December 15, 2024
The Conflicted King
The Conflicted King
The Old Testament chronicles the lives of many of the kings of the nation of Israel and surprisingly, although Israel was God's chosen people, many of its kings chose not to follow the one true God. Of the 42 kings mentioned in the Old Testament, 36 of those kings sought after wicked things while only 8 of those kings faithfully sought after God. Over the last few weeks we've been in a sermon series entitled, "Christmas with the Family", in which we have been looking at individuals in the family tree of Jesus that are recorded in Matthew 1. One of the things that we have seen in this series is that there was a prophecy that the Messiah would be born out of the tribe of Judah from the family of David and Matthew 1 shows us that Jesus fulfilled this messianic prophecy. Since we know that Jesus descended from the kings of Judah and, as we have just seen, most of those kings were wicked, it should not surprise us that there are some very bad people in the family tree of Jesus. So far in our sermon series we have talked about two people in Jesus' family tree, and both King Josiah and Ruth were people who sought after God. This week I want to focus on one of the wicked kings, King Abijah. It's on the account of King Abijah's life that we see a personal conflict that defines our understanding of who he was. It was a conflict that not only led him to be considered one of the evil kings in Scripture, but it's a conflict that we can find ourselves struggling with as well. If we don't deal with it Biblically, we can end up in the same place that King Abijah did. This conflict was a conflict of his faith. King Abijah is only mentioned a few times in Scripture; once in the genealogy of Jesus and then in 1 Kings as well as 2 Chronicles. It's in the contrasting accounts recorded in the Old Testament books of Kings and Chronicles that we start to see this conflict played out in his life.
To understand both accounts properly we need to understand a little of the history that led up to the division of the Kingdom of Israel and the reign of King Abijah. Once King Solomon died his son Rehoboam took over the kingdom, but he took some very foolish advice and became a tougher ruler than his father. His harsh ways caused his people to rebel, and they were led in rebellion by a man named Jeroboam. Jeroboam's rebellion was successful, and he was able to convince the 11 northern tribes of Israel to form a new nation. While this new kingdom was formed, Rehoboam stayed and led the Kingdom of Judah. These two kingdoms fought constantly over land and this fighting continued when Rehoboam died, and his son Abijah took over. It was during one of these battles that King Abijah spoke the words recorded in 2 Chronicles 13:8-12, "And now you plan to resist the kingdom of the Lord, which is in the hands of David's descendants. You are indeed a vast army and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods. But didn't you drive out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own as the peoples of other lands do? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may become a priest of what are not gods. ':4s for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who serve the Lord are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them. Every morning and evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the Lord. They set out the bread on the ceremonially clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. We are observing the requirements of the Lord our God. But you have forsaken him. God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. People of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed."
From this speech and this stand against the evil nation that Jeroboam had created, one would think that King Abijah would be one of the 8 kings that sought after God, but once we read the short account in 1 Kings about the Abijah we see the whole story. It's in 1 Kings 15:3 that we are told he was an evil king because his heart was not fully devoted to God, and he committed all the sins his father had committed before. His heart and faith were divided between two things. On one hand he was holding on to the superstitious and outright Godless ways and traditions that his father established in Judah. On the other hand he had the Word of God. He was trying to find a balance between the two. One thing he should have known is that God does not share His spotlight in our lives with anyone else, especially when it comes to where our faith lies.
Because when we try to divide our loyalty between God and anything else, we are not trusting God at all. We are just trusting in ourselves to know when and what to trust in all parts of our lives in all situations. This is the problem that Abijah had, and this is the issue that we can all struggle with. So this morning I want to look at how we can make sure that we don't have the same conflict in our lives that Abijah struggled with but if we see that we do, then I want us to understand how to deal with it in order to bring us back to where God wants all of His followers, and that is to be faithful in all things to Him. We won't be looking at the Old Testament for the answers but rather in the book of James where James addresses this very topic of faith in the opening of his letter.
True faith has One Focus. - James 1:6
But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.
As James begins speaking about faith, he does so in the context of praying for wisdom. I want to mention this briefly because it's something we all need to make sure we practice properly in our own lives. This encouragement James gives to pray is not to pray for knowledge. Nowhere in the Bible does it ever tell us to pray for, or that we can pray for, knowledge. Instead it tells us to pursue and seek knowledge (sorry students you're going to have to study for those finals this week). Instead, the prayer that James promises is that God will answer a prayer for wisdom. It's a prayer to know what to do with the knowledge and truth that we have found. It's something that Abijah should have prayed for instead of going with what he thought was right. It's a prayer we need to pray every time we hear God's Word taught or preached. We have been given truth in God's Word and we need to ask God how we are to apply those truths in our lives daily.
The next thing that James tells them concerning their faith is that true faith must be in God alone. There can't be any hesitation in that faith when it is lived out, and as we know real faith always must be lived out (James 2:14). King Abijah had the chance to tear down the Asher poles, destroy the pagan altars and shrines, and stop the Godless worship that his father allowed in the Kingdom of Judah immediately when he became the King. If he would have done so he would have been obedient to the commandment that God gave in Deuteronomy 18. But why didn't he? He thought there was another way that would have worked besides God's way.
He hesitated because his heart and mind were thinking there might be another way. When you think there is another way when God is specific in His commands of what we are to do in each situation, then we can be sure that we do not have a faith that is in God alone. That is what is required of all the followers of Jesus and is exactly what James is addressing here in this verse. This divided and conflicted faith can look a variety of different ways. It can be partaking in and performing traditional rituals and superstitions that God has specifically said not to take part in (1 Timothy 4:7). Many times I'll hear people say, "What does it hurt?" when they participate in traditions or superstitions trying to manipulate a circumstance or obtain the extremely ungodly idea that people refer to as "luck". However it does hurt because we are not wholly trusting in God in those situations, but rather in that silly object or activity trying to get our will to come about. This divided faith can also look like fear or worry in our lives when instead we should be trusting God. It can be a moral compromise when we start to look more like the world than we do of Jesus. It can be a reluctance to carry out the Great Commission, thinking that we don't have to do what we are all called to do as followers of Jesus. Pretty much all of this can be summed up by saying it's when we have selective obedience in our lives. James doesn't stop once he addresses the necessary object of our faith but tells us another reason that a faith focused solely on God is important. If we are divided in our loyalties, God can't trust us and we will not be used as an example for others to carry out God's will, but rather God will use us as a warning instead.
This was very true of King Abijah. He was meant to be a warning and not an example of how to live a life of faith. James says when our loyalty is divided between God and anything else, we are like waves in the ocean. If you have ever been in the ocean, you know how unpredictable waves can be. They can't be trusted, and God is looking for people He can trust to carry out His will here on earth. When Jesus calls people into His service they don't have to be great speakers, charismatic personalities, or possess any other attribute that the world might deem necessary of a great leader. All God is looking for is those who are totally sold out to Him.
True Faith Secures God's Reward. - James 1:7
Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
Verse 7 is a verse that we could easily skip over when reading this chapter in focusing on what true faith looks like. There is a truth here that was played out in the life of King Abijah and it's a truth that plays out in our lives as well. The truth is this - just because you have success or experience a blessing from God, it does not necessarily mean you are in God's will. We see that King Abijah had success as the King of Judah as was recorded after the speech we read in 2 Chronicles when he defeated King Jeroboam. But despite this success he still was considered evil. Even the exceptionally evil King Jeroboam experienced God's grace in 1 Kings 13 when God healed him after God had destroyed the pagan altars the king had built. God is wanting all of us to repent and come back to Him therefore he shows us His patience which is a blessing to all of us. He will also let us partake in His grace & mercy in some other capacities this side of eternity whether we are followers of Jesus or not. However those whose faith is not in God, do not have the assurance and expectation of those things from God.
For those whose faith is in Jesus have hope and live out that faith in all parts of our lives. They have an absolute guarantee and confidence of what they will receive from the Lord (Hebrews 11:6) because He has promised it to them. While those who have a conflicted faith will experience the goodness of God from time to time, they should never expect it like those who have an unwavering faith in God. The only way we should judge if we are in God's will or not, is not in our success or blessings, but rather when our lives mirror what the Word of God says that a follower of Jesus Christ should look like.
True Faith eliminates Inward Conflict. - James 1:8
Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
There is no doubt that King Abijah was suffering from a faith divided between God and the world. The truth is he probably never realized it. In the opening letter of his book 'The Screwtape Letters", C.S. Lewis says that this disconnect and conflict of faith that Abijah experienced is a favorite tool of the devil. In the letter two demons are communicating trying to devise a way to make sure a certain man does not follow Jesus. They say "At that time the humans still knew pretty well when a thing was proved and when it was not; and if it was proved they really believed it. They still connected thinking with doing and were prepared to alter their way of life as the result of a chain of reasoning. But with the weekly press and other such weapons we have largely altered that. Your man has been accustomed, ever since he was a boy, to have a dozen incompatible philosophies dancing about together inside his head. He doesn't think of doctrines as primarily "true" or "false", but as "academic" or "practical", "outworn" or "contemporary", "conventional" or "ruthless". Jargon, not argument, is your best ally in keeping him from the Church." You see, Abijah didn't realize that faith in God is incompatible with any other worldview this world has to offer. You can either have God's way or the world's ways. You can't combine the two. When we try to combine them, that is when our mind is in conflict trying to decide what to do and who to listen to in every situation. When our faith is in Christ alone, this is easy. As a follower of Jesus we follow Jesus because He will never lead us astray. He will never fail us. He is the truth so His ways will never be wrong. We just must condition ourselves to respond God's way no matter what situation we are in. This is difficult, but we can pray and ask God to help us when our faith starts to fade, and we start to struggle. He wants to help us in every way possible. The more we put our trust in God with our words and actions, the easier it will be and the stronger our faith will become. It takes time and we all must start somewhere.
King Abijah saw God do some mighty things through himself and the Kingdom of Judah when they were obedient to God, but despite this, Abijah still had a conflicted and divided faith. Because of this divided faith his story was shortly over in just three years, and he will always be remembered as one of Judah's Kings who was not faithful to God. What does this all mean when it comes to us? Well for one, the final pages of our story have yet to be written. No matter where we are in our faith walk, we can change that walk right now and bring it into line.
