Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel? And there was war between Asa and Basha king of Israel all their days. In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Basha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel in Terzah and reigned 24 years. He did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin.
Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu, the son of Hanani, against Besha, saying, Inasmuch as I lifted you out of the dust and made you ruler over my people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made my people Israel sin to provoke me to anger with their sins, surely I will take away the posterity of Besha and the posterity of his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. The dog shall eat whoever belongs to Baasha and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the fields. Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, what he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Besha rested with his fathers and was buried in Terzah.
Then Elah, his son, reigned in his place. And also the word of the Lord came by the prophet Jehu, the son of Hanani, against Besha and his house, because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands. in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because he killed them. Amen.
Introduction
Well, as I said, the focus here particularly is on two kings of the north, several kings toward the end, Elah, Zimri, Omri, and then Ahab. We'll pick up those three next week, the Lord willing. But I want to look at three things tonight, certainly the reigns of Nadab and Basha, but
Structure of the Narrative
in the first place, the structure of the narrative. And I think we ought to appreciate what's happening in the book of 1 Kings, the division of the kingdom in chapter 12. And then immediately, Jeroboam plunges the northern kingdom into idolatry. In fact, the language here at the end of verse 26, by which he had made Israel sin, he did that by institutionalizing idolatry.
He put worship centers in Dan and in Bethel, and he wanted to prohibit the people of the north from going down to Jerusalem or going to the south, because if he did that, he would lose political control over them. So religion for Jeroboam was a tactic to maintain political control over the persons in the north. As well, he was an idolater. He made those golden calves and he worshipped them along with the people in the north.
So the north starts off badly. And here in chapter 15 and 16, we see that the north continues badly. There's never a good king in the north. There are several in the south, and we will see those.
In fact, we saw one last week in the person of Asa, but it's never that way in the north. It's very unstable versus the stability of Judah. And we see the stability of Judah based on the covenant God made with David in 2 Samuel chapter 7. The temporal judgments that Judah does face are consistent with what we read there in 2 Samuel 7, 14.
God says, if he, the sons of David, commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. So there would be those chastenings, there would be that discipline, there would be that punishment, but God's promise to the house of David, specifically to Judah, that it would stand would indeed remain. And the preservation of Judah, even beyond the Babylonian captivity, is consistent with 2 Samuel 7, 15, and 16. So God promises temporal chastisements, but He also promises to preserve the southern kingdom.
He says in 7, 15, and 16, But my mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you, your throne shall be established forever." So the idea being is that as we move our way through these kings, we will see problems in the south. We saw it under Rehoboam, we see it under Abijah. And there is chastisement and discipline from God for that, but we will never see the utter abandonment of Judah like we will with these northern tribes.
Remember back in chapter 15, if you look specifically at verses 4 and 5, after the statement concerning Abijam, that he did not walk after the Lord, his heart was not like his father David. 15.4 says, Nevertheless, for David's sake, the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, by setting up his son after him, and by establishing Jerusalem. Because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that he had commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. So that is why Judah is stable. That is why Judah would be preserved based on that covenant God made with David.
You see a demonstration of God's goodness in the reign of Esau, a good king who lasted for 41 years. The rest of the kings that we look at here in the north, all of those men cycled through during that one reign of Esau. Again, not perfection in Judah, but stability and something that is absolutely lacking in the northern kingdom. So when we look at this section,
Instability of the Northern Kingdom
we do see the instability of Israel. If you go back to chapter 14, you'll see the prophetic statement concerning that instability. Remember in chapter 14, there is a prophecy concerning Jeroboam and the house of Jeroboam, specifically that Jeroboam would die and that his house would be destroyed, but ultimately this would extend to the northern kingdom. Notice in chapter 14 at verse 14, Now note this language as a reed is shaken in the water.
That could be a good or apt description of this section concerning the northern kings. There is assassination, there is usurpation, there is all sorts of machinations, to use a good old Puritan word, and all of that in fulfillment of what God says here. They are a reed as shaken in the water. Ultimately, God will exile or send the northern tribes out of the land.
Verse 15 continues. He will uproot Israel from this good land which He gave to their fathers and will scatter them beyond the river because they have made their wooden images, provoking the Lord to anger. And He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned and who made Israel sin. So when we get back to our particular context, we see a demonstration of this instability, of the reality that they are indeed a reed shaken in the water.
Assassination and Political Chaos
The assassination here in chapter 15 of Nadab by Bashar. Now Bashar is the first of several individuals in the north who come to power, at least briefly, by killing a king. Now, murder is obviously a sin. The killing of a king regicide is certainly compounding that because it's a public person with God-given authority.
Even Baisha is indicated here as having God-given authority. So to assassinate a king is certainly a wretched thing to do. They experience extreme internal instability throughout their history as the Northern Kingdom. Matthew Henry makes this observation when we come here to consider the north.
He says, We are now to take a view of the miserable state of Israel, while the kingdom of Judah was happy under Asa's good government. During the single reign of Asa, the government of their kingdom was in six or seven different hands. Jeroboam was upon the throne in the beginning of his reign, and Ahab at the end of it. So in other words, their rebellion against the house of David, that sin that Jeroboam plunges them into is being visited upon them by God Most High.
He has prophesied it there in chapter 14 and he brings it to pass here in chapter 15. He will make a prophecy through Jehu to Basha specifically in chapter 16. It will be fulfilled just later in chapter 16. So the idea is very clear and very simple.
You're not to sin and rebel against God. If you do that, you will be visited with consequences and with punishment. Remember that the kings are not measured based on their ability in terms of military or politics or economics. They are measured in terms of their obedience to or their disobedience of the law of God.
Note specifically that Besha had a 24-year reign. That's all summarized in 1605. Now the rest of the Acts of Besha, what he did and his might, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? Absolutely contrary to the way we would consider history.
We want to know about the political achievements. We want to know about the military advance. We want to know about their weapons of warfare and their ability and their savvy. But the author here in Kings wants you to know whether or not they were faithful to Yahweh, because in the final analysis, that's really all that matters.
It's not our accomplishments. It's not what we've done. I'm not saying go out and live on the couch or, you know, just lay on the couch and watch TV because it doesn't matter. But the point is, obedience to God is what matters on behalf of the people of God.
And this covenant community was judged by that particular standard. And I think Matthew Henry is absolutely right. We see the miserable state of Israel. Now, when he says six or seven different hands, it's not because Matthew Henry can't count.
There's a bit of a an issue concerning Omri. Half the people wanted Tibni, half the people wanted Omri. So he lists Tibni there. So depending on how you number the particular kings, it was indeed Omri that was successful.
So it's not that Matthew Henry couldn't count you know, the number of names in this particular chapter, and he says six or seven. So that's the structure. That's where we're at. That's where we're going.
Of course, when Elijah comes on the scene in chapter 17, he's a perennial problem for Ahab, and rightly so, because Ahab was indeed a wretch. And so some of the most, you know, familiar or popular stories in all of the Bible are in those Elijah narratives, and certainly there's a lot of good stuff for us to consider in coming weeks. But
The Reign of Nadab
let's look at the reign of Nadab in chapter 15, verses 25 to 32. The first place we see, again, the details are given in verses 25 and 26. He is the son of Jeroboam, back in chapter 14 at verse 20. When we left off with Jeroboam and we shifted to the south, in chapter 14, verse 20, it says, then Nadab his son reigned in his place.
So again, the narrative shifts from north to south and vice versa. The split kingdom or the divided kingdom means a divided narrative. But there is structure and there is order and there is cohesiveness and the author is indeed weaving together a tightly tightly wound narrative to present this material. And then as well, notice that he's an imitator.
He's not only a son of Jeroboam, but he is an imitator of Jeroboam. Notice in verse 26, he did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin. Now he had a good brother. If you go back to chapter 14, Remember, in chapter 14, verse 1, at that time, Abijah, the son of Jeroboam, became sick.
And then in verse 13, it says, All Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he is the only one of Jeroboam who shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something good toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. So Abijah, son of Jeroboam, the only good thing in that house, died. And this man Nadab takes the throne from his father, and he's similar with his father. Notice, he walked in the way of his father and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin.
So he perpetuated calf worship. He perpetuated idolatry. He perpetuated the same sort of sin that Jeroboam had initiated and institutionalized in this particular northern kingdom. Now, note the description of his reign in verses 27 to 32.
He's not around very long. Now, when it says he reigned two years, it probably doesn't mean two full years. His reign was quite short. Remember Basha, there in verse 27, his official introduction in terms of his kingship doesn't come until verse 33, but we've already met Bashar when we dealt with Asa, because as the narrator is telling us the story of Asa, Bashar was the king of the north at the time that he's reporting, and so we've already met Bashar.
Here we see how he got his start. In verse 27 to 30, he assassinates Nadab. Then Besha, the son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar, this isn't Ahijah the prophet, the Shilonite, this is Ahijah of the house of Issachar, conspired against him and Besha killed him at Gibethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibethon. Now Gibethon was a particular place that had been given to the Levites.
Remember the Levites got particular cities for them to live in and dwell in and function in and whatnot. Well, when Jeroboam imposed his idolatry upon the north, remember that he just started having anybody serve in the priesthood. So the Levites left. So the Levites leave Gibbathon and the Philistines seize it.
And so it's under Philistine control at this particular time, but Nadab is trying to regain it. Nadab is there at Gibbathon trying to take it back from the Philistines because it rightly belongs to the nation of Israel. Well, while he's engaged in that particular endeavor, Basha comes along and kills him in the third year of Asa, king of Judah, and reigned in his place. Now, notice the utter disregard for Nadab.
It's pretty pathetic, isn't it? Bashar comes and assassinates Nadab, and instead of them killing Bashar for his crime, they put him on the throne. I mean, that really shows you something in terms of Nadab. He obviously wasn't the most liked fellow.
Matthew Henry says, and so little interest had he in the affections of his people that his army did not only not avenge his death, but chose his murderer for his successor. So, you know, those are little glimpses that things were not good in terms of Nadab's reign at this particular time. So Besha dispatches Nadab and Besha takes the throne according to verse 28. Now
Destruction of Jeroboam's House
notice the destruction of the house of Jeroboam in verses 29 to 30. We are not to see Besha here with some understanding that he's on a mission from God. This is a particular chapter and a particular section, we'll argue toward the end, that really indicates the sovereignty of God. You know, there's a lot of discussion about God's sovereignty, and typically we put it under the category of the five points of Calvinism, where we talk about you know, Reformed theology in this particular instance concerning the decree or providence, certainly persons that are interested in divine sovereignty vis-a-vis the doctrine of providence ought to be familiar with the Old Testament, because you bump into the sovereignty of God just about every verse.
And this passage demonstrates that. Baasha engaged in regicide. Baasha engaged in political assassination. Baasha did this out of the wickedness of his own heart, and yet this corresponded to God's plan to purge the house of Jeroboam.
Now, this does not excuse Besha, but rather it is the means by which God executes His plan. He uses even the activities of wicked man to accomplish His purposes. Similar to what we saw on Sunday morning with Judah. Judas, rather.
Remember that Jesus says, the Son of Man goes as it is written, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. So Christ goes as it is written. The parallel in Luke's gospel says he goes as it has been determined, and yet Judas is pronounced with a woe. Jesus says it would have been good for that man if he had never been born.
Divine decrees do not remove the responsibility of wicked men. And the reason why we know that Basha didn't see himself as a minister of God's judgment or as a minister of God's vengeance, because in the first place he usurped the throne. He committed political assassination. Secondly, verse 32, there was war between Asa and Basha, king of Israel all their days.
If Basha was a godly man, he wouldn't war against a godly man. Asa was a righteous king that despised idolatry, and so for Basha to engage in warfare with Asa was absolutely wicked. As well, we have the particular comment in verse 34, he did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin. And then the prophecy of Jehu against Basha and his house, which is exactly parallel to the prophecy concerning Jeroboam.
And then finally, in verse 7, God judges Basha for having killed Nadab. And you say, well, that doesn't seem right. God uses one wicked man to put down another wicked man, and then he judges the first wicked man. This is God's sovereignty.
You'll see this in the book of Isaiah. God raised up Assyria to be the chastening ax or sword against the northern kingdom. And once Assyria accomplishes its purposes, then God brings judgment upon Assyria. And for us, we say, well, I just don't understand that.
It's divine sovereignty, human responsibility. All things work according to the counsel of Him who has predetermined them to go in a particular way. But that does not remove second causes. It does not remove the responsibility of man.
Besha's wicked. Besha will be judged. But even in that, Besha is carrying out the will of our God Most High." It truly is an amazing section of Scripture. So the motive by Basha was to reign in his place.
The destruction of the house of Jeroboam was intended by Basha, not again because he saw himself as the agent of divine justice, but it was to eliminate rivals. Basha would kill the entirety of the house of Jeroboam so that there wouldn't be some renegade son that would try to rise up and take the throne. This is very common. When a man was a usurper, when a man was ascending the throne, it was common to eliminate every potential rival.
And if the house of Jeroboam was something of a dynasty for Basha to secure his position on the throne, he would have to eliminate the entire household. He would have to destroy all the sons so that none of them would be the rightful heir to the throne. There was none at that point. So that's why he eliminates the house of Jeroboam.
He doesn't do it because he sees himself on a mission from God. No, he's on a mission for Basha. But notice in verse 29, It says, and it was so when he became king that he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone that breathed until he had destroyed him according to the word of the Lord which he had spoken by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite.
You see, the wicked acts of man even serve the purposes of God. And I suspect this is why people sort of shy away from divine sovereignty, because it almost sounds as if, you know, God's a bit too close to the sorts of evil things that happen in this world. If God isn't close to the sorts of evil things that happen in this world, nothing would ever get accomplished. You see, God's not a surgeon who has sterile instruments in order to accomplish his particular plan.
All he's got is the mess of humanity, and if he doesn't use the wickedness of man to further his particular cause or further his decree, then it will never ever get done. So in this we see the God of absolute unrivaled sovereignty working through this wicked act, this act of treachery, to fulfill biblical prophecy. That's spoken by the prophet in chapter 14. Notice, in verse 30, the reminder is given to us as to why this prophecy was spoken.
Because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he had sinned, and by which he had made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he had provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger. So go back to chapter 14. Chapter 14. This was indeed a prophecy concerning Jeroboam's house.
It was by Ahijah, and we notice specifically verses 10 and 11. Therefore, behold, I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and I will cut off from Jeroboam every male in Israel, bond and free. I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam as one takes away refuse until it is all gone. The dog shall eat whoever belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field, for the Lord has spoken.
And then in verse 14, moreover the Lord will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam. This is the day. So you see, and we'll see it in the prophecy of Jehu in verse 2 of chapter 16, God raised Him up. So we mustn't ever forget that.
Even the most wicked deeds, God is not absent.
God's Sovereignty Over Wicked Acts
God's not sort of God in absentia when bad things happen. And I think people at times get that vibe, or they say, where was God when such and such a thing happened? God is in the heavens doing as He pleases, and God uses even tragedy, God uses even disaster, God uses even wicked men to further His cause on the earth. And some would suggest that just doesn't seem right.
God has a morally sufficient reason for the evil that exists. To advance His cause, He uses some unsavory means. He never commends those unsavory means, but oftentimes judges them in order to advance the cause of God and truth in the earth. And this is indeed a display of that.
Concerning Basha, Matthew Poole says, Basha did this not to fulfill God's will, but his own lusts. In terms of God using Basha to fulfill his will, the Geneva Bible says, so God overruled Basha's ambition and cruelty to fulfill his own counsel and prediction. You see that? Is everybody getting this?
Because this has some major impact on the way we view the world. and the way that we view politics, and the way that we view disaster, and the way that we view the sorts of things that punctuate life in this earth. See, the tendency is to wonder, where is God when bad things happen? Scripture tells us God is always present, no matter what things are happening. And God is working out His purposes.
And we have the promise of Romans 8, 28, that God causes all things to work for good. And I still remain convinced that in Romans 8, 28, Paul's point is not that God causes all good things to work for good, because that's a no-brainer. That's a tautology. Of course good things work for good.
In the context, the Apostle is highlighting God causes all things, meaning bad things, to work for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. If you get a proper understanding of Basha's rebellion, his assassination, his regicide against Nadab, and how it fulfills biblical prophecy, I suggest that ought to promote some encouragement and comfort in your soul, because your God is in the heavens and he does whatever he pleases. He is accomplishing His purposes, He is working out His plan, and at times He uses evil, wicked, unsavory men. But after He uses them, He then judges and punishes them for their vileness and their cruelty.
Davis says concerning this situation, this is basic biblical theology. Again, I think discussions of sovereignty that are devoid of Old Testament are not going to be healthy discussions of sovereignty. You see, we get the abstract, we get the theory, we get the doctrine oftentimes articulated for us in the New Testament. You see it flashed out in day-to-day life in the Old Testament.
You certainly see it as well in the New Testament. I mean, who can watch the life and the ministry of the Apostle Paul in Acts and not conclude that God is sovereign? But when it comes to, you know, day in life, kings and peoples and peace and war and all that sort of thing, if you don't see the conspicuousness of God in these Old Testament passages, you're not reading them properly, because God is all over the place with reference to this. So, Davis says this is basic biblical theology.
Yahweh uses evil men to punish other evil men and later judges the evil instruments He used for their own evil. He does that with Assyria. He does that as well with Babylon. What happens to Babylon?
I mean, this world empire. Remember when Nebuchadnezzar looks at the kingdom that he had built and he's, you know, up there strutting his stuff and exalting in his majesty and his power. Well, God sends him out to live like a beast for several years. But ultimately Babylon falls to Persia.
Cyrus, the king of the east, is the one who comes and topples Babylon. So God raises up Assyria and he puts them down. He raises up Babylon and he puts them down. And in this he is furthering his cause in the earth.
In this he is furthering his covenant people. Well, on the one hand, he is ending the northern tribes. On the other hand, with reference to the southern tribes, he is furthering their cause in the world. There is a summary statement given to us concerning Basha of Nadab in verses 31 and 32.
Now, the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And there was war between Asa and Bashar, king of Israel, all their days." So what we have with Nadab is not a whole lot, not a lot of splendor and pomp in this man, Nadab. I mean, all he is ultimately is the one who gets killed by Bashar. And this statement, again, at the end of verse 32, further underscores that Basha was not in this out of the goodness of his heart.
He was not in this because he saw himself as God's agent of justice and judgment. He continued in warfare against a godly king in the south, a king that was anti-idol. So
The Reign of Baasha
when we come now to the reign of Basha, he's introduced in verses 33 and 34. And in this particular section in Davis's commentary, he has this observation on the tedium of evil. The tedium of evil. Notice in verse 33, "...in the third year of Asa king of Judah, Basha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel and Terzah, and reigned twenty-four years.
He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin." He said if you ever get bored reading the Bible, blame Basha. The tedium of evil, the constant refrain in these summary statements, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. He did evil in the sight of the Lord. He walked in the ways of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.
It's the constant refrain. It is the tedium of evil. It is the continual non-excitingness of those who continue in their depravity and in their wretchedness and in their wickedness. We get to a good man and Elijah, and the narrative gets exciting.
Now, Davis isn't saying the scripture is boring. He is just simply highlighting the repetitious nature of these reports concerning the evil of these particular men. So blame Basha if you get tired of this sort of thing. But this is a condemnation again that he was not an agent acting positively on behalf of God.
But rather, he was a wretch, lawless, wicked, vile, idolatrous, similar to Jeroboam, but God nevertheless used that crooked thing to make a straight path.
The Prophecy of Jehu
Now, notice this prophecy of Jehu in verses 1 to 4. In the first place, who is Jehu? He's not the king in the north that we're going to meet later that's just a thrilling guy. This is the son of Hanani, and obviously Jehu had the gift of prophecy as well.
He comes up again in 2 Chronicles 19.2 and in 2 Chronicles 20, Verse 34, Hanani is the Hanani in 2 Chronicles 16, 7-10, that rebuked Esau, when Esau relied upon Syria instead of upon Yahweh. That was Hanani the seer that spoke to Esau in that regard. So that's the Jehu, son of Hanani, and he receives the word of the Lord. So we see the prophetic word.
That was one of the observations we made. several weeks ago with reference to kings. That prophetic word becomes even more obvious and conspicuous as we move throughout 1 and 2 Kings. That word of the prophet, the word of God coming to the kings, correcting the kings, admonishing the kings, speaking judgment to the kings.
Baasha's Appointment and Accountability
Notice in verse 2, His appointment to kingship by God. So, you know, I see why people struggle with sovereignty. I simply refuse to give it any, you know, merit or warrant, but I would imagine, you know, if you're an Arminian or a Pelagian or you have some defective view of who God is and what sovereignty is and providence and all that sort of thing, verse 2 would probably trouble you in as much as I lifted you out of the dust and made you ruler over my people Israel. And you have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and have made my people Israel's sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins.
You see, God looks at it in terms of reality. By me kings reign, Christ as wisdom in Proverbs 8, 13 says. Romans 13 says. Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities.
Why? There is no authority except from God. even if they get there via assassination, even if they get there via regicide. Now, some would take that and say, well, therefore, or it's okay to commit assassination because it's the will of God. That's not the way to use the doctrine of sovereignty or providence.
We never justify evil or sin. We never justify political assassination because after all, it's ultimately the will of God. If you live that way or you apply your doctrine of sovereignty and providence that way, you are sinning against God. God condemns sin.
God judges sin. God punishes sin. You cannot justify the actions of Judas because it was written and because it was determined. Judas did a wicked thing and he went to his own place according to the book of Acts.
And I guarantee you his own place wasn't a subset of heaven. His own place was hell because of rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ and selling him for chump change. For the price of a servant, Judas betrayed the Lord Christ. So you cannot take the doctrine of providence and say, well, it doesn't matter what I do because ultimately it is the will of God.
That is an abuse of the doctrine of providence. How are we to regulate our lives? Our lives are to be regulated not based on the secret things of God, not based on the decreed will of God, but upon the revealed will of God. We are to do what Scripture says.
We're not to try and peer into the mind of God that has not been revealed to us, but we are to go to the Law and the Testimony, we are to go to the New Testament Scriptures, and we are to regulate our lives by that Word, trusting that all things that befall me are under the control of a sovereign God. So you see, there is an abuse of the doctrine of sovereignty and providence. One is to reject it altogether and say, this can't be true because it sounds like God's too close to sin. But the other is, well, I'm going to go ahead and sin and do whatever it is I want to do because, after all, it is God's will.
Those are abuses of the doctrine. We're supposed to hold the doctrine the way the Scripture sets it forth. God is absolutely sovereign, God is working out His purposes on this earth, and man is absolutely responsible and is duty-bound to obey the law of God. When he disobeys, when he rejects that law of God, God nevertheless uses those things to accomplish His purpose and His will, but He's going to punish that man for having violated His law.
That's what the scripture declares, it is crystal clear in these Old Testament passages. It's crystal clear in the book of Acts. On the day of Pentecost, when Peter is preaching, Peter says, you, by lawless hands, crucified him, and it happened according to the predetermined plan of God. So you see, he upholds divine sovereignty and the culpability or responsibility of those Jerusalem sinners.
We see the situation in Genesis 50, verse 20. What does Joseph say to his brothers? You meant this for evil, but God overruled it for good. We're not supposed to take the Joseph narrative and say, well, everything turned out hunky-dory, so I'm going to take my brother and throw him into a pit.
I'm going to sell him into slavery because God's good. He's going to work it all out for his glory and for his honor. No, you're not supposed to use sovereignty or providence that way. Your marching orders My marching orders is the revealed will of God most high.
But nevertheless, what happens is according to the will of God. John Gill says, and though Basha got the kingdom by treachery and murder, yet the translation of the kingdom to him was according to the appointment of God and by his overruling providence. He is then compared unfavorably to Jeroboam, verse 2b. And then the judgment prophesied in verses 3 to 4.
Now, as I was going through this, I wondered just how dense this Besha was. I mean, how much did he know? I don't know. I don't know that he knew the prophecy of 1 Kings 14, 10 and 11, and verse 14.
I don't know that he knew that when he killed the house of Jeroboam, somebody might have said, you know what, you actually fulfilled the prophecy. I don't know what he knew. But it is intriguing, the very thing spoken against the house of Jeroboam is here now spoken against Bashan. The exact same.
Look at verse 3, "...surely I will take away the posterity of Besha." In chapter 14, it was the posterity of Jeroboam. "...and the posterity of his house. And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. The dog shall eat whoever belongs to Besha, and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the fields." Go back to 14, you see the same thing.
Verse 11, the dog shall eat whoever belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field for the Lord has spoken. What does that mean? They would not be, you know, privy to a decent burial. This was disgraceful in Israel.
It was a bad thing to not be buried. And this idea of dogs eating you and birds eating you indicated that you weren't properly buried. Davis has an interesting comment here on this passage. In verse 4, the dog shall eat whoever belongs to Basha and dies in the city, the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the fields.
He says, hardly a prophetic pleasantry unless you're a dog or a bird. Jehu could not be clearer. You walk in the way of Jeroboam and you meet the end of Jeroboam. You see, Beshah, you may have served unwittingly, as we know, because you were a wretch, to accomplish the will of God in fulfilling biblical prophecy concerning Jeroboam.
But you've duplicated Jeroboam's sins. Do you think that somehow you're going to escape? Do you think that things will be different for you? I mean, isn't this the mindset of a sinner?
Well, I see how it went for them, but, you know, I'll be okay. Well, why do we reason that way? Why do we conclude that this isn't a moral universe, God isn't a just judge, and that all the people who went before us, who died and ended up in hell, I'm going to be different? Why?
Why do we entertain such things other than self-love and self-delusion? Matthew Henry says, those who resemble others in their sins may expect to resemble them in their plagues. And that is precisely what we find in this particular passage.
Summary and Judgment of Baasha
The summary of his reign is given us in verses 5 to 7. 24-year reign is glanced by with this brief statement. Imagine, 24 years. I mean, he had to have done something. You know, I don't think he just laid there.
Well, it might not have been out of line. I mean, this is what what Ayla, his son, does. He drinks himself drunk in the house of Arza. I mean, there's some real winners in the north.
I mean, Zimri is what, seven days? You know, that really isn't commend yourself as somebody to follow after. I mean, these are some pretty pathetic people that have occupied the throne in the Northern Kingdom, right? I mean, Ayla drinks himself drunk in the house of Arza, and Zimri has a seven-day reign.
So, you know, Bayshah doesn't seem to be the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but you would imagine that for 24 years, he would have had to have done something, right? But that's not even indicated. Verse 6, So Basha rested with his fathers. He was buried in Tirzah.
Then Elah, his son, reigned in his place. And from what we learn of Elah, he certainly didn't learn a lot of good lessons in his home, did he? He wasn't tutored by the wisest man on the face of the earth. Then verse 7 seems to be a bit of a repetition.
Some suggested, you know, it's a later edition. I don't think so. I think it reemphasizes, reiterates the prophecy of Jehu, but it adds that dimension concerning God's sovereignty. He raises men up, evil men, to deal with other evil men, and then he judges those evil men for their particular activities.
Notice, the prophetic word came against Beshah, verse 7. Also the word of the Lord came by the prophet Jehu, the son of Hanani, against Basha and his house, because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord, in provoking the anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because he killed them. You see, the scripture does not exonerate Bashar for having done the will of the Lord. The scripture condemns him, and God uses this as a particular reason why the judgment to be visited upon him would come.
It's because he sinned against God. So God raises up Assyria, sends them to the northern kingdom, they do their dirty work, and in Isaiah 10, God judges Assyria. It does the same thing with Babylon and the same thing here with reference to Basha.
Application
Well, in conclusion, a few lessons that I think jump out at us from the text.
The Primacy of God's Word
In the first place, the primacy of God's Word. It is interesting in the midst of wicked, rebellious kings and sinful, confusing times, we still get these words of the Lord. God doesn't abandon His people. And by His people, I don't mean they're all regenerate and they're all justified.
I'm talking about the covenant community, the people of the covenant. He doesn't abandon them. The prophecy in chapter 14 is here fulfilled in chapter 15. That is a conspicuous display of the Word of God.
As well, there is more prophecy in chapter 16. And consider the prophecy of Jehu to Besha. What should have happened? Basha should have said, wow, man, I am really going down the wrong path here.
I should stop and desist and cease from my wickedness and repent and forsake. It's intriguing. When we get to 1 Kings chapter 22 or 21 in that scene with reference to Naboth's vineyard, there is an interesting thing with reference to Ahab. Ahab shows a bit of repentance or, you know, a sign of repentance.
In fact, look there, 1 Kings 21. It's far enough in the future, we'll all forget it anyway by the time we get there, so we're not giving anything away. But Naboth is murdered for his vineyard. Ahab wants to, you know, have a They have a vineyard, right?
He wants to annex his property. He wants to seize the property from Naboth. And of course, Ahab chickens out. So Jezebel, all painted up, ready to hit the town, sends him over there and says, you go take that.
My daddy, the king, would have just taken that from Naboth. Get over there and show yourself a man. So they concoct this whole situation. They go through the whole spiel.
And of course, God condemns Ahab. But notice in verse 25 in 1 Kings 21. There was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel, his wife, stirred him up. Isn't that just a terrible, terrible indictment?
Not only is he a wretch, but his wife had to stir him up. It's his wife that's the power behind the throne. I mean, again, I'm not trying to sound like a mean guy to women or whatnot, but in this particular situation, kings were in charge. It was not the king's wife that sent them into battle.
And that's precisely what we have here. And then notice, he behaved very abominably in following idols according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. So it was when Ahab heard those words that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about mourning. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, See how Ahab has humbled himself before me?
Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring calamity or the calamity in his days. In the days of his son, I will bring the calamity on his house." Now, Ahab wasn't converted. Ahab wasn't genuine in terms of belief on the Lord Jesus Christ. But Ahab, at least in some sense, was struck to the heart at this particular point of condemnation.
And this, you know, surface level, you know, repentance, God says, did you see that Elijah? He humbled himself. I'm going to stay the execution from him and I'm going to put it into the days of his sons. So that indicates to us that God is willing and ready and able, and I speak in the manner of men, willing, ready, and able to receive those who repent." So Basha is getting prophecy fresh out of the mouth of Jehu that is exactly duplicate to what has happened in Jeroboam's case, and he doesn't repent.
He just forsakes it. So the prevalence of the Word of God in the midst of wretched kings and wicked days is a mercy from God. It's when there's no word from the Lord, that's when we ought to really be concerned. But the Word of the Lord is prevalent all throughout this particular section.
The Foolishness of Persisting in Sin
Secondly, the foolish wickedness of Basha. I think we've already banged that nail into the wood. He destroyed the house of Jeroboam, yet walked in the ways of Jeroboam. He executed judgment on the house of Jeroboam, yet failed to reckon with the judgment prophesied by Jehu.
It's an established fact that sinners don't learn very well, do they? There's that scene in the prophet Jeremiah, in Jeremiah chapter 3, when God is dealing with Judah. And he says, you saw what happened in the north. You saw what occurred in the north.
You saw that they violated my covenant. They violated my law. So I gave them a bill of divorce. I sent Assyria in.
Assyria shut them down. Judah, you witnessed this. You observed this. You should have learned from this.
But no, what do you do? You duplicate their sin and you plunge headlong into it. Now that's on a corporate national level to be sure. Besha, however, is an individual, and individuals like Besha continue to not learn the lessons that we're supposed to learn.
God says, repent. God says, believe. God says, do what God says. And if you don't, you are going to reap judgment.
It is that simple. It is that clear. Why is it that we don't get it? Why is it that we continue to exhibit that hard-heartedness and hard-headedness when it comes to God?
This is a lesson that Besha so wonderfully demonstrates.
Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility
Thirdly, we see the sovereignty of God. We've gone through this. I'll just run through it quickly. God spoke through the prophet Ahijah concerning judgment against Jeroboam.
God used the sinful actions of Basha to accomplish his purpose, and God brought judgment upon Basha for having sinned against God. And then, with reference to the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man, again, I don't think there's a better parallel passage than what we saw on Sunday in Matthew 26. I mean, if that's not conspicuous, the Son of Man goes as it is written, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. I mean, brethren, if you ever doubted that sovereignty and responsibility are the same, are both taught in the Bible, just look at Matthew 26, or just look at the miserable life of Basha.
It certainly, I think, is encapsulated well by our confession of faith. In the chapter on providence, the paragraph dealing specifically with providence and sin, it says, The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God so far manifest themselves in His providence, and His determinate counsel extends itself even to the first fall, and all other sinful actions, both of angels and men, and that not by a bare permission, which also He must wisely and powerfully boundeth. and otherwise orders and governs, and a manifold dispensation to his most holy ends. Yet so, as the sinfulness of their acts proceed only from the creatures and not from God, who being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin." And then in conclusion, Matthew Henry, I think, just beautifully summarizes this. Basha seemed to have raised himself by his own treachery and cruelty, yet there was a hand of providence in it.
And this is where I think it does speak comfort to the people of God. You may not ever be able to successfully explain all of this to an Arminian or a Pelagian or a Mormon or a Jehovah's Witness or whoever it is you talk to. But brethren, you ought to be able to derive comfort from this fact that even the most heinous things are not outside the control of God. Do you want to live in a world where bashes run amok?
Do you want to live in a world where, you know, prime ministers or presidents run amok? Do you want to live in a world where things are done apart from God? Or do you want that world to be governed intimately by God? That's the point, and that's where the encouragement and comfort for believers comes.
Not that it will magically make everything go away. That's not what I'm suggesting. But when we know that God does cause all things to work for good to those who love Him and to those who are the called according to His purpose, when we see that even the most heinous things will ultimately be righted by God for His glory and for the good of His people, I think that should afford to us peace and comfort. So, Henry again, "...Batius seemed to have raised himself by his own treachery and cruelty, yet there was a hand of providence in it, to bring about God's counsel concerning Jeroboam's house.
And God's owning his advancement as his act and deed does by no means amount to the patronizing of his ambition and treachery." So you see what he says. Verse 2 does not mean God condones Basha's sin. That is not how you are supposed to interpret this. He says, it is God that puts power into bad men's hands, which he makes to serve his good purposes, notwithstanding the bad use they make of it.
So even the wretched, horrific, terrible things that happen. And I'm not saying we ought to be cold, calloused, and psychologically, you know, wretched to people who are suffering. Well, you know, that's the will of God. No, that's not the way we're supposed to deal with it.
Who better than our Lord Jesus had a view of divine sovereignty and human responsibility, and when He comes to the city of Jerusalem, He laments over her. Brethren, this doctrine of sovereignty also ought not to produce cold, calloused, hard-hearted wretches that say, well, you were just victim to the sovereign plan of God. No, we weep with those who weep. We rejoice with those who rejoice.
The Lord Christ understood sovereignty, understood providence and responsibility, and He lamented over that city that was going to brutally crucify Him. So that's the way that we need to approach these things, in a manner that is consistent with God's Word. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the Bashas and the Nadabs and all the other wicked men that teach us about a righteous and a holy God. We thank you for your graciousness and your mercy to us. We thank you that you have revealed yourself in the scriptures, that you have given us your word, that you've given us a church where we can gather together and read and pray and study together.
God, all these things are mercies from your hand. Help us not to slight them or resist them or reject them, but help us to use them for your glory and for our good. Go with us now and watch over all of our brothers and sisters. There were other sick people we didn't mention.
We mentioned and want to pray for the pregnant ladies, that you'd uphold them and bless these little ones. What a joy it is on the Lord's Day to see so many children, to hear them laughing and to see them running, and God, how we desire to see them saved by your grace and for your glory. We pray these things through Christ our Lord. Amen.