The result was that Asa heard and took the message to
heart. He felt encouraged to dismantle the systems of false worship that had
sprung up like weeds in the garden of his God. Isreal was a tree that was meant
to bear fruit to God, fruit that would be shared with the nations for their
healing and reconciliation with Israel’s God. In time the corruption of pagan
influences, ruled by demonic principalities, had infiltrated Israel’s worship
and they had turned to polytheism, pantheism, or even animism and astrology.
Asa caused a restoration of true worship, calling back people from Ephraim,
Manasseh and Simeon as well as provoking Benjamin and Judah back to proper
worship when they witnessed that God was with him, 2nd Chronicles 15:9.
Here we
have a good expository example of what the apostle James meant when he wrote: “The
Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously,” James 4:5. No particular
Scripture has ever been attached to this quotation of James. He mentions just
before this quote that “the Scripture says.” It may simply
be that James was making a sweeping reference to the tone of Scripture
regarding how God deals with His children, as in this case. James may simply
have been trying to point out that one of the Bible’s primary themes was the
Holy Spirit’s jealous yearning over His own. It follows on the heels of James
rebuking Christians for coveting friendship with the world and committing
spiritual adultery (idolatry by setting up other gods to replace God’s position
of primacy in our lives). The Holy Spirit used Azariah to inflame Asa to
action; and both men bore fruit in the process.
During Jehoshaphat’s reign a confederacy of enemies came
against Judah to plunder them, and when the people learned of it they turned to
the Lord for deliverance. Jehoshaphat prayed to the Lord and began by
confessing “are you not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of
the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is
able to withstand You?” 2nd Chronicles 20:6. Jehoshaphat was not asking
if these things were true; they were of course rhetorical questions to
highlight a few of the very elementary reasons why Judah should place its
united faith in Yahweh for deliverance from their enemies. The king did not
express doubt in God’s ability to save, nor did he seem to falter about whether
or not the Lord was willing to keep His promises. Indeed, it is written, “if My
people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My
face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will
forgive their sin and heal their land,” 2nd Chronicles 7:14.
We do not know what duration of time elapsed between
Jehoshaphat’s prayer and God’s answer but it must have been brief, for in 2nd
Chronicles 20:14 we read: “Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon
Jahaziel the son of Zechariah.” Jahaziel, moved by the Holy Spirit,
confirmed that the coming battle was God’s and not theirs. They were only to
march out to bear witness to the salvation God alone can and does provide.
Jehoshaphat replied to the people, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of
Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God and you shall be established; believe
His prophets, and you shall prosper,” 2nd Chronicles 20:20. Recognizing
Jahaziel as a prophet, Jehoshaphat praised the Lord and did just as he was
commanded. Only the Holy Spirit can accurately reveal the future to men; this
He did by directing them where to go, and what to do. Jahaziel’s words proved
true, and victory was achieved without any human agency.
As a small side note, we can see something of what John
meant when he penned, “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of
prophecy,” Revelation 19:10. LikeJahaziel, many of the prophets
directed Israel and the nations to look to God for salvation; indeed, they
bluntly told their audiences that only God can provide salvation. God alone is
the Savior. Whether it is physical deliverance from immediate danger or
spiritual redemption from sin’s penalty, God alone can provide the enduring
freedom that every human soul craves. And this He did by becoming a man to
represent man and suffer vicariously (in our place/as a substitute). The Pope
(and many false teachers) claim to be Jesus’ vicar (replacement/substitute on
earth), but Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit was His true and only Vicar;
someone equal to Him, someone omniscient and omnipresent, John 14:16-17, 26;
15:26; 16:13-15. We will touch on this in greater detail later.
After about 405 BC, the Jews were under Greek influence. This was greatly enhanced after Alexander the Great's conquest in 323 BC. By 170 BC, many wealthy Jews were having their circumcisions reversed so they could participate in the Greek games, becoming the Sadducees. Shortly before the birth of Christ, Hillel developed a school of interpretation of scripture, and convinced the Jews to modify the Law so they could compete more effectively with Greek and Roman business. It is interesting that James was written to Jewish Christians warning them not to just go along with the world as the rest of their culture was.
ReplyDeleteI just encountered someone recently with a strange religious philosophy surrounding Rabbi Hillel; I can only assume they meant the same man. Where would I easily find more information regarding Hillel?
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