Jehoram, The Clueless King

2 Kings 3

April 19, 2009

Back now in our study of the Kings of Israel,

We see what appears to me to be a thick headed individual.

We are all familiar with this family line.

· GRANDFATHER: Omri – introduced Baal worship to Israel

· FATHER: Ahab – Built Baal a temple

· MOTHER: Jezebel – lover of idolatry, murderer

· BROTHER: Ahaziah – ruled 2 years and fell through the lattice

And it is still safe to say that the acorn didn’t fall far from the tree.

Jehoram (also referred to as Joram)

Reigns from 2 Kings 3 – 2 Kings 9:24

But the bulk of information on him is found here in chapter 3.

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And as we study him, it is quite easy to come to the conclusion

That Jehoram was clueless.

IN A CLUELESS WORLD, HE IS QUITE A RELEVANT STUDY

There are three main divisions in our chapter this morning.

#1 HIS DESCRIPTION

2 Kings 3:1-12

Allow me to break this down a little more and show you exactly who he was.

1) HE REBELLED CONTINUALLY (1-3)

The simple evaluation of his life was this:

(2) “He did evil in the sight of the LORD,”

So really the question is there answered.

He was a wicked king.

But the Bible doesn’t leave it at that,

There is more information about him.

“He did evil in the sight of the LORD, though not like his father and his mother, for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal which his father had made.”

For some reason (which the text does not state)

JEHORAM WAS NOT GIVEN TO BAAL WORSHIP.

· Maybe he had heard about Mt. Carmel…

· Maybe he had enough knowledge of the Levitical Law to know better…

Whatever the reason, it appears that Jehoram is doing well.

(3) “Nevertheless, he clung to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.”

So while Jehoram did not fall into his parent’s sin,

He did fall into Jeroboam’s sin.

(Golden calves – Unqualified Priests – Changed the feasts)

And apparently he did more than fall into it.

Scripture says he “clung to” it.

That word “clung” in the Hebrew is DABAQ

Ruth 1:14 “And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.”

(of Hezekiah)

2 Kings 18:6 “For he clung to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses.”

But probably most notable:

Genesis 2:24 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”

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The picture is even though he may have been warned otherwise,

Jehoram was married to the evil of Jerobaom.

The point is that he rebelled continually.

He refused to let go of Jeroboam’s sin.

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And this is an interesting point,

For in our day, there would be many who would say:

“Well, at least he didn’t follow Baal, I mean he is trying isn’t he?”

Many adopt such a view of sin today.

“I may not give God everything He wants,

But at least I do some things right”

Those who adopt such a view on obedience are clueless.

It is the theology of the Rich Young Ruler, who when Jesus told him to “keep the commandments” he said, “Which ones?”

Always seeking to give God just enough to keep Him happy.

Somewhere in our minds, there is this desire to adopt a theology

That God is happy with the scraps of your life.

But that is not true!

The greatest commandment is:

Matthew 22:37 “And He said to him, "'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'”

He doesn’t accept a partial offering, He wants all of you.

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People think Jehoram was OK because they compare him to Ahab,

But other men are not the standard by which mankind is judged.

With God there is no middle ground.

He either owns you or He doesn’t.

Jesus said:

Matthew 12:30 "He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”

God requires absolute and total obedience.

Jehoram “clung to the sins of Jeroboam”

And thus he was continually out of the will of God.

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THE POINT IS:

You cannot live in sin and be in the middle of God’s will.

We often offer up “The Doctrine of Fair Exchange” to God.

Well, I do this wrong, but I do this right…

I may not have done that, but I did do this…

God is not interested in such half-hearted obedience.

Jeremiah told his listeners:

Jeremiah 7:9-10 "Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered!' — that you may do all these abominations?”

Jehoram may have looked better than his father,

But in God’s eyes he was still a long way away (as you will see later).

If he thought partial obedience was acceptable to God,

He was truly clueless.

He Rebelled Continually

2) HE STRUGGLED POLITICALLY (4-8)

For those interested in apologetics, history, or even archaeology:

This happens to be quite a fundamental text in Scripture for historical purposes.

In 1868 an archaeologist discovered what is called “The Mesha Stele” it is a graven monument written by Mesha, King of Moab which actually verifies historically the truths we study in the book of Kings.

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What I want you to see is that

Because Jehoram was out of the will of God,

By reason of his disobedience, things did not go easily for him.

Moab had been in subjection to Israel

Since the days of his grandfather Omri.

And now, he was losing control.

SO JEHORAM IS GOING TO GO AFTER HIM

(And of course there is Jehoshaphat: The Influenced King right there with him)

THE POINT IS, when you study the Kings, it is apparent that those kings who honored God in their heart enjoyed God’s favor on their kingdom.

Of course we remember the splendor of Solomon:

1 Kings 10:23-25 “So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. All the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. They brought every man his gift, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.”

You may remember as well God’s blessing on Asa:

2 Chronicles 15:12-15 “They entered into the covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; and whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. Moreover, they made an oath to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns. All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him earnestly, and He let them find Him. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.”

Even Jehoshaphat was blessed by God:

2 Chronicles 17:3-6 “The LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father David's earlier days and did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father, followed His commandments, and did not act as Israel did. So the LORD established the kingdom in his control, and all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor. He took great pride in the ways of the LORD and again removed the high places and the Asherim from Judah.”

God rewarded those kings who fully submitted their lives to Him.

But Jehoram was not fully committed and so he struggled.

He saw his enemies begin to rise up and defy him.

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WHEN WE ARE OUT OF THE WILL OF GOD

IT MAKES BLESSING EXTREMELY DIFFICULT.

2 Chronicles 16:9a "For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”

God desires to bless your life, but as long as you cling to sin,

It makes it extremely difficult for Him to do that.

Jehoram was clueless to the fact.

He Rebelled Continually He Struggled Politically

3) HE WAS CONFUSED THEOLOGICALLY (9-12)

And this may really prove to be the reason

Why Jehoram never really sought God correctly.

These kings run out of water and are in real danger.

But notice who Jehoram immediately blames it on.

(10) “Alas! For the LORD has called these three kings to give them into the hand of the Moab.”

Jehoram didn’t see God as a deliverer,

Jehoram saw God as a destroyer.

· Maybe his parents filled his head with negative thoughts about God…

· Maybe Ahab cursed God for the drought…

· Maybe Jezebel blamed God for Ahab’s death…

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Nevertheless it is apparent that Jehoram

Does not see God as Someone to seek, but as Someone to avoid.

He has a bad theology on God.

And bad theology leads to bad action.

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Now it is true that God should be feared,

But that does not mean you should not trust Him.

Jeremiah 29:11 “'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”

Many times we hesitate to give God complete control of our lives

Because we tend to think that if we do,

He will do something awful to us.

· If I fully surrender to Him, then He will send me to Africa…

· If I dedicate my child to Him, He will send them to Africa…

· If I tell Him to use me for His glory, then He will make me suffer…

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Such thinking does not come from God.

That mindset is directly planted by the enemy.

REMEMBER SATAN & EVE?

Genesis 3:1 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?"

Genesis 3:4-5 “The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Is it true that there are things out there that God didn’t want us to know?

And the answer is YES!

· He never wanted you to know what it felt like to cry over a loved one’s tomb

· He never wanted you to know what chemo felt like.

· He never wanted you to know the heartache of a rebellious child.

And so God said, “Stay away from that tree of knowledge, because there are some things you just don’t want to know – namely death.”

But mankind was stubborn,

Believing that God was killing all the fun,

And so instead of trusting Him,

We believed the worst about Him and went the other way.

That is where Jehoram obviously was.

He wouldn’t seek God because He thought God to be out to get him.

THAT WAS NOT TRUE!

John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

God was not out to kill Jehoram.

Ezekiel 33:11 "Say to them, ' As I live!' declares the Lord GOD, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?'

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

1 Peter 5:6-7 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

Jesus said:

Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Why in the world would you reject a God who desires to help you?

Why in the world would you disobey a God who wants to bless you?

Why would you refuse to seek a God who has good plans for you?

You wouldn’t, unless you were clueless.

It makes me wonder how many cluless people

Really dwell in our world today.

People who insist on a lifestyle of disobedience…

People who would rather suffer the struggles of life than trust God…

People who think God is out to get them, and run from Him at all cost…

That was Jehoram.

He was clueless, you can see it in his description.

#2 HIS DIRECTION

2 Kings 3:13-19

Now it is apparent that Jehoram never gave any thought to seeking God,

So it was good for him that his companion knew all about it.

Jehoshaphat had said, (11) “Is there not a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?”

You may remember that is one of Jehoshaphat’s favorite questions.

And it is fortunate for Jehoram that Jehoshaphat is there.

And so they go to the prophet.

(It is sort of like taking a lost and hopeless person to church.)

And in this “Church service”

Jehoram is going to learn a thing or two about God.

In fact there are four main things he will learn.

1) GOD IS ANGRY (13-15)

Just in case you were in doubt about God being pleased

With his half-hearted obedience, Elisha settles the debate.

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And Elisha makes no bones about revealing that Jehoram

Is outside of the will of God and God is not pleased.

(13) “What do I have to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother.”

After an argument Elisha nails him again:

(14) “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you.”

This is something that a clueless world needs to understand.

· God does love you.

· God does have a plan for your life.

· God does desire to prosper you and not to harm you.

· God does desire for you to be saved.

But don’t let that translate to you that God is a pushover.

Just because God is love does not mean God does not get angry.

If you are living in sin, it is true that God has a better plan for you,

But it is also true that if you reject that plan you are in hot water.

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It is before a Holy God that you have sinned,

While He does seek to bless, He does not leave the guilty unpunished.

I have always loved what God said to Moses.

(God actually introduced Himself to Moses on the Mountain)

Here is how God introduced Himself.

Exodus 34:6-7 “Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations."

There is tremendous love and mercy there,

Yet there is also a very real promise of judgment.

God had a plan for Jehoram,

And it was not ok that Jehoram was rejecting that plan.

The same can be said to us today.

God has a plan for your forgiveness…

God has a plan for your salvation…

God has a plan to give you new life and life abundant…

That plan is Jesus.

But that plan is not optional, if you reject the plan of Jesus,

The full and total wrath of God abides on you.

Listen to what Paul told the Romans:

Romans 2:4-6 “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:”

Jehoram was rejecting God’s plan for his life and God was angry.

God is angry

2) GOD IS MERCIFUL (16-17)

God is angry, yes Jehoram is clueless.

But, somehow, Jehoram is in church asking God for help.

And God is so merciful that He didn’t give Jehoram what he deserved.

(17) “You shall not see wind nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, both you and your cattle and your beasts.”

Mercy is when you don’t get what you deserve.

Jehoram deserved to die in the desert, but God was merciful.

(I wonder if the answer shocked Jehoram)

I don’t care how angry He is with you,

If you return to Him, He is merciful.

Matthew 7:7-11 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. "Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? "Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”

You may be way out of the will of God,

And God may be fuming angry at you for it.

But at this very moment if you will cry out to God in your heart

And ask for His forgiveness, and salvation, He will give it.

You deserve judgment, but God is merciful.

A Clueless King needed to know that

God is angry God is merciful

3) GOD IS GRACIOUS (18)

We could easily talk about God’s power here as well, as Elisha says, “This is but a slight thing in the sight of the LORD”

In other words, deliverance is easy for God.

If you would only cry out to Him, He can easily do it.

But the real beauty of the verse is found next.

“He will also give the Moabites into your hand.”

Mercy is you not getting what you deserve.

Grace is you getting what you don’t deserve

God went the extra mile in order to promise victory as well.

That is what God does for us when we call upon Him.

Not only does He not send us to hell as our sins deserve,

But He goes the extra mile and offers eternal life.

Ephesians 3:20 “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,”

Jehoram had God all wrong.

God was not out to get him, God was trying to help him,

He only had to seek.

God is angry God is merciful God is gracious

4) GOD IS EXPECTANT (19)

There is one condition to crying out to God for help.

That is that your life is now under His authority.

JEHORAM WOULD BE EXPECTED TO WALK IN OBEDIENCE

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God doesn’t save you to make sin OK

God saves you so that you will live for Him

Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

We are saved by grace and we are saved for obedience.

A Clueless King needed to know that.

His Description His Direction

#3 HIS DELIVERANCE

2 Kings 3:20-27

God delivered Moab.

The problem is that Jehoram did not fully obey.

God had told him to “strike every fortified city and every choice city”

But, when Mesha sacrificed his son, and the battle got more intense, Jehoram and the three armies pulled out.

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One might say that Jehoram started out clueless

And that he ended up clueless.

Not only did he not start seeking God, but according to

2 Kings 10:26-27, he went home and got Baal’s idle out of the closet

And so instead of blessing, he dies by getting shot in the back

While fleeing from an enemy.

He was clueless.

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This morning we know that Jehoram didn’t learn a thing,

But what I wonder is if you did.

Is there an area of disobedience in your life that you have failed to surrender?

Have you refused to seek God afraid of what He might require of you?

DON’T LEAVE CLUELESS

John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”