Resurrection Life of Jesus Church

VIRTUAL TIME RUN
The last screenshot of the virtual time run showed the funeral for King Jehu. The Godhead looked at each other in amazement that he was so easily deceived. Jehu wanted to please the Lord by destroying Baal worship in Israel, but failed to understand that worshiping a golden calf was just as bad.

After Solomon’s death, the Godhead split Israel into two kingdoms to make it difficult for Lucifer to take control. The situation in the north went from one disaster to another and they began to discuss what should be done if things did not improve.

They agreed that the nine tribes would eventually be scattered among the heathen nations. It was decided to let them continue for a season. The affliction would continue and maybe the northern kingdom would turn back to God.

GOLDEN CALVES
The kings of Israel had an ongoing problem in using idolatry to control the people. The temple in Jerusalem was outside their sphere of influence and it constantly drew their subjects south to worship. King Jeroboam tried to win the people’s loyalty through the worship of golden calves. Two places of worship were erected, one in the territory of Dan and another at Bethel.¹ Kings 12:25-30

The original golden calf came into being some 600 years earlier in the wilderness.  Exodus 32:1-5

The Bible does not provide details as to how Aaron created a kiln to melt the earrings and ornaments of gold that the people provided since gold melts at 1,948 degrees Fahrenheit (1,064 degrees Celsius). Furthermore, a metal container would be needed to hold the molten gold and pour it into a mold that was made in advance.

I worked in a cast iron foundry in 1960 in my hometown of Sweden. There was a large kiln where coal and cast iron blocks were put down in layers from the top of the kiln.

Some six hours later the iron blocks had melted and were poured out from a sprout at the bottom of the oven into a transportation container hanging from a rail system fastened to the ceiling. The molten iron was then poured into premade forms of sand, and after it had sufficiently cooled, the forms were taken apart and the cast iron was ready to be cleaned and taken to the next step in the factory.

To make a golden calf in a wilderness area was an elaborate production because it was a life size statue. Since the Bible does not provide a description on this process, I decided to investigate what Judaism teaches. The rabbis point out that when the Hebrews left Egypt, there was a mixed multitude that went with them.1 Included among the group were Egyptian magicians – similar to Jannes and Jambres – who dueled with Moses in front of Pharaoh. Exodus 7:10-12; 2 Timothy 3:8

Logic would dictate that manufacturing an oven, making a vessel to hold liquid gold, and prefabricating the necessary forms would be impossible given their circumstances.

Moses had been gone for 40 days and returned shortly after the calf was made.²

Once the golden calf was fashioned and ready, Aaron told the people to prepare for worship the next day with sacrifices, eating and drinking, and singing and dancing in the nude. It doesn’t take much imagination to see that there was fornication and immorality among the people. Exodus 32:5-6, 17-19, 25

King Jeroboam wanted to ensure that the worship of the golden calves involved debauchery and this is why he ordained priests which were not from the tribe of Levi. These men were not just morally challenged; they were corrupt scoundrels who led the people of Israel to worship the golden calves with wild abandon.  1 Kings 12:31-33

KING JEHOAHAZ
Jehoahaz succeeded his father, Jehu, to become the next king over Israel. Jehu reigned for 28 years and his son would reign for 17 years. It had been 117 years since Jeroboam became the first king of Israel and three generations had worshiped the golden calves. 2 Kings 13:1-2

The Godhead became angry with this continued rebellion and allowed Syria to attack.  verse 3

The strange thing is that Jehoahaz did not consult the priests of the golden calves for help against Syria. He turned to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for assistance. This indicates that Jehoahaz knew that the golden calves were a hoax and political stunt to keep people from going to Jerusalem. verse 4

God used Jehoash, his son, as the military commander of the Israeli army to reclaim what the Syrians had taken. verses 5, 22-25

Even though Jehoahaz prayed to the real God, he still continued to hold on to the worship of the golden calves. Politics prevailed over the truth. verse 6

The fight against the Syrians took a great toll on Israel, and at the death of Jehoahaz, his forces had been decimated to 50 horsemen, 10 chariots, and ten thousand infantry. verses 7-9

SUMMARY
The kings of Israel were not much different from the various future political leaders. They lusted after power, fame, riches and the ability to live the “good life.” Politics superseded truth and religion was merely the crutch to achieve the desired goal.

Worshiping golden calves was simply good politics, but when trouble arrived, the kings cried out to the real God.

Jesus said that the people drew near to God, but their hearts were far from Him.  Matthew 15:7-9

Jehoahaz lived as a king for 17 years by ordering people around, eating well, and summoning women to satisfy him. When his life came to an end, he had nothing to show for it. There were no accomplishments. Worst of all, he never trusted in the Messiah!

When the angels came to pick up his soul and dead spirit, he was taken straight to hell. If we could talk to him now, he would deeply regret wasting his time on earth. He rejected the Messiah and now awaits judgment and the Lake of Fire. That’s not much of a future!

What will a man give for his soul? Mark 8:34-37

Let us walk in truth and share the light of the gospel with people in a dark and cold world. 2 Corinthians 4:1-4