1 Kings 15-16 Evil Men in the Hands of a Good God ES 1 Oct 17 1828
We are going to touch on 1 Kings 15 today. Now that we have two kingdoms – ISRAEL and JUDAH, the author swings from one to another, telling us about the reigns of the Kings in both Kingdoms.
• Following the account of King ASA of JUDAH (last Sun), we are going to look at a few Kings of ISRAEL.
• Let us get a bird-eye view of what’s going on (chart of the Kings).
Let’s glance through the next few Kings of ISRAEL starting with NADAB son of Jeroboam – 1 Kings 15:25-29.
• We see two recurring lines over and over again in these accounts: (1) he did evil in the eyes of the Lord and caused Israel to commit sin, and (2) he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger.
Under Nadab – 15:26 and 15:30.
• 15:26 “He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, walking in the ways of his father and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.”
• 15:30 “because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger.”
Under Baasha – 15:34 and 16:2, 7.
• 15:34 “He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, walking in the ways of Jeroboam and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.”
• 16:2 “I lifted you up from the dust and made you leader of my people Israel, but you walked in the ways of Jeroboam and caused my people Israel to sin and to provoke me to anger by their sins.”
• 16:7 “Moreover, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani to Baasha and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger by the things he did, and becoming like the house of Jeroboam - and also because he destroyed it.”
Under Elah – 16:13.
• 16:13 “because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, so that they provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their worthless idols.”
Under Zimri – 16:19.
• 16:19 “because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the eyes of the LORD and walking in the ways of Jeroboam and in the sin he had committed and had caused Israel to commit.”
Under Omni – 16:25-26.
• 16:25-26 “But Omri did evil in the eyes of the LORD and sinned more than all those before him. 26He walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit, so that they provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their worthless idols.”
Under Ahab – 16:30, 33.
• 16:30 “Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him.”
• 16:33 “Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.”
What does this tell us? They all did evil IN THE EYES OF THE LORD.
(1) The Lord is WATCHING
• Evil does not take God by surprise. Prov 15:3 “The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.”
• This is our comfort and assurance today. We do not like evil but we can be assured that God is aware and He is watching all that is going on.
The Kings did evil under the EYES OF THE LORD and He was provoked to anger by what He saw.
• In the face of evil, people tend to ask, “Where is God? Where is God in the midst of all this evil?”
• Our answer is, He is right there, He is right there watching! He is not oblivious to it. In fact, He is provoked to anger by it. He will judge.
When Baasha killed Nadab (son of Jeroboam) and subsequently Jeroboam’s entire family, God was expecting it. He foretold this outcome.
• The author says this happened, 15:29 “according to the Word of the Lord given through His servant Ahijah”.
• Back in 14:10-11 “Because of this, I am going to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel-slave or free. I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone. 11Dogs will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country. The LORD has spoken!'”
But Baasha himself would also face the same end.
• 1 Kings 16:1-4 “Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha: 2"I lifted you up from the dust and made you leader of my people Israel, but you walked in the ways of Jeroboam and caused my people Israel to sin and to provoke me to anger by their sins. 3So I am about to consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat. 4Dogs will eat those belonging to Baasha who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country."
So where is God in all of this? He is right there watching - watching for the unfolding of His judgment upon sin.
• When did this happened? Not in Baasha’s lifetime but after, when his son Elah was on the throne. Read 1 Kings 16:8-13.
• Baasha reigned for 24 years and then his son Elah took the throne only for 2 years.
• The whole family of Baasha was destroyed “in accordance to the Word of the Lord spoken against Baasha through the prophet Jehu” (16:12) - as God determined!
Ultimately God used Zimri to fulfilled His Word. It was God’s decree, not Zimri’s plot that directed history.
(2) God’s Decree DIRECTS History
Where is God? He is there watching the unfolding of His judgement upon evil.
It is amusing to hear the questions people ask. The logic usually goes like this.
• “Where are you in the midst of all this evil? Why are you not doing anything?”
• And then after 20+ years when God finally act – like this, with the dogs and birds eating the dead – they say, “Wah, why is God so cruel? Why did He kill these people?”
• When God delays, we ask why is He not doing anything. When God judges, we ask why is He so harsh.
God will judge sin and evil. It is unjust and unrighteous of Him not to.
• Whatever atrocities we see today, God is watching and judgement will come, if not in this world, then in the world to come.
• And when He judges, it will be perfectly right – right in its timing and execution.
We see God using evil men to punish other evil men, and later judges the evil instruments He uses, for their own evil because they too sinned against God.
• This is the pattern we see many times, even with the fall of ISRAEL under the Assyrians (722BC) and the fall of JUDAH under the Babylonians (586BC).
• God uses them to discipline His people, and then in turn judges them for their sin.
• The Scripture Readings that we have been doing now from the book of ISAIAH, tells of God’s judgements against Assyria and Babylon. God will judge sin.
Let me conclude with this thought. In the midst of this darkness, God still has His faithful servants.
(3) His Light Still SHINES
We’ve seen prophets appearing at different times, speaking the counsel of God.
• We have prophet Jehu here for King Baasha, last week under King Asa JUDAH we have prophet Azariah and Hanani the seer (2 Chron 15-16).
• Earlier on, under King Rehoboam JUDAH we have prophet Shemaiah.
• Under Jeroboam ISRAEL who created a new religion, we have prophet Ahijah and the unnamed man of God from Judah (1 Kings 13) who interrupted the King while he was offering sacrifices to his idols.
• Going forward, even under the most notorious King Ahab, God raised prophet Micaiah and prophet Elijah.
God has not given up on His people and He will not. Throughout the history of Israel, He raises up prophets to proclaim His Word.
The Lord is still speaking to the lost world today, through you and me. We are the LIGHT that shines in the darkness.
• Jesus says, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12)
• We look around and we see violence erupting, we hear rage in the words of men, we see terror sprouting from unexpected places.
• But the Lord is watching; He is not absent. He will judge evil and sin.
• And His light still shines, through those who have the LIGHT OF LIFE.
During the World War II, allied forces sent in airborne soldiers to invade Sicily (island off Italy) but landing them at the right location in the dark was extremely difficult. The paratroopers were scattered as far as 100km from their intended drop zones.
Subsequently the army created the PATHFINDERS. They are small groups of specially trained paratroopers who will jump ahead of the rest of the force. Once on the ground, their job is to mark the correct drop zone with signal beacons or specialized lanterns visible from the air. These men would literally light the way, allowing pilots and paratroopers alike to see exactly where they needed to land.
We are the PATHFINDERS for the many who are seeking for direction.
• We are the ones who can point them to Jesus, to the truth of God’s Word.
• So let’s stay faithful and do all that we can to shine His light, like these faithful prophets.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, give us the light of Your truth and let it guide us through the days of our lives. In whatever circumstances, we know You are there watching over us and guiding us still. Help us hear well Your Word and understand Your will. Those who follow You will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Strengthen us to be Your faithful servants in this generation. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.
