Ahaziah, The King Who Didn't Fear God

1 Kings 22:51 – 2 Kings 1:18

March 29, 2009

We are now into the study of another new king.

You will remember a couple of weeks ago

That Ahab died a predetermined death.

Today we see the heir to his throne. - AHAZIAH

The King Who Didn’t Fear God

By that I mean that Ahaziah very simply

Did not take God seriously.

When God gave commands Ahaziah ignored them…

When God warned of judgment Ahaziah didn’t believe him…

You will see this as we examine our text.

#1 HIS LEGACY

1 Kings 22:51-53

In case you are wondering, when it was initially written, there was not 1 & 2 Kings.

It was all just one book. However to conserve papyrus, it was broken into two books. (This explains the rather odd division)

But to close out the book of 1 Kings

We see a generic description of this king we call Ahaziah.

He was king in the north while Jehoshaphat was king in the south.

He reigned for 2 years.

And here is his legacy

(52) “He did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.”

From there it is easy to see the problem with Ahaziah.

He had three really bad mentors.

Of course you are very familiar with Ahab.

1 Kings 16:30-32 “Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD more than all who were before him. It came about, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went to serve Baal and worshiped him. So he erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal which he built in Samaria.”

Ahab took idolatry to a whole new level in Israel.

Not only did he worship Baal, but he actually built Baal a temple.

At the end of his life, the general description of Ahab was given.

1 Kings 21:25 “Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife incited him.”

Ahab was an idolatrous, immoral King.

And God brought him to an pre-determined death.

(lying prophets – random arrows – bloody chariot – bathing harlots)

And this was one of Ahaziah’s mentors.

You are also recently familiar with his second mentor; Jezebel.

As we just read, Jezebel was the daughter of

Ethbaal king of the Sidonians.

We know that she was an idolatrous woman as well.

1 Kings 18:19 "Now then send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel,together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."

She was also a deceptive and immoral woman.

1 Kings 21:8-10 “So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and sent letters to the elders and to the nobles who were living with Naboth in his city. Now she wrote in the letters, saying, "Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people; and seat two worthless men before him, and let them testify against him, saying, ' You cursed God and the king.' Then take him out and stone him to death."

You may also remember her to be a real stumbling block to Ahab.

(Ahab might have turned to the Lord after Mt. Carmel – Elijah thought so)

But Jezebel wouldn’t have it

1 Kings 19:1-2 “Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time."

We are talking about a woman who is not only apathetic to the things of God, but one who is downright opposed to them.

She will die by being thrown out a window

And this was also one of Ahaziah’s role models.

The third role model for Ahaziah was Jeroboam.

God chose him as a form of punishment on Solomon for straying.

God gave him the ten northern tribes to rule over.

But because he feared that people would return to the king of Judah,

Jeroboam did a despicable thing in Israel.

1 Kings 12:28-30 “So the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt." He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan.”

Jereboam changed the location of worship, changed the date of worship, and invented his own order of priesthood.

It was total disrespect for the word of God, and God judged him for it.

1 Kings 14:7-10 "Go, say to Jeroboam, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel, " Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over My people Israel, and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you — yet you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only that which was right in My sight; you also have done more evil than all who were before you, and have gone and made for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back — therefore behold, I am bringing calamity on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male person, both bond and free in Israel, and I will make a clean sweep of the house of Jeroboam, as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone.”

Jeroboam led Israel away from God, and they never returned to Him.

When Assyria eventually carried the northern kingdom into exile,

It is the sin of Jeroboam that is given as the reason why.

He was one of Ahaziah’s mentors.

They were arguably the three worst culprits in Israel’s history

And they are the ones that Ahaziah chose to follow.

And you can see the result of him walking in their path.

(53) “So he served Baal and worshiped him and provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.”

It is safe to say that Ahaziah is a chip off the old block.

BUT HERE IS WHAT IS PUZZLING

You knew of God’s judgment on Jeroboam…

You saw God’s judgment on Ahab…

God’s judgment on Jezebel has already been promised…

SO WHY WOULD AHAZIAH FOLLOW THEIR LEAD?

He didn’t see what happened to them as the judgment of God,

AND HE DOESN’T FEAR GOD’S JUDGMENT IN HIS OWN LIFE.

It is obvious that to Ahaziah, God is all bark and no bite.

Sure He threatens judgment…

Sure He commands righteous living…

Sure He desires personal devotion…

But God really won’t do anything about it will He?

In fact, there is evidence here in a moment that

Ahaziah might not have even believed that God was real.

He was apathetic.

He did not fear God.

This is our society as well.

Romans 3:18 "THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES."

People live in blatant immorality…

People flirt with idolatry…

But mostly people disregard the commands of God.

THE GREATEST PROOF PEOPLE DON’T FEAR GOD IS DISOBEDIENCE

All throughout Scripture, there is a clear link

Between fear of God and obedience to God.

Psalms 112:1

“How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who greatly delights in His commandments.”

Psalms 128:1

“How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways.”

Isaiah 50:10 “Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.”

If you don’t obey God, then you don’t fear God.

It is apathy.

And Ahaziah had it.

He was taught it by the best, and now he followed in their shoes.

His Legacy

#2 HIS LESSON

2 Kings 1:1-18 (1-2)

Ahaziah falls through the lattice of his upper chamber.

(They did much on the roof, and this was like a fence around the edge of the roof)

And then the problem. (not surprising)

“So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this sickness.”

This is why you even might ask if Ahaziah believes God is real.

When life gets serious, and he really wants answers, he doesn’t go to God.

He goes to Baal-zebub.

This is a major slap in the face to God.

· It is to say He is incompetent…

· It is to say He is ignorant…

· It is to say He isn’t even real.

And the tragedy is that this type of belief

Has become the accepted belief in Israel.

So God is about to teach Ahaziah, and all Israel a lesson.

· He is tired of being overlooked…

· He is tired of being ignored…

· He is tired of being mocked…

And so there is a basic lesson for Ahaziah and Israel.

God is about to teach Ahaziah and Israel

Some of the most basic and fundamental lessons about Himself.

In a world of people who don’t seem to fear God.

These are three things you need to know.

1) God is a Jealous God: Seek Him (3-6)

After reading those few verses, it is apparent

That God was upset with what was going on in Israel.

These were His chosen people…

This was His land that He gave to them…

He had been their God and provided for them…

And now, when tragedy strikes they go and seek some foreign god.

This is most definitely NOT cool with God.

Nahum 1:2a “A jealous and avenging God is the LORD;”

Perhaps you remember when God issued the Ten Commandments:

Exodus 20:3-6 "You shall have no other gods before Me. "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

Later in Exodus God said:

Exodus 34: 14 “for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God”

As we read at the end of 1 Kings, seeking other gods provokes Him.

In Deuteronomy God began to reveal the punishment for provoking Him.

Deuteronomy 4:23-24 "So watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which the LORD your God has commanded you. "For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”

Deuteronomy 6:14-15 "You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, for the LORD your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.”

When you provoke God to jealousy,

You invite upon yourself His judgment.

That is precisely what is happening here.

Ahaziah did not seek God, and he provoked God to wrath.

(6) “Thus says the LORD, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’”

Ahaziah cried to a god he thought could tell him the future.

He should have cried to the God who holds his life in His hands.

That is what He wants from us as well.

God doesn’t want you trusting in man, or trusting in money.

God wants you trusting in Him.

God wants you seeking Him.

He intended it this way.

Not just for Israel, but for all mankind.

Remember when Paul preached in Athens?

Acts 17:24-27 "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;”

God is the only God, and demands to be treated like it.

Isaiah 42:8 "I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.”

The point is that it is no trivial thing to provoke God to jealousy.

TURN TO: 1 CORINTHIANS 10

God is a Jealous God: Seek Him

2) God is a Powerful God: Fear Him (7-15)

What you see in that incident

Is a man who has forgotten that God is not to be messed with.

They supposed God to be subject to intimidation…

They supposed they could get Elijah to change his mind…

God twice responded to their arrogance.

But the third time, Israel has learned her lesson.

“O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. Behold fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.”

They finally realize that God’s word is not to be taken lightly.

He has the power to do anything He wants,

SO YOU HAD BETTER FEAR HIM.

And this too is seen throughout Scripture.

Isaiah 8:13 "It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread.”

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 "Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the LORD'S commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?”

Deuteronomy 10:20 "You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name.”

And the command is no different in the New Testament.

Jesus said:

Matthew 10:28 "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Paul said:

2 Corinthians 7:1 “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

Peter said:

1 Peter 1:17-19 “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

God’s word is not a suggestion,

And we do not have the option of arrogantly rejecting it.

Ahaziah’s men did not start out with a fear of the Lord,

But they learned that lesson in a hurry.

And we ought to learn that lesson as well.

Uzza

1 Chronicles 13:7-10 “They carried the ark of God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart. David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, even with songs and with lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals and with trumpets. When they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, because the oxen nearly upset it. The anger of the LORD burned against Uzza, so He struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark; and he died there before God.”

Aaron’s sons

Leviticus 10:1-5 “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said to Aaron, "It is what the LORD spoke, saying, 'By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.'" So Aaron, therefore, kept silent. Moses called also to Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Aaron's uncle Uzziel, and said to them, "Come forward, carry your relatives away from the front of the sanctuary to the outside of the camp." So they came forward and carried them still in their tunics to the outside of the camp, as Moses had said.”

Moses & Aaron

Numbers 20:11-12 “Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them."

In the New Testament:

Acts 5:1-6 “But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife's full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? "While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it. The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.”

And even today, we have a warning from the Lord.

1 Corinthians 11:27-32 “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”

God is worthy of fear, respect, and honor.

God is a Jealous God: Seek Him

God is a Powerful God: Fear Him

3) God is a Trustworthy God: Believe Him (16-18)

I find this section pretty interesting.

Ahaziah wanted Elijah to come and meet him face to face.

We can suppose that he wanted Elijah to change his stance.

But you probably noticed that the message did not change.

“is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? – therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’”

Then I like verse 17.

“So Ahaziah died according to the word of the LORD”

Israel just learned another important lesson.

When God promises something, it happens.

Isaiah 55:10-11 "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

1 Thessalonians 5:24 “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

1 Corinthians 1:9 “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Psalms 37:5 “Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.”

If He promises blessing, then blessing is what you get.

If He promises judgment, then judgment is what you get.

If He promises provision…

If He promises protection…

If He promises forgiveness…

Ordinarily if someone promises that they will do something,

There are two reasons why it might not come to pass.

They might lack integrity (they are lying)

They might lack ability (they can’t do what they intended)

God lacks neither.

It is impossible for Him to lie, and with Him all things are possible.

Because He is honest, and because He is omnipotent,

We know that if God says it, it is a done deal.

It is apparent that ever since the reign of Jeroboam,

Israel had allowed their theology on God to slide.

They had forgotten that:

God is a jealous God, so seek Him.

God is a powerful God, so fear Him.

God is a trustworthy God, so believe Him.

Those are basic things that ought not to be forgotten.

But if you are not walking in obedience to the word of God

It is obvious that you have forgotten those things.

It is sheer stupidity and arrogance

To ignore the commands of God in Scripture.

Listen:

God is merciful…

God is gracious…

God is love…

BUT HE IS STILL GOD

Seek Him, Fear Him, Believe Him

Ahaziah learned those lessons the hard way.

This morning I would simply ask, is there an area of disobedience in your life that you have failed to give to the Lord?

If so, let me strongly encourage you to correct it,

For God is not someone to be messed with.

Matthew 10:28 "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”