to Carmel, Mount Carmel, where there’s this confrontation between the prophets of Baal and Elijah. If Baal is God, follow him. If the Lord be God, follow him. The people halted, you see. They said nothing, until it was evident who had won the contest.

    This is the period of Elijah’s ministry, and Elijah then is followed by Elisha. And together, these prophets brought upon Israel a testimony to God’s greatness and a testimony to his ultimate purposes. But God’s final assault upon Israel, these tribes to the north, will come through writing prophets, not Elijah and Elisha are speaking prophets, but there are writing prophets that then arise in the course of Israel’s history. And particularly during the reign of Jeroboam II, when Israel was experiencing its greatest height, the zenith of its civilization, The first one that we hear about is Jonah.

    We have a book from him. He’s a prophet to the northern kingdom during the days of Jeroboam II, whose mission is to speak of God’s judgment upon Israel and his grace to the Gentiles. You remember, he sent to Nineveh to preach repentance. He doesn’t want to go. Why? Because he also knows, as a prophet of God, that ultimately, none of us is going to be responsible for destroying Israel. But he also speaks cryptically about the means by which this great transition will be accomplished, this transition from God’s purpose is focused upon Israel exclusively to a time in which his purposes will be directed towards the Gentiles. You remember the prophet fleeing God cast into the sea when the waves of the sea revolt?

    God prepares the fish to swallow him up. In his sin, in effect, Jonah dies three days. He’s in the belly of that fish, in the depths of the sea, but then he is raised up by the power of God for a preaching mission to the Gentiles. Likewise, Jesus Christ himself will come and take upon himself our sins. He will die. He will go down into the depths. But three days later, he will be raised up as a sign to Israel but also as the means for the proclamation of the gospel of salvation to the nations, to the ends of the earth.

    There are two other writing prophets during the time of Jeroboam II. One is Amos, one who is sent from the southern kingdom to the north to proclaim the will of God. The other is Hosea. Amos will declare how far Israel has departed from the Lord’s covenant, and Hosea will declare how often.

    And now, God’s patience is exhausted. He has sent his speaking prophets, he has sent his writing prophets. And his patience is exhausted. So you come to 2 Kings 17, and that indictment that is read out there, that powerful indictment. And God brings upon these people an irremediable judgment. And in that you see a portent of hell. It’s a portent of hell. Irremedial judging. And when God begins to judge, He starts with the house of God.

    Now, we might think that the lesson from all of this is to be played out along the lines of the history of nations as they run their course in the history of the world. We might think that the lesson in all this has some special application to us as a nation. Israel was a nation. We are a nation. We match up nation to nation, right? If we as a nation can avoid Israel’s problems and sins, we will be spared, our lives will be serene, and we will live permanently and peacefully within the land forever. This type of reasoning suffers from two mistakes. The first one is this.

    God’s message is addressed to his people. His people are his church, not this nation. The replication of Old Testament history with respect to the nation of Israel is not matching up Israel with the United States of America. The application is matching up Israel with the Church. In the Old Testament, the people of God happen to be a nation. In the New Testament, they are made a unique nation, a nation under the leadership of Jesus Christ, a nation made up of all tribes, tongues, races, We are of the commonwealth of heaven.

    We transcend the nation. As much as we love our country, and we do, as precious as the United States of America is to us, there is no special promise in the word of God with respect to her. Now that may be hard for some of us to accept, but it’s true. As much as we love our nation, as much as we are determined to serve her and honor her and take…

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • Micaiah and the Good Shepherd

    Micaiah and the Good Shepherd

    This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Life of Elijah” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, August 14, 1988.

    About this sermon

    Ahab’s reign includes real military greatness, a reminder that political success and covenant faithfulness are not the same measure. His apostasy runs underneath all of it, unaffected by his victories in the field. Micaiah’s prophecy in verse 17, sheep without a shepherd, already speaks of the Good Shepherd who will one day gather them.

    More sermons from 1 Kings · Browse all sermons

    Sermon transcript

    Our scripture tonight is 1 Kings 22. And three years passed without war between Syria and Israel. And it came about in the third year that Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, came down to the king of Israel. Now the king of Israel said to his servants, Do you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us? And we are still doing nothing to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria.

    And he said to Jehoshaphat, will you go with me to battle at Ramoth Gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses. Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, please inquire first for the word of the Lord. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?

    And they said, Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king. But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not yet a prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of him? And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.

    He is Micaiah, the son of Imran. But Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, Bring quickly Mekiah, son of Imlah. Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, were sitting each on his throne, arrayed in their robes at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. Then Zedekiah, the son of Canaan, made horns of iron for himself and said, Thus says the With these shall you gore the Syrians until they are consumed.

    And all the prophets were prophesying thus, saying, Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king. Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him, saying, Behold, now the words of the prophets are uniformly favorable to the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably. But Micaiah said, As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I will speak. Then he came to the king. The king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall we refrain? And he answered him, Oh, go up and succeed. The Lord will give it into the hand of the king.

    And the king said to him, How many times must I adjure you to speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord? So he said, I saw All Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep, which have no shepherd. And the Lord said, These have no master. Let each of them return to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?

    And Matthias said, Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne and all the hosts of heaven standing by him on his right and on his left. And the Lord said, Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead? And one said this while another said that. And then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said, I will entice him. And the Lord said to him, How? And he said, I will go up.

    I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.” Then he said, “…you are to entice him and also prevail, go and do so. Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets, and the Lord has proclaimed disaster against you.” Then Zedekiah, the son of Chenaniah, Sorry. I’m going to try and pronounce this correctly before I go on.

    Janayana came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, How did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you? Micaiah said, Behold, You shall see on that day when you enter an inner room to hide yourself.” Then the king of Israel said, “‘Take Micaiah and return him to Ammon, the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son. And say, thus says the king, “‘Put this man in prison and feed him sparingly with bread and water until I return safely.’” And Micaiah said, “‘If you indeed return safely, the Lord has not spoken by me. And he said, listen, all you people.

    So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up against Ramoth Gilead, and the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle.

    Now the king of Syria had commanded the 32 captains of his chariot, saying, do not fight with small or great, but with the king of Israel alone. So it came about when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat that they said, surely it is the king of Israel, and they turned aside to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out. Then it happened when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel that they turned back from pursuing him. Now a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel in the joint of the armor.

    So he said to the driver of his chariot, turn around. and take me out of the fight, for I am severely wounded.” The battle raged that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot in front of the Syrians and died at evening, and the blood from the wound ran into the bottom of the chariot. Then a cry passed throughout the army close to sunset, saying, “‘Every man to his city and every man to his country.’” So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. And they washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood.

    Now the harlots bathed themselves there, according to the word of the Lord which he spake. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did, and the ivory house which he built, and all the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Ahab slept with his fathers. and Isaiah, his son, became king in his place.

    Our Father, throughout the earth this day, for your Church, you establishing your rule in the midst of your people by your word, and sent, as sentries for that word, officers whom you, in fact, have established. And Lord, we pray that the rule and authority of those whom you have called will be recognized and observed. We pray that always that authority might be in keeping with the word which you have given, for surely, as we are warned even in this passage, there are many false prophets. We ask our God that your people may in fact have those under-shepherds who are like unto the great shepherd, and may they rule in keeping with that pattern found in him, not looking to themselves or any advantage that they might gain from their office, but rather seeking ways in which they may sacrifice themselves, even surrender themselves, for the sake of their people that their people might be kept and preserved. We ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

    Well, we’ve arrived at the end of the story of Ahab, but we haven’t arrived at the end of the story of Elijah as yet. Tonight we are focusing, however, on the conclusion of this story with regard to Ahab. Ahab, that great, that incredible, that remarkable king. Now, don’t be taken back by my words.

    He was even recognized to be such in heaven. And you may recall the stories in which Ahab comes off in a very, very favorable light, even made to appear like one comparable to the coming Messiah. The very patterns of the Christ coming to expression in this one, the seventh from Jeroboam. There was even that act of contrition that you read of.

    After his sin concerning the vineyard of Naboth, he humbles himself, and the Lord has mercy, relents in his judgment, and shows kindness to this king. But, despite the religious features that portend of greatness, there is also what you might call a secular greatness to the man. The line from Zimri to Amri, then to Ahab, what a change, for not since the days of Jeroboam himself has the kingdom to the north thrived like this. It is a tremendous reign, assessed By anyone outside the kingdom, assessed by kings round about, by peoples in the region, it is a magnificent reign.

    Tremendous building enterprises. Why, how many Renaissance had they moved through? Samaria itself, completely redone. What about the ivory houses spoken of here in the 22nd chapter of 1 Kings? A king to be sure, and he lived like a king. The tremendous building enterprises then carrying on the tradition of his father. We think of them. magnificent enterprises, to be sure, capturing the eye not only of the people of the land, but of those beyond. And of course, testifying to the fact that the kingdom itself is prospering. Prospering. Who can argue with this administration? Have we ever had it so good? Well, there was the drought. There was the heat. I wonder what the political administration was in 1891. Was it 1881? Is there a signal in all of this? We’ve never had it so good. Oh yeah. All right, way judgment.

    But think further about this building, Enterprise. So magnificent was it, and so caught up was the nation in it, that Ahab, his administration, those connected with it, and specifically one fellow by the name of Io, did not hesitate even to rebuild the walls of Jericho.” Now that mentioned at the conclusion of the 16th chapter of 1 Kings. So yes, prosperity, tremendous activity, energy, capital, and yet pride, arrogance. For you know what’s word the Lord had sent concerning Jericho, not to rebuild.

    The man who rebuilds will in fact lay the foundation with his firstborn. He will set up the gates with the loss of his youngest. What a kingdom, though. The sacrifice of two sons of Phael, what is that in comparison to the multiplication of sons and daughters and days in a kingdom without peril? You know what peril is? Another sign of the prosperity of the reign of Ahab. What a genius! Coming from a family of geniuses. His father sealed the bond to the West and to the North by marrying off his son, Ahab now, to the daughter of the king of Sidon, a Phoenician, a worshipper of Baal.

    Disregard the religious aspects of this. Think only of the military advantage. Your boundaries to the North and to the West are secure. You needn’t worry. You can go to sleep at night. Not only that, there were the great military victories against the greatest empire in the world in that time. Think of it. There was no power as great as Syria. Capital of Syria? Damascus. King?

    Ben-Haden. This one, though living like a vassal for a period of time, rebels and he gets away with it. Ahab revolts and triumphs! Amazingly! First Kings 20, you read about it. Not just once is he victorious, he is victorious twice. So it is in his victories against Syria that he secures a covenant, a treaty with Syria, the greatest power in the world at that time, and has All of the cities that had been taken from him returned to him on a platter. For the exception of one, which we’ve read tonight, named Gilead. So it is. Military prominence. Boundaries secured. And now he turns his eye to the sun. How can it be? We are the sworn enemies of the House of David. We have been fighting wars with Judah since the split of the kingdom, north and south.

    But is anything too great for Ahab? Nothing, seemingly. For Ahab is able to pull off a coup. having learned from the annals of his father. For as his father had married him to Jezebel, now Ahab turns his eyes to the south, and he takes his daughter, Athaliah, and he marries her to the son of Jehoshaphat, Jehoram. Now that’s not told you here. That’s told you later in 2nd Kings and also in Chronicles. Athaliah is daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Now in a royal marriage the houses are joined and what has Ahab accomplished?

    You look to the north and to the west He is secure. You look to the east towards Syria, and he is secure. You look to the south, and he is secure. Absolute genius. He’s a political wizard. And if you were reading the newspapers in that time and in that day, he would undoubtedly come across as a mastermind, as a king of kings, one without parallel in the world. Now, beyond all this, as we do turn our eye to things dearer to our hearts, we notice what’s coming out.

    It’s not that Ahab has turned his back completely on the religion of Yahweh, the religion of the Lord. He’s a bit weak-kneed, to be sure, before the onslaught of his wife and her steed, that’s certain. So with her, there come the 400 prophets of Baal, and the 400, well is it the 450 prophets of Baal, and the 400 prophets of the Asherah, now thriving in the land of Israel. Of course, the religion of Jezebel fares well for a time, but then suffers that incredible setback with the confrontation between the prophets of Baal and the prophet of the Lord Elijah. So we come to 1 Kings 22, and here we notice in verse 6 not mention of the 450 prophets of Baal, nor of the 400 prophets of Yashurah, but 400 other prophets.

    What a king! This fellow has survived the onslaught of Baalism, He has come out on the other side of that confrontation, and here he is pictured as surrounded by 400 lackey prophets who speak what he wants to hear, all in the name, not of Baal, but the Lord. He probably has Saturday morning travel services right there in the palace.

    Where does civil religion come to its own? What is it that the world really seeks? Do they really seek the demise of religion? No, they seek the complicity of religion, the support of religion. Wasn’t that the thesis of Max Weber as he analyzed Europe at the end of the last century? The great German sociologist? When others were saying down with religion, especially those who were following the teachings of Karl Marx, along comes Max Weber. What does Weber say? Weber says, no, not down with religion, rather the employment of religion. Don’t you understand?

    Religion serves this role. It props up our government, our institutions, and our ambitions with religious sanction. It gives us religious justification, and those who serve religiously in such an environment have the role of priests of the culture. Their responsibility to baptize the philosophy of the political ideal to baptize community ambition and objectives that’s the role of religion. So here you have him. What a reign. Prosperous, militarily secure, and religiously respectable. Sounds like United States of America. But don’t you be fooled.

    And that’s really the point, you see. That has been the point of my messages on Wednesday night. We have been speaking about the political process and the relationship of the Christian to the public square. I don’t really care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican. All I’m asking you to be is not politically naive. To have your own wits about you. to see through the process and understand it. Civil religion is not your religion. And I don’t care if the President of the United States endorses it. It is not your religion.

    Your religion is that of Elijah. and that of Micaiah, the son of Bindu. Well, don’t be deceived. For all that looks good about Ahab, even though he’s been put up beside the Lord Jesus Christ in some respects, although his kingdom and his reign looks impeccable in some respects. Don’t be deceived, Ahab is an apostate. Plain and simple, the man is an apostate. He is a rebel against God. And in the end, he hates God seemingly with a perfect hatred.

    Indications of it to you. I don’t think I have to go through them all, but here quickly. He’s married outside the faith. Again, I ask you not to be naive. Now I know that you’re not in the position of Ahab. You’re not a king or a queen. You’re not living in Israel, nor in the New Testament Church, but please don’t be naive about your circumstances. It was an indication of evil and wickedness in the heart of Ahab, and for any who married outside of the faith, it is the same. It is the same. Paul tells us in the New Testament, Mary only in the Lord.

    Now it’s not just a matter of his marriage. He builds a house for Beto in Samaria. He builds a temple. Not only that, we are told that while he’s also entertaining his devotion to Jehovah, he’s frequenting that temple of Beto. Marriage-wise, religious-wise, he’s an apostate.

    He has established profane places of worship and he’s permitted the proliferation of the Baal cult and the persecution of the true prophets of the Lord. He’s not ignorant of what Jezebel is doing when she sends out her henchmen to kill all the prophets of the Lord who are left, the true prophets of the Lord who are left in the land of Israel. He is also the sworn enemy of Elijah, the messenger of the Lord. And as things turn out, as the story progresses, he is the epitome of wickedness residing in the kingship that now is over the people of God, be it north or south.

    And that is the significance of those stories in 1 Kings 20 and 21. You remember how he spared Ben-Hadad, and how the prophet of the Lord was raised up to rebuke him for sparing Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria? Does that remind you of something? Of course, it reminds you of Saul sparing Agag, the king of the Amalekites. In Ahab, you see Saul’s sin. What about Naboth’s vision? Naboth looks over the wall of his palace, and he still sees this attractive little vegetable garden next door.

    He wants it for himself. And in the end, through conspiracy and the conspiracies of his wife, he gets it and he secures it through murder. Sound familiar? Of course it does. There was another king who looked over the wall of his palace and he saw a lady bathing. He so wanted the woman that he conspired to have that woman’s husband killed, murdered. All of the wickedness that we see flowering, germinating within the kingship of Israel, is now epitomized in Ahab.

    It is concentrating itself in this man. These stories are making it plain. For though he looks good, he is a tragedy. He is a tragedy. The tragedy is the tragedy of apostasy. Desertion of the true God. Rebellion against the true God. Now don’t treat it like that. For you see, in his apostasy there is for us signal that continual flagrant disregard for the Word of the Lord. That’s really the point of all that’s been going on here. That’s why we have these stories about the prophets.

    The prophet introduces to the Word of the Lord. The Word of the Lord intrudes into the setting. There’s no mystery as to what the Word of the Lord is. Yet, Israel and her king close their ears to the word of the Lord deliberately, and go their way, even though it spells death. Here is Hiel rebuilding the city walls of Jericho. He knows the prophecy. His firstborn dies, and then his youngest, in fulfillment of that prophecy.

    And yet, you get the impression, at least from the text, there’s no flinching of conscience whatsoever. The continual flagrant disregard of the Word, even though you know what the Word says. Do you know what the Word says? Is the Word clear? Don’t be selfish. Again, don’t be selfish. The Word is clear. that you find the spirit of apostasy is that continual flagrant disregard of that word and how does it end well you know 1st Kings 22 one of the most bizarre chapters in the entire Bible you have to admit it the presence of Jehoshaphat seeking a word from the Lord Jehoshaphat himself, being a good king, so described in 2 Kings and also in Chronicles, yet himself seemingly impervious to that word that comes from Micaiah, the son of Imlach.

    Ahab, hearing the word spelled out clearly, this is what’s going to happen. Disregarding it completely, not really, though, he suspects. I’ll disguise myself, he says. I’ll go into bed. Then Jehoshaphat, of all things, allowing himself to be conned into this nonsense. Well, you go in in your royal robes and I’ll disguise myself.

    What is going on here? Isn’t the man utterly bereft of his senses? As I say, this is one of the most bizarre chapters in all of the Bible. These people don’t act reasonably. And that’s for a reason. Apostasy ends in its own form of insanity. You hear it, you don’t hear it. You see it, you don’t see it. You walk wide-eyed right into oblivion. Because I am determined to be my own God and my own King. And that above everything else. Well, Ahab’s reign, his apostasy, And now his judgment. What’s the meaning of the judgment?

    You wonder about the mention in verse 6 of the 400 prophets that Ahab has surrounded himself with? What’s so magic about the number 400? Why didn’t they have 500 or 300? Why is it always 400? You see it? There were four hundred prophets of Baal, four hundred prophets of the Asherah, and now there are four hundred fourth prophets, four hundred eighth. You’re supposed to see them all on the line. They all signify the same thing. Their message is the same. Who is served? Self. What is served? The world. I love the world. And it is mine. And all of my prophets tell me that.

    Whether they are prophets of Baal or court prophets of Jehovah. What about the strange alliance between Ahab and Jehoshaphat? Why does Jehoshaphat act like a man who’s entered into senility? You see what’s happening? Ahab dies, Jehoshaphat lives, miraculously. See, more in the men than the men. Is Ahab just Ahab? No. Ahab is his king. Is Jehoshaphat just Jehoshaphat? No. He is his king. Why, the very history of the nation, connected with these two kings, it’s working itself out in the story.

    Who will go first? Judah? No. Israel? Who goes first? Jehoshaphat? No, hang on. The North, the Northern Kingdom goes first. And even though the Southern Kingdom, even though Judah, even though Jehoshaphat has manifested this weakness, he is spared. But he is spared with the warning. If you will not disassociate yourself, you likewise will perish. And that’s exactly what happens. So in the end, Judah is as Israel. Jehoshaphat is as Abraham.

    You see, 1 Kings 22 is not a primitive journal in psychoanalysis. As we witness the antics of the deranged, it is a prophecy of what is in store as the consequence of apostasy. But is there no hope? I saw all Israel, says Micaiah, scattered on the mountains like sheep which have no shepherd. And the Lord said that they have no master, but each returned to his house in peace.

    And I’m struck with that language, because I move on to Matthew chapter 9, and I read there in the 35th verse. And Jesus was going about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. The kingdom. and healing every disease and every kind of sickness and seeing the multitudes he felt compassion for them because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd and then I turn to the 11th chapter and I read in the 28th verse Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

    The kingdoms of this world, be it as good as the kingdom of Israel, lie in shambles, but the kingdom of heaven is forever. And though in the kingdoms of this world every king proves a false prophet, or a false shepherd, or a frail and weak one, there is a shepherd. who cares for his sheep to the uttermost gathering them to himself that they might abide with him forever Oh Father Even Israel may be dazzled with ivory houses. Even Israel may be dazzled with temples in the courts of Solomon.

    But Lord, we ask for that eye, and in faith believe that we have received it, that is able to see through these things. and understand the nature of eternal things. Therefore we would be instructed, and instructed in the depths of our hearts, not to set our love and our affections upon this world, nor imagine ourselves to be kings or queens in it, claiming everything for ourselves. Rather, May we acknowledge that there is that kingdom, and that kingdom, which is established, who is established by you. And may our heart thrill to him, your son, our savior, for he alone is our hope, and your kingdom

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • Naboth’s True Inheritance

    Naboth’s True Inheritance

    This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Life of Elijah” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, August 7, 1988.

    About this sermon

    Ahab’s covetousness over Naboth’s vineyard runs on the same insatiable logic as David’s lust after Bathsheba, sin that is never satisfied by what it takes. Jezebel’s own harlotry compounds it further, orchestrating Naboth’s death to get what her husband wants. Naboth’s righteousness, refusing to sell his ancestral land, points past the vineyard to an inheritance no king can seize.

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    Sermon transcript

    1st Kings 21 now it came about after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is close beside my house, and I will give you a better vineyard than it in its place.

    If you like, I will give you the price of it in money. But Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid me that I should give you the inheritance of my father’s. So Ahab came into his house, solemn and vexed, because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him, for he said, I will not give you the inheritance of my father’s. And he lay down on his bed and turned his face and ate no food. But Jezebel, his wife, came to him and said to him, How is it that your spirit is so sullen that you are not eating food?

    So he said to her, because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, give me your vineyard for money, or else, if it please you, I will give you a vineyard in its place. But he said, I will not give you my vineyard. And Jezebel, his wife, said to him, do you now reign over Israel? arise, eat bread, and let your heart be joyful, I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreel.”

    So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal and sent letters to the elders and to the nobles who were living with Naboth in his city. Now she wrote him the letters saying, proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people and see two worthless men beside him and let them testify against him, saying, You cursed God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death. So the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them, just as it was written in the letters which he had sent them. They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the people. Then the two worthless men came in and sat before him, and the worthless men testified against him, even against Naboth, before the people, saying, Naboth cursed God and the king. So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones. Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead.

    And it came about when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead. And it came about when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah, Tishbite. saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who is in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it.

    And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus says the Lord, Have you murdered and also taken possession? And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus says the Lord, In the place where the dogs lick up the blood of Naboth, the dogs shall lick up your blood, even yours. And Ahab said to Elijah, Have you found me, O my enemy? And he answered, I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord.

    Behold, I will bring evil upon you, and will utterly sweep you away, and will cut off from Ahab every male, both bond and free, in Israel. And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and the house of Dasha, the son of Ahijah. because of the provocation which you have provoked me to anger, and because you have made Israel sin. And of Jezebel also has the Lord spoken, saying, The dog shall eat Jezebel and the district of Jezreel. One belonging to Ahab who dies in the city, the dog shall eat, and one who dies in the field, the birds of heaven shall eat.

    Surely there is no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord because Jezebel, his wife, incited him. And he acted abominably in following idols according to all that the Amorites had done when the Lord had cast out before the sons of Israel. And it came about when Ahab heard these words that he tore his clothes and he put on sackcloth and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about despondently. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring this evil in his days, but I will bring the evil upon his house in his son’s days.

    Let’s pray together. O Lord, for your people’s well-being, You do raise up those who will serve in positions of authority and responsibility. We rejoice, our God, that you have granted to your church able leaders, elders of the people. But we ask, our God, that the eye of your servants in this capacity will be kept upon the Word, and may the heart of these whom you’ve raised up be single and directed towards you. May they stand wonderfully in contrast to the elders of the city in which Naboth lived. And may they also be zealous for the Word and for its preaching that that proclamation of the word would always be within its proper boundaries. We ask our God your blessing upon the elders you have granted to this church, that they may rule wisely, that they may rule well. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

    Tonight we are dealing with a very familiar story one I’m sure as we read through it you recognized and possibly even thought a bit about the person of Ahab thought a bit about Jezebel thought a bit about Elijah and thought also about Nathan. They have this remarkable king. How much time is spent in reviewing his life, how much space is taken up here in 1 Kings dealing with him specifically. Certainly a very important figure a strategic figure in the history of Israel.

    We are looking again at this man and we are taking stock of his corruption. It seems that we are always taking stock of his corruption. This evening, that corruption is expressly his covetousness. We understand that, as it is in contrast to, in violation of, the Tenth Commandment. The commandment of the Lord is very much in view in this passage.

    There is in Ahab, then, an insatiability, and in that we are well to take him into account especially as he is a marker for our own spiritual well-being. There is in Ahab an insatiability. There is this perpetual dissatisfaction so that he must have more and more and more now we are amused by the willful child when seeing the cookie jar is not satisfied with just one but has to taste them all if not consume them all Of course, there is a price to pay for such behavior. We are not as much amused by the adult man who in having his wife is not content but seems to be compelled to at least try to seduce every woman he meets. Insatiable.

    Well, when this insatiability, this dissatisfaction is placed in a position of power, how compounded is the evil? how great the possibility of wickedness. There are those, for instance, who suggest to us that the Song of Solomon is actually written as an indictment against Solomon, who as king, acts like the kings of the earth, stretches out his hand to take the Shulamite for himself, even though she belongs to, is promised to another, the shepherd boy, to whom she belongs, to whom she has been promised. She, taken from him, becomes one of Solomon’s concubines. He then, acting as one of the kings in the world, taking whom he will, for himself, doing what he will, for you see, he is not answerable to the law, he is above the law. Now there is not only this covetousness on Ahab’s part, this insatiability, But with regard to the commandment itself, there seems to be a lack, a general lack of comprehension.

    I’ve given you, neighbor, a reasonable proposal. What reason could you have for not accepting my offer? Well, the commandments of God are not just those that pertain to the moral life, of the nation of Israel. They also pertain to matters like the inheritance. And Naboth here is presenting the law’s case with regard to that inheritance. How can I give up the inheritance of my fathers? You understand the objection of Naboth when you realize what that inheritance means to him. that inheritance of his father’s is his portion and an indication of his place within the promised people, as one who is in the covenant.

    Ahab’s suggestion here, then, is that he forsake his portion in the covenant, and treated as if it were nothing, and thus become one like him. The king wants Nahab to be like him. I’m sorry, the king wants Naboth to be like him. One who equally disregards the law, lives without any regard to it.

    We have already indicated the way in which Ahab views the law, how wonderful that law was. It came as the word of the spirit to a nation that had been constituted by God, and in its law was then to be distinguished from all the other nations of the world. You have the law as it is understood by the nations in the world, those communities, those political states are not without their theories of law, and its implementation, and what is at the heart of that? Well, there are certain people in society who make the laws, and there are other people in society who have to obey the laws. That’s the way the nations of the earth understood law. Now what happens when God comes to Sinai? Law itself is transformed. The very notion of law is transformed. Utterly unique on the face of the earth.

    There are not then those few or There is not that segment of society that stands immune to the law because it makes the law. Rather, all of God’s people stand before the one who is truly king, God himself, and all must submit, regardless of what station and standing they have within the community.

    Well, what is Ahab’s view of the law? Ahab’s view of the law is that of the nations. I am immune. Others comply, I don’t. There are laws in Israel to protect the rights of the people, that’s well and good, but I am above the law, and as king, I have a right to see that wall laid aside. Well, the corruption of Ahab, the covetousness of this man, his disregard of the law, his treatment of that law, how then here in this passage Ahab becomes the epitome of that corruption that plagues Israel unto her death.

    At this point, we begin to build upon that which has preceded. You remember the stories in 1 Kings 20? the double victories of the Israelites over the Syrians, Ben-Hadad being the king of the Syrians. But you recall the circumstances of that second victory by Ahab? He spares Ben-Hadad, welcomes him as a brother, as a compatriot. endeavors through this welcome after his victory to establish Ben-Hadad and the Syrians as allies.

    Then comes the word of the prophet. You fail to act as you should have. For the Lord delivered this king into your hands for a purpose. That purpose was his annihilation. You recall how that reminded us of another instance in the book of 1 Samuel. How when Saul was king, he spared an enemy and was judged by sin. And because he had so sinned, Samuel pronounced God’s judgment against him, that he would in fact be removed and the kingdom would not be his. Well, now we move into the 21st chapter of 1 Kings.

    And do the particulars of this story remind you of any story? from the previous history of the people of God? A man who has something that someone else wants. And so this man ends up involved in a conspiracy to get what he lacks, doesn’t have, to the point that in his involvement he becomes party to murder. and then is confronted by a prophet, and his sin is exposed. Familiar? Why we move from Saul to David. David wanted Bathsheba. and he conspires and Bathsheba’s husband is murdered so that David can have what he wants and Nathan the prophet comes and confronts David for his sins so now all of this which speaks to us of the failure of the kings of Israel. Be one even as wonderful as David.

    Now, focus is itself in this figure of Abel. As if all the corruption was being concentrated in him. And you were seeing then the failure of that kingship. in Israel, played out for you in this single person, Ahab. Well, it’s not as if there isn’t any grace observable in Ahab. It isn’t as if he wasn’t the beneficiary of his upbringing so that at least something has rubbed off on him from his contact with the covenant and the oracles of God. He’s disappointed in his covetousness, he is not satisfied, but yet he can’t bring himself, at this point, to raise his own hand against me.

    The corruption is there. The corruption will in time take its toll, but it is not as yet complete in this man, any more than it is complete in Israel. Enter an amaranth. Enter one in whom corruption is so absolute that there remains nothing yet for it to accomplish the imperfect.

    The spirit with which Ahab flirts. The one with whom he cavorts. This one is the seductress. This one is the epitome of the spirit of seduction. Here is the harlot. personified, epitomized. That one in whom there is no ambiguity, no hesitation whatsoever. She lives for the world and there is no question about that.

    There is nothing she will not do. in fact she will manipulate the law she hates and she will use the name of the God she despises there isn’t a commandment she won’t violate and she does a pretty good job in just this simple instance of violating the law the objective of life to take the objective of life to grasp to possess to call it mine and never let it go therefore we have the corruption of Ahab and the wickedness of Jezebel, over against both is the righteousness of Nebuchadnezzar. If there is one here who stands for the inheritance and the purpose of God, if there is one who who stands over against the Esau’s of the world who have no respect for the inheritance at all is found in this man remarkably naïve a nation full of corruption yet one who now stands forth wonderfully as a testimony to the glory and intention of God He loves what God has given him, and he is satisfied with what God has given him. And in his reverence for God, and in his love for that inheritance, he is enabled by the Spirit to refuse a king.

    The most powerful man in his world And Naboth stands up to him in righteousness, though it costs him his life. What a remarkable man he is. Now you may be confused and distressed for Naboth’s sake. For in reading this story, though there comes the pronouncement of judgment at the end, though Elijah arises on behalf of Naboth, still the injustice cries out and cries out in such a way as to suggest to us that justice has not been done in the case of Naboth.

    The lover of God has been charged with being the hater of God, and that charge has been left to stand, seemingly. The righteous man has died, the wicked have lived. The honorable loses his inheritance, What good is that plot of ground to him now, while the dishonorable claim it? The righteous man has suffered, and he has suffered in the extreme. He’s lost everything, even his life. But isn’t that the point? And isn’t that, in conclusion, the glory of the stance of this man?

    For that inheritance, that simple little vineyard, outside the city wall, beside the castle, the palace of Ahab, is but a pointer. The principle that Naboth must live by is to hold fast that inheritance, not for the inheritance’s sake, that is, not for the sake of that little vegetable garden, that vineyard. He must hold fast to that because it points to something even more glorious. All vineyards in this world are losable. But there is a vineyard that cannot be lost. Vineyards of this world, when we die, we see no more. But there is a vineyard that is ours through death itself.

    And it is ultimately for the sake of that vineyard, for the sake of that inheritance, that we stand our ground against all who would intrude, all who would suggest that that inheritance is in fact not ours, theirs, their possession. We see, even in this one neighbor, something of the Lord Jesus Christ, don’t we? Falsely charged, called a blasphemer, said to be at odds with the country and its hopes, executed for his stand, seemingly having no inheritance in this world yet, given that inheritance above. And from the vantage point of that inheritance, also the promise that all things are his.

    Well then. Native sits at his table. he drinks of his wine feasts on the fruits of his vineyard and from that table with his Savior he owns the world and Ahab and Jezebel Own nothing. Nothing. Now it may not appear to you to be like that at all as you look at the world. The Ahabs of the world, the Jezebels take over. Injustice abounds. Pay it no mind. The world isn’t theirs, even though they claim it. The inheritance does not belong to them, even though they kill you to get it. All things belong to Christ. You belong to Him. And in Him, all things have been given to you. And in the day in which his vineyard is made plain to your sight, you will understand all of this perfectly. Let’s pray.

    Our Father, we do thank you indeed We review the history of Israel and we see the complicity of Ahab and his corruption. We recognize that he is but an acting out of the history of Israel in its totality. And that as that compromising weakness was found in him, a weakness that led to death, so it was found in Israel, even though Israel was filled with a boast concerning herself, her righteousness, and even a claim that she lived above the law. We thank you for what has come in the gospel and how you sort out these various stories for us with the scrutinizing light that comes to us from your word.

    May our hope be in that one prefigured in the person of Nathan. May our eyes be set upon him in the knowledge that though injustice seems to reign in this world, yet it does not have the final word at all. Rather, Your justice reigns supreme in the vindication of your son and in the vindication of all who trust in him.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • From Victory to Victory

    From Victory to Victory

    This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Life of Elijah” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, July 17, 1988.

    About this sermon

    The war between Israel and Syria carries meaning in both directions, looking back at what caused it and forward at what it anticipates. Israel’s victory here is real but incomplete, a shadow of something larger still to come. Christ himself moves the same way, from one kind of victory, his death, into another, his resurrection.

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    Sermon transcript

    We are beginning with verse 22. This is 1 Kings 20, beginning with verse 22. Hear the word of God. Then the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, Go strengthen yourself and observe and see what you have to do. For at the turn of the year, the king of Syria will come up against you. Now the servants of the king of Syria said to him, their gods are gods of the mountains.

    Therefore, they were stronger than we, but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And do this thing, remove the kings each from his place and put captains in their place, and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.” And he listened to their voice and did so.

    So it came about at the turn of the year that Ben-Hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. And the sons of Israel were mustered and were provisioned and went to meet them. And the sons of Israel camped before them like two little flocks of goats. But the Syrians filled the country. Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel, saying, Thus says the Lord, because the Syrians have said, The Lord is a God of the mountains, but he is not a God of the valleys. Therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

    So they camped one over against the other seven days, and it came about that on the seventh day the battle was joined. And the sons of Israel killed of the Syrians 100,000 foot soldiers in one day. But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city. And the wall fell on 27,000 men who were left. And then Hadad fled and came into the city, into the inner chamber.

    And his servants said to him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put sackcloth on our loins and ropes on our heads. and go out to the king of Israel, perhaps he will save your life.” So they girded Zakla on their loins and put ropes on their heads and came to the king of Israel and said, your servant Ben-Hadad says, please let me live.

    And he said, is he still alive? He is my brother. Now the men took this as an omen and quickly catching his word and said, your brother Ben-Hadad. Then he said, go bring him. Then Ben-Hadad came out to him, and he took him up into the chariot. And Ben-Hadad said to him, The cities which my father took from your father I will restore, and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus as my father made in Samaria, Ahab said, and I will let you go with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him and let him go.

    Now a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to another by the word of the Lord, please strike me. But the man refused to strike him. Then he said to him, because you have not listened to the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you have departed from me, a lion will kill you. And as soon as he had departed from him, a lion found him and killed him. Then he found another man and said, please strike me. And the man struck him, wounding him.

    So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. And as the king passed by, he said to the king, he tried to the king and said, your servant went out into the midst of the battle. And behold, a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, guard this man. If for any reason he is missing, then your life shall be for his, or else you shall pay a talent of silver. And while your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.

    And the king of Israel said to him, so shall your judgment be, you yourself have decided it. Then he hastily took the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him that he was one of the prophets. And he said to him, thus says the Lord, because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I have devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall be for his and your people for his people. So the king of Israel went to his house, sullen and vexed, and came to Samaria. we are delighted in your rule of your church and throughout the world where your word is honored there also we would hope that your church is ruled well we pray therefore for that office of rule to ask that your elders may stand strong in that in the strength which you give And we ask that they may have discernment, especially as they have been given responsibility to scrutinize the proclamation of the word.

    We ask also that they would be mindful of that care committed to them over the flock, and that they might rule judiciously. We pray our God that it would please you to multiply effective servants throughout your church for rule, that in fact your people may be ruled well. And in every respect, may there be that demonstration of the love of Christ in their office. We pray it in Christ’s name. Amen.

    There is a war between Israel and Syria, between the house of Ahab and the house of Ben-Hadad. And this war between kingdoms, between households, is a war which has retrospective significance and also prospective significance. In other words, it is a war that looks backwards and forwards. You have those two points, and you have the sermon for the siege. This war, in its retrospective character, It is a war which in its two battles, now, in its two battles recorded for us in this 20th chapter of 1 Kings, it is a war which in its two battles remind us of two eras, two periods of time in Israel’s former history.

    These two battles, the one that focused at Samaria and now this one of which we’ve read tonight, the one that focuses at Aphek, these two battles remind us of eras, two periods of time from Israel’s former history. There is then that battle between Israel and Syria, the household of Ahab and Ben-Hadad, that took place at Samaria, the mountaintop capital of the ten northern tribes, the kingdom of Israel.

    There is that battle spoken of for us in the first 21 verses of this chapter, and in this Israel is delivered, despite the fact that she has a grossly inferior force. Remember how the force of the Syrians is described? Then Hadad comes up with 32 kings to overwhelm Israel. And what of the force of Israel? Well, we are reminded in that 21st, that 20th chapter rather, in the 15th verse, that Israel had but 7,000 to fight for her in this instance.

    Israel is delivered despite grossly inferior forces, despite the fact that she has already compromised herself, by making herself a vassal state to the Syrians and to Ben-Hadad. But these facts, the victory of Israel, her grossly inferior force, the fact that she has compromised herself with the alien forces that have intruded upon her, remind us of that particular time in Israel’s history, after her entrance into the land, the time of the judges. Isn’t it true that as we review the period of the judges, we have before us the victory, or the victories, of the people of God? And that despite the fact that they are grossly outnumbered, in fact we are told that God in many instances reduces the number of the force of Israel in order that he might demonstrate his power through weakness. And these victories are in spite of the fact that Israel is compromised. Yes, religiously and politically she is compromised. The period of the judges then. The triumph of God, He perfecting His power through weakness and demonstrating His grace to a people undeserving.

    That’s what we find when we read the first 21 verses of 1 Kings 20. And that battle at Samaria, in which the forces of Ben-Hadad are put to flight, remarkably, by the power of God, in a demonstration of God’s magnificent grace to His people. So we have the first battle, now we move on to the second. The second battle focuses at Aphek, we are told. Verses 22 through 43 deal with that battle, that confrontation.

    Again, Israel is victorious against this villainous foe, the king Ben-Hadad. A king that is mustering once more his forces, arraying those forces against Israel, and mustering a force once more that would seemingly overwhelm Israel and destroy her. This battle at Apheb is one in which we see the victorious king, Ahab, sparing Ben-Hadad one whom we are told is designated for destruction. And in this action by Ahab, he proves himself vain and incompetent to rule.

    But you recall, we are thinking of the retrospective character of this war between Israel and Syria. And if we allow ourselves, our minds, then flying back through the scriptures, think of a parallel that exists between what happens here and what happened formerly in Israel’s history. Interestingly, after the period of the judges came the period of the kingdom. And you may recall the story of 1 Samuel 15, when Saul went out to battle against the Amalekites.

    The king of the Amalekites was one Ahab, and Saul was commanded to destroy all. Yet Saul spares the king. And here, you would call, no, Ahab spares than Aden. Well, this battle at Aphek then reminds us of Saul and the Amalekites, the sparing of Agag, and then the consequent rejection of Saul. Here we read of the rejection of Aden as king.

    So you get the pattern, don’t you? We move from one period to the other, from victory to victory. Defeat and judgment for the enemies of God and God’s people. But as we move from that victory, that preliminary victory, to the consequent victory, there is in view a movement from a preliminary triumph over the foe to the eventual eradication of that thought. That being the pattern of the movement from the period of the judges to the period of the king.

    So what was worked out over many years formally in Israel’s history is now compressed for us in the space of one chapter in 1 Kings 10 the history of Israel in this respect being recapitulated for us the expectation then for the king of Israel and moving from victory to victory is to improve upon that initial preliminary victory so that in the end, the foe that poses himself against God and against his people is completely eradicated. You remember how it was for Moses and the children of Israel in the wilderness when they first met Amalek? And in that instance, God swore eternal hostility against Amalek. Never to be satisfied until the victory was complete, and Amalek was wiped off the face of the earth. From victory unto victory. From glory to glory.

    Now that’s one aspect of the retrospective nature of this war between Syria and Israel. And there is another. These two battles recorded in the 20th chapter here are to remind us of recent events, of another confrontation that has just been concluded between Elijah and the forces of Baal. You see, the incursion of the Syrians into Israel’s territory under Ben-Hadad, parallels the spiritual incursion of the Phaolites into Israel’s territory under Jezebel. Now notice the geography as we progress. The first battle takes place on a mountaintop, Samaria. the opening verses of 1st Kings 20. Well, that mountaintop confrontation between Ahab and Ben-Hadad at Samaria is actually reflecting the confrontation between Elijah and the forces of Jezebel upon Mount Carmel, upon the heights in the mountain.

    God is the Lord. The Lord is God. He is the God in the heights. But He is as well the God in the depths. So we have the preliminary victory. Yes, spoken of here in terms of Ahab and Ben-Hadad, but there is that preliminary victory as well of Elijah, the prophet of the Lord, both they and the prophets that are of Jezebel. But on to the depths. Note the geography. Aphek is in the plain. Aphek is in the valley.

    The confrontation now between Ahab and Ben-Hadad in the valley of Aphat reflects the consequent confrontation between Ahab and his own wife in the plains of Jezreel. And interestingly, scholars tell us that Aphat may have been in the territory, in the region of Jezreel itself. So we have moved from the preliminary victory to what we would expect to be the secondary victory in which there was to be the eradication of every remnant of that hostility against God and his people. But what does Ahab do when he comes into Jezreel?

    He doesn’t execute Jezebel as he should have. He should have had her drawn and quartered. Instead, he cowers in front of her, sues for terms of peace, wins his way back into her bedchamber, while she plots to execute Elijah. just as Ahab failed to move from victory to victory in the case of Jezebel now he fails to move from victory to victory in the case of Ben-Hadad and in both cases you see The lesson is the same.

    The end result is fatal. Compromise with hell. Make a covenant with the counsels of Satan. And the end can only be rejection and destruction well that’s the retrospective character of the confrontation between Syria and Israel we said that there is a prospective side as well that which pertains to what is yet to be so that this is not just a recapitulation of Israel’s history this text serves as prophecy you see this war is reflective of the eternal concept This war is reflective of the battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness.

    This war and its progress is a portent of the coming, future events that pertain specifically with regard to Israel and her kingship as they are related to that eternal conflict. And in the end, you see, Israel’s lot will be no better than that which is proven here in the case of Ahab. As with the king, so with the people. The nation itself will follow after this sort of king. or has not the nation wished for itself a king like the kings of all the other nations? The demise is seemingly certain, as that nation, as if it were a nation devoted to David, set its eyes upon the things of this earth. Why do you think that Saul spared Ahab for the profit, for the promise of the things of this world. Why is it that Ahab spared Ben-Hagin? Why is it that he has spared his wife?

    Because of the promise of the things of this world. And it is a nation, Ben, following such a king that makes the same kind of compromise, the same kind of covenant. It is a covenant of death. For the sake of the things of this world, for the promise of those who are seemingly mighty in this world, who have power in it. Well, is there anything who sees matters around? Is there any king whose eye is single?

    Oh yes, the period of the judges gives way to the period of the kingdom. And the future of Israel is played out in the life of Saul, but beyond Saul there is one whose heart is formed and fashioned and molded by a love for God. In this one the Messianic glory will be seen. Yes, from victory unto victory. In this one, who is promised, who is coming, there is a King. His righteousness is pure and certain. His glory is as bright as the sun. and he shall move from victory to victory, and that in a way in which he does not compromise with the seduction of the Jezebels, or the Baals, or the Ben-Hadads, or the Agags of this world.

    The preliminary victory Where was that victory observed? At the cross. And how is that victory improved upon with a secondary victory in which this king proves himself faithful to the uttermost? Why, when he has subdued all things to himself, and triumphs over the last enemy, death.

    Now, not that you aren’t to be warned, for you see, you live between the preliminary victory and the subsequent victory. And therefore, while you live between the victories, there is that possibility, of course, that you will be derailed, distracted, and the love of the world will improve.

    Did we not read about such a one this morning? 2 Timothy 4, we read about a man named Amos. who deserted Paul because he loved this present world. How are you to endure while you live between the victors? You can only endure if you persevere in the power of that One who has triumphed And understand, in the life that he supplies, that the nature of the kingdom that he has come to confer is not that of a kingdom of this world, but of one that is above.

    And that is to be the focus of your affections. Set your affections upon things above, where Christ is, at the right hand of God. There you are. Now if you think that you have the power in yourself to endure while you wait for the consummation of that secondary victory from our Lord, you best think again. For you see, your standing is only by grace.

    I want you to think in this regard of the fate of Elijah. Before, and in light of the failure, well, as Ahab was failing in his secondary victory, failing to eradicate Baal-ism completely from Israel, Elijah himself began to quiver, to shake, to receive, to power. His heart seemingly set upon earthly things. And I tell you, if Elijah cannot endure in his own power and strength, surely you and I can.

    Only in the power of this who has proven himself faithful in the preliminary victory, and shall also subsequently prove himself victorious in the depths. Isn’t it interesting, the heights and the depths? Christ now, as it were, in the mountains. His warfare directed against principalities and powers, spiritual wickedness in high places. The final battle will be in the plain, in the valley, in the valley of the shadow of death. And thereto, as he has proved himself in the first battle, he shall prove himself in the last. First Kings 20, two battles, they have a miserable failure, as Israel, a miserable failure, as you and I, miserable failures, but Jesus Christ, the victor, the glorious King, who has not and will not fail you his conquest over death is certain will it be a conquest for you one of which you benefit that we all might love him and love his appearance with a pure heart from victory to victory from glory to glory The perfection of our Christ speaks out, cries out before the world. O Lord, may we, although in the world, hear the message and embrace it with all sincerity that these victories may in fact prove to be for us.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • Glory and Diminishment

    Glory and Diminishment

    This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Life of Elijah” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, July 3, 1988.

    About this sermon

    Elijah’s glory and his diminishment sit side by side in this passage, commissioned to anoint kings even as his own ministry visibly contracts. John the Baptist will later walk the same path, decreasing so that another might increase. Elijah’s and Elisha’s ministries both prove genuinely useful precisely in that diminishment, not despite it.

    More sermons from 1 Kings · Browse all sermons

    Sermon transcript

    This is 1 Kings 19, we are beginning with verse 9. Then Elijah came there to a cave, and he lodged there, and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts.

    For the sons of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, torn down thine altars and killed thy prophets with the sword. And I alone am left. And they seek my life to take it away. So he said, Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord and behold, the Lord was passing by. And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord.

    But the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, a sound of a gentle blowing, or the still small voice. or the triumphant voice of the Lord.

    And it came about when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and he went out and he stood in the entrance of the cave, and behold, a voice came to him and said, What are you doing here, Elijah? Then he said, I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the sons of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, torn down thine altars, and killed thy prophets with the sword, and I alone am left. And they seek my life to take it away.” And the Lord said to him, Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus.

    And when you have arrived, you shall anoint Haziel king over Syria. And Jehu, the son of Nimshin, you shall anoint king over Israel. And Elisha, the son of Shethath, of Abel-Mehalah, you shall anoint as prophet in your place. And it shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Haziel, Jehu shall put to death.

    And the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha, shall be put to death, yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.” So he departed from there and found Elisha, the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelve.

    And Elijah passed over to him and threw his mantle on him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, Please let me kiss my father and my mother. Then I will follow you. And he said to him, Go back again, for what have I done to you? So he returned from following him and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him. Very briefly.

    This day, our father, your word has gone forth for your people throughout the earth. And our father, we know of your promises concerning your word. We know of your intention with regard to the harvest, and we rejoice that you have, in keeping with the prayers of your people, raised up laborers for the harvest. May it please you, Father, to cause us to delight in that labor that is rendered unto you, and may we even see that labor is something in which we participate. May we thank you, our God, for the part we play, in this the harvest effected by your word. We thank you too, our Father, that we have been the recipients of that word, and may we remain such as this evening we hear the word declared to us, it coming to us for that for which you have intended it, namely that we might be built up in our doctrine that we might be reproved, corrected, that we might be instructed in righteousness. We pray these things through the One who is the Living Word, Jesus Christ the Righteous. Amen.

    Elijah is a figure in scripture in whom we can see both glory and increase of glory unto glory and simultaneously a diminishment a dimming The glory that we observe in this prophet of God is extraordinary. And we realize, do we not, just how much Elijah stands out in the history of God’s dealings with his people. He is an extraordinary figure, one in whom the glory of which we have spoken is uniquely observed. That glory is in relationship to the word of God.

    Elijah is the bearer, the bearer of the word of the Lord. But so tightly is Elijah bound to this word which he bears, that he actually becomes indistinguishable from it, at least that is how it seems. You may recall how the story of Elijah began in the 17th chapter of 1 Kings. The first verse there of that chapter, Elijah is introduced to us as the Tishbite, the one who was from the settlers of Gilead in the Transjordan, living across the Jordan from the land of promise.

    This one approaches Ahab. He says to him, as the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years except by my word. Elijah, in his office as prophet, does not hesitate to identify his word with the Lord’s word. They are one and the same.

    So, the glory of Elijah the prophet is perceived in this, the proximity of the word to the prophet, and how tightly this bearer of the word is bound to the word. Truly, is there any as great as Elijah? Well, we may say, Moses, but here in the days of the kingdom, in the days of the kingdom, after the settlement of the people of God in the land of promise, is there any as great as Elijah? Is there any in whom we perceive better the glory of God? As a matter of fact, as we move from that 17th chapter into the 18th, on to the nineteen, it seems apparent, does it not, that there is no one who approximates Elijah in significance in glory.

    For it is through him that the Lord is pleased to bring into clear focus his purposes and his intentions, to spell out for us the plan and purpose of our God. These will be unveiled, as it were, brought before our eyes through the medium of this individual Elijah. You have the judgment that comes upon the prophets of Baal, and in that you are to perceive the day of the Lord, the execution of God’s And after that, the feast that takes place on Mount Carmel, at which Ahab, even Ahab the king, is seated. And then the deluge comes, the rain, the rain of blessing, as showers now end the drought, and the word of deliverance is brought to the city of Jezreel, as if the day of God’s visitation has arrived, not only with judgment, as it was reviewed for us in the execution of the prophets of Baal, but also as it comes in deliverance and redemption for the people of God. So the glory, the glory of God’s intention, the glory of God’s purpose, the glory of God’s person is revealed unto us in this extraordinary individual, Elijah. No one better presents us with that glory.

    Well, as good as Elijah seems, as wonderful as he is, yet he is one in whom also diminishment, a diminutive, is perceived. Even a failure, if you will. Elijah the best stumbles. Elijah. the chief of Israel’s glory, that one in whom God’s glory is most wonderfully perceived, he stumbles and falls. The threat has gone out from Jezebel. Before that threat, he flees. He flees for his life. And in his flight, he confesses, I am no better than my father. The best that Israel has to offer, in the end, proves no better. than the father.

    There is a slight. As we move through this nineteenth chapter, we look at the fourth verse. There is his confession, and then there is his confusion. As we come to the Mount Mount Horrible in the Sinai Desert, a return to the Mount of God where, in fact, the commandments were given here. Elijah appears and here is confusion. is revealed. How can God fulfill his purpose? That, in effect, is Elijah’s response to the quarry of the Lord. What are you doing here? Elijah asks the Lord. Elijah says, Well, I’ve been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts.

    The sons of Israel have forsaken my covenant, torn down thine orders, killed thy prophets with the sword I alone and left. They seek my life to take it away. What hope is there? All that is left is absolute despair. God’s purposes have failed. God’s purposes have failed.

    So this one who appears to understand so well, this one through whom God is revealing his purpose and intention, he ends up as one utterly confused. And then we go through the theophany that takes place. First the wind, then the earthquake, then the fire, and then comes on the uncomfortable manifestation of the magnificence of God in His Word.

    That’s what’s revealed to Elijah in the still, small voice. There is debate, as we pointed out, as to what is being referred to here in verse 12. Is it the sound of a gentle blowing, as the New American Standard has it? The still small voice, as the King James says, or is it the tumultuous, triumphant voice of the Lord, as some like Meredith Klein have suggested? But regardless of how you exegete it, how you interpret it, what is at the heart of it is the Word of God, be it the still small voice or the tumultuous voice of God. It is the Word of God, and that is what passes Truly, before Elijah, manifesting then the magnificence of God. Glory to be sure, diminishment and dimming even failure as well. To what end? To what end?

    Well, it becomes apparent to us when we compare this one Elijah, this great one Elijah, with his counterpart in the New Testament. And who is that counterpart? Well, we all know who the New Testament Elijah is. He is John the Baptist, of course. And what glory appears in him? What do we hear? Well, so glorious is he that he is actually confused with the Messiah. This one, John the Baptist, must be the one for whom we have waited. So magnificently does he appear. We have that testimony. Luke, in the account in the third chapter, verse fifteen. who gathered on the shores of the Jordan River, thought, believed, that this one was no less than the anointed of God, the expected one.

    John the Baptist himself acknowledges this confusion about his person. He says, I am not the Christ, obviously, responding to those who thought he was. I am not the Christ, he tells. John chapter 1 verse 20, he tells his own disciples that. I told you, he says, I am not the Christ. John 3 verse 28. And how is he acknowledged? How is he assessed by Jesus? Why, Jesus says, there is no one born of women who is greater than John. Matthew 11, verse 11.

    The glory of this person, John the Baptist, a corollary for us in understanding the glory that we perceive in Elijah. But not just the glory for Elijah, also the diminishment, the dinner, and even the failure. Do you recall the account of John the Baptist failing? Do you remember how John in prison is shaken by the events that are taking place, and how, when he looks at the ministry of Jesus, he is confused, bewildered. John came as that one, fully expecting the visitation of God in all of its fury. Certainly, the delay is over. Certainly, the kingdom and all of its might And grandeur is calm.

    But when he looks at the ministry of Jesus, what does he see? He sees one going about with words, words of ministry and healing and words that suggest that there is a delay in God’s program here. First, a word of grace. so that the gospel itself may be heard, that before the visitation of God in his fury. So here is John the Baptist in prison, having expected the unleashing of God’s justice, and he sends word by his disciples to Jesus, Matthew 11 again, and he says, Or are we to look for somebody else? This one so great, this one so magnificent, one in whom we can perceive glory, confused.

    And of course there is also John’s own confession. A confession which places him in an appropriate position. Jesus comes to him at the Jordan. And John’s confession there is, oh no, oh no. No, I should not be baptizing you. Rather, you should be baptizing me. an acknowledgment of his own subordination, but more than that, an acknowledgment of his own sinfulness, for John here is confessing that he is in need of baptism. And what does John say himself in the third chapter of John, the thirtieth verse? He must increase, but I must decrease. Yes, the glory, but also the diminishment, the dimming, and even the failure in this city.

    As it was for Elijah, so it is for John the Baptist. Elijah and John the Baptist are servants of God in whom we can perceive the ultimate glory of our Lord. More specifically, Elijah and John the Baptist are servants of our God, in whom we can perceive the coming of the glory of God. even the coming of God’s glory in Jesus Christ. But while we say that, we at the same time say, neither of these two are in fact that glory. Neither of these two are in fact of Christ. It’s obvious to us. It’s obvious to us.

    But this becomes apparent to us as well as we work our way through these latter verses of 1 Kings 19. For in these verses we will see the dual roles at work in the ministry of Elijah himself. that preparatory for the day of Christ, that preparatory for the ministry of Elijah and the ministry of Christ himself. Let’s look at 1 Kings 19, 15 through 18 first of all, and let’s understand it first of all in terms of the glory and then in terms of the diminishment. The glory of our God, the glory of his Christ, is perceived in Elijah and in the role he plays in these verses. For you see, it is in Elijah that we see one who inaugurates a new age. a new age comes. And as this one is that one seemingly through whom we see the new age dawning, there is a movement from him to these other figures mentioned here that is a movement from the greater to the less so that in these verses we are able to see something of the coming glory of Jesus Christ himself, that one through whom shall be inaugurated the new age. Elijah then is not just forward, he is one who anticipates. in whom we can see the pattern of the Christ.

    This age, as it is spelled out for us in the particulars of these verses, is one that is inaugurated essentially from beyond the borders of Israel itself. Notice the region to which Elijah is directed, the wilderness of Damascus, outside the territory of Israel. It shall be from beyond those territories that the age shall in fact visit and prude upon Israel itself.

    Just as the Messiah shall come from without, so here the pattern and form of the new age comes from without. Jesus is that one who comes from without in the ultimate sense. He comes from heaven, from outside of the territorial boundaries of Israel. He improves into that land, and his coming means then a visitation of God and the commencement of the new age.

    The age then is inaugurated essentially coming from beyond the borders, the boundaries of Israel. And when that new age comes, notice its focus. Oh yes, Israel escaped the edge of the sword when the prophets of Baal were executed. But no, as the picture of judgment is spelled out here even further for us, Israel herself shall not be spared at all, for that sword shall execute judgment through those who are anointed of God to do just that.

    We hear a lot about New Age philosophy, New Age music, the New Age movement. The New Age movement, the New Age philosophy is one that is completely devoid of the sword. If you hear, if you hear the philosophy expounded, if you tune in to Shirley MacLaine or read one of her books, the New Age is one the void of judgment. Oh no, oh no. Read it for yourself.

    You will anoint, says the Lord, Haziel, king over Syria. Jehu, king over Israel. Elisha, prophet in Israel. The one who escapes the sword of Haziel will not escape the sword of Jehu, and if they do, they shall not be spared the sword of Elisha. Judgment is coming, and you can be certain of that. It may well be delayed, but it is coming nonetheless.

    But not just judgment, for you see in the 18th verse that it promised as well in this new age is the perfection of God’s redemptive purpose. 7,000 is the number of perfection. It’s not meant as an exact number. It’s meant as a representative figure of the perfect number of God’s redeemed, His elect. Those, in fact, who have not compromised themselves with the God of this world. There. In the language of the book of Revelation, those who do not bear the mark of the beast. Judgment comes, redemption is well perfected. The New Age inaugurated the glory that is manifest, as we see it mediated in this person of Elijah.

    But the diminishment there too. how Elijah himself must give way. For Elijah, you see, is the anointer in this passage. And he is the anointer of those whose services themselves anticipate Christ. For it is Haziel and Jehu and Elisha who also speak to us of Christ’s ministry in the coming new age.

    So while there is in one sense a movement in this passage from the greater to the lesser, Elijah to those upon whom he places as it were the spirit, there is as well a movement from the lesser, Elijah to the greater, those who execute the purpose and intention of God. Glory and diminishment simultaneously. So in this respect, Elijah is not so much the one who anticipates Christ, in whom we can see the Christ, but he becomes perfectly, wonderfully, the forerunner of the Christ. The forerunner, going before the inauguration of the age, coming at his heels.

    Christ’s administration of judgment and salvation then is realized by those who stand beyond the Elijah. Glory, greatness, yet even a lack thereof in relationship to that which is coming. All right, well that’s verses 15 through 18. What about verses 19 through 21? The glory, again, the glory of Elijah in these passages. Do you see it?

    Elijah is the one who makes disciples. Elijah is the one who disciples Elisha. And here, once more, the movement is from the greater to the lesser. The master is always greater than the disciple. So in this respect, Elijah once more anticipates the Christ. He is one in whom we can see the Christ, in whom we can see the ministry of the Christ.

    Elijah in this respect, then, is a disciple. unto the one who is greater, for the sake of whom he is called to forsake all, the one to whom he is bound as servant. So then Elisha arose and followed Elijah and ministered to serve him.” And here we are also compelled to see the beginning, the tailing of Elisha. As we look at the figure of Elisha, for the act of commitment by Elisha in these latter verses, the act of commitment is so extraordinary that in it we perceive a devotion that even exceeds the devotion of Elijah.

    Remember Elijah’s confusion? Remember what we have said, that there may well be a bit of Baalism still living in the heart of Elijah? The fact that Elijah cannot disassociate his hope with regard to the future with that land. with those specific people of Israel.

    He cannot conceive of the fulfillment of God’s purpose apart from the territorial, provincial boundaries of the land of promise. And because of that, he is utterly confused by what is going on. In the end, he doesn’t realize that the inheritance is not the land, it’s God.

    And that’s all God has been trying to teach his people all along. But notice what is worked out in Elisha and the act of devotion that we observe in him. Here is one incomparably blessed. What’s the purpose of the twelve Yotavahs? It’s the fullness of all the prosperity that Israel could in fact expect from God as a nation in this world. Elisha is a rich man. He is rich in the blessings that the land affords, that the land gives. And you dare not associate these riches from the promises that were given by God to the people of Israel. But what does Elisha do?

    He gives it all up! He gives it all up! He turns his back on that prosperity. He sacrifices that yoke of oxen, those oxen that he plowed with. He forsakes his father’s throne. He turns his back, as it were, on the inheritance. In the land. In this world. And he gives himself over to the purpose of God.

    And in this he said, Elisha out distances Elijah. And in this instance, it is no longer Elijah who is the greater, it is Elisha. And Elijah must give way to him. Here then, Elisha anticipates the Christ, and Elijah is unto him. For Elisha will mean the fulfillment of that ministry, of which Elijah was the forerunner. Elisha becomes Elijah’s Christ. Well, that’s the analysis. That’s the analysis. Of what use is it? Good question, you say. What does it all mean?

    Now to begin with, this analysis of Elijah and Elisha helps us to understand the unique significance of the ministry of these two Old Testament graves. Their ministry The times in which they serve uniquely portray and anticipate the days of the gospel, the coming of those events in which God’s purposes will be worked out so magnificently, so wonderfully.

    Now some have remarked that the times of Elijah and Elisha are filled full of miracles. And that uniquely, there were other times when miracles were obvious and evident in the world. But miracle working in God’s perspective is not some sort of perpetual ongoing type of phenomenon. There are actually three periods of miracle working in the history of salvation. The first is when the Exodus occurred. The second is here in the times of Elijah and Elisha, and the third is in the days of Jesus Christ and the Apostles. To what end? That we might get hung up on miracles? No! That we might expect them as part of our ordinary daily course? No!

    In order that we might understand that God is at work, He’s doing something that He’s never done before. And those miracles confirmed then the presence of God to act afresh and to know. To spell out something significant for us, as it was in the Exodus, so now in these days in the life of the nation of Israel, God is making clear his purpose and intention. Yes, judgment will come, deliverance also. There will be a forerunner. and there will be a consummation in the one two hundredth century. That’s one of the usefulness, one of the uses of this analysis for us. There is another.

    This analysis, if you hung with me this far, is of extreme importance and of great benefit in building up your confidence that the record of God’s dealings with his people and with the world as a whole is correct. It’s not just a matter of citing simple passages from the prophets like Isaiah 53 and say, Jesus in his coming fulfilled this prophecy to achieve. So therefore, I know that the interpretation, I know, I know that the analysis that we have given as Christians to the Old Testament is correct. No, no, you see, even a passage like this confirms your faith, that the record as a whole is correct. In fact, the pattern we observe here fits so well the development of the whole, that we not only gain confidence that the gospel is correct, but that no other interpretation of things is possible. No other interpretation is possible, for this passage in the end serves the pattern that you observe in the gospel. And in reading this, your faith in the gospel is confirmed.

    It cannot be otherwise. It is impossible. If you then have eyes to see, because you are reborn, Chris, you know the things of which I am speaking. are true. And that truth is not established on isolated texts or just an appeal to the New Testament. It is the appeal to the whole. There is simply no other way to understand things than that which fits the perfect pattern of the gospel. And you perceive that pattern here. Here. In 1 Kings 19. 900 years before the birth of Christ. God was preparing his people for what he was going to do. Well, there’s one use of this text.

    You see, Elisha comes off very well as the epitome of the disciple. So perfect is he in his discipleship, we would judge, that his submission to the purpose and intention of God truly reflects Christ. even Elisha must be Christ. For if Elijah is not the Christ, neither is Elisha. When the Christ comes, there will dawn in him a day which exceeds the provincial boundaries of the judgment that is articulated in the times of Elijah and Elisha. They will appear more than a local redemption for a particular people that lives in the corner of the Mediterranean world in the first century. For the dimensions will be universal and cosmical.

    But as that is brought into full view, also brought into full view, is a greater discipleship, a discipleship that is even more urgent than that discipleship that we see played out in the person of Elisha. What does Elisha say when the mantle is thrown upon him by Christ? He says, let me first go and kiss my father and my mother and take care of these things at home. What does Jesus say when the would-be disciple comes up

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • Elijah’s Theophany at Horeb

    Elijah’s Theophany at Horeb

    This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Life of Elijah” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, June 19, 1988.

    About this sermon

    Elijah’s flight traces Israel’s own geography and history at once, moving east, west, and south in a single journey. His encounter at Horeb echoes Moses’ own theophany there, still small voice against wind, earthquake, and fire. Paul’s confidence in 2 Corinthians 3, that we behold God’s glory with unveiled face, rests on the same hope Elijah receives at that mountain.

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    Sermon transcript

    reading from 1 Kings 19. This is the first 18 verses of that chapter. Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying, so may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.

    And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba. which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself, on a day’s journey into the wilderness, came and sat down under a juniper tree, and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, It is enough now, O Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my father’s.

    And he lay down, and he slept under the juniper tree, and behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, Arise, eat. Then he looked, and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones in a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, Arise, eat. because the journey is too great for you.” So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God. Then he came there to a cave and lodged there.

    And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the sons of Israel have forsaken by covenant, torn down thine altars and killed by prophets with the sword. And I alone am left and they seek my life to take it away. So he said, Go forward.

    And stand on the mountain before the Lord. And behold, the Lord was passing by, and a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind and earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake of fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire a sound of a gentle blowing, or a still small voice, or the tumultuous voice of the Lord. And it came about when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and he went out and he stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, What are you doing here, Elijah?

    Then he said, I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the sons of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, torn down thine altars, and killed thy prophets with the sword. And I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away. And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus.

    And when you have arrived, you shall anoint Haziel, king over Syria, and Jehu, the son of Nimshi, you shall anoint king over Israel. And Elisha, the son of Shaphat, of Abba Mahala, you shall anoint as prophet in your place. And it shall come about that the one who escapes from the sword of Haziel, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. Yet, I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.

    For your word, our Father, you have not only sent forth servants who would proclaim it, but those who are set up in the Church to observe the conduct of those who would declare your word. And Father, we would pray on behalf of those who have that authority, that responsibility, that duty. Give them strength of mind and spirit as they would see to that task which is theirs. May you bless, therefore, the elders of your church, not only here, but throughout the earth. We pray, our God, that there may be good order in your church, and that your word may be proclaimed in a way that is in keeping with the government of your kingdom.

    We ask this in Jesus’ This is a difficult passage and I alluded to something of the difficulty in it by giving you various readings out of that twelve verse. Is it the sound of a gentle blowing, as the New American Standard has it? Or is it the still small voice, as the Authorized Version has it? Or is it the tumultuous voice of the Lord, as Meredith Klein would have us believe? Well, that’s but one of the difficulties in this passage. There are many others.

    There is the difficulty, for instance, of the two-fold approach by God to Elijah and the identical response on the part of Elijah. Two times the Lord comes and asks the question, Why are you here, Elijah? And two times Elijah gives the identical answer. The critics, of course, have had a field day with this particular problem, suggesting that we have here a twofold tradition that is woven together.

    Therefore, we are to understand that there are actually two sources that lie beneath the surface of the final edition that has appeared in Scripture for us here. we might be taken back somewhat by this difficulty that Elijah hasn’t progressed much from the first question to the second may give us pause but at any rate, it is in taking into consideration these difficulties that we are faced with the perplexities, complexities of this passage let’s move through it and see if some sense, some clarity can come to us from its exposition. Elijah is beating a retreat. I think we can settle that matter. Elijah is in retreat. He is moving southward.

    He realized that he has been a prophet to the north, to the northern tribes of Israel. Israel, the ten northern tribes, these have separated from the south. They have separated from Judah, from Benjamin, and Elijah has been a prophet in the north. We realize that Ahab, the seventh king from Jeroboam, is upon the throne. His capital has been at Samaria. He has set up a royal city at Jezreel. Jezebel, his Phoenician queen, rules with him. We don’t have to review all that has gone before.

    We know the story quite well, the conflict that arose and the contest that came about on Mount Carmel. and Elijah’s seeming triumph there. But the triumph is short-lived, and Jezebel has her way with Ahab, and she swears vengeance upon Elijah. Elijah, who appears fearless previously, is terrified, and now he flees southward. from the north-southward, coming to the edge of the land of promise at Beersheba, and then, after leaving behind his servant, he goes a day’s journey into the wilderness. Elijah is leaving the land of promise. He is moving beyond the borders of the inheritance that God promised for the children of Israel. Now, you may recall that Elijah has left the borders of Israel before.

    He went to the east, across the Jordan, and there he took up his residence beside the brook of water and was fed by the raven. for a while. And then he moved through the territory of the northern tribes westward, and that at the command of God, into the territory of the Phoenicians. And there he resided with a widow woman for a while, you recall. And when we were expounding Those stories, you might recall what we said.

    The movement eastward by Elijah was a forecast of the moving of Israel as a whole, as if we could see the nation of Israel in the man. The movement of the prophet becomes the movement of the people. They also would move eastward. Their movement would be a movement ordained by God, one that came about because of God’s wrath and judgment. They would move in exile. Before they move, the prophet moves and forecasts that move.

    But, how wonderfully we are instructed about God’s care even for that zillig generate generation. We are instructed about God’s love for his people yet. For as Elijah was cared for in his exile, so the nation in the remnant shall be cared for in its exile.

    But that doesn’t conclude the movement of the people of God, or the purpose of God. And you know that quite well. For it won’t simply be a move eastward by the prophet or by the people of God that will spell out the fullness of God’s purpose for His people. That purpose will not be complete until the servant of God, the messenger of God, or the spirit of God residing in the man moves westward into Gentile territories, as Elijah does himself, there to bring the news of God’s kingdom to people who are strangers to it.

    Elijah’s movement to the West is a preview of the movement of God’s purpose to Gentile lands so that they may be reached, reconciled, one to the gospel. But there was that movement by Elijah in the times before the contest at Carmel. But now we have Elijah on the move again. And intruding into this movement, of course, is the condition of the man. Nothing is spoken of that in the previous movements of Elijah, but here it is obvious. Elijah is fleeing. He is fleeing out of fear and dread.

    It shall, however, become an occasion, despite the terror that Elijah feels, this flight, an occasion for God’s instruction. Yes, to Elijah, if he can understand it, but certainly to us, who are in a better position even than he, to grasp what is going on here. So yes, for Elijah, for the children of Israel, but even more so for us who stand in a better position yet to understand what God is doing. Elijah, moving southward, fleeing Jezebel, leaving the land of promise behind. And whether he understands it or not, what is taking place is that a division is being established by God between his purpose, his prophet, his servant, and that land.

    And that land. Is there a bit of Baalism that lives even in the heart of Elijah? Elijah was the prophet who was calling the people of God back to the Lord, to be sure. But does there remain in Elijah a bit of Baalism, wherein his hopes and aspirations are well tied to that territory? Baal was the God of the world. He was the God of the land. And in his affection for that land and for that territory, is there a bit of earthboundedness in Elijah yet? So out of the land, the Lord, of course, sovereignly at work even in these movements, in the prophet. Elijah is moving geographically, but he is also moving historically.

    He is not simply moving southward, he is moving backward, seemingly in time. It’s as if the experiment has failed. It is as if the project for Israel lies in ruin. And now we must go back to the point of origin and start all over again. Yes, Elijah and Israel are still bound together. You see the nation in the man and Elijah moving southward is something of a historical movement in which Israel in the man moves backward in time to the point of her origin.

    Returning to the wilderness, to the mountain of God, to Horeb, we know it as Sinai, to start again. The forty days, the forty nights, that are spoken of here have many references. Yes, there were the forty days and forty nights that Moses spent upon the mountain. We hear about that in the book of Exodus.

    But these forty days and forty nights and the journey of Elijah into the wilderness for this duration also recapitulates the journey wandering of the children of Israel as a nation, so that there is this parallel, not just with Moses, but with the nation as a whole. Back to the beginning, to start again, for seemingly the project has failed and the nation lies in ruin.

    Elijah and Israel joined them. But Elijah and Moses joined also. This is already suggested to us by the forty days and forty nights, and the fact that Elijah now comes to Horeb, the Mount of God, that mount where Moses appeared to meet with God. Elijah now appears to meet with God. Is it seemingly white under those circumstances in which we found Moses.

    When the Lord appeared to Moses and said, Well, this nation is unworthy. I will destroy it and I will make a new nation and I will set you in the midst of that nation and my purposes will be fulfilled in it and in you. Elijah, maybe with these things in mind, returns to Horeb, the nation in ruins, but he alone seemingly standing, and with him at the center there, possibly to compel God to strike out afresh, gathering for himself a new people through whom he shall bring about his purposes. Elijah, the nation Israel, Elijah, Moses also. Isn’t the parallel between Elijah and Moses apparent all the more? For you will recall that story that appears in Exodus chapter 33, where Moses has made the request of God, I would want to see your glory.

    The response of the Lord is no man can see my glory and live, but this I will do for you. I will take you and I will place you in the crack in the rock and I will place my hand over you. I will pass by. You will not see the fullness of my revelation, but you will see a part of that revelation. You will see a portion of the glory. My hand, however, shall be your protection. That event also paralleling what we find here, as God once more will appear to his servant in theophonic glory. Well, we have tried to establish the setting for you here, and now we move into verses nine and fall.

    God speaking to his prophet Elijah directly coming to him this confrontation between the two. Elijah is at the Mount. He has taken up residence in a cave. He is lodging there, and we have the Lord speaking to Elijah saying to him, What are you doing here? He liked.

    Well, isn’t it obvious why I’m here? Why do you have to ask? So the question of the Lord divides things for us, for you see, they will be one level for the story, insofar as it is viewed from the vantage point of Elijah. And there will be another level for the story, insofar as it is viewed from the vantage point of the Lord. Why are you here, Elijah?

    What are you doing here? Isn’t it obvious what I’m doing here, Lord? Oh, is it really obvious? Do you really understand why even in your flight, in your fear, in your terror, I by my sovereignty have brought you here? Do you understand? Can you comprehend? So we have the first response of Elijah to the initial question of the Lord. Elijah says, verse 10, I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts.

    The sons of Israel have forsaken my covenant, torn down mine altars, killed my prophets, and I alone am left. They seek my life to take it away. Israel has failed. The program for Israel has failed. The covenant has been irreparably violated. And now there is but one figure left standing. Me. I did not know where else to go. Isn’t it obvious why I am here? Circumstances as far as Israel are concerned, as far as Israel is concerned, circumstances are hopeless. I have come here because of the hopelessness of the situation for Israel. I alone am left.

    Well, that’s the response of Elijah, and now comes the command. But though you see there has been this retreat, and that under the sovereign eye of the Lord, the command now comes for an advance. Go forth, says the Lord. The command, verse 11. Stand on the mountain before me.

    This command reverses the retreat, Even though Elijah may not be able to appreciate it, he may not be able to understand it. And this command redirects the Prophet’s attention away from the failure of Israel and towards the Lord himself and his presence and the power that belongs to him. The command then constitutes a reversal of direction. Though Elijah may not understand that he may not comprehend it, there is a reversal of direction for him. Go, it’s a short walk to the entrance of the cave. While he is making his way to the entrance of the cave, behold, the Lord passes by. Manifestation of God himself. And this is, after all, what Elijah fails to comprehend, does not quite understand. You see, the objective of all of these workings by God, the objective of his labors on behalf of Israel, on behalf of humanity, is a theophany, is an appearance of him before his people, where his people will be privileged to see him and live.

    Blessed are the pure in heart For they shall see God Do you realize where you are headed? Do you understand where you’re going? Do you know the purpose of life? In the end the land of Israel will be left behind. In the end, all of the hopes and aspirations with regard to that kind of administration, an administration of the earth, purely for parenthood, which will be left behind, the purpose of life, your objective, is to see God. What Elijah witnesses is your hope. So the theophany comes, the appearance of God.

    He’s passing by Read all of the drama out of that, you will. That’s what you’re supposed to do. When you read this passage, you’re supposed to be moved by the wind. That’s the purpose of the text. So mighty a wind that the rocks themselves are split. The Lord is passing by. The earth quakes. Feel it tremble. The Lord is passing by. And this fire comes. What kind of fire might it be? But the ultimate fire that comes forth from the presence of God, meant for purification, demonstration of His presence, an affirmation of His holiness. The Lord is passing by.

    But please, Don’t identify your God, as do the pagans, and as might be the habit even within Israel. Don’t identify your God, you see, with the mighty wind, an aspect of creation, the force of nature. Don’t confuse him with the earthquake, and don’t mix him up with the fire. attached to the revelations that come to the people of God in the Old Testament.

    Over against them beyond, there is what is described in that twelfth verse in a variety of ways, the consummate approach of God, the unmistakable presence so that Elijah, as he approaches the opening of the cave, takes his mantle and wraps it around his face.

    There have been various interpretations of that latter part of the 12th verse. I have given you some of them. And I know that we can become very much moved by the traditional interpretation of the still small voice. I realize its power because I wasn’t only weaned on King James Version of the Bible, I was weaned on Mendelssohn’s Elijah. And that certainly is one of the most powerful points in that grand, if not grandest, oratorio.

    But whether it’s the still, small voice, or whether it’s the sound of a gentle blowing, or if it is, as Narrative Klein suggests, the tumultuous voice of the Lord, what is apparent is what comes is the oracular presence of God. It is the Word! The Word of God comes! that by which God makes himself known ultimately and fully. It is the Word, and the glory of God is associated with the Word. He is present in his voice, whether it’s a loud voice or a soft voice. He is present in his voice, the Word of the Lord. his presence with that word, and that being the ultimate revelation of himself. He making known his word in its eschatological sense, is he making known himself in the ultimate sense for his people.

    So as Elijah approaches the opening of that cave, it’s more than he can understand, it’s more than he can comprehend, it is more than he realizes. Even as the appearance of the glory, that partial glory to Moses was more than Moses could comprehend and understand. So it is then that not only Moses in the presence of God is veiled, Elijah is veiled. And thus they together are a joint testimony to the veiled character that yet remains over the Older Testament. Those who would hang on to that Older Testament When in fact, the new is breaking in.

    The testimony to the fact that Elijah doesn’t understand is that his response is the same when you come to the second inquiry of the Lord. The Lord asks him once more in verse 13. What are you doing here, Elijah? Elijah seemingly hasn’t moved. Same words verbatim. Says the same thing, as if I didn’t tell you once, Lord. Let me tell you again. Maybe you didn’t understand.

    No, Elijah, it’s you who hasn’t understood. The ultimate hope of the people of God is to appear before Him. and the ultimate expectation of the people of God is to have God reveal to them in such a way that they may behold him without the veil without the veil without the mantle around the face well the thing sort of goes in cycle now. The question comes, the response by Elijah is given, it is identical. Once more the Lord now gives the response to Elijah beating retreat, but the Lord commanding advance, go, return on your way, do your job.

    You don’t understand, you don’t comprehend everything, you’re still held fast in this older economy, but go on your way. The purposes of the Lord will not be forfeited, even his purpose for Israel will be fulfilled. I have reserved the perfect remnant, the seven thousand for myself, and they shall persevere, they shall be redeemed.

    But in the second cycle, you see, there’s no theophany. There’s no corollary appearance of God. Why? Because, you see, the only thing that now remains, the only thing that now remains after Elijah receiving this revelation of the Word of God is for the Word of God to come as the final theophany appearance of God for his people and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory of the only begotten of the Father of grace and truth.

    With unveiled face, check it out. 2 Corinthians 3, one of the greatest chapters in all of scripture, where the administration of the new covenant will be contrasted with that of the old. And though Moses is the chief figure in that contrast, If the Apostle Paul sets himself over against Moses, Elijah is just as much in view. But note how it reads. Verse 12.

    Having there such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech. boldness in speech that exceeds even that of Moses and Elijah, the speech that was heard from the Old Testament, and are not as Moses who used to put a veil over his face that the sons of Israel might not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened, for until this very day at the reading of the Old Covenant, the same veil remains unlifted because it is removed in Christ. But to this day, wherever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart. But whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

    Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, here it comes, but we all, with unveiled face, Beholding as an Amir, the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord the Spirit. Despite the difficulties of that passage, it is clear, is it not, that the administration of the presence of God, in which he shall be the help with unveiled face has come in Jesus Christ. And that is your privilege.

    Why is it that the veil remains over the heart of Israel? Because Israel has turned into a principle of that which was a part of Moses and Elijah’s experience. They have come to the world, to the earth. They want the land and the world more than they want God.

    Now before that all becomes clear, in the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Lord himself has given us an indication of what is coming. So that when it arrives, we might understand it. So that we might live in the fullness of that revelation of himself. Now Lord, let us understand just how wonderful the revelation is. that we have received in Jesus Christ not because of a worthiness on our part not because we are righteous in ourselves but because you have kept your word and fulfilled the purpose which you have articulated from of old your intention being to bring your people so that they may behold you and abide in your presence forever. Surely by the grace of Jesus Christ we are to be called the pure in heart and as Jesus our Savior says well to us. we shall see God. O Lord, keep this goal before us, and may we live accordingly. We pray this through Christ, who is the Word, the final revelation of our God to us. that we might be saved, that we might understand your purpose and intention.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.