Today we again see the fruit of rejecting the Lord and His word. Just because your dad loved the Lord doesn’t mean you do. Take a look.
2 Chronicles 21: Jehoram Reigns in Judah
1 Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Jehoram his son reigned in his place.
2 He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.
3 Their father gave them great gifts of silver, gold, and valuable possessions, together with fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn.
4 When Jehoram had ascended the throne of his father and was established, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and also some of the princes of Israel.
5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.
7 Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and since he had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.
8 In his days Edom revolted from the rule of Judah and set up a king of their own.
9 Then Jehoram passed over with his commanders and all his chariots, and he rose by night and struck the Edomites who had surrounded him and his chariot commanders.
10 So Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day. At that time Libnah also revolted from his rule, because he had forsaken the LORD, the God of his fathers.
11 Moreover, he made high places in the hill country of Judah and led the inhabitants of Jerusalem into whoredom and made Judah go astray.
12 And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, "Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father, 'Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah,
13 but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel and have enticed Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem into whoredom, as the house of Ahab led Israel into whoredom, and also you have killed your brothers, of your father's house, who were better than yourself,
14 behold, the LORD will bring a great plague on your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions,
15 and you yourself will have a severe sickness with a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the disease, day by day.'"
16 And the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the anger of the Philistines and of the Arabians who are near the Ethiopians.
17 And they came up against Judah and invaded it and carried away all the possessions they found that belonged to the king's house, and also his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, his youngest son.
18 And after all this the LORD struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease.
19 In the course of time, at the end of two years, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great agony. His people made no fire in his honour, like the fires made for his fathers.
20 He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he departed with no one's regret. They buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
2 Chronicles 22: Ahaziah Reigns in Judah
1 And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned.
2 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri.
3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counsellor in doing wickedly.
4 He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as the house of Ahab had done. For after the death of his father they were his counsellors, to his undoing.
5 He even followed their counsel and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to make war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead. And the Syrians wounded Joram,
6 and he returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that he had received at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was wounded.
7 But it was ordained by God that the downfall of Ahaziah should come about through his going to visit Joram. For when he came there, he went out with Jehoram to meet Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.
8 And when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he met the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah's brothers, who attended Ahaziah, and he killed them.
9 He searched for Ahaziah, and he was captured while hiding in Samaria, and he was brought to Jehu and put to death. They buried him, for they said, "He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart." And the house of Ahaziah had no one able to rule the kingdom.
Athaliah Reigns in Judah
10 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family of the house of Judah.
11 But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king's sons who were about to be put to death, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of Jehoiada the priest, because she was a sister of Ahaziah, hid him from Athaliah, so that she did not put him to death.
12 And he remained with them six years, hidden in the house of God, while Athaliah reigned over the land.
Things to think about…
1. After the pinnacle of Jehoshaphat’s reign we see the horror of the rule of his son Jehoram, 2Chr 21:1-4. The only mercy is that he only reigned 8 years, vs 5. But this must have been an eternity for the people who had known blessing, freedom and truth under Jehoshaphat. This chapter affirms the reap/sow law. Jehoshaphat’s eldest son Jehoram murders all his brothers in order that his kingdom be established. All this comes about because he is married to Ahab’s daughter, vs 6. Remember it was Jehoshaphat that had an alliance with Ahab through marriage. Jehoshaphat sought after the Lord. But where does the blame lie for Jehoram’s rejection of the Lord? Is it with him or his father? Clearly it is with Jehoram. We won’t have our fathers standing beside us when we are judged. It’s just you and the Lord.
2. What do you make of 2Chr 21:7? Israel had not been a nation for almost 2 millennia in 1948. They now have a Prime Minister, a president and the Knesset (legislative power). Should they have a king today based on this verse? They will seek a king from the line of David one day. Unfortunately, he will be the means of great angst, not only to Israel, but to Christians. We know the rightful King of Israel is Yeshua – Jesus. Pray Israel embraces its true King!
3. The prophet Elijah is ministering in Israel at the time and he pronounces judgement upon Jehoram, 1Chr 21:12. Jehoram will die through a wasting bowel disease. He also starts to fight with the nations that surround him, Edom, Philistines, Ethiopians and Arabs. The word of God comes true and Jehoram dies to no-one’s regret, vs 20. What legacy are you leaving for your children and your grand children? Will they acknowledge your love for the Lord as their primary memory? What do you think you will you be most remembered for?
4. The killing continues in 2Chr 22 whether it is by the Arabs, Jehu (Israel’s reforming king) or Athaliah, the king’s (Ahaziah) mother. Ahaziah reigns only a year then dies at the hand of Jehu while he was hiding in Samaria. No-one is now able to rule, 2 Chr 22:9. What a tragedy considering the wonderful kingdom Jehoshaphat had established, only to fall horribly with murder and war. We see families in our day falling apart with divorce and strife even within the church. Pray for peace, grace and truth under the Holy Spirit to rule in the church.
5. Why do you think ‘the house of God’ was a good hiding place for the young Joash by his aunty Jehoshabeath, 2Chr 22:12, when Athaliah was on her killing spree? There is a good chance Athaliah never went anywhere near the building – she hated the LORD. So Joash was safe for 6 years, being looked after by his aunty. Let’s never dull down the message of the cross or the need to embrace it where the world feels comfortable coming into the church simply because there is no presence of God’s Spirit or the gospel. If Jesus and the cross is lifted up, He promises to draw all to Himself, John 12:32.
Vision Point for cell groups – Cell groups on break over the school holidays
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Title was “You win, but don’t deserve it” from 2 Chronicles 13
1. Abijah only reigned in Judah for 3 years. The description of this man in 1 Kings 15:1-3 is not very flattering, yet in 2 Chronicles 13 we see the Lord bless his faith and obedience. When you read the passage in 2Chr 13 what does the Lord use to bring about such a great victory for Abijah? What does Abijah say and do that honours the Lord?
2. Jeroboam lost 500, 000 men. What do you remember about the character of Jeroboam, what was he known for? What was Jeroboam’s legacy?
3. Israel never recovered after losing 500, 000 men. Judah would attract people from Israel back to worship the one true God. This is still the case today. Even though Abijah was not wholly true to the Lord, he was still blessed. Do you see some similarities of Abijah in your own life? In what way?
4. Pray for prayer points and for each other.
Prayer Points
1. Peace to rest over Ukraine.
2. Pray for new people as they settle into life at CBC.
3. Upcoming Australian elections – pray for the Lord’s choice of MP’s.
4. Continue to pray for the flood clean-up as well as the money donated to help.
5. Folk sick with Covid – relief and healing.
6. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
7. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Worship on Sunday – thankyou team.
2. More visitors to CBC over the weekend.
3. God’s word affecting people for Christ
4. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Members meeting 22nd May after the service.
2. Remember to check your duty rosters.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for May...
Q. 3. Will Christ come again? A. Yes; at the last day Christ will come to judge the world.
