YOU and GOD

In As You Like It, Shakespeare wrote these famous lines: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, and every man in his time plays many parts.”

The bard went on to say that every man has seven acts in his life: (1) Infancy, when he is “mewling and puking” in his nurse’s arms: (2) Whining schoolboy with satchel and shining morning face creeping like a snail unwilling to school; (3) Lover, sighing like a furnace with a woeful ballad made to his mistress’ eyebrow; (4) Soldier, full of strange oaths; sudden, quick in quarrel; (5) Justice with round belly, severe eyes, beard of formal cut, wise words; (6) The sixth stage “shifts into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon with spectacles on nose…and big manly voice turning again toward childish treble, pipes; (7) Last scene of all that ends this strange eventful history is second childishness and mere oblivion; sans teeth; sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.”

In this post, the spotlight on the stage of scripture is on Joash, the eighth king of Judah in the succession of kings following the division of the kingdom after Solomon’s death. The years are 835-796 B.C., and the record is in II Chronicles 24 and II Kings 12, where we see Joash’s providential rise, privileged rule, and pathetic ruin.

• Providential rise: After Jehu had Joash’s father, Ahaziah, king of Judah, killed, the evil mother of Athaliah “arose and destroyed all the seed royal.” (II Kings 11:1). But King Joram’s daughter, Jehosheba, sister of Ahaziah, hid the infant son of Ahaziah, sparing him death when the rest of the royal seed was slain. She hid and nursed him in her house until he was six years of age, while Athaliah reigned over the land. Joash had been marked for death but was providentially spared the wicked woman’s evil plot by a caring aunt.

When the child was seven years of age, the godly priest, Jehoiada, colluded with the rulers over hundreds—captains and guards—and entered into a covenant with them to depose Queen Athaliah and anoint Joash as the rightful king of Judah. The daring plot succeeded; the queen, crying “treason, treason,” was slain at the horse gate by the king’s house, and young Joash was installed as king, entering into a covenant with Jehoiada “between all the people, and between the king, that they should be the Lord’s people.” (II Chr. 23:16)

• Privileged rule: His reign of 40 years was summarized in II Chr. 24:2: “And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.” He led in the repairing of the temple, spearheading the collection of the funds and materials with which to accomplish this task: “So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in his state, and strengthened it.” (II Chr. 24:13). God’s house had been in a wretched state of disrepair—dirty and ruinous—in a time when magnificent palaces, theatres, ball-rooms and houses of frivolity were garnished. Jehoiada and Joash responded and left a legacy of respect and reverence for the House of God.

• Pathetic ruin. We are told that in time Jehoiada, the good priest and godly mentor of King Joash, “waxed old and was full of days when he died.” Almost immediately following the burial of Jehoiada, the princes of Judah, making obeisance to the king, persuaded him to pursue a different course: “Then the king hearkened unto them. And they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.” (II Chr. 24:15-19) From there, things went “south” quickly. Zechariah, son of Jehoiada, rebuked the king and his idol-worshipping court and was stoned to death. Before the year’s end, the king of Syria, with a small band, defeated Joash and Judah “because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers.” (II Chr. 24:24) Joash, suffering from an unspecified disease, was slain in his own bed by his own servants, “and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings.”

The life, labors, and last days of this king—spared by God from death as a baby, to live to reign as a child and later as an adult with guidance from a guardian-priest of God—offer many priceless lessons. We cannot live on the faith and obedience of others. As long as Jehoiada was alive, Joash walked the straight and narrow; when this godly guide passed away, at the age of 130, it seems as if the devil’s minions had an easy time in dissuading Joash from continuing the life that pleases God. “To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17) Let us all look, listen and live in the light of the spiritual warfare all around us, and let us ever “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.” (Eph. 6:10)

“Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.” (II Pet. 3:17,18)

Now, don’t let the title discourage you from reading on. I know the word Cabul, which occurs in I Kings 9:13, does not ring a bell with most of us (including myself until recently), but there is an important lesson to be gleaned therefrom. So bear with me please.

The subject of this post is ingratitude. Here are some thoughts on the subject from various sources, just for starters. Shakespeare described ingratitude as a “marble-headed fiend.” He went on: “I hate ingratitude more in a man than lying, vainness, babbling, drunkenness, or any taint of vice, whose strong corruption inhabits our frail blood.” And Shakespeare, in King Lear, made the line famous, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child.”

Another writer says that “a thief may have some streaks of honesty in him, the deadbeat spots of honor, the liar hours when he loves the truth, the libertine occasions when he has impulses to be pure; but there is nothing redemptive in the ingrate.” (Author unknown.)

A wise man said it well: “Trust the ungrateful soul with money—and he will steal it; with honor—and he will betray it; with virtue—and he will violate it; with love—and with hellish alchemy, he will transmute it into lust; with your good name and he will besmirch it.”

Well, speaking of wisdom, that brings me back to the title of this post, Cabul. I would guess that many who read these words will fall into the category in which I found myself. I have read the Bible through many times, including I Kings 9:13. It describes what King Hiram thought about the 20 cities in northern Galilee that King Solomon gifted him with for the incalculable help Hiram had rendered in building the Lord’s temple, followed by Solomon’s own palace. Together, the two grand buildings took 20 years to construct.

Hiram, king of Tyre, had furnished Solomon with cedar and fir trees and gold—as much as he wanted. He also made his navy available to the King of Israel; and Hiram, who loved King David, personally crafted some of the lavers and other furnishings of the elaborate temple. As a “thank you” for this incredible contribution from Hiram, Solomon gave Hiram 20 cities in Galilee.

In time, Hiram paid a visit to survey these cities. Here is what we read about his assessment of the gifts: “And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day.” (I Kings 9:13). I have read that passage with passing interest who knows how many times, never bothering until recently to look up the meaning of Cabul, just assuming it was a particular name that King Hiram assigned to that territory that he had recently received from King Solomon. Most modern translations do not suggest any alternative translation of Cabul, except maybe changing the spelling to Kabul. Looking the word up in a Hebrew lexicon and/or a Hebrew to English dictionary, the meaning of the word is said to be “worthless.” Hiram said plainly that he found these 20 cities to be worthless. Put that statement into the context of the indescribable sum of valuable resources that the King of Tyre had given to Solomon—including as much gold as Solomon requested to overlay all the pillars and trim of the temple and of his dwelling place—and one understands that it was not King Hiram who was ungrateful, but rather King Solomon.

In modern English, I think the following paraphrase of Hiram’s response to Solomon’s gift might be, “What do you mean by giving me these worthless cities? You, Solomon, are nothing but an ingrate. I helped you with whatever you needed or asked for, even personally crafting some of the temple furniture, expecting nothing in return. I did it because I dearly loved your father, and  I wanted to have a part in the building of his dream. But, though I expected nothing in return, you ‘gifted me’ with some good-for-nothing towns in northern Galilee. You should be ashamed of yourself, Solomon.”

King Solomon, the wisest of humanity, had a lapse here when it is shown that, for all the goodness and material assistance that the King of Tyre had granted him in the herculean task of the temple building, Solomon’s thanks was indeed thankless! He gave his friend cities that were, in King Hiram’s view, worth nothing. That is a stunning illustration of ingratitude—on the part of one who had received so much!

We too, children of the King of kings, need to guard against this insidious sin. We marvel that the man who had been given so very much by God, including not only wisdom but wealth and power, could respond with stinginess and a tightly closed fist in showing his appreciation to his benefactor. The sin of ingratitude may have been the seed sin of all the other sins of Solomon—and, quite possibly, his worst!

Yet we are liable to do the same with an ungrateful, grumbling attitude. “When gratitude dies on the altar of a man’s heart, that man is well-nigh hopeless.” (Dr. Bob Jones, Sr.) Be ye thankful. Let us not be guilty of giving that which is Cabul.

“Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.” (2 Cor.9:11)

The Bible says, “Be not deceived. God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Gal.6:7)

Few would argue the validity of the natural law of sowing and reaping. The farmer who does not sow much cannot expect to reap much; the farmer who doesn’t sow anything can expect to reap nothing. The farmer who sows much can hope to reap much. It is, in the natural realm, the law of sowing and reaping.

The same law governs our lives in the spiritual realm. Sow discord and discord you will reap; sow love and love will be produced; sow righteousness and the fruit of righteousness, peace, will be reaped. Sow sin and sin will be reaped.

The Old Testament affords us a striking illustration of the principle of sowing and reaping in the life of King Jehoram, oldest son of King Jehoshaphat.

No one born in Judah contemporaneously with Jehoram enjoyed a brighter prospect for life at birth.

His family was royalty. No educational opportunity known to his peers was denied young Jehoram. His father was a good king and was a godly example for the most part. His grandfather, King Asa, was also a godly king whose ways pleased the Lord. His great, great, great grandfather was King Solomon. Jehoram had been blessed with a goodly heritage.

Educationally, materially, spiritually, socially, and culturally— Jehoram’s advantages were totally out of the reach to most young people of his time. Surely he would follow the example of his father and grandfather and “buy up” these extraordinary advantages.

Sadly, it was not to be. II Chronicles 21:6 gives us God’s evaluation of Jehoram’s life: “And, he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab.” No king in Israel (the northern ten tribes of the divided kingdom) displeased God more than Ahab, and Jehoram—fifth king of Judah, the southern sector of the kingdom, following the post-Solomon division—walked in the ways of wicked Ahab.

We can follow his fall by looking at his Youth, his Adulthood and his “Old Age.”

•  His Youth: An Unhealthy Devotion. 

In II Chronicles 21:2,3 one reads that Jehoshaphat had seven sons including Jehoram. Jehoram was the firstborn, but Jehoshaphat left abundant riches to all of his sons born after the first son, Jehoram. Those gifts were “great gifts of silver, and of gold, and of precious things with fenced cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram; because he was the firstborn.”

But following his father’s death, Jehoram strengthened himself and “slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel.” (II Chr. 21:4) In his youth, this firstborn son of the king got everything he wanted, but it would seem he got nothing of what he really needed. He apparently was spoiled to the core as his selfish, wicked acts of murder would suggest. He was a young king whose sails for life were set early—against truth, humility, gratitude, honesty, morality, and against God.

•  His Adulthood: An Unholy Decision.

Jehoram was 32 years of age when he ascended to the throne. His life was set on a collision course when he took the daughter of the wicked King Ahab for his wife. (II Chr. 21:6) The Bible promptly states, right after it tells us of Jehoram’s unbiblical alliance through marriage with Ahab’s daughter, that “he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord.” (II Chr. 21:6) No doubt the murders of his six brothers had the blessings of the family of Ahab.

God had plainly warned against unholy unions with unbelievers in marriage. (Deut. 7:1-4) Samson, a judge of Israel, ignored God’s warning—and his parent’s pleading—and got one of the Philistines’ daughters. Along with her, he got more grief than he could have imagined. “A mistake made here (in marriage) is a mistake for life. One can remove a partner from sight, but not from the soul.”

•  His “Old Age”: An Unheeded Warning.

Jehoram’s pitiful plight is outlined in II Chr. 21:8-17. He waged war unnecessarily with the Edomites. He built shrines of idolatry in the high mountains of Judah and compelled his subjects to worship at these places rather than in Jerusalem. For these transgressions and the murders of his brothers who were “better than thyself,” God sent Elijah to tell Jehoram that he would send a plague to his people, to his children, his wives, and all of his goods. (II Chr. 21:14) Besides that, God was going to smite Jehoram with a sickness, so that his bowels would “fall out by reason of the sickness day by day.”

But, before dying his slow death, God stirred up the Philistines and the Arabians, who came up against Jehoram and Judah and “brake into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king’s house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.” (II Chr. 21:16,17)

Jehoram’s “old age” came early. He was made king at the age of 32, and by the time he was 40, death by disease had claimed his life. His biography is sadly summarized by the chronicler: “Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being desired.” (II Chr. 21:20)

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31)

Editor’s Note: If you are keeping track of this series on the Old Testament Kings, you will find the installment on King Asa in the September 26, 2023, edition of this blog, appearing under the title “Good Starter, Good Finisher.” To find it, click here, or click “read in browser” at the end of any of these “You and God” blog posts. When you do, you will find the text of the post repeated. Scroll all the way to the end of that text and keep scrolling, and you will find a complete archive of all my 450 posts by month and year. The Asa post is in September 2023. Or, if you prefer, simply email me and request that I forward you a copy of the post.

Remember that chorus some of you used to sing at camp or in youth meetings: “Safe am I, safe am I, in the hollow of His hand; sheltered o’er, sheltered o’er, with His love forevermore. No ill can harm me, no foe alarm me, for He keeps both day and night. Safe am I, safe am I, in the hollow of His hands.” Boy, they just don’t make choruses like that anymore!

But, that is so true! No ill can harm me, no foe alarm me! Eighteenth-century cleric and hymn writer Augustus Toplady put it this way: “A sovereign Protector I have, unseen, yet forever at hand.”

“When actor Jimmy Stewart left Hollywood to become an Air Force pilot following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, his father gave him a copy of Psalm 91 to carry with him as he flew bombing missions. According to the Jimmy Stewart Museum, the actor said, ‘What a promise for an airman. I placed in His hands the squadron I would be leading. And, as the psalmist promised, I felt myself borne up.’ Stewart was referring, of course to Ps. 91:1,2: ‘In their hands (the angels) shall bear you up.’” (copied)

One scribe confessed that there comes, at times, weariness and maybe a temptation to doubt or fear life’s bombardments, but “there comes the blessed assurance that Jesus lives within, the Holy Spirit is our companion, and the Father watches over us. That is safety and security; and we say, with the Scotsman, ‘Who ever heard of anybody drowning with his head that high above water!’”

God, said one wise person, is able to spare us from the furnace: but if not, He will join us in it. Whether He spare or share, He will be there!

A family was once camping in a park in British Columbia. Their seven-year-old son was playing nearby; but after a while, one of the parents, not able to hear the boy, went looking for him to no avail. An intense search ensued and, when the lad was located by the Canadian Mounted police, eight miles from the campsite, it was reported that he had ridden his toy truck into a swiftly flowing river. The trip, thoroughly enjoyed by the youngster, lasted two hours until he finally was lodged onto something in the river. The police reported that the youngster was “very excited.” We, too, find ourselves at times on wild rides in life’s currents. When those times come, that wonderful promise will help get us through: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.” (Isa. 43:2)

If you are a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ, then you are as safe as you need to be—as safe as you can be—not only physically but, more importantly, spiritually.

Nineteenth-century world-renowned evangelist D.L. Moody said, “It is a great thing to be an heir of glory. It is a great thing to have your life guarded by the Son of God and to have His angels encamping round about you.”

Ira Sankey, a composer associated with Moody, wrote the song “A Shelter in the Time of Storm.” It begins, “The Lord’s our Rock in Him we hide, a shelter in the time of storm; secure whatever ill betide, a shelter in the time of storm.” That truth is based upon scriptural declarations such as Ps.61:3: “For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.” The safest place in the world is the center of God’s will for His own. He truly is “A shade by day, defense by night—a shelter in the time of storm.”

James McConkey, author and teacher, shares the following illustration of God’s loving watch-care and protective grace over us: “A beautiful lesson comes to us from Proverbs 30:26. ‘The conies are a feeble folk, yet they make their houses in the rocks.’ The coney is a weak, timid little animal like our rabbit or hare. He has no means of defense in himself, so when his foes, the vulture or eagle, come in sight the coney does not turn at bay and do all he can to defend himself ere he flees. If he did he would be torn to pieces in an instant by a fierce enemy of the air. Nay, the coney has learned a wiser course than this. He knows he is a ‘feeble folk,’ so he rushes straight to the rocks without attempting any defense whatever in his own strength, which is but weakness. Likewise is it with us. Our only course is to learn the coney lesson; to fly straight to our Rock, Christ Jesus, in prayer, and to trust the Rock to keep us.” (copied)

So, yes, “Safe am I; safe am I, in the hollow of His hand.” If you ever did learn that chorus, with its catchy tune, I can almost guarantee you that you’ll be humming it to yourself throughout the rest of your day. By the way, I just paused to look it up in a hymnal that I have at hand. Maildred Leightner Dillon wrote it in 1938; but its truth is timeless. And, I just “googled” “Safe Am I” and found a beautiful rendition of this chorus on YouTube by the “Daybreak Quartet.” Try it, you’ll like it. (Not a commercial, but a great encouragement!) Yes, “He keeps both day and night!” Be safe!

“For Thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for Thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.” (Psalm 31:3)

“And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” (Rev. 5:10)

In the Old Testament books of Kings and Chronicles, the lives of more than 40 kings were divinely sketched for us and included as part of God’s permanent record. Paul suggests that these Old Testament passages afford us examples from which we should learn. Good kings are to be studied for their goodness, and those characteristics which made them good should be mimicked. Bad kings should be studied for their badness, and that which made them bad should be avoided in the lives of those who are said to be “kings and priests” unto our God.

In this installment, the subject of our study is the eighth king of Israel.

He was an unfit king. Of few men in history, Biblical or secular, can it be said that not one good thing is known of them. Most men who leave marred records have some goodness that commends them. Few are so diabolical, so depraved that no bright spot illumines the total story of their lives. But of such a man we are about to speak. From the beginning of his reign to the last day of his life, his was a wretched record. Like other infamous names—Haman, Judas, Mussolini, Hitler—his name is spoken with distaste.

But we should not neglect to pause and review his life, praying as we do that God in His grace will help us to avoid the satanic snares into which he fell.

I introduce to you King Ahab, wicked above all the kings of Israel that preceded him. His wickedness is seen in whom He hunted, heeded, and hated.

• Whom he hunted

→ Ahab was told by Elijah that there would not be dew nor rain for years. Following this prophecy, God instructed Elijah to hide by the brook Cherith, where he was fed by ravens and drank of the brook until it dried up. (I Kings 17:1-7)

As Ahab and the prophet Obadiah were searching for rain, Obadiah came upon Elijah, whereupon Elijah instructed Obadiah to go tell Ahab that he had found Elijah and to tell him where he was. Obadiah at first protested with these words: “As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee.” (I Kings 18:10)

→ Elijah was a man of God who spoke the truth. (I Ki. 17:24) He was also a prophet who fought the Devil and his false prophets. (I Ki. 18:19ff.) Ahab wanted to find Elijah for sinister purposes, hunting him in every nation and kingdom; but the man of God was indestructible—for God was not finished with him yet.

• Whom he heeded (a devilish woman)

→ When Ahab told his wife Jezebel that Elijah had confronted the people and false prophets, slaying 450 of the prophets of Baal, Jezebel vowed to hunt him down and do to Elijah what Elijah had done to the false prophets. The hunt was on, and Elijah, a man of God though yet with feet of clay, “went (ran) for his life,” first a day’s journey, then 40 more days. (I Ki. 19:1ff)

→ Ahab also heeded Jezebel’s advice about wickedly getting possession of his neighbor Naboth’s vineyard. (I Ki. 21:1ff.) The perverse plot ended in the murder of Naboth, and Elijah announced to Ahab, “thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord.” (I Ki. 21:20) The judgment God promised would obliterate the posterity of the wicked king of Israel.

• Whom he hated (I Kings 22)

→ Strangely, Jehoshaphat, a good king of Judah, agreed to team up in battle with Ahab when Syria came up to war against Ahab and Israel. All the false prophets that Ahab had surrounded himself with assured the kings that victory awaited them. Jehoshaphat was not fully convinced, though, and he wanted to hear from one more prophet, some “prophet of the Lord,” maybe a dissenting opinion. Ahab then acquiesced and called for Micaiah to be fetched, telling Jehoshaphat that he hated Micaiah, “for he doth not prophesy good concerning me but evil.” (I Ki. 22:8) Micaiah was brought and, after a dramatic prelude, prophesied the truth that God was not in the plan the two kings had concocted in plotting aggression against Syria. For his honesty and faithfulness to God, Micaiah was assigned by Ahab to prison, where he was to be fed with “bread of affliction.” (I Ki. 22:27)

→ Ahab’s awful end is recorded in the last chapter of I Kings, where one reads that the two kings, deaf to God’s truth, went to battle with a plan to foil the king of Syria; but “a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness.” (I Ki. 22:34) The last chapter of wicked king Ahab’s life is found in just two sentences: “So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armor; according to the word of the Lord which He spake.” (I Ki. 22:37,38)

No national day of mourning was proclaimed to mark and mourn his passing. As a nation, no doubt his subjects breathed a collective sigh of relief. A wicked king had lived, and a wicked king had died. He had contributed nothing noteworthy for historians to record for future generations to remember. He was a despot. He was diabolical. He worked in concert with his equally wicked wife. We who read the story—even yet today—will do well to avoid imitating anything about a man who is known from biblical writ for whom he hunted, for whom he heeded, and for whom he hated.

“And Ahab . . . did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. And it came to pass . . . that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.” (I Ki. 16:30,31)

(A few weeks ago, I mentioned in the post “59 and Counting” that my sister was involved in a terrible automobile crash on her way to our wedding in 1965. I was surprised to learn that my “children,” now in their 50’s, had never heard of that incident. So I am going to let my sister tell it in her own words. It is, truly, an amazing story of God’s protection):

“Trusting in our loving Heavenly Father, on a hot Saturday afternoon in August, 1965, my sister Nancy and I left my home in Denver, Colorado, in a 1963 VW, heading for Iowa to attend a family wedding. This trip usually took about sixteen hours. A few friends had gathered around the car, and we prayed together for God’s care over us. Our assistant pastor good-naturedly quipped, ‘Don’t let the wind blow this Volkswagen off the road.’ And, since there was no air conditioning in the vehicle, our plan was to drive all night when it would not be so hot. Traveling with us were our three children: Nancy’s son Mark, 9, and my sons, Kerry and Kevin, aged 10 and 9. We had no television, so we were unaware of the weather reports.

Midway across Kansas, in the middle of the night, we encountered rain so heavy that we stopped along the road beside a business where a security light shined brightly above us like a guardian. Moments after we stopped, the light began going off and on again. It did not occur to us that the storm could be causing the interference with the electrical service. Fearful that our presence there was an offense to someone inside, Nancy drove on into the storm, though it was raining so hard we could barely see.

About ten minutes after we left the security light, our Volkswagen was caught by a gust of wind (official reports claimed that the winds gusted up to 85 miles per hour). The small car with its five occupants went end over end three times and rolled over twice, coming to a stop at the bottom of a ravine. It was back on its wheels, lights still on. It looked like a piece of foil paper that had been crushed in someone’s hand, headliner hanging loose, and the key broken off in the ignition.

I was thrown out of the passenger door, clear of the vehicle’s path. When I realized that I was lying on the ground in the rain, I stood up and began walking toward the car lights, about 80 feet away. As I began to walk, I stumbled over Kerry. I pulled him to his feet. He seemed to awaken. He had been thrown out from the rear window, and I believe that he was asleep and had simply slept through the wild ride. What a blessed relief—that he seemed to be unharmed. I breathed a sincere thank you to my heavenly Father.

As I neared the car, I heard Nancy screaming, still seated in the driver’s seat, while Mark and Kevin remained in the rear seat. Incredibly, they were all able to get out of their seats and stand up, and we walked up to the road. A passing motorist notified the highway patrol and we soon had help. The officer took my family to the nearby hospital for a check-up while I stayed at the site, flashlight in hand, gathering up clothing and other personal belongings from all over the hillside.

The following morning, the highway patrolman took us to the place where the car had been towed. He told me he had never seen anyone survive such wreckage. Yet there were no injuries. I believe we have guardian angels, and that God uses them to protect us. I believe in answered prayer. The wonderful hymn “Under His Wings” is a beautiful reminder of God’s protection. I have loved this hymn as long as I have known the Lord.

‘Under His wings I am safely abiding. Though the night deepens and tempests are wild. Still I can trust Him; I know He will keep me. He has redeemed me and I am His child. Under His wings, under His wings, who from His love can sever? Under His wings my soul shall abide,

Safely abide forever.’” (As told by Mary Ann Wilson)

(My father picked up Mary Ann, Nancy, and their boys in Goodland, Kansas, and drove them to our home in Ottumwa, Iowa. Mary Ann’s husband was flown by a friend to Seymour, Iowa, where his folks lived, and he and Mary Ann were reunited; they all then traveled the second long leg of their journey to be at our wedding the next Saturday in North Wilkesboro, NC. Mary Ann sang beautifully at our wedding on a hot—no air-conditioning in the church, either!— Saturday night in August. Their pilot friend then flew them back to Denver.)

“He who dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress: my God, in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.” (Ps.91:1-3)

“And hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign with Him on earth.” (Rev. 5:10)

The Old Testament is not a dead book! It is replete with lessons on life and packed full with instructions. Every minute detail recorded for us by God’s Holy Spirit is for us to study and apply. As Paul said in I Cor. 10, whatever happened to those whose lives have been replayed in living color on the Old Testament pages are put into the Word of God for our learning and our admonition.

We have studied David, Solomon, and Rehoboam thus far. It should be noted again that, following the death of King Solomon, the kingdom was rent into a northern division of 10 tribes, most often referred to as Israel, and the southern 2 tribes of Judah and Benjamin, usually referred to simply as Judah. Solomon’s son unwisely chose to follow the counsel of his young peers as to how he should treat his subjects, while rejecting the wisdom of his aged counsellors. This decision resulted in the irreparable split of the northern tribes away from the southern. Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, became the first king of the southern sector; and Jeroboam, nemesis of Solomon, headed up the northern half of the divided kingdom.

It is with Jeroboam’s reign that this installment is concerned. First, one could say that Jeroboam was an enterprising soul. He was called a man of valor, and he proved himself to be industrious and capable of responsibility. In fact, the prophet Ahijah, who appeared to Jeroboam to announce that God was going to give the northern half of the kingdom to him, promised this young man that if he would faithfully keep God’s commandments, “I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.”(I Kings 11:28-40). This was an incredible promise to Jeroboam, son of a widow woman, who was generally considered “suspect” by his peers and was virtually an outcast.

Then, consider the expedience of Jeroboam, as we read of it in I Kings 12:26-30. Jeroboam lacked confidence in himself and in the promises of God. With a jealous heart, fearing his people would return to Jerusalem to worship, he built idolatrous places of “worship” where he had erected two calves, exhorting the people to “behold thy gods,” assuring them that it would be too far for them to return to Jerusalem annually to worship their God, so one calf was set up for worship in Bethel and the other in Dan; and God simply says “this thing became a sin.” Jeroboam did all this because he followed his own devices “in his heart.” (I Kings 12:26) Following one’s own devices most often has a bad outcome, especially when those devices lead us to do what God has forbidden us to do!

Next, note the encounter of Jeroboam at the very place where the young king had built altars to worship false Gods, I Kings 13. The encounter was with a man of God. God’s man, unnamed, prophesied that on this very altar a child who would be born, Josiah, would offer the priests that burn incense, and “men’s bones shall be burned upon thee.” (I Kings 13:2) The encounter continued as the power of God was demonstrated when the king’s hand, having been put forward against the prophet, instantly dried up as the altar was rent and its ashes poured out. Then, when the smitten king begged the prophet to ask God to restore his hand, and the king’s hand was restored, there was an encounter with the power of prayer, I Kings 13:6.

The evil of Jeroboam, whose beginning blossomed beautifully with God’s personal promises to him of greatness, was seen unmasked in I Kings 14, when Jeroboam’s son became sick and the king sent his wife, with cakes, crackers and wine, to ask the prophet Ahijah what the prognosis of his son’s sickness was. When the disguised wife approached the prophet Ahijah, the man of God had an answer ready for her, a message of “heavy tidings.” Because, Ahijah said, God had been so favorable to Jeroboam, giving him half of the kingdom that had been rent from David, and because Jeroboam was “evil above all that were before thee,” (I Kings 14:9) God would take the kingdom from Jeroboam; and when his wife’s feet would enter into the city, the sick child would die. (I Ki.14:12).

Jeroboam’s awful end is recorded in II Chr. 13. Abijah, king of Judah, was raised up to challenge Jeroboam because of his idolatry and gross ingratitude for all that God had blessed him with. Abijah declared that “God Himself is with us,” (II Chr. 13:13) and surely He was—for, after an initial ambush by Jeroboam’s troops, the army of Abijah regathered and re-advanced. When the day was over, 500,000 of Israel’s chosen men had fallen in battle. Jeroboam never recovered. He was under the heel of Abijah and Judah the rest of his days, until finally “the Lord struck him, and he died.” (II Chr. 13:20)

So, the end was piteous for this once-glamorous king of the newly formed federation of the northern half of the kingdom. Jeroboam’s enterprising was promising, but his expedience was dreadful; his encounter with God’s prophet was dramatic but disappointing; his evil was, to its core, godless; his end, juxtaposed against his bright beginning, was tragic and sad.

Learn from the lessons of the life of king Jeroboam. He had so much handed to him, but he allowed it all to slip through his fingers because of his jealous, distrustful, and disobedient heart.

“The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.” (Provs. 10:7)

A week ago, in God’s providences, our church, with some friends and family members, gathered to mark and memorialize the life of Vicki Murray, a lifelong member of Thompson Road Baptist Church in Indianapolis. Many who read this will not have known Vicki, but I think those of you who take the time to read this brief tribute may be blessed and inspired by it.

As retired pastor of TRBC, I still assist in funerals, usually with the eulogies, since older members of the church knew me, as did Vicki, as their pastor for forty years, and as their friend for even longer. Such was the case with Vicki’s family, her father and mother, Frank and Sandra.

The Murrays moved to Indianapolis when Vicki was just about a year old. They were from Big Stone Gap, Virginia; and when some of the coal mines in that area closed down, Frank and Sandra, with many others, moved to cities such as Indianapolis where they could find employment. Frank was hired by RCA and worked there until his retirement. He became a deacon at TRBC, and he and Sandy and Vicki all served their Lord through this local church until their eventual passing: Frank in 2013, Sandy in 2017, and Vicki the 23rd of this month, having just turned 68 years of age.

But, now, about Vicki. She attended Butler University here in the city, receiving both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree, studying elementary education. She was hired by the Indianapolis Public Schools and worked, for most of her career, in School #34, with students in special education—same school, same job, pretty much the same room.

At church, she started out in our kindergarten Sunday School department working with my wife, but gradually moving up to our teen department, assisting one youth pastor after another as a youth worker/counsellor. She loved children and youth. She lived with her parents as a single adult and died, as some might say, an “old maid.” The three Murrays were a team for Christ, totally dedicated to Him through their local Church, always present, always active and involved.

As a person, she always had a warm smile and a positive word of greeting for all. I call it Vicki’s “signature smile.”

One of her best friends wrote, “What I remember about Vicki is her sweet caring ways and her love for the Lord. She was a soul winner.”

There was not a large crowd at her funeral service, so it was noticeable that in one or two pews, about four rows from the front, were maybe eight or nine ladies who were not known to our church family. We would learn that these women were retired teachers who at some time or other had worked with Vicki. Later that afternoon, following the funeral service, we saw this same group of ladies at a local restaurant seated at a large table, with an empty seat in the middle of the group. They requested of the hostess this empty seat for “Miss Vicki.”

Many tributes came in from people who learned of Vicki’s passing, some of which I want to share with you:

“Vicki helped me in so many ways as a new speech therapist at 34. She was the absolute kindest, most thoughtful person on this earth.”

“Vicki was the salt of the earth. She loved teaching and always put others first. Her love of young people was endless, and she performed nothing short of an angel who never gave up. We will long remember your loving of young children and your being willing to help and do anything to be of assistance.”

“I worked with Vicki when I was a special education coach in IPS. She truly loved her students. She was always positive.”

“I loved working with Vicki at School 34. No matter how she was feeling, she always had a smile and positive words. She was wonderful with all the students.”

And, from some of her fellow church members: “Such a kind, sweet spirit. She truly desired for everyone to know her Savior.” And, “Always a light when going to TRBC. One of the nicest people I got to meet.” Also, “I shall miss my dear friend. We spent many years together at church. She was a wonderful witness for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Finally, another wrote, “Vicki and I attended the same church for 48 years!”

And, Dr. Dennis Leatherman, longtime pastor of Mountain Lake Independent Baptist Church in Oakland, Maryland, who early in his ministry was youth pastor at our church, wrote: “ Shortly after my becoming youth pastor my wife and I were approached by Miss Vicki Murray about helping us in the youth program. I readily agreed, and Vicki became our piano player for Teen Sunday School and the midweek Teens Alive program. To say Vicki was a tremendous blessing would be a great understatement. Not only did she play the piano very well, she also helped with food, some counselling, and in various other ways. She had a great burden to reach the lost with the gospel, and was a constant source of encouragement to Kathy and me. Some words that come to mind when I think of Vicki: faithful (always in place), pleasant, kind, happy, encouraging, and I could go on and on. I am thankful that God brought Vicki and her parents into my life. Kathy and I will certainly miss her greatly.”

(Thank you Pastor Leatherman for that fitting tribute!)

Well, there you have it. A brief bio of one of the world’s little-known persons whose story will never make a book or movie, but whose life has touched for good countless thousands of people. Vicki has lived her life well, and her works will follow her.

“One life, ‘twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.” Selah.