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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. 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 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, 
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. 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 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 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 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 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. 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. 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. 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. Well, in 
conclusion, a few lessons that I think jump out at us from the 
text. 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. 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. 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. 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.