BREAKING The CYCLE In A LAND MISLED--III—
2Kings 16:1-4(16:01-18; 18:01-07, 13-16; 19:1-7, 14-20, 35-37)
Overcoming Political Compliance/Acquiescence
Overcoming The Politics of Spiritual Acquiescence.
Attention:
Thomas Jefferson regarding his concern for America regarding her shameless sin, even in his day—1781:—“I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.”
•King Ahaz of Judah’s reign was marked/defined by political expediency, acquiescence, & compliance.
•A land defined by those things is misled & to be pitied.
•Why/How should the cycle of misleading be broken?
•18 reasons for breaking the cycle of misleading in our land.
*In a misled land there is much that is Wasted, until that cycle of mismanagement is broken.
Previously, we’ve found that...
The cycle must be broken in a misled land, due to it’s Wasted...
1. PRIVILEGE(16:1)
2. RESPONSIBILITY(16:1)
3. YOUTH(16:2)
4. TIME(16:2)
5. CHOICE(16:2)
6. HERITAGE(16:2)
7. DEPENDENCE(16:3-4)
8. CONFIDENCE(16:5)
9. EFFORT(16:6)
10. ALLEGIANCE(16:7a)
11—The cycle must be broken in a misled land, due to it’s WASTED...
AID(16:7b-9)
Explanation:(16:7b-9)
16:7-9—“So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant & your son. Come up & save me from the hand of the king of Syria & from the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.” And Ahaz took the silver & gold that was found in the house of the LORD, & in the treasuries of the king’s house, & sent it as a present to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria heeded him; for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus & took it, carried its people captive to Kir, & killed Rezin.”
Assyria’s aid removed the closest menacing threat to Judah. Panic & fear drove Ahaz. It was ‘noble’ of him to consider the welfare of his people...IF that is behind his reasoning.
However it cost the nation of Judah much more than money as tribute— an openly tangible recognition of the legitimacy of Assyrian culture. *It cost Judah the culture of God’s design!
Assyria’s destruction of Damascus is in answer to God’s prophecy against Syria proclaimed by Amos:
Amos 1:3-5—“Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they have threshed Gilead with implements of iron. But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, Which shall devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad. I will also break the gate bar of Damascus, And cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven, And the one who holds the scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir,” Says the LORD.”
‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’ is an eventual recipe for disaster. But then what else can a nation do which does not find it’s strength in the Lord!?!
Argumentation:
Ps. 46:1-3—<<To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song for Alamoth.>> God is our refuge & strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar & be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah.
Illustration:
Like depending on ‘protection’ from ‘the Mob’ or ‘the Mafia’(criminals) to make your business flourish/Soon they will extort all they can from you & probably take your life!/Wasted AID
The United States(& other nations) regularly equip the underdog(who may be our enemy as well) with weapons & training in order to undermine our common enemy/Wasted AID
Here at home we do this when we can do no better than to vote for ‘the lesser of two evils’/Wasted AID
Application:
?Is there AID that has gone to waste in our Land’s Governance?
?Is the Cycle of our Land’s being Misled broken with you?
12—The cycle must be broken in a misled land, due to it’s Wasted...
PURPOSE, DIRECTION, & TESTIMONY(16:10-18)
Explanation:(16:10-18)
16:10-18—“Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, & saw an altar that was at Damascus; & King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the design of the altar & its pattern, according to all its workmanship. Then Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. So Urijah the priest made it before King Ahaz came back from Damascus. And when the king came back from Damascus, the king saw the altar; & the king approached the altar & made offerings on it. So he burned his burnt offering & his grain offering; & he poured his drink offering & sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. He also brought the bronze altar which was before the LORD, from the front of the temple--from between the new altar & the house of the LORD--& put it on the north side of the new altar. Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “On the great new altar burn the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt sacrifice, & his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, & their drink offerings; & sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering & all the blood of the sacrifice. And the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.” Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that King Ahaz commanded. And King Ahaz cut off the panels of the carts, & removed the lavers from them; & he took down the Sea from the bronze oxen that were under it, & put it on a pavement of stones. Also he removed the Sabbath pavilion which they had built in the temple, & he removed the king’s outer entrance from the house of the LORD, on account of the king of Assyria.”
King Ahaz completely denied that YHWH had taken his nation from one man Abraham to it’s national status under Saul, David, & Solomon!
King Ahaz readily made good on his statement to Tiglath-pileser that he was his “servant” & “son”(16:7).
After Assyria’s help, “King Ahaz” paid a personal visit to Tiglath-pileser, while he was in Damascus. Ahaz did this supposedly after exiling it’s people & killing their king(Rezin)(:9).
During Ahaz’s visit to Damascus, he “saw an altar” there which captured his attention. He was so enthralled with the altar that he sent plans for it’s design back to Jerusalem for “Urijah the priest” to have constructed. This “altar” had no doubt previously pleased Tiglath-pileser III.
Ironically Urijah’s(Uriah) name means = ‘Jehovah(Yahweh) is my light(flame)’ -OR- ‘Flame of Jah.’
“Urijah” all too quickly followed the desire of the king, no matter that desire’s reflection upon YHWH.
“Urijah” had “an altar” built according to king Ahaz’s specifications.
“Urijah”, wanting to please the king above all else, had the altar constructed “before” the king’s return “from Damascus.”
We are never told that Urijah questioned king Ahaz’s decision. Verse 16 confirms Urijah’s dedication to his king’s(Ahaz’s) manner & false gods.
2Kgs. 16:16—“Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that King Ahaz commanded.”
King Ahaz(735-715BC), instead of offering offerings to YHWH thru the priests & Levites & upon the YHWH-ordained altar—thru YHWH’s design & intent—Ahaz chose to “make offerings” normally meant to honor YHWH, on the ‘new’ altar of Assyrian-‘Damascan’ design(:10-11).
•Similarly, Ahaz’s grandfather(792-740BC), King Uzziah(AKA--Azariah) of Judah—one who did what was right in the eyes of the LORD(2Kgs. 15:3)—had grown proud, & had entered the temple attempting to burn incense on the altar of incense. As a result, YHWH made him a leper till the day of his death(2Chron. 26:16-21) & thus was not allowed near the temple again.
16:13, 15—“So he burned his burnt offering & his grain offering; & he poured his drink offering & sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar.”.....“Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “On the great new altar burn the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, the king’s burnt sacrifice, & his grain offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, their grain offering, & their drink offerings; & sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering & all the blood of the sacrifice. And the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.””
These verses describe offerings made weekly & monthly on behalf of the king. Daily offerings were also made on behalf of the people of Judah(all Israel).
*Ahaz & Urijah offered the prescribed Jewish offerings in a pagan setting & manner!
•Burnt Offering—Wholly burnt animal—Atoned for the worshiper’s sin.
•Grain Offering—A gift of gratitude to God by one whose sin had been atoned for thru the Burnt Offering(above). Flour & oil, a handful of which was burned, while the priest ate the remainder.
•Drink Offering—A symbol of joy. Poured on top of the Grain Offering & burned with it.
•Peace Offering— An optional offering. A blood sacrifice. For Thanksgiving; a Vow taken, Favor received, or for Worship; or Priest’s portion.
“After Ahaz’s time Judah”[nationally] “was not loyal to any particular system of worship.”—NAC
•In the wake of such ‘wasted’ PURPOSE, Judah is encouraged to discover their Purpose thru the flesh!
•In the wake of such ‘wasted’ DIRECTION, Judah is encouraged to go their Direction thru the flesh!
•In the wake of such ‘wasted’ TESTIMONY, Judah is encouraged to proclaim their Testimony thru the flesh!
Argumentation:
Jer. 29:10-14—“For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you & perform My good word toward you, & cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace & not of evil, to give you a future & a hope. Then you will call upon Me & go & pray to Me, & I will listen to you. And you will seek Me & find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, & I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations & from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, & I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.”
?From where does your PURPOSE originate?
?What determines your DIRECTION?
?To What do you readily give TESTIMONY?
Application:
?Is there PURPOSE, DIRECTION, & TESTIMONY that has gone to waste in our Land’s Governance?
?Is the Cycle of our Land’s being Misled broken with you?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Statement of Thomas Jefferson regarding his concern for America regarding shameless sin—“I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.”
Action:
The cycle must be broken in a land misled misled land, due to it’s WASTED...
11. AID(16:8-9)
12. PURPOSE, DIRECTION, & TESTIMONY(16:10-18)
1. PRIVILEGE(16:1)
2. RESPONSIBILITY(16:1)
3. YOUTH(16:2)
4. TIME(16:2)
5. CHOICE(16:2)
6. HERITAGE(16:2)
7. DEPENDENCE(16:3-4)
8. CONFIDENCE(16:5)
9. EFFORT(16:6)
10. ALLEGIANCE(16:7a)
Pt#s 11-12 Presented 07/07/2019am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 SE Ave A(Storrs Ave.)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
