Ironworks

And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. And the king went up to the house of Jehovah, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of Jehovah. And the king stood by the pillar, and made a covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and all his soul, to confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book: and all the people stood to the covenant. 2 Kings 23:1-3      King Josiah of Judah was an encouragement to all who serve the Lord. His heart and actions are those which push us to love the Lord our God, both in word and deed. 2 Kings 22:8-13 details the circumstances that led to the restoration of Old Testament Judaism in ...

And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, as did Manasseh his father; and Amon sacrificed unto all the graven images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them. And he humbled not himself before Jehovah, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but this same Amon trespassed more and more. 2 Chronicles 33:22-23 King Amon followed his father Manasseh of Judah. Manasseh undid most of his father Hezekiah's reforms. Towards the end of his life, he humbled himself and sought to make right. One would hope that his son Amon would have seen the attempted correction carried out by his father. Amon could do right or wrong. However, only he would make that choice.  Our Choices Yield the Appropriate Result  Amon, was a free moral agent just like every man that ever lived. The prophet Ezekiel had to correct a common proverb that was said in Israel. The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge (cf. Ezekiel 18:2)? This proverb was...

        In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Set thy house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto Jehovah, saying, Remember now, O Jehovah, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.  2 Kings 20:1-3              How many times do we neglect the power of prayer? It is quite evident that the Calvinist has no need to pray for a couple of reasons. First, the Lord will not hear his prayer (cf. Is. 59:1-9, Ps. 66:18; Jam 4:2-4, Prov. 28:9, 15:29). Second, prayer would have no purpose for someone that believes everything that will come to pass has been willed by God beforehand ( everything happens for a reason ). However, in God...

           Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and he did not that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah his God, like David his father. But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations, whom Jehovah cast out from before the children of Israel.   And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree . 2 Kings 16:2-4                   When was the first time you drove a car? What about the first time you jumped off a diving board or gave a speech? After that first time, it certainly became easier. What about the first lie you told? Did it become easier? King Ahaz of Judah was evil and far from the example of David. Ahaz was the first to offer child sacrifices to t...

        So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before Jehovah his God         2 Chronicles 27:6              This last week concluded our sermon series entitled strong and courageous. This has been an enjoyable study and a much-needed one as the Lord's church has been challenged by and continues to be challenged by Satan to be weak and ineffective. How appropriate it is to study King Jotham of Judah this week. I want you to take a quick note of what the Word says above.   He became mighty because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God.              The Word denotes earlier how he did so. First, it is noted that he did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah (cf. 27:2). Jotham had the right view and perspective which set the standard for his reign. Secondly, his achievements a...

  But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense. And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God. 2 Chronicles 26:16-18             Uzziah, king of Judah, was certainly a breath of fresh air for a time, for the Scripture says that he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord (cf 2 Chron 26:4). He was a contemporary of the prophet Zechariah, and verse 5 tells us, as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to pr...

  And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to repair the house of the  Lord . And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gather of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that ye hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened it not. 2 Chron 24:4-5               After the wicked reign of his grandmother Athaliah, Joash was king of Judah. The beauty of this is that Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord (cf. 2 Kings 12:2).   He was influenced and cooperative with the priest Jehoiada. We see in the above passage that he had his mind set to repair the house of the Lord. Have you ever put your mind to something? Do you have something within your line of sight that you know needs repairing? For me that seems as if it is an ongoing thing. Cars need work from time to time; a mower needs re...

          And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason.  2 Kings 11:14      Athaliah obviously was not a king of Israel, however, she wielded the power and certainly the bloodthirst of some of those who came before. The Scripture tells us that Athaliah was mother of Ahaziah of Judah. After seeing that he was dead, she worked to kill all of his children (cf. 2 Kings 11:1). This type of evil was not new for a people whose hearts were often in opposition to God, but this is truly audacious that a grandmother would seek to kill all of her grandsons.      Fortunately, Jehosheba, the sister of Ahaziah, took Joash and protected him (cf. 2 Kings 11:2). The boy’s aunt protected him from her mother, the child’s grandmo...

    And the destruction of Ahaziah was of God by coming to Joram: for when he was come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the  Lord  had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab. And it came to pass, that, when Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, and found the princes of Judah, and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah, that ministered to Ahaziah, he slew them. 2 Chronicles 22:7-8             Where you find yourself has a lot to do with the things through which you go. Our lives are full of choices we make, and they are subject to risk assessment. We do this with such frequency it becomes almost second nature. For instance, when we go shopping, we take into consideration where we go and when we go. We are aware that some locations are not as safe as others; we know that some times are not as safe as others. When we look at Ahaziah of Judah, we certainly see how Ahaziah...

          Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD.       2 Ch 21:5-6       Regional accents are quite interesting when you consider all their quirks and differences from each other. However, as one who has lived in varying locations and cultures in the United States, my accent is sort of all over the place. When I was visiting some family in Eastern Arkansas, my cousin correctly introduced me as my cousin Ryan from Texas. However, the young lady to whom he introduced me said, "You're from Texas?" I affirmed yes. To which she replied, “You don't sound like you're from Texas.” Maybe it was the fact that I grew up right on the Rio Grande or maybe this girl just e...

  Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri.   But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned.   1 Kings 16:21-22 Is anybody surprised when people divide after dividing? At the outset of the northern kingdom, we understood that Jeroboam divided from King Rehoboam of Judah and assisted in breaking the unity of Israel. Afterward, there was a series of idolatrous practices, war, and discord within the rebel nation. It would only be logical that after an origin in division that division could come again. We have seen it in history repeatedly, and the most obvious is within the religious landscape of Christendom. When man decided to build churches that were not the church that was built by Jesus, (cf. Matt 16:18) this was obviously a division. In math we understand that the denominato...

And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the  Lord , as did David his father.   And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.   But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the  Lord  all his days. 1 Kings 15:11-14 Finally, a good king! It has been a lot of bad so far, and that is to be expected because the good are rare when it comes to kings of Judah and nonexistent in Israel. So what makes Asa a good king? Let’s consult the Word above. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord. The Lord is the standard. The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple (Psalm 19:7). When we look at all rulers, we compare them first t...

  And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years.   And he did evil in the sight of the  Lord , and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin . 1 Kings 15:25-26             It has been well documented in the article concerning Jeroboam that his desire to remain relevant lead to many unauthorized practices by the northern kingdom of Israel. Upon his death, Nadab, his son, became king, and we must take notice of some things about his reign. We almost miss Nadab because his reign was brief, as was his father’s, but it was certainly not inconsequential. Joseph de Maistre said, "Every country has the government it deserves." For Israel, this certainly is true. When Jeroboam walked away from Jerusalem and set to establish his own form of pseudo-Judaism, it opened the door to all sorts of chaos continu...

  Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam (also Abijah) over Judah.Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. 1 Kings 15:1-3        Do you ever wonder how someone who gets things mostly right can still be so wrong? It is mind-boggling if we do not consider that God judges man in totality. From our text above, it is hard to see anything good that can be said about Abijam (Abijah) son of Rehoboam. After all, it is evident that he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father.      So where do we learn the details? 2 Chronicles 13:1-22 gives us further evidence of Abijah’s issues. We know he i...

  And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now will the kingdom return to the house of David: this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem, then will the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.   1 Kings 12:26-28             Jeroboam took his football and went home; I wrote that last week.   This was what the 10 Northern tribes did: they turned away from the united kingdom under Rehoboam son of Solomon. Jeroboam’s revolt was prophesied in that The Lord had sent His word through the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite who told Jeroboam that he would be given ten tribes, for the Lord was taking the...