Episode Transcript
Reading about his care for the nation, both the nation of Judah, but also his sister nation, Israel, in the north.
And Josiah stood for God's word, and he died in peace according to God's word.
And while he was on the throne, He cared nothing for riches or fame, as far as we can tell.
He was truly a ruler who had the people's best interests at heart.
And their best interest was not what they wanted.
Their best interest was supposed to be living by God's word.
That's your best interest, too.
If you're looking to make decisions in the best interest of yourself or of your children, Then make those decisions according to God's Word.
Otherwise, it's not in their best interest or yours.
That's an easy way to remember that.
In every election, no matter what the political office is, there are men and women running for office who say things like this.
The American people want lower taxes, or Texans want clean energy, or the citizens of Maybank want their streets fixed.
The sad fact is that often those statements are nothing more than political rallying cries meant to win votes.
And I have no doubt there are a few, probably very few, Josiahs in politics who love God.
And maybe you've met some of them.
Who know that he is the only right answer for what ails our nation and our state and our cities.
But many kings are like the one that we're reading about here, and I'll back up into verse 30.
It said, And the people of the land took Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah.
And anointed him, and made him king in his father's stead.
Now, as far as I could tell in my study, Jehoahaz is the only king of whom it was said specifically the people anointed him.
Meaning, they consecrated him to be their king.
An anointing, if you're not familiar with that term, Was an action.
It was what was done to put oil on the priest.
That was one use of it.
In Exodus chapter 28, verse 41, Exodus 28, 41, God commanded Moses.
And thou shalt put them upon thy brother and his sons with him, and shalt anoint them. and consecrate them and sanctify them that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.
And that verse shows us the association between anointing and consecrating and sanctifying.
The purpose of doing all of those actions was that the priest may minister.
And in anointing a king, the people are consecrating that king to rule over them.
And we do that when we vote in a way.
We don't really anoint them, but we make a choice very often of the lesser of two evils on our ballots.
And in the Old Testament, without the Lord commanding this anointing, it was a rebellious act.
So if a man decided, well, I want to be a priest.
I'll take upon myself the office of the priest, and I'll be anointed by the people.
Or the people said, We want this fellow for a king, not this one who God put on the throne.
Then they might anoint him in a way, but it was rebellion.
And it takes us back this.
This choice of the people to have a king reign over them, to anoint their own king, takes us all the way back.
To the days of Samuel, who was a judge in Israel.
Not the kind of judge who sits on the bench in a district court, but he was a judge of Israel.
But the people were not satisfied with Samuel as their judge.
And in 1 Samuel chapter 8.
They made that very clear to Samuel.
And he answered the children of Israel when they demanded to have a king reign over them.
And in that chapter, he listed all of the terrible things that would happen under the new king.
And then down in verses 18 through 20, after he's given them this list, He said, This is 1 Samuel 8, verses 18 through 20, if you're taking notes.
And ye, that is the children of Israel.
Shall cry out in that day because of your king, which ye shall have chosen you.
And the Lord will not hear you in that day.
Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, Nay, but we will have a king over us.
That we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.
So God let them have King Saul, and Israel paid a price for their rebellion.
And now Judah, in our text, has decided to anoint a king, and we're going to see Why their choice of Jehoahaz as king was not a good one.
Look in verse 31.
Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he began to reign.
And he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
Now, without going any further, we already know that a three-month reign is a bad reign.
It's not going to be successful.
Manasseh ruled 55 years.
Josiah ruled 31 years.
And now Josiah's son rules for three months.
And it says in that verse, and his mother's name was Hamatal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libna.
Now, the Jeremiah who wrote the book of Jeremiah was of the priests of Anatoth.
So, this is likely not the same Jeremiah, and we've been over that before. several months ago, I believe.
Look down in verse thirty-two and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.
And what a pity that was.
His father, Josiah, was such a good king.
And sadly enough, that o doesn't always mean the son will be a good son.
Can you imagine what Josiah would have endured had he lived to see his son be an evil king?
Now, unless these kings were taken captive and imprisoned, they served until they died.
So that's how it was determined the length of their reign on the throne.
Was how long they lived.
So it was a lifetime appointment in most cases.
But Jehoahaz Threw off all that his father tried to do to restore Judah and Israel And if you look at the words, and we've looked at these words because they've been unfortunately said of many kings of Israel and Judah, he did evil in the sight of the Lord.
Now, here's what is even, that's bad enough, but here's what's even worse: the people who anointed him didn't think he did evil.
They didn't do evil in his sight.
They thought what he did was good.
They probably thought what Josiah did was evil, even though he did good.
And it seems that If I may make this inference, that Jehoahaz saw his father as some kind of religious zealot over the top.
He listened to the people of Judah.
After all, Jehoahaz had to be popular among the people for them to anoint him to reign over them.
Politics is generally a popularity contest.
We have a constable in our county And if you're not familiar with what a constable is, they're in Texas, they're law enforcement officers who generally serve civil process.
If you have a tax warrant or perhaps a divorce decree or whatever it is, there are all sorts of civil papers. and a constable often serves those.
If you haven't paid your rent and your landlord says you've been given enough chances, you're now evicted, and the constable will come and enforce that eviction.
So, but we have a constable in our county, and he's a friend of mine.
He's a Christian, and he's been a constable for five terms.
And every year, he puts out a sign at a major intersection in his precinct.
And when you come to the traffic light and you stop at that intersection.
You're looking at and I mean it is a larger than life sign of the face of Randy Parks saying, have a safe holiday season from Randy Parks or something like that.
And most of the people who see that sign don't really know Randy like I do.
But when it comes time to vote, I can promise you they're going to remember that sign.
They're going to remember that name.
And it is often what influences them to check the box by his name on the ballot.
In fact, there are People who specialize in consulting for political campaigns They know all the ins and outs of where to place the signs and what words to put on them and when to release dirty information about the opponent.
And all of that.
It's really nefarious, is what it is, but people make a living doing that.
We don't know what method Jehovah has used to gain popularity in Judah.
But it very well may have been that he relied upon the name recognition of his father.
I'm the son of the king.
And that's too bad.
But God always has a purpose in these things, and He does here as well.
And we'll perhaps see that emerge from our study as we continue.
Look in verse 33.
And Pharaoh Nico put him in bands.
In Riblah, in the land of Hamath, and bans, though that's imprisonment.
He didn't put him in a marching band or multiple marching bands.
He put him in handcuffs in prison.
So, from the king of Judah.
To now, the prisoner of Egypt.
And in fact, the word bands is also translated as the word prison.
In the Old Testament.
And it has the meaning of hitching one thing to another When a person is in prison, he is hitched to that prison.
He's not free to unhitch himself.
And only the ruling authority figure who put him there can unhitch him.
So if a judge says, A person has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
And if in a fantasy world we had truth in sentencing, which we don't, where you get 20 years, you do 20 years.
If you misbehave, you do longer.
No, we do it the other way.
We give good time and credit and all of that.
But unless there is an authority figure who allows that person who's been sentenced to prison to no longer go to prison, then he has to go.
And that's pretty complicated in our country, unfortunately.
But the authority figure may be righteous or unrighteous, like Pharaoh Nico.
Now if you stop and think about this, Pharaoh Nico, a Gentile Pharaoh over an enemy country.
Has the authority to release a Jewish king from his own prison.
Shouldn't be that way.
But this is what happens when a country turns its back on God.
And we've learned in God's Word.
That he will use even unrighteous rulers to accomplish his purpose.
Jehoahaz was put in bands, looked at back in your text, that he might not reign in Jerusalem.
Now this is normal for a king who's been conquered.
Some kings are killed, and that's the end of their reign.
But others are imprisoned by their enemies.
Josiah was killed by Pharaoh Necho.
His son was imprisoned by Pharaoh Necho.
So whether by death or imprisonment, neither king sat any longer on the throne of Judah.
And look back in the text, it says this about Pharaoh Nico, and put the land to a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
So, to add insult to injury, Pharaoh Nico not only killed Josiah.
He not only imprisoned Jehoahaz, but he also levied a fine upon Judah.
And the word tribute here is a fine.
And you'll see it used in other ways in the Bible, but it has to do with money that's given.
And in this case, it's a fine.
In fact, There are two times this Hebrew word is used in the Old Testament, and the other time it's translated as the word punishment.
And it's in Proverbs 19:19.
Proverbs 19:19: A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment.
For if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.
And Brother Fulton will be teaching on that verse when we get to it during one of our Wednesday night lessons in the Proverbs.
And by the way, if you're missing out on the Wednesday night lesson, Listen closely.
You're missing out on something that's better than Brookshire's fried chicken.
Now you let that sink in for just a minute.
On Wednesday night, we have a midweek prayer time, and then we have a spiritual meal.
That nourishes us and encourages us.
And I strongly recommend you attend it, whether you come in person or you watch online.
Or, you know, if you have to work, you catch it later.
We have the recorded version available on Facebook.
My wife and I come 62 miles one way for it.
And half the time I have to go to work as soon as I get home from it and work all night.
But I'm going to tell you something, it's worth it.
Now in our study, Pharaoh Nico has captured Judah's king.
He's fined her people, and things are going downhill fast.
I'm sure when the people said we want Josiah, or excuse me, Jehoahaz is our king, they didn't think this is going to cost us a lot of money.
That's what happens when you and you elect a socialist or a dictator wins the 100% of the vote.
That happens every year in North Korea, by the way.
Kim Jong-un gets 100% of the vote.
And a healthy round of applause at that.
And as we learned before, this kind of tribute is punishment, it's a fine.
Now, why would Pharaoh Necho punished Judah by finding them.
Well, their previous king, Josiah, had gone out against him in battle.
Egypt had not counted on having to deal with Judah on their way to fight Assyria.
So to Egypt Judah was this pesky little nation whose king tried to stop them And now, having killed that king and imprisoned his son, Pharaoh Nico is bringing this punishment, this fine, or as the text calls it, this tribute.
Upon Judah.
Look in verse 34.
And Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim, the son of Josiah, king in the room of Josiah his father.
And that phrase in the room of just means in the place of.
It's an archaic expression.
We don't use it anymore, but if you'd like to start using it, I'll understand you.
Now follow this.
Josiah was a king after God's heart.
Jehoahaz was a king after the people's heart.
Eliakim was a king after the heart of the enemy of the people.
And that's exactly how it goes with nations that rebel against God.
When the children of Israel turned their hearts against God, they desired kings after their own heart, kings who would suit their desires.
So God gave the people over to the hands of their enemies.
And then their enemies would decide who reigns over them.
I'd rather have God decide who reigns over me, him.
I like the theocracy.
Israel should have never gotten away from it.
Oh, to try to put a theocracy together nowadays would breed confusion.
People just They just wouldn't do it, wouldn't go for it.
They don't know what it means.
They say, well, we're not going to have some church telling us what to do.
Listen, if we all had God telling us what to do, then we would be willing subjects of the only proper authority that's ever been set up. for people.
All of the others have been governments made of men, and there's always been problems.
When the first colonists came to America, they did so to separate themselves from the religion of the Church of England. and the rule of their king, and probably some other, well, definitely some other things that were negative about that country.
And they went about to establish colonies, such as the Plymouth Colony here in America.
And they did that to create communities where they could express their own religious beliefs and live by them.
And these were largely people who wanted to serve God.
And they wanted to serve Him not like the Church of England said, but according to the dictates of their own conscience.
Not a state-imposed religion.
And as this country grew in geography and in population, it prospered.
God prospered it.
Its first president, George Washington, wanted to ensure religious freedom for the people.
And he himself was said to be an Anglican. a certain denomination.
And he encouraged prayer and fasting.
He himself conducted church services during the French Indian War because of a lack of pastors.
And we've gone to having a president like that, gone from having a president like that, to having one not too long ago who I have no doubt was a Muslim.
One who hated this country and viewed the Bill of Rights as what he called, and I quote, essentially a set of negative liberties.
And during his first campaign, he was walking on the tarmac of an airport holding a book in his hand that said, A Post-America World.
But this man, like Jehoahaz, was popular enough with the voters, whether those voters were dead or alive, I don't know.
To become the President of this country for two terms.
Our country has long ago left God, and rather than desiring godly leaders to lead us, They've desired to have leaders they like, such as Jehoah has.
And one day.
And you're not marking my words, you're marking God's words.
One day, this country's leaders will not be those of the people's choosing.
They will be those of the enemy's choosing, such as Eliakim.
Because this country will fall just like all of the other civilizations and empires in this world.
And it'll be because we've destroyed ourselves from within.
And it says, look back in your text, and turned his name to Jehoiakim.
So Josiah's other son, or one of his other sons, was Eliakim.
And Pharaoh Nico said, I'll put him on the throne.
And I'm going to change his name.
Now, where have we seen this before?
We've seen it in our study of Daniel and the three Hebrew children, or three Hebrew men.
Whose names Nebuchadnezzar changed to glorify his God rather than the Lord God.
Well, we have a little bit different situation here.
We have a name change, but let's look at the meaning of Eliakim's name first, because that was the name his father and mother gave him.
That was his name after he was born to Josiah and his wife.
Eliakim means God sets up or God raises.
God raises.
R-A-I-S-E-S.
Jehoiakim means Jehovah raises up.
Now, those two names aren't much different.
In fact, their meanings are the same.
And at first I thought, well, there goes all the wind out of my sail, because I was thinking This name change would bring glory to the God of Pharaoh Nico, and I would be able to go down the same path as our pastor when we learned about the significance of those name changes.
However, it made me think about how Pharaoh Nico views God.
Jehovah, who are one and the same.
Those are just different names.
Well, number one, he obviously had no fear of God.
Or he never would have fought against Judah.
He would have gone around Judah and said, hey, I don't want anything to do with these people.
These are God's chosen people.
Had he feared God, he never would have captured Judah's king, Jehoahaz.
He never would have killed Josiah.
And had he feared God, he never would have presumed to make Eliakim the king and then change his name to Jehoiakim.
And although those names were changed, their meanings are basically the same.
Although their names were changed, what has not changed is the promise that is contained in the meaning of their names.
The words God raises up is not just a definition.
They are not just a translation from one language to another.
Those words are a promise.
God raises up.
And although Pharaoh Nico gave Eliakim a new name He could not give Judah a new destiny.
That destiny, that future, was in God's hands, no matter how bad it looked to man.
And as badly as Judah was afflicted at this time, as profound as Israel's captivity was.
There still remained a promise for the Israel of God.
And that promise was: God raises up, and it's contained within.
The names of the name of Eliakim and his name that was changed.
The nation of Israel would be After this point, well, beginning at this point, conquered and scattered and afflicted for years.
In fact, never again would Israel enjoy the earthly prosperity they had when God brought them into the Promised Land.
That was as good as it ever got for them.
But the true Israel of God, not just this mass of people Not just this geographical place on the globe, but the true Israel of God, that is, those who believed in the coming or the promise of the coming Messiah.
They would be the recipients of the promise contained in the names Eliakim and Jehoiakim.
God raises up.
Now, how would God raise up Israel?
He told Moses how he would do it in Deuteronomy chapter 18 and verse 15.
Deuteronomy 18 and verse 15, where he said, The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee.
Of thy brethren like unto me, unto him ye shall hearken.
He would raise Israel up by raising a prophet unto them.
And that word prophet there is capitalized, so it is a certain person.
That prophet is the Lord Jesus Christ.
In John chapter 2, the religious Jews who lived in Jesus' days on the earth Asked Jesus for a sign.
Now they went about tempting him at all times.
And in John chapter 2, verse 19.
It says, Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
He was not speaking of the temple Solomon built because they said 40 and 6 years was this temple, and how are you going to do all this?
He was speaking of his body.
Jesus was speaking of the resurrection, of his body.
And because of his resurrection, Those who are in him will also be resurrected or raised up.
We will be raised up.
We, the Israel of God, will receive the promise of the God of Israel, the promise contained in the names Eliakim and Jehoiakim.
So let their name changes remind us of this.
No matter who rules and who reigns over us, no matter what they call us.
No matter how much our enemies afflict us and appear to have the victory, God raises up, and His promise is sure.
Looking back in your text in verse 34, it says, and took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there.
In capturing Jehoahaz, Pharaoh Necho showed his rejection of the ruler Judah chose.
In putting Eliakim on the throne and changing his name to Jehoiakim Pharaoh Nico enforced his choice on Judah.
Now, do you see how that degraded God's choice?
To the people's choice, to now the enemy's choice.
Friends, that's where we're going in this country.
In fact, that's where every nation is going.
He didn't just reject their king.
He forced them to accept a king of his choosing, as we learned earlier.
Jehoahaz goes down in history as an evil, short-lived king who died a prisoner in an enemy land.
Verse 35.
Now, let's see what kind of king Jehoiakim is here.
And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh.
This is exactly the kind of king Pharaoh Nico wanted in Judah.
He wanted a king who would be his puppet.
Jehoiakim was a king who sold out his own nation by giving away their gold and their silver to the king of Egypt.
And this gold and silver was separate from the money, from the tribute that was to be given as a fine.
To Egypt.
And you'll see that as we continue reading this verse: There is no worse ruler of a nation than one who sells out his own people.
On September 6, 2016, the Associated Press, which is a liberal news outlet, wrote the following, and I quote The Obama administration acknowledged late Tuesday that its transfer of $1. 7 billion to Iran earlier this year was made entirely in cash.
We had an administration who sent $1. 7 billion of our tax money to an enemy that would like to wipe us and Israel off the face of the earth.
And the reason given for the donation of our tax dollars to a country that hates us was that our sanctions were working too well, and they were having a hard time over there.
So we kept up with the sanctions, but we sent them money to make up for it.
Our corrupt government decided to send money to appease them, and this is what happens.
When you have a Jehoiakim on the throne or in the White House, another presidential administration Sold missile technology to Communist China, another country that is no friend of the United States.
They like us as much as Egypt likes Judah.
Why would you ever give an enemy nation a military advantage over you?
Because you have a Jehoiakim in the White House.
Back in our text, it says, but he, that is Jehoiakim, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh.
Now the word but here separates the gold and the silver mentioned in the first part of the verse from this fine that was levied.
On the people according to Pharaoh's command back in verse thirty-three.
And this taxation did not come with representation.
Which has historically been a cause for revolution.
And perhaps one day The people in North Korea and Iran and all the other dictatorial nations will rise up against this kind of oppression.
But in Judah's case, they earned.
This is because of their rebellion against God.
They earned every bit of this.
And it says, look back in the text, he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every one according to his taxation, to give it unto Pharaoh Necho.
Now the word, the Hebrew word for exacted, is normally translated in the Bible as either the word oppressors or the word taskmasters.
So this tells us the people didn't just send their tribute money to Jehoiakim by Venmo or Zel.
They were oppressed by the taskmasters who took it from them, probably pried it out of their hands.
And after all, these people now these are the same ones who thought Jehoahaz was a fine idea for a king.
These people worked for their money and now it's taken from them and given to an enemy nation.
You know it's bad enough when our tax dollars are sent to Washington to finance ungodly programs. health care for criminal illegal aliens and all kinds of wasteful activities.
But it's quite another when we find that our tax dollars are being sent to countries that are our enemies. or in some cases to countries that say they are our political allies, but to whom someone in our administration has made promises.
Under the table deals.
Every year, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul comes out with a list of wasteful spending in the United States government.
And it's called the Festivus Report, F-E-S-T-I-V-U-S.
I recommend you read it.
Don't do it right after you eat.
Enjoy the good meal, let it digest, and then you can read it later. because it'll make you want to throw up.
In twenty twenty four, the Department of State spent $3 million.
Get this.
For, quote, girl-centered climate action in Brazil.
We spent.
$2. 1 million for border security in Paraguay, a South American country.
And meanwhile, the people in the United States have endured inflation and stagnant wages and ever-rising food costs.
Ground meat is out of sight now.
I'm going to just eat eggs and beans.
I'm not buying any more ground meat at the prices they have.
And Jehoiakim.
Also known as the swamp, keep selling us out to other nations.
And if you think, well, I'll just withhold my tax dollars in protest, you're fooling yourself.
Because Jehoiakim will exact the silver and the gold of the people of the land.
And in many cases, that money will be given to one like Pharaoh Nico.
And while this is outrageous to us, there's a greater lesson we can learn here.
Before King David died.
He said these words to his son Solomon in 1 Kings 2 and verse 3.
1 Kings 2, verse 3.
He said, And keep the charge of the Lord thy God to walk in his ways.
To keep his statutes and his commandments and his judgments and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest Prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself.
In First Corinthians chapter sixteen, verse two 1 Corinthians 16, verse 2.
The Apostle Paul wrote these words to the Corinthian church: Upon the first day of the week.
Let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
So, the members of the church were to proportionally lay aside their offerings, their tithes, as God had prospered them.
It's the principle of the tithe: 10% of what you have, not 10% of what you have not.
Now, what happens when we disobey God's commandment about tithing, about laying aside that which God hath prospered us?
Malachi 3, verses 7 through 9, as we close.
Malachi 3, verses 7 through 9.
Even from God talking to Israel through this prophet, even from the days of your fathers, ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them.
Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.
But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
Will a man rob God?
Yet ye have robbed me.
But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee?
In other words, how have we robbed you?
In tithes and offerings.
Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
Now the curse under which Judah found themselves fell out like this.
God prospered Judah.
Judah robbed God.
And now, by God's providence, Egypt robs Judah.
If you won't give God what he commands, then don't expect to keep what you've stolen from him.
He will reclaim it.
Be cursed in your finances or be blessed.
Judah chose to be cursed, and they had their wealth exacted from them by their own king who was appointed by the Egyptian Pharaoh.
Father, thank you so much for all who came and for all who may be listening on the Internet or listening later to this recorded version.
We thank you for your word and for how your spirit teaches us.
If we'll just pay attention and accept your word as truth.
The hard parts and the parts that are that cause us just to rejoice.
For Lord, we know that it's all nourishment that we need.
And now, as we go into our next hour, we pray you'd bless the scene, the praying, the preaching.
That the word of God may go forth in great power.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
