Have You Not Sins Of Your Own? (2nd Corinthians 13:5)

Introduction

I’m gonna need to need the young people’s participation here shortly. So you young people be ready because you may need to teach something to the rest of the older folks. Okay. So be ready here in just a second. We’re starting with question. Let this rattle around in your brain a bit, but don’t hurt yourself. The most, or one of the most obscure. Not readily visible. One of the most obscure prophets in the old testament. Just imagine. Now let me tell you who it’s not. Since it’s obscure, it would not be one of the writing prophets. The 16 that are responsible for the last 17 prophetic books of the Old Testament. I know it’d be great if it was seven prophets, 17 books. But a guy named Jeremiah wrote Lamentations, which is one of those 17 books.

So there’s 16 writing prophets. And you all know them by heart, right? Our kids do, and that’s where I need their help. Now, you older folks that know the song, chime in. But our kids know the song. Kids, you ready to go? Yeah, you are. Come on. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua judges. First and second. First and second kings. First and second chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Jonah, Psalms. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Sama Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentation, Ezekiel and Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum Abacadiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. It’s great if you know all the books of the Old Testament. The New Testament song is much easier. But see, you know those 16 Old Testament prophets whose names we sang at the very end of that song.

That’s what I don’t know talking about tonight. So let’s think of some non-writing prophets that might be a little more obscure, but we wouldn’t call Elijah and Elisha obscure. They’re two of the most notable prophets of the Old Testament, though we don’t have a book by their name. How about the fellow who tried to curse Israel? Balaam. Did Balaam come to mind? For anyone? Again, not very obscure, probably, or the prophet that was sent to David in regard to his sin. Nathan. Those names came to mind and perhaps a few others. Maybe this person. Not the Zachariah who wrote the book. But perhaps the one who identified in the New Testament. The blood that would be held accountable to the Jews. The blood from Abel to Zechariah as they persecuted the prophets and opposed God’s way.

Perhaps it is Zachariah the prophet who was the son of Jehoidah the priest, which is really a horrible story of ingratitude that Joash would put to death the son of Jehoida, the one who had mentored him from the time that he was a youth when his grandmother was trying to kill everybody. Not him. Though he is obscure. What about the prophet that anointed Jeroboam to be the first king of Israel in the divided kingdom? What about Ahijah the prophet? Or a prophet that was sent to David like unto Nathan, a seer by the name of Gad, who was sent to him in regard to the census that David ordered. And then one of my favorites is the prophet Hananai, who was sent to King Asa, also called a seer, and I’m not going to talk about the distinction between seer and prophet, but still they’re prophets.

Now we’re getting a little bit more obscure. And this one was probably in your mind, right?

Is that who you thought of? No, I would say if you thought of one, we’ve already talked about. He was a prophet to Jehoshaphat. But I’m not talking about any of them.

And if this came to your mind, you win the prize.

The prophet, who I’m going to vote as the most obscure in the Old Testament, is Oded. And the interesting thing about Oded is he’s not the only Oded in the Old Testament. There was a prophet by the name of Azariah, also sent to King Asa, as Anani was, who had a his father was named Oded. In 2 Chronicles chapter 15 and verse 1, that’s all we know about him. Oded, the father of Azariah. But this is a different Oded. His story is found in 2 Chronicles chapter 28. I want you to turn with me there, and we’re going to be looking at a number of passages in 2 Chronicles chapter 28. And I haven’t seen the lights go on for anybody so far tonight. Yes, Oded was the guy I was thinking about when you started all of this a few minutes ago.

What is the historical situation in the days of Oded the prophet? It is the divided kingdom. You might have guessed that at the end of 2 Chronicles. That is, there’s Israel to the north and Judah to the south, but things have become really dire. Particularly in Israel to the north, not that they’ve ever been really good, but things are even dire in the south, where Ahaz is the king of Judah. Not Ahab, that was a king of Israel to the north, but Ahaz, who was a king of Judah, a descendant of David, who reigned 16 years. Let me tell you about this king, who reigned in the late 700s BC. So we’re talking three centuries, roughly since David had reigned. This man was very wicked. I want you to begin reading with me in chapter 28 and verse 1.

He was 20 years old when he began to reign. And he reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. He did not do right in the sight of the Lord, as David his father had done. But he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He was more like his counterparts to the north. He made molten images for the Baals. Moreover, he burned incense in the valley of Beninem, which might be the place from which we get the New Testament word Gehenna for hell. And burned his sons in fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of Israel. Okay, so Abraham, as Aaron has been teaching us, was not given the land that his descendants would receive, because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full.

So, by implication, when Israel came to the promised land and took it, the iniquity of the people was full. Ahaz was doing that kind of stuff. And it says, he burned incense in the valley of Ben Hinnem and burned his sons in the fire. Now we’re thinking, wait a minute, that sounds like something King Manasseh did, right? Well, King Manasseh is only a couple of generations beyond Ahaz. He’s going to commit the same but likely worse. He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. And then at the end of the story, I want you to go down to verse 16. Ahaz is in a pickle, as we would say. And so instead of turning to God for help, he turns to this growing power to the north, the Assyrians.

Now that’s going to be a tragic decision on more than one front. Now, we see why he does that in verse 19. For the Lord humbled Judah because of Ahaz, king of Israel. For he had brought about a lack of restraint in Judah. And was very unfaithful to the Lord. In verse 22, now in the time of his distress, this same King Ahaz became yet more unfaithful to the Lord. What a terrible epitaph that is. Here’s a very wicked man. In the time of his distress, he’s unfaithful to the Lord, and then becomes even more unfaithful to the Lord. I mean, this is a terrible reign. For a sacrifice, look at this. This is sort of the concluding thought here about Ahaz. For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him.

Now that’s Syria, hold that thought. But he sacrificed to their gods and said, Because the gods of the kings of Aram or Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me. Okay. You didn’t lose to Syria because their gods were powerful, more powerful than your God. You lost to Syria because you were unfaithful to your God. But instead, he, instead of understanding that things have come home to roost because of your evil conduct, he thinks the gods of Syria are stronger than Jehovah. A little history lesson there, perhaps. It says, But they became the downfall of him and all Israel. Dire tidings. Oh, let’s just throw this little nugget in from Isaiah chapter 7. This is the same king. That God comes to and says, Ask for a sign.

And he says, Oh, I’m not going to try. I wouldn’t try the Lord. I wouldn’t test the Lord. Look, when God says to ask for a sign, you ask for a sign. And he says, Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men that you will try the patience of my God as well? And so, despite his wickedness and unfaithfulness, and wouldn’t even ask for a sign when God told him to, he said, I’m going to give you one anyway. And the sign that Ahaz is given is the promise of the birth of Emmanuel, born of a virgin, Isaiah 7 and verse 14. That’s the context. It was to this wicked king that this great prediction in the Old Testament is made.

Well, now you might be starting to clue in that he actually had a good son, which is an amazing thing in and of itself. But his son was Hezekiah, and Hezekiah is going to have to deal with those very Assyrians that he has enlisted for hell. And they’re going to be a real threat, but Hezekiah will shine brilliantly in faith, and Judah will survive a few generations longer before the Babylonians come on the scene. Now all that surrounds the story of Oded. Oded was not sent to Ahaz. Oded was sent to the king of Israel. Pikah. Pikah was a king of Israel. He was the 18th king in Israel. He became king, though he was an officer of Pikahiah. He assassinated Pekahiah to become king. Pikah had an alliance with Rezon, king of Aram or Syria, to the north, and they opposed Ahaz, king of Judah and the south, and they were a serious problem for Ahaz.

And that’s why Ahaz went beyond the Syrians to the Assyrians for support. Now here’s our story in 2 Chronicles chapter 28. What happens in the days of Pikah and Ahaz is that they go into battle against one another, and Pikah wins. There is a great slaughter of those from the tribe of Judah, and captives are taken. But let me just tell you this story doesn’t end well for Pika will be killed by Hoshia, who will be the next king. A lot of assassinations in the kings of Israel to the north. Hoshia will do to him, look, what you do unto others will sometimes be done unto you, but Hoshia kills Pikah just like he had killed Pekahiah. So these are the events that have taken place.

Now I want to read 2 Chronicles chapter 28. Now, one more interesting thought here before I move from the prophets. One thing I want you to notice, it is really interesting. How many prophets in the Old Testament were sent to the northern kingdom? We would think the concentration and focus would be upon the descendants of David, and they did have their prophets. But a lot of the prophets lived in the north and were prophets to the northern tribes. And we can list a number of them, Hosea being one of them. And so this is really interesting to me that so many prophets were sent to the northern tribes of Israel. Now let’s read. 2 Chronicles 28 9 through 15. And the sons of Israel carried away captive of their brethren 200,000 women, sons, and daughters.

And took also a great deal of spoil from them, and they brought the spoil to Samaria. Here you go. Your obscure prophets. But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded. And he went out to meet the army, which came to Samaria and said to them, Behold, because the Lord, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, Ahaz, he has delivered them into your hand, and you have slain them in a rage which has even reached heaven. And now you are proposing to subjugate for yourselves the people of Judah and Jerusalem for male and female slaves. Surely do you not have transgressions of your own against the Lord your God? Now therefore, listen to me. And return the captives whom you captured from your brothers, for the burning anger of the Lord is against you.

And so I want you to notice two phrases in this section. The first is found in verse 10. Do you not have transgressions of your own against the Lord? You’ve only gained this victory because God has allowed it, because he was punishing Judah for her sins. And then he says, Oh, by the way, the Lord’s burning anger is against you. And so then some of the heads of the families arose against those who were coming from the battle and said to them, You must not bring the captives in here. For you are proposing to bring us guilt against the Lord, adding to our sins and our guilt. For our guilt is great, so that his burning anger is against Israel. So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the others and all the assembly.

Then the men who were designated by name arose, took the captives, and they clothed all their naked ones from the spoil, and they gave them clothes and sandals, fed them and gave them drink, anointed them with oil, led all their feeble ones on donkeys, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brothers. And they returned to Samaria. So I want to make three observations about this story, some practical thoughts that I think come from this little story that relates to a not so pretty time in Israel’s history. King Ahaz of Judah, King Pikah of Israel, and a rare military victory for the northern tribes. An attempt to take spoil, to take captives. And God’s prophet intervenes. This is a scriptural lesson tonight.

1. We First Need to Clean Up Our Own House

It has three points. This morning’s had only two. Point number one. They’re very practical point for us is that we first need to clean up our own house. This sort of reminds me of the person who cleans houses for a living. That would be a difficult job. I can’t imagine it. I hate cleaning house. I’ll do it sometimes. I ran in the vacuum for about three minutes today. Three whole minutes. Thankfully, we don’t have much carpet to mow. And so I did a little vacuuming. I’d had the vacuum cleaner was sitting out, so I’m going to put it up. I’m going to vacuum for three minutes. I can’t imagine vacuuming somebody else’s house. And several somebody else’s houses, even if you’re getting paid. And clean their toilets.

But you know if you did that kind of work and you enjoyed it, or at least it’s making a living and you need the money. When you come home, the last thing you want to do is clean your own toils. Or mow your own carpet. I mean, who wants to work all day cleaning other people’s houses and then have to come home and do your house for nothing? Clean your own house. Judah had its sins. And God allowed the message to be sent. Losing to Israel. How disgraceful is that. So Israel said, hey, look it up. Pretty good. A lot of former kings, 17 of them to be exact, did not have this kind of success. There were a few successes along the way, but we win over the house of David.

That’s day. And they were so proud of themselves, I’m sure. And so they slaughtered a lot of people of Judah, their own countrymen, basically a civil war, and took all these captives and they’re met by Oded the prophet, and Oded says, Oh no. You’re not going to add to your sins. What do you mean? Now remember, what had every king in Israel done? Continued in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. Let me tell you, they might have won this war, but they were still worshiping at Dan and Bethel. At those very golden calves that Jeroboam had erected. This was not a sinless people. And as I mentioned, prophets had come to them in regard to their errors. Elijah, Elisha, Amos, Jonah, and Hosea. But here’s the amazing thing to me in this story.

That they listen. That there is still some modicum of respect for the Lord. And that they did what Oded told them to do, but it’s still going to end disastrous anyway. Now here’s an observation I would make about this. So often the problem of people spiritually is not that they lose complete respect for the Lord and His will. It’s not that they become virtual atheists and say, Oh, I don’t believe anymore, and they reject it. It’s just that they do not have enough respect to conform their lives to his will. Perhaps God will tolerate my less than stellar effort. I think Christians think like that sometimes. Well, he’s merciful. I’m going to rely on his mercy. And we’re going to tolerate things in ourselves which we know that God does not approve.

2. We Need to Honestly Assess Ourselves

And it’s not that we stop respecting the Lord altogether. It’s just we don’t want to submit. We don’t want to conform. So here’s the message. It is easy for us to look at the Judas. Oh, they’re glaring transgressions before the Lord. And to clearly see what others are doing. It is a much more difficult thing to see ourselves. So the second observation I would make about this story of Oded speaking to the victors is that we need to honestly assess ourselves. Sometimes when we assess others, it’s pretty simple. I mean, and even in regard to some of our own behavior, I mean, there’s, you know, if we’re intoxicating ourselves, that’s a clear violation of God’s will. We’re forfeiting sobriety. If we’re using words of profanity, and look, profanity is all around us, young people.

We’ve got to make sure our speech is pure. We can’t give in to what we hear everywhere. Let’s demonstrate to the world that we’re different and that we can control what we say with our tongues. Because if you’re able to demonstrate control of your tongue, you are able to control the whole body as well, James says in James chapter 3 and verse 2. Or perhaps it is sexual lust. Those things are clear and obvious, but what about issues of the heart? Selfishness. A preoccupation with what pleases me. There’s not going to be anything more ruinous in your marriage than exalting self. Continue. It’s about what I want. It’s about what I want to do, where I want to go, when I want to do it. No bending.

No sacrificing. My way and the highway. Very common.

No wonder so many marriages end poorly in our times. Not just selfishness, but worldliness. Are you worldly? Well, let’s hold it on. We tore ourselves away from the television. From the recliner. You’re tired. And our nap. Boy, the bed felt good this afternoon. We tore ourselves away for an hour of worship. Surely I’m not worldly. But you know, people could have a lot of motivations for coming here that might not mean that they aren’t in the struggle with worldliness. Perhaps if you don’t come, some family member, hey, where are you? Where have you been? Perhaps Mike is going to give me a phone call. Or send me an email. Or the elders, they’re gonna, they’re gonna check up on me. It’s what my family’s always done.

We’re clockwork, baby. Sunday morning, Sunday night, waiting at that. We’re there. What if your heart’s not really in it? What if you’d rather be somewhere else? Doing something else. A lack of enthusiasm about our participation in spiritual things. The goal must always be Christ in me. Nothing else. Nothing less. Unless indeed you failed the test. That was Paul’s point in 2 Corinthians 13, verses 5 and 6 in those famous passages. Attendance at assemblies alone does not necessarily indicate a lack of worldliness. And you need to honestly assess, where am I? Spiritually.

I mean, where’s the heart of a person? The Lord’s Supper is being served. And the person is on the phone looking at Facebook. The Lord’s Supper is taken. Then the person goes back to looking at Facebook. Don’t believe that it’s never happened. Because remember the guys that are serving the Lord’s Supper? They see things. Now what is that? What does that reflect? Is your heart really? You mean there was no other time to look at Facebook than during the Lord’s Supper? Seriously? And then was talking about the manner in which we’re to partake it this morning from 2 Corinthians chapter 11. Do you think that’s reflective? Of the appropriate manner to observe the supper. Is this a time for texting? You know, the fact that we have our Bibles on our phones is a great tool.

Sometimes if I want to consult the English Standard Version, I mean I can just, I’ve got it right there on my phone. I have the New American Standard, the big book. But sometimes I want to go to the electronic version, the ESV. Wait a minute. There’s a text or two or three. It’s texting me during the assembly. It happens, believe enough. People playing me in words with friends. It’s like, why aren’t you guys at services? I only play with Christians. Maybe they’re in a different time zone. It’s hard sometimes to be real with ourselves about our own sins. And I would say this finally.

3. His Attitude Towards Sin Has Not Changed

That’s a mistake. His character has not changed. His attitude towards sin has not changed, despite the offer of forgiveness that he’s made through the blood of Christ. Petal wasn’t an atheist, nor was a hess. Nor did we have to be in order to be lost.

And not repent. How long will it be? Until 50% or more of those who sit in the pews like this. Think nothing at all about social drinking. How long will it be before growing numbers engage in the use of recreational marijuana? Thinking it’s okay because it’s legal in some places. How long will it be? Before the viewing of pornography is commonplace, and few will make diligent attempts to defeat it. How long will it be? Until watching nudity in movies and hearing expletive after expletive after expletive won’t even prick our consciences anymore. Will we watch Game of Thrones because everybody else does? Because entertainment rules? How long will it be until modesty is hardly given a thought as we choose what we will wear or not wear to engage in outdoor activities?

How long will it be until any and all marriages are condoned by local churches? How long will it be until preaching like this gets a sharper rebuke and gets preachers fired. First Corinthians chapter 9. This is the great apostle Paul. Verse 27.

But I buffet my body and make it my slave. Lest possibly after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. Now, if Paul can say something like that about himself, certainly we need to be considering our behavior. In light of the very real standards of God’s book, he will judge the world in righteousness. Acts 17 and verse 31. Will we avoid the awful and burning anger of the Lord? How are you running the race? Run in such a way that you will win. Are you in the race? Do you think this message is somehow not going to apply to you, that you’re somehow going to escape the final day of judgment? You will not. Are you ready to meet the Lord? Have you come to Him on His terms?

Conclusion

Have you submitted to Jesus as your leader, your Savior? Have you become His disciple? Be baptized into Christ this hour. Let us assist you. If you need to reflect on your life and make changes while there’s time and opportunity, may this lesson encourage you to set your house in order while there’s time and opportunity. Let’s stand and say.