Recording:

This is the moment of God's judgment and reckoning! None of Ahab's sons, ministers, priests, or close friends will escape! Oh, the hearts that are infatuated with the world, how many lives have they claimed! Through the message of this chapter, the teacher will show you what kind of end awaits those who love the world.

Questions for reflection:

What are the differences in the state of life between someone who loves the world and someone who does not love the world?

As a Christian, what kind of vision should you have?

Examine your own life. Are there things in this world that you still cling to? How do you think you should adjust your perspective in life?

The End of Those Who Love the World Is Death; The End of Those Who Do Not Love the World Is Life and Peace

2 Kings Chapter 10 truly brings us to the crux of this book. 2 Kings is about Do not love the world. In other words, the end of those who love the world is death; the end of those who do not love the world is life and peace. Why do I say this? Because in this chapter, a person suddenly appears, and this person is Jehonadab. There is no record here of where Jehonadab came from, only a direct record of Jehonadab, the son of Rechab, of the Rechabites. In fact, the Rechabites were a very peculiar clan that did not love the world at all. God did something very miraculous in the family of Jehonadab. When the king of Israel was destroyed, the descendants of Jehonadab moved to Jerusalem and were able to live in peace (see Jeremiah 35:16-19). Do not think that loving the world will have a good end. Loving the world will not have a good end, but not loving the world will have a good end.

I would like to share a concept with you, which is that those who love money do not necessarily have money, and those who do not love money do not necessarily have no money. Moreover, if you rely on the Lord, those who do not love money will really have money; those who love life do not necessarily survive; those who do not cherish their lives but lay them down for the Lord will gain life.

Humans Are Different from Animals; Turn Your Eyes to God

It is not easy to receive such a concept because it is the opposite of our human concepts. There are two types of people: those who choose according to their innate instincts. For example, if a dog is trying to survive, it will make a woof sound when you threaten its survival, right? When a dog is biting a rope, it will bark at you if you try to take that rope. Human instinct comes from animals. If people still do things according to their instincts, they are probably similar to animals. But today, if we strive to come before God, we can have the same vision as God. If your vision is the same as God's, you are powerful. Why is it extraordinary to have the same vision as God? Because God is looking for people who have the same vision as Him.

Why do we constantly study the Bible here? Studying the Bible is to change our vision. If you treat work as important as life, you probably will not live well in this life. Some of you brothers and sisters listen to my sermons over and over again, but at crucial moments, you still make the wrong choices. Why? Because you make choices based on instinct. Human instinctual choices are earthly; choices made after training and molding are heavenly, so heaven must be higher than earth. You must know this.

A Person's Life Cannot Transcend Their Vision

Vision is very important; do not be shortsighted. The family of Jehonadab suddenly emerged when Jehu was king, and then there is no record of them in the Books of Kings. Until the time of Jeremiah, that is, a hundred years after the kingdom of Israel had been destroyed, the descendants of Jehonadab still lived peacefully in Jerusalem. Moreover, not only did they live peacefully in Jerusalem, but after the kingdom of Judah was destroyed, the descendants of this family still lived peacefully in a corner of this world, although we do not know where they are.

But where did those who love the world go? In fact, the person who wrote this chapter in the Bible conceived it this way: Those who love the world are all dead, and those who do not love the world are able to live well. He first wrote about the sons of Ahab, who were killed one by one. This is the end of those who love the world. Then he wrote about those who worshiped Baal, who were killed one by one, interspersed with Jehonadab. Had the sons of Ahab heard about the announcement that Elijah made to this family? They had! But in the end, they were still killed. So what was the problem?

The problem lies in people's vision. A person's life cannot transcend their vision. Some say that the wisdom of a company cannot exceed the wisdom of the chairman of the board. Similarly, a person's life cannot transcend their vision. If a person's vision is very short and very shallow, we Chinese call it shortsighted. If you can only see an inch, then life is miserable. I think people's views are really important. What kind of vision you have will determine what kind of life you will live.

The vision of the family of Jehonadab and the family of Ahab are worlds apart. Even though Ahab had died, his sons were still the same. They thought that what Elijah said was all nonsense. There are still many such people in this generation. The entire Bible declares that those who love the world will surely die, but not many people take this to heart. Even if they watch their loved ones die in pain, their vision still does not change. Maybe they change for a day or two, but after a while, they forget and go back to clinging to the world. In the moment before Ahab's sons were killed, I really wanted to try to understand how they felt and what they were thinking about. I think we should all have this kind of reflection.

Christian Faith: Vision Beyond the Coffin, Seeing Eternal Life

A few days ago, I went to a woodworking factory and saw a brother from another church making a coffin for his pastor. Of course, it was not for his pastor to use, but his pastor was going to carry the coffin to the church to use as a prop to preach to the people in the church. I opened the lid and looked at it. It was just a box, probably like a shipping box. I want to say: People should always think about one thing, which is that I will leave this world in a few years. If I am going to leave this world in a few years, is it worth it for me to be busy in this world now? You should have a choice. Either learn from Jehonadab, who did not acquire property in this world. Don't think that not acquiring property will lead to a miserable life. In fact, you can live very well without acquiring property. There is no need to worry.

Do you believe it? Even today, many people do not have much property, but they can still live very well. A year and a half ago, one of our brothers was facing a job change. At this time, his wife was pregnant, and they both felt like the sky was falling. But looking back, the sky didn't fall, and they are living very well. In fact, we don't need to worry too much about living. Jehonadab is a good example.

If you only look to God's provision in your life, you should all live without any problems. You can live with some worldly things, and you can live without these worldly things, because we have God within us. This is the key to Jehonadab's not loving the world. He commanded his descendants: You must not drink wine. So in the time of Jeremiah, about two hundred years later, God commanded Jeremiah to prepare a feast and asked Jeremiah to say to Jehonadab's descendants: Come and sit at this feast and have a drink. As a result, Jehonadab's descendants said: Our ancestor, Jehonadab the son of Rechab, commanded us not to drink wine, not to plant vineyards, and not to love this world. To this day, we still keep it. God greatly rewarded this family. God said to Jeremiah: Tell this family that Jehonadab's descendants will never lack a man to stand before the Lord. (See Jeremiah 35) This is great grace!

On the other hand, the sons of Ahab were too shortsighted, so shortsighted that they did not even know that death was upon them. Therefore, your vision must be longer. Your vision must go beyond the coffin that you will lie in in the future. If your vision sees eternal life through that coffin, then it is extraordinary. You must know that we Christians believe in Jesus not for this world.

Miracles and Wonders Follow Us

Some might say, Pastor, aren't the things you write on Weibo and WeChat quite worldly? Of course, because that's what we receive from God, and we must write about it. Not because we love those worldly things that we obtain them, but because we love God that we gain these worldly things. Are the miracles and wonders we speak of because we pursue miracles and wonders? No! Miracles and wonders follow us because we love God, pour out our hearts before Him, and build an altar of prayer before Him. That's why miracles and wonders follow us. That's how these things are turned around. If you love God, miracles and wonders will follow you. Won't the little things you need in life also follow you? We will absolutely not lack!

Scripture

2Ki 10:1 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders and to the guardians of Ahab’s children, saying,
2Ki 10:2 “Now then, as soon as this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, and you have chariots and horses and a fortified city,
2Ki 10:3 look around for the best and most suitable of your master’s sons and set him on his father’s throne. Then fight for your master’s house.”
2Ki 10:4 But they were terrified and said, “If two kings could not stand before him, how can we?”
2Ki 10:5 So the palace administrator, the city governor, the elders and the guardians sent this message to Jehu: “We are your servants and will do anything you order us. We will not appoint anyone as king; you do whatever you think best.”
2Ki 10:6 Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side and will obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow.” Now the royal princes, seventy in number, were with the leading men of the city, who were rearing them.
2Ki 10:7 When the letter arrived, these men took the princes and slaughtered all seventy of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel.
2Ki 10:8 When the messenger came and told Jehu, “They have brought the heads of the princes,” he said, “Put them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.”
2Ki 10:9 The next morning Jehu went out and stood before all the people. “You are innocent,” he said. “It was I who conspired against my master and killed him. But who killed all these?
2Ki 10:10 Know then that not a word the Lord has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail. The Lord has done what he promised through his servant Elijah.”
2Ki 10:11 So Jehu struck down all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, as well as all his chief men, his close friends and his priests, leaving him no survivor.
2Ki 10:12 Jehu then set out and went toward Samaria. At Beth Eked of the Shepherds,
2Ki 10:13 he met some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and asked, “Who are you?” They said, “We are relatives of Ahaziah, and we have come down to greet the families of the king and of the queen mother.”
2Ki 10:14 “Take them alive!” he ordered. So they took them alive and slaughtered them by the well of Beth Eked—forty-two men in all. He left none of them alive.
2Ki 10:15 After he left there, he came upon Jehonadab son of Rekab, who was on his way to meet him. Jehu greeted him and said, “Are you in accord with me, as I am with you?” “I am,” Jehonadab answered. “If so,” said Jehu, “give me your hand.” So he did, and Jehu helped him up into the chariot.
2Ki 10:16 Jehu said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.” Then he had him ride along in his chariot.
2Ki 10:17 When Jehu came to Samaria, he killed all who were left there of Ahab’s family; he destroyed them, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken to Elijah.
2Ki 10:18 Then Jehu brought all the people together and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much.
2Ki 10:19 Now summon all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers and all his priests. See that no one is missing, because I am going to hold a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come will no longer live.” But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the worshipers of Baal.
2Ki 10:20 Then Jehu said, “Call an assembly in honor of Baal.” So they proclaimed it.
2Ki 10:21 Jehu sent word throughout Israel, and all the worshipers of Baal came; not one stayed away. They crowded into the temple of Baal until it was full from one end to the other.
2Ki 10:22 Then Jehu ordered the keeper of the wardrobe to bring out robes for all the worshipers of Baal. So he brought out robes for them.
2Ki 10:23 Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab then went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the worshipers of Baal, “Look around carefully and see that no servants of the Lord are here with you—only worshipers of Baal.”
2Ki 10:24 So they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had posted eighty men outside the temple and had warned them, “If one of you lets any of the men I am placing in your hands escape, it will be your life for his life.”
2Ki 10:25 As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers: “Go in and kill them; let no one escape.” So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then went into the inner shrine of the temple of Baal.
2Ki 10:26 They brought the sacred stone out of the temple of Baal and burned it.
2Ki 10:27 They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day.
2Ki 10:28 So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel.
2Ki 10:29 However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
2Ki 10:30 The Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”
2Ki 10:31 Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.
2Ki 10:32 In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael overran all Israelite territory
2Ki 10:33 east of the Jordan, from the Arnon Valley as far as Gilead (the territory of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh), including Aroer.
2Ki 10:34 As for the other events of Jehu’s reign, all he did, and all his power, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
2Ki 10:35 Jehu rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son succeeded him as king.
2Ki 10:36 The length of Jehu’s reign over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.