THE FUGITIVE

“The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: ‘Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because their wickedness has confronted Me.’   However, Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord's presence.  He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish.  He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, from the Lord's presence.” (Jonah 1:1-3 HCSB)

Maybe you remember the movie, “The Fugitive.”   Some of us are old enough to recall that it was a television series, years before it was made into a major film.  The story line focused on the pursuit of Richard Kimble, who was falsely convicted for murdering his wife, and his effort to evade capture, and to find the real killer.  One dramatic scene, in the movie, featured a train wreck where Kimble escapes and becomes, “The Fugitive.”  That portion of the movie was filmed just about an hour away from here, in Dillsboro, where you can ride the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad and see the wreckage from the movie set.

Before the fictional Doctor Kimble came to the big screen, another fugitive, the Prophet Jonah was already featured in the Bible.  Unlike Kimble, he was real, and also unlike him, Jonah was guilty.  Both were relentlessly pursued, however—Kimble by Deputy Samuel Gerard and Jonah by God!

In chapter one, we see Jonah’s DISOBEDIENCE. 

“The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: ‘Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because their wickedness has confronted Me.’   However, Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord's presence.  He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish.  He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, from the Lord's presence.”  (1:1-3)

HE WAS THE PRODIGAL PROPHET.  Like the prodigal son who ran away from home, Jonah tried to run away from God.  But, to paraphrase a quote from the heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis, “You can run, but you can’t hide.”  When Louis was prepping for his defense of the title against Billy Conn in 1941, Conn, the light heavyweight champion announced that he would use his speed in a “hit and run,” strategy.  It worked for a time, but the big fists of the “Brown Bomber” eventually found their target, knocking Conn out.  The Lord had no difficulty catching up with his prophet.  It didn’t take thirteen rounds in a ring—just one storm at sea!

In the story of the prodigal son that Jesus told, it was trouble that turned the boy’s heart back to home.  He had gone down into sin, and sin took him down into sorrow, but that’s what led him to repentance.  So it was for the prodigal prophet.

Down is the key word in chapter one.  Jonah goes down to Joppa (v.3a); down into the ship headed for Tarshish—which was the opposite direction from where God had commanded him to go (v.3b); he went down into the lowest part of the ship to sleep (v.5); he would be cast down into the sea (v.15) and down into the belly of the great fish (v.17).  That is always the direction of those who rebel against God—down, down, down.

In chapter two, we see Jonah’s DESPERATION.

“Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish: ‘I called to the Lord in my distress, and He answered me. I cried out for help in the belly of Sheol; You heard my voice.’” (2:1-2)

The prodigal prophet became THE PRAYING PROPHET.  An old preacher I knew, Cecil Fox, ran from God’s call on his life for a time, until God’s persistent pursuit caught up with him and brought that latter day Jonah to his knees, in submission to the will of God.  Cecil was not only a member of our church, but my neighbor, and several times he walked over to where I was working in my yard, and as we talked he said, “God can make a man want to do what he ought to do.”  Indeed!

The skeptic, of course, mocks this story.  The liberal preacher spiritualizes it.  Jesus believed it—and used it as an illustration of His resurrection.  That’s good enough for me.  If you can’t believe the deliverance of Jonah from the belly of the fish, then how can you believe the deliverance of Jesus from the heart of the earth?  Really, if God could speak the universe into existence, how hard would it be to fashion a sea creature that could swallow Jonah and spit him out?   Besides that, it isn’t the most amazing thing in the book anyway—incredible as that was.  The greatest miracle is found in chapter three.

In chapter three, we see Jonah’s DECLARATION.

“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time:  ‘Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach the message that I tell you.’  So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the Lord's command.  Now Nineveh was an extremely large city, a three-day walk.  Jonah set out on the first day of his walk in the city and proclaimed, ‘In 40 days Nineveh will be demolished!’  The men of Nineveh believed in God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth-from the greatest of them to the least.” (3:1-5)

The praying prophet became THE PREACHING PROPHET.  God gave him a second chance.  Aren’t you glad that He does?  In fact, I’ve had third chances and fourth chances, and—you get the picture—He is such a compassionate God!

But that is the very thing that caused Jonah to run away from God’s call the first time.  He desired condemnation for the people of Nineveh, not compassion.  Jonah was a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  The Assyrians (the nation in which Nineveh was the capital) were guilty of brutality and atrocities toward the Israelis.  They were pagans.  They were violent.  Jonah wanted them cast into hell—and so he preached with a certain thrill in announcing their doom in forty days.

Yet, that which he feared would happen did happen.  The people repented of their wickedness and God relented from His wrath.  What a miracle!  From such a simple sermon, from a preacher who reeked of whale vomit, these heathen were convicted and converted.  We would not be amiss to call this the greatest revival in human history.

The judgment proclaimed would become the judgment postponed.  God’s purposes were unaltered—it is to justify the repentant and to judge the rebellious.  When the Ninevites turned to Him, He had mercy on them.  Later, when they would backslide to their wicked ways, God’s sentence would be executed.  It is as though the clock was ticking, and in forty days, judgment would fall.  But, then God hit the button on the stop watch, when they confessed their sin.  Later, as they gave themselves anew to evil, God hit the button again and their time ran out.

We urgently need such a miraculous revival in America today!   Don’t you sense that God’s wrath is imminent?  Judgment will come to our nation—to all nations.  It has been decreed.  But, it might be delayed, if preachers would be faithful to call people to repentance and if we would humble ourselves before God as the people of Nineveh did.  I see no hope for our nation apart from that.  It will take a miracle of mercy—but that is our God’s specialty!

In chapter four, we see Jonah’s DISAPPOINTMENT.

“But Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious.   He prayed to the Lord: ‘Please, Lord, isn't this what I said while I was still in my own country? That's why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from [sending] disaster.  And now, Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.’” (4:1-3)

The preaching prophet became THE POUTING PROPHET.  Hard to imagine that a man’s heart could be that hard—to wish people would perish.  But, imagine someone tortured and murdered a family member of yours.  Preaching, “Love your enemies” is a lot easier than practicing it.

Thankfully, God isn’t just merciful to pagan sinners, but pouting saints as well.  The Lord teaches Jonah a lesson.  As Jonah sits on the hillside, overlooking the city, still hoping for its destruction, the Lord provides a plant to grow up and give him shade.  Now, that made Jonah happy.  But, come the next day, a pest arrives to kill the plant.  Along with the hot desert sun rising, the sirocco—the searing east wind—sweeps in, so that Jonah is burning up on the outside, which matches his attitude on the inside. 

He was angry about the destruction of a plant!  Should he not be concerned about the destruction of a people? 

You know, we get upset about a lot of things at church.  All kinds of folks get mad about the style of music, the way a preacher parts his hair, the change of a pet program, or even the choice of color for the new carpet—we are stirred up about the most trivial of things, at times.  Jonah was “bugged” about a plant.  What we should be passionate about is the eternal damnation of those who die without Christ!  How many are upset about our failure to reach a lost world?  Not nearly as many as get angry about where the artificial flowers are placed in the auditorium, I fear.

I pray that we will embrace our mission with passion.  Are you a fugitive from God’s call on your life?  Don’t run away from God.  He can make you want to do what you ought to do.

THE SNARE OF SUCCESS

 “He made skillfully designed devices in Jerusalem to shoot arrows and [catapult] large stones for use on the towers and on the corners. So his fame spread even to distant places, for he was marvelously helped until he became strong.  But when he became strong, he grew arrogant and it led to his own destruction. He acted unfaithfully against the Lord his God by going into the Lord's sanctuary to burn incense on the incense altar.” (2 Chronicles 26:15-16 HCSB)

Poverty has its challenges.  Always living on the edge, each day facing the pressure of trying to scrape together enough to survive—that’s tough.  The temptation to envy what others have is ever-present.  But, looking at our lack has a way of causing us to lean on the Lord.  Having little in this life can lead one to long for the life to come in heaven.  It is a humbling existence, but we are reminded that God gives grace to the humble.

Poverty has its challenges, to be sure, but I think prosperity poses the greater danger, spiritually.  The more we have, the more likely it is for us to love the material we have accumulated rather than the God who has provided it.  We may shift from a focus on the eternal to that of the temporal.  The higher we climb, the temptation to want to boast in our accomplishments increases.  God resists the proud.  King Uzziah was caught in that trap—the snare of success.

2 Chronicles 26 records his story which commences with promise, but concludes with pain.  There are four acts in this drama.

Act 1 is a story of ASCENT in verses one through five.  The key word is HUMILITY.    The Bible says, “He sought God throughout the lifetime of Zechariah, the teacher of the fear of God. During the time that he sought the Lord, God gave him success.” (v.5)

Coming to the throne at the tender age of sixteen, Uzziah must have felt the weight of his responsibility and the lack of experience to accomplish such a job.  Imagine sitting on the throne and directing a nation, when most young people are just learning to sit behind the wheel and drive a car! 

He looked toward heaven and sought the great King to aid him.  We are told that he had a godly teacher, Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God.  The teenage monarch humbled himself under the mighty hand of God and God opened His almighty hand and blessed the king with long life and much success.  Notice, success was the product, but not the object of his ambition.  For many of his years, it was the Lord that Uzziah sought. 

We recall the Biblical principle Jesus gave, “So don't worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?'  For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” (Matthew 6:31-33 HCSB)  Have spiritual ambition to be all that God wants you to be.  Submit to His control.  Seek His face.  Irrespective of how much you attain of this world’s accolades, you will have the applause of heaven; whatever of earthly accomplishments, you will have treasure in heaven.  You can have as much of God as you want.  That’s what counts.

Act 2 is a story of ACCOMPLISHMENT in verses six through fifteen.  The key word is HELP.  Scripture states that “He made skillfully designed devices in Jerusalem to shoot arrows and [catapult] large stones for use on the towers and on the corners. So his fame spread even to distant places, for he was marvelously helped until he became strong.” (v.15)

He accomplished much in terms of his FORTUNE.  We read of how nations that he subjugated paid Uzziah tribute money, and with that he constructed many building projects.  He increased in the flocks he possessed and the fruit he produced.  Uzziah prospered monetarily.

He accomplished much in terms of his FORCE.  God made Him strong.  He fought and conquered his enemies.  When a nation prospers, there are always those who want to plunder their fortune.  But at every hand, Uzziah was able to overcome his foes.  God gave the victory and he prospered militarily.

He accomplished much in terms of his FAME.  His reputation grew with his success.  Soon, the name of Uzziah was well-known through the Middle East.  His name became synonymous with prosperity.  The Lord had exalted this humble man.

“But…” there is that horrible word.  This strong man stepped in a snare—the snare of success.  So long as he leaned on the Lord, all was well, but when he trusted in his own wisdom and became smug in his ability to work, he tripped up.

Act 3 is a story of ARROGANCE in verses sixteen through eighteen.  The key word is HAUGHTINESS.  The Word of God records, “But when he became strong, he grew arrogant and it led to his own destruction. He acted unfaithfully against the Lord his God by going into the Lord's sanctuary to burn incense on the incense altar.” (v.16)

The clarion caution of Scripture is this: “Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18 HCSB).  The potential for pride is the peril in prosperity.  The steeper we climb, the more precarious the perch.  Having climbed so far and done so well, we tend to be overconfident, and all it takes is to lose our grip on grace for a moment, then we find ourselves suddenly clutching only air and the fall is disastrous.

If you have prospered, give glory to God!  The moment you take that which is not rightfully yours in your hand—His glory—then like Uzziah, you will find that God will be set against you.  He resists the proud!  What a terrible thought!

Act 4 is a story of ANGUISH in verses nineteen through twenty three.  The key word is HUMILIATION.  “So King Uzziah was diseased to the time of his death. He lived in quarantine with a serious skin disease and was excluded from access to the Lord's temple, while his son Jotham was over the king's household governing the people of the land.” (v.21)

His appearance was horrifying and humiliating.  The crown of gold and the power it represented meant little resting on a head so gruesomely disfigured by disease.  All his fortune could not buy a cure.  All his force could not drive away this foe. All his fame faded as he was isolated from everyone else.  His son became the face of the kingdom instead and when Uzziah died, the obituary said, “He has a skin disease.”  So, he was forever marked.

What will people remember about you?  What will they recall about me?

Should God bless you with success, keep your eye out for the snare Satan has set in the path of prosperity.

REVIVAL IN THE LAND

“The workmen did their work, and through them the repairs progressed. They restored God's temple to its specifications and reinforced it.  When they finished, they presented the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, who made articles for the Lord's temple with it-articles for ministry and for making burnt offerings, and ladles and articles of gold and silver. They regularly offered burnt offerings in the Lord's temple throughout Jehoiada's life.” (2 Chronicles 24:13-14 HCSB)

Revival comes to the kingdom of Judah. This is a Scriptural portrayal of the spiritual principle taught in 2 Chronicles 7:13-14, “If I close the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to consume the land, or if I send pestilence on My people,  and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.”  That is what happened to Judah then, and it is what needs to happen to America today.

Revival is rooted in repentance. Repentance literally means a change of mind. It involves turning—turning away from sin and turning to God.  When a young man by the name of Joash came to reign in Jerusalem, this descendant of David likewise had David’s heart for the Lord, and led the people back to God in repentance.  If we want revival in our life, revival in our church and revival in our land, then there are three dimensions of revival that we need to recognize.

REVIVAL MEANS WE REPAIR THE HOUSE OF GOD (v.1-13)

“Then the king and Jehoiada gave it to those in charge of the labor on the Lord's temple, who were hiring stonecutters and carpenters to renovate the Lord's temple, also blacksmiths and coppersmiths to repair the Lord's temple.  The workmen did their work, and through them the repairs progressed. They restored God's temple to its specifications and reinforced it.”  (v.12-13)

The spark that would ignite this revival was provided by one person—Joash.  The Bible says, “Afterward, Joash took it to heart to renovate the Lord's temple.” (v.4)   Before the people of God returned corporately to a state of spiritual revival, there was a rekindling of passion for God on the individual level.  Revival always begins there. One person decides to get thoroughly right with God and they become the catalyst. In this case it was Joash. Are we willing to be that spark?  Don’t sit around waiting—even praying-- for revival to come to America.  Draw a circle on the ground, kneel in that circle and pray, “Oh God, revive everyone inside this circle!” 

But when Joash was revived, the move of the Spirit didn’t stop there—it spread.  His influence affected the nation.  The people of God repaired the house of God.  Their cold hearts became hot for God.   That leads us to our next consideration.

REVIVAL MEANS WE RENEW OUR HEART FOR GOD (v.14)

“When they finished, they presented the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, who made articles for the Lord's temple with it-articles for ministry and for making burnt offerings, and ladles and articles of gold and silver. They regularly offered burnt offerings in the Lord's temple throughout Jehoiada's life.” (v.14)

Personal commitment grew to public consecration.  So long as Jehoiada the priest was alive to stoke the fire, it continued to burn.  There was regularity about their worship.  It wasn’t haphazard and half-hearted.  They were stirred up to the point of sacrifice.  Their financial support of the ministry was the fruit of their devotion to the Lord.  The heart and the wallet are connected.  Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21 HCSB)  There has been a precipitous decline in the giving of money and attending of worship in America today.  One notices the apathy that marks much of what is called, “worship” among those who still support the church.  These are indicators of a people who need to express repentance and experience revival.  Revival will not come to the country, until there is renewal in the churches! 

REVIVAL MEANS WE REAFFIRM THE HOLINESS OF GOD (v.15-27)

“However, after Jehoiada died, the rulers of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them, and they abandoned the temple of Yahweh, the God of their ancestors and served the Asherah poles and the idols. So there was wrath against Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs.” (v.17-18)

Satan is always ready to nip revival in the bud.  It is not easy to build a fire, but neither is it a simple matter to tend one.  If it is neglected, then it goes out—and that is what happened when Jehoiada died.  The people did not reaffirm the holiness of God and instead turned away to other gods.  How quickly the fire can go out!

The nation was warned repeatedly, but they stubbornly refused to listen.

“Nevertheless, He sent them prophets to bring them back to the Lord; they admonished them, but the people would not listen.  The Spirit of God took control of Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood above the people and said to them, ‘This is what God says, “Why are you transgressing the Lord's commands and you do not prosper? Because you have abandoned the Lord, He has abandoned you.”’ But they conspired against him and stoned him at the king's command in the courtyard of the Lord's temple.  King Joash didn't remember the kindness that Zechariah's father Jehoiada had extended to him, but killed his son. While he was dying, he said, ‘May the Lord see and demand an account.’” (v.19-22)

Joash would pay the price for his unfaithfulness to God and man.  He would be assassinated after being wounded in battle.

“When the Arameans saw that Joash had many wounds, they left him. His servants conspired against him, and killed him on his bed, because he had shed the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.” (v.25)

He came to this sorrowful, sinful end because he would not heed the man of God.  Who knows, but what the Lord is speaking to you today through me—perhaps pointedly so?

Are you irritated? 

“All that preacher ever talks about is money.”

“You miss a few Sundays and he makes you feel so guilty.”

“He wants me to be some kind of fanatic.  He needs to get a life.  The preacher doesn’t understand how life is in the real world.  Everybody doesn’t have an easy job like his.”

“Who has time to read all this stuff he writes?”

Perhaps, we need revival.  May it begin with me!

TIME TO TAKE OUT THE TRASH

“When Athaliah heard the noise from the guard [and] the crowd, she went out to the people at the Lord's temple.  As she looked, there was the king standing by the pillar according to the custom. The commanders and the trumpeters were by the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed ‘Treason! Treason!’  Then Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders of hundreds in charge of the army, ‘Take her out between the ranks, and put to death by the sword anyone who follows her,’ for the priest had said, ‘She is not to be put to death in the Lord's temple.’  So they arrested her, and she went through the horse entrance to the king's palace, where she was put to death.”  (2 Kings 11:13-16 HCSB)

I remember a lady coming to me for counseling once who desired that her husband become the leader of the household.  I had preached on this topic.  She was convicted over it—and truly wanted that scriptural relationship in their marriage.

“But…he won’t!”  That was her argument.  She had tried to get him to assume that role, but he basically wanted to come in from work, sit in the recliner and do nothing.  Lethargy and not leadership marked his manner as a husband.  The fact was that she could be pretty assertive and domineering.  He probably got tired of butting heads with her early on in their relationship and decided it wasn’t worth the trouble.  That was no excuse for him, but there was enough blame to go around—and that is typically the case.

As we discussed God’s Word and its practical application, she said, “Why, he won’t even take out the trash!” 

That was just the opening I was waiting for.  “Why won’t he take out the trash?”

“He just won’t.  He won’t take out the trash, mow the grass—he won’t do anything.  I have to do all that.”

“Yes, he will,” I said.  “Try this.  Don’t take out the trash.”

She protested, “It will pile up and stink.”

“I  know--but when it gets bad enough, he’ll get tired of smelling it, and then he’ll take it out.  Try it.”

A couple of weeks later, I saw her beaming.  “It worked!  He took out the trash!”  It may not seem that big of a deal, but it was the beginning of a better relationship between the two of them, as they began to fulfill their God-given partnership in the marriage.  He became a loving leader, taking initiative and she stopped running the show and became a responder to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, by submitting to her husband’s leadership.

The change began with taking out the trash!

You may think that taking out the trash is not that big of a deal, but just let it pile up and you’ll soon find out!  It begins to stink-and only gets worse.  It becomes a breeding ground for germs and feeding source for rodents.

Judah had become a moral trash dump.  An evil witch of a woman had seized power in a bloody purge.  Athaliah had a rotten heart that came from being the child of Ahab and Jezebel.  Someone could have looked at her and said, “You are just like your mother!”  It was true—and it was no compliment! 

After the death of King Ahaziah, her son, Athaliah slaughtered her own grandchildren, so there would be no heirs to the throne!  Can you imagine a soul so lacking in compassion, an ambition so foul, as to do something that evil?  The slimy slug slid onto the throne, took the scepter in her bloody hand, and Queen Athaliah began her reign of terror.

Those young princes were all that remained of David’s line—that royal seed which God had promised would be forever heirs to the throne.  Not only had Athaliah won a crown, but Satan had apparently won the victory over the promises of God—that God which he so despised.

So, it seemed.  But, God’s Word cannot be broken; His will cannot be thwarted.  One infant was rescued and hidden away for six years—the tiny Prince Joash.  They put him where they knew he would be safest from his grandmother’s clutches—in the Temple.  She, an idolater, would have no desire to go to the House of God!

For six long years, the trash piled up in the land.  The stench of sin was horrible.  The godly High Priest, Jehoida, understood that it was time to take out the trash.  Athaliah had to go.

This is an illustration of what needs to happen in many a person, in a lot of churches, and so desperately in our nation.  The flies are swarming, and the smell is overwhelming.  The moral filth and rotten deeds have to be removed if the favor of God is to be restored.  This is repentance.  It has a negative and positive dimension: cleansing and crowning.

THERE MUST BE A CLEANSING.  This is the negative dimension of repentance.

“Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord, the king, and the people that they would be the Lord's people and [another covenant] between the king and the people.   So all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They broke its altars and images into pieces, and they killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, at the altars.  Then [Jehoiada] the priest appointed guards for the Lord's temple.  He took the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king from the Lord's temple. They entered the king's palace by way of the guards' gate. Then Joash sat on the throne of the kings.  All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet, for they had put Athaliah to death by the sword in the king's palace.” (v.17-20)

There was the DESIRE FOR SIN’S REMOVAL (11:1-12). 

“Then in the seventh year, Jehoiada sent [messengers] and brought in the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, and the guards. He had them come to him in the Lord's temple, where he made a covenant with them and put them under oath. He showed them the king's son  and commanded them, ‘This is what you are to do: a third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath are to provide protection for the king's palace.   A third are to be at the Sur gate and a third at the gate behind the guards. You are to take turns providing protection for the palace.  ‘Your two divisions that go off duty on the Sabbath are to provide protection for the Lord's temple.  You must completely surround the king with weapons in hand. Anyone who approaches the ranks is to be put to death. You must be with the king in all his daily tasks.’  So the commanders of hundreds did everything Jehoiada the priest commanded. They each brought their men-those coming on duty on the Sabbath and those going off duty-and went to Jehoiada the priest.  The priest gave to the commanders of hundreds King David's spears and shields that were in the Lord's temple.  Then the guards stood with their weapons in hand surrounding the king-from the right side of the temple to the left side, by the altar and by the temple. He brought out the king's son, put the crown on him, gave him the testimony, and made him king. They anointed him and clapped their hands and cried, ‘Long live the king!’” (v.4-12)

They had enough!  The godly became nauseated under the dominion of the wicked queen Athaliah. Their hearts longed for freedom from her tyranny.

We must get sick of sin before we will seek deliverance from sin. As long as we are content to live in bondage to iniquity we will never be free.   If we become accustomed to the smell, we will not take out the trash.  Godly sorrow leads to repentance. 

Then there must be DEATH TO SIN’S REIGN (11:13-16). 

“When Athaliah heard the noise from the guard [and] the crowd, she went out to the people at the Lord's temple.  As she looked, there was the king standing by the pillar according to the custom. The commanders and the trumpeters were by the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed ‘Treason! Treason!’  Then Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders of hundreds in charge of the army, ‘Take her out between the ranks, and put to death by the sword anyone who follows her,’ for the priest had said, ‘She is not to be put to death in the Lord's temple.’  So they arrested her, and she went through the horse entrance to the king's palace, where she was put to death.”  (2 Kings 11:13-16 HCSB)

We must put to death those things that hinder our walk with God. They are to put to death with the sword of the Spirit—the Word of God. Scripture tells us to mortify the deeds of the flesh.  Take out the trash!    

Also, there must be the DESTRUCTION OF SIN’S REALM (11:17-21).

“Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord, the king, and the people that they would be the Lord's people and [another covenant] between the king and the people.   So all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They broke its altars and images into pieces, and they killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, at the altars.  Then [Jehoiada] the priest appointed guards for the Lord's temple.  He took the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king from the Lord's temple. They entered the king's palace by way of the guards' gate. Then Joash sat on the throne of the kings.  All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet, for they had put Athaliah to death by the sword in the king's palace.” (v.17-20)

If sin has accumulated, it is not just a bag to carry to the curb, it is a trash dump to be bulldozed! 

We must recognize the way sin builds a stronghold in us and remove the occasion of stumbling. During revival services the town drunk would always stagger in and cry at the altar, “Lord, clean out the spider webs!” Then after the revival services concluded, he would return to riotous living. This was an annual pattern. Then one year when he begged, “Lord, clean out the spider webs!” Someone added, “No Lord—this time, kill the spiders!”

THERE MUST BE A CROWNING.  This is the positive dimension of repentance. 

“He brought out the king's son, put the crown on him, gave him the testimony, and made him king. They anointed him and clapped their hands and cried, "Long live the king!" (v.12)

THERE WAS ACCLAMATION.

We need to crown a new king!   Pop musician, Bob Dylan, once sang, “Everybody’s gotta serve somebody!” He’s right. The question isn’t if we’ll serve someone, but whom will we serve.  Someone is going to be in charge.  Joash was only seven years old when he came to the throne, but his heart was tender toward God and he would lead the people in revival.

THERE WAS TRANSFORMATION.

Everything changed in Judah.  I have seen what can happen to a trash dump.  A nasty landfill can be transformed into a beautiful golf course!  Where once buzzards picked through the garbage, now birdies are made on the greens!

Isn’t it time to take out the trash?

ALL IN THE FAMILY

“Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king and reigned eight years in Jerusalem. He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for Ahab's daughter was his wife. He did what was evil in the Lord's sight…” (2 Chronicles 21:5-6 HCSB)

Archie Bunker, the curmudgeon; Edith, the dingbat; Meathead, the hippie son-in-law and his wife Gloria—these comprised the colorful cast in the classic TV series, “All in the Family.”  The Norman Lear sit-com burst on the scene in 1971 and was the top show for five consecutive years—a record at the time.  “All in the Family” was both a reflection of the times—with the conflict between traditional morality and the advancing counter-culture being played out for real in America, and also an attempt to promote these new ways of thinking about the old standards.  That family gave America many laughs, but seriously began to affect popular thinking—as the media has great power to do. It was entertainment and propaganda.  Now, thirty years later, the degradation of traditional morality into the debauchery of our times makes us understand Archie and Edith’s longing expressed in the opening song of the show, “Those Were the Days.”

That was a fictional family, but today’s Bible lesson presents an actual one—and grants us insight into what happens when truth is abandoned for error and moral restraint is cast aside for moral relativism.  But, this story was no laughing matter.

The good king Jehoshaphat has died, leaving his son Jehoram to take the throne of Judah.  We are told that his father left him and his brothers material possessions and military power, but somehow failed to instill moral principles in the prince.  What happened?  How did a worthy man raise such a wicked son?  We could only speculate, but the connection with King Ahab and his demonic wife, Jezebel, who ruled over the Northern Kingdom of Israel was too close, for one thing.  Their influence caused some difficulties to arise in Jehoshaphat’s life, but it was disastrous for Jehoram.  God repeatedly warned Jehoshaphat to separate himself from that hellish crowd, but he didn’t.  It would prove spiritually poisonous to his son.

Jehoram married into Ahab and Jezebel’s diabolical family.  Imagine having Jezebel as a mother-in-law!  We have all heard the mother-in-law jokes.  The mother-in-law is often portrayed in our society as some dreadful woman that meddles and makes mischief.  That is a caricature—there are good mother-in-laws.  I had a great one.  But, Jezebel was the epitome of the evil mother-in-law monster.  You wouldn’t find any worse.

When Jehoshaphat’s body was decaying in the grave, so did his influence on his son.  He was instead shaped by his wife and her family into a beast of a king. 

“When Jehoram had established himself over his father's kingdom, he strengthened his position by killing with the sword all his brothers as well as some of the princes of Israel. Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king and reigned eight years in Jerusalem.  He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for Ahab's daughter was his wife. He did what was evil in the Lord's sight…” (2 Chronicles 22:4-6 HCSB).

If we are not aggressive in raising our children for God, the culture will overtake them, like weeds in a garden.  God blesses us with this little plot of soil we call our family.  The seed of our children are planted and begin to sprout.  There is much potential in them for godly fruit for the glory of God.  But, it is a constant work that is required.  Righteousness must be cultivated.  The insects of iniquity will consume their thinking if we don’t kill them with Bible bug spray.  The mildew of materialism will rot them if we don’t dust them with prayer.  The weeds of the world’s standards will choke them if we are not consistently cultivating them for Christ—by our lips and our lives—education and example.  Get busy with other stuff, leave it to the Sunday School teacher, shirk your role and slack off for a day or two, that turns to a week, then the neglect of a few weeks and the beautiful garden of your family has become a jungle of noxious weeds.

I wonder if toward the end of his life, Jehoshaphat and his wife didn’t gather around the piano and sing, “Those Were the Days”?  Nostalgia is never enough.  Longing for, “The Good Old Days” won’t change the future.  We must be proactive—while there is time.

There is a window of opportunity to mold the character of a child.  One day, we will be gone and that next generation will become the leaders of the home and nation.  If we have not rooted them in the truth, there will be no fruit of God’s blessing on them.  Whereas, we might have shaped a generation to shake the world for Christ, we may leave behind a posterity that has been shaped by the world and will be shaken in judgment instead.

When such filthy hands seize the controls of a nation—government, business, education, and religious institutions what results is tyranny.  Jehoram’s first official act was to slaughter his siblings.  Further, there is the spread of moral anarchy.  “Jehoram also built high places in the hills of Judah, and he caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, and he led Judah astray.” (2 Chronicles 22:11 HCSB)

God brought judgment on this wicked king and his kingdom, both sovereign and subjects sentenced because of sin.  The indictment was sent in a letter from the High Court of Heaven through God’s Deputy:

“Then a letter came to Jehoram from Elijah the prophet, saying:
This is what Yahweh, the God of your ancestor David says: ‘Because you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or in the ways of Asa king of Judah but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves like the house of Ahab prostituted itself, and also have killed your brothers, your father's family, who were better than you, Yahweh is now about to strike your people, your sons, your wives, and all your possessions with a horrible affliction.  You yourself [will be struck] with many illnesses, including a disease of the intestines, until your intestines come out day after day because of the disease.’” (2 Chronicles 22:12-15 HCSB)

How fitting an end to a rotten man.  There was a nasty reminder every day of the moral filth of his life.  It was a stench that accompanied him.  Are we going to leave a legacy of the fragrance of grace or the odor of decay?

“The remembrance of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.”  (Proverbs 10:7 HCSB)

RESTORED TO USEFULNESS

“As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron [ax head] fell into the water, and he cried out, ‘Oh, my master, it was borrowed!’  Then the man of God asked, ‘Where did it fall?’  When he showed him the place, the man of God cut a stick, threw it there, and made the iron float.  Then he said, ‘Pick it up.’ So he reached out and took it.” (2 Kings 6:5-7 HCSB)

Several years ago, my daughter Kelly informed me that her car was making a terrible noise. So, I cranked it up and heard this awful knocking in the motor. As I took it to the mechanic, it was smoking and the knocking got louder and the oil pressure dropped to almost nothing. Now, I’m not mechanically inclined, but even I knew there was a major problem. The engine had to be replaced. In that condition the potential of the car for transportation was gone. It would need to be restored to usefulness.

That is the subject of this study. Many of God’s servants have fallen by the wayside. They need to be restored to usefulness in God’s kingdom. Our text shows how that can happen.

First, we consider THE USEFULNESS THAT IS REQUIRED. 

“The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, ‘Please notice that the place where we live under your supervision is too small for us.  Please let us go to the Jordan where we can each get a log and can build ourselves a place to live there.’  ‘Go,’ he said.  Then one said, ‘Please come with your servants.’  ‘I'll come,’ he answered.  So he went with them, and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees.” (v.1-4)

We need servants of God who are usable, for there is much kingdom work that needs to be done. Our usefulness for God requires vision and vigor.

Think about the VISION required.

The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, ‘Please notice that the place where we live under your supervision is too small for us.  Please let us go to the Jordan where we can each get a log and can build ourselves a place to live there.’  ‘Go,’ he said.” (v.1-2)

They saw the need and were moved to meet it. Do you have a burden for the work of God to progress? God desires expansion—do you? Does our church possess a real vision for growth?

They called upon Elisha to oversee the project, “Then one said, ‘Please come with your servants.’  ‘I'll come,’ he answered.   So he went with them…” (v.3-4a). Leadership is pivotal for progress to be made. Leaders and laity must share in the vision.  These did. 

That important foundation of vision must be matched with VIGOR

“and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees” (v.4b). 

The vision is pursued with vigor! There comes a point when inspiration must give way to perspiration. You need a dream, but a dream isn’t enough. Daydreamers never accomplish anything.

These Bible students can’t expand the seminary until the trees are cut down. That which is in the way of the church growing must be cleared away.   Sometimes pruning is required for more productivity.  What would need to be cut from your schedule so that you might have time to advance spiritually?  Is there anything in our church that may have been a good ministry in the past, but is now in the way of Kingdom growth? 

Once the obstructions to growth are removed, then what is needed to expand must be put in place.   But, here is a real danger point for a believer personally and a church corporately. 

Next let us consider THE USEFULNESS THAT IS REMOVED.

“As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron [ax head] fell into the water, and he cried out, ‘Oh, my master, it was borrowed!’ (v.5). 

There will be no success without activity, but activity alone doesn’t insure achievement.

I want you to observe THE LOAN OF OUR ABILITY, “it was borrowed.”  The ability of the man to chop the tree wasn’t his own, but it was borrowed.

Every now and then I’m listening to Rush Limbaugh and he says of himself, “Talent on loan from God.”  Well it is—his and ours!   We are stewards—our gifts and abilities are on loan from God. We are going to give an account one day of our stewardship.  What has God given you and what are you doing with it?

If we are not careful there can be THE LOSS OF OUR ABILITY,  “the iron ax head fell into the water.”   The crisis came, not because of a lack of work, but a laxity in watchfulness.  He didn’t notice that the head of the ax was loosening.  His laxity led to looseness and the looseness to loss.

We can get so busy working that we stop watching. Jesus warned, “Watch and pray lest you fall into temptation.” If we are so busy in the work of God that we neglect the worship of God we are headed for a fall.   We subtly begin to shift our focus from our love for the Lord, which is primary, to our labor for the Lord which is secondary.  If the former is right, the latter follows, but if we neglect the former, the latter will eventually be lost also.  Read Christ’s confrontation of the Ephesian church in Revelation 2:1-7.  They were commended for their fervent labor, but condemned for leaving their first love. 

In a believer’s life, this departure from devotion to doing will be ultimately disastrous.  Little by little, it leads to loose living and loose living eventually leads to lost usefulness. Thankfully there’s more to the story.  If this is the saga of your life, the last chapter does not have to conclude here.

There is the hope of THE USEFULNESS THAT IS RESTORED.

“Then the man of God asked, ‘Where did it fall?’  When he showed him the place, the man of God cut a stick, threw it there, and made the iron float.  Then he said, ‘Pick it up.’  So he reached out and took it.” (v.6-7). 

This is an illustration of personal revival. There are two prerequisites pictured here.

Usefulness is restored through A REPENTANT CONFESSION, “’Oh, my master, it was borrowed!’  Then the man of God asked, ‘Where did it fall?’" (v.5b-6a). 

He mourned over his loss. He confessed and acknowledged the place where it was lost. There is a godly sorrow that leads to repentance. Peter’s bitter tears were the seeds that blossomed in his restoration. You get back on the road of righteousness where you took the devil’s detour. Where did you fall?  Maybe you got too busy to read your Bible.  Perhaps in the frenzy of activity, you omitted prayer.  It could be that your work supplanted your worship.  Wherever you fell, confess it to God with sincerity.   He will forgive!

Then there follows A RENEWED COMMITMENT,  “When he showed him the place, the man of God cut a stick, threw it there, and made the iron float.  Then he said, ‘Pick it up.’ So he reached out and took it.” (v.6b-7). 

The stick reminds us of the cross. It speaks symbolically of Calvary. Of course, the cross of Christ is the source of our cleansing, but it is also the call to commitment.  We are to deny ourselves and take up the cross and follow Jesus.   We will never be useful to God until the cross is applied.  You have to deny your desires and die to your designs if you are to experience the dynamic of God’s power working through you.  That’s how we are useful in the Kingdom of God.

When the ax head was restored, then it was time to get back to work.  He could once again be useful.

It is better, of course, to sense that things are beginning to get loose, and tighten up your relationship with the Lord before the fall comes.  Be sensitive to this!

But, what if you’ve already lost it?  We can be restored.

Where did you fall? How did it happen? Will you repent and seek God’s forgiveness? Come to the cross.  Remember how it used to be.  There is no time like now!