The Thistle King (Part B)

There are people like the cedar who have strength and dignity and beauty and contribute to their environment.

And then there are people who are like the thistle, they just stick it to you. Condense it to you have people who are generators of good things and blessings and friendship and peace. And then you have those who drain those things, take them away. They drain a church, they come into a church and you just drain fussing, complaining, getting others to fuss and complain about you.

Nothing. 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 2nd 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 in the book of 2nd Kings chapter 14 as he continues his message called the Thistle King. Both were unsuccessful in war because of how they treated God. And both had to withstand a siege on their capital, which is brutal. Both of them paid off their enemy by surrendering great amount of wealth from the kingdom and from the house of God. Looking at 2nd Chronicles 25, the parallel version or account, and he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh but not with a loyal heart. That makes me ask myself, am I serving Jesus Christ in my heart?

Is my heart loyal to him? Yah, I may, you know, lose it here and there, but I love the Lord Jesus Christ and I want to get it all correct with him. 2nd Chronicles 25 again verse 27 this time. After the time that Amaziah turned away from following Yahweh, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem and he fled to Lakish, but they sent after him to Lakish and killed him there. That's how it ends for this king. It must have been painful for the historians to write these things. It wasn't as though they were just his patriots and it was that kind of pain.

This is my kingdom, my country, and I'm sorry to see my countrymen behave this way. Well, that was part of it, but it went beyond that. These were the people of God. The historians believed the promises, but they also believed the consequences that God had foretold would happen and had to have been painful for all of them throughout the Old Testament because it is one continuous story of defeat, glimmer of hope, defeat, glimmer of hope. Verse 4, however, the high places were not taken away and the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. This is constantly repeated within the times of the kings and it points to the limitation of the loyalty of the people.

It was very shallow. Loyalty was very shallow with many of them. These forbidden centers of worship where they offered incense and blood sacrifice, it was forbidden by God.

You just kind of get your head around this. Well, why were they doing it? They had much of the Bible to know better and the synagogues come along. Well, the synagogues were never meant to be places of ritual. There were no blood sacrifices there, no incense burning unto Yahweh. That was reserved for the temple. The synagogues concerned themselves with teaching. They assembled to teach the word of God and the church is built on that foundation. The apostle Paul really is the one that blazed that trail for us and to this day we do much as the ancient synagogues, although we don't have the women sitting on one side and children separated by the men on the other side. I'm sure there are some churches that would like to do that or do do that. But anyway, coming back, the high places, they were still there and it was convenient for the people.

You know, I like to go to Jerusalem to worship but I just go down to this little center, this hill over here and I can do it there. No, you cannot. Your offering is then voided. It's useless.

It's like voiding out a warranty with much more horrific. Separation is the word of the saint and it meant nothing to many of these people, to all of them that were engaging in this kind of worship, false worship. To the Christian, we are to have contact with unbelievers without merging.

We don't join them in their view of things, in their position of who Christ is, nor do we view them as our enemies simply because they're unbelievers. Leviticus 26, 30, I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars and cast your carcasses on the lifeless forms of your idols. My soul shall abhor you. That's God speaking to the people. They didn't like that. So they just ignored it.

But it didn't go away. And God has never been, you know, well, I've got to get them into the church. Don't tell them that. Christianity as well as with the Jews is supposed to be in the face, get up in the face of lies about God. I mean, there are exceptions where God just says, all right, cool it. I've got this one.

You just leave it. But there are other times God says, you're supposed to be preaching what I'm telling you to preach. John the Baptist was up in the face of Herod. You're not to have your brother's wife, punk. Okay, he didn't say that part.

But it should have been there. That's, forget about the punk statement, the punk, the insignificant one. As an apprentice iron worker, the apprentices are called punks, because they are insignificant. And it's quite humbling.

And you become a journeyman, then you get to call the other ones. Anyway, coming back to this, we are supposed to be forthright and not hide truth from people. And not become nitpickers and Pharisees. That is not the spirit of it all, at all. But we know when we're supposed to share, unless you've been so reluctant over the years, you've lost your sense, you're not sensitive to it anymore.

You've lost the skill. And I'd like to remind us the Levites and the priests in Israel were to be skilled. They had to be trained, they had to maintain their training, and they just could not just, you know, just throw the thing up on the fire and cook it.

There was a protocol to follow. And Christians, the royal priesthood, we're supposed to be trained too. That's why we do Bible study. Why else do we do Bible study? Well, to be Christ-like.

Why? Why do you want to be Christ-like? To go to heaven. Okay, but that's because of what Christ has done. Christ-likeness is to, primarily, allow us to be used to bring others into the kingdom. Because God doesn't use angels at this time in history to save lost souls. 2 Kings tells us, because it says here in verse 4, and the people still sacrificed and burned incense on high places.

All the kings struggle with this. Hezekiah put it down. Hezekiah is going to be the son of this king. 2 Kings 18, he removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden images, broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made. For until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it and called it Nahushtan.

That's in their face. That king said it's nothing. It is not Yahweh. You hear burning incense to this thing that Moses used in the desert. Moses is not God. We love Moses, we take his word, that's how we know how to worship God, but he is not God. And bowing down to some relic like this is a cursed thing.

Josiah will come along, he'll pulverize, he goes up into the north and he starts digging up graves. I mean, he just goes in their face. So, it just, you know, why do I have to hear about what the world is doing that is decadent, but the world can't hear about what Christ has done that is righteous. Why is there a double standard there? Well, it takes a little bit more than just knowing that because you just can't, you know, a bull in a china shop just walk around the world causing arguments and fights wherever you go. That's not the spirit of Christ. But it is, it is an understanding that when you, when it is time to share the gospel, you share the truth. Because holding back the truth about salvation because you don't want to hurt somebody's feelings sends them to hell and what does it do for you?

Well, that's the way it is. I think that is just a joy in knowing God has brought someone in front of you. What happens just because he brings them in front of you doesn't mean they're going to get saved, but many times it does.

You could be the last exit before hell for that person. Verse 5, and now it happened as soon as the kingdom was established in his hand that he executed his servants who had murdered his father the king. Well, what son would not given these conditions? And so he exacts justice and following the law at this point. This is what the writer means when he says he did all according to his father. And then he adds a part about David to just warn you it's coming. But verse 6, then the children of the murderers he did not execute according to what is written in the book of the law of Moses in which Yahweh commanded saying fathers shall not be put to death for their children nor children put to death for their fathers, but a person shall be put to death for his own sin.

So much for generational curses that somebody thought up as cute, just a sophisticated excuse to get away with sin. The fathers, you know, you're not going to be judged for what somebody else did. And he's upholding that. He executes justice on the assassins, the murderers, in accordance with the scripture, the law of Moses, the books of Moses. We believe that Moses is the one that has given to us Genesis through Deuteronomy. There have been amendments to it.

He didn't know, Moses didn't write and Moses died. Someone had to come back and put that in. And so there, we understand that. That's totally acceptable. We fuss when those details are left out. No, they tell us more about that. Well, that's how it is.

Verse, that's how it is covers a lot of things, doesn't it? You can just say that's how it is. And that's the end of the argument. Well, that doesn't work if you pulled over for speeding. Tell the officer, well, that's how it is.

And he's going to give you the ticket and say, no, that's how it is. Verse 7, he killed ten thousand Edomites. These were greedy people. They ate everything. The Edomites, Edom-mites anyway.

I know, you know, where are you going to find humor like this? You decide, let's get to church quick because we're going to get good Bible study and the funniest things are going to be said. He killed ten thousand Edomites, and you'll never see that word again the same way now, in the valley of Saul and took Selah by war and called its name Jochthiel to this day. Well, David had years ago defeated the Edomites in this same valley.

These are the descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob. And where it says he took Selah by war, this is the Nabataean area and that is now a tour site today. But anyway, he renames the place, called its name Jochthiel, to this day.

It was called The Rock. He changed the name to Conquered by God and that sounds very admirable when we hear that. Well, so what's wrong with this king, Amaziah? He goes in and he wins the battle for the Lord, which the prophet, we don't get it here in Kings, but there was a prophet involved leading up to this.

He's going to war and he hires these mercenaries from the northern kingdom and the prophet says, what are you doing? You can't hire these guys. They say they're Jews but they don't live like Jews.

They're pagans. Send them home. But I paid all this money. He says to God, give you more money.

Don't worry about that. Okay, I'll send them home. He sends them home.

As they go home, they raid and they pillage. The king doesn't know that yet. I think the king remained resentful over sending these guys home and losing that money because what he is going to do is he conquers the Edomites, renames their city to show that he is the king and possessor of their area and then he takes their gods back to Jerusalem and worships them.

This is the kind of, as I mentioned to you, we get to talk about these people that have died long ago so we don't make their mistakes. He defeated the Edomites because he obeyed God when the prophet confronted him. 2 Chronicles chapter 25 verse 14. Well, actually, let's see how much we want to take and how much time we'll allow. Moreover, Amaziah gathered Judah together and set over them captains of thousands.

That's not what I want. So let me get to the part where he gets crazy and that's verse 14. Now it was so after Amaziah came from the slaughter of the Edomites that he brought the gods of the people of Seir, that's in Edom, and set them up to be his gods and bowed down before them and burned incense to them. Therefore the anger of Yahweh was aroused against Amaziah and he sent him a prophet who said to him, why have you sought the gods of the people which could not rescue their own people from your hand?

Why have you sought the gods of the people which could not rescue their own people from your hand? And so it was as he talked with him that the king said to him, talking to the prophet now, have we made you the king's counselor? Cease.

In other words, be quiet. Why should you be killed? Then the prophet ceased and said, I know that God has determined to destroy you because you have done this and have not heeded my advice. So the prophet confronts him and he tells the prophet shut up or else I'll have you killed and the prophet says fine but God's going to get you for this and that's eventually what happened. I mean you just scratch your head you hear these stories but we see people you know don't like how God, they don't like their life. They think God is mean because he doesn't give them the successes that they see other people or perceive that other people have. The main reason God says that he could consider himself good in the presence of sinners is because he doesn't destroy sinners but makes a way for them to go to heaven.

He doesn't have to do that but he does. So I think he regretted sending those troops home in verses 9 and 10 of 2 Chronicles 25 and harboring that resentment to strike out a god. He changes gods.

I'll take these guys. We see this in atheists. Some atheists were raised in a church and something happened, I think this was Ted Turner's story, you know his sister died and he prayed to God and she died and he just has this resentment towards God now.

Same idea, he's going to change gods. Paul writes about this to the Hebrews. He says looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God. The goodness of God.

How do you fall short of that? By rejecting him. He continues Paul does. Lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble and by this many become defiled. What we're looking at that happened right here in this 14th chapter of Kings. He fell short of the grace of God cause he changed gods. He had no reason for this, no justification, no reason, rational mind and that's what the prophet says.

You defeated them. God couldn't protect them. Why would you want that to be your god?

He's not going to be the last one to do this. You want to come across another king, he defeats them, he sees their altar and says this is wonderful. Look at the artwork on this. That craftsmanship can't be found in Jerusalem. Let's bring it back and he sets it up there in Jerusalem. We'll get to him another time. Being led by the Lord as the prophet was to speak to this king will sometimes offend people. Those who are shallow, those who are immature, those who are carnal.

Christians, let me ask, pray about this and then you say oh sure go pray about it and you come back and the answer is no. Oh boy, he just lost a friend sometimes. May that not be us.

If someone doesn't want to come to your birthday party, why give them a hard time? More cake for you. One Christian said God has two dwelling places, heaven and the contrite heart. So has the devil, hell and the proud heart. The proud heart exalts itself over God, over others.

The world calls it arrogance, one part of it. Verse 8, then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, son of Jehoaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel saying come let us face one another in battle. Okay so the story is continuing. He comes back, he defeats the Edomites, he brings their gods, he changes gods. But he gets word that the mercenaries he sent back to the northern kingdom have launched these raids and have taken much spoil because they wanted to go to war because they got to loot the cities that they conquered. That was their payment and he took that away from them.

We came all the way from the north, like 20 miles come on. So they come and they're fine and on the way home they're angry and God would have stopped that I believe if the people were righteous with him as the prophet pointed out. But anyway, he's angry now. So he sends to the king in the north, you know, kind of the spirit of your people, your troops raided villages. I tried to give, you know, work with you but it didn't work out.

That was uncalled for. So he sends this note to the king in the north, let's have a civil war. Let's fight each other. Second Chronicles 25 verse 13. But as for the soldiers of the army which Amaziah had discharged so they would not go to battle with him, they raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth-horon, killed 3,000 in those cities and took much spoil. And so this, of course, and I can understand the king saying, man, that is just an act of war.

I can understand thinking that way. But he removes Yahweh. He never says, well, you know what, I changed gods.

Maybe I did this, you know, maybe it is me. He doesn't do anything like that. He picks a fight that he's going to lose. He had this thing, this king, Amaziah, for not asking God first. That's why the prophet had to confront him. I should read it anyway. Second Chronicles 25 verse 9 and 10.

No, let's just back it up. Verse 6, speaking about the king, he hired 100,000 mighty men of valor from Israel for 100 talents of silver. But a man of God came to him saying, O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you for Yahweh is not with Israel, not with any of the children of Ephraim. But if you go, be gone.

You've got to love the prophet. He said, well, fine, you want to go, go. He says, be strong in battle because you're going to lose.

That's the idea. And he says, even so, God shall make you fall before the enemy for God has power to help and to overthrow. And Amaziah said to the man of God, but what shall we do about the 100 talents which I have given to the troops of Israel? Which to them wasn't enough. They wanted that loot.

And the man of God answered, Yahweh is able to give you much more than this. And then he just discharges the troops. He stays bitter.

The troops are bitter. The only one that is really even keel is the prophet. And so there he acted without counseling the counsel of God.

Later, he's going to get the counsel from his own men without the prophet. Verse 9, so Jehoash, king of Israel, sent to Amaziah, king of Judah, saying, the thistle that was in Lebanon, sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon saying, give your daughter to my son as wife. And a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle.

This is the thistle king. The king in the north gets the letter from the south. We're going to go to war. And he says, don't do this. Why bring all the sorrow on everybody?

You're going to get your clock cleaned. Well, he's feeling strong. He just defeated the Edomites because God gave him the victory. Well, so did the king in the north.

He had victories against Assyrian powers. He's equal. So he's roasting Amaziah at this point. He's calling him a thistle, a thorn bush. And he's referring to himself as a mighty cedar. You've never seen these trees. They're beautiful.

Anyway, I'm sure you've seen them, but there's some variety. Lebanon gives the story this romantic touch because the cedars of Lebanon were notorious for their beauty. The wild beast doing the trampling of the thistle, Amaziah, the thistle, is Jeroboam's, I mean, Jehoiash's army. Both the cedar and the thistle thrived in Lebanon.

And I'm told in my readings that wherever you found this mighty cedar, you would find these thistles and bramble bushes. They would thrive also. The noble with the ignoble. Good people mixed in with bad people.

Thriving side by side. Sounds like life. Sounds like some churches.

Sounds like some homes. Some work in a shop or office with thistles and some are cedars. Sometimes you fly on the same plane. Share the same road with them. This is a great lesson from that wherever the cedar grows, so do the thistles. And of course these things poke and stick as emblems of sin going back to Eden. There are people like the cedar who have strength and dignity and beauty and contribute to their environment. And then there are people who are like the thistle.

They just stick it to you. Condense it to you have people who are generators of good things and blessings and friendship and peace. And then you have those who drain those things. Take them away. They drain a church. They come into a church and you just drain. Fussing, complaining, getting others to fuss and complain about you. Nothing. And they're so unloving.

What evidence do you have of that? Well, low roaders, they ride the low road arrogant, shallow, mean, critical of everybody except themselves, backbiting, contemptible. They just, they're ludicrous to everybody except themselves. This is what we're talking about Thursday, Sunday, 2 Thessalonians chapter 3.

Fits right here. Pray for us, Paul said, that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men. Well, this was an unreasonable and wicked person. And the youth, you have to learn how to deal with these things in Christ. Even at an early age, you're going to come across other kids that are going to make life difficult.

They're going to be thistles in your life. The apostle Paul said, Satan has sent a messenger to buffet me, a thorn in my side. See, Satan can harass us.

I think Saul was, Paul was referring to just the disrespect he got as an apostle. Imagine if God was working in your life. I've had this happen. God is doing something. You're saving souls.

You're teaching people. And then someone comes along and says, well, where's your certificate? I don't have one from you people. I've got an invisible one. And looky here, I got a knuckle sandwich. Would you like a bite? Anyway.

Okay. That's not righteous. Thanks for joining us for today's edition on Cross-Reference Radio. This is the Daily Radio Ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia.

We trust that what you've heard today in the Book of Second Kings has been something to remember. If you'd like to listen to more teachings from this series, go to crossreferenceradio.com. Once more, that's crossreferenceradio.com. We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast too, so you'll never miss another edition. Just go to your favorite podcast app to subscribe. Our time is about up, but we hope you'll tune in again next time as we continue on in the Book of Second Kings. We look forward to that time with you, so make a note in your calendar to join Pastor Rick as he teaches from the Bible right here on Cross-Reference Radio.