THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

The Books Of Kings: The Kings Of Israel And Judah From Solomon To The Babylonian Captivity

III. The Latter Era Of The Divided Kingdom, 2 Kings 2:1-27:41

GG. Resting In God's Sovereignty Over Evil Elitists In Power

(2 Kings 21:19-29 et al.)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

Reports abound on elitists in power who promote their agendas to the harm of the public they are to represent:

(1) David Harsanyi, a senior editor at The Federalist, in "The scandals Biden forgot" (Republican-American, June 15, 2019, p. 8A) told how "one of Obamacare's architects, Jonathan Gruber," claimed a "'lack of transparency' compounded by 'the" alleged "'stupidity of the American voter' was a huge political advantage for the administration."

Mr. Harsanyi added more illustrations on how a number of federal government elitists have treated the public with contempt, telling of "'Operation Fast and Furious'" that "put 2,000 weapons into the hands of narco-traffickers, leading to the murder of hundreds of Mexican citizens, and at least one American border guard," how "(i)n 2012" the "Department of Justice spied on The Associated Press" and " Fox News' James Rosen in 2010" illegally, how CIA director "John Brennan oversaw an operation of illegal spying on a legislative staffer," how "the Internal Revenue Service leadership aggressively targeted conservative groups to undermine their voice in elections," the "IRS" later admitting "as much in an apology letter" and the "Department of Veterans Affairs" being guilty of "negligence," Ibid.

(2) In occurs at the state level: Chris Powell, a columnist for the Journal Inquirer in Manchester in "'Ghost-gun' ban will save few lives" (Ibid., June 13, 2019, p. 12A) told how "the gun problem" in Connecticut "is about . . . welfare's destruction of the family, parental failure, child neglect and abuse, the abandonment of educational standards, drug criminalization, and the criminal-justice system's refusal to recognize incorrigibility in chronic offenders." Yet, he added, "There are no official inquiries into these problems. Instead, Lamont and state legislators celebrate their irrelevance amid social disintegration. It's a joke, but they are confident that people won't get it."

Need: So we ask, "What is the solution to elitists in power who promote their agenda to the harm of the public?!"

I. When Amon came to Judah's throne, he forsook the Lord and followed the syncretism and idolatry his father Manasseh had initially practiced, 2 Kings 21:19-22; Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 581.

II. Amon thus failed to see God bless him, so elitists in his administration, "(f)earing a continuation of the havoc . . . Amon's policies were sure to bring," conspired against him and slew him, 2 Kings 21:23; Ibid.

III. In an amazing turn of events for a monarchy in that era, the common people slew all the elitists who had assassinated Amon and put his eight-year-old son Josiah on the throne, 2 Kings 21:24; 2 Chronicles 34:1.

A. In the Ancient Near East, a monarch was an absolute ruler, so if a conspiracy was made to assassinate him, the party heading the conspiracy would set up a king in the slain monarch's place, cf. 2 Kings 15:8-31 et al.

B. In addition, to avoid the threat of being unseated by the slain king's descendants, the new king would seek to destroy the former king's sons as in the case of Jehu's destruction of Ahab's seed (2 Kings 9:11-10:17) and Athaliah's effort to annihilate the Davidic seed that she might retain the throne of Judah. (2 Kings 11:1)

C. However, when Amon's servants conspired to assassinate him, they uncharacteristically did not try to establish a different monarchy or try to eradicate Amon's descendants by executing them.

D. Also, the common people uncharacteristically unitedly rose up and slew all the elitists who had conspired against Amon and then put Amon's young son Josiah on the throne, preserving the Davidic monarchy!

IV. These UNUSUAL events SIGNALED the MOVING of the HAND of GOD to FULFILL HIS WORD:

A. When the Northern Kingdom of Israel's first king Jeroboam I had begun his false syncretism, God had sent a prophet from Judah north to Israel to condemn that syncretism, prophesying that a Davidic king named JOSIAH would one day burn the bones of syncretistic priests on the false altar at Bethel, 1 Kings 13:1-2.

B. Later, that prophet sinned, undermining the testimony of his prophecy on Josiah, so God had a lion kill that prophet, punishing him so as to support the validity of his prophecy on Josiah's future work, 1 Kings 13:3-32.

C. Nearly 300 years LATER, Amon's son, king Josiah, would arrive at Bethel from Jerusalem, fulfilling that prophecy by the prophet from Judah, cf. 2 Kings 23:16; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to 1 Kings 13:2.

D. In summary, then, God sovereignly moved, producing unusual events that He might fulfill His Word:

1. First, God punished the prophet from Judah who gave the prophecy about Josiah, killing him by a lion to validate his prophecy on Josiah's actions as being TRUE in contrast to that prophet's later personal sin!

2. Three hundred years later, God let Amon be slain by elitists in his administration to punish him for sin.

3. However, God also let the "people of the land" make the unusual move unitedly to slay all the elitists who had killed Amon and support the monarchy by putting Amon's son JOSIAH on the throne that God's 300-year-old prophecy about Josiah's desecration of Jeroboam I's syncretism might be fulfilled!

Lesson: God's slaying of the prophet from Judah to validate his prophecy about Josiah and His moving 300 years later to permit Amon's death by elitists and the rise of his son Josiah to the throne by the death of the elitists at the hand of the common people show God sovereignly wills to fulfill His Word over all human efforts to the contrary!

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ to be saved, John 3:16. (2) May we trust God is sovereign over the efforts of even evil elitists in governmental power that His Word might be fulfilled as He wills!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . . )

(1) We have often dealt with the unbiblical error of "climate-change" ideology that is promoted by elitists, but God's ability and will to let efforts by such elitists be countered by common people has been recently seen.

Rich Lowry's piece, "Climate trap for Democrats" (Republican-American, June 17, 2019, p. 6A) reported that "(i)n Australia last month, the liberal opposition lost what was supposed to be 'the climate-change' election, against all expectations. Pre-election polling showed about 60% of Australians thought the government should address climate change 'even if this involves significant costs,'" but "(i)t turned out it was one thing to tell that to pollsters and another to vote to make it happen. In France, gasoline and diesel-fuel increases as part of a government plan to reduce carbon emissions by 75% sparked the yellow-vest movement in car-dependent suburbs and towns, and had to be reversed ignominiously." Also, in critical national election swing states, "(w)orking-class voters in the Rust Belt in the United States" are also the "voters most opposed to the costs of climate action," Ibid.

(2) Besides, a close look at Genesis 8:21-22 where God promised to control the earth's climate shows both the error of "climate-change" ideology and hints at God's solution to all the problems named in our sermon introduction:

(a) The seasons of sowing (spring) and harvest (fall), summer and winter coupled with heat and cold and day and night cycles (Genesis 8:22) indicate God will preserve a climate with some variations that is yet conducive to crop production for man's food in contrast to His former destruction of human and animal life by the global Flood! The cycle of the seasons, of day and night and of cold and heat "will not cease," the Hebrew verb there being shabat, "rest; desist," from which the word for the Hebrew "Sabbath" was derived. (B. D. B., A Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 991-992) God thus promised to preserve a climate for the duration of the earth that provided for agricultural production for man's survival, what counters claims of either a catastrophic ice age or catastrophic global warming!

(b) In addition, the Hebrew word behind "seedtime" is zera', "sowing" that also means the "sowing season;" the word rendered "harvest" (qasir) also means "harvesting"; the word for "summer" (qayis) also means "summer-fruit" and the word for "winter" (horeph) is actually "autumn, harvest-time" when the rains begin and signal the start of winter. (Ibid., p. 282-283, 894, 884, 991-992) These words imply an emphasis on agricultural pursuits, typical of the Messianic Kingdom when every man will dwell under his own vine and under his own fig tree, Micah 4:4. A preoccupation with agricultural pursuits requires everyone to exert personal, physical work opposite a welfare state, what also helps to counter vices most often associated with inner cities such as family and parental failure, child neglect and abuse, low educational standards, drug abuse and other criminal activities and their related problems with gun misuse, etc. mentioned in Chris Powell's piece on problems of social disintegration in Connecticut.

(c) Also, the abuses we noted by both state and federal elitists mentioned in David Harsanyi's piece as well as Chris Powell's editorial are generally promoted by Marxist ideology that promotes covetousness and stealing what the "haves" possess to redistribute it to the "have nots," employing any means possible as the ends is believed in Marxism to justify the means. However, a focus on agricultural pursuits requires everyone to exert personal, physical work opposite a welfare state, essentially diffusing adherence to Marxism, for failure to work in agricultural endeavors eventually leads to starvation! Our Pilgrim Forefathers learned this: they found they had to abandon their initial failed experiment with socialism to assign a plot of land to each family and require each family to live off of what they grew on their assigned plot. That shift from socialism to capitalism led to hard work and a bountiful harvest! (Daniel J. Flynn, "Socialism Didn't Work At Plymouth Plantation, Either," humanevents.com; November 25, 2010) When other immigrants arrived in America to build a new life, they adopted the work ethic and capitalist ideology of the Pilgrim Forefathers, and from that the American economy and nation developed!

May we trust in Christ to be saved. May we trust God to fulfill His Word in spite of evil, powerful elitists, and make heeding the exposition of His written Scriptures our source of belief and action for blessing.