{"id":944,"date":"2019-06-16T21:07:33","date_gmt":"2019-06-16T20:07:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=944"},"modified":"2019-06-16T21:07:35","modified_gmt":"2019-06-16T20:07:35","slug":"gods-amazing-plan-of-salvation-all-the-kings-of-israel-good-and-bad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=944","title":{"rendered":"God’s Amazing Plan of Salvation – All the Kings of Israel, Good and Bad"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saul the first King of Israel (ruled c.1045-1011 BC)
\nGod rejects Saul 1 Samuel 15
\nSamuel anoints David to be King 1 Samuel 16
\nDavid and Goliath 1 Samuel 17
\nSaul kills the priests and consults a medium at Endor
\n1 Samuel 22 and 28<\/p>\n

David the greatest King of Israel (ruled c.1011-971 BC)
\nDavid brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem 2 Samuel 6
\nUzzah is struck dead vv6-7. David danced and Michal despised him vv16-23
\nGod\u2019s Covenant with David and David\u2019s Prayer 2 Samuel 7
\nDavid and Bathsheba 2 Samuel 11
\nNathan the prophet rebukes David 2 Samuel 12<\/p>\n

King Solomon (ruled c.971-931 BC)
\nSolomon asks God for Wisdom 1 Kings 3
\nSolomon builds the Temple 1 Kings 5:1-8:21
\n(see parallels in 2 Chronicles 3-4)
\nSolomon dedicates the Temple 1 Kings 8:22-66 (parallels 2 Chronicles 6)
\nThe Division of the Kingdoms 1 Kings 12 (division in c.931 BC)<\/p>\n

When the Temple was completed God warned Solomon, \u2018If you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, \u201cWhy has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?\u201d People will answer, \u201cBecause they have forsaken the LORD their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshipping and serving them\u2014that is why the LORD brought all this disaster on them.\u201d \u2019 (1 Kings 9:6-9)<\/p>\n

The Northern Kingdom of Israel from 931 BC
\nJeroboam leads the people into idol worship 1 Kings 12:25-33; 13:1-6, 33-34
\nAn even worse King \u2013 Ahab and Jezebel
\nGod\u2019s Prophets Elijah and Elisha 1 Kings 17ff.
\nContest on Mount Carmel 1 Kings 18.
\nJehu \u2013 a good and bad King 2 Kings 10:28-31
\nThe Fall of Samaria in 722 BC in 2 Kings 17 marked the end of the Northern Kingdom and God\u2019s judgment on their sins.<\/p>\n

The Southern Kingdom of Judah from 931 BC
\nAsa was a Good King 1 Kings 15:9-15; so was Jehoshaphat 1 Kings 22:41f.
\nJoash repaired the Temple 2 Kings 12
\nWarnings from the Prophets Micah and Isaiah
\nGood King Hezekiah brings Judah back to God
\n2 Kings 18 and repents 2 Kings 19
\nBad King Manasseh reinstates Baal worship, makes an Asherah pole and sacrifices his own son in the fire 2 Kings 21:1-9 bringing judgment on Judah 2 Kings 21:10-16.
\nJosiah discovers the Book of the Law (Deuteronomy) and renews the covenant 2 Kings 22-23; 2 Chronicles 34-35
\nMore warnings this time from Jeremiah
\nThe Fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC in 2 Kings 25.
\nSolomon\u2019s Temple is destroyed and the whole nation is taken into exile by
\nthe Babylonians as God\u2019s punishment on Israel for worshipping foreign gods.<\/p>\n

In the midst of these good and bad kings some like the prophet Elijah called Israel to remain faithful to God = as we thought about in 1 Kings 18.<\/p>\n

The contest on Mount Carmel was not just about proving that Yahweh, the God of Israel, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Moses, actually exists. The contest was a demonstration of the greatness of God Almighty, the Living God, over all the other spiritual beings, principalities and powers which hide behind all false religions then and now. It is the story of how Almighty God demonstrated his superiority over the false god Baal which was seducing away God\u2019s chosen people Israel. It began with Elijah\u2019s concern for God\u2019s glory and his example of faith in the God who answers by fire.
\nWE SEE ELIJAH\u2019S CONCERN FOR GOD\u2019S GLORY
\n1 Kings 18 18 \u201cI have not made trouble for Israel,\u201d Elijah replied. \u201cBut you and your father\u2019s family have. You have abandoned the LORD\u2019s commands and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel\u2019s table.\u201d
\n20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, \u201cHow long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first of the Ten Commandment was unambiguous. God demanded loyalty from His chosen people, the people He had redeemed.
\nExodus 20:1 And God spoke all these words: 2\t\u201cI am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3\u201cYou shall have no other gods before me.
\nBut now in the time of Elijah the people of Israel were being led astray by a very bad King Ahab of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and by his wife Jezebel, the daughter of the King of Tyre and Sidon. Jezebel murdered the prophets of the one true God. Instead of serving God, the Israelites were choosing to worship and follow the false gods the Baals and the goddess Asherah. The Israelites had to make their minds up \u2013 as people still need to do even today. If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.\u201d That choice had eternal significance. And God\u2019s honour and God\u2019s glory were at stake on Mount Carmel.<\/p>\n

God had demonstrated His power in the Exodus and the parting of the Red Sea and God would demonstrate His power on Mount Carmel for His glory.<\/p>\n

WE SEE ELIJAH\u2019S FAITH<\/p>\n

22 Then Elijah said to them, \u201cI am the only one of the LORD\u2019s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire\u2014he is God.\u201d
\nThen all the people said, \u201cWhat you say is good.\u201d
\nDid you notice Elijah the prophet\u2019s courage? Outnumbered 450 to 1. \u201cI am the only one left.\u201d Yet Elijah still steps out and speaks in God\u2019s name. That is true faith. Going out on a limb for God. Elijah put his trust in the God of Israel. We put our trust in the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and in Jesus, Lord of all, Name above all Names! It was that kind of faith which had led Elijah to prophesy a period of drought as God\u2019s judgment on the sins of the people. That example of amazing faith is commended in the New Testament.<\/p>\n

James 5 16 \u2026 The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
\n17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.<\/p>\n

God calls us to show that kind of faith. To go out on a limb for Him, proclaiming the gospel, even bringing healing and deliverance in Jesus\u2019s all-powerful Name. Praying that even \u201clost causes\u201d will be gloriously saved, all for the glory of God and the honour of His Name.<\/p>\n

That is the kind of faith we see here on Mount Carmel. Faith believing God to do the impossible. Faith that was not afraid to mock the false gods in front of their passionate followers.<\/p>\n

25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, \u201cChoose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.\u201d 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
\nThen they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. \u201cO Baal, answer us!\u201d they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
\n27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. \u201cShout louder!\u201d he said. \u201cSurely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.\u201d 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.<\/p>\n

Elijah even made things more difficult for himself!<\/p>\n

33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, \u201cFill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.\u201d
\n34 \u201cDo it again,\u201d he said, and they did it again.
\n\u201cDo it a third time,\u201d he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.<\/p>\n

And the God who is God, God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth,<\/p>\n

WE SEE THE GOD WHO ANSWERS BY FIRE<\/p>\n

36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: \u201cO LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.\u201d
\n38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
\n39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, \u201cThe LORD\u2014he is God! The LORD\u2014he is God!\u201d<\/p>\n

Here we see the awesome power of God Almighty. In contrast to the puny powers of the false gods, the demons behind Baal-worship. Compared to Almighty God even the devil is weak and feeble \u2013 although the devil tries to deceive people so that they believe otherwise. In the presence of Elijah the false god Baal had been powerless. But the fire of God fell on Elijah\u2019s sacrifice. God brought his judgment on the prophets of Baal and their master, the false god called Baal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the Lord is God then follow Him,\u201d said Elijah. And God answered by fire. He demonstrated His power and his glory and the people did turn to follow the Living God once again. They repented of their idol-worship. And God showed his mercy on the drought-
\nThe world today needs the rain of God\u2019s blessing. The world needs God to show again that He is God \u2013 even the God who answers by fire! The world needs God to show His glory against the evil powers which are dragging men and women to their deaths. For God to show His power we need to become like Elijah. The man of faith who asked God for the impossible and was not disappointed!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saul the first King of Israel (ruled c.1045-1011 BC) God rejects Saul 1 Samuel 15 Samuel anoints David to be King 1 Samuel 16…<\/span><\/p>\n

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