WE WILL REAP WHAT WE SOW

PROCLAMATION

“Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah.  He attacked him in front of the people, assassinated him and succeeded him as king.”  2 Kings 15:10 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

After King Jehoash died, his son Jeroboam succeeded him as king of Israel in Samaria.  Jeroboam did evil in the eyes of The Lord. (2 Kings 14:23-24)  When Jeroboam died, his son Zechariah succeeded him as king and he also did evil in the eyes of The Lord. (2 Kings 15:8-9)  Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah.  He attacked him in front of the people, assassinated him and succeeded him as king.  This began a series of kings that did evil in the eyes of The Lord and were killed by their successor.  Menahem son of Gadi attacked Shallum, assassinated him and became king. (2 Kings 15:14)  When Menahem died, his son Pekahiah succeeded him as king. (2 Kings 15:22)  Pekah, one of the chief officers of Pekahiah, conspired against him, assassinated him and became king. (2 Kings 15:25)  Then Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah, attacked and assassinated him and became king. (2 Kings 15:30)

APPLICATION

These kings killed the king, in order to become king, and they were themselves killed by someone else who wanted to be king.  It is not good to put down others in order to get ahead.  As we sow, so shall we also reap. (Job 4:8 and Galatians 6:7)  That which we do to others, sooner or later it will be done to us.  But if we sow righteousness, we will reap blessings from The Lord. (Hosea 10:12)  Remember, the golden rule says that we should do unto others as we would have them to do unto us. (Matthew 7:12)

THE BATTLE THAT WE FIGHT WITHIN

PROCLAMATION

“They conspired against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish, but they sent men after him to Lachish and killed him there.”  2 Kings 14:19 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

Amaziah son of Joash and king of Judah initially did that which was right in the eyes of The Lord. (2 Kings 14:1-4)  After he was firmly established as the king, he executed all of the officials who had murdered his father King Joash. (2 Kings 14:5)  Then he sent word to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel with a challenge: “Come, let us face each other in battle.”  In the civil war that followed, Judah was routed by Israel.  Amaziah was captured, the wall of Jerusalem was torn down, all of the gold, silver, and treasuries of the temple and the royal palace were taken, and some of the people were taken as hostages. (2 Kings 14:13-14)  After Jehoash king of Israel died, Amaziah escaped and fled to Lachish.  But his own men conspired against him and went after him.  They found him and they killed him in Lachish. Then they brought his body back to Jerusalem and buried him with his ancestors. (2 Kings 14:17-20)

APPLICATION

After the division of Israel into the northern and southern kingdoms, there were periods when they were at war with each other.  This civil war lasted for years.  Men will kill each other for ideological differences, greed, jealousy, envy, or out of anger for a perceived wrong which was done.  Today, not only do we see civil wars within countries, some of us experience civil wars within ourselves.  Like the apostle Paul, the good that we would do is sabotaged by our sinful human nature. (Romans 7:19)  The battle between good and evil within us is evidenced by our inconsistent behavior, at times we act like a child of God and other times we don’t.  Our behavior has an effect on the people and the world around us.  Let us pray for God’s help so that we do not harm others or cause them to stumble and fall into sin.

GOD IS GRACIOUS BUT THE PEOPLE STILL SIN

PROCLAMATION

“The Lord provided a deliverer for Israel, and they escaped from the power of Aram.  So the Israelites lived in their own homes as they had before.  But they did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam …”  2 Kings 13:5-6 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

While Joash son of Ahaziah was king of Judah, the southern kingdom, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel, the northern kingdom.  Joash did that which was right in the eyes of The Lord but Jehoahaz did evil in the eyes of The Lord following the sins of Jeroboam and worshiping the golden calves. (2 Kings 13:1-2)  This caused The Lord to be angry with Israel and He allowed them to be attacked and captured by Hazael king of Aram. (2 Kings 13:3)  King Hazael severely oppressed Israel to the point where King Jehoahaz called on The Lord God for help. (2 Kings 13:4)  God heard his prayer and He graciously sent a deliverer for Israel and freed them from the king of Aram.  However, after they were freed and returned to their homes, they continued to worship the golden calves created by Jeroboam.

APPLICATION

Frequently we find ourselves in trouble because of our own sinful choices and we turn to The Lord God for His help.  We make promises to Him while we are in the midst of our troubles saying, “ Lord, if you will just get me out of this, I will do such and such.”  He hears our plea and answers our prayers, but all too often we are ungrateful and quickly return to our sinful ways instead of thanking Him and following Him.  We forget all about the promises that we made to Him.  That is why He said, “If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven …” (2 Chronicles 7:14)  Most of us can easily identify the sins of others but we don’t seem to see our own sins. (Matthew 7:3 and Luke 6:41)  We all need to recognize that we have fallen short (Romans 3:23) and ask for forgiveness.  And, we need to thank Him for getting us through the storm, as well as do a better job of following Him and obeying His word.

GIVE FOR THE UPKEEP OF THE TEMPLE

PROCLAMATION

“Let every priest receive the money from one of the treasurers, then use it to repair whatever damage is found in the temple.”  2 Kings 12:5 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

When Joash (Jehoash) became king of Israel, he did that which was right in the eyes of The Lord. (2 Kings 12:2)  He gathered all the priests together and requested that all of the money which was collected from the people be used to repair the temple. (2 Kings 12:4-5)  However, after twenty-three years no significant repair work had been done.  Then he ordered the priests to bring all of the money which was collected to him and he would see that it got to the workmen who were to repair the temple. (2 Kings 12:6-12) 

APPLICATION

All too often people complain about giving money to the church out of concern that all of their money is going to the preacher.  While some of the money which is collected does go to the man of God, the majority of the money goes to pay the bills for services which are necessary in order to keep the temple operational like the mortgage, utilities, cleaning, repairs, and upkeep.  We should not let the temple fall into disrepair.  Just like it costs to keep our homes operational, it costs to keep the church house operational.  There are also costs associated with the various outreach missions of the church.  The Lord devised a fair and equitable system whereby the members could support the financial obligations of the church by giving one tenth of all their increase. (Genesis 28:22 and Numbers 18:26)  There is an overflow of blessings in store for all believers that tithe. (Malachi 3:8-10)

GOD'S PROTECTION

PROCLAMATION

“When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family.  But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered.  She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah; so he was not killed.”  2 Kings 11:1-2 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

After Jehu killed Joram king of Israel, he had his men to pursue Ahaziah king of Judah in order to kill him.  Ahaziah was wounded during the pursuit but he was able to escape and later died from his wounds. (2 Kings 9:27)  When his mother learned of his death she went on a rampage and attempted to kill the entire royal family.  Joash was not killed because his aunt Jehosheba kid him from Athaliah.

APPLICATION

The Lord God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to unfold.  He protects us from hurt, harm, and dangers both seen and unseen.  There are times when He uses people in our lives to accomplish his purpose.  Our actions can be redirected by the influence of the people in our lives.  They may not be an angel 24/7 but God can us them for our benefit.  We need to thank God for the people in our lives, those that are a blessing to us and those that teach us a lesson.

GOD CAN USE ANYONE TO DO HIS WORK

PROCLAMATION

“So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel.  However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit, the worship of golden calves at Bethel and Dan.”  2 Kings 10:28-29 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

After the prophet had anointed him king of Israel and told him that The Lord wanted him to destroy all in the house of Ahab, (2 Kings 9:1-8) Jehu got into his chariot and rode to Jezreel. (2 Kings 9:16)  When he got there, he killed Joram, king of Israel, (2 Kings 9:22-24) and Ahaziah, king of Judah. (2 Kings 9:27)  He also had Jezebel killed. (2 Kings 9:30-33)  Jehu had the seventy sons of Ahab killed, (2 Kings 10:6-8) then he killed everyone in Jezreel (2 Kings 10:11) and all of the relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah (2 Kings 10:12-14) and all the relatives of Ahab in Samaria. (2 Kings 10:17)  After that he claimed that he was going to offer a great sacrifice to Baal and summoned all of the prophets of Baal his servants and his priests, then he ordered his guards to kill all of them. (2 Kings 10:18-25)  Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel and he demolished the temple of Baal. (2 Kings 10:26-28)  However, even though Jehu was anointed king, he was not a believer and he still worshiped the golden calves.

APPLICATION

The Lord God can use anyone, believer or non-believer, to do the work that He wants done.  Just because He uses a non-believer to accomplish His purpose does not mean that the non-believer will be saved.  The Lord may even reward the non-believer for doing His work, (2 Kings 10:30-31) but that does not confer salvation onto him.  There is only one way to salvation and that is through belief in Jesus, The Christ. (John 3:16, John 14:6, and Acts 4:12)

THE ANOINTED MAN OF GOD

PROCLAMATION

“So the young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead.  When he arrived, he found the army officers sitting together. ‘I have a message for you, commander,’ he said. … Jehu got up and went into the house.  Then the prophet poured the oil on Jehu’s head and declared, ‘This is what The Lord, The God of Israel, says: I anoint you king over The Lord’s people Israel.’”  2 Kings 9:4-6 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

Elisha summoned one of the young men from the company of prophets that were with him and told him to take a flask of oil and go to Ramoth Gilead and anoint Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Israel. (2 Kings 9:1-3)  The young prophet did as Elisha had told him to do.  Jehu was to destroy the house of Ahab for all of the evil he had done in the eyes of The Lord.

APPLICATION

Not every believer is called by The Lord God to preach the gospel.  However, every believer has a purpose and has a work to do for The Lord.  Some are anointed, some are called, and some are assigned specific tasks to perform.  The Lord God can use an ordinary man to do extraordinary things.  Whoever He calls He also equips to handle the task.  If you are not sure of your God given purpose, then you need to pray and ask Him to reveal it to you.  You may want to also consult with your pastor for assistance.  None of us were born by accident, we are all part of God’s plan with a purpose to fulfill.  There is kingdom building work for all of us to do.