And It Shall Come to Pass - Verse 1

And It Shall Come to Pass

Tune: St. Michael, S.M.

Scripture: Isaiah 2:1-5, 11:1-10, 35:1-10, 7:10-16

Verse 1 of 4

And it shall come to pass.

The mountain of the Lord

Shall be established over all.

O Come, Let us adore!

2 Chronicles 24

Joash was king in Judah, but the real leader was the priest Jehoida. Jehoida had protected Joash from his wicked grandmother and had prepared the young boy to be king. Even after Joash began to rule at age seven, Jehoida led the new monarch in the right direction. As long as Jehoida was alive, Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.

As the king grew up he married two women and had sons and daughters. The line of David had been restored. Joash determined to repair the temple of God in Jerusalem. He confronted those beneath him who were moving slowly on this priority. He saw to the collection of funds from the people so that the work might be better funded through the taxes and offerings of those whom the Lord prompted to give to this good work.

This project involved more than just money. Joash, like his good predecessors, engaged gifted people to do important tasks for the Lord. The people listened to the king and the work went forward with efficiency and excellence.

The Chronicler rejoiced in these great achievements and rightly connected them with the life of the priest. “They offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord regularly all the days of Jehoiada.” But the day eventually came when Jehoiada died. Sadly, the king chose new advisers from among the leading men of Judah who served false gods. Even when the Lord sent true prophets to the king, Joash would not listen to them.

When the Spirit of God sent one of Jehoida's sons with a convicting message for the king, Joash ordered that this child of his old protector be stoned to death. Joash was breaking the Lord's commandments, but he refused to listen to any correction.

The Lord avenged the blood of His faithful servants and brought great trouble upon Joash and the people of Judah. The king was badly wounded by foreign enemies and was then murdered by his own servants.

Joash was a good king as long as Jehoiada the priest was still alive. When that good old man died, the young king did not have any abiding internal compass that caused him to walk in the ways of the Lord. This could never be said about the true Messiah who now reigns over all of God's people. The righteousness of Jesus was not a result of the good influence of any family member or rabbi. Jesus was always righteous in the depths of His being. Though He grew in grace and knowledge and in favor with God and men, our King's goodness was never derived from anyone.

We want our own obedience to God to be more than a matter of external compulsion that is here today and gone tomorrow. We want to be changed forever by the renewing work of the Lord. May Jesus, who is the fountainhead of goodness, change us in the depths of our souls, and may He always live to be our perfect Mentor and everlasting Guide.

2 Chronicles 23

Athaliah had usurped the throne of David after the death of her son. This wicked woman then killed the royal family in order to consolidate her power. She did not know that she had one surviving grandson in the line of David. Joash was secretly protected and instructed by a priest, Jehoida. This good man took courage in the seventh year and led a holy insurrection against a woman who had no right to rule over Judah.

A team of armed Levites who were willing to risk their lives in order to make Joash king followed Jehoiada's instructions. They brought out the boy, the priests anointed him, and everyone proclaimed him king.

Athaliah called this treason, but the officers and the people were able to discern the way of God. Athaliah was put to death and Joash reigned over Judah as king.

Not only that, Jehoida led the nation in the elimination of Baal worship. At least for that moment in time, the true worship of the Lord was reestablished according to the directives that Moses and David had given to God's people generations before. Joash sat on David's throne and the people rejoiced.

We know more today about the true promised Son of David than Jehoiada the priest did back in his generation. We know the Name of the unexpected Man who became Israel's eternal King.

Jesus has been enthroned on high through His resurrection and ascension. He has all power and authority in heaven and earth. Yet at present, only those who have the gift of faith acknowledge Jesus as Lord. The rest remain in darkness.

But soon the day will dawn when all will acknowledge the return of our righteous King. The people of the Lord will be filled with great joy on that day. There may be some who would rather cry out, “Treason!” They will be quickly exposed as enemies of God. Only when the Son of David reigns over all can there be true peace on earth, good will toward men, and a complete overturning of the curse that has brought so much trouble upon the world.

Laying Down Our Pride and Ceasing from Ceremonies that are Fading Away

November 24, 2013 Evening:

Title: Enter God's Rest

Old Testament Passage: Psalm 50:23 – The salvation of God

Gospel Passage: Mark 14:43-52 – Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

Sermon Text: Hebrews 4:10 – Resting in Jesus and resting from works

Sermon Point: Jesus is our Day Seven of creation – He is at work within us both to will and to do according to His good pleasure

10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

God has a rest for us. We consider that rest every Sabbath Day. It is not the rest of the land of Canaan, but another place, another person, another time period, another creation. Yet all of these things that are “another,” can live within us by the Word of God, and be expressed through us in your place, by your own person, in your time period, in this same world of creation where you live.

“The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.”

This is something Moses said in Deuteronomy, but it was also something Paul wrote about in Romans 10. How can they hear without a preacher? We preach. You hear. You believe. You call upon the Name of the Lord. The Word is very near you.

Out of your inmost being flow streams of living water. This stream comes forth from God's rest. Where that stream flows, there is good work for us.

Why then does the author of Hebrews say, “Whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works?” Isn't there plenty of good work for us to do now for the Lord?

The natural man thinks He has so much to offer to God.

In John 6:28-29, those who came to Jesus wanting Him for their own agenda said this:

“What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

The work that comes from the rest that God has won for us begins with God. It is a gift. It is our privilege that the river that flows from heaven flows through us. We can only accomplish heavenly works if we cease from our own works of self-recommendation.

This is the pattern that God established for that Day 7 rest. He stopped working. When we come before Him, our first step is to stop working, to receive His rest for us, which is Jesus, His Son, and to let Jesus work through us.

The only work that will last is God's work. But now He is at work within us, both to will and to do according to His good pleasure.

Today if you hear His voice, put down your work, put away your pride, receive His work for you, believe, and follow. Do not harden your hearts as they did in the rebellion. You can never even enter His rest that way.

First Thessalonians Song

Give Thanks unto the Lord

Tune: Schumann, S.M.

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians

1. Give thanks unto the Lord

For brothers whom He loves,

Examples of the way of life,

A gift from God above.

2. God has a father's hand,

A mother's tender care.

The love we know, we imitate.

What we receive, we share.

3. The church of our dear Lord

Empowered from on high

Shines forth the glory of our God

Reflecting heaven's joy.

4. May we abound in love

With all who know the Lord,

And standing fast in Jesus Christ

Abide in His good Word.

5. We live to please our God

And serve Him more and more,

In quiet lives of holiness

For Him whom we adore.

6. The resurrection world

Is coming with the Lord,

Grieve not as those who have no hope.

Believe the Word of God.

7. But when will that Day dawn,

When will the faith be sight,

For soldiers of our risen Lord,

The children of the light?

8. While waiting, we rejoice,

And thank the Lord above,

For He will bring His kingdom here

And build a world of love.

Stephen Magee, 2013

Give Thanks Unto the Lord - Final Verse

Give Thanks unto the Lord

Tune: Schumann, S.M.

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5-12-28

Verse 8 of 8

While waiting, we rejoice,

And thank the Lord above,

For He will bring His kingdom here

And build a world of love.

2 Chronicles 22

Jehoram had killed all of his brothers, and at the end of his life his enemies killed all of his sons but one. This youngest son, Ahaziah, became the new king in the line of David. He was king for only one year, and like his father, he was an evil ruler. Both men were heavily influenced by the corrupt kings of Israel and their wicked advisers. The Lord's displeasure touched not only these wicked kings to the north of Judah, but Ahaziah as well. The new king of Judah was put to death by Jehu, the Lord's appointed agent in God's judgment against the house of Ahab.

With the death of Ahaziah there was no king in Jerusalem. Ahaziah's mother, Athaliah, usurped the throne, consolidating her power by destroying the entire royal family. What she did not know was that one of the sons of Ahaziah, Joash, had been secretly saved from his grandmother's murderous plot.

The Lord knows how to preserve the life of His anointed during the most desperate times. When the Messiah was born in Bethlehem, a powerful king attempted to destroy the One who was born to be king of the Jews. Yet God was using whatever means necessary to preserve the coming King.

Even when our Lord's adversaries thought that they had accomplished their purposes by handing Jesus over to the Romans for Him to die on the cross, they were only doing what God had determined to accomplish long ago according to His own perfect plan. This is how it came to pass that Jesus died for our sins.

The continuity of God's kingdom does not rest in our goodness or in our own ability to keep ourselves alive. The Lord will be faithful to His own promises. Jesus will come again in glory.

2 Chronicles 21

Jehoram became king of Judah after the death of his father, good king Jehoshaphat. We are sad to find out that the son was nothing like the father. His first recorded action was the murder of all his brothers and a number of the princes of Judah.

Jehoram followed the bad pattern of the kings of Israel. The daughter of Ahab, one of the evil kings to the north, was his wife. Despite his wretched behavior, Jehoram was in the line of the kings descending from David that would lead to the Messiah. The Lord preserved that line because of His promise to David and not because of anything good in Jehoram.

Jehoram had problems with neighboring nations. These were a direct result of his unfaithfulness to the Lord. He built up false places of worship in Judah against the Law of the Lord. He led the nation away from the God of his father. The great prophet, Elijah, sent him a letter predicting a plague upon his house and disease upon the king himself that would lead to his death. These afflictions were not random. They were the Lord's direct judgments against him.

In the space of only two years the words that Elijah had written against Jehoram came to pass. We hear these words from the Chronicler regarding his death: “He departed with no one's regret.”

What possible benefit can come to us from considering the account of such a bad king? Bad kings help good kings to shine. Jehoshaphat looks like a hero when compared to his son, but Jesus shines far more brightly than both men.

A truly righteous king leads His people toward the Lord, and not away from Him. The true servant of the Lord teaches others to love his brothers in the faith, not to kill them. It is safe for everyone in the kingdom of God to follow Jesus. He leads us in the way of life. That could not be said about Jehoram. Jehoram's disobedience brought great trouble upon Judah, but the obedience of Jesus has become the foundation of a resurrection kingdom extending to all the nations of the world.

2 Chronicles 20

The final of four chapters on the reign of Jehoshaphat begins with the account of a military crisis. A league of neighboring nations sent an overwhelming force against Judah. Jehoshaphat was afraid, but he behaved in an exemplary way. He turned to the Lord in prayer and then received a good message from the Lord in faith.

In his prayer the king of Judah acknowledged the greatness of God and called upon the Lord to be true to His promises. The Lord had promised to give this land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God had enabled Solomon to build a sanctuary for the Name of God and had sworn that He would hear them when they called upon Him in situations just like this. The king concluded his prayer with these great words: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

The message from the Lord assured the king and the people of Judah that God Himself would bring them victory. They responded with faith and worship. The next morning they went off to battle singing psalms. The Lord brought victory by causing the adversaries of Judah to turn against one another. All that was left for God's people was to take away the spoil. They returned to the temple of the Lord praising God.

Jehoshaphat was a great king. His twenty-five year reign was good for the people of the Lord. His only problems came in His partnerships with the wicked kings of Samaria to the north. A shipping misadventure done in league with one of these evil men completes the account of Jehoshaphat's reign.

The lessons for the Chronicler's generation were obvious, and they continue to be important for us who are led by the King of kings. In the face of overwhelming enemies we need to call upon the Name of the Lord, remembering His promises and believing His Word. He will not abandon us. Only remember that we are called to be faithful to God. We must not imagine that every project that might be undertaken in partnership with the world will be safe for the Lord's people.

In the days of the return of exiles from Babylon, this meant that they needed to see the danger that came from the inhabitants of the land who claimed to want to help in the reconstruction of the Lord's temple. They also needed to be careful not to get entangled with the women of the land who were not following the Lord.

We are involved in a great work of building up God's kingdom throughout the earth. Jesus will surely lead us into victory. Our help is not in the power of the kings of this world but in the Name of the One who died and rose again.

Isn't there any way to get a real, honest to goodness rest?

November 17, 2013 Evening:

Title: There Remains a Sabbath Rest

Old Testament Passage: Psalm 55:6 – And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest;

Gospel Passage: Mark 14:26-31 – If I must die with you, I will not deny you.

Sermon Text: Hebrews 4:8-9 – More thoughts on Psalm 95 and the conquest of Canaan

Sermon Point: There is a future Sabbath-like rest for the people of God that we are to eagerly anticipate

[8] For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on.

There is a sense in which the whole Bible is about rest.

First, the Lord entered into His ruling rest of the seventh day of the week of creation. Then with the fall of mankind, our rest was destroyed by Adam's sin. Our way to God's rest was cut off. God would have to provide the way for us to enter His rest.

Many centuries later the Lord set up Israel as a land of rest. Yet Moses and the wilderness generation were not permitted to enter that picture of rest because of unbelief and disobedience.

Joshua brought the people of God into the land of rest, but that conquest must have been only a picture of the good things to come. This we know because centuries further into the future David wrote Psalm 95 to a new generation long after Joshua had already led the Israelites into Canaan. He encouraged that new generation with God's offer of rest.

[9] So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,

Therefore, there remains something beyond Canaan for the people of God. There is another land of rest that would signal the complete repair of sin's devastating damage of this present creation and of human beings created in God's image.

The answer for us comes in the Man of Rest who has worked for us the great work of salvation. We need to come to Him in order to find true rest.

This is His Word to His children: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle and lowly of heart and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

There are many false counterfeits, false saviors, that claim to have rest for us. The rest that we want is the rest of the seventh day, God's rest. Only God can certify the true way into that rest. The resurrection of Christ is God's certification that an honest way of rest for mankind has been provided.

Let us strive to enter the only God-approved land of rest through the true Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Having precious promises of rest, let us eagerly anticipate all that God has promised us. The Lord has brought us perfect rest—the ruling rest of the seventh day of creation, now secured for all the children of God in the blood of Jesus Christ.

Give Thanks Unto the Lord - Verse 7 of 8

Give Thanks unto the Lord

Tune: Schumann, S.M.

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5-1-11

Verse 7 of 8

But when will that Day dawn,

When will the faith be sight,

For soldiers of our risen Lord,

The children of the light?

2 Chronicles 19

In case there was any question remaining as to whether Jehoshaphat had done wrong in going out to war against the Syrians with Ahab, God sent a prophet to the king of Judah in order to confirm this error. “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord?” Ahab was wicked. Ahab hated the Lord. What was good king Jehoshaphat doing serving Ahab's military interests? There would be consequences for this mistake, yet the prophet also spoke words of commendation from the Lord for the king of Judah: “Nevertheless, some good is found in you, for you destroyed the Asheroth out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God.”

There was something right about Jehoshaphat's concern for all of Judah and Israel. While it was wrong for him to look to Israel for military advantage or to fall in line with Israel's war plans before first consulting the Lord, it was right of Jehoshaphat to be concerned about righteousness and justice in all of the territory of the Promised Land from Beersheba in the south to the hill country of Ephraim in the north. The king himself went everywhere urging all of the people to return to the Lord. He did what he could to establish an honest system of justice according to the Law of the Lord wherever he had any influence.

Jehoshaphat established an honest chain of command in Jerusalem and urged everyone to be good and true representatives of God Almighty in the matters that came before them. His words to those in authority reflected a concern for the One who is over all: “Deal courageously, and may the Lord be with the upright!”

A good king needs to respond to the Lord's correction with full obedience and to encourage his subjects to do the same. While Jesus had no sin in His life that required any correction, we are still informed by Scripture that, “He learned obedience through what he suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8) There can be no doubt that He calls us to be deeply concerned about honesty in all matters of justice. It is a mistake to think that the generosity of the gospel is an argument in favor of lower standards of goodness among those of us who believe that Christ's blood has atoned for our sins. Our King sends forth His Spirit throughout the earth. He has caused His Word to be published even in the tongues of those who have had no other written word available to them. He gives the church shepherds and instructs them to teach others to observe all of His commands. He tells us that if we love Him we will obey His commandments.

It was commendable that Jehoshaphat cared about obedience to the Lord. Surely Jesus cares about the righteousness and honesty of all who claim to be His followers. He hates wickedness. Yet this same Jesus died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6)

2 Chronicles 18

Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, made a marriage alliance with Ahab, the king of Israel. The king of Israel was wicked. The danger for Jehoshaphat was that Ahab would entangle him in some evil project that would bring trouble upon Judah.

This is exactly what took place. Ahab induced Jehoshaphat to go to war with him against one of Israel's adversaries. Yet before moving ahead with this military campaign, Jehoshaphat wanted to inquire of the Lord. Ahab brought forward 400 prophets all speaking of his victory, but Jehoshaphat was rightly suspicious. He called for yet another prophet, and Ahab reluctantly summoned prophet 401, Micaiah, the son of Imlah.

Micaiah also spoke words of victory for Israel, but this time Ahab was suspicious. With just a little provocation from Ahab, Micaiah revealed the true workings of the heavenly council that would lead to the death of Ahab on the field of battle.

Why would Jehoshaphat continue with this joint plan of war after the word from Micaiah? Not only did he go forth in battle, but he even allowed himself to remain arrayed in royal robes while Ahab disguised himself. If anyone wanted to kill a king they would have aimed their arrows at Jehoshaphat thinking him to be Ahab. But in the heat of the battle the Lord helped Jehoshaphat. Ahab's destiny was quite different. He was killed in what seemed like a most unlikely turn of divine providence.

One of the tests of a true spokesman for the Lord is whether the prophecies that he speaks come to pass. Micaiah was a true prophet. He had proven the other 400 prophets to be false. His words to Ahab prior to the battle had been vindicated: “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.”

When Jesus of Nazareth prophesied about a death, it was not the death of another man, but His own. Like Micaiah, His words were true, but even His disciples were unwilling to receive the message that He gave. He accurately spoke to them about His suffering, death, and resurrection. Even those evil leaders of God's people who were planning Jesus' demise did not accurately predict the events that they accomplished. Nor did they understand the meaning of our great King's death. Jesus knew what He was doing. He came to die for us in the battle of ages. He secured life for us through His death. He was lifted up on the cross. He had spoken very accurately in John 12:32 about what would be accomplished in that place of punishment: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

2 Chronicles 17

Asa's son, Jehoshaphat, was a significant king in the history of Judah. The Chronicler devotes four chapters to him in this inspired account written for the generation returning to the land from the Babylonian exile. Like Asa, Jehoshaphat was a good king on the whole. He did not worship idols and he walked in the commandments of the Lord God Almighty.

Throughout his reign there was another way that he could have easily gone—the bad example of the ungodly kings of Israel. We are told that he did not live according to their practices. Nonetheless, his cooperation with the kings to his north was at various times in his reign problematic as we will see in future chapters.

Jehoshaphat was greatly blessed by the Lord. He received great wealth as tribute from his subjects. He also undertook spiritual reforms and had success in removing places of false worship throughout the land. The struggle against idolatry in God's kingdom was a battle for every generation, and Jehoshaphat was willing to fight that good fight in his day.

The spiritual agenda of the king involved not only putting off false worship but also putting on the true ways of the Lord taught in the Law. This positive task of teaching the Word of God was important to Jehoshaphat and he sent certain officials and Levites throughout the land in order to pursue this holy initiative.

The Lord brought success to the king not only within Judah and a few cities to the north that were controlled by Jehoshaphat. Tribute came to him from foreign lands because “the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah.” Within his own territory great men from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin served the king, men who had large numbers of soldiers serving at their command.

Life was good in Judah when Jehoshaphat was king. This relatively good period in Old Testament history should cause us to consider the life that is ahead of us when a far better King will come to reign over all of God's people. What will life be like when Jesus comes again as King? How will He rule over the earth? Will the changes that we long to see all happen in a moment? We know that His victory will be far beyond anything that David, Solomon, Asa, or Jehoshaphat ever experienced. How will our Lord bring peace upon the earth? Who will be the great men that He lifts up to positions of prominence for teaching and for the protection of all the children of God? What role will angels have when Jesus comes again? How will it exactly work when the King who won His victory through His own death and resurrection shows to the world that He is King of kings and Lord of lords? What will it be like when those who are called in the Scriptures the “dead in Christ” return to the earth with their Lord? What will it actually be like when the meek have inherited the earth? It does bring us joy to consider such questions. This is one of the ways that we can set our hearts above, where Christ is currently seated at the right hand of the Father.

Sabbath, Canaan, and the Son of David

November 10, 2013 Evening:

Title: They Shall Not Enter My Rest

Old Testament Passage: Psalm 50:1-2 – Our great God shines forth out of Zion.

Gospel Passage: Mark 14:17-21 – One of you will betray me.

Sermon Text: Hebrews 4:2-7 – More thoughts on Psalm 95 and Genesis as they relate to faith and rest.

Sermon Point: The rest that we need to enter is God's rest. We enter that rest by a living faith in Jesus Christ.

2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,

“As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’”

The wilderness generation received the good news of God's kingdom through the Word of Moses. They were told to enter the land of rest, the Promised Land. That message did not benefit them because they did not believe the Word that was preached to them.

We have heard the Word of Jesus through His servants. This Word invites us into a far better Promised Land. We have believed the Word of God and have been brought into the church, the heavenly kingdom of God throughout the earth.

The first wilderness generation died in the desert. They did not enter God's rest on earth in their day, the land of Canaan. They were afraid to do so. They believed a bad report regarding the inhabitants of the land. They would not believe the Word of God.

although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this passage he said,

“They shall not enter my rest.”

Speaking of God's rest, Canaan was not the first biblical picture of the eternal rest that God has provided for His people. Rest was spoken of in Genesis 2:1-3. The first Sabbath day was a rest. It was not a hammock rest for God—He did not need that kind of rest. It was a throne rest—a ruling rest as the God who reigns over everything.

God rested from His works on the seventh day for our benefit. The opening chapters of Genesis call us to enter God's rest for us in the Sabbath day. We are supposed to cease from our own works, believe Him, and then to enter His rest by remembering the Sabbath day and keeping it separate—holy from all the other days of the week.

6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts.”

Long after Moses, David wrote in Psalm 95 about the rest of God. By the time of David it was a well-established fact of history that the first generation in the wilderness had been unwilling to enter the rest of God. Yet David wrote for us, urging us to enter a better rest, to hear God's call with a ready heart, to hear the voice of His anointed King, the Son of David, and to enter His rest in the church, no matter how frightening the adversaries might seem who would seek to stand in the way of God's people resting in Him. This is still God's call to us today. Jesus is our rest—a better rest than Sabbath or Canaan.

Give Thanks Unto the Lord - Verse 6 of 8

Give Thanks unto the Lord

Tune: Schumann, S.M.

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Verse 6 of 8

The resurrection world

Is coming with the Lord,

Grieve not as those who have no hope.

Believe the Word of God.

2 Chronicles 16

In our brief lives upon this earth we have many opportunities to serve the Lord. Through all of the ups and downs of our sanctification, we like to believe that we will finish our lives well here below. Asa had a very good start as a faithful king, but he did not finish his life well.

Asa had once been exemplary in his trust of the Lord, but at the end of his life the king placed his trust in the military might of Syria, in his own authority to silence critics, and in the ability of doctors to solve his physical problems. In all of these trials he lost sight of the God who had saved him in the past.

First, Asa faced trouble from the northern tribes of Israel under Baasha. Baasha was trying to keep people in the north from traveling to Jerusalem to align with Asa. Asa turned to the Syrians and paid them to break their military alliance with Baasha. Asa achieved his objectives, but a prophet from the Lord brought him word of the Lord's displeasure and called on him to repent. Instead of hearing this word from God with humility, the king had the prophet put in the stocks.

In earlier days Asa had gladly heard the Word of the Lord and had called out to God when he was facing a vast army from Ethiopia that was threatening to overwhelm Judah. God had heard his cries then. Why did Asa turn to the Syrians this time instead of calling upon the Lord? And why was the king so stubborn when the time came for him to receive correction from God?

Some change had come upon Asa that is hard to explain. We are told that the king was in a rage regarding the words of the prophet. The king not only rejected God's Word, he also began to bring trouble upon the Lord's people. “Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time.”

Finally, when the king had a disease in his feet, he did not turn to the Lord. “Even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians.” There is nothing inherently sinful in receiving the help that may come from other people, but Asa needed to bring his needs to the Lord. This final test brought a sad ending to the life of a great king.

The Bible's assessment of Asa was still positive. He was honored at his death and the summaries of his reign bring to mind all that was worthy in him. “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.” Yet his poor finish was also recorded for our consideration.

Jesus, the Messianic King of Jews, finished well. If He had ended his life poorly, all would have been lost for us. He needed to fully obey the Lord. His most important test of obedience came in His death. Every one of our Lord's royal ancestors fell short of God's demands in some way, but Jesus was faithful to the end. His resurrection was a vindication of His sinless perfection.

2 Chronicles 15

How was it that Asa led the nation of Judah in confronting the entrenched idolatry that had built up over the preceding generations? Asa heard the Word of the Lord from a true prophet and he followed the directives that the prophet spoke from God.

The prophet's message was a call to Judah's king and to all of Judah and the neighboring tribe of Benjamin to obey the Lord in order to experience His great blessings upon the nation. God invited Judah to seek Him and to stay with Him by hearing and obeying the voice of His prophet. This had always been the right way to go. How could anyone in Israel or Judah ever decide that it would be a good idea to test the Lord by deliberating violating His Word?

God promised both Asa and all the people that the Lord would reward their work. This good Word was a very strong encouragement to them in the direction of hearty covenant obedience.

The Lord's message immediately inspired the king to righteous action. He put away all the idols in his territory and wherever God gave him the authority to rule. He led all the Israelites in worship, for many had turned to the king of Judah when they saw that the Lord was with him. He executed God's judgment on all those in the Promised Land who would not submit to the Law of the Lord. Even the king's mother was removed from her position of honor because she was an idolator.

Was Asa right in his aggressive campaign to enforce a rule of worship upon an entire nation? We need to remember that Judah was not like any other nation on the face of the earth. The Lord had set apart this small territory for His people. They would only prosper there if they were dedicated to the worship of God and to the whole Law of the Lord. This was the only way to maintain stability and peace in the land, and it was what God had specifically commanded.

The result of Asa's faithful leadership was worth noting. There was a prolonged period of peace in Judah. Asa did what he was supposed to do and the Lord brought blessing upon the nation. The king was not able to rid the northern tribes of their idolatry, but then there was another king in the north who bore some responsibility for that portion of the Promised Land.

Judah could certainly give thanks to God for more than three decades of remarkable peace under Asa. Still, we must admit that we have our hearts set on something much more than that. We long to see the Lord reigning perfectly over the entire earth forever. We want that to take place not by the threat of force, but by the power of renewed hearts no longer under the sway of sin. Asa was one step toward the ultimate purpose of God. We thank the Lord for a king who was better than most, but we are looking for the best of all kings and for a new city whose Builder and Maker is God.

2 Chronicles 14

“Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.” Asa was the son of Abijah and the great-great-grandson of King David. He led Judah in a time of religious reformation.

The Promised Land was never intended to be a place of religious diversity. God commanded His people to destroy all signs and symbols of idolatry. Many kings were unwilling to do the job set before them. Asa “commanded Judah to seek the Lord.”

The thorough destruction of false idols was good for the stability of this special nation. Under Asa, “the kingdom had rest,” at least for a time. The king improved Judah's defenses and raised a large army to protect the Lord's people.

During Asa's reign the land of Judah was confronted by a large army from Ethiopia. Asa's prayer at that time is recorded for us, beginning with these words: “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak.” Asa rightly saw that Judah was outnumbered. They were the weak and the Ethiopians were the mighty. But the king of Judah was calling upon the Name of the Lord. He knew that Yahweh was far above all of the gods of the nations.

The prayer continues: “Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” The king's cry for help was grounded in the great Name of the Lord. He called upon the God of David to show His power in this struggle against those who had come out against the Lord's people.

The result of this brief prayer is simply presented in this account: “So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah.” Not only did the enemy flee, but Asa and the army of Judah pursued them and gained much from the spoils of war that they brought back with them to Jerusalem.

This story is very straightforward. We should not miss the point. God is able to defeat His and our enemies. We need to call out to Him and engage in the fight of faith in His Name. He is moving all of history toward the conclusion that He determined long ago. The gods of the nations will not win.

Even when our God seems to suffer what looks like a setback at the time, as in the death of Christ, an even greater victory is being won that requires this pain and loss. Through the cross, the victory of the Lord's resurrection kingdom is secured, and the people of God are saved. The enemy is defeated and the Lord's great Name is lifted up. If God can bring about a victory like that through the death of His Son, we can certainly trust Him through the present moment of distress that we are facing. He will defend His own Name. He will win the battle. His perfect plan will be accomplished.

God's Promises, Our Commitments, and Healthy Fear

November 3, 2013 Evening:

Title: Let us Fear

Old Testament Passage: Psalm 44 – Honest speech before God in the midst of deep distress

Gospel Passage: Mark 14:10-11 – Judas agrees to betray Jesus – unbelief

Sermon Text: Hebrews 4:1 – The appropriate fear of not entering into the rest of God

Sermon Point: There is a right and healthy fear of disobeying God that is an aid to our sanctification

[4:1] Therefore,

It is very appropriate for Christians to make good use of the Old Testament Scriptures in our current fight for holiness of heart and righteousness of life. Psalm 95 is very worthy of our careful consideration. The author of Hebrews has been leading us in this consideration with particular attention to the turning point in the psalm, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

while the promise of entering his rest still stands,

His point is that these words were not written merely as a matter of historical commentary. They are still very useful. We are not trying to get into the land of Canaan, but there remains the promise of entering his rest.

A promise is not our free pass to a life of laziness but a call to have confidence in the power of God as we seek to serve Him.

let us fear

We are called by the author of Hebrews to a life of fear. That just sounds wrong. But the words are written plainly enough for every reader to understand: “Let us fear.” Perfect love, the love of Christ for us, casts out every inappropriate fear for the Christian. That same perfect love moves us forward in sanctification. It is still the truth that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Who is God after all? How will we stand before Him? If it is possible to grieve the Holy Spirit, can it be safe for us to live in unbelief? Let us fear the Lord, remember His promises, and then reengage in our good commitments that we have made before Him in the presence of many witnesses.

lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.

We don't want to live as those who do not seem destined for heaven. We don't want to be removed from the community of “rest” that has found the mercy of God and is testifying to the truth of Christ throughout the earth.

Think of the testing of Jesus' faith on the cross. Think of what His victory means for you. Then follow Him by the grace He supplies. This is the way to hold on to His promises.

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.