Podcast appearances and mentions of king jehu

Much has been made about a recent Jonathan Cahn prophecy that President Trump is following the pattern of the Israelite king, Jehu (2 Kings 22). Dr. Jay and Amazing Larry discuss this prophecy. If President Trump is indeed following King Jehu's pattern, does King Jehu's final years foreshadow the final years of President Trump's presidency?Frothy Thoughts with the Truth BaristaVisit HighBeam Ministry, The Truth BaristaCheck out the Frothy Thoughts Blog!Check out The Truth Barista Books!Check out The Truth Barista YouTube Channel!

Preached at St Paul Lutheran Church, Rockford, Illinois on Wednesday, December 18th, 2024.Support Rev Fisk at SubscribeStarOrder Rev Fisk's books at AmazonCatch Rev Fisk on A Brief History of Power podcastFor video, visit Rev Fisk's Rumble channel Get the Mad Mondays newsletter, a round up of news from a Christian perspective with encouragement from Rev FiskFind out more about the Sons of Solomon, a prayer discipline for men

Pastor Brandon Miller

Lessons from the life of King Jehu

King Jehu's Wild RideReading Plan: Old Testament - 2 Kings 9-10New Testament - Acts 17Visit https://www.revivalfromthebible.com/ for more information.

After the ministries of God's prophets Elijah and Elisha, Israel still persists in sin. As a consequence, further curses of the Deuteronomic covenant are unleashed resulting in war, famine, draught, and general unrest. God purges the House of Ahab through King Jehu, but the house of David is nearly wiped out as a consequence. Enjoy this sample from Lesson 8, "Approaching Exile" (2 Kings 8-13)," from Dr. Nick's course, "1-2 Kings: The Glory and Exile of the Davidic Kingdom." Anyone can join our community of students and stream the entire audio lesson and full course (and other courses too!) whenever they wish.

Regardless of one's political affiliation or interest in politics, Donald Trump is a name that practically the whole world knows by now. Today many Christians believe he is the answer to our political struggles, appointed by God to defeat the evil globalist Left. Yet deeper analysis reveals a striking caution: Donald Trump is a key figure in the coming New World Order, a system of false light that the bible warned about nearly 2,000 years ago. Get full access to The Dance of Life Podcast with Tudor Alexander at www.danceoflife.com/subscribe

In this episode, we read about King Jehu, who did obey Yhvh to a degree, but he also did not do it with a loyal heart, and therefore ended up sinning greatly.

We continue on a yearlong journey through the story of the Bible, from creation to Christ to consummation, with the book of 2 Kings. 17-7 - 21-15 connect the Exile back to the Exodus. Israel -N- - Judah -S- would be exiled into Assyria - Babylon because they did not cling to the Lord alone, who brought then out of slavery in Egypt. --FROM ELIJAH TO ELISHA -CHAPS. 1-8--o Elijah v. King Ahaziah's men -chap. 1--o Elijah taken to heaven - Elisha's double blessing -chap. 2- - -Shown in Elisha doing 2x the miracles of Elijah--THE ROAD TO EXILE IN THE NORTH -CHAPS. 9-17--o King Jehu's assassinations - executions -chaps. 9-10--o King Jehu's assassinations - executions -chaps. 9-10--o Jehoahaz - Jehoash-Joash - Jeroboam II - Zechariah - Shallum - Menahem - Pekahiah - Pekah - Hoshea -chaps. 13-17--o The Fall - Exile of Israel -chap. 17---THE ROAD TO EXILE IN THE SOUTH -CHAPS. 18-25- -o Hezekiah -chaps.18-20--o Manasseh - Amon -chap. 21--o Josiah -chaps.22-23--o Jehoahaz - Eliakim-Jehoiakim - Jehoiachin - Mattaniah-Zedekiah-o The Exile - Plunder of the Temple -chap. 24--o The Destruction of Jerusalem, further Exile - Plunder -chap. 25--o The Strange Ending with Jehoiachin in Babylon

We continue on a yearlong journey through the story of the Bible, from creation to Christ to consummation, with the book of 2 Kings. 17-7 - 21-15 connect the Exile back to the Exodus. Israel -N- - Judah -S- would be exiled into Assyria - Babylon because they did not cling to the Lord alone, who brought then out of slavery in Egypt. --FROM ELIJAH TO ELISHA -CHAPS. 1-8--o Elijah v. King Ahaziah's men -chap. 1--o Elijah taken to heaven - Elisha's double blessing -chap. 2- - -Shown in Elisha doing 2x the miracles of Elijah--THE ROAD TO EXILE IN THE NORTH -CHAPS. 9-17--o King Jehu's assassinations - executions -chaps. 9-10--o King Jehu's assassinations - executions -chaps. 9-10--o Jehoahaz - Jehoash-Joash - Jeroboam II - Zechariah - Shallum - Menahem - Pekahiah - Pekah - Hoshea -chaps. 13-17--o The Fall - Exile of Israel -chap. 17---THE ROAD TO EXILE IN THE SOUTH -CHAPS. 18-25- -o Hezekiah -chaps.18-20--o Manasseh - Amon -chap. 21--o Josiah -chaps.22-23--o Jehoahaz - Eliakim-Jehoiakim - Jehoiachin - Mattaniah-Zedekiah-o The Exile - Plunder of the Temple -chap. 24--o The Destruction of Jerusalem, further Exile - Plunder -chap. 25--o The Strange Ending with Jehoiachin in Babylon

We continue on a yearlong journey through the story of the Bible, from creation to Christ to consummation, with the book of 2 Kings. 17:7 & 21:15 connect the Exile back to the Exodus. Israel (N) & Judah (S) would be exiled into Assyria & Babylon because they did not cling to the Lord alone, who brought then out of slavery in Egypt. FROM ELIJAH TO ELISHA (CHAPS. 1–8)o Elijah v. King Ahaziah's men (chap. 1)o Elijah taken to heaven & Elisha's double blessing (chap. 2) -Shown in Elisha doing 2x the miracles of ElijahTHE ROAD TO EXILE IN THE NORTH (CHAPS. 9–17)o King Jehu's assassinations & executions (chaps. 9–10)o King Jehu's assassinations & executions (chaps. 9–10)o Jehoahaz > Jehoash/Joash > Jeroboam II > Zechariah > Shallum > Menahem > Pekahiah > Pekah > Hoshea (chaps. 13–17)o The Fall & Exile of Israel (chap. 17)THE ROAD TO EXILE IN THE SOUTH (CHAPS. 18–25) o Hezekiah (chaps.18–20)o Manasseh & Amon (chap. 21)o Josiah (chaps.22–23)o Jehoahaz > Eliakim/Jehoiakim > Jehoiachin > Mattaniah/Zedekiaho The Exile & Plunder of the Temple (chap. 24)o The Destruction of Jerusalem, further Exile & Plunder (chap. 25)o The Strange Ending with Jehoiachin in Babylon

This short section of Scripture summarizes the wondrous glory and the disappointing compromise of King Jehu of Israel. Baal is gone but the golden calves of Jeroboam are back. Do we rid ourselves of idols and false teaching to follow the LORD or to advance ourselves--

This short section of Scripture summarizes the wondrous glory and the disappointing compromise of King Jehu of Israel. Baal is gone but the golden calves of Jeroboam are back. Do we rid ourselves of idols and false teaching to follow the LORD or to advance ourselves--

This short section of Scripture summarizes the wondrous glory and the disappointing compromise of King Jehu of Israel. Baal is gone but the golden calves of Jeroboam are back. Do we rid ourselves of idols and false teaching to follow the LORD or to advance ourselves?

The First Sunday in Advent: Jesus Changes Everything Romans 13:8-14 and St. Matthew 21:1-13 by William Klock Advent reminds us that Jesus has changed everything.  The world around us celebrates the beginning of the new year on January 1st, but for the Church the new year begins today, the First Sunday in Advent.  Again, because Jesus has changed everything.  As we approach Christmas, when we recall and celebrate Jesus' birth, Advent calls us to reflect on what Jesus has done: in his incarnation, in his death, in his resurrection, in his ascension.  Advent calls us to count the cost of discipleship, of following King Jesus.  Advent comes, like John the Baptist, and calls out to us: Repent, for the kingdom of God has come.  Let go of everything that is not Jesus, then take hold of him in faith with both hands and follow him into God's new creation.  Let him set you to rights so that you can be part of this new age in which he—through the gospel, through the gospel, through the Spirit—is setting the world itself to rights. The Gospel this morning stands as a signpost to the kingdom.  St. Matthew shows us Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the King, and he gives us a glimpse of his kingdom.  Look at Matthew 21:1-6.   When they came near to Jerusalem, and arrived at Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of the disciples on ahead.  “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied up, and a foal with it.  Untie them and bring them to me.  And if anyone says anything to you, say, “The Lord needs them needs them and he'll send them back straightaway.”   This happened so that the prophet's words might be fulfilled: “Tell this to Zion's daughter: Look now!  Your king is coming to you; Humble and mounted on a donkey, And on a colt, a donkey's foal.”   So the disciples went and did as Jesus had told them.  They brought the donkey and its foal, and put their coats on them, and Jesus sat on them.   Matthew draws on the scriptures and on Israel's story to give depth to what he writes.  Specifically, here, he draws on Zechariah's prophecies that look forward to the Messiah and to the day when the Lord would come in judgement on Israel's enemies.  When Matthew says that Jesus came to the Mount of Olives, this isn't just a casual geographical reference.  Jesus' ministry was full of acted out prophecies and here he chooses this spot knowing that it was the spot, according to Zechariah, where the Lord would stand when he brought judgement.  And Matthew draws on Zechariah again to explain Jesus' strange command to the disciples to fetch a donkey.  This was not how kings made their triumphal processions.  At least, not ordinary kings.  They were carried by their servants or they rode on horseback or in a chariot.  But Zechariah, hundreds of years before, had highlighted the humble nature of the coming Messiah.  He was the one who would ride to his coronation on the back of a humble donkey. So Matthew makes it abundantly clear who Jesus is.  He is the Messiah whom the people had hoped for.  But he also highlights the nature of Jesus' rule.  The people expected a king who would come to overthrow the Herodians and the Romans with violence.  Matthew reminds them, by showing how Jesus fulfilled Zechariah's prophecies, that Jesus will take his throne by a very different sort of path.  Yes, he is the judge.  Yes, he will deliver Israel.  Yes, he will set his people and this broken world to rights.  But it's not going to happen the way people thought, at least not yet. As the crowds gather to line Jesus' way into Jerusalem, Matthew continues to draw on Israel's story.  Look at verses 8-11: The great crowd spread their coats on the road.  Others cut branches from the trees and scattered them on the road.  The crowds who went ahead of him and those who were following behind shouted out, “Hosanna to the son of David!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!”  And when he came into Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up.  “Who is this?” they asked.  And the crowds said, “This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”   The crowds surround Jesus and sing royal hymns.  They hail him as the “son of David”.  Here was the Messiah, the Lord's king.  And in telling the story, Matthew again draws on two events in Israel's story that the people would have known well.  First, as he tells how the crowd was spreading their coats on the ground, it would have been hard for his Jewish readers to miss the reference to King Jehu's anointing.  In 2 Kings 9 we read about Jehoram.  He was King of Israel, the son of the wicked King Ahab.  And in Jehoram, the apple had not fallen far from the tree.  He was as wicked as his father, so the prophet Elisha ordered that Jehu, instead, was to be anointed King in his place.  He announced that Jehu would bring the Lord's judgement on the wicked house of Ahab.  As Jehu was anointed by the prophet, the men who were gathered cast their coats on the ground before him and blew a trumpet.  Matthew uses the imagery not only to make sure we know that Jesus is the Lord's anointed King, but also to hint that Jesus is also the King who will bring the Lord's judgement on the wicked. But the other grand image that Matthew draws on here and that leads into the next scene is that of Judas Maccabeus.  2 Maccabees 10:7 describes the people hailing Judas as king by laying wreathes and palm branches at his feet.  Judas had not only defeated Israel's enemies, but he had purified the temple from its defilement by the Greeks.  Judas' kingdom inspired hope, but it did not last.  And now Matthew shows us Jesus, following in Judas' footsteps to the temple.  This time it's different.  This time is for real.  Look at verses 12-13 And Jesus came into the temple and drove out all who were buying and selling in the temple.  He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  “This is what the scriptures say,” he said to them, “‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you make it a den of robbers.”   Jesus' purification of the temple had at least as much to do with rebuking the people for what the temple had become ideologically as it did with the buy and selling.  The selling of animals for sacrifice was a necessary part of what the temple was and, since the temple used its own currency, someone had to be there to make change.  The more serious issues was that the temple had become a symbol of the violent revolution—a revolution like the one Judas Maccabeus had led—that had become the hope of the people.  But that's not how God's kingdom would come.  That wasn't what Jesus was about. What was really important about this was that Jesus' disruption of the temple put a temporary stop to the sacrifices that day.  This was another acted-out prophecy that brought to a culmination all of his declarations of forgiveness and healing that had bypassed the temple, the sacrificial system, and the priesthood.  This was Jesus' announcement that the temple's days were numbered.  God was about to do something not only new, but better.  Jesus points here to a coming new covenant in which he would take on the role of the temple himself, in which he would be the mediator between God and human beings, he would be the one in whom forgiveness of sins would be found, he would be the one to bring God and man, heaven and earth back together. So the Gospel today shows us this vignette from Jesus' ministry, showing us that in his first advent, Jesus was revealed to be the King whom God had promised to his people.  It also hints at the fact that, while Jesus has inaugurated something new, even now, two thousand years later, we await its final consummation. We still wait for Jesus' second advent.  And this leads us into our Epistle.  Let's look at Romans 13, beginning at verse 8: Don't owe anything to anyone, except the debt of mutual love, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.  For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this saying: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love does no wrong to a neighbor; so love is the fulfilment of the law.  (Romans 13:8-10) A shockwave went out across the world that first Easter morning when Jesus burst from his tomb.  The work of new creation was begun that day.  And yet, except for Jesus' followers, no one else seems to have noticed.  It's often remarkable to me these days, that even though the gospel conquered an empire and transformed Western Civilisation, that even in a post-Christians age, our world is still shaped by ideas like grace and mercy that were foreign to those pre-gospel civilisations, most people seem oblivious to it all.  The present age rumbles along, its rulers go on ruling, and people carry on with their business.  The old gods remain, even if we aren't so crass as to build temples with statues of them.  We may not worship Caesar or Aphrodite or Mammon, but we still worship money and sex and political power.  St. Paul knew that it's surprisingly easy for even Jesus' own people to forget that the kingdom is breaking in and the old powers have been stripped.  It's easy for us to fall back into the ways and priorities of the present age and to give half-hearted allegiance to Jesus.  That had been Israel's problem all along.  Brothers and Sisters, it should not be ours.  Jesus has filled us with his own Spirit.  The law that was once external and written on stone has now been inscribed on our hearts and our hearts have been turned to God.  As Israel had the Exodus behind them and an annual Passover celebration to remind them who they were and the glories that the Lord had done for them, we have the cross and the empty tomb behind us and the Lord's Supper to remind us—and as Jeremiah prophesied for us last Sunday, the Exodus pales in comparison to the glory revealed at the cross.  Problem solved!  Or so you'd think.  But we still need nearly constant reminders, we need to recall Jesus, his death and resurrection, we need God's word and we need his grace.  And so Paul reminds us that, as Jesus' people, it is essential to live the law of love that the Spirit has inscribed on our hearts. Paul puts all of this in terms of the torah and, specifically, the second table of the Ten Commandments: Don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't covet—just don't wrong your neighbour.  To love is to fulfil that law.  Paul uses the Greek word agape, which describes the sort of love that gives of oneself as it puts others first.  This is the love that Jesus showed us on the cross as he took on himself the sins of the very people who had rejected and despised him.  This is the love that defines the kingdom and that the Spirit has poured into our hearts.  Be in debt to no one, Paul writes, except to know that for the sake of Jesus and his kingdom, you owe everyone you meet a debt of love.  Imagine how effective the Church would be if we truly lived this way, coupled with being faithful proclaimers of the good news about Jesus. Instead, though, we're too often like the man who knows he's going to be late for work, but keeps hitting “snooze” on his alarm clock, rolling over, and going back to sleep.  Paul goes on: This is all the more important, because you know what time it is.  The hour has come for you to wake from sleep.  For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.  The night is nearly over; the day is at hand.  (Romans 13:11-12) Paul knew that Jesus would return.  Jesus had promised that the Lord would come in judgement on an unrepentant Jerusalem within a generation.  I think, too, that Paul saw another horizon beyond the destruction of Jerusalem.  After the Lord judged unrepentant Israel and vindicated his faithful people, a time would follow in which the gentiles would come streaming in, having seen the faithfulness of Israel's God.  While the other apostles were carrying the gospel to their fellow Jews, Paul had received a calling to carry it to the gentiles—so that they would hear the good news about Jesus, so that in that good news they would know the faithfulness of Israel's God, and ultimately that they would come to the God of Israel to give him glory.  The time was coming for the King's return in judgement, first on the Jews, and eventually on the gentiles.  He would finish what he had started.  The present evil age and its false gods and false kings would be done away with and God's new creation would be born.  Jesus' first advent was the alarm going off.  Jesus had announced a coming judgement, but in his life, death, and resurrection had established a means of reconciliation with God.  That day the first rays of the sun had begun to peek over the mountaintops.  And now, Paul's saying, the full day will soon be upon us.  So get out of bed and get dressed for work! And then he shifts the metaphor.  From “Get out of bed you sleepy-head” he takes a more serious tone.  It's one thing to sleep in when you should be getting ready for work.  It's a far worse thing to be out carousing all night when you know you've got work to do in the morning.  He goes on: The night is nearly over; the day is at hand.  So let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light.  Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.  Instead, put on the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, and make no allowance for the flesh, to gratify its lusts.  (Romans 13:12-14) Laziness is bad and there are too many lazy Christians, but even worse are people who know they should be living for Jesus and the age to come, but are instead living for the present wicked age and its false gods and kings.  Paul makes a list of the wicked things people do under cover of darkness: they indulge their appetites, they get drunk, they get involved in all sorts of sexual sins.  But Paul doesn't stop there.  Because most Christians don't do those sorts of things, so Paul goes on with the list, from orgies and drunkenness to quarrelling and jealousy.  I think Paul puts it this way, because we're rightly horrified by those “really bad” sins, but then he follows up with sins that are all too common amongst Christians.  He puts these “respectable sins” in the same category with those unthinkable sins.  It's another wake-up call.  Some churches have self-destructed because of sexual immorality.  Many of us came from one of those churches.  But far more are torn apart by things like quarrelling and jealousy.  Christians get angry with each other, their relationships break down, sometimes churches even split.  These are the works of darkness and they're just as bad and just as unbecoming the people of God as drunken orgies are.  Going back to the first part of the Epistle, people who love their neighbours don't fight and don't become jealous any more than they get involved in sexual immorality. Instead, as befits living in the day, we put on the “armour of light”.  Paul hints at the fact that living as people of the day when we're surrounded by people of the darkness is going to be a struggle and, some days, a downright battle.  We put on the armour of light.  What is that?  Paul goes on to put it in terms of putting on the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.  But then what does that mean?  Paul uses this put on/put off metaphor a lot in his epistles and the gist of it is that we need to remember that we belong to the Lord and that he has made us new. Think of the Israelites.  Pharaoh had claimed them as his slaves, but the Lord had freed them.  But it wasn't freedom for freedom's sake.  The Lord freed Israel from Pharaoh's cruel bondage so that the people could serve him.  They went from belonging to a cruel king to belonging to the King—a king who loves his people.  The Lord would live in the midst of his people, that was his promise.  And, for their part, the people would live as befits people who belong to and fellowship with the Lord—that was the torah and the tabernacle. Brothers and Sisters, the same goes for us as Christians.  Through Jesus, the Lord has delivered us from our bondage to sin and death and has made us his own.  We once were in bondage to the darkness, but now have the privilege and joy of serving the light.  Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11: Don't you know that the unjust will not inherit God's kingdom?  Don't be deceived!  Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor dunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers—none of these—will inherit the kingdom of God.  That is, of course, what some of you were!  But you were washed clean; you were made holy; you were put back to rights—in the name of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah and in the Spirit of our God. Brothers and Sisters, as Jesus changes everything, he has changed us.  We're not just the people who live camped around the tabernacle, like Old Testament Israel.  We've been united with Jesus, who is himself the tabernacle, Emanuel, God with us.  He's redeemed us from our bondage to sin and made us holy.  And he's made us, his very people, a temple into which he pours God's own Spirit.  It is astounding what Jesus has done for us, but somehow we're still prone to forgetting.  We hear the alarm sounding, we see the sun peeking through the curtains, and we roll over and go back to sleep.  We do that because we've forgotten the joy of our salvation.  We do that, because we've failed to steep ourselves in God's word.  We do that because we've neglected the fellowship and worship of the saints.  We do that because we've forgotten that God has made us stewards of his grace and of his good news.  We do that, because we've failed to think on and to meditate on the amazing and gracious love God has shown us in Jesus. Brothers and Sisters, the Lord knew we sometimes we would forget these things.  That's why he's given us means of grace to “stir us up” as we prayed in last week's collect.  He's given us each other.  Friends, the Church is a place where we confront each other in our sins and exhort each other to love and good works.  He's given us his word to prick our consciences when we go astray, to remind us of God's faithfulness when we're struggling to trust, and to show us the incredible depths of his love when we're tempted to take a ho-hum approach to our faith.  He's given us the sacraments.  In our baptism he has washed us clean and plunged us into his Spirit.  In that water he made each of us his own, just as he made Israel his own when she passed through the Red Sea.  And in the Lord's Supper he gives us a means of participating in the very events—in the death and resurrection of Jesus—that mark our exodus from the bondage of sin and death. Friends, be prepared.  Knowing that that King has come and that he will come again, avail yourselves this Advent of the means of grace.  Whether you've been carousing as if it were night, or you've been sleeping in while the alarm beeps away, or even if you've been busy about the work of the kingdom, steep yourselves in God's word, be reminded of the sinfulness of sin and of the love and the grace and the faithfulness of God towards us sinners.  Meditate on the cross and on the empty tomb.  Remember the baptismal water through which you once passed and find assurance that you belong to Jesus and that he has called you to the life of his kingdom.  And, finally, come to his Table.  Here is not only the manna in the wilderness for a hungry people.  Here is the bread and wine by which we participate in the death and resurrection of the King and find our identity as the people of God. Let's pray: Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Hosea 1:1-11 1 The Lord gave this message to Hosea son of Beeri during the years when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah, and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel. 2 When the Lord first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the Lord and worshiping other gods.” 3 So Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she became pregnant and gave Hosea a son. 4 And the Lord said, “Name the child Jezreel, for I am about to punish King Jehu's dynasty to avenge the murders he committed at Jezreel. In fact, I will bring an end to Israel's independence. 5 I will break its military power in the Jezreel Valley.” 6 Soon Gomer became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to Hosea, “Name your daughter Lo-ruhamah—‘Not loved'—for I will no longer show love to the people of Israel or forgive them. 7 But I will show love to the people of Judah. I will free them from their enemies—not with weapons and armies or horses and charioteers, but by my power as the Lord their God.” 8 After Gomer had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she again became pregnant and gave birth to a second son. 9 And the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi—‘Not my people'—for Israel is not my people, and I am not their God. 10 “Yet the time will come when Israel's people will be like the sands of the seashore—too many to count! Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,' it will be said, ‘You are children of the living God.' 11 Then the people of Judah and Israel will unite together. They will choose one leader for themselves, and they will return from exile together. What a day that will be—the day of Jezreel—when God will again plant his people in his land.

What God has for you is for you and no one can take that away from you. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sharise-johnson-moore/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sharise-johnson-moore/support

In 1846 Austen Henry Layard discovered the Black Obelisk which contained the earliest known depictions of a biblical figure. It depicts King Jehu, described as a son of Omri. The monument was carved by the Assyrians and found far from the land of Israel. Why would the name Omri be known beyond Israel’s borders? Omri was famous, but for all the wrong reasons. Omri became king during civil conflict which split Israel into “two factions” (v. 21). When the previous king was assassinated, half of the country followed Omri, while the other half followed Tibni. When Omri’s faction overtook his opponent, he became king over both divisions. During his reign, Israel’s power expanded beyond its borders. He established Samaria as the capital city until it was destroyed in 722 BC (v. 24). The country he left to his son was recognized as a military power. Yet for all his fame, Omri was wicked, and his 12-year reign was summarized in just eight verses. The judgment is that “he sinned more than all those before him” (v. 25). What did he do? He followed in the sins of Jeroboam (v. 26). Decades after Jeroboam built the golden calves at Bethel and Dan, they were still a temptation to the kings who followed him. Once again God’s people turned to “worthless idols” (v. 26). Though Omri was a stabilizing figure for Israel in many respects, his soul was rotten. He may have been renowned across the ancient Near East, but to God who put him on the throne, his reign was noted for its evil acts. >> What would you like to be known for? In our modern society, being known or influential is a highly prized characteristic. We spend a great deal of time trying to get people to notice and admire us. But it is important to remember that while people look on our outer reputation, God sees our heart (1 Sam. 16:7).

Dad and the kids talk about the King Jehu and how God used him to destroy the false worship so rampant in Israel. This guy was fast and furious!

Hosea 1 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1 The Lord gave this message to Hosea son of Beeri during the years when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah, and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel. 2 When the Lord first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the Lord and worshiping other gods.” 3 So Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she became pregnant and gave Hosea a son. 4 And the Lord said, “Name the child Jezreel, for I am about to punish King Jehu's dynasty to avenge the murders he committed at Jezreel. In fact, I will bring an end to Israel's independence. 5 I will break its military power in the Jezreel Valley.” 6 Soon Gomer became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to Hosea, “Name your daughter Lo-ruhamah—‘Not loved'—for I will no longer show love to the people of Israel or forgive them. 7 But I will show love to the people of Judah. I will free them from their enemies—not with weapons and armies or horses and charioteers, but by my power as the Lord their God.” 8 After Gomer had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she again became pregnant and gave birth to a second son. 9 And the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi—‘Not my people'—for Israel is not my people, and I am not their God. 10 “Yet the time will come when Israel's people will be like the sands of the seashore—too many to count! Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,' it will be said, ‘You are children of the living God.' 11 Then the people of Judah and Israel will unite together. They will choose one leader for themselves, and they will return from exile together. What a day that will be—the day of Jezreel—when God will again plant his people in his land.

2 Kings 12 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1 Joash began to rule over Judah in the seventh year of King Jehu's reign in Israel. He reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother was Zibiah from Beersheba. 2 All his life Joash did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 Yet even so, he did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there. 4 One day King Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money brought as a sacred offering to the Lord's Temple, whether it is a regular assessment, a payment of vows, or a voluntary gift. 5 Let the priests take some of that money to pay for whatever repairs are needed at the Temple.” 6 But by the twenty-third year of Joash's reign, the priests still had not repaired the Temple. 7 So King Joash called for Jehoiada and the other priests and asked them, “Why haven't you repaired the Temple? Don't use any more money for your own needs. From now on, it must all be spent on Temple repairs.” 8 So the priests agreed not to accept any more money from the people, and they also agreed to let others take responsibility for repairing the Temple. 9 Then Jehoiada the priest bored a hole in the lid of a large chest and set it on the right-hand side of the altar at the entrance of the Temple of the Lord. The priests guarding the entrance put all of the people's contributions into the chest. 10 Whenever the chest became full, the court secretary and the high priest counted the money that had been brought to the Lord's Temple and put it into bags. 11 Then they gave the money to the construction supervisors, who used it to pay the people working on the Lord's Temple—the carpenters, the builders, 12 the masons, and the stonecutters. They also used the money to buy the timber and the finished stone needed for repairing the Lord's Temple, and they paid any other expenses related to the Temple's restoration. 13 The money brought to the Temple was not used for making silver bowls, lamp snuffers, basins, trumpets, or other articles of gold or silver for the Temple of the Lord. 14 It was paid to the workmen, who used it for the Temple repairs. 15 No accounting of this money was required from the construction supervisors, because they were honest and trustworthy men. 16 However, the money that was contributed for guilt offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the Lord's Temple. It was given to the priests for their own use. 17 About this time King Hazael of Aram went to war against Gath and captured it. Then he turned to attack Jerusalem. 18 King Joash collected all the sacred objects that Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the previous kings of Judah, had dedicated, along with what he himself had dedicated. He sent them all to Hazael, along with all the gold in the treasuries of the Lord's Temple and the royal palace. So Hazael called off his attack on Jerusalem. 19 The rest of the events in Joash's reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. 20 Joash's officers plotted against him and assassinated him at Beth-millo on the road to Silla. 21 The assassins were Jozacar son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer—both trusted advisers. Joash was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Amaziah became the next king.

SERMON | Matthew 21:1-17 | HOLY WEEK - IN AWE OF GRACE - 1. "This Is the Day" by Rev. Joseph Sanford at Sellersburg United Methodist Church in Sellersburg, Indiana THIS IS THE DAY!! Palm Sunday! Hosanna! We have begun Holy Week. Our Lenten journey has brought us here…to this week. We have traversed the wilderness…and we have arrived at the heart of God's people. Jesus rides into Jerusalem—on two donkeys?? —we see the author's confusion about the prophecy from which the imagery comes. (there is no “and” in the prophecy, so one donkey becomes two) That isn't the only bizarre thing about this passage. We KNOW that the people shout “Hosanna!”…but in just a few days time they will be replaced with “Crucify Him!” We KNOW that Jesus came to be the Messiah and cleanse the earth of evil…but then he goes to the Holy Temple of God and cleans IT out! What do we make of this story we tell every year? We must remember that this story is a part of our Lenten journey. We MUST not simply tell the story and then not allow it to speak to our hearts. We MUST NOT assume we wouldn't have gone from “Hosanna” to “Crucify Him” right along with the rest of the people. We are human. We are always going to fall short. We are going to struggle to understand. The more we think we understand, the more we probably do not. Those who should've understood and celebrated, instead criticized… While those who were assumed to know little opened themselves to it all. Those who should've been displaying hospitality for the world to worship God were setting up shop in the court of the Gentiles ripping off the poorest of the poor. —doves were the sacrifice of those who couldn't afford anything else After walking and traveling and spending what little money they had, they would need to purchase doves…and the Temple priests made them exchange their money to get the Temple coins—and would rip them off to do it! Worse…this was happening IN the Temple. A house of prayer became a den of thievery. And it were the religious leaders in charge and reaping the benefits of it all. We must NOT assume that we are incapable of losing our way as well. It is SO tempting to get distracted and focused on ourselves. It is SO tempting to exploit the poor and reap the benefits of it. If our clothing was made in Asia… Or our coffee is less than $12/lb. Or our bananas are less than $3/lb. We are reaping the benefits, friends. This isn't a guilt-trip. It's a reality check for all of us…me, too! It's so hard to do things right in a system and world where almost everything is broken. Where we are literally tearing our world apart and have the option of pretending we are not. We need cleansed! We need healed! We need to be put in our place! Amen? We need judgment…not for others, but for ourselves. We want to be put right, don't we? But there's a feeling of fear and dread at the thought. But…the beautiful part of this whole story is how the judge, the king, the rescuer, the deliverer comes onto the scene. _________________________________________________ The Son of David has, in fact, arrived. But what does that mean? David had made Jerusalem the city of God's people long ago. Ever since the time of David and the exile, the people have longed for a king to be like David and lead them out of oppression. David was the prototype king to which all other kings were measured. So there's that element here. The waving of palms and laying down of cloaks has kingly elements. When Israel welcomed King Jehu, they laid down cloaks. When Judas Maccabaeus led his people to defeat the oppression of the Greeks in Jerusalem, he rode into the Temple area as people waved palms and laid down cloaks. He entered the Temple and removed the Greek idols that had been placed there. Zechariah's prophecy foretold of God's king coming to establish the people of Israel and God's kingdom across the earth…to cut of chariots, break bows, and basically overpower every weapon of war. But he shall come on a donkey—the foal of a donkey—a colt. The Son of David, the King, the awaited rescuer has come… But not to make Israel into the kind of superpower they had grown to despise… not the kind of nation which has a stronghold on other nations… God's King has come…but to save them from an entirely different and more important oppression. He'd come to call them to life by the will of God, not by the will of Kings and rulers and power and weapons. ______________________________________________________________ He comes from the Mount of Olives, just like Zechariah's prophecy. He rides upon the foal of a donkey, just like Zechariah's prophecy. The King comes into Jerusalem to respond to the call of the people when they shouted, “Hosanna (Rescue us)!” Maybe they knew they needed rescue; maybe they didn't. It's really hard for us to tell, isn't it? It's really hard for us to tell about ourselves let alone someone else. We have a hard time knowing we still need God's rescue through Jesus Christ. We're struggling with it right now, aren't we? We want to make excuses… We want to point backward to actions of the past to be our validity… We want to provide evidence that what we are doing now is okay… We want to point the finger of accusation at others… Or, at the very least, point out the audacity of being accused ourselves. We also want Jesus to come as the King we expect… We want to be exalted as RIGHT We want to be the people on TOP of the pile We are human. We are as human as anyone there that day. We are as human as those whose cries will turn from adoration to hatred… We are as human as those who don't understand but receive life anyway… We are as human as those who should know better, but we criticize and distort how we see the world and live among our neighbors… Jesus…in all of his grace…rode into town on that foal and let the people shout. He received their praise knowing full well how it would turn in a matter of days. He received it for what it was in the moment — the TRUTH Even if the people would forget or be so caught up in what they expected that they would reject God at work in him before their eyes in just a few days time… he knew that what they were doing on this day was as true as it could ever be. Even if they had no idea how far off they were from their own understanding. …the grace of God was present with Jesus that day. Jesus mounted that donkey's colt… Jesus rode down that hill… Jesus received the praise… Jesus entered that Temple… Jesus accepted the acclamation of being a king even while Caesar was still enthroned… And Jesus began the cleansing that would begin the chain of events that would lead to his death. Jesus knew exactly what he was doing even if the people did not. Even if we are still struggling to know what we're doing today. We need only look to our Rescuer…our Savior…our King… our Jesus And no matter how much we think we have it figured out… And not matter how wrong we actually are… We can stand in Awe of Grace as it is on full display in Jesus. and THAT'S what THIS DAY is all about. The King has come…to judge and cleanse and purify… and our King Jesus comes in humility and gentleness… Where might he bring that cleansing for us? Where might he bring that cleansing for you? We've been on a journey towards the cross alongside Jesus, to the death of sin and self… Are we ready? Because…This Is the Day it can begin for us all. Let us stand in Awe of Grace as we journey through Holy Week.

Mark Maynard

King Jehu was empowered by the Lord to annihilate Ahab's entire family line.

King Jehu was empowered by the Lord to annihilate Ahab's entire family line.

Pastor Anthony Thomas of Naples, Florida returns as we immediately dive into the power of God's Grace, and what it means to be restored in Christ. No matter how far we feel we have fallen, there is always hope, compassion, and forgiveness waiting in the hands of God. This episode offers the framework and simple processes for how we can all experience Heaven's restoration and grace.  We discover how Grace leads to truth, the immeasurable capacity available in God to compassionaly forgive, and how we can utilize this to forgive ourselves and others in the presence of sin. As we continue to awaken to the corruption and sin present in the world, we can stand in the power of God's anointing and prayer and find redemption with the return of God to the helm of this nation. In this episode: [00:30] Pastor Anthony Thomas returns for part two of this series, and Shemane introduces the topic for this episode: Restored by the Hands of Grace [1:02] Pastor Anthony describes Grace, how Grace leads to truth, the throne of Grace, hope for restoration in spite of our sin, the power of God's Grace in our lives, and measuring ourselves according to Jesus [5:32] How we can forgive others, where forgiveness comes from, God's capacity for forgiveness, the importance of not judging others, and the nature of sin [8:16] How to behave around those who continue to sin, and what the Bible says covers the multitudes of sins [10:02] Pastor Anthony offers the framework and process for how we can be restored by Grace, the dangers of pride, what makes us in debt to God, the most profound question in the Bible, an encouraging message of Christ's nature of love, Grace, and forgiveness, what causes us to leave God, and what fuels God's calling in our lives  [17:20] Getting off the bench in the season we are in and how we can pray for our leaders [19:13] Fighting in a spiritual war, the effectiveness of President Trump's administration, awakening to the corruption, the parallels between President Trump and King Jehu, being on target, and the power of God's anointing [22:31] Pastor Anthony shares a prayer for America's leaders and for redemption for the nation [23:49] Being in the final quarter, the need for drastic change in America, where you can hear more messages from Pastor Anthony, and the upcoming Spiritual Warfare course collaboration for living a victorious life    Resources: ensignnaples.org   Connect with Shemane:  For more information about Shemane & Ted's superfood nutrition: wildlywell21@gmail.com   Get Wildly Well at shemanenugent.rocks   Toxic Mold Help   Check out Shemane's book:  "4 Minutes to Happy"   Shemane's Social Media: Facebook: @shemane.nugent Instagram: @shemanenugent Youtube: /shemane Truth Social/shemane   Listen On: Rumble Libsyn Apple Podcast Podbean

Pastor Anthony Thomas of Naples, Florida returns as we immediately dive into the power of God's Grace, and what it means to be restored in Christ. No matter how far we feel we have fallen, there is always hope, compassion, and forgiveness waiting in the hands of God. This episode offers the framework and simple processes for how we can all experience Heaven's restoration and grace.  We discover how Grace leads to truth, the immeasurable capacity available in God to compassionaly forgive, and how we can utilize this to forgive ourselves and others in the presence of sin. As we continue to awaken to the corruption and sin present in the world, we can stand in the power of God's anointing and prayer and find redemption with the return of God to the helm of this nation. In this episode: [00:30] Pastor Anthony Thomas returns for part two of this series, and Shemane introduces the topic for this episode: Restored by the Hands of Grace [1:02] Pastor Anthony describes Grace, how Grace leads to truth, the throne of Grace, hope for restoration in spite of our sin, the power of God's Grace in our lives, and measuring ourselves according to Jesus [5:32] How we can forgive others, where forgiveness comes from, God's capacity for forgiveness, the importance of not judging others, and the nature of sin [8:16] How to behave around those who continue to sin, and what the Bible says covers the multitudes of sins [10:02] Pastor Anthony offers the framework and process for how we can be restored by Grace, the dangers of pride, what makes us in debt to God, the most profound question in the Bible, an encouraging message of Christ's nature of love, Grace, and forgiveness, what causes us to leave God, and what fuels God's calling in our lives  [17:20] Getting off the bench in the season we are in and how we can pray for our leaders [19:13] Fighting in a spiritual war, the effectiveness of President Trump's administration, awakening to the corruption, the parallels between President Trump and King Jehu, being on target, and the power of God's anointing [22:31] Pastor Anthony shares a prayer for America's leaders and for redemption for the nation [23:49] Being in the final quarter, the need for drastic change in America, where you can hear more messages from Pastor Anthony, and the upcoming Spiritual Warfare course collaboration for living a victorious life    Resources: ensignnaples.org   Connect with Shemane:  For more information about Shemane & Ted's superfood nutrition: wildlywell21@gmail.com   Get Wildly Well at shemanenugent.rocks   Toxic Mold Help   Check out Shemane's book:  "4 Minutes to Happy"   Shemane's Social Media: Facebook: @shemane.nugent Instagram: @shemanenugent Youtube: /shemane Truth Social/shemane   Listen On: Rumble Libsyn Apple Podcast Podbean

There is a new king in town and he's about to pay a deadly visit to evil Queen Jezebel. Learn about her demise and other sordid details in the life of King Jehu as we continue to make our way through God's entire Word.

There is a new king in town and he's about to pay a deadly visit to evil Queen Jezebel. Learn about her demise and other sordid details in the life of King Jehu as we continue to make our way through God's entire Word.

King Jehu-2 Kings 9-10 Mark Carpenter-Heritage Baptist Church-Woodbridge, VA

Sometimes no matter how great the teacher, we fail to learn the lesson. In today’s reading, God directed the prophet Jeremiah to use a family called the Rekabites as an object lesson (v. 13). Who were the Rekabites? During the reign of King Jehu, the Rekabites remained faithful to the Lord, opposed the worship of Baal, and supported Jehu’s reforms (2 Kings 10:15–23). Today’s reading in Jeremiah chapter 35 takes place more than 200 years later. Although the Rekabites had been forced to take refuge in Jerusalem due to the invading Babylonians, the descendants of the original group had remained loyal to their teachings (Jer. 35:6–11). When the prophet Jeremiah invited them to drink wine, he was asking them to violate a longstanding tradition (vv. 1–5). They refused. The prophet used their example of faithfulness to condemn the people of Judah (vv. 12-16). If this minority group could consistently obey a human command or tradition, why couldn’t the people of Judah keep God’s Law and repent of their idolatry? God had spoken to them time and time again through the prophets, calling them back to covenant obedience. The contrast was crystal clear: “[The Rekabites] have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me” (v. 16). Failure to learn brings God’s judgment. It is true that God is patient and merciful. He gives many opportunities and “second chances.” But in the end, He will not be mocked. Failure to learn as a way of life is foolish and sinful. If people think God will never act, they’re tragically mistaken (2 Peter 3:3–7). Sin brings consequences and God’s judgment— in this case, conquest and exile by the Babylonians (Jer. 35:17). >> If only the people of Judah had heeded God’s words. If only. Then they would have received His blessings of peace and well being (Isa. 48:17–19). Don’t let “if only” be your story!

Episode 7 -  The Kingdom of IsraelHi, my name is Clayton Mills.  Welcome to ‘A Short Walk through our Long History' - a podcast where we look at the events of history, and try to see how those events shaped our modern world. Welcome to Episode 7 -  The Kingdom of Israel.  Back in Episode 5, I mentioned that Israel had an outsized influence on the history of the Western world, considering its size and significance in Ancient history.  If you were able to go back in time to the ancient world, and gone to visit someone in some other part of the Mediterranean, like Greece, and asked them about Israel, they would have said, ‘Who?'Israel was really pretty insignificant in the ancient world, to be honest.  It only really matters to the affairs of the great nations because it's occasionally in the way, kind of like my small dog Chipper is often in the way when I'm trying to go to the kitchen.  Assyria wants to attack Egypt, and on their way to the kitchen, I mean to Egypt, they have to go through Israel.  Later Babylon comes, and again, on their way to Egypt, Israel is in the way.  Despite being tiny, and weak, and strategically not that important, and not having a lot of resources or people, Israel manages to survive, when a lot of the other nations around them do not.  Moab?  Gone.  Edom?  Gone.  Philistine?  Gone.  But Israel manages to stay around, and is still alive and kicking when it's conquered by Rome in 63 BC.  We will come back to that conquering in a bit, but for now, let's take a look at what might have been the Golden Age of Israel:  the Kingdom of David and Solomon.   After the exodus from Egypt, Israel had been a loose collection of tribes, living in land that they had taken from other tribes.  Two things to mention here:  First, territory and land ownership were really different back in the ancient days.  Today, we kind of see ownership as this cut-and-dried thing:   I own the land at this address, marked off by this fence, and it's my land (once I pay off the bank).  But land ownership in the ancient world was much less specific.   It was much more like: our tribe has been on this land, from that palm tree over there, to the dry river bed over by that hill, and down to the edge of that line of small bushes.  That has been our land.  But there were huge areas of land where ‘who's land is this?' Was not a clear thing.  And once your sheep had been grazing on a patch of land for a while, it was kind of seen as your land.  Second, ownership itself (especially before writing was invented) was much less clear, and there wasn't quite the same concept we have today of ‘this is mine, and that is yours.'   You squat on some unoccupied land, and after a while, it's yours.  Sort of.  And lots and lots of land was unoccupied.  So if you're not ‘occupying' the land, it's hard to say, ‘Hey, that's my land.'  Anyway, Israel takes over a lot of land that is sort of bordered this way.  On the west edge, the Jordan River (though there were a couple of tribes across the Jordan).  On the north, the sea of Galilee.  On the south, the desert south of the Dead Sea.  And on the east, the edge was the end of the territory that was controlled by the Philistines.  There's a sort of line of hills that delineates what the Philistines controlled, but again, it wasn't all that clear.  The Philistines controlled the coast, and had built several large cites there on the shore of the Mediterranean.  For several generations, the Israelites are just this loose group of tribes, and they have consistent trouble from the other tribes around them.  The Moabites, the Edomites, and the Philistines consistently raid Israelite territory, but a series of Judges lead Israel to defend themselves.  Eventually, the Israelites decide that they want a king, and they choose a really tall guy named Saul to be their king.  Saul organizes the tribes, and creates an army to fight the Philistines.  The war with the Philistines goes on for several years, with raiding in both directions.  The Philistines are a much better army, though, and have much greater resources, including chariots and iron weapons.  They chase Saul's army around for a while, and then at one point, both armies are camped on the hills with a valley between them.  The Philistines send out their biggest guy, a huge guy named Goliath, expect tall Saul to come out and fight him.  But Saul hesitates.  Goliath comes out each day and yells challenges and insults at the Israelites.According to 1 Kings, a shepherd boy, whose brothers are in Saul's army, comes to the Israelite camp, and sees what is happening.  And he utters what is one of the best lines in battle history:  ‘Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?  This shepherd is named David, and he goes on to fight Goliath with just a slingshot.  Goliath reportedly says to him, ‘Am I dog, that you come to me with staves?'  And David retorts, ‘Thou comest to me with a sword and a spear and a shield, but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, who thou hast defied.  This day the Lord will deliver thee into mine hand, and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee, and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day to the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.'  David was good at taunts.  And good with a slingshot, apparently.  He kills Goliath, and becomes a hero.  Eventually, he becomes the king after Saul.  And this begins the real kingdom, and the sort of golden age, of Israel.  The tribes of Israel are united under David, he defeats a lot of the neighboring tribes, and captures the city of Jerusalem.  He makes it his capital, and embarks upon a building campaign that included a palace.  He also establishes a kingly dynasty, at least for part of the nation.  David seems to be the first Israelite that is historically recorded outside of the Bible.  There's a stone inscription from about the ninth century AD (that is, 800 BC), that records a victory by an Aramean king over the king of the ‘house of David.'  Outside of the Bible, that's the oldest record of someone who is mentioned in the Bible.  Just for context, David's reign is about 200 years before Homer writes the Iliad and the Odyssey.  He lived during the Greek dark ages.  Again, the Philistines might have been descendants of the Mycenaeans who left Greece during those dark ages.  Anyway, David consolidates his power in Jerusalem, and it becomes the center of the nation of Israel.  There are ongoing archeological digs in Jerusalem today, and they seem to have uncovered David's palace, though there is some dispute about this.  David reigned as king from about 1000 BC to about 962 BC, so not quite 40 years.  That's a pretty long reign by ancient near eastern standards.  David apparently had several wives, and a lot of children.  According to the Bible, there was a lot of palace intrigue and scandal.  David also apparently was a gifted poet, and wrote many of the psalms.  Many of the psalms start with the line, ‘A psalm of David.'  So early on, those who gathered up the collection of psalms recognized that David's were important.  David is also recognized in a unique way in the Hebrew Scriptures:  he's the only character that is described as ‘a man after God's own heart.'  He is described that way several times, despite his many failings as a king and father.  In some ways, he's the third most important character of the Old Testament, after Abraham and Moses.  He's portrayed as the ideal king, even more so than his son Solomon, who is in some ways more successful than David.  But David is described, despite his flaws, as kind of the ideal king.  It's again interesting that the chroniclers who wrote about David are pretty blunt about describing his flaw and failures.  He comes off as a real person, who did some great things, and tried to follow his God, but also made some really substantial mistakes.  When he dies, he leaves the kingdom to one of his sons, Solomon.  According to the Bible, when Solomon inherits the kingdom, he is visited by God, who says he will grant Solomon whatever he asks for.  So Solomon wisely asks for wisdom.  The rest of the biblical depiction of Solomon is a description of his wisdom, and also of the greatness of the kingdom he reigns over.  A lot of the Psalms are attributed to David, but most of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are attributed to Solomon.Another major thing is attributed to Solomon:  the first temple.  In the Mosaic books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, a lot of text is given to the construction, layout, and worship rituals of the tabernacle.  The tabernacle was a huge tent that the camp of Israel camped around while it was wandering in the wilderness.  It was the center of worship of Yahweh, and the place where the priests performed all the rituals that were described in the books of Moses.  The tabernacle moved around for years, but it had eventually settled down more or less permanently at Shiloh, which is a bit north of Jerusalem, and kind of in the center of the Promised Land. David starts the process of creating a permanent temple for God in Jerusalem, but it's Solomon who actually builds it.  The temple of Solomon was built around 957 BC.  It was built on a high place within Jerusalem.  There is strong archeological evidence of the existence of a temple from Solomon's time in the spot where the Dome of the Rock now stands.  There's no doubt that a temple was built there by Herod just before Jesus' time, and there's evidence of another temple, possibly the re-built temple of Nehemiah, in between.  The Bible records that Solomon's temple was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in about 587 BC, so it stood for almost 400 years.  I said that David was the third most important character in the Old Testament.  It's not a stretch to say that the temple is the 4th most important character.  Having a permanent temple for their God is a HUGE deal to the Israelites.  It's one of the central themes of the whole rest of the Old Testament, and it clearly is of huge importance in the day of Jesus.  In addition to building the temple of God, Solomon also brings peace, riches, and expansion to the kingdom.  It's fair to say that the days of David and Solomon are the high point of the nation of Israel, or maybe its Golden Age.  After Solomon dies, though, the kingdom splits.  David and Solomon's descendants rule in the south, and the other tribes of Israel break off in the north and create their own kingdom.  So the kingdoms become known as Israel in the north, and Judah in the south.  The southern kingdom is still known as Judah when the Romans get there.  The Romans called it the province of Judea.  After the kingdom of David and Solomon, Israel was never again an important force in the area.    There's a stone inscription from the reign of Shalmaneser III, one of the kings of Assyria, that mentions King Jehu of Israel, and has an image of Jehu prostrating himself before Shalmaneser.  Neither the northern kingdom of Israel nor the southern kingdom of Judah would rise again to prominence in the region.  The Northern kingdom was eventually conquered completely by Assyria.  The Assyrians were not kind to the lands they conquered.  They tended to either kill or enslave all the conquered peoples, and then to populate their lands with native Assyrians.  This is one of the reasons for the hostility we see in the New Testament between Jews and Samaritans.  The Jews were descendants of Judah (hence the name Jew).  The Samaritans were descendants of both the Israelites, who had split from Judah, and also the Assyrians who had settled there.  So the Jews saw them as traitors and half-bloods.  The kingdom of Judah, in the south, continued for several more generations after Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians.  But then, in 586 BC, Judah was conquered by the Babylonians, who destroyed Solomon's temple, and took away all the ritual objects of the temple.  The Babylonians took many of the Jews away to Babylon, though they let them keep some of their own ethnic identity.  The Jews held on to their identity during the 70 years they were captive in Babylon.  They call this time the Exile, and they saw it as God's punishment for the nation turning away from God.  Eventually Babylon was conquered by Cyrus the Great of Persia.  We'll come back around to that in a while, because those same Persians had some epic run-ins with our friends the Greeks, which we will be talking about in upcoming episodes.  But for now, it's enough to point out that Cyrus let many of the peoples who had been conquered by Babylon return to their homelands.  This included the Jews, and they began to come back around 538 BC.  As part of their return, they rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, and also rebuilt the temple, though it was not anywhere as glorious as Solomon's temple had been.  Still, it was a big deal to them to have their temple back, and they took the temple rituals and the Law much more seriously from then on.  Until the Romans, of course.  As I said earlier, for being such a small nation, and being relatively unimportant on the world stage, Israel has an outsized influence on western history.  That is due in large part because of the influence of the Bible on the history of the west, and since the Bible was, for a long time, the best preserved historical record of the ancient world, the history of Israel was well-known.  From the fall of Rome until the 1800's, there was very little known in the west about the history of the ancient near east.  In the 1800's, European archaeologists began to unearth ancient cities, and eventually ancient texts, that shed new light on ancient history.  There was, for a long time, a strong bias among the 19th century academics that the Bible was all myth.  They actually thought this about the Trojan war, too.  But more and more archaeological excavations supported the stories of the Bible, and the Iliad, and so today, there is a grudging acceptance among even anti-bible academics that the Bible does preserve a valid history of the nation of Israel.  One other reason that the tiny nation of Israel has had so much influence in the west is that the Jews have always managed to survive, and to maintain their identity, even in very hostile situations.  Eventually, after the Romans destroyed Judah in 70 AD, the Jews were dispersed all over the Mediterranean and also Europe.  There were Jewish communities in all the major cities of Europe by the Middle Ages.  And despite pograms, exiles, and a holocaust, the Jews managed to survive and keep their identity.  So they have been a part of western society for quite a long time, and they have been spread throughout western society quite thoroughly, because they settled in so many different places, and have been successful in business, academia, science, and politics.   So, despite their small size and humble beginnings, the people of Israel have made a big impact on the western world, an impact that needs to be considered alongside much more prominent empires, like the Greeks and the Romans.  Speaking of the Greeks, in the next episode, we'll look at some of the most famous battles in all of history, and two of the most bad-ass battle quotes of all time, when we look at the wars between the Greeks and the Persians.   History of the Ancient World, Susan Wise Bauerhttps://www.timesofisrael.com/archaeologists-say-one-of-king-davids-palaces-found/https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/the-tel-dan-inscription-the-first-historical-evidence-of-the-king-david-bible-story/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-first-temple-solomon-s-templehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon%27s_Templehttps://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Shiloh_(Bible)https://www.britannica.com/event/Babylonian-Captivity

This Bible study devotional covers 2 Kings 8:7-10:35. In this passage, King Jehu exacts vengeance against the last members of Ahab's family. As always, we are committed to showing you how to see the good news of the Gospel in every passage of Scripture. In 2 Kings 8:7-10:35, we see that Jesus is a new Jehu, a final avenger against powers and religions that steal from the poor, murder God's prophets, and promote a destructive spirituality. For more information about Spoken Gospel visit: https://www.spokengospel.com We believe the only path to transformative Bible engagement is to see Jesus and his gospel wherever you are in the story. Jesus taught that he can be seen on every page of the Bible. Only by seeing the light of the Gospel in the face of Jesus can we be transformed into his image (2 Cor. 3:18, 4:6). We want to help people engage with every corner of the Bible in a transformative way. To that end, we are making Christ-centered, devotional podcasts that cover every chapter of the Bible. They are brief field guides through every passage of scripture that explain each chapter within its context and how it reveals more about the good news of Jesus. The Gospel changes things. Through our resources, we hope to create growing, deepening, and transforming Bible engagement that reshapes individuals, churches, and cultures with the Gospel. And we hope that you will join us in that mission.

2 Kings 10:18-28 ESV 18 Then Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much. 19 Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers and all his priests. Let none be missing, for I have a great sacrifice to offer to Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it with cunning in order to destroy the worshipers of Baal. 20 And Jehu ordered, “Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they proclaimed it. 21 And Jehu sent throughout all Israel, and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. And they entered the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was filled from one end to the other. 22 He said to him who was in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out the vestments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out the vestments for them. 23 Then Jehu went into the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab, and he said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search, and see that there is no servant of the Lord here among you, but only the worshipers of Baal.” 24 Then they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside and said, “The man who allows any of those whom I give into your hands to escape shall forfeit his life.” 25 So as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guard and to the officers, “Go in and strike them down; let not a man escape.” So when they put them to the sword, the guard and the officers cast them out and went into the inner room of the house of Baal, 26 and they brought out the pillar that was in the house of Baal and burned it. 27 And they demolished the pillar of Baal, and demolished the house of Baal, and made it a latrine to this day. 28 Thus Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE HOUSE OF BAAL Samaria was the center of Baal cult worship. The temple of Baal was its iconic structure. King Jehu enjoined all the worshippers of Baal to come for a religious festival at the temple of Baal in Samaria. Hence, he announced, “Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much. Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers and all his priests. Let none be missing, for I have a great sacrifice to offer to Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live.” This was a trap. Everyone came so that the place was packed from end to end with unsuspecting Baal worshipers. Jehu went into the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab, and he said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search, and see that there is no servant of the Lord here among you, but only the worshipers of Baal.” He saw to it that no servant of the Lord will be one among in the massacre. As they did the offering, Jehu instructed his 80 armed guards and officers to kill everyone inside, not allowing anyone to stay alive. They went into the inner room of the house of Baal, and they brought out the pillar that was in the house of Baal and burned it. And they demolished the pillar of Baal, and demolished the house of Baal, and made it a latrine to this day. Thus Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel. Definitely, it was an aggressive and decisive act of Jehu to eradicate Baal's worship. In a similar way to a cancer patient, his malignant tumor must be removed completely. Otherwise, a single cell may multiply agressively inside his body. Undoubtedly, the temple of Baal was the malignant tumor that Jehu had demolished and turned into a latrine. Should you and I are having some sin strongholds in our lives, we must take a drastic and decisive decision. Should we kill the octopus of sin, we must destroy and cut not only the tentacles but crushed the head. Thus, in our fight against sin, we must not take second chances. Sin always contaminates like a little leaven that always leavens the whole lump.

2 Kings 10:6-11,17 ESV 6 Then he wrote to them a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side, and if you are ready to obey me, take the heads of your master's sons and come to me at Jezreel tomorrow at this time.” Now the king's sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were bringing them up. 7 And as soon as the letter came to them, they took the king's sons and slaughtered them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel. 8 When the messenger came and told him, “They have brought the heads of the king's sons,” he said, “Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning.” 9 Then in the morning, when he went out, he stood and said to all the people, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who struck down all these? 10 Know then that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the Lord has done what he said by his servant Elijah.” 11 So Jehu struck down all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, all his great men and his close friends and his priests, until he left him none remaining. 17 And when he came to Samaria, he struck down all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had wiped them out, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke to Elijah. THE BUCK ENDS HERE. King Jehu's demand for the guardians to cut off the heads of Ahab's sons had shown how determined he was to wipe off Ahab's clan. The guardians for having pledged to do everything for him did so. The 70 heads placed in baskets were transported to Jezreel. At the of the city gate, Jehu had displayed these heads in two heaps for people to see. What a distasteful sight for them to behold. This object lesson should ellicit fear among the people. The next morning he stood and pronounced, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who struck down all these? Know then that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the Lord has done what he said by his servant Elijah.” Nobody was to be blamed except himself. It should be noted that the late U.S. Pres. Harry Truman, who placed in his office the frame that read, “The bucks end here.” Like him, he took total responsibility to the mass murder. Jehu did all these without vaccilating fior he believed that it was in keeping with the word of God through the prophet Elijah. God's word has the absolute authority. Jesus had said, “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”[Matt 5:18] Furthermore, He strongly claimed, “If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.”[John 12:47,48] Our response to the word of God should be neither be disrespect nor neglect. We must take it as it is. God's word won't be in vain. Isaiah said; “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”[Isa 55:10,11] --------- Visit and FOLLOW Gospel Light Filipino on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram

Do good well! Jéhú király azt tette, amit ISTEN szeretett volna, amire felkenték. Királysága mégis inkább ámokfutásnak tűnik, mint dicsőségnek. Uralkodása alatt tovább gyengül Izrael. Hogyan tegyük azt, ami ISTENnek örömet okoz, megfelelő szívvel? Keressük a választ erre együtt! :) King Jehu did what God wanted him to do and what he was anointed to do. Yet, the phrase 'running amok' describes his rule more than the word 'glorious'. Israel was further weakened under his reign. How should we do what pleases God with a right heart? Let's look for the answer together.

Airing Date: July 21 2 Kings 9-10, In the story of King Jehu, we see that it is possible to do the right things for the wrong reasons, but Jesus is able to bring about the radical change we need. From our Series: 1 & 2 Kings: Desiring the Kingdom

Airing Date: July 20 2 Kings 9-10, In the story of King Jehu, we see that it is possible to do the right things for the wrong reasons, but Jesus is able to bring about the radical change we need. From our Series: 1 & 2 Kings: Desiring the Kingdom

It's a bit of a conundrum - cutting off sin and still living with it. King Jehu reveals a truth about life: you can be zealous about removing one sin, but each of us is still going to struggle with one or more other sins. It's just part of living in the flesh. Thank God the word goes on to say, "My grace is sufficient for you." Come join us as we see King Jehu remove the Baals in a powerful, tenacious way but while still living in bondage to golden idols.

It's important that as we receive blessings, responsibility, and influence in life - we use it as a platform to Glorify the Father. In the first half of Chapter 10 we see King Jehu take the word of the Lord and inject a little too much of himself into the task. The Lord gives us all kinds of riches in life so that we can glorify Him. Not to glorify ourselves, not to glorify our church, not to glorify a pastor but to glorify above all - Him. The boys talk about how these can be intertwined but the new message in Christ is that all glory, all obedience, points to Him and not to us.

The way we experience time underlines all the information we process. It's easy to fall into the trap putting our interpretation of time and projecting it on God's behavior. In 2 Kings chapter 9 we see the newly anointed King Jehu bringing God's prophesied judgement on Ahab's home. This was prophesied by Elijah who by this time would have been taken into heaver years prior. Similar to how see God move in our lives, there are times when we have held onto a promise of scripture only to feel lied to because we haven't seen the promise in which we laid our hope. It is in these times we remember chapter 10 and that the only lie we've been told is from the construct of time and how we experience. If God said it - it is final.

What does God desire from you? We look at the tale of two kings - King Jehu and King Jehoshaphat - for the answer.We also talk about idols and how we can recognize them in today's world. We want to get rid of idols so that we can devote ourselves fully to the Lord.

2 Kings 9 & 10

We have, some say, the only portrait or relief of an Israelite King from the 1st Monarchy Period of the Divided Kingdom. It is clearly a picture of Jehu, the 10th King of Israel. God bless you today!

Sermon for the First Sunday in Advent Romans 13:8-4 and St. Matthew 21:1-13 by William Klock The Christian year has always been reckoned by the incarnation and resurrection of Jesus.  Our Eastern brothers and sisters begin the Church Year at Easter and we, in the West, have for most of our history begun it at Christmas.  Either way, our ecclesiastical New Year’s Day recognises the Jesus has changed everything.  And yet, the Church never springs Christmas or Easter on us.  Instead, a time of preparation leads us to both of these great celebrations.  These were originally times when candidates for baptism—and Epiphany and Easter were the two great times for baptism in the early Church—these were the times when those who were to be baptised prepared: learning the faith, counting the cost, and finally committing themselves entirely to Jesus.  Our traditions have changed a little down through the centuries, but the season of Advent still calls us, like the Boy Scout motto, to be prepared.  Not to be prepared in case of fire, storm, or some other disaster, but to be prepared, knowing that in his first advent Jesus inaugurated his kingdom and that in his second advent, he will finish what he started—and that we are his stewards in the in-between.  Advent reminds us that we live in an overlap of the ages.  The present evil age has been defeated, its rulers dethroned and the age to come has been born.  But in his wisdom and his grace, God has not brought the new age all at once.  Yes, this overlap of the ages allows for evil to continue and for wicked men and women to grasp at their slipping hold of the world, but it also gives space for the good news about Jesus to be carried to the world and the world to come in faith to Jesus who has come in his first advent, not to condemn, but to redeem. Our Gospel lesson today reminds us of what Jesus has done and what he will one day finish.  St. Matthew shows us Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the King, and he shows us the nature of his rule and his kingdom.  Look at Matthew 21:1-6.   Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Untie them and bring them to me.  If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”  This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,          “Say to the daughter of Zion,          ‘Behold, your king is coming to you,                   humble, and mounted on a donkey,                   on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”   The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.  They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.   Matthew wrote his Gospel for a Jewish audience and he draws on their Scriptures and on Israel’s story to give depth to what he writes.  Specifically, here, he draws on Zechariah’s prophecies that look forward to the Messiah and to the day when the Lord would come in judgement on Israel’s enemies.  When Matthew says that Jesus came to the Mount of Olives, this isn’t just a casual geographical reference.  This is the spot, according to Zechariah, on which the Lord would stand when judgement came.  And Matthew draws on Zechariah again to explain Jesus’ strange command to the disciples to fetch a donkey.  This was not how kings made their triumphal processions.  Well, not ordinary kings.  They rode on horseback or in a chariot.  But Zechariah, hundreds of years before, had highlighted the humble nature of the coming messiah.  He was one who would ride to his coronation on the back of a humble donkey. So Matthew, here, makes it abundantly clear who Jesus is.  He is the Messiah whom the people had hoped for.  But he also highlights the nature of Jesus’ rule.  The people expected a king would come to overthrow the Herodians and the Romans with violence.  Matthew reminds them, by calling back to Zechariah, that Jesus will take his throne by a very different sort of path.  Yes, he is the judge.  Yes, he will deliver Israel.  But it’s not going to happen the way people thought, at least not yet. As the crowds gather to line Jesus’ way into Jerusalem, Matthew continues to draw on Israel’s story.  Look at verses 8-11: Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”  And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”  And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”   Not only do the people sing royal hymns to Jesus as he rides into the city, hailing him as “son of David”, a significant messianic title, but Matthew again draws on two events in Israel’s story that the people would have known well.  First, as he tells how the crows was spreading their cloaks on the ground, it would have been hard for his Jewish readers to miss the reference to King Jehu’s anointing.  In 2 Kings 9 we read about Jehoram.  He was King of Israel, the son of the wicked King Ahab.  The apple had not fallen far from the tree in Jehoram.  The prophet Elisha ordered that Jehu was to be anointed King in his place and announced that Jehu would bring the Lord’s judgement on the wicked house of Ahab.  As Jehu was anointed by the prophet, the men gathered cast their cloaks on the ground before him and blew a trumpet.  Matthew uses the imagery not only to make sure we know that Jesus is King, but also to hint that Jesus is also the King who will bring the Lord’s judgement on the wicked. But the other grand image that Matthew draws on here and that leads into the next scene is that of Judas Maccabaeus.  2 Maccabees 10:7 describes the people hailing Judas as King by laying wreathes and palm branches at his feet.  Judas had not only defeated Israel’s enemies, but he had purified the temple from its defilement by the Greeks. And the temple is precisely where Matthew takes us next.  Look at verses 12-13 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.  He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”   Jesus’ purification of the temple had at least as much to do with rebuking the people for what the temple had become ideologically as it did with the buy and selling.  The selling of animals for sacrifice was a necessary part of what the temple was and, since the temple used its own currency, someone had to be there to make change.  The more serious issues was that the temple had become a symbol of the violent revolution—a revolution like the one Judas Maccabaeus had led—that had become the hope of the people.  Again, that’s not what Jesus was about. Most importantly, Jesus’ disruption of the temple put a temporary stop to the sacrifices that day.  This was an acted-out prophecy that brought to a culmination all of his declarations of forgiveness and healing that bypassed the temple, the sacrificial system, and the priesthood.  This was Jesus’ announcement that the temple’s days were numbered.  God was about to do something not only new, but better.  Jesus points here to a coming new covenant in which he would take on the role of the temple himself, in which he would be the mediator between God and human beings, he would be the one in whom forgiveness of sins would be found, he would be the one to bring God and man, heaven and earth together. The Gospel shows us that in his first advent, Jesus was revealed to be the King whom God had promised to his people.  It also hints at the fact that, while Jesus has inaugurated something new, even now, two thousand years later, we await its final consummation. We still wait for Jesus’ second advent.  And this leads us into our Epistle.  Let’s look at Romans 13, beginning at verse 8: Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.  For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.  (Romans 13:8-10) A shockwave went out across the world that first Easter morning when Jesus burst from his tomb.  The work of new creation was begun that day.  And yet, except for Jesus’ followers, no one seems to have noticed.  The present age rumbles along, its rulers go on ruling, and people carry on with their business.  The old gods remain, even if we aren’t so crass as to build temples with statues of them.  We may not worship Caesar or Aphrodite or Mammon, but we still worship money and sex and political power.  St. Paul knew that it’s surprisingly easy for even Jesus’ own people to forget that the kingdom is breaking in.  It’s easy for us to fall back into the ways and priorities of the present age and to give half-hearted allegiance to Jesus.  That had been Israel’s problem all along.  It should not be ours.  Jesus has filled us with his own Spirit.  The law that was once external and written on stone has now been inscribed on our hearts and our hearts have been turned to God.  Problem solved!  Or you’d think.  We need nearly constant reminders, we need to recall Jesus, his death and resurrection, we need God’s word and we need his grace.  And so Paul reminds us to live the law of love that the Spirit has inscribed in our hearts. Paul puts in terms of the torah.  Don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t covet—just don’t wrong your neighbour.  To love is to fulfil the law.  Paul uses the Greek word agape, that describes the sort of love that gives of oneself as it puts others first.  This is the love that Jesus showed us on the cross as he took on himself the sins of the very people who had rejected and despised him.  This is the love that defines the kingdom and that the Spirit has poured into our hearts.  Be in debt to no one, Paul writes, except to know that for the sake of Jesus and his kingdom, you owe everyone you meet a debt of love.  Imagine how effective the Church would be if we truly lived this way, coupled with being faithful proclaimers of the good news about Jesus. Instead, though, we’re too often like the man who knows he’s going to be late for work, but keeps hitting “snooze” on his alarm clock, rolling over, and going back to sleep.  Paul goes on: Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep.  For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.  The night is far gone; the day is at hand.  (Romans 13:11-12) Paul knew that Jesus would return.  Jesus had promised that the Lord would come in judgement on an unrepentant Jerusalem within a generation.  Whether or not Paul thought that this would be the final end of the present age is debated by New Testament scholars.  I think Paul saw another horizon beyond the destruction of Jerusalem.  The Lord having judged unrepentant Israel and vindicated his faithful people, a time would follow in which the gentiles would come streaming in, having seen the faithfulness of the God of Israel.  While the other apostles were carrying the gospel to their fellow Jews, Paul had received a calling to carry it to the gentiles.  And Paul saw another horizon, one beyond the soon-to-come judgment on Jerusalem.  Paul saw that the pagan nations, particularly the Greeks and Romans, would one day face a similar judgement. The time was coming for the King’s return in judgement, first on the Jews, and eventually on the gentiles.  He would finish what he had started.  The present evil age and its false gods and false kings would be done away with and God’s new creation would be born.  Jesus’ first advent was the alarm going off.  Jesus had announced a coming judgement, but in his life, death, and resurrection had established a means of reconciliation with God.  That day the first rays of the sun had begun to peek over the mountaintops.  And now, Paul’s saying, the full day will soon be upon us.  Get out of bed and get dressed for work! And then he shifts the metaphor.  From “Get out of bed you lazy sleepy-head” he takes a more serious tone.  It’s one thing to sleep in when you should be getting ready for work.  It’s a far worse thing to be out carousing all night and carrying on into the morning, instead of going to work.  He goes on: The night is far gone; the day is at hand.  So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.  Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.  (Romans 13:12-14) Laziness is bad and there are plenty of lazy Christians, but even worse are people who know they should be living for Jesus and the age to come, but are instead living for the present wicked age and its false gods and kings.  Paul makes a list of the wicked things people do under cover of darkness: they indulge their appetites, they get drunk, they get involved in all sorts of sexual sins.  But Paul doesn’t stop there.  Most Christians don’t do those sorts of things, so Paul goes on with the list, from orgies and drunkenness to quarrelling and jealousy.  That probably hits closer to home—especially if you spend much time on social media.  But long before social media existed, Christians were struggling with quarreling and jealousy.  Christians get angry with each other, their relationships break down, sometimes churches even split over these sorts of things.  These are the works of darkness and they’re just as bad and just as unbecoming the people of God as drunken orgies are.  Going back to the first part of the Epistle, people who love their neighbours don’t fight and don’t become jealous any more than they get involved in sexual immorality. No, instead, as befits living in the day, we put on the “armour of light”.  Paul hints at the fact that living as people of the day when we’re surrounded by people of the darkness is going to be a struggle and, some day, even a battle.  We put on the armour of light.  What is that?  Paul goes on to put it in terms of putting on the Lord Jesus Christ.  But what does that mean?  Paul uses this put on/put off metaphor a lot in his epistles and the gist of it is that we need to remember to whom we belong. Think of the Israelites—since we’ve been studying Exodus recently.  Pharaoh had claimed them as his slaves, but the Lord had freed them.  It wasn’t freedom for freedom’s sake.  The Lord freed Israel from Pharaoh’s cruel bondage so that the people could serve him.  They went from belonging to a cruel king to belonging to the King—a king who loves his people.  The Lord would live in the midst of his people, that was his promise.  And, for their part, the people would live as befits people who belong to and fellowship with the Lord—that was the torah and the tabernacle. Brothers and Sisters, the same goes for us as Christians.  Through Jesus, the Lord has delivered us from our bondage to sin and death and has made us his own.  We once were in bondage to the darkness, but now have the privilege and joy of serving the light.  And as Jesus’ people, we’re not just the people who live camped around the tabernacle.  No, we are united with Jesus, who is himself the tabernacle, God with us, and who has made us, his very people, a temple when he gave us his Spirit.  It is astounding what Jesus has done for us, and yet we forget.  We hear the alarm sounding, we see the sun peeking through the curtains, and we roll over and go back to sleep.  We do that because we’ve forgotten the joy of our salvation.  We do that, because we’ve failed to steep ourselves in God’s word.  We do that, because we’ve forgotten that God has made us stewards of his good news.  We do that, because we’ve failed to think on and to meditate on the amazing and gracious love God had shown us in Jesus. Brothers and Sisters, the Lord knew we would forget these things.  That’s why he’s given us means of grace to “stir us up” as we prayed in last week’s collect.  He’s given us each other.  Friends, the Church is a place where we stir each other up to love and good works.  He’s given us his word to prick our consciences when we go astray, to remind us of God’s faithfulness when we’re struggling to trust, and to show us the incredible depths of his love when we’re tempted to take a ho-hum approach to our faith.  He’s given us the sacraments.  In our baptism he has washed us clean and plunged us into his Spirit.  In that water he made each of us his own, just as he made Israel his own when she passed through the Red Sea.  And in the Lord’s Supper he gives us a means of participating in the very events—in the death and resurrection of Jesus—that mark our exodus from the bondage of sin and death. Friends, be prepared.  Knowing that that King has come and that he will come again, avail yourselves this Advent of the means of grace.  Whether you’ve been carousing as if it were night, or you’ve been sleeping in, or you’ve been busy about the work of the kingdom, steep yourselves in God’s word, be reminded of the love and the grace and the faithfulness of God.  Meditate on the cross and on the empty tomb.  Remember the baptismal water through which you once passed and find assurance that you belong to Jesus.  And, finally, come to his Table.  Here is not only the manna in the wilderness for a hungry people.  Here is the bread and wine by which we participate in the death and resurrection of the King and find out identity as the people of God. Let’s pray: Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Pastors Nick Cady and Michael Payne discuss the Radical Reformation and King Jehu, and the question of what God wants from us in this week’s Sermon Extra. They also share some important updates about our church’s COVID precautions, the progress of...

In the story of King Jehu, we see that it is possible to do the right things for the wrong reasons, but Jesus is able to bring about the radical change we need.

Jonah – a prophet to the Northern Kingdom of Israel Time: During the reign of Jeroboam II (793-753 B.C.) Material prosperity in Israel: regained lost territory, as Jonah prophesied. But spiritual and moral decay as the nation moved away from God to idolatry. Hosea & Amos - contemporary prophets called Israel to repent. God’s judgment will come in a generation: the Assyrians will destroy Israel 30 years after Jeroboam II’s reign. Jonah 1:1-6 Jonah Flees the Presence of the Lord v. 1. “The word of the Lord came to Jonah…” typical for a book of prophecy. v. 2. “Arise, go to Nineveh” – NOT typical – God sent prophets to Israel and Judah. Unlikely Mission: Assyrians were brutal: torture, dismembering, decapitations. Israel had paid heavy tribute to the Assyrians under King Jehu. Why would God warn the Assyrians and give them an opportunity to repent? v. 3 Unlikely Emissary: Jonah fled from the presence of the Lord. The Lord called Jonah east over land to Nineveh Jonah headed west by sea to Tarshish, (in modern Spain). Jonah had prophesied about Israel’s prosperity in 2 Ki He wanted no part in prophesying to Israel’s enemy. Why Jonah fled. 1. He doubted the goodness of God. How could God send Jonah to an enemy of God’s people? If we hold to the idea that everything that we go through must make sense to us, we may flee from God too. A bad report from the doctor. A relationship ends. A financial black hole. When life doesn’t make sense, God calls us to trust him. He demonstrated his love once & for all when he sent his son to die in your place. You can trust God; he intends good for you. He is for you. 2. He ignored the mercy of God for himself. In Chs. 1&2 Jonah acts like the prodigal son in Jesus’ parable. He runs from his father but returns repentant. In Chs. 3&4 Jonah acts like the older brother in the parable. He is angry at his father’s mercy toward a repentant sinner. Both doubted the goodness of their father. “The problem facing Jonah [is] the mystery of God’s mercy. It is a theological problem, but it is at the same time a heart problem. Unless Jonah can see his own sin and see himself as living wholly by the mercy of God, he will never understand how God can be merciful to evil people and still be just and faithful.” – Timothy Keller, The Prodigal Prophet We can be like the older brother, believing we have earned God’s favor. That is pride and the deceitfulness of sin. Instead of “Jesus paid it all” it says, “I have done it all.” How to know you’re missing the mercy of God for yourself – not forgiving others. Heart is cold toward those who are not like you. v. 4. “The Lord hurled a great wind on the sea…” Jonah does not get very far with his rebellion. “God never allows his children to sin successfully”. – Charles Spurgeon Sin brings trouble. That’s not to say that all trouble is the result of sin. But every sin will bring trouble – perhaps not right away, but over time. “All sin has a storm attached to it.” – Timothy Keller God created us to live for him more than anything else, for his glory. When we build our lives on something else, we go against the grain of our design. Christians have the promise that God uses storms for our good. What Jonah could not know, was that within the terror of the storm was the God who would not let him go. God was drawing him back from his rebellion. We know what Jonah could not God’s salvation came through weakness, suffering, and apparent defeat. There is mercy deep inside our storms.

A new MP3 sermon from Faith Community Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: King Jehu: Godly Ambition or Selfish Ambition? Speaker: Garet Halbert Broadcaster: Faith Community Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 6/21/2020 Bible: 2 Kings 9:1-13, 2 Kings 9-10 Length: 59 min.

A look at the reign of King Jehu and how he killed the evil queen Jezebel. 2 Kings 9

Introduction: Most Christians are aware of the wickedness of the kings of Israel. In about 931 BC, following the death of Solomon, the kingdom of Israel divided North and South because of the foolishness of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. The North became known as Israel and the South as Judah after the principle tribe of Judah. … King Jehu and the House of Ahab Read More » The post King Jehu and the House of Ahab appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.

In today’s Bible readings we read about King Jehu and te death of Jezebel and Jesus tells the parable of the unmerciful servant. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/walkingtheway/message

Hosea 1:2-8 (NLT) Hosea’s Wife and Children 2 When the Lord first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the Lord and worshiping other gods.” 3 So Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she became pregnant and gave Hosea a son. 4 And the Lord said, “Name the child Jezreel, for I am about to punish King Jehu’s dynasty to avenge the murders he committed at Jezreel. In fact, I will bring an end to Israel’s independence. 5 I will break its military power in the Jezreel Valley.” 6 Soon Gomer became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lordsaid to Hosea, “Name your daughter Lo-ruhamah—‘Not loved’—for I will no longer show love to the people of Israel or forgive them. 7 But I will show love to the people of Judah. I will free them from their enemies—not with weapons and armies or horses and charioteers, but by my power as the Lord their God.” 8 After Gomer had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she again became pregnant and gave birth to a second son.

The Line of Fire Radio Broadcast for 07/01/19.

King Jehu executes God's judgment on Ahab's dynasty but only because it also benefits him. We should reflect on the ways in which we can fall into that same trap in our faith.

This is the episode is part 63 in a study of the kings of Israel and Judah. King Jehu ends the worship of Baal in Israel and comes so close to being the king that God wants him to be.

This is the episode is part 61 in a study of the kings of Israel and Judah. Jehu is anointed king of Israel which is bad news for both kings Joram and Ahaziah, who are descendants of Ahab.

http://TheVideoPreacher.com 841 B.C. – II Kings 9-10 – King Jehu of the northern kingdom of Israel Jehonadab son of Rechab II Kings 10:15-2…

Our Series is brought to a close by looking at the final King of each Kingdom: King Zedekiah (Judah) and King Hoshea (Israel). Though they reigned around 140 years apart there are many similarities between their characters and the times in which they lived. Their lives are mirrored. We look at some of the history of the period, including inter-state relations. We are reminded how important the Prophets are at this time. There is hope when we submit to God even when judgement is forecast. We need to repent and turn to Him. Both Zedekiah and Hoshea looked for help in other places to what God indicated. The picture of King Jehu bowing to Shalmaneser III on the Black Obelisk sums up what is often happening in these two books. Yahweh was meant to be the true King of Israel and Judah. However, most kings trusted in foreign powers rather than God. Failure, tragedy and despair mark most of the reigns in the books of Kings and Chronicles. Christ is our Lord and King. Jesus is King of all the nations. Looking at the slides on our website will really help you to get more out of this Talk.

We look further into the background of the Kings and Prophets of the Divided Kingdom. Why are some of the Kings mentioned only in the Books of Kings and some in both Kings and Chronicles? Who wrote these books and why? Jehu’s story is mostly told in 2 Kings 9 and 10. He was certainly appointed by God and was perhaps the best King that the northern Kingdom had. However, he didn’t follow through totally with the things that God had asked him to do. He let idolatrous worship continue. He tolerated evil. “Because” and “but” are words God uses to partly describe different Kings. Jehu might have started off his reign in a good way, but it didn’t continue. Doing well in the past can strengthen us today, but we still need to decide to follow and obey God wholeheartedly today. What steps of faith will I take today? How can I help and encourage others in their next step? Neil Armstrong didn’t make that famous step in 1969 on his own. He needed a great deal of help from others. True discipleship needs deep relationships. We need to invest our lives in other people as God leads us. Transformation for the town and our church will necessitate change in us personally. As God speaks to us, so we all need to make a response to Him. Using the Notes on our website in conjunction with this Audio will help you as you will be able to see all the slides that were used.

In this episode, we discuss the famous Black Obelisk of Shalmanesor III in the London Museum. Comparing the contents of the Black Obelisk to Biblical History and what we know about Shalmanesor III, we discuss the historic accuracy of the Black Obelisk and Shalmanesor III. Acts 17:11 www.messagetokings.com

No one could accuse King Jehu of being half-hearted! He was all in for the Lord.

No one could accuse King Jehu of being half-hearted! He was all in for the Lord.

Another action of pride embedded in our hearts is the need to amplify to others what we have done, are doing, or what God has done for and thru us. All to elevate how others see us. We look at the life of King Jehu to see the problems, signs, and cures of this need to get others to look at us!

Another action of pride embedded in our hearts is the need to amplify to others what we have done, are doing, or what God has done for and thru us. All to elevate how others see us. We look at the life of King Jehu to see the problems, signs, and cures of this need to get others to look at us!

Review of a man with great zeal executing his divine mission but did not continue.

Review of a man with great zeal executing his divine mission but did not continue.