So, what is happening in the world?
Is Britain leaving or staying?
Are we going to get another referendum?
Will Russia engage in war with the rest of Europe as they provoke Ukraine?
And what about Iran?
Will they become a world power as they develop their nuclear weapons?
And what about the wars in Yemen and Syria?
It seems that the conflicts there are getting worse, not better.
Or what about the thousands of people that are waiting on the Mexican-US border?
Or the tens of thousands around the world without homes?
Or the 10,000 homeless people in this country?
Turn on any news program and you will not be short on opinion or solution.
What in the world is happening?
Well, 1 Kings chapter 15 to 16 show us what is happening in the world.
These two chapters cover roughly 60 years and introduce us to no less than eight different kings.
But this is no chronicle of events.
This is history from God's perspective.
What we see here is not isolated to the past.
Rather, it is a picture that speaks about the present.
1 Kings 15 to 16 shows us what is going on in the world.
Three things we see that are going on in the world from our text this morning.
First, we see that the world is in dark decline.
Sociologists will tell us that we are brighter, faster, stronger than at any other point in history.
But that's not how God sees it.
After Solomon died, as we were looking at in the last couple of weeks, the great kingdom divided into two.
We had Jeroboam, who was the king of Israel in the north, and Rehoboam, the king in the south, which was Judah.
Their relationship is summarized in chapter 14, verse 30.
Have a look at chapter 14, verse 30.
There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam.
And that seems to set the tone for what's to come.
Another eight kings follow.
And if you just look at the headings, just to get an idea of where we're going,
we've got two kings in Judah.
Abijah, king of Judah, chapter 15.
Next heading down, we've got Asa, king of Judah.
And then we've got six consecutive kings in Israel.
All the way through from Nabab, all the way to Ahab at the end of chapter 16.
And it's a history that spirals into dark decline.
Abijah, the first king that we meet in chapter 15,
is king for three war-torn years.
Nadab, the first king of Israel, well, he only lasts two years,
having been knocked off by internal rivalry.
Elah, which we meet in chapter 16,
he seems to spend most of his time getting drunk,
and lasts only two years, disposed by a military coup.
And after him, we meet Zimri.
He only manages seven days.
And rather be overthrown, he decides to set himself on fire.
It's hardly peaceful or stable.
Instead of things getting better,
they appear to be getting worse.
Look at how it is summarised for us at the end.
Chapter 16, verse 25.
But Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord,
and sinned more than all those before him.
And if that was bad enough,
just have a look down at verse 30.
The next king.
Ahab, son of Omri, did more evil in the eyes of the Lord
than any of those before him.
Verse 33.
Ahab also made an Asherah pole
and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord,
the God of Israel,
than did all the kings of Israel before him.
You see, the pattern of man is not onwards and upwards,
but backwards and downwards.
The world is in dark decline.
You see, we can take great pride in our achievements.
If you've been watching the news,
we can now send robots to planet Mars,
225 million kilometres away.
Driverless cars are no longer the stuff of science fiction.
We've conducted organ transplants
and limb replacements.
In the past 100 years,
the average life expectancy of the world
has gone from 31 to 71.
We've developed electricity,
skyscrapers,
we have the internet.
We are better educated and more sophisticated
than ever before in all of history.
But let's think again.
In Yemen,
130 children die every day
due to the ongoing war.
Of the 28 population,
28 million population of that country,
3.5 million have had to flee their homes.
Just try and get that into your head.
In Syria,
almost 500,000 have died
or are presumed dead
due to the genocide that is taking place there.
Over half the population,
that is 11 million people,
have been displaced from their own homes.
Today,
40.3 million live in various forms of slavery,
bonded labour,
sex trafficking,
forced marriages,
children as young as eight.
2.3 billion
of the world's population
have no access to basic sanitation,
which results in 5.5 million children
under the age of five
every year
dying from preventable disease.
The world is in dark decline.
Rather than getting better,
we are getting worse.
How did it get to be like this?
It seems that we follow on this same pattern.
We just do more and more evil
in the eyes of the Lord.
Well, we're given two reasons
as to why this dark decline.
First,
worthless idols.
Go back to chapter 14.
The problem
stems
from the worship
of idols.
So, in chapter 14,
verse 9,
Abijah,
the prophet,
is speaking to
Jeroboam,
who is king of Israel,
and he says to him,
verse 9,
you have done more evil
than all who lived
before you.
You have made for yourself
other gods,
idols made of metal.
You have aroused my anger
and turned your back on me.
Idols are God's substitutes.
We remove God
and we replace God
with our own gods.
In other words,
as it says at the end of verse 14,
you've turned your back on me.
The God who made us,
the God who loves us,
who's designed us,
and has put this universe together,
has been pushed out.
We decide what is best
and what is right for us.
In our ignorance,
we think we can run our lives
in the world without God.
But look at how the author
describes our God replacements.
Chapter 16,
the end of verse 13,
they're described as
worthless idols.
idols.
Idols.
The gods that we replace
the true God with
are empty
and powerless.
Worthless.
despite all of these kings
coming to power
and their kingship
over great nations,
well, what happens?
All the kings died
and they're just replaced
by another king.
All that they managed to gain,
all their conquering of lands
and of great wealth
that they put together,
all get stripped away
and it's all passed on
to somebody else.
In fact,
with each king,
the kingdom they leave
is in a worse state
than which they received it.
You see,
replacing God
will never ever
make the world
a better place.
It only leads
to dark
decline.
But there's another reason
apart from
worthless idols
and that is
this futile legacy.
Jeroboam's legacy
was clear.
It did not end well.
He started
this whole pattern
of setting up
other gods.
But it doesn't seem
to stop
his successors.
So look at
chapter 15
verse 25.
Nadab,
son of Jeroboam,
became king of Israel
in the second year
of Asa,
king of Judah
and he reigned
over Israel
for two years.
What was he like?
Well,
he did evil
in the eyes
of the Lord.
Following the ways
of his father
and committing
the same sin
his father
had caused
Israel to commit.
Would things
get better?
Well,
look at verse 34.
Here we're
introduced to
Basha.
the next king.
And he did evil
in the eyes
of the Lord
following the ways
of Jeroboam
who committed
the same sin
Jeroboam had
caused Israel
to commit.
And we can read on
chapter 16
verse 19.
Here we have
Zimri.
And he committed
evil.
Doing evil
in the eyes
of the Lord
and following
the ways
of Jeroboam
and committing
the same sin
Jeroboam had
caused Israel
to commit.
And if we
haven't quite
put it together,
look at Ahab
at the end
of chapter 16
verse 31.
He not only
considered it
trivial to
commit the sins
of Jeroboam
son of Nebat,
but he also
married Jezebel,
daughter of
Ethbaal,
king of the
Sidonians,
and he began
to serve
Baal
and worship
him.
Not only
is it sad,
it is so,
so tragic.
They could
not see
the tragedy
of the sin
of their
fathers and
they just
followed blindly
down the same
tragic path.
And isn't
that what we
just see
happening in
our world
today?
Generation
after generation
walking down
the same path.
Doing what
their fathers
have done.
Removing
God and
replacing God
with our own
laws and our
own desires.
As a
society,
we've moved
on from God.
We've been
there,
we've done
that,
and we are
not going
back.
After all,
we know
what's best,
don't we?
We know
how to make
the world
good and
beautiful.
We have
wonderful things
like abortion
and euthanasia
and drone
missiles
bombing at
will.
What a
good and
beautiful world
we have
made.
be careful
of worthless
idols,
their futile
legacy.
It leaves
the world
broken
and destroyed.
so as we
look at
1 Kings
15 and
16,
we see
what is
happening
in the
world.
There's a
dark
decline,
but we
also see
that there
is a
sovereign
Lord.
The author
carefully
recounts
history for
us.
We're just
taking kind
of some
big themes
out of
these chapters,
so we're
going backwards
and forwards,
keep with
me.
So chapter
15,
verse 1,
in the
18th year
of the
reign of
Jeroboam,
son of
Nebat,
Abijah
became king
of Judah.
Verse 8,
and Abijah
rested with
his ancestors
and was
buried in
the city
of David
and Asa,
his son,
succeeded
him as
king.
Verse 9,
in the
twentieth
year of
Jeroboam,
king of
Israel,
Asa
became king
of Judah.
Verse 24,
then Asa
rested with
his ancestors
and he
was buried
with them
in the
city of
his father
David.
Chapter
16,
verse 8,
In the
twenty-sixth
year of
Asa,
king of
Judah,
Elah,
son of
Basha,
became king
of Israel
and he
reigned in
Tirzah
for two
years.
Verse 14,
As for the
other events
of Elah's
reign and
all he
did,
are they
not written
in the
books of
the annals
of the
kings of
Israel?
I think
we get the
pattern here,
don't we?
Kings come
and kings
go.
They live
and they
die.
But their
rise and
their fall
are all
overseen
by the
sovereign
Lord.
First
ruling
word.
While kings
plot and
plan,
God
rules.
Look at
what God
says to
Jeroboam
through the
prophet
Ahijah
back in
chapter 14.
God has
seen,
God has
watched as
Jeroboam
has done
his own
thing.
He has
seen the
evil he
has done
by making
up these
God
replacements
and God
has something
to say to
him.
Verse 14,
chapter 14,
The Lord
will raise
up for
himself a
king over
Israel who
will cut
off the
family of
Jeroboam.
Even now
this is
beginning to
happen.
verse 16,
And he
will give
Israel up
because of
the sins
of Jeroboam
has committed
and has
caused
Israel to
commit.
So God
has said
Jeroboam
and his
whole family
are going
to be
wiped out.
Now look
at chapter
15,
verse 28.
Here we
see the
rise of
another
king,
Basha,
who killed
Nadab
in the
third year
of Asa,
king of
Judah,
and Basha
succeeded him
as king.
And what
did he do
when he
became king?
As soon
as he
began to
reign,
he killed
Jeroboam's
whole family.
He did
not leave
Jeroboam
anyone that
breathed,
but destroyed
them all.
Why?
According
to the
word of
the Lord
given
through his
servant
Ahijah,
the
Shalonite.
God's
word
is
ruling.
Now,
just because
Basha moves
in and
destroys
Jeroboam,
that doesn't
mean to
say that
Basha is
now off
the hook.
Have a
look at
chapter 16,
verse 7.
Moreover,
the word
of the
Lord came
through the
prophet Jehu,
son of
Hanani,
to Basha
and his
house,
because of
all the
evil he
had done
in the
eyes of
the
Lord,
arousing
his anger
by the
things he
did,
becoming
like the
house of
Jeroboam,
and also
because he
destroyed it.
Verse 11,
another king
comes to
power,
and as
soon as
he began
to reign,
this is
Zimri,
as soon as
he began
to reign
and was
seated on
the throne,
he killed
off Basha's
whole family.
He did
not spare
a single
male,
whether
relative or
friend,
Zimri
destroyed the
whole family
of Basha.
Why?
In
accordance
with the
word of
the Lord,
God had
spoken against
Basha through
the prophet
Jehu.
Kings may
reign,
but they
are always
under the
sovereign rule
of God's
word.
In fact,
what God
says will
always come
to pass.
Have a look
at chapter
16,
verse 34.
In
Ahab's
time,
heel of
Bethel
rebuilt
Jericho.
Now,
we'll
remember
Jericho
from the
past,
about 400
years before
these events
that we're
reading in
1 Kings.
God's
people came
out of
slavery and
into the
promised land.
The first
city they
came up
against was
Jericho,
a pagan
city,
which they
destroyed.
And God
said very,
very clearly,
we can see
it on the
screen,
God spoke
through
Jeremiah at
that time,
he said,
at that time
Joshua pronounced
this solemn
oath,
cursed before
the Lord
is the one
who undertakes
to rebuild
this city,
Jericho.
At the cost
of his
firstborn son,
he will lay
its foundations.
At the cost
of his
youngest,
he will set
up its
gates.
Now read
the rest
of verse
34.
Let's read
it again.
In Ahab's
time,
Heel of
Bethel
rebuilt
Jericho.
He laid
its foundations
at the cost
of his
firstborn son,
Abiram,
and he set
up its gates
at the cost
of his
youngest son,
Segub.
Why?
It's in
accordance with
the word
of the
Lord spoken
by Joshua,
son of
Nun.
Centuries
may have
passed,
but when
God speaks
his word,
it is always
active and it
is always
powerful,
and it will
always accomplish
what he has
set out to
do.
God rules
over the
nations
and over the
kings of this
world
by his
word.
God
and isn't
this the
same God
that rules
by his
sovereign
word today?
Remember
what God
said to
the prophet
Isaiah?
You can
follow on
the screen.
He,
that's God,
sits enthroned
above the
circle of
the earth
and its
people are
like
grasshoppers.
He brings
princes to
naught,
reduces the
rulers of
this world
to nothing.
No sooner
are they
planted,
no sooner
are they
sown,
no sooner
do they
take root
in the
ground,
then he
blows in
them and
they wither
and the
whirlwind
sweeps
them away
like
chaff.
Every
leader,
every
president,
every
Taoiseach
is in
the hands
of God.
No one
gets to
be ruler
without
God's
say-so.
And when
they fall
away,
it is
simply
at
God's
command.
Now that
of course
raises all
kinds of
questions for
us.
If God
is sovereign,
then why
does he
let Syria's
president
Bashar
al-Assad
carry on
the genocide
like he
is?
Or why
does God
allow America
to sell
arms to
the Saudis
so that
they can
go and
bomb the
life out
of Yemen?
Well,
these things
may concern
us,
and rightly
so,
but as we
think about
these hard
questions,
let us
not forget
there is
only one
sovereign
king and
one sovereign
lord who
holds every
nation and
every leader
to account,
who can
use their
evil ways
to accomplish
his purposes.
Everyone
is accountable.
Everyone
will be
responsible
to God.
The world
may look
like it's
in freefall
descending
into dark
decline,
but let
us be
sure of
this,
God is
in supreme
control of
all things
and all
people.
So,
we see
that the
world
is in
dark
decline,
we see
that there
is a
sovereign
lord,
and in
the midst
of it
all,
there is
greater
grace.
It all
appears very
depressing,
but not
all is
doom and
gloom,
because in
the midst
of darkness
and decline
shines the
glorious
light of
God's
grace.
Our
sovereign
God,
by his
powerful
word,
is working
his purposes
out through
history for
our good
and for
his glory.
Remember,
history is
God's
story.
This is
God's world
that we
live in.
Let's see
this grace
first,
faithful God.
Go back
again to
chapter 15.
Abijah,
Solomon's
grandson,
has come
to power
in Judah,
and we're
told what
he is like
in verse
3.
He
committed
all the
sins his
father had
done before
him.
His heart
was not
fully devoted
to the
Lord his
God as
the heart
of David
his
forefather
had been.
It's
just part
of the
dark
decline,
isn't
it?
Here's
another
hopeless
failing
king,
another
futile
legacy,
and the
expectation
is,
well,
what's
God
going to
do
with
this
king?
Just
write
them
off,
have
them
destroyed?
Well,
you could
do worse,
I guess,
but that's
not what
happens.
Look at
verse 4.
Nevertheless,
for David's
sake,
the Lord
his God
gave him
a lamp
in Jerusalem
by raising
up a
son to
succeed him
and making
Jerusalem
strong.
God
says he
will not
write them
off because
or for
David's
sake.
God
had promised
David in
the years
before that
there would
always be a
king on
David's
throne,
a faithful
king who
would bring
blessing,
a righteous
king who
would rule.
So why
doesn't God
write Judah
off and
condemn it
to history?
Because of
God's
faithful
promise.
That's what's
holding the
whole story
of one
king together.
God's
faithfulness.
Everyone that
we meet
fails
spectacularly,
yet in it
all is
God's
persistent
faithfulness,
ruling
history by
his powerful
word and
fulfilling
his promise.
It seems
there is
nothing and
no one that
can derail
what God
is setting
out to
do.
So greater
grace is
seen in
God's
faithfulness.
Second,
the shining
light.
Because this
promise of
God's
faithfulness,
his promise
to preserve,
is like a
shining light
through the
darkness of
history.
Look at
verse 4
again.
God said
he would
give a
lamp in
Jerusalem.
There would
be a
succession of
kings, and
even though
they are bad
and terrible
and evil
in many of
their ways,
we are
reminded that
each king
that comes
along the
way is
just a
light, a
flicker of
God's
promise that
it will
never be
extinguished.
He will
always have
a king, and
from that
king would
become God's
king.
We even
get a glimpse
of that if
you look down
at verse 11.
That light
begins to
flicker a
little bit
brighter.
Verse 11,
Asa did
what was
right in
the eyes
of the
Lord as
his father
David had
done.
out of
all these
kings, one
king, out
of all these
other kings,
only one
who does
right, God
showing his
persistence that
yes, he will
raise up a
king who will
do what is
right and
what is
good.
But we only
need to read
on and discover
that Asa was
not all that he
ought to be.
so we have
a shining
light of
God's
faithfulness
through the
darkness
giving us
a glimpse
of what is
to come.
And third,
our glorious
hope because
in the course
of time
that flickering
lamp that
God had
promised
would become
the light
of the
world.
Remember
how John
introduces us
to Jesus?
the true
light that
gives light
to everyone
was coming
into the
world.
Here is
this promised
light, the
one that God
said would
come, that he
persisted through
all the failures
down through the
history of the
world.
Amidst the
darkness, that
glimmer, that
light begins to
shine and
becomes as
brightest as
Jesus Christ
enters the
world.
You see, when
the light of
Christ shines
into our
lives and
when the
lamp of his
truth cuts
into the
darkness of
our hearts, we
begin to see
how worthless
our idols
are.
We see how
futile life
is without
God.
And as we
turn to
Jesus, so
the light
banishes the
darkness of
decline, giving
us a new
way to
live.
Turn with
me, please,
to Colossians
chapter 1.
Colossians
chapter 1.
Remember what
we read at the
very beginning
this morning?
here we see
what God's
true king
would do.
Colossians 1
verse 12,
joyfully, or
giving joyful
thanks to the
father who has
qualified you
to share in
the inheritance
of his holy
people in the
kingdom of
light.
for he has
rescued us
from the
dominion of
darkness
and brought
us into the
kingdom of
the son he
loves, in
whom we have
redemption, the
forgiveness of
sins.
Here is God's
king who brings
glorious hope,
taking people
from this dark
decline of
emptiness and
nothingness and
a root that
just ends in
judgment and
separation from
God brings
us into the
kingdom of
his son.
What amazing
redemption, what
glorious hope
there is.
But you know
what?
This light, this
lamp doesn't
stop with Jesus
Christ.
Go back with
me to Matthew's
gospel, chapter
5.
Matthew chapter
5.
Because as we
come to
Jesus, as we
submit to the
true king, as
we bow
before him,
then we in
turn become the
light to the
world.
Matthew chapter 5 verse 14.
Jesus says,
You are the light of the world.
A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
The church, God's holy people,
who have come to the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ,
are transformed.
The darkness is banished.
Instead, the church is to be a shining, glorious beacon of hope
to a world that is shattered and broken.
That is what we are as we go out into the world,
as collectively as we live, as God's people.
Shining lights.
Beacons of hope.
Amidst this darkness of decline.
Showing people the true Saviour.
The true King.
Who is in control of this world.
And who longs that all people would turn to Him.
So let your light shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your Father in heaven.
Let's pray.
Father, we look out upon your world,
and we do see the brokenness all around us.
The tragedy, the sadness, and all the pain.
And your heart is broken.
You grieve at what you see.
And yet in Christ,
shines the glorious hope
for us
and for this world.
We thank you that in Jesus,
we have been brought into an eternal kingdom.
The kingdom of His Son.
And we pray that we would be people
who shine forth your light.
And that together,
you would use us collectively
as your people here in Karigaline.
And as we are scattered throughout this week,
that we would be a light shining for you.
Pointing people to the hope,
the glorious hope,
that there is to be found in King Jesus.
Help us, we pray.
Be merciful and use us.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, let's sing in response
and encourage one another as we sing
What Grace Is My...