Also, Tom Shuler is sick in Dallas,
and they can't find out what's wrong with him, and he asks that
everybody pray for him. And we will. But turn to 1 Kings
chapter 13. Verse 33, after this thing, Jeroboam
returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest
of the people, priests of the high places. Whosoever would,
he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high
places. And this thing became sin under the house of Jeroboam,
even to cut it off and to destroy it from off the face of the earth. At that time, Abijah, the son
of Jeroboam, fell sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife,
Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known
to be the wife of Jeroboam, and get thee to Shiloh. Behold, there's
Ajiah, or Ahijah, the prophet. which told me that I should be
king over this people. You'll remember that from 1 Kings
chapter 11. And take with thee 10 loaves
and cracknels and a cruise of honey and go to it. And he thought
he could buy them. That's the way he thought. And
he shall tell thee what shall become of the child. And Jeroboam's
wife did so and arose and went to Shiloh and came to the house
of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see for
his eyes were set by reason of his age. I suppose they were
covered with cataracts. And the Lord said unto Hydea,
behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee
for her son, for he's sick. Thus and thus shalt thou say
unto her, for it shall be when she cometh in that she shall
feign herself to be another woman. And it was so, when Hydea heard
the sound of her feet, she came in at the door, that he said,
come in thou wife of Jeroboam. Why feignest thou thyself to
be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. Go tell
Jeroboam, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, for as much as
I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince
over my people Israel, and rent the kingdom away from the house
of David, and gave it to thee, and yet thou hast not been as
my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed
me with all his heart, to do only that which was right in
mine eyes. has done evil above all that
were before thee. For thou has gone and made the
other gods in molten images to provoke me to anger, and has
cast me behind thy back. Therefore, behold, I bring evil
upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him
that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left
in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam
as a man taketh away dung till it be all gone. Him that dieth
of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat. Him that dieth
in the field shall the fowls of the air eat. For the Lord
has spoken it, no one will even be given a proper burial. Verse
12, arise therefore, get thee to thine own house, and when
thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. And all
Israel shall mourn for him and bury him. Now listen to this,
for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, be given a
proper burial, because in him there is found some good thing
toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam." I'd
never seen that before, and what a blessing that is. In this young
man is found some good thing in this wicked home. where there
were not any believers, Jeroboam, yet we have this one man whom
the Lord had mercy on. In him is found some good thing. Toward the Lord God of Israel
and the house of Jeroboam. Moreover, the Lord shall raise
him up a king over Israel and shall cut off the house of Jeroboam
that day. But what? Even now. For the Lord
shall smite Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and he
shall root up Israel out of the good land which he gave to their
fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they
have made their groves, provoking the Lord to anger. And he shall
give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin
and who made Israel to sin. And Jeroboam's wife arose and
departed and came to Tarsa, and where she came to the threshold
of the door, the child died. and they buried him. He's the
only one of Jeroboam's home that was given a proper burial. And
all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord, which
he spake by the hand of the servant Ahijah the prophet. And the rest
of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, how he reigned, behold,
they're written in the books of the chronicles of the kings
of Israel. And the days when Jeroboam reigned were two and
20 years, and he slept with his fathers, and Nabahab to his son
reigned in his stead. Let's pray. Lord, we come into your presence
in Christ's name, and we ask in his name that you would meet
with us and speak in power to our hearts from your word. Lord,
we. Ask that we might be like this
young man that you would put some good thing in us, that's
the work of your grace. The gift of your spirit. And
that we might have some good thing toward thee that we might
fear thee, that we might love thee, that we might trust thee,
that we might walk with thee, that we might honor thee and
seek your glory. Lord, we pray for those of our
number that are sick. We pray for your continued healing
hand upon Lynn and Lord, we pray for Tom that you'd be pleased
to. According to your will. Find out what's wrong with him
and give the doctor's wisdom. Let that will be done. And Lord,
we. Thank you and praise you. For
your gospel. Now may your gospel be preached.
May you give us a greater love for you and a greater love for
one another. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Jeroboam had experienced having
his hand withered up by the prophet. He'd seen what happened to the
disobedient prophet. He knew What he was doing was
wrong and he remained unrepentant. Unrepentant. He continued in
what he was doing. He was no different from Pharaoh. And this is a reminder to us
of the sinfulness of me and you. What we will be. if the Lord
removes his hand from us. We'll be no different than Jeroboam. Do you believe that about yourself?
I believe that about myself, how I need his grace. Jeroboam remained hard-hearted
and unrepentant. Verse one of chapter 14, at that
time Abijah, the son of Jeroboam fell sick. Now, I don't know
if this was a young man, if it was a boy, But there was something
about this man that all of Israel knew about because when he died
they all mourned. He must have been important to him in some
level because they mourned his death. And Jeroboam said to his
wife, arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself. He didn't want
her to be associated with him because he thought the prophet
wouldn't have anything to do with him. And he knew that he'd been disobedient
to what the prophet had said, and so he just tried to make
it to where the prophet didn't know they had anything to do
with Jeroboam. Disguise thyself, that you be not known to be the
wife of Jeroboam, and get thee to Shiloh. And behold, there
is Ahijah the prophet. which told me that I should be
king over this people. Now he knew this man was a prophet,
a spokesman of God. That shows you how much he knew
and yet remained unrepentant and unwhatever. And he thought, this just was
in his thinking, take with thee 10 loaves and cracknels and a
cruise of honey, give him plenty and go to him and he shall tell
thee what shall become of the child. You know, as a man is,
so he thinks others to be. He thought, I can be bought,
he can be bought too. You give him this good gift and
he'll be able to tell you what's wrong with the child. And Jeroboam's
wife did so and arose and went to Shiloh and came into the house
of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see for
his eyes were set by reason of age. He was an old man and blind.
And the Lord said unto Ahijah, behold, the wife of Jeroboam
cometh to ask a thing of thee for a son. For he's sick, and
the Lord knew it. The Lord had given him that sickness.
That's why he was sick. All things are of God. And they
loved their son, and they wanted to find out from the prophet
what was going to take place. And the Lord said unto Hijah,
Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee
for a son, for he's sick. Thus and thus shalt thou say unto
her. He told the prophet exactly what to say to her, for it shall
be when she cometh that she shall feign herself to be another woman.
And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she
came in at the door, that he said, come in, thou wife of Jeroboam.
You reckon that creeped her out? He knew who I am before I, as
soon as he hears my steps, hit the door. Come in, thou wife
of Jeroboam. Why, feignest thyself. to be
another, for I'm sent to thee with heavy tidings." The Lord
had given heavy tidings to give to this woman. Now you go tell
Jeroboam, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, for as much as
I exalted thee from among the people and made thee prince over
my people Israel, remember the 10 kingdoms were given to him,
and rent the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it
to thee, And yet thou hast not been as my servant David. Now
look at this description of David, who kept my commandments and
who followed me with all his heart to do that only, which
was right in mine eyes. Now that's the description of
David. He did that only which was right in my eyes. Now the
first thing that comes to my mind is what about Bathsheba? What about Uriah the Hittite?
What about him numbering Israel and 70,000 people being killed
as a result? What about the way he multiplied wives to himself? We could go on and on with a
lot of things that we could say that's not right in God's eyes.
But yet when the prophet describes David, he says he's done only
that which was right in my eyes. And as I've said before, the
way God sees things is the way they really are. Now what this
teaches us is the reality of justification. This is the description
of every believer. Yes, David. Yes, every other
believer. Their sins are forgiven. They're
put away. They're not imputed. They're
non-existent. They're gone. That's what the
Lord Jesus did with the sins of his people. And now this is
the testimony of every child of God. Thank the Lord for this. He has
done only that which was right in my eyes." That's the gospel,
isn't it? We see that in the case of David.
But he says to Jeroboam, you haven't. You haven't. Verse nine, but you've done evil
above all that went before thee. For thou hast gone and made thee
other gods. Now, any God that is not just
like the God of the Bible is another God. It's idolatry. And that's what he was guilty
of. He made other gods to help him. You'll remember, he thought
if the people go to Jerusalem and observe the Passover there,
They'll kill me. They'll become loyal to Rehoboam
again, so that's why he made these other gods for himself.
And molten images to provoke me to anger, and you've cast
me behind your back. That's what you've done. Therefore,
behold, I will bring evil. I'll do this, God says. I'll
bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam. and will cut off from
Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall. That's every man. And
him that shut up and left in Israel and will take away the
remnant of the house of Jeroboam as a man taketh away dung till
it be all gone. That's how little sorrow there
will be for the destruction of your home. It's like somebody
carting off dung and it's done. Him that dieth, verse 11, him
that dieth of Jeroboam in the city, shall dogs eat. He won't
even be given a proper barrel. Dogs will eat his remains. And
him that dieth in the field, shall the fowls of the air eat.
The vultures will pick his flesh, for the Lord has spoken it. Arise
thou therefore, get thee to thine own house, and when thy feet
enter in the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for
him. They're gonna be very sad over
the death of this child and they'll bury him. He's the only one who's
going to be given a proper burial. For he only of Jeroboam shall
come to the grave because in him there is found some good
thing toward the Lord God of Israel. Here's the difference between
him and everybody else that the fowls and the dogs are going
to eat. In him is found some good thing toward the Lord God
of Israel. Now notice the Lord said it was
in him. It was in him. It was something
internal. Job said the root of the matter
is in me. And if some good thing is in
you, it's in you. Christ in you, the hope of glory. It's not something external.
It's not something that a man can say, well, he must know it's
in you. Something done in the heart.
I don't know if anybody else could see it, but God could.
Because he's the one that put it in there in the first place.
it says in him is found, who's the one who found it? The Lord
did. The Lord did because he's the one that put it there in
the first place. Now, consider this in light of
what Paul said in Romans chapter seven, when he said, I know that
in me, that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. No good thing. And yet it said
of this young man, in him is found some good thing toward
the Lord God of Israel. It's a attitude toward the Lord
God of Israel. It's a fear of the Lord God of
Israel. It's a esteem of the Lord God
of Israel. It's a high view of the Lord
God of Israel. I have no doubt that he hated
this idolatry that his father had supported and created because
in him was found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel.
Now that's not in the heart of the natural man, but God put
it there. He that hath begun a good work
in you shall perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. He feared the Lord. He loved
the Lord. and he hated the idolatry that
his father promoted. Now, we read in the scriptures
of the inner man, of the hidden man of the heart,
and it's described as a meek and a quiet spirit. What was found in this man? I know this, he had a broken
heart and a contrite spirit. That's the heart of every believer. I know when God looked within
his heart, he saw one who was poor in spirit. He didn't have anything that
he believed could recommend him to God. He didn't have a thing.
He was poor in spirit, poverty before God. He mourned over his
sin. Oh my sin. He mourned over his
sin. And he was meek before God. You
know I'm giving the Beatitudes. This is the description of what
a believer is. This is what is found in the
inside. A meek attitude towards God. Whatever God does is right. I can't find fault with him.
Whatever he does is right. There was found in him this hunger
and thirst after righteousness. He knew he couldn't produce one,
but he desired one greatly. He hungered and thirsted to be
righteous before God, to have the righteousness of Christ.
This was a merciful man. Having experienced God's mercy,
he was a merciful man. He was pure in heart. He was
given that new heart that's given in regeneration. He was pure
in heart, the gift of God's grace. He was a peacemaker. He wasn't
contentious, he was a peacemaker. And he was persecuted for righteousness
sake. This is what the Lord saw when
he looked in his heart and found some good thing. He saw love,
the fruit of the spirit, love to God, joy in the gospel, the
peace that comes from trusting the Lord Jesus Christ. He saw
one who was long suffering. He saw one who had gentleness
and goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. This is what
it's all done on the inside. Now, could anybody else see it?
I don't know. I suppose they could, maybe they
couldn't. But it was there because God
put it there. And in him was found some good thing toward
the Lord God of Israel. Now, it's very comforting to
me to know that even if no one else could see it, the Lord could. The Lord could. And that reminds
me, I don't know whether other men could see it, although in
some respects I think maybe they could because look how they mourned
for him. When he died, all of Israel mourned for him. They
felt a loss at the loss of this man. But I don't know whether
they could have appreciated some good thing in that. I don't know.
We don't know. But if there is some good thing
in any sinner, it's because God put it there in the new birth,
in regeneration, and it's an attitude toward the Lord God
of Israel. I know that he hated the idolatry
that his father espoused. And in this one man amidst this
great big wicked family, we have one man whom the Lord had mercy
on. You know, sometimes Lord saves
a whole household. Sometimes only one person. out of a whole
household. But aren't you thankful for wherever
you see this good thing toward the Lord God of Israel? He was
to receive a good burial. Verse 14. Moreover, the Lord shall raise
him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam
that day. But what? Even now, the Lord
raised somebody up, and you can read about it in chapter 15.
As a matter of fact, look in verse 29 of chapter 15. And it came to pass when he reigned
that he smote all the house of Jeroboam. He left none to Jeroboam,
any that breathed, until he had destroyed him according to the
saying of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the
Shaolot, because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned
and which he made Israel to sin, by his provocation, wherewith
he provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger." So it happened exactly
as the prophet said. All of his descendants were destroyed,
put to death. None of them were even given
a proper burial. vultures eat their bodies and
dogs eat their bodies and just left in disarray. Back to our text, chapter 14, verse 15, for the Lord shall
smite Israel as a reed is shaken in the water. And he shall root
up Israel out of the good land which he gave to their fathers
and shall scatter them beyond the river because they have made
their groves, provoking the Lord to anger. And he shall give Israel
up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin and who made Israel
to sin. And Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and came to Tirzah.
And when she came to the threshold of the door, just like the prophet
said, can you imagine how scared she was to come up to the door?
She heard as soon as you come up, Your son's going to die.
What a terrible thing to think of taking place. And as soon
as she hit the threshold, her son died. But what a blessing
that was to him. What a blessing that was to him. I think of how difficult it no
doubt was to Jeroboam and his wife, but what a blessing that
was to him. He was preserved. Blessed. are the dead that die in the
Lord. Precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of his saints. Paul said, for me to live is
Christ and to die is gain. And we may think, well, that
was severe of the Lord to do that. No, it wasn't. It's the
best day of this guy's life. He's now ushered into the very
presence of Christ, some good thing that God had put in his
heart toward the Lord God of Israel, saving faith, repentance,
the new birth. This man had faith. He had the
same faith Abel did. He knew the only way he could
approach into God's presence is through the sacrifice of the
Lord Jesus Christ, what that lamb typified. He believed the
gospel just like Abel did, just like Abraham did, just like Paul
the apostle did. Same faith, same faith. Some
good thing was found in him. And oh, his death, it ushered
him into the very presence of Christ. Perfect likeness to Christ. Verse 17, and Jeroboam's wife
arose and departed and came to Tirzah. And when she came to
the threshold of the door, the child died and they buried him.
And all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the
Lord, which he spake by the hand of his servant, Ahijah the prophet. And the rest of the Acts of Jeroboam,
how he warred, how he reigned, behold, they're written in the
book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. And the days which
Jeroboam reigned were two and 20 years, and he slept with his
fathers, and Nadab, his son, reigned in his stead." Now, what
I thought about was the fact that all of Israel mourned over
the death of this young man. We don't know what the circumstances
were, but they were sorry he was dead. Now, people desire to leave a legacy
a lot of times. I want to leave a legacy. And
you know, I could care less. I could care less. When I'm dead,
a couple of generations, nobody will even know I ever lived in
the first place. Well, don't you want to leave a legacy? No,
I could care less. If I'm in Christ's presence,
I don't care about a legacy. Don't care at all. No, I'm not
going to have one. You know, your great-grandparents
or great-great-grandparents, who even know they ever lived?
Who cares? You know, as far as a legacy
goes, But I would like to live such a life that the people know
me mourn when I die, rather than something else. And this man
left Israel mourning. Now, when you die, when I die,
will people mourn our death? They didn't mourn over his other
kid's death, did they? But they mourned over the death
of this young man. And oh, that the Lord would enable
us, because of some good thing in us, the inner man, the new
man, that will cause people when we, you're gonna die. You will. I pray that every one of us will
be mourned over when we die. Okay.