WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.960 What do we do with the darkness of a sinful and fallen world? 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:12.120 ! It's often said today that we live in unprecedented times. 00:00:12.120 --> 00:00:19.359 ! The perception is that the rising tide is that of darkness and that the world is getting worse. 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:27.920 We feel political instability. We feel economic stress. We look around the world and we see war and famine and suffering. 00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:37.359 And here in the U.S. we have a sense that our society is growing meaner, more divided, more stressed. 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:48.079 Now, I don't know if this is true. I've lived long enough, and some of you have lived longer than me, to know that the world has ups and downs. 00:00:48.079 --> 00:00:53.600 In the 70s, there was an economic downturn and potential of nuclear war with Russia. 00:00:53.600 --> 00:01:01.600 In 2001, there was 9-11, and it felt like the world was an unsafe place. 00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:05.920 In 2008, we had an economic crisis. In 2020, we had a global pandemic. 00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:11.120 So, we've certainly not necessarily gotten into something new and different. 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:19.200 Maybe its forms are a little different, but certainly the tide continues to come in and out. 00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:26.640 But the darkness still seems to be there. And we don't like that because we want things to be getting better. 00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:34.320 We have this hope that there is… that we live in a world that there is progress, that the trajectory is better and better. 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:40.960 But careful view of history might say that this is not necessarily true. Certainly, we have gotten better. 00:01:40.959 --> 00:01:50.719 I'm really thankful for indoor plumbing, refrigeration, and antibiotics. You know, these are great progresses that didn't exist years ago. 00:01:52.399 --> 00:02:02.560 But the world has continued in darkness. Humans continue to be selfish. They continue to start wars and to hurt one another. 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:07.120 They continue to fight for their own goodness and gain. 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:16.159 And friends, it's not just in the world that we live in we feel this, but in the community of the church as well. 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:23.840 We feel these ebbs and flows. At one level, the church is bigger and more global than it's ever been. 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:29.599 The church has advanced in all sorts of places, and the gospel is being heard across the world. 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:43.599 And yet we also see the worst of the church, don't we? Sexual abuse, financial misconduct, doctrinal compromise. 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:57.840 How much we feel at times like the church broadly is the proverbial frog in the kettle, becoming more and more like our culture rather than being distinctive as God's people. 00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:07.840 So, how do we manage this? How do we think about living with God in light of this? 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:21.099 Well, I believe that our passage today will address this. We're in 2 Chronicles. We'll be in chapter 21 and a little bit in 22 as we look at the stories of the next kings. 00:03:21.099 --> 00:03:27.740 And as you turn there, if you want to turn there in your Bible, it's page 347, 2 Chronicles 21. 00:03:27.740 --> 00:03:35.000 But remember the context that Chronicles was written not during the time of the kings of Israel, but after it, right? 00:03:35.099 --> 00:03:44.219 After, in fact, the exile of Israel when Jerusalem was destroyed and the people were taken away, and then the return from exile. 00:03:44.219 --> 00:03:56.439 And Chronicles was written to those people who had come back, and they knew about God's judgment on the sin of Israel in the exile. 00:03:56.860 --> 00:04:01.439 God had seen that His people had forsaken Him. 00:04:01.780 --> 00:04:03.759 They had not trusted Him politically. 00:04:04.079 --> 00:04:07.620 They had not worshipped Him as He called them to. 00:04:07.620 --> 00:04:15.480 They did not. They worshipped other gods instead, and they failed to show the kingdom ethic that God had called them to live. 00:04:15.659 --> 00:04:19.920 And for all these reasons, God said, enough, I'm going to send you into exile. 00:04:20.360 --> 00:04:25.660 And yet He brought them back, and now the people then are wondering, what now? 00:04:26.340 --> 00:04:30.500 Now we live in a world that seems much less glorious than the kingdom before. 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:34.180 We're not a kingdom now. We're a vassal state of Persia. 00:04:34.180 --> 00:04:41.079 We don't have a king on a throne. We are led by rulers and priests, but we don't have independence. 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:47.740 How can they be God's kingdom in that world? 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:54.319 How can they live as God's people in the face of such disappointment and such uncertainty? 00:04:54.319 --> 00:05:05.360 The Chronicle writes in the chapters we're going to look at today about a time of great darkness in the kingdom before the exile. 00:05:05.860 --> 00:05:12.500 And He gives answers to that post-exilic community and to us as how we live. 00:05:12.659 --> 00:05:16.639 So let's pray together and ask God for help as we look at His Word this morning. 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:17.959 Let's pray together. 00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:22.620 Lord, we thank You for this morning. We thank You for Your Word. 00:05:23.060 --> 00:05:28.560 And Lord, we thank You that Your Spirit, Your Spirit that has inspired this Word to be written down, 00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:31.000 that has preserved Your Word through the centuries, 00:05:31.639 --> 00:05:39.859 that Lord, now Your Spirit that now illumines Your Word, makes it clear to us so that we might understand it. 00:05:39.939 --> 00:05:43.240 Lord, we pray for Your help this morning. 00:05:43.240 --> 00:05:49.480 I pray that I might speak clearly. I pray that Your Word would speak to us by Your Spirit. 00:05:50.500 --> 00:05:55.000 And Lord, that You would turn our hearts to You again this morning. 00:05:55.160 --> 00:05:57.680 We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:03.759 So as we read this story, it's not a particularly uplifting one. 00:06:03.879 --> 00:06:05.460 We're going to look at three things. 00:06:05.560 --> 00:06:11.139 We will see the darkness of sin, the consequences of sin, and then the remedy for sin. 00:06:11.139 --> 00:06:16.899 So there's your outline if you're an outline taker, the darkness of sin, the consequences of sin, and the remedy of sin. 00:06:16.979 --> 00:06:21.879 And rather than reading through the whole story at once, I'm going to read it in chunks as we go through it. 00:06:22.019 --> 00:06:28.219 So first, we're going to look at the first six verses and also verse 11 of chapter 21. 00:06:28.379 --> 00:06:29.759 Let's read those together. 00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:33.399 This is the story of Jehoram. 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:36.560 So this is what God's Word says. 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:39.079 2 Chronicles 21, verse 1. 00:06:39.079 --> 00:07:02.819 All these were the sons of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. 00:07:02.819 --> 00:07:09.740 Their father gave them great gifts of silver and gold and valuable possessions together with fortified cities in Judah. 00:07:10.300 --> 00:07:14.199 But he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn. 00:07:15.219 --> 00:07:23.639 When Jehoram had ascended the throne of his father and was established, he killed all his brothers with the sword and also some of the princes of Israel. 00:07:24.399 --> 00:07:30.639 Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:39.779 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. 00:07:40.379 --> 00:07:44.120 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:46.579 And then skipping down to verse 11. 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:57.599 Moreover, he made high places in the hill country of Judah and led the inhabitants of Jerusalem into whoredom and made Judah go astray. 00:07:57.600 --> 00:08:06.020 Well, here's a king that we're not going to try to emulate, are we? 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:12.379 The sins of Jehoram were clear from the very start. 00:08:12.379 --> 00:08:29.759 As he ascended to the throne as one of the many sons of his father Jehoshaphat, he was given the special task of being the king over the whole nation of Israel. 00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:34.460 Now, remember, historically, there's the southern nation and the northern nation. 00:08:34.580 --> 00:08:38.179 And the southern nation is sometimes called Judah, and sometimes it's called Israel. 00:08:38.179 --> 00:08:44.839 The northern part is always called Israel, and we have to figure out when Israel means the northern kingdom and when it means everybody. 00:08:45.099 --> 00:08:49.219 But, so he was the king over in Jerusalem ruling over it. 00:08:49.319 --> 00:08:57.059 And he looked at his brothers, the ones that God had blessed through his father with riches and wealth and fortified cities. 00:08:57.500 --> 00:09:01.679 There was seemingly a sense of God's presence with them or blessing on them. 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:04.000 And he saw them only as rivals. 00:09:04.859 --> 00:09:12.479 And following in the footsteps of the world around him, in insecurity and fear, he murdered them. 00:09:13.139 --> 00:09:15.439 He wiped them all out. 00:09:17.339 --> 00:09:20.679 And though this tactic never seems to work throughout history, 00:09:21.139 --> 00:09:27.059 killing off all your rivals seems to be a common theme of those who are insecure 00:09:27.059 --> 00:09:30.659 and those who are fearful when they take the throne. 00:09:31.939 --> 00:09:36.419 And not only did he do that, but what we read in verse 11, 00:09:36.419 --> 00:09:39.939 he also forsook the true worship of God. 00:09:40.179 --> 00:09:42.459 He rebuilt the high places. 00:09:43.019 --> 00:09:47.539 Now, in Canaanite religion, the high places were places where people would go up, 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:53.039 literally up mountains, hills, whatever, to find places of worship, 00:09:53.179 --> 00:09:56.559 to worship the Canaanite gods who lived in the area. 00:09:57.059 --> 00:10:01.859 Israel was surrounded by people that worshipped pantheons of gods. 00:10:02.859 --> 00:10:05.399 But God had called Israel to be unique. 00:10:05.539 --> 00:10:09.419 Remember the first commandment that God gave to Moses. 00:10:10.179 --> 00:10:13.059 You shall have no other gods before me. 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:20.359 And yet here is the king of God's people building places to worship other gods. 00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:23.419 Why would he do this? 00:10:23.419 --> 00:10:26.740 Well, the story goes on and it says, 00:10:27.059 --> 00:10:30.459 because he walked in the ways of the house of Ahab. 00:10:30.819 --> 00:10:33.539 Now, if you've been here, you're starting to pick up on this. 00:10:33.620 --> 00:10:36.559 The northern kingdom during this time was ruled by a guy named Ahab, 00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:38.399 who was the worst of the worst. 00:10:38.399 --> 00:10:42.559 In all ways. 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:50.579 And Jehoram's father, in an attempt to make peace with this unrighteous ruler, 00:10:51.159 --> 00:10:55.240 said, let's make an alliance and let me marry my son to your daughter. 00:10:55.419 --> 00:10:59.500 So Jehoram's wife was the daughter of Ahab. 00:10:59.500 --> 00:11:06.740 So they were covenanted together in marriage in a unique way. 00:11:08.259 --> 00:11:09.539 And do you know what Jehoram did? 00:11:10.419 --> 00:11:13.559 He followed his wife in worshiping her gods. 00:11:14.019 --> 00:11:17.840 For her mother was Jezebel, who worshipped Baal. 00:11:18.700 --> 00:11:22.240 And so through this, all of the Canaanite worship, 00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:26.240 all of the worship of other gods in the area were brought in. 00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:31.279 Now, the rite of Chronicles contrasts the house of David, 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:35.100 that which is, though imperfectly, faithful in worship, 00:11:35.259 --> 00:11:37.620 trusting in politics, obedient to God's law, 00:11:37.779 --> 00:11:42.620 with the house of Ahab, idolatrous, unfaithful, self-reliant, disobedient. 00:11:45.419 --> 00:11:49.120 Verse 11 says, he led them into a whoredom. 00:11:49.799 --> 00:11:51.740 Why does he use this word? 00:11:51.740 --> 00:11:58.139 Well, because the whole covenant relationship between God and his people 00:11:58.139 --> 00:12:03.740 was viewed through one lens as like a marriage. 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:08.500 It was a covenant between two people committed wholly to one another. 00:12:09.799 --> 00:12:15.220 And yet Jehoram broke that covenant by going to worship these other gods. 00:12:15.320 --> 00:12:17.539 And you know, you should know, if you don't know this, 00:12:17.720 --> 00:12:20.200 the Old Testament picks up this theme over and over again, 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:26.520 how adultery is…language is used for the unfaithful worship 00:12:26.520 --> 00:12:32.120 or turning to worship other gods, the idolatry of the people of God. 00:12:32.960 --> 00:12:38.580 And so Jehoram violated the marriage of God and his people, 00:12:38.940 --> 00:12:40.620 and the betrayal was profound. 00:12:41.620 --> 00:12:46.120 He was like a man who would bring home prostitutes into his own home 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:48.519 and parade them in front of his wife and family. 00:12:51.240 --> 00:12:54.279 In this era of Judah, the sin was great. 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:59.259 And any righteous person would ask, how do we live in such times? 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:02.919 Now, before we go on and continue to answer that question, 00:13:03.139 --> 00:13:07.060 we need to think about the question, how do we learn from this account? 00:13:07.059 --> 00:13:12.019 Because our instinct often in the first hand is to look at this and to say, 00:13:12.579 --> 00:13:14.239 Jehoram was terrible. 00:13:14.599 --> 00:13:15.959 He was the worst. 00:13:16.239 --> 00:13:19.659 I can't believe that anyone would do something like that. 00:13:20.599 --> 00:13:23.500 But friends, this is not how we are to read our Bible. 00:13:23.500 --> 00:13:29.220 Because we are reminded again and again by the Bible that, 00:13:29.659 --> 00:13:31.200 but for the grace of God, 00:13:31.559 --> 00:13:39.159 our hearts have the same seed of sin in it that was in Jehoram. 00:13:40.539 --> 00:13:44.799 And we would follow in his footsteps apart from God's grace. 00:13:45.899 --> 00:13:47.480 Okay, so let me explore that a little. 00:13:47.740 --> 00:13:48.100 Really? 00:13:48.580 --> 00:13:50.799 I haven't murdered anyone today. 00:13:51.019 --> 00:13:51.539 Have you? 00:13:51.539 --> 00:13:58.379 I haven't wiped out, you know, gone in and gone postal and shot up my co-workers today. 00:13:59.259 --> 00:14:02.399 Is that really what you mean? 00:14:02.620 --> 00:14:04.000 No, I don't think so. 00:14:04.980 --> 00:14:06.699 But let me ask you this. 00:14:07.379 --> 00:14:16.059 Has your heart felt the same fear and the same insecurity and the same threat for your position? 00:14:16.719 --> 00:14:19.500 Have you ever felt jealous of your sibling 00:14:19.500 --> 00:14:25.860 who seems to get preferential treatment from your parents? 00:14:26.659 --> 00:14:29.279 Have you ever felt jealous? 00:14:30.279 --> 00:14:33.320 Or have you ever criticized with your words 00:14:33.320 --> 00:14:36.259 one of your spouse's colleagues 00:14:36.259 --> 00:14:38.259 because they're so dang impressive 00:14:38.259 --> 00:14:40.340 that you feel insecure around them? 00:14:40.340 --> 00:14:42.899 So you have to find the thing that you can critique 00:14:42.899 --> 00:14:46.100 and try to tear them down with your words. 00:14:49.960 --> 00:14:54.280 Have you ever felt so jealous of the person in your department 00:14:54.280 --> 00:14:56.960 who is doing so well 00:14:56.960 --> 00:15:01.560 that you feel the need to speak of their weaknesses and their failures 00:15:01.559 --> 00:15:04.779 to make yourself look better before others? 00:15:07.419 --> 00:15:08.839 Remember the words of Jesus. 00:15:09.179 --> 00:15:10.039 You've heard it said, 00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:13.179 that it was said to those of old, 00:15:13.299 --> 00:15:14.379 you shall not murder, 00:15:14.619 --> 00:15:16.939 and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. 00:15:17.479 --> 00:15:20.019 This is in Matthew 5, 21, 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:21.559 in the Sermon on the Mount. 00:15:21.559 --> 00:15:24.879 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:26.179 will be liable to judgment. 00:15:26.699 --> 00:15:29.519 Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council. 00:15:29.879 --> 00:15:30.559 And whoever says, 00:15:30.739 --> 00:15:31.319 you fool, 00:15:31.419 --> 00:15:33.719 will be liable to the hell of fire. 00:15:34.959 --> 00:15:35.879 You see, friends, 00:15:35.959 --> 00:15:37.779 we may not murder our rivals 00:15:37.779 --> 00:15:39.779 to the throne that we sit on, 00:15:40.039 --> 00:15:42.439 but how often do we use our words 00:15:42.439 --> 00:15:44.879 out of our fear and insecurity 00:15:44.879 --> 00:15:45.979 to attack others, 00:15:46.099 --> 00:15:47.239 to build ourselves up? 00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:47.680 Okay. 00:15:49.700 --> 00:15:51.100 And maybe you're so good, 00:15:51.440 --> 00:15:52.560 you don't do that either. 00:15:55.180 --> 00:15:56.080 And you think, 00:15:56.320 --> 00:15:57.659 I don't bow down to idols. 00:15:57.860 --> 00:15:59.919 I don't have any temples in my house. 00:16:00.019 --> 00:16:03.120 I don't go up to high places to worship God. 00:16:05.680 --> 00:16:08.379 Tim Keller says that an idol, 00:16:09.259 --> 00:16:11.200 this is in the book Counterfeit Gods, 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:14.560 an idol is anything more important to you than God. 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:19.439 Anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God. 00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:21.779 Anything you seek to give, 00:16:22.379 --> 00:16:28.359 you seek to give you what only God can give. 00:16:30.919 --> 00:16:33.379 Things that we love more than God. 00:16:34.539 --> 00:16:35.159 And friends, 00:16:35.239 --> 00:16:36.459 we need to be aware that 00:16:36.459 --> 00:16:39.219 we might make idols out of bad things. 00:16:39.220 --> 00:16:41.360 So we become alcoholics 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:42.879 or we go on, 00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:44.860 we're unfaithful sexually, 00:16:45.100 --> 00:16:45.720 or, you know, 00:16:45.800 --> 00:16:48.279 we could think about those kinds of idols easily. 00:16:48.700 --> 00:16:51.820 But what about the idols of the good things in our lives 00:16:51.820 --> 00:16:52.960 that we make ultimate? 00:16:54.600 --> 00:16:54.899 Right? 00:16:55.399 --> 00:16:57.860 When patriotism becomes fanaticism, 00:16:58.320 --> 00:17:01.420 when career success becomes workaholism, 00:17:01.960 --> 00:17:04.819 when financial stability becomes greed, 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:08.339 when romantic love becomes lust, 00:17:08.339 --> 00:17:12.079 and when we make these things our idols, 00:17:12.259 --> 00:17:13.379 they twist us, 00:17:13.639 --> 00:17:15.980 and they twist the way that we live 00:17:15.980 --> 00:17:17.379 and how we relate to others, 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:18.679 and most importantly, 00:17:18.819 --> 00:17:20.399 how we relate to God. 00:17:20.539 --> 00:17:23.500 Because we have made them the functional God 00:17:23.500 --> 00:17:25.939 to whom we look for salvation, 00:17:26.699 --> 00:17:29.299 for justifying our lives, 00:17:29.399 --> 00:17:30.699 for meaning and purpose, 00:17:31.059 --> 00:17:32.259 for ultimate security. 00:17:32.259 --> 00:17:34.659 The things that we ought to get from God alone, 00:17:34.779 --> 00:17:36.839 we get from these things. 00:17:38.339 --> 00:17:41.659 So, friends, 00:17:41.740 --> 00:17:42.819 we need to recognize 00:17:42.819 --> 00:17:45.000 that Jehoram is not so different than us, 00:17:45.679 --> 00:17:48.119 that our hearts are prone to wander 00:17:48.119 --> 00:17:50.019 in similar ways, 00:17:50.359 --> 00:17:52.480 and that the darkness of sin 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:55.799 is right there in our own hearts 00:17:55.799 --> 00:17:58.179 as well as in the hearts of others. 00:17:58.180 --> 00:18:01.880 The passage goes on, 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:04.259 and it talks about not only that sin is dark, 00:18:04.740 --> 00:18:06.440 but that it has consequences. 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:09.380 So, as we keep moving on, 00:18:09.420 --> 00:18:10.340 the consequences of sin, 00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:12.000 we're going to look at verses 8 through 10, 00:18:12.039 --> 00:18:13.299 and then 12 through 20. 00:18:13.380 --> 00:18:15.000 So, let's read this together. 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:21.299 In his days, 00:18:21.579 --> 00:18:24.240 that is the days of Jehoram, 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:25.059 in his days, 00:18:25.240 --> 00:18:27.980 Edom revolted from the rule of Judah 00:18:27.980 --> 00:18:30.200 and set up a king of their own. 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:33.240 Then Jehoram passed over with his commanders 00:18:33.240 --> 00:18:34.200 and all his chariots, 00:18:34.339 --> 00:18:35.799 and he rose by night 00:18:35.799 --> 00:18:36.960 and struck the Edomites 00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:38.180 who had surrounded him 00:18:38.180 --> 00:18:39.519 and his chariot commanders. 00:18:39.519 --> 00:18:43.299 So, Edom revolted from the rule of Judah 00:18:43.299 --> 00:18:44.240 to this day. 00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:46.480 At that time, 00:18:46.579 --> 00:18:48.859 Libna also revolted from his rule 00:18:48.859 --> 00:18:51.119 because he had forsaken the Lord, 00:18:51.740 --> 00:18:53.200 the God of his fathers. 00:18:53.660 --> 00:18:55.279 And skipping down to verse 12. 00:18:56.500 --> 00:18:58.139 And a letter came to him 00:18:58.139 --> 00:18:59.779 from Elijah the prophet, 00:19:00.019 --> 00:19:00.359 saying, 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:01.720 Thus says the Lord, 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:03.259 the God of David your father, 00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:05.460 because you have not walked 00:19:05.460 --> 00:19:07.579 in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father 00:19:07.579 --> 00:19:08.940 or in the ways of Asa, 00:19:08.940 --> 00:19:09.980 the king of Judah, 00:19:10.120 --> 00:19:11.600 but have walked in the way 00:19:11.600 --> 00:19:13.160 of the kings of Israel 00:19:13.160 --> 00:19:14.680 and have enticed Judah 00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:16.559 and the inhabitants of Jerusalem 00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:17.500 into whoredom 00:19:17.500 --> 00:19:18.940 as the house of Ahab 00:19:18.940 --> 00:19:21.059 led Israel into whoredom. 00:19:21.220 --> 00:19:22.700 And also you have killed 00:19:22.700 --> 00:19:24.900 your brothers of your father's house 00:19:24.900 --> 00:19:26.360 who were better than yourself. 00:19:26.860 --> 00:19:27.460 Behold, 00:19:28.220 --> 00:19:30.320 the Lord will bring a great plague 00:19:30.320 --> 00:19:31.140 on your people, 00:19:31.580 --> 00:19:32.279 your children, 00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:33.440 your wives, 00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:34.720 and all your possessions. 00:19:35.120 --> 00:19:36.180 And you yourself 00:19:36.180 --> 00:19:37.559 will have a severe sickness 00:19:37.559 --> 00:19:38.440 with the disease 00:19:38.440 --> 00:19:39.299 of your bowels 00:19:39.299 --> 00:19:41.019 until your bowels come out 00:19:41.019 --> 00:19:42.240 because of the disease 00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:43.440 day by day. 00:19:44.220 --> 00:19:45.500 And the Lord stirred up 00:19:45.500 --> 00:19:46.380 against Jehoram 00:19:46.380 --> 00:19:47.840 the anger of the Philistines 00:19:47.840 --> 00:19:49.259 and the Arabians 00:19:49.259 --> 00:19:52.279 who were near the Ethiopians. 00:19:52.500 --> 00:19:54.160 And they came up against Judah 00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:55.120 and invaded it 00:19:55.120 --> 00:19:56.160 and carried away 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:57.220 all the possessions 00:19:57.220 --> 00:19:57.980 they found 00:19:57.980 --> 00:19:58.799 that belonged 00:19:58.799 --> 00:19:59.759 to the king's house 00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:01.240 and also his sons 00:20:01.240 --> 00:20:02.080 and his wives 00:20:02.080 --> 00:20:03.160 so that no son 00:20:03.160 --> 00:20:04.100 was left to him 00:20:04.100 --> 00:20:05.320 except Jehoaz, 00:20:05.660 --> 00:20:06.759 his youngest son. 00:20:06.759 --> 00:20:08.700 And after all this, 00:20:08.819 --> 00:20:09.859 the Lord struck him 00:20:09.859 --> 00:20:10.619 in his bowels 00:20:10.619 --> 00:20:12.119 with an incurable disease. 00:20:12.619 --> 00:20:13.940 In the course of time, 00:20:14.099 --> 00:20:15.440 at the end of two years, 00:20:15.539 --> 00:20:16.819 his bowels came out 00:20:16.819 --> 00:20:17.859 because of the disease 00:20:17.859 --> 00:20:18.799 and he died 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:20.119 in great agony. 00:20:20.700 --> 00:20:22.200 The people made no fire 00:20:22.200 --> 00:20:22.980 in his honor 00:20:22.980 --> 00:20:24.299 like the fires made 00:20:24.299 --> 00:20:25.039 for his fathers. 00:20:25.539 --> 00:20:27.059 He was 32 years old 00:20:27.059 --> 00:20:28.220 when he began to reign 00:20:28.220 --> 00:20:28.920 and he reigned 00:20:28.920 --> 00:20:30.079 eight years in Jerusalem 00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:31.579 and he departed 00:20:31.579 --> 00:20:33.819 with no one's regret. 00:20:33.819 --> 00:20:35.879 They buried him 00:20:35.879 --> 00:20:37.099 in the city of David, 00:20:37.359 --> 00:20:38.759 not in the tombs 00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:39.799 of the kings. 00:20:42.139 --> 00:20:43.299 So what does, 00:20:43.639 --> 00:20:44.379 what happens 00:20:44.379 --> 00:20:45.240 to Jehoram? 00:20:46.099 --> 00:20:47.619 What is the consequences 00:20:47.619 --> 00:20:49.599 of sin that come? 00:20:51.139 --> 00:20:52.639 We see this expressed 00:20:52.639 --> 00:20:53.819 in two different ways. 00:20:54.919 --> 00:20:55.960 The story tells 00:20:55.960 --> 00:20:57.259 about God's judgment, 00:20:57.899 --> 00:20:59.119 the consequences of sin 00:20:59.119 --> 00:20:59.960 in two different ways. 00:21:00.059 --> 00:21:01.359 One is a passive voice 00:21:01.359 --> 00:21:03.259 where he describes things 00:21:03.259 --> 00:21:04.039 in such a way 00:21:04.039 --> 00:21:05.899 that let the reader understand 00:21:05.899 --> 00:21:07.179 this is a condemnation 00:21:07.179 --> 00:21:08.059 of what has happened. 00:21:08.419 --> 00:21:09.319 And then there are times 00:21:09.319 --> 00:21:11.259 when the writer says explicitly, 00:21:11.639 --> 00:21:13.039 this is what God did. 00:21:13.699 --> 00:21:14.740 So passively, 00:21:14.859 --> 00:21:15.679 the chronicler says, 00:21:15.779 --> 00:21:17.159 there are a number of results 00:21:17.159 --> 00:21:18.679 from Jehoram's sin. 00:21:18.979 --> 00:21:19.859 One is, 00:21:20.959 --> 00:21:22.659 he's starting to lose his kingdom. 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:24.779 Edom was a conquered territory 00:21:24.779 --> 00:21:27.539 and they revolted against him. 00:21:27.979 --> 00:21:29.339 Libna was a town 00:21:29.339 --> 00:21:30.199 that was given 00:21:30.199 --> 00:21:31.480 to the priesthood 00:21:31.480 --> 00:21:33.819 within the confines of Israel 00:21:33.819 --> 00:21:35.279 and this town 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:36.419 also revolted. 00:21:36.500 --> 00:21:37.919 So both peoples outside 00:21:37.919 --> 00:21:39.059 that had been brought in, 00:21:39.299 --> 00:21:41.519 but also cities within Judah 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:43.419 were starting to rebel 00:21:43.419 --> 00:21:44.299 against him. 00:21:44.459 --> 00:21:45.419 And one of the things 00:21:45.419 --> 00:21:46.879 you see throughout Chronicles 00:21:46.879 --> 00:21:48.119 is that the writer is saying, 00:21:48.679 --> 00:21:52.319 when the king follows the Lord, 00:21:53.579 --> 00:21:55.500 the Lord honors him 00:21:55.500 --> 00:21:58.039 by protecting the land 00:21:58.039 --> 00:22:00.380 and expanding the kingdom. 00:22:01.339 --> 00:22:02.819 And when he doesn't, 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:04.559 there is conflict, 00:22:04.880 --> 00:22:05.799 there is strife, 00:22:06.099 --> 00:22:07.420 there is military loss, 00:22:07.619 --> 00:22:08.940 there's political loss 00:22:08.940 --> 00:22:10.200 because of it. 00:22:11.960 --> 00:22:14.200 We see in verses 16 and 17 00:22:14.200 --> 00:22:15.259 that the Philistines 00:22:15.259 --> 00:22:16.000 and the Arabians, 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:17.500 so there are multiple levels 00:22:17.500 --> 00:22:18.420 of this rebellion 00:22:18.420 --> 00:22:19.640 and attack against him, 00:22:19.640 --> 00:22:24.220 and that Jehoram's foes 00:22:24.220 --> 00:22:25.180 are triumphant. 00:22:25.360 --> 00:22:25.920 They win. 00:22:26.180 --> 00:22:27.640 They pillage the land. 00:22:27.800 --> 00:22:29.600 They take away all the wealth 00:22:29.600 --> 00:22:31.020 that Jehoram had gained, 00:22:31.300 --> 00:22:32.480 or that Jehoshaphat 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:34.360 had gained a generation before. 00:22:34.500 --> 00:22:35.800 They took it all away. 00:22:36.860 --> 00:22:38.620 And so his poverty, 00:22:39.180 --> 00:22:40.920 politically, economically, 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:44.060 were all a result 00:22:44.059 --> 00:22:46.720 of his sin. 00:22:48.159 --> 00:22:50.019 And when you read verse 20, 00:22:50.500 --> 00:22:51.099 nobody laughed. 00:22:51.179 --> 00:22:52.240 I thought someone would laugh. 00:22:53.399 --> 00:22:55.099 To no one's regret 00:22:55.099 --> 00:22:56.059 did he die. 00:22:56.839 --> 00:22:58.659 No one missed this guy 00:22:58.659 --> 00:23:00.299 after he was gone. 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:03.200 Other kings are honored. 00:23:03.480 --> 00:23:05.099 They're given funeral pyres. 00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:07.299 They are buried with David 00:23:07.299 --> 00:23:08.539 and the forefathers 00:23:08.539 --> 00:23:09.960 in a place of honor. 00:23:10.700 --> 00:23:12.220 Jehoram got none of this. 00:23:12.220 --> 00:23:14.579 It is an implicit condemnation 00:23:14.579 --> 00:23:16.980 on his whole reign. 00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:21.680 And in this way, 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:23.240 the chronicler is communicating 00:23:23.240 --> 00:23:24.680 this is God's judgment 00:23:24.680 --> 00:23:26.400 on this man 00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:27.500 because of his sin. 00:23:28.819 --> 00:23:31.059 But the chronicler also says 00:23:31.059 --> 00:23:33.779 that God is even more direct 00:23:33.779 --> 00:23:35.160 and active to it. 00:23:35.660 --> 00:23:35.940 Right? 00:23:36.100 --> 00:23:37.480 He stirs up Elijah, 00:23:37.740 --> 00:23:39.039 and Elijah doesn't show up 00:23:39.039 --> 00:23:40.380 anywhere else in Chronicles. 00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:41.519 If you go back to Kings, 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:44.039 he has like 12 chapters. 00:23:44.819 --> 00:23:46.519 But this is the only time 00:23:46.519 --> 00:23:47.339 he shows up 00:23:47.339 --> 00:23:49.799 and he writes a letter 00:23:49.799 --> 00:23:52.500 and he speaks God's Word 00:23:52.500 --> 00:23:53.980 directly to Jehoram. 00:23:55.079 --> 00:23:56.160 And what does he say? 00:23:56.599 --> 00:23:58.819 Because you have done this, 00:23:59.160 --> 00:24:00.480 because you have sinned 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:01.099 in this way, 00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:02.279 because you have walked 00:24:02.279 --> 00:24:03.900 in the house of Ahab, 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:04.980 because you have gone 00:24:04.980 --> 00:24:05.519 in this direction, 00:24:06.379 --> 00:24:08.379 the Lord will do these things. 00:24:08.380 --> 00:24:12.280 And then we see in verse 16, 00:24:12.760 --> 00:24:14.440 the Lord stirred up 00:24:14.440 --> 00:24:16.460 the anger of the Philistines 00:24:16.460 --> 00:24:18.600 and caused them to come in 00:24:18.600 --> 00:24:20.240 and attack Judah. 00:24:20.540 --> 00:24:21.620 And in verse 18, 00:24:21.740 --> 00:24:24.260 the Lord struck Jehoram 00:24:24.260 --> 00:24:25.560 with a disease, 00:24:25.900 --> 00:24:27.640 an incurable disease, 00:24:28.040 --> 00:24:29.740 because he walked 00:24:29.740 --> 00:24:32.620 not in the ways of his forefathers 00:24:32.620 --> 00:24:34.200 who were faithful to God, 00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:35.840 who trusted God, 00:24:35.940 --> 00:24:37.360 who worshipped God 00:24:37.360 --> 00:24:38.600 the way he was meant to, 00:24:38.860 --> 00:24:39.600 but he walked 00:24:39.600 --> 00:24:40.840 in the ways of Ahab, 00:24:41.160 --> 00:24:43.120 the ways of rebellion, 00:24:43.500 --> 00:24:44.480 of independence, 00:24:44.860 --> 00:24:46.140 of self-reliance, 00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:47.580 of evil. 00:24:47.579 --> 00:24:50.980 We see it even in chapter 22. 00:24:51.299 --> 00:24:52.019 Just so you know, 00:24:52.159 --> 00:24:52.960 this is the beginning 00:24:52.960 --> 00:24:54.099 of this next chapter 00:24:54.099 --> 00:24:54.939 is even worse. 00:24:55.379 --> 00:24:56.659 His son Ahaziah 00:24:56.659 --> 00:24:58.259 is worse than he is, 00:24:58.539 --> 00:25:00.079 and he only lives for a year, 00:25:00.139 --> 00:25:01.199 and then God kills him, 00:25:01.319 --> 00:25:03.000 and then his wife 00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:04.000 takes the throne 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:05.139 for six years, 00:25:05.179 --> 00:25:06.000 and she's the worst 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:06.519 of them all. 00:25:06.740 --> 00:25:08.579 She destroys her offspring 00:25:08.579 --> 00:25:10.139 and anyone who might be 00:25:10.139 --> 00:25:11.480 a rival to her throne. 00:25:12.859 --> 00:25:14.519 And it says in verse 7 00:25:14.519 --> 00:25:15.419 of chapter 22, 00:25:15.420 --> 00:25:17.240 it was ordained by God 00:25:17.240 --> 00:25:19.080 that the downfall of Ahaziah 00:25:19.080 --> 00:25:20.580 should come through, 00:25:20.800 --> 00:25:22.320 and then there's a bit of a story 00:25:22.320 --> 00:25:23.400 that I'm not going to get into, 00:25:23.660 --> 00:25:24.200 and it says, 00:25:24.600 --> 00:25:26.700 God raised up a man named Jehu 00:25:26.700 --> 00:25:28.320 whom the Lord had anointed 00:25:28.320 --> 00:25:30.980 to destroy the house of Ahab. 00:25:31.200 --> 00:25:33.160 God was actively working 00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:35.220 to combat this evil. 00:25:39.160 --> 00:25:40.539 God will not allow 00:25:40.539 --> 00:25:42.180 the unrighteousness to stand 00:25:42.180 --> 00:25:45.220 or the sin to continue. 00:25:45.400 --> 00:25:46.960 His righteousness requires 00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:48.340 a response. 00:25:50.680 --> 00:25:53.180 Now, how do we apply this 00:25:53.180 --> 00:25:54.320 to our lives? 00:25:54.640 --> 00:25:56.660 We need to be very careful here 00:25:56.660 --> 00:25:59.140 because there is evidence, 00:25:59.380 --> 00:26:01.299 certainly in the book of Acts, 00:26:01.360 --> 00:26:03.080 we see people like Ananias 00:26:03.080 --> 00:26:03.720 and Sapphira 00:26:03.720 --> 00:26:05.400 who lie to the apostles 00:26:05.400 --> 00:26:07.519 and reap an immediate 00:26:07.519 --> 00:26:09.980 and clear judgment from God. 00:26:11.940 --> 00:26:13.460 There are also others 00:26:13.460 --> 00:26:16.200 who seem to bear the consequences 00:26:16.200 --> 00:26:19.000 of their sin in different ways. 00:26:19.559 --> 00:26:21.619 But we must be so careful 00:26:21.619 --> 00:26:22.720 as we think of this 00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:24.000 because it is clear 00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:25.259 that not every sickness 00:26:25.259 --> 00:26:27.799 is God's active response 00:26:27.799 --> 00:26:28.460 of judgment. 00:26:28.859 --> 00:26:30.900 It is clear that not every loss, 00:26:31.079 --> 00:26:32.259 every thwarted plan, 00:26:32.400 --> 00:26:34.259 every opposition we experience 00:26:34.259 --> 00:26:37.160 is God's active judgment to us. 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:40.319 Some of you may be prone 00:26:40.319 --> 00:26:42.299 to think that every trial 00:26:42.299 --> 00:26:43.279 and every sickness 00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:44.700 is God's judgment 00:26:44.700 --> 00:26:45.480 and you're thinking, 00:26:45.700 --> 00:26:46.079 how did I, 00:26:46.200 --> 00:26:47.720 what did I do to deserve this? 00:26:47.799 --> 00:26:49.059 How did I cause God 00:26:49.059 --> 00:26:50.420 to bring this into my life? 00:26:51.420 --> 00:26:52.779 And you need to be careful 00:26:52.779 --> 00:26:54.140 because that's not 00:26:54.140 --> 00:26:56.500 the proper way to read this. 00:26:57.119 --> 00:26:57.420 Right? 00:26:57.799 --> 00:26:58.579 Now, some of you 00:26:58.579 --> 00:26:59.619 are on the opposite end 00:26:59.619 --> 00:27:00.180 of the spectrum 00:27:00.180 --> 00:27:02.319 and you don't see God's hand 00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:03.339 in any of it. 00:27:03.339 --> 00:27:04.879 And when things go bad, 00:27:04.939 --> 00:27:05.399 you think, 00:27:05.799 --> 00:27:06.559 gosh, I don't know 00:27:06.559 --> 00:27:07.659 where that came from. 00:27:08.339 --> 00:27:09.000 Couldn't, you know, 00:27:09.179 --> 00:27:10.179 that's unfortunate 00:27:10.179 --> 00:27:11.939 and just move on with life. 00:27:15.500 --> 00:27:17.639 Christians are called 00:27:17.639 --> 00:27:19.819 to be self-reflective people. 00:27:20.859 --> 00:27:22.319 The gospel is one 00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:24.459 of continual confession 00:27:24.459 --> 00:27:25.899 of sin and repentance. 00:27:26.439 --> 00:27:28.740 This is what 1 John reminds us. 00:27:29.359 --> 00:27:29.639 Right? 00:27:29.779 --> 00:27:31.339 If we say we have no sin, 00:27:31.419 --> 00:27:32.279 we lie and the truth 00:27:32.279 --> 00:27:33.059 is not in us. 00:27:34.039 --> 00:27:35.659 But if we confess our sins, 00:27:35.740 --> 00:27:36.980 He is faithful and just 00:27:36.980 --> 00:27:38.779 to forgive us of our sins 00:27:38.779 --> 00:27:39.619 and cleanse us 00:27:39.619 --> 00:27:40.839 from all unrighteousness. 00:27:41.460 --> 00:27:43.779 So, when things like this happen, 00:27:43.819 --> 00:27:44.700 when things happen 00:27:44.700 --> 00:27:45.480 in our lives, 00:27:45.899 --> 00:27:46.200 here's, 00:27:46.539 --> 00:27:47.440 or when we see them 00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:48.019 happening in the others, 00:27:48.119 --> 00:27:48.819 here's what I want to, 00:27:48.980 --> 00:27:50.379 here's my counsel to you. 00:27:50.519 --> 00:27:50.839 One, 00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:52.720 be very careful 00:27:52.720 --> 00:27:54.179 not to pronounce judgment 00:27:54.179 --> 00:27:55.179 on someone else. 00:27:55.559 --> 00:27:57.039 Just because John Hinkson 00:27:57.039 --> 00:27:58.179 got sick 00:27:58.179 --> 00:28:00.159 doesn't mean that he sinned 00:28:00.159 --> 00:28:01.839 and God is punishing him for it. 00:28:01.839 --> 00:28:04.699 I can't know God's word 00:28:04.699 --> 00:28:05.919 or God's will 00:28:05.919 --> 00:28:06.819 that clearly. 00:28:07.059 --> 00:28:08.379 I don't have the power 00:28:08.379 --> 00:28:09.899 to pronounce that kind of judgment 00:28:09.899 --> 00:28:11.539 on what happens to him. 00:28:12.259 --> 00:28:12.639 Okay? 00:28:13.279 --> 00:28:15.259 So, I want to be incredibly, 00:28:16.119 --> 00:28:17.720 I don't ever want to say, 00:28:17.939 --> 00:28:20.079 I know what's going on with this. 00:28:20.299 --> 00:28:22.059 But when it happens to me, 00:28:22.299 --> 00:28:23.720 I want to ask myself, 00:28:24.139 --> 00:28:25.139 have I sinned? 00:28:25.140 --> 00:28:26.780 Lord, are you trying 00:28:26.780 --> 00:28:29.300 to show me an idol 00:28:29.300 --> 00:28:30.140 in my life 00:28:30.140 --> 00:28:31.300 that I don't recognize? 00:28:32.020 --> 00:28:33.380 Have I been harboring 00:28:33.380 --> 00:28:34.440 a hidden jealousy 00:28:34.440 --> 00:28:36.480 that's coloring my words? 00:28:36.759 --> 00:28:37.759 Are there motives 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:38.560 of my heart 00:28:38.560 --> 00:28:39.960 that I'm not even necessarily 00:28:39.960 --> 00:28:41.460 consciously aware of 00:28:41.460 --> 00:28:42.780 that you are revealing 00:28:42.780 --> 00:28:44.440 through this trial 00:28:44.440 --> 00:28:45.460 or through this sickness? 00:28:45.740 --> 00:28:47.080 Is there a blind spot 00:28:47.080 --> 00:28:47.860 in my life 00:28:47.860 --> 00:28:49.500 where I can't see my sin? 00:28:49.500 --> 00:28:55.240 Because here's the thing. 00:28:56.579 --> 00:28:59.240 When God brought these things 00:28:59.240 --> 00:29:00.960 to Jehoram, right, 00:29:01.079 --> 00:29:01.900 up to the point 00:29:01.900 --> 00:29:03.640 where he killed him, right, 00:29:03.779 --> 00:29:04.960 there was always 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:08.259 a warning and an invitation, right? 00:29:08.440 --> 00:29:09.839 The warning was, 00:29:10.240 --> 00:29:11.299 you are doing wrong. 00:29:11.460 --> 00:29:12.400 Don't do this. 00:29:12.640 --> 00:29:14.259 The invitation was, 00:29:14.400 --> 00:29:15.619 implicitly, repent. 00:29:16.400 --> 00:29:17.720 Turn away from this sin. 00:29:18.180 --> 00:29:19.339 Turn back to the Lord. 00:29:19.339 --> 00:29:21.119 And we've seen kings 00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:23.199 fail and then succeed. 00:29:23.399 --> 00:29:24.539 And we've seen them succeed 00:29:24.539 --> 00:29:25.519 and then fail. 00:29:25.899 --> 00:29:27.699 There's always the invitation 00:29:27.699 --> 00:29:28.359 of the Lord 00:29:28.359 --> 00:29:29.419 while we have breath 00:29:29.419 --> 00:29:31.619 to heed the warning 00:29:31.619 --> 00:29:33.220 and to repent of our sin 00:29:33.220 --> 00:29:34.939 and to turn to Him again. 00:29:35.579 --> 00:29:37.500 And so we need to hear that 00:29:37.500 --> 00:29:39.119 and to recognize that 00:29:39.119 --> 00:29:41.839 continuing to barrel along, 00:29:42.439 --> 00:29:43.439 cherishing sin, 00:29:43.799 --> 00:29:45.480 defending sin, 00:29:45.980 --> 00:29:47.259 justifying sin, 00:29:47.259 --> 00:29:50.539 we put ourselves 00:29:50.539 --> 00:29:52.480 under the judgment of God. 00:29:52.480 --> 00:29:52.620 the Lord. 00:30:04.759 --> 00:30:06.740 The Chronicle writes this, 00:30:06.980 --> 00:30:08.980 but the Lord was not willing 00:30:08.980 --> 00:30:10.779 to destroy the house of David 00:30:10.779 --> 00:30:12.240 because of the covenant 00:30:12.240 --> 00:30:13.759 that He had made with David, 00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:15.420 and since He had promised 00:30:15.420 --> 00:30:17.400 to give a lamp to Him 00:30:17.400 --> 00:30:20.580 and to His sons forever. 00:30:23.180 --> 00:30:24.560 God's plan 00:30:24.560 --> 00:30:27.140 cannot be thwarted 00:30:27.140 --> 00:30:29.040 by the sinfulness 00:30:29.040 --> 00:30:31.180 and fallenness of human beings. 00:30:31.180 --> 00:30:32.940 Jehoram's failure 00:30:32.940 --> 00:30:34.900 could not stop 00:30:34.900 --> 00:30:37.700 God's covenantal faithfulness. 00:30:38.019 --> 00:30:39.759 He remembered the line 00:30:39.759 --> 00:30:40.700 of David, 00:30:40.860 --> 00:30:41.560 of Solomon, 00:30:41.860 --> 00:30:43.140 of the descendants 00:30:43.140 --> 00:30:45.000 through Jehoshaphat, 00:30:45.320 --> 00:30:46.740 through Jehoram. 00:30:47.720 --> 00:30:48.960 He remembered him 00:30:48.960 --> 00:30:50.160 through this line 00:30:50.160 --> 00:30:51.500 all the way through, 00:30:52.140 --> 00:30:53.620 and He was faithful to it. 00:30:53.740 --> 00:30:54.460 And He knew 00:30:54.460 --> 00:30:56.039 that He had made a promise 00:30:56.039 --> 00:30:57.340 that one day 00:30:57.339 --> 00:30:58.980 a descendant of David 00:30:58.980 --> 00:31:01.079 would sit on an eternal throne 00:31:01.079 --> 00:31:02.379 and rule over 00:31:02.379 --> 00:31:03.459 an eternal kingdom 00:31:03.459 --> 00:31:04.619 where He would bring 00:31:04.619 --> 00:31:05.199 the fullness 00:31:05.199 --> 00:31:06.139 of His righteousness, 00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:07.799 and that God 00:31:07.799 --> 00:31:08.839 was so committed 00:31:08.839 --> 00:31:10.079 to being true 00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:10.699 to His Word 00:31:10.699 --> 00:31:11.599 and to this promise 00:31:11.599 --> 00:31:13.980 that even the greatest darkness 00:31:13.980 --> 00:31:15.279 couldn't stop 00:31:15.279 --> 00:31:16.259 that from happening. 00:31:17.619 --> 00:31:18.579 If you look 00:31:18.579 --> 00:31:19.579 in chapter 22, 00:31:20.279 --> 00:31:21.179 during the reign 00:31:21.179 --> 00:31:23.220 of Jehoram's wife, 00:31:23.539 --> 00:31:24.500 Athaliah, 00:31:24.500 --> 00:31:25.539 when she tries 00:31:25.539 --> 00:31:26.259 to wipe out 00:31:26.259 --> 00:31:27.519 any descendants 00:31:27.519 --> 00:31:28.859 of Jehoram, 00:31:29.359 --> 00:31:30.680 God intervened, 00:31:31.480 --> 00:31:32.960 and God saved 00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:34.759 one of the descendants 00:31:34.759 --> 00:31:35.700 of Jehoram. 00:31:36.660 --> 00:31:38.240 And we'll see that next week 00:31:38.240 --> 00:31:38.779 as we look 00:31:38.779 --> 00:31:39.960 in the life of Joash 00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:41.819 and how God raises him up 00:31:41.819 --> 00:31:42.940 to be a righteous king 00:31:42.940 --> 00:31:43.900 in response 00:31:43.900 --> 00:31:45.220 to all of these things. 00:31:48.700 --> 00:31:49.920 Think about the people 00:31:49.920 --> 00:31:50.779 after the exile 00:31:50.779 --> 00:31:51.980 hearing this story. 00:31:51.980 --> 00:31:54.440 They don't have a throne 00:31:54.440 --> 00:31:55.140 to sit on. 00:31:55.519 --> 00:31:56.440 It's not like the house 00:31:56.440 --> 00:31:57.700 of David had been wiped out, 00:31:57.779 --> 00:31:58.819 but there was no king. 00:31:58.980 --> 00:32:00.220 There was no kingly line 00:32:00.220 --> 00:32:02.220 left after this. 00:32:03.160 --> 00:32:04.440 They were grasping 00:32:04.440 --> 00:32:05.079 and they were thinking, 00:32:05.480 --> 00:32:06.759 God, where are you? 00:32:07.380 --> 00:32:09.019 This Word speaks 00:32:09.019 --> 00:32:11.380 to God's faithfulness 00:32:11.380 --> 00:32:12.460 to those people. 00:32:12.940 --> 00:32:14.160 I have not forgotten 00:32:14.160 --> 00:32:14.819 my covenant. 00:32:15.259 --> 00:32:16.519 I have not forsaken 00:32:16.519 --> 00:32:17.240 my people. 00:32:18.500 --> 00:32:19.500 Follow me. 00:32:19.940 --> 00:32:20.819 Walk with me. 00:32:20.819 --> 00:32:22.339 Walk in the ways 00:32:22.339 --> 00:32:23.839 of righteousness. 00:32:24.559 --> 00:32:25.779 And I will 00:32:25.779 --> 00:32:27.919 continue to do this. 00:32:28.139 --> 00:32:29.559 And even if you fail, 00:32:29.839 --> 00:32:31.099 even if you disobey, 00:32:31.279 --> 00:32:32.759 even if you abandon me, 00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:34.299 I will forsake you 00:32:34.299 --> 00:32:35.159 this generation, 00:32:35.319 --> 00:32:36.279 but I will not forsake 00:32:36.279 --> 00:32:36.839 my plans. 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:38.819 I will bring judgment 00:32:38.819 --> 00:32:40.000 on you this generation, 00:32:40.119 --> 00:32:41.659 but I will not give up 00:32:41.659 --> 00:32:43.019 my redemptive plan 00:32:43.019 --> 00:32:43.779 for the world. 00:32:43.779 --> 00:32:47.819 And we know this 00:32:47.819 --> 00:32:48.839 because when we open 00:32:48.839 --> 00:32:50.180 the pages of the New Testament, 00:32:50.740 --> 00:32:53.039 we start with Matthew 00:32:53.039 --> 00:32:54.480 writing of Jesus, 00:32:55.240 --> 00:32:56.960 the son of David. 00:32:59.240 --> 00:33:00.799 That there was a baby 00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:02.859 born in the city of David 00:33:02.859 --> 00:33:05.240 who would grow up 00:33:05.240 --> 00:33:07.200 to establish a kingdom 00:33:07.200 --> 00:33:08.879 that would have no end. 00:33:08.880 --> 00:33:10.600 And he would come 00:33:10.600 --> 00:33:11.800 and proclaim a kingdom 00:33:11.800 --> 00:33:13.060 is at hand. 00:33:13.280 --> 00:33:15.140 And he would establish himself 00:33:15.140 --> 00:33:18.100 as the true light, 00:33:18.380 --> 00:33:19.060 the lamp 00:33:19.060 --> 00:33:22.260 that God had promised 00:33:22.260 --> 00:33:22.940 for David 00:33:22.940 --> 00:33:24.700 and for his people. 00:33:26.780 --> 00:33:27.520 You see, 00:33:27.600 --> 00:33:29.080 God hadn't forgotten 00:33:29.080 --> 00:33:30.260 his promise 00:33:30.260 --> 00:33:30.980 or his plan, 00:33:31.140 --> 00:33:32.000 but he continued 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:32.720 to work it 00:33:32.720 --> 00:33:33.840 and he found 00:33:33.840 --> 00:33:35.040 its fullness 00:33:35.040 --> 00:33:36.540 in the person 00:33:36.539 --> 00:33:37.299 of Jesus. 00:33:40.420 --> 00:33:41.279 And so, 00:33:41.480 --> 00:33:42.859 when we come 00:33:42.859 --> 00:33:43.460 to the end 00:33:43.460 --> 00:33:44.039 of the Bible 00:33:44.039 --> 00:33:44.579 and we look 00:33:44.579 --> 00:33:46.500 at Revelation chapter 5, 00:33:47.519 --> 00:33:48.940 we hear these words. 00:33:49.500 --> 00:33:49.899 Remember, 00:33:50.019 --> 00:33:50.700 this is a scene 00:33:50.700 --> 00:33:51.619 in the throne room 00:33:51.619 --> 00:33:52.240 of God 00:33:52.240 --> 00:33:53.240 and the people 00:33:53.240 --> 00:33:53.659 are saying, 00:33:54.119 --> 00:33:54.740 who can open 00:33:54.740 --> 00:33:55.359 the scrolls 00:33:55.359 --> 00:33:55.759 and bring… 00:33:55.759 --> 00:33:56.779 who has the right 00:33:56.779 --> 00:33:57.839 to bring judgment 00:33:57.839 --> 00:33:58.559 onto the world, 00:33:58.639 --> 00:33:59.440 to bring redemption 00:33:59.440 --> 00:33:59.899 to the world? 00:34:00.019 --> 00:34:00.940 Who could ever 00:34:00.940 --> 00:34:01.680 do these things? 00:34:01.819 --> 00:34:02.960 No one is worthy. 00:34:06.539 --> 00:34:08.820 And in chapter 5, 00:34:08.860 --> 00:34:10.019 verse 5 of Revelation, 00:34:10.239 --> 00:34:10.920 it says this, 00:34:10.980 --> 00:34:11.820 And one of the elders 00:34:11.820 --> 00:34:12.679 said to me, 00:34:13.059 --> 00:34:14.239 Weep no more. 00:34:14.759 --> 00:34:15.360 Behold, 00:34:15.659 --> 00:34:16.539 the lion 00:34:16.539 --> 00:34:17.440 of the tribe 00:34:17.440 --> 00:34:18.079 of Judah, 00:34:18.659 --> 00:34:20.239 the root of David, 00:34:20.699 --> 00:34:21.539 has conquered 00:34:21.539 --> 00:34:23.539 so that he can 00:34:23.539 --> 00:34:24.619 open the scroll 00:34:24.619 --> 00:34:26.759 and its seven seals. 00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:28.880 And skipping down 00:34:28.880 --> 00:34:29.679 to verse 9, 00:34:29.820 --> 00:34:30.259 it says, 00:34:30.360 --> 00:34:31.119 And they sang 00:34:31.119 --> 00:34:31.880 a new song, 00:34:32.900 --> 00:34:33.259 saying, 00:34:33.420 --> 00:34:34.300 Worthy are you 00:34:34.300 --> 00:34:35.300 to take the scroll 00:34:35.300 --> 00:34:36.460 and to open its seals. 00:34:36.580 --> 00:34:37.400 For you were slain 00:34:37.400 --> 00:34:38.220 and by your blood 00:34:38.220 --> 00:34:39.500 you ransomed people 00:34:39.500 --> 00:34:40.039 for God 00:34:40.039 --> 00:34:41.320 from every tribe 00:34:41.320 --> 00:34:41.860 and language 00:34:41.860 --> 00:34:42.840 and people and nation. 00:34:43.019 --> 00:34:44.000 And you have made them 00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:45.080 a kingdom and priest 00:34:45.080 --> 00:34:45.840 to our God 00:34:45.840 --> 00:34:47.420 and they shall reign 00:34:47.420 --> 00:34:48.460 on the earth. 00:34:50.080 --> 00:34:50.580 Friends, 00:34:50.720 --> 00:34:51.840 this is what God 00:34:51.840 --> 00:34:52.440 has done 00:34:52.440 --> 00:34:53.200 and this is what 00:34:53.200 --> 00:34:54.000 God is doing. 00:34:54.320 --> 00:34:55.480 He has sent Jesus 00:34:55.480 --> 00:34:56.560 and through his life 00:34:56.560 --> 00:34:57.440 and his death 00:34:57.440 --> 00:34:58.320 and his resurrection, 00:34:58.760 --> 00:34:59.580 he has finally 00:34:59.580 --> 00:35:01.180 and fully accomplished 00:35:01.180 --> 00:35:02.320 the redemption 00:35:02.320 --> 00:35:03.780 of his people 00:35:03.780 --> 00:35:04.700 and he is now 00:35:04.700 --> 00:35:05.620 applying it 00:35:05.620 --> 00:35:06.440 in this world 00:35:06.440 --> 00:35:07.600 and the proclamation 00:35:07.600 --> 00:35:08.500 of the gospel 00:35:08.500 --> 00:35:09.920 and the glorifying 00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:10.960 of Jesus Christ 00:35:10.960 --> 00:35:12.060 is the centerpiece 00:35:12.060 --> 00:35:12.960 of what God 00:35:12.960 --> 00:35:13.360 is doing 00:35:13.360 --> 00:35:14.840 in this dark age, 00:35:14.940 --> 00:35:16.180 in this dark day, 00:35:16.500 --> 00:35:17.980 in this dark heart 00:35:17.980 --> 00:35:18.660 of mine. 00:35:19.820 --> 00:35:20.980 Bringing his 00:35:20.980 --> 00:35:22.180 redemptive purposes 00:35:22.180 --> 00:35:23.540 to call a people 00:35:23.540 --> 00:35:24.400 out of darkness 00:35:24.400 --> 00:35:26.160 and into the glorious 00:35:26.160 --> 00:35:27.600 kingdom of his Son. 00:35:28.760 --> 00:35:29.860 This is what God 00:35:29.860 --> 00:35:30.500 is doing 00:35:30.500 --> 00:35:31.739 in the world. 00:35:34.199 --> 00:35:35.619 And this is our hope. 00:35:36.340 --> 00:35:37.599 This is our confidence. 00:35:38.300 --> 00:35:39.780 When we read 00:35:39.780 --> 00:35:40.619 the news reports 00:35:40.619 --> 00:35:41.280 and we think 00:35:41.280 --> 00:35:43.340 it's unprecedentedly bad, 00:35:43.780 --> 00:35:44.679 we go back 00:35:44.679 --> 00:35:45.599 to God's Word 00:35:45.599 --> 00:35:46.900 and He is 00:35:46.900 --> 00:35:49.519 unquestionably faithful. 00:35:50.539 --> 00:35:51.679 When we think 00:35:51.679 --> 00:35:52.960 of our own sin 00:35:52.960 --> 00:35:53.500 and we think 00:35:53.500 --> 00:35:56.039 I am irredeemably evil, 00:35:56.500 --> 00:35:57.420 God looks at us 00:35:57.420 --> 00:35:57.920 and says, 00:35:57.920 --> 00:35:59.900 my Son has died 00:35:59.900 --> 00:36:00.700 for the redemption 00:36:00.700 --> 00:36:01.940 of you 00:36:01.940 --> 00:36:03.019 and the forgiveness 00:36:03.019 --> 00:36:04.700 of your sins. 00:36:05.940 --> 00:36:07.139 This is what God 00:36:07.139 --> 00:36:08.240 is doing in the world 00:36:08.240 --> 00:36:09.880 and He will not 00:36:09.880 --> 00:36:10.960 surrender it. 00:36:11.619 --> 00:36:12.039 And friends, 00:36:12.159 --> 00:36:13.420 the church may fail 00:36:13.420 --> 00:36:14.579 in places 00:36:14.579 --> 00:36:15.460 and at times 00:36:15.460 --> 00:36:16.760 and God will bring 00:36:16.760 --> 00:36:17.800 judgment on the church 00:36:17.800 --> 00:36:18.940 and let it atrophy 00:36:18.940 --> 00:36:19.400 and die, 00:36:19.639 --> 00:36:20.360 but the church 00:36:20.360 --> 00:36:21.360 writ large, 00:36:21.480 --> 00:36:22.619 the church of Jesus Christ 00:36:22.619 --> 00:36:24.340 will never fail. 00:36:25.300 --> 00:36:26.119 The gates of hell 00:36:26.119 --> 00:36:28.000 will not stand against it. 00:36:28.759 --> 00:36:30.519 And at the end of the day, 00:36:30.699 --> 00:36:32.759 we will join that throng 00:36:32.759 --> 00:36:34.159 worshiping around 00:36:34.159 --> 00:36:36.619 the throne of Jesus forever 00:36:36.619 --> 00:36:39.699 as His kingdom of priests, 00:36:40.139 --> 00:36:42.000 as His people. 00:36:42.900 --> 00:36:45.319 And we will reign with Him 00:36:45.319 --> 00:36:46.799 over the whole world 00:36:46.799 --> 00:36:48.219 and the fulfillment 00:36:48.219 --> 00:36:49.359 of all the hopes 00:36:49.359 --> 00:36:51.019 of the people in Israel 00:36:51.019 --> 00:36:52.199 during Jehoram's time, 00:36:52.339 --> 00:36:53.119 of the people 00:36:53.119 --> 00:36:54.460 in the post-exilic time 00:36:54.460 --> 00:36:55.280 wondering what happened, 00:36:55.619 --> 00:36:56.820 of the people 00:36:56.820 --> 00:36:58.360 in Jesus' time 00:36:58.360 --> 00:36:59.019 who wondered, 00:36:59.559 --> 00:37:00.539 God, where are you 00:37:00.539 --> 00:37:01.440 and how are you at work? 00:37:01.679 --> 00:37:02.740 And us today, 00:37:03.159 --> 00:37:04.360 this is our confidence. 00:37:04.679 --> 00:37:06.559 God will not forsake us. 00:37:08.039 --> 00:37:10.440 He has made a remedy for sin 00:37:10.440 --> 00:37:12.179 and He is calling us 00:37:12.179 --> 00:37:13.760 to hear the warning 00:37:13.760 --> 00:37:15.619 to forsake sin 00:37:15.619 --> 00:37:17.760 and to hear the invitation 00:37:17.760 --> 00:37:20.320 to come to the Redeemer 00:37:20.320 --> 00:37:21.539 and the King of the world. 00:37:21.639 --> 00:37:22.099 Let's pray. 00:37:22.099 --> 00:37:22.220 Amen. 00:37:22.219 --> 00:37:31.259 Lord, we want Your Spirit 00:37:31.259 --> 00:37:32.599 to work in our hearts. 00:37:34.739 --> 00:37:36.939 Lord, we pray that You would comfort 00:37:36.939 --> 00:37:37.939 those of us 00:37:37.939 --> 00:37:39.859 who feel defeated 00:37:39.859 --> 00:37:40.719 and weighed down 00:37:40.719 --> 00:37:41.459 and burdened 00:37:41.459 --> 00:37:42.139 and overwhelmed 00:37:42.139 --> 00:37:43.219 by our sin 00:37:43.219 --> 00:37:44.480 and by the darkness 00:37:44.480 --> 00:37:45.480 of the world. 00:37:46.019 --> 00:37:47.399 Comfort us with this Word. 00:37:49.039 --> 00:37:50.000 Lord, we want You 00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:51.340 to warn us 00:37:51.340 --> 00:37:52.960 if we are 00:37:52.960 --> 00:37:54.199 cavalierly 00:37:54.199 --> 00:37:55.260 and callously 00:37:55.260 --> 00:37:56.760 and willfully 00:37:56.760 --> 00:37:57.659 or even 00:37:57.659 --> 00:38:00.260 uncaringly, 00:38:00.880 --> 00:38:01.300 Lord, 00:38:01.519 --> 00:38:02.139 embracing 00:38:02.139 --> 00:38:03.039 sin, 00:38:03.940 --> 00:38:04.679 idolatry, 00:38:04.880 --> 00:38:05.619 unfaithfulness. 00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:08.980 Oh, Lord, 00:38:09.099 --> 00:38:09.940 search our hearts. 00:38:11.219 --> 00:38:11.840 Show us 00:38:11.840 --> 00:38:12.300 if there is 00:38:12.300 --> 00:38:13.380 any wicked way 00:38:13.380 --> 00:38:13.940 in us 00:38:13.940 --> 00:38:16.700 and draw us 00:38:16.700 --> 00:38:17.340 back, Lord, 00:38:17.700 --> 00:38:18.720 to the good news 00:38:18.720 --> 00:38:19.400 of the Gospel 00:38:19.400 --> 00:38:21.579 that in Christ 00:38:21.579 --> 00:38:22.340 we are forgiven 00:38:22.340 --> 00:38:23.139 of our sins 00:38:23.139 --> 00:38:24.460 and made new 00:38:24.460 --> 00:38:25.700 so that we might live 00:38:25.700 --> 00:38:28.480 as followers of You 00:38:28.480 --> 00:38:29.280 as Your people 00:38:29.280 --> 00:38:29.960 in this world. 00:38:31.400 --> 00:38:32.200 Thank You, Lord. 00:38:32.280 --> 00:38:33.099 We pray these things 00:38:33.099 --> 00:38:33.900 in Jesus' name. 00:38:34.480 --> 00:38:34.659 Amen. 00:38:34.659 --> 00:38:34.760 Amen. 00:38:34.760 --> 00:38:34.820 Amen. 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:34.820 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:36.820 Amen.