Transcript
We have completed our series on the life of Elijah and we have begun a new series. And I’m going to offer my famous gold star award to anyone who can give me the title of the new series. Of course my gold star is invisible and imaginary but it’s still famous and worth getting. So is there anybody in my audience who can give me the title of our new series?
Well I thought you might not remember it from last time. The title is Jehu drives furiously. You will find the basis for that title in the passage of Scripture we are reading today which is found in 2 Kings chapter 9 verse 14.
Reading 2 Kings chapter 9 verse 14.
So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. Now Joram had been defending Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel against Hazael king of Syria. Then Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which the Syrians had inflicted on him when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.
And Jehu said, “If you are so minded that no one leave or escape from the city to go and tell it in Jezreel.” So Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel for Joram was laid up there. And Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram.
And the watchman stood on the tower in Jezreel and he saw the company of Jehu as he came and said, “I see a company of men.” Joram said, “Take a horseman and send him to meet them and say, ‘Is it peace?’”
So the horseman went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu said, “What have you to do with peace? Turn around and follow me.” And the watchman reported saying, “The messenger went to them but he is not coming back.”
Then he sent out a second horseman who came to them and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu answered, “What have you to do with peace? Turn around and follow me.”
And the watchman reported, “He went up to them and he is not coming back. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi for he drives furiously.”
So Joram said, “Make ready his chariot.” And his chariot was made ready. Then Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out each in his chariot and they went out to meet Jehu and met him on the property of Naboth the Jezreelite.
Now it happened when Joram saw Jehu that he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” So he answered, “What peace as long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft are so many?”
Then Joram turned around and fled and said to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah!”
Now Jehu drew his bow with full strength and shot Joram between his arms and the arrow came out of his heart and he sank down in his chariot.
Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, “Pick him up and throw him into the tract of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember when you and I were riding together behind Ahab his father that the Lord laid this burden upon him. Surely I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons says the Lord and I will repay you in this plot says the Lord. Now therefore take him and throw him on the plot of ground according to the Word of the Lord.”
If you missed the story of Aaron Ralston you may have missed the most amazing story so far in the year 2003. I saw this story reported on television. I read it in the newspaper but to this very moment I find it really hard to take in.
You see twenty-seven-year-old Aaron Ralston is a hiker and a mountain climber. His ordeal began April the twenty-sixth on what was supposed to be a day trip near the Canyonlands National Park in Utah. As he was climbing over a boulder the boulder began to roll and it pinned him and it trapped his arm against the face of the cliff. The boulder weighed approximately eight hundred pounds.
On the third day of being trapped like that Ralston made his first attempt to amputate his right arm but he could not penetrate the skin with the dull pocket knife that he carried. The following day with his food and water running low he did a full dress rehearsal for the amputation. He went through the motions of applying a tourniquet. He laid out bike shorts to absorb the blood. He planned for a quick escape. He worked out how to penetrate the bone with the all-purpose utility knife that he carried with him. Basically he said, “I laid out my surgical table.”
The following day the fifth day he went to work in earnest. First of all he broke the radius bone which attaches the elbow to the thumb. Then he broke the ulna the bone that is on the other side of the forearm. From there said Ralston, “I had my knife out and I went to task.” The whole process took me about an hour. I do not know how I handled it. I felt pain but I coped with it and I moved on.
After a successful amputation of his arm he crawled through a narrow winding canyon and unbelievably he rappelled down a sixty-foot cliff face and then he walked approximately six miles through the southeastern canyon in Utah. On May the first he appeared looking slim and pale before a news conference and in talking to the media he frequently referred to prayer and spirituality. And he said, “I will probably never understand the spiritual aspects of the experience that I had but I will try.” He said, “The power that I felt came from the thoughts and prayers of many people most of whom I will never know.”
And when I hear a story like that I say, “Wow what an absolutely astounding experience.” And also what a marvelous illustration of the basic and simple truth which is this. No matter how much it hurts if we have to do it we can.
And it seems to me this morning that that is a principle that every Christian man and woman ought to understand clearly from the Word of God. And that leads me directly to the title of my message today which is ignore the pain and do it.
Now you’ll probably remember that message but just to make sure let me give you this title again. The title of my message this morning is ignore the pain and do it.
Now I think there is not the slightest question that we have come to a dramatic turning point in the history of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. For the very first time since the first king reigned, for the very first time since then God has appointed a king himself. And that king turns out to be one of the most remarkable and unusual men that you will meet on the pages of the Word of God. And his name was Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi.
And no sooner has Jehu been anointed king by one of the sons of the prophets and no sooner have his fellow military commanders proclaimed their loyalty to him then Jehu gets right to work. And he begins to plot the overthrow of the reigning king in Israel whose name is called both Joram and Jehoram in our passage of Scripture.
Now I want you to know that I have a certain amount of sympathy for king Joram. I mean he had the terrible disadvantage of being the son of the most notorious married couple in the whole Bible because Joram was the son of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. Now Ahab was dead of course but Jezebel was very much alive. And although I’m sure she was getting up in years I am betting that she was still the power behind the throne like she’d always been. And I suspect very strongly that she could manipulate her son Joram as effectively as she manipulated her husband Ahab.
Now of course Joram was no saint but he was not as bad as Ahab and Jezebel. And the Bible says Joram did evil in the sight of the Lord but not like his father and mother. But unfortunately when Joram appears on the pages of Scripture during the illustrious career of Elisha the prophet he appears to us as a weak and shallow and ineffectual king.
And if you put these two men that we’re talking about together I suggest you have a real mismatch. Throwing Joram into the ring with a man like Jehu was a little bit like throwing a tabby cat into the ring with a hungry tiger. Or to put it another way it’s a little like throwing Jay Leno into a ring with Mike Tyson. You want to hide your eyes. You don’t want to see the slaughter that is about to take place.
But unfortunately for Joram God’s time had come. For the simple family of Ahab the chickens had come home to roost. The piper had to be paid. And the judgment of God was about to fall on that wicked family. And the Bible says, “Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows that shall he also reap.”
Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows that shall he also reap.
And there in mind the Christians in my audience this morning of something that’s very important. Even though you can be saved forever from eternal hell by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ for the free gift of everlasting life. Even though your sins can be forgiven so that you have fellowship with God that doesn’t change that verse at all. And if we sow evil, if we sow wickedness, if we sow disobedience to God we can expect to reap trouble, hardship and sorrow. Whatever a man sows that shall he also reap.
So this was not the best of times for king Joram. As a matter of fact Joram was not even in the peak of health. You see there had been a battle at Ramoth Gilead between the Syrians and the Israelites. And Hazael the new king of Syria had attacked Ramoth Gilead trying to take it away from the control of Israel. Apparently his attack had failed but in one thing he had succeeded. Joram had been wounded in the battle. And so Joram is carried in his chariot westward across the Jordan River to the city of Jezreel where he evidently thought he could get the proper kind of medical attention.
But Jehu and the commanders are still at Ramoth Gilead. And as they plot the overthrow of Joram Jehu wants the element of surprise on his side. And so he says to the other commanders, “Let’s not let anybody leave Ramoth Gilead.” He doesn’t want anybody going from Ramoth Gilead to Jezreel to tell Joram what’s unfolding against him.
And because Jehu was the kind of man who never let the grass grow under his feet very thick the next thing we read is that he’s driving a chariot at the head of a company of men headed toward Jezreel. And when I say that he was driving a chariot folks I don’t mean he was just loving the scenery down the road. He was driving as if he was in an old antique race. And you see after a while this group of men that Jehu is leading came within sight of Jezreel.
And a watchman on the watchtower in Jezreel said, “I see a company of men.” So Joram gives an order, “Get a horseman. Send him out and have him ask them, ‘Is it peace?’”
So the next thing you know a horseman rides right out of the city of Jezreel. He comes to the approaching company and he said the king says, “Is it peace?” And Jehu replies, “What have you to do with peace? Turn around and follow me.” And if I may give you a free translation of Jehu’s words it’s something like this. This is not the time for you to be involved with peace. Join my side. Come with me in my attack on Jezreel.
And much to his surprise the watchman on the wall sees what has happened. He expected the messenger to come back with a report and he announces, “The messenger came to them but he’s not coming back.”
Alright says Joram, “Let’s send out another messenger.” Boom another horseback rider goes out. And this horseback rider reaches this company and he says the king says, “Is it peace?” And Jehu replies, “What have you to do with peace? Turn and follow me.”
Now folks I want you to know that these two messengers are my top candidates for the title the smartest horseback riders in the Bible. The smartest horse riders in the Bible. You see they left Jezreel in the service of a king who was about to fall under the judgment of God. They returned to Jezreel on the side of God’s anointed king who was driving forward to victory.
“What have you to do with peace?” says Jehu. “Turn and follow me.”
And listen closely it is true that one of the very best blessings that God can give us in our lives is peace. Peace in our home. Peace in our workplace. Peace in our relationships. Peace in our church. But if we have to ignore evil, if we have to compromise with evil in order to maintain peace then that peace is no longer a blessing from God.
There was a man in Brooklyn one time whose name was Kevin and he went into a court and he requested that the court change his name from Teddy to Feinberg. You will probably recognize that Teddy is an Irish name and Feinberg is a Jewish name. Well the court granted his request. But a year later he’s back in court again and this time he’d like to have his name changed from Feinberg to Garibaldi which is Italian. And the judge was exasperated with this man and he said to him, “Are you trying to make the court look foolish?” And the man replied, “Not at all your honor. My neighborhood keeps changing.”
There was a man who wanted to fit in so he would have an Irish name or a Jewish name or an Italian name depending on what the people around him had.
And isn’t it true that we have a strong temptation to fit in? How easy it is in our home, in our workplaces, even in our churches to kind of go along with the crowd and to ignore whatever might be evil and wrong and displeasing to God.
And my friends if that’s the kind of peace we’re after we should have nothing to do with that kind of peace. We should make sure that we are on the side of God’s anointed king our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Well the watchman on the watchtower is surprised again and he reports, “It went to them but he’s not coming back.” By this time the company of approaching people is nearer and he adds some information. He says, “And the driving is like the driving of Jehu for he drives furiously.”
And another way that we could translate these words is he drives madly.
Quite a few years ago when I was living over in North Dallas one day a teenage friend of mine drove up to the front of my house in a new car. New for him not brand new but it was obviously in highly functional condition. His name was Jesse. I won’t give you his last name because some of you would know this individual if I mention him. And he asked me if I would like to go for a ride with him. And as I recall there were a couple of other teenage boys in the car.
And when I climbed in being led to the slaughter folks I climbed into the car. And if I had known what was going to happen I would have run back into my house and bolted the door. Because I want you to know that Jesse took me on the wildest and most reckless automobile drive that I have ever ever been on. He zipped up and down those streets and around those corners and every minute I expected him to hit something like a telephone pole.
As far as I knew the other guys in the car weren’t saved and I was the preacher you know so I couldn’t exactly like I was the tower and somehow or other even though I scared to death somehow or other I kept my mouth shut and finally Jesse got me back to my home. And when I got out of that car I was the happiest guy in North Dallas. And I would say that Jesse drove furiously though Jesse drove madly. I would even say that Jesse drove crazy crazy crazy.
And obviously Jehu had a reputation for driving his chariot hard but on this occasion he is a man on a mission. The prophet who anointed him king had instructed him to be God’s instrument in judgment against the house of Ahab. And Jehu is ignoring everything else but that as he drives furiously to the completion of his mission.
And you know what I’m flabbergasted. I’m flabbergasted by the way king Joram reacts to this when he hears it’s Jehu of all things. He says get my chariot ready so they get his chariot ready. National haplessly king Ahaziah of Judah was visiting him as he was recuperating so Ahaziah orders up chariot and they start out and they’re going to meet this company led by Jehu.
Guess where they met him folks? They met him on the plot of ground that had once belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. You remember that story. King Ahab had wanted to buy Naboth’s vineyard in that particular place and Naboth refused to sell to Ahab. And Ahab went back to his royal bedroom and pouted and his wife queen Jezebel came in and she says don’t pout I’m freely rendering what she said. She said don’t pout I’ll take care of it. I’ll see that you get Naboth’s vineyard. And sure enough she did. She arranged for Naboth to be accused of blasphemy and he and his sons were killed and then she went back to Ahab and said you know go down and get the vineyard. They caused pictures and that deal.
My friends where Ahab and Jezebel had committed that crime was the place where Joram met Jehu. And I am simply amazed. I am simply amazed at what Joram says here. He is in his chariot apparently more or less alone with Ahaziah and he says to Jehu, “Is it peace Jehu?” Well I guess that was plan A. If it was peace and Jehu says yeah it’s peace. That’s going to have a party of everything’s fine. Well what I want to know is what is plan B. I mean suppose Jehu says no it’s not peace. What’s Joram going to do then? And that’s of course exactly what Jehu does say. He says how can there be any peace as long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft are so many? As long as your mother continues to engage in the immorality of idol worship. As long as she dabbles in the superstitions that are related to idolatry there can’t be any peace.
And I almost see a big old light bulb go on over Joram’s head and Joram says to Ahaziah, “Treachery!”
So Joram turns his chariot around tries to run away but Jehu is too quick for him. And Jehu draws a bow and lets loose with an arrow and it strikes Joram apparently somewhere between the shoulder blades and the point comes out of Joram’s heart and he sinks down into his chariot a dead man.
And then guess what Jehu says? Does Jehu say hooray we’ve won the king is dead and now I am truly the king of Israel? What a marvelous victory? No that is not what Jehu says at all. He turns to his captain Bidkar and he says take his body and throw it out on this tract of land which belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. Because you remember when you and I were riding behind his father Ahab that the Lord laid this burden upon him.
And then amazingly folks amazingly Jehu quotes a prophecy of Elijah that was made years ago. And Elijah had said, “Surely I have seen the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons says the Lord and I will repay you in this tract of land says the Lord.” And Jehu says to Bidkar take his body throw it out on this tract of land according to the Word of the Lord. According to the Word of the Lord.
Surely I have seen the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons says the Lord and I will repay you in this tract of land says the Lord.
Amazing. In this flush moment of his own victory Jehu is totally focused on fulfilling and doing the word of the Lord.
And don’t you see my friend that Jehu had gone to war ignoring the dangers and the risks ignoring the possibility of being wounded of suffering pain because he was totally focused on doing what God by his word had said should be done.
Listen to me. Sometimes we know what God wants us to do don’t we because we know what the Bible says. And you know what we say to ourselves? We say it would be too hard to do that. If I did that I would cause trouble. If I did that it would be painful to me.
But my friends if pain is a part of our obedience to the Word of God the only solution for us is this. Ignore the pain. Ignore the pain and do it. Do the will of God.
Pierre Renoir was one of the great painters of France but in his own age he contracted a serious case of arthritis and his hands were twisted and cramped by arthritis. He had an artist friend by the name of Henri Matisse and Matisse would watch Renoir in those days continuing to paint even though he had only gripped the brush with the tips of his fingers. Even though every stroke of the brush brought a stabbing pain to Renoir.
Finally one day Henri Matisse said to Renoir, “Why do you continue to paint when it causes you that kind of torture?” And here was Renoir’s answer. Renoir said, “The pain passes but the beauty remains. The pain passes but the beauty remains.”
And there is nothing my friends more beautiful in our lives than obedience to the Word of God. And yet sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes it’s even painful. But remember the pain passes but the beauty remains.
Shall we pray? Father whatever the difficulties we each individually may face in doing what you want us to do help us to ignore the difficulties and the potential pain and help us to do the thing that your word tells us to do. We ask in Christ’s name. Amen.