Forfeited Blessings (Part B)

He's remembered as a treasonous, whereas the other kings were doing the same thing. But again, there are other facts that have been omitted that contributed to a stronger dislike for him, evidently. Verse 21, then the people of Israel were divided into two parts.

Half of the people followed Tibni, the son of Gednath, to make him king and half followed Omri. Well, now here's the civil war. This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the Book of First Kings.

Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. And now here's Pastor Rick with part two of his message called Four Fitted Blessings in First Kings Chapter 16. The kings built their kingdoms to gain fame like the Egyptian pharaohs. And that's what historians are saying. Yeah, he did like kings. You know, he built up cities. He did civil things. But when he died, that's not what God remembered.

And that's what it comes down to. You can't point, well, I was a success as a king. Look at what I built. Herod the Great, you know, he's the one that restored the Jewish temple, or you could say, maybe enhanced the temple of Zerubbabel. These great building projects that Herod was known for. The man was a monster. He was a butcher. He was a murderer. It was just insane.

Satanic. So again, big deal as a king. You had these construction projects. That's not what's going to matter, because they were all swept away anyway. Verse 6, so Baasha rested with his fathers and was buried in Terza. Then Elah, his son, reigned in his place.

Of course, rested is a euphemism, because he ain't resting. He was an evil man, and for 24 years he reigned in the northern kingdom. Now remember the prophecy of Jehu was not on Baasha himself, it was on his offspring, his house, his posterity. And Elah belongs to that group now, and he's now the king. He's a bad king, and he would be murdered for his throne by Zimri, who would then become king for a week, and then Zimri would be murdered. Well, he would actually kill himself.

We'll get to that in this chapter. But his father, Baasha, murdered Nadab, who was the king, son of Jeroboam. So there's this murderer, murdering, murderer, and they have no problem.

Their conscience is not disturbed by any of this. Verse 7, and also the word of Yahweh came by the prophet Jehu, the son of Hanani, against Baasha and his house, because of all the evil that he did in the sight of Yahweh, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because he killed them. Well, the chroniclers, or the historians, led by the Holy Spirit, they didn't itemize all the dirt that this guy did, or these other wicked kings. They give us some of it, but suffice it to say that they provoked God continuously.

There was much more evil that they committed than is recorded. But again, Jehu the prophet gets the call and is sent to the king. In being like the house of Jeroboam, he says here in verse 7, and because he killed them, i.e.

Nadab. So he's saying, your dad followed the sins of Jeroboam, the first king of the north, he was a murderer, and you have a wicked house here. You're idolaters and you're murderers because of it.

If you were following me, you wouldn't be murdering like this. Verse 8, Elah reigned in Israel in the 26th year of Asa king of Judah. Elah the son of Beyasha became king over Israel and reigned two years in Terzah. And they're not two full years incidentally, but this statement in dating the reign of the kings in the north by the reign of the kings in the south is significant because they're going to find out there's going to be a civil war coming in the north and it's going to last for four years. But we're not told it lasts for four years until we compare the dates of the reign of Asa and that's how we'll get to that conclusion. And the Bible is filled with these little things. You just pass over them until you start, you know, really pour a lot of time into it and have questions, but it's all over the Bible. It's such a deep book.

It will go as deep as you want to go and you'll never come close to the bottom. Verse 9, Now his servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him as he was in Terzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, steward of his house in Terzah. Okay, well, we can follow that. He's a major general, a two-star general probably, equivalent today. And that's kind of important because you got these power plays coming on and a two-star general really is not a big player on a political level.

Four-star has a little bit more power than a two-star and it's going to come down to that because Zimri is going to face Amrai, who is going to be a four-star. Well, I mean, if you're not military minded, you're like, it's boring, but it is part of the story. Ecclesiastes 10, that king wrote this, blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles and your princes feast at the proper time for strength and not for drunkenness. Well, the reason why I'm quoting Ecclesiastes 10, 17 is because here we're told that Zimri is drinking himself drunk. You could tell the historian is disgusted with this guy. This is no way for a king to behave and he's just telling it like it is. Of course, this was, what else did he do? How did he behave when he was drunk?

Well, this is what decadence is about. Verse 10, and Zimri went in and struck him and killed him in the 27th year of Asa, king of Judah, and reigned in his place. Well, Zimri is killing Elah. Elah is Beyasha's son and his posterity is not going to survive and Zimri comes in and he kills him.

He said, oh, that was easy enough. But again, this is going to last seven days. The shortest reign of all the kings, the shortest reign is this one, this Zimri. His name, Zimri, becomes almost proverbial. Jezebel, that Sidonian witch, she will insult the other Jehu, the King Jehu, before he becomes king.

As, you know, are you, you know, Zimri, the killer of your master? And she would get that in 2 Kings 19. So here, she knew this much of the Jewish history. She was the anti-Yahweh of her day.

At the bottom there, again in verse 10, in the 27th year of Asa, Asa was king for 41 years and he was the one that died with the bad feet. Anyway, that's what happened. Verse 11, then it came to pass when he began to reign, now this is Zimri, as soon as he was seated on his throne, that he killed all the household of Beyasha, he did not leave him one male, neither of his slaves nor of his friends.

And so a purge. Now, this would have made Stalin proud. But this is fulfillment of what the prophet said. God didn't do this.

He didn't stop it either. Again, the right of God, they forfeited the blessings and the protection. But he supposed that by eliminating any heir to Beyasha's throne that he's taking by murder, that he would be challenged free.

He was wrong. Verse 12, thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Beyasha according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke against Beyasha by Jehu the prophet. Verse 13, for all the sins of Beyasha and the sins of Elah, his son, by which they had sinned and by which they had made Israel sin in provoking Yahweh, God of Israel, to anger with their idols. And it's restraint on the part of the historian who was writing this.

So how do you really feel about these idolaters that have ruined everything for the nation? Well, we all know about being provoked. None of us like being provoked. We even use it as an excuse to send something. Well, they provoked me. Well, that's not the defense. That won't stand with God.

So in certain circumstances, it will, but not all. But anyhow, coming back to this, they provoked God. That is a reoccurring theme here. The Hebrew word here at the bottom of verse 13, the last word of verse 13, the word idol, here it is habel in the Hebrew, which is significant because it means vapor, emptiness, vanity, nothing. So he's saying in provoking Yahweh, God of Israel, to anger with their vapor, with nothing. It is the identical Hebrew word used again in Ecclesiastes chapter one. Each time we use vanities, vanity of vanities, says the preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. Five times he's using habel, that Hebrew word. It's all just vapor. And so the Jewish people, and Jeremiah uses it a lot, no less than eight times in reference to idols.

They say this stuff is junk. It's nothing. That's what Paul said to the Corinthians. What is an idol? It's nothing.

This doesn't even count, except against you. And I like how these prophets handled these idols. You know, we mentioned the some with the disparaging words. There are other words they use, very descriptive of them. And here is yet another. So we read this and we send this, well, okay, they were idols, but I think their word is more descriptive of what actually is taking place.

So the word is not a figurine. It goes beyond that. Anyway, they were following the vapor gods, you could say. Kind of interesting today.

Every time now you see a vapor shop, you can have that connection. Anyway, this is the official reason for the fall of the northern kingdom, and eventually the southern kingdom. Second Kings 17, verse 15. And they rejected his statutes and his covenant that he had made with their fathers and his testimonies, which he had testified against them.

They followed idols, became idolaters and went after the nations who were around them concerning whom Yahweh had charged them that they would not do like them. Well, as a Christian, you can read that, but be very careful because the church is notorious to asking the world, how should we be a church? And the world is quick to answer, well, run it like a business. And that is not the church. And their business principles to the church, of course, that's stewardship, but it's not the same thing. We're not here for profit as prophets. We are here to uphold the word of God through our lives and our preaching. That's enough.

That is a lot right there. And yet the church is always reaching out, reaching out, asking the world, hey, come make us more successful. I think it's very unfortunate. And I don't want to say that in a self-righteous way. I can say it has hurt very much to stand against that. It hurts to stand against that because you meet people, you like them.

You want them to come to the church, of course, because God is leading them. And then all of a sudden there's this rift that's established because they're trying to sway you from what God has established. And that comes with pain. It's never joyful. Haha, you know, I shut you down.

It's never like that. Verse 14. Now the rest of the Acts of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? Well, the records of the kings, their domestic and foreign achievements, again, that's not the spiritual. The kings and the chronicles, they document the performance of the kings in relation to God, their spiritual condition. The books that he's referring to here in verse 14 are their records of, you know, domestic and civil achievements, but not the spiritual losses. Verse 15. In the 27th year of Asa, king of Judah, Zimri had reigned in Terzah seven days, and the people were encamped at Gibethon, which belonged to the Philistines.

Well, there's a little history there. The mention of the southern king again continues to date the northern king. Solomon has been dead, incidentally, about 51, 52 years, to give you a little timeline. Zimri, it says here in verse 15, reigned in Terzah seven days. Consequently, he couldn't hold on to the throne, and the people were encamped at Gibethon, which belonged to the Philistines. Now, Gibethon was where Baasha killed Nadab to take the throne. There was a Jewish garrison there because of the Philistines, a large military force to keep the Philistines in check, and they were there to probably take territory back when Baasha killed Nadab.

Well, they left troops there under the leadership of Omri, who is going to leave there and come to the capital and kill Zimri and take the throne. Looking back at 1 Kings 15, I hope you find this interesting. I think it's interesting for one reason. God says it's interesting, and that's it. If I'm reading, you know, something on General McArthur, I find it intriguing. That's my preference, but it is nowhere near the authority of reading God's word. And God's saying, I've taken this out of history and preserved it for you.

And now all of a sudden I want to, you know, every jot, every tittle now has life in it. So when we cross-reference back, it's because there are points to be made and these points are to make us stronger because our understanding expands. And as a man is in his heart, so he is. In verse 27 of chapter 15, Baasha killed Nadab, well, Baasha killed him at Gibethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibethon. So that's the support behind my statement that the garrison is there. Verse 16, now the people who were encamped heard it said, Zimri has conspired and also has killed the king. So all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army over Israel that day in the camp. So 45 miles away, this separates Gibethon from Terzah and word gets to the garrison, hey, the king's been assassinated and Zimri has taken the throne. Omri and his people are saying, a major general is now king over me.

We're going to make you a general over all the army and we're going to make you king. He's got more clout. He's got higher connections than Zimri.

And so now he's promoted. Verse 17, then Omri and all Israel with him went up to Gibethon and they besieged Terzah. I hope I'm not losing you or the Bible's not losing us on these names. It would sure make it easier if it were names like Mitch and Dale and Jeff, but it's not.

And the temptation to substitute those names has been great. But I'm not going to do that. Anyhow, Omri, he doesn't waste any time. Evidently he discovers weaknesses as a fortification of Terzah because once he takes the throne, he's not going to leave the capital there. He's going to relocate it.

If I could take this place, other people, I don't know. Anyway, that likely did influence his decision. Verse 18, and it happened when Zimri saw that the city was taken. He went into the Citadel of the king's house and burned the king's house down upon himself with fire and died.

Well, he's no hero. Verse 19, because of the sins which he had committed in doing evil in the sight of Yahweh and walking in the way of Jeroboam and in the sin which he had committed to make Israel sin. So the Spirit of God says Satan filled this guy, used him, and then when he was finished with him, he left him alone to his insanity. And God said, and I left him alone too because it was good. It's a terrible end.

What a wasted life. He evidently had some skills to become a commander of half the chariots and yet wasted because of just his godlessness. So the writer claims that God's judgment was upon him and it was by simply, you know, when we come across the Lord's cursings on people, all he has to do is withhold the blessings and it now becomes a curse. Verse 20, now the rest of the acts of Zimri and the treason he committed, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? So he's remembered as a treasonous, whereas the other kings are doing the same thing.

But again, there are other facts that have been omitted that contributed to a stronger dislike for him, evidently. Verse 21, then the people of Israel were divided into two parts. Half of the people followed Tibni, the son of Gidnath, to make him king and half followed Omri.

Well, now here's the civil war. So Omri responds, goes up to Terzah, takes the city. Zimri kills himself and the people aren't satisfied with that and they have war. You see how the Bible works? It doesn't tell us here how long the war lasted until we move further down and we find out, we compare the date that Zimri came to power and Omri comes to power based on Asa's rule and then we say, oh, that's four years.

That's how long it took. Comparing verse 15 with verse 23, that gives you the answer and I'm not going to take time to read it because we still got a ways to go. Omri is one of the few individuals in the Bible whose name has been preserved outside of the Bible from that time period. Not in a book but in a stone, the Misha stone and you can look that up on your own. Names him and Ahab by name and the inscription is by King Misha of the Moabites bragging about his victories, giving glory to his God Chemosh and it's just a fact, an archaeological find that is interesting. He describes looting the temple at Judah and it actually even references the name of Yahweh.

So anyway, I've not seen it. I think it's in the museum in London but verse 22, but the people who followed Omri prevailed over the people who followed Tibni, the son of Genath. So Tibni died and Omri reigned. So it cost Tibni his life to get on the wrong team. The mention of, you know, the son of Genath, you know, you got to say, do we need to know that?

Yeah, I guess they needed to know that and it's just been preserved. He did not die of natural causes, this Tibni, but a violent death. Verse 23, in the 31st year of Asa, king of Israel, and there's a time stamp, Omri became king over Israel and reigned 12 years. Six years he reigned in Terzah.

So six years he's in Terzah before he relocates. Again, looking at verse 15 of 1 Kings 16, there we read, in the 27th year of Asa, king of Judah, Zimri had reigned in Terzah, seven days. So that's a time stamp and then we compare that with verse 23 where it says, in the 31st year of Asa, king of Judah, Omri became king. Well, why did he become king when he burned the house down because they had that civil war and there's your four-year gap between the two.

I like when those things happen because when they don't happen, you say, how come it doesn't tell us? Verse 24, and he bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver. Then he built on the hill and called the name of the city which he built Samaria after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill.

Variations of that name, about 150 pounds of the silver, it seems like, according to those who measure those things out for us. This Omri, he's the father of Ahab who marries Jezebel. We're going to have a lot of things about them later, beginning next chapter actually. But these mountains of Samaria, whenever I say the name Samaria, doesn't it not sound like some area? But anyway, Samaria, where he relocates to, has better fortifications for sure. So much so that when the Assyrians come, it's going to take them almost three years before they take over Samaria. The giant Assyrian army could not just waltz right in there. The fortifications were that strong. And it was such an important city that after the Assyrians destroyed it, others came along, the Persians and Herod, and rebuilt it.

The attackers would have to attack uphill the whole time because it was higher elevation. Anyhow, moving on to verse 25, Omri did evil in the eyes of Yahweh and did worse than all who were before him. Yeah, and his son will top him, don't worry about that. Verse 26, for he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and in the sin by which he made Israel sin, provoking Yahweh, God of Israel, to anger with their idols. The temptation is to say, well, why doesn't God stop these guys? Because when he kills that one, the next one comes in, he's going to kill that one. It makes God this hit man for us. He works with what he has, and this is what he's been given.

This is the right move. And by faith, we know that. We know that given what was before him and the rules that we are under, established by God, this was the right move. We do that with Adam and Eve. Why did God just kill those two and give us two more?

Because well, they would have done the same thing because the free will does that without being resurrected life, the imparting of God into us that awaits we who live now in its fullness, that is. Well, Omri, according to men, he did well as a king. He just built stuff and he, you know, established the army.

And that's what's being told here. But still, he provoked God. He was actually one of the most impressive kings of Israel in terms of those accomplishments, physical accomplishments. But God was not impressed. What a lesson. God was not impressed.

He was provoked. So you see a successful person. You know, we have them, these Aliachs, and they think that because they're successful, that they're going to survive death. They're not.

They think that when they die, somehow it's going to work out or it's not going to be that bad. They're provoking God. Thanks for joining us for today's teaching on Cross-Reference Radio. This is the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia.

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