Learning from Judah’s Failures
1 Kings #15: an exposition of 1 Kings 14:21-15:24. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, June 7, 2015.
Intro:
Paul told the church at Corinth that the Old Testament was written for their benefit. After recounting Israel’s failure in the wilderness he said, “with most of them God was not pleased…these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.” The message of Paul then and now is, “Learn from Israel’s mistakes!” Don’t travel down that same path. Part of the beauty of the Scriptures is that they are so honest. The men and women of Scripture are just that – men and women – frail children of dust. Some are virtuous. Others are vile. Most are a mixture of both. We are to learn from saints and sinners alike. Times change. Conditions differ but the underlying human condition does not change. The same issues are in play. It would be foolish to ignore their fate.
David was a man after God’s own heart yet David sinned grievously.
Solomon was graced with great wisdom but he acted the fool.
Rehoboam acted in arrogance and the kingdom was split.
Jeroboam trusted in himself rather than the promise of God and was destroyed.
Learn from them. What were their problem areas? What issues led to their downfall? How can we avoid their fate? When we read Old Testament narratives these are the questions that should inform our reading. These are the things we should ask ourselves. Our text this evening is found in the 14th and 15th chapters of 1 Kings. As we consider three of the kings of Judah I want us to learn some things about faithfulness.
Text: 1 Kings 14:21-15:24
As we work our way through this text I want us to see that…
Thesis: The reign of these three kings of Judah teach us some valuable lessons about faithfulness in faithless times.
The biblical writer has been focusing on the Northern kingdom.
We’ve witnessed the downfall of Jeroboam.
He was told by the prophet – God is going to tear the kingdom from Solomon and you will be given the lion’s share. 10 tribes will come to you only 1 will remain in the South. Now if you walk according the ways of David, if you will be faithful to God and keep His commands He, God, will establish you. He promptly makes a couple of golden calves and places on in Dan the other at Bethel and sets up a rival religious system. Fearing that common worship would lead to a reunification of the people, Jeroboam devised a scheme to solidify his power. This was an act of rebellion against God and thus Jeroboam was punished. As Israel’s first king he ensured the nation’s destruction. The prophecy against Jeroboam and his false religious system hung over the head of Israel for the next 180 years until its destruction.
Now the writer turns our attention back to Rehoboam and the Southern kingdom. 1 Kings 14:21 might as well read, “Meanwhile back at the ranch…”
14:21 – takes us back to Judah and what had been going on there while all of this other had been happening in Israel.
As we get back to Judah we discover things aren’t any better there than they were in Israel!
The focus of the writer on Israel was the king’s false worship.
Guess what we find in Judah?
There are no golden calves but idol worship is commonplace.
As we consider the reign of Rehoboam we learn that…
- A thin veneer of orthodox faith fails to cover a blasphemous heart and proves disastrous. (14:21-31)
- Even in the face of sin and corruption God graciously remains faithful to His promise. (15:1-8)
- It is possible to live righteously and remain faithful even if not perfectly. (15:9-24)
Conclusion:
A couple of things quickly:
From this last episode – circumstantial success and covenantal fail can exist side-by-side.
It was good politics but poor obedience.
Just because you succeed does not make it right.
We are not pragmatists.
But most importantly we learn you can be faithful in faithless times.
Purity of worship can be protected and preserved.
Times of hope and reform can appear even with society and culture plummeting to disaster.
We would do well to learn these valuable lessons from Judah’s less than stellar-performing kings.