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: Sunday, July 03, 2022
Chapters: II CHRONICLES 20-21, II KINGS 8-9
Study: We Will Survive
Hello My Friend,
We see a lot of evil taking place right now, not just in America, but all over the world. It seems that corrupt and evil politicians have somehow taken over nations that actually did have a strong backbone in their faith in Christ. Fear, is often the key that opens the door to the wicked even getting foot in the door in the first place, as you can see all it took was a little virus to bring us down to where we are today, and it getting worse by the day. Now, with that said, there is hope for every saved, born again Christian, we may have to endure some of the suffering that is going on as God is judging these nations, but we will survive. There will only be one of two outcomes, either another Great Awakening taking place or God will bring us to safety and the wicked will just destroy themselves, which I actually see happening already.
[Mark 13:7-8,12-13 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. 8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. 13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.]
Jesus gave us fair warning of what is to come before He returns, and I know that every generation sees the sighs, but my goodness, we are really seeing so many signs right now. As we return to the reading of 2 Chronicles, this was after God warned Jehoshaphat that judgment would come to Judah because he aligned himself with Ahab. Now, Moab, Ammon, and some other nations unite to come up against Judah.
[2 Chronicles 20:3-6,12 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. 5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, 6 And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? 12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.]
[but our eyes are upon thee.] God, often puts His people in a position that the only option is to turn to Him. You see, while we are sent out into the world, we are to never become friends with them or even worse become yoked together with them as that will place us right in the middle of God’s judgment upon them, [2 Corinthians 6:14,17 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,]
Even being around the wicked puts us in danger, and this also includes those fools who know Christ as their Saviour, but go against everything He died to save us from. This battle is not ours, it is God’s, and He will judge every nation, and He will protect us, but we must be fasting and praying ourselves for our nations. Now, God, sends Zechariah to Jehoshaphat to let him know that He heard them and not to fear them.
[2 Chronicles 20:14-15,17,22-23 Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation; 15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. 22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. 23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.]
[every one helped to destroy another.] God, does not have to lift one finger to destroy the wicked for they will destroy each other, and sooner or later, they too will come to God for help. Meanwhile, back in Syria, of all places, the king of Syria, was no exception. As we continue in the reading of 2 Kings, after all that he had did to destroy Samaria, had gotten sick. When he heard that Elisha was in Damascus, he sent his servant to enquire of whether or not he would recover from the disease that he had.
[2 Kings 8:9-13 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? 10 And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath shewed me that he shall surely die. 11 And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept. 12 And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child. 13 And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.]
[is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing?] Hazael, reacted like so many others do when you tell them what is to come of them. They do not like the thought of fate, destiny, or the idea that their lives are planned out for them, and that they do not have choice in the matter. Well, the truth is, we all make choices of our own freewill, it is those choices that we make that determine the outcome for our future. Of course, it is God who just happens to know the outcome well before we even make those choices because, after all, He does know our heart.
[Romans 8:1,28-30 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.]
Do you understand what that passage means? God, gives every soul born the means to get saved, He denies no one. It is their heart that turns away from that truth, and since we are all sinners and there are only two options to choose from, either heaven or hell, we are destined to either receive the good that comes through all the suffering if we choose Christ, and that is eternal life, or we are destined to receive hell, which is eternal death. Meanwhile, back in Judah, Jehoshaphat died, and his son, Joram (Jehoram) reigns, and since Ahab was his father, he turned Judah into something the resembled Israel, he even went as far as killing the rest of Jehoshaphat’s sons so they had no chance at becoming king if he died. Things were so bad that even Edom revolted because God was not there.
[2 Kings 8:16-20,24 And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign. 17 Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the LORD. 19 Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah for David his servant’s sake, as he promised him to give him alway a light, and to his children. 20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves. 24 And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.]
[In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah,] I can picture my own country doing this, the conservatives revolting against the democrats, and republicans as the majority of them all are corrupt and have forgotten God. Now, we find something interesting from 2 Chronicles, as it accounts to this as well, a letter from Elijah shows up and is handed to Ahaziah.
[2 Chronicles 21:12-14,16-17 And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah, 13 But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father’s house, which were better than thyself: 14 Behold, with a great plague will the LORD smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods: 16 Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, that were near the Ethiopians: 17 And they came up into Judah, and brake into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king’s house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.]
[And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet,] Since Elijah was long gone at this point, this was probably a letter written and given to Elisha for when the time would come to deliver it. And this is exactly why God gave us the Book of Revelation, He is giving us ample warning of the judgment that is coming to all nations, because none of them have truly given themselves to God completely, [1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.]
Meanwhile, back in Samaria, Remember when Elijah warned Ahab that his entire family would be destroyed as well as Jezebel? [1 Kings 21:21-23 Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, 22 And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin. 23 And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.] When God gets vengeance on His people He does not mess around. Elisha, sends one of the children of the prophets to anoint a man names, Jehu as king.
[2 Kings 9:1-3,6-7 And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramothgilead: 2 And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber; 3 Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not. 6 And he arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel. 7 And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel.]
[Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not.] We are the messengers, we are sent out into the world to preach the Gospel, then flee, and we are to never stay in it too long or we might get stuck in the middle of God’s judgment upon them. Now, Jehoram, did not last long as king, Jehu, wasted no time in killing him, in fact, God, had placed everything just perfectly that Ahaziah was there in the same place.
[2 Kings 9:14-16,21-23 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had kept Ramothgilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria. 15 But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your minds, then let none go forth nor escape out of the city to go to tell it in Jezreel. 16 So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram. 21 And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. 22 And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many? 23 And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah.]
[so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?] There never is true peace as long as the wicked are around to destroy every good thing that we attempt to do. Even Jesus said, [Matthew 10:34-36 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.]
Why did Jesus say that? Because not everyone in our own house has the same faith in Christ that we have. Keep in mind that God’s people and Israel are not the same, He defends the country because He gave it to the children of Israel, [Romans 9:6-8 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. 8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.].
God’s people are by far perfect, but they are His people and He will defend them, and rid the nation of the ones who cause His people to sin, even if that means that He has to separate us from our own family. I have family that I do not even talk to because they do not follow Christ as I do. And this is exactly what God was doing here. Now, after Jehu took care of Jehoram and Ahaziah, it was time to take care of Jezebel.
[2 Kings 9:30-35 And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window. 31 And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? 32 And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs. 33 And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot. 34 And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king’s daughter. 35 And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.]
[and she painted her face,] Here is this woman, who at one point, had all of Samaria under her control, getting all dolled up, knowing everything that was going on, and yet expecting the new king to swoon over her. The wicked will always be so arrogant as to believe that no one can touch them, but in the end, their fate will be much worse than anything they had ever done, [2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You for making a way for us to be pardoned for our sin and not have to face the judgment of both death and hell. All we need to do is believe in You, and receive You as the payment for our sin debt, and we will be forever Yours, and one of Your people for eternity. Lord, You gave us liberty when You set us free through our faith in You, lead us and guide us, give us Your power, protection, and Your mercies and grace to live our lives in a way that brings glory to You. Until You return or bring us home, let us not use our salvation as an occasion to fulfill every lust of the flesh, rather for the edifying of Your name so that others can see You through us and receive You as well. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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