THE FIRST PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
From David to the Captivity
Message Five—The Kings of Israel and Judah
Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 24:18; 25:21; 1 Chron. 1:1; 2 Chron. 3:1; 11:5; 16:12; 39:9
I. There were altogether forty-one kings in the history of Israel; the way in which these forty-one kings had their being, how they behaved, lived, moved, and acted in their daily living, activities, and careers, paints a full picture of how the elect of God could partake of the God-promised and God-given good land and enjoy all its rights that they could become God’s kingdom on the earth usurped by His enemy Satan—2 Kings 24:18. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 2 Kings 24:18, footnote 1)
II. In the divided kingdoms of Judah and Israel are seen the rise and fall of the kings being dependent on their relationship with God, and God’s forbearance, endurance, and righteous judgment toward them—2 Kings 12:3; 14:3-4; 15:3-4; 34-35: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 1, vol. 1; lsn. 11)
A. The history of the kings of Israel: nineteen kings, from Jeroboam to Hoshea, reigned over Israel in the north; the people of Israel, especially the kings, forsook God, turned to the idols, and set up centers of worship other than Jerusalem; that offended God to the uttermost—1 Kings 22:53; 2 Kings 21:7: (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 2 Kings 24:18, footnote 1; Life-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, msg. 12 )
1. The root of the evil of the evil kings, like that of the evil of the people of Israel, was their forsaking the very God as the fountain of living waters and their turning away to the pagan idols as broken cisterns that hold no water—Jer. 2:13; 25:11. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 2 Kings 24:18, footnote 1)
2. The kings of Israel abandoned the God-ordained ground; Jeroboam even set up other worship centers in Bethel and Dan; this action was an abomination in the eyes of the Lord—1 Kings 12:29-30. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, msg. 6)
3. In His love God sent the prophets to the people of Israel to testify to them against their evils, sins, and wickednesses and to help them return to God, but instead of hearing the prophets, the people stiffened their necks—2 Kings 17:13-14. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 2 Kings 17:13 footnote 1)
B. The history of the kings of Judah: there were nineteen kings of Judah from Rehoboam to Zedekiah; eight of the kings were proper, doing what was right in the eyes of Jehovah; they removed the idols made by their fathers, and the high places were taken away; but the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, except in the times of Hezekiah; they never fully returned to the unique place of God’s choice to serve God—2 Kings 12:3; 14:3-4; 15:3-4; 34-35: (Truth Lessons, Lev. 1, vol. 1; lsn. 11)
1. The kings of Judah also kept their belief in the Word of God given by Moses; therefore, regarding their faith they were fundamental; thus the kings of Judah were right in two things: remaining on the proper ground and keeping the fundamental faith in God’s Word—Deut. 12:5-18; 2 Chron. 11:5, 13. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, msg. 8)
2. Attracting to Jerusalem the priests, the Levites, and those from all the tribes who set their hearts to seek Jehovah: (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, msg. 6)
a. The proper ground and the fundamental faith were attractions for a good number of God’s people, especially the priests and the Levites—2 Chron. 11:13-14. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, msg. 6)
b. Those from all the tribes of Israel who set their hearts to seek Jehovah, the God of Israel, came after them to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Jehovah, the God of their fathers—2 Chron. 11:16. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, msg. 6)
c. Not only the priests and Levites but all those who sought Jehovah in other tribes gave up their property and came to the worship center in Jerusalem—15:9. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, msg. 6)
3. Although the kings of Judah stood on the ground of unity chosen by God and kept their belief in the Word of God, their condition did not match their standing—2 Chron. 33:9: (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 2 Chron. 33:9, footnote 1)
a. It is not adequate for us who love God and seek Christ only to stand on the proper ground of the oneness of the church and to keep the fundamental truth—Col. 1:10. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 2 Chron. 16:12, footnote 1)
b. We also need to take care of who we are, how we behave, and how we conduct ourselves, including our interests, our intention, our purpose, our goal, our attitude, and our way of speaking—1 Thes. 2:12; 3 John 4. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 2 Chron. 16:12, footnote 1)
C. When they feared God, their nation prospered, and when they departed from God, their nation declined; whenever God perceived that the kings and the people rebelled against Him and left Him to serve the abominable Gentile idols, He was always kind and enduring; He would send His prophets to warn them in hope of their repentance and return to Himself; it was when the people failed to listen that God’s righteous judgment would come upon them—Deut. 5:29. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 1, vol. 1; lsn. 11)
D. The tragic result of such a pitiful history of the kings among God’s chosen and blessed elect should be a serious warning to us, God’s elect in the New Testament age—2 Kings 24:18, footnote 1. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 2 Kings 24:18, footnote 1)
III. All the kings should have had a thorough realization that they were to be kings who ruled not for their own interest and prosperity but for God’s eternal economy, that God could have a nation on the earth to keep the land of Immanuel (Isa. 8:8) for Christ’s reign and a people for a genealogy to bring Christ to the earth—2 Kings 24:18 footnote 1: (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 2 Kings 24:18, footnote 1)
A. This typifies and signifies how we can partake of the all-inclusive Christ as the portion ordained by God for us and enjoy all the rights in Christ assigned to us by God that we, the people chosen and redeemed by God, can become God’s kingdom in Christ and with Christ on the earth usurped by the evil one, God’s enemy Satan—2 Kings 24:18; 1 Chron. 28:8. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Kings, msg. 23)
B. For this purpose they had to be a Nazarite to take God as their Head, their authority, and submit themselves to Him as His servants, and abandon all the pleasures (wines) of the world; but all the kings failed God in this, including David, the best one among them; thus, they did not fulfill God’s purpose for His economy; rather, they lost their reign in God’s kingdom, which is the top portion of the enjoyment of the good land (the all-inclusive Christ)—2 Kings 24:18; Judg. 13:7. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Kings, msg. 23)
IV. The kings of Judah attained to a position where they could enjoy the good land of Canaan in their kingship; they were kings to enjoy the good land; our pursuing of Christ and our faithfulness to Him determine how much we enjoy Him; to have the highest attainment in pursuing Christ is to reign with Him as kings in His divine life—Phil. 3:13-14; Rom. 5:17b, 21b: (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Chronicles, msg. 8)
A. In the eternal economy of God, the Father has allotted the Son, the all-inclusive Christ typified by the good land, to us as our eternal portion and has transferred us into Him that we may partake of Him—2 Chron. 33:9, footnote 1. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 2 Chron. 33:9, footnote 1)
B. We have been regenerated with a divine, spiritual, heavenly, kingly, and royal life; this life enables us to reign as kings, in practice, to reign in life is to be under the ruling of the divine life—John 3:3-6. (2009 WT, msg. 5; 2013 ITERO-F, msg. 4; Crystallization-Study of the Complete Salvation of God in Romans, msg. 5)
C. To reign in life is to conquer, subdue, and rule over Satan, the world, sin, the flesh, ourselves, all kinds of insubordination, and all the environmental circumstances, the more we receive the abundance of grace, the more we reign in life—John 1:16; Rom. 5:17, 21. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 4)
D. God’s complete salvation is for us to reign in life by the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness—Rom. 5:17, 21. (2013 ITERO-F, msg. 4)
E. We need to learn from the example of the kings of Judah to have a God-man living in all the details of our daily life, a living in which we are crucified in our natural life to live by the divine life within us—Gal. 2:20. (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 2 Chron. 16:12, footnote 1)