Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20040502.htm

1 AND 2 KINGS: ENJOYING GOD'S BLESSINGS IN AN APOSTATE ERA
Part LIII: Blessing By Heeding God's Clear Alarms Of Future Discipline For Sin
(2 Kings 16:1-20 with 2 Chronicles 28:1-27)
  1. Introduction
    1. Psalm 23:3b KJV explains God leads His people "in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake," or for the sake of His reputation as God. In other words, God has the ability to clarify what His will IS to any believer so that the believer is without excuse in KNOWING just what IS God's will for him!
    2. God's clear warning signals to the ungodly king Ahaz of Judah illustrates this fact (as follows):
  2. Blessing By Heeding God's Clear Alarms Of Future Discipline For Sin, 2 Kings 16; 2 Chronicles 28.
    1. For background, we recall God promised to relate to the people of Israel in blessing or in discipline to the degree they heeded God's Law as Deuteronomy 28 stipulated.
    2. One of the disciplines God promised to administer upon His people for SIN was that of national captivity by an invading nation, cf. Deuteronomy 28:15, 25b.
    3. Thus, God gave a "warning shot across the bow" for the idolatrous king Ahaz of Judah: He led his people into a defeat and partially temporal national captivity to invading nations, 2 Chronicles 28:1-15:
      1. Judah's king Ahaz began his reign by wickedly practicing horrible pagan idolatry, 2 Chronicles 28:1-4.
      2. Thus, as "a warning shot across the bow," in partial fulfillment of Deuteronomy 28:15, 25b, God let Judah suffer partially temporary defeat and captivity by Syria and Israel, 2 Chronicles 28:5-8:
        1. God gave up Ahaz's forces in battle to the invading coalition of Syria and Israel, 2 Chron. 28:5-6.
        2. Then, though some of the people were taken into a long-term captivity by the Syrians, the Lord sent 200,000 of the people of Judah into a temporary captivity to less-oppressive Israel: (a) though a number of Judah's people were led captive on a long-term basis into Syria (2 Chron. 28:5), 200,000 of them were taken captive by their fellow Hebrews in Israel, 2 Chron. 28:8; (b) God would not let Israel rest easy holding captive its fellow Hebrews: He sent Oded, a prophet to warn Israel to release its share of Judah's captives to avoid His judgment, 2 Chron. 28:9-11; (c) Israel heeded this warning and released her share of the people of Judah, treating them kindly, 2 Chronicles 28:12-15.
    4. However, Ahaz did not heed this divine "warning shot across the bow," so God let his efforts to succeed turn out to be unproductive, 2 Chronicles 28:16-27 with 2 Kings 16:17-20:
      1. Ahaz was not totally defeated by Syria and Israel, 2 Kings 16:5-6, so, instead of heeding this "warning shot across the bow" from God, he descended further into sin to improve his position in his own way:
        1. Ignoring God's warning in the partial captivity of Judah to Syria and Israel that God would fulfill Deuteronomy 28:15, 25b by sending Judah into a long-term, oppressive captivity to a foreign land, Ahaz unbiblically made an alliance with Assyria for military aid, 2 Kings 16:7-9; Deut. 7:1-2.
        2. Also, thinking he had been defeated by the Syrians because their god helped them more than Judah's true God had helped him, Ahaz borrowed a pagan altar plan from Damascus, put it in God's temple in place of God's altar and directed the Aaronic High Priest to sacrifice on it God's sacrifices much to the anger of the Lord, cf. 2 Kings 16:10-14, 15-16; 2 Chron. 28:22-23.
        3. Also, Ahaz continued to pay the Assyrians tribute for protection from Syria and Judah, 2 Chr. 28:16.
      2. God thus let Ahaz's efforts to succeed only turn out to be fruitless, 2 Chronicles 28:17-27:
        1. Ahaz's heightened idolatry was rewarded by God's allowing old enemies like the Philistines and the Edomites to invade and capture some of Judah's towns, 2 Chronicles 28:17-19.
        2. Ahaz continue to pay Assyria for protection against such enemies, but the Assyrians only distressed him by taking Ahaz's heavy tributes and failing to aid him against his foes, 2 Chronicles 28:20-21.
        3. Ahaz ended up giving great gifts from the temple and dismantling some of its valuable furnishings to pay off the Assyrians for the military aid that failed from then on to materialize, 2 Chr. 28:23-27.
Lesson: Because evil Ahaz IGNORED God's CLEAR WARNING of FUTURE SEVERE judgment for idolatry and disobedience to His Law, God let him suffer decline in his efforts to succeed as king.

Application: (1) May we HEED God's CLEAR "warning shots across the bow" of future, greater discipline so as to REPENT and enjoy His BLESSING! (2) If we see OTHERS in Ahaz's lot, may WE pay heed lest WE fall, and seek to restore them as did Obed, 2 Chronicles 28:9-11 with Galatians 6:1.