King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Monday, June 26, 2023
Chapters: I KINGS 16-17, II CHRONICLES 17
Study: A Good Name
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
I read an excerpt from a short story that public school kids are reading and it was about a kid who had thoughts to smothering their baby brother who had a disability. It is things like this that are causing children to become violent and even commit suicide. They are being taught that life has no value, that there is no reason to work hard, and that you can even change your gender if it makes you feel good about yourself. What happened to the value of life, family, and morality all together? Well, this has Satan written all over it. However, this did not happen overnight, and all it took was for them to take the Bible out of public schools to get it started. I tell you what, it takes years to build up a good name, but only seconds to destroy one, [Proverbs 22:1-3 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. 2 The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all. 3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.]
As we continue in the reading of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, we learn of what happened in Israel while Asa reigned as king in Judah. God, had first chosen Jeroboam to be king, but instead of asking God how to govern the people, he resorts to making his own gods. Well, of course, God, took the throne from him because he caused the entire nation to worship these gods. Jeroboam, did not die on his own, a man name Baasha assassinate him and took the throne for himself and continued to worship these false gods. For this reason, God sent a prophet to warn him that he and his family would die the same way as Jeroboam did.
[1 Kings 16:1-4,7 Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, 2 Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins; 3 Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 4 Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat. 7 And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the LORD against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam; and because he killed him.]
[Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust,] God, can raise us up to the top of the world, but He can certainly knock us down should we turn against Him, and it will not be pretty. You know, even with all the idolatry, God, still called Israel His people and had hope that they would forsake these false gods and return to Him. Still today, God does the very same thing, and there will come a day when all of Israel will return to Him, even having faith in Jesus. When that happens, look out because Jesus will not be far behind, [Romans 11:25-27 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.]
Now, this is not referring to all of the Israelites themselves, this is referring to God’s nation of Israel, the only one that people from every race, family, and creed will come together in the power of the Deliverer, Jesus Christ Himself, [Romans 9:6-7 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: 7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.]
Baasha, acted out of pure malice, and that is what angered God, besides the fact that he worshiped those false gods as well. God, would have accepted Baasha’s acting as a minister of His justice, but since he did this all for lust, therefore, he died in his lust. After Baasha was killed, his son, Elah, reigned, still following the same pattern as his father, he was killed two years later, a man named Zimri killed him and took the throne, but he only lasted a week. And then we come to Omri, this time, the people chose him as king.
[1 Kings 16:9-11,16,18 And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah. 10 And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead. 11 And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends. 16 And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp. 18 And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king’s house, and burnt the king’s house over him with fire, and died,]
[drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza] Three lessons can be learned here, one; try the spirits, two; never put yourself in a position that will cause you to lose control of your own body, and three; repentance goes a long way. If at any point any of these men had repented and turned away from their false gods, then God would have repented of the evil that He warned would happen, [Isaiah 1:18-20 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.]
Do you see the key to riches, honor, and life as God would give it to us? [If ye be willing and obedient,] Does God expect us to never sin once we accept His Son as our Saviour? No. He knows our flesh, but part of being obedient is being willing to admit that we have sinned and to confess those sins. That is all He is asking for, a little bit of faithfulness. And if you thought Jeroboam’s turning Israel against God with their golden calves was bad enough, his sins were light compared to what Omri was about to bring to Israel with his reign.
[1 Kings 16:21-22,24-25 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. 22 But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned. 24 And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria. 25 But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him.]
[And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer] At this point, Israel was no longer known as Israel, but Samaria. It is actually not the country that God was concerned about, it was the people and their souls in particular, but since it was God who had given them the land it is fitting that the name would change as to try and hide that fact that God was the one who gave it to them. Any nation that was led by God, but has turned on Him attempts to hide and even erase history to keep the new generation from knowing the truth and turning to God. Why do you think that there are so many “versions” of the Bible? They are attempting to hide and erase both truth and history. The problem is that each time they change things, it only makes things worse for them, [Matthew 24:11-13 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.]
My sweet Jesus, if it were not for Him, I do not want to know where I would be. I tell you what, things are so messed up that even those who “worship” Jesus have no clue of who He is. It takes more than singing songs about Him, it takes an effort to know the truth and live it, and He needs to be taught about from God fearing Christians who know the truth. Anytime we leave the world to decide who God and Jesus is, all they end up doing is making Him into someone completely different. Well, we did not learn much about what Omri did that was in addition to Jeroboam’s idolatry, but we get a pretty good idea from his son, Ahab, who managed to survive twenty-two years as king.
[1 Kings 16:30-33 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him. 31 And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him. 32 And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.]
[as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam] The idolatry was bad enough, at least, they attempted to mimic God, this was much more than idolatry, this was another god all together, one in which these people would be sacrificing their own babies for their gods. And God will have the last say.
[Ezekiel 16:20-21,38-39 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, 21 That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them? 38 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy. 39 And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.]
And it was not Ahab ruling here, it was actually his wife, Jezebel, who brought Baal worship to Samaria to begin with. Baal worship, was pure evil, it was the closest thing to devil worship that you can get. And for that reason God sent judgment upon Samaria in the form of a drought. In the midst of all this, God, sent a prophet by the name of Elijah to warn Ahab that until they repent there will be no rain. However, God, did not let the famine get the best of His faithful that would not bow to Baal. During the entire drought, God led Elijah where he would be cared for, even if it meant he had to camp out near a brook.
[1 Kings 17:1-4 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. 2 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.]
[and hide thyself by the brook Cherith,] Do you think that God does not have the same power that He had back then to provide for His people? God, is the same way today as He was yesterday and will be the same forever. The reason why so many cannot get through their droughts they are in is because they are trying to get out of them themselves instead of seeking God’s help, [James 4:2-3 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.]
This proves that even though our nations are overrun with evil, God will always protect and care for His people. While we cannot do anything to stop the judgments from God when a leader continues to corrupt our nation, we can find safety by trusting Him. Well, this little widow woman was about to learn how God can provide through her drought when God had sent Elijah to her when the brook dried up.
[1 Kings 17:10-12 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. 12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.]
[that we may eat it, and die.] Now, this woman may have had her doubts and was prepared to eat her last meal and die, but she had some kind of faith that things would turn around or else God would not have sent Elijah to her. Well, Elijah, encouraged her to go ahead and make a cake for him first, which was actually something resembling a biscuit.
[1 Kings 17:13-15 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. 14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. 15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.]
[and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.] Remember, we need a little bit of faith in God, otherwise, we cannot expect God to help us through the droughts. However, once we do get them, God, may test us to see if we are going to continue trusting Him or if it were only temporary. This is what He did with the widow woman when her son got sick and actually died.
[1 Kings 17:18-24 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? 19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. 20 And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? 21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. 22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. 24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.]
[art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance,] The woman actually reacted like we all do when we have been faithful to God and something tragic happens, she thought that it was a punishment of her former sins. We must never forget that if we have accepted Christ as our Saviour our former sins are long gone, in fact, never to be remembered by God. While God may not always bring a loved one back to life in order to show us that His Word is true, He will show us that we can trust in Him, even death, [2 Corinthians 5:6-9 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.]
It is kind of sad that we need to see proof that God is true, but we all get that way sometimes. While we cannot avoid being in the midst of God’s judgments of the world, we do not have to fear or worry what will come of us because He always provides for and takes care of us for our faithfulness. In the forty-one years that Asa reigned in Judah, Israel, went through five kings, and would literally be taken over by someone even more wicked than the last one. This is what happens when God is out of the picture, He will protect His people, but that nation will turn into one of great ruin. Nevertheless, all it takes is one Godly leader to turn things around, such as the case with Jehoshaphat in Judah. After his father Asa died, Jehoshaphat reigned and within three years he turned the nation back to God, even tore down the groves they were using for their idol worship.
[2 Chronicles 17:1-6 And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself against Israel. 2 And he placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken. 3 And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim; 4 But sought to the LORD God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. 5 Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance. 6 And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah.]
[Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand;] Sadly, many Christians have lost their faith, not in their salvation, but in God turning things around. We must understand that it is not too late, while judgment is inevitable for the world that does not mean that that God is done with His people, He still wants to produce some miracles for us. However, that will not happen as long as we stand on the sidelines and just hope for the best, we must take a stand and make things happen. Jehoshaphat, was so faithful to God that he even had peace with the Philistines. His greatest success was having the Levites travel throughout the nation, preaching and teaching the Law to the people.
[2 Chronicles 17:9-13 And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people. 10 And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat. 11 Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and tribute silver; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he goats. 12 And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles, and cities of store. 13 And he had much business in the cities of Judah: and the men of war, mighty men of valour, were in Jerusalem.]
[Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents,] This reminds me of this verse, [Proverbs 16:7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.] Jehoshaphat, made sure everything he did reflected God, from his own life to his family, and even business affairs, the people knew that God was a big part of his life. God, blesses us when we are faithful to Him, being faithful to God does not mean we are not going to mess up from time to time, it does mean He will always be there for us no matter what judgment the world faces, [2 Peter 3:14-15,17-18 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. 18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.]
Today’s Prayer: God, As I try to live my life the way You want me to live in a nation that turns more ungodly every day, there are many difficulties, people, challenges, and struggles that are constantly trying to discourage me. I know that all things will come to pass and that You will lead me to great things as I remain faithful to You. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me Your strength, wisdom, and guidance to get through this day trusting, believing, and knowing that You will provide me with everything I need. Watch over me, and protect me in this corrupt nation, and let me be the example You need me to be to reach those who need to know Your Son. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/ready-to-follow-jesus/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/welcome/
Read Today’s Bible Reading: http://kingjamesbible.imfollowingjesus.com/
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/readytofollowJesus/
Copyright © 2023 I’m Following Jesus, All rights reserved.