Surrounded: The War of Words

One Year Bible (July 24)

2 Chronicles 11:1-13:22

Surrounded: “The War of Words”

Perhaps you have heard the phrase, “The church is filled with hypocrites.”

I like to think of it like this, "Just because I hang around in a GARAGE doesn't make me a CAR."

The word, “hypocrisy” comes from a Greek origin and means, “acting a theatrical part”.

Do you know the history of theatre?

Several hundred years before the birth of Christ, the Grecian Theatre was carved from a hillside seating thousands. Does this surprise you? It surprised me. I really hadn’t thought of there being theatre before the time of Christ or what influence it had on the culture.

Today in theatres we still see the mask symbols of comedy and tragedy. It all started in the city of Athens in the year 535 BC. The city had just built the first theatre in the world--the iconic Theater of Dionysus. The people stepped on this first stage wearing masks. Ancient Greek actors wore masks in the theater because it was a cultural tradition. The first plays evolved from the rituals of worshipping the god Dionysos.

I tell you this because I believe that it is important for us to realize how much this culture and society was inundated with the worship of idols. They had come to accept them, promote them, and cohabitate with people of idolatry. They were SURROUNDED!

Perhaps, we have been SURROUNDED as well in our culture today… Just follow social media and news channels to hear “The War of Words”. There are “masks” everywhere.

Who and What are we to believe?

When our daughter, Chelsea, was very little, she and her cousin got in a “little disagreement” over a theatre production. The show is called, “The Lizzie McGuire Movie”. The main character is named “Paolo Valisari, who mistakes Lizzie for his singing partner, Isabella Parigi. I must admit that from a little girl’s eyes, this guy is a real “Dream Boat Afloat”. He was suave, “good lookin’” (Chelsea’s word for him), sang, and rode a motor scooter. He was a real catch!

She and her cousin argued for a very long time about whether he was a “good guy” or a “bad guy”. Chelsea’s cousin tried to tell her, “But Chelsea, he tricked Isabella, lip-synced, and tried to frame and embarrass her!” Our little girl was unpersuaded. She had “stars in her eyes" because he was “good lookin’” and soooooo smooth!!

He was a Hypocrite… playing a part!

Today’s message tells of a time when Judah was surrounded by the nation of Israel. There seemed to be NO WAY OUT!

How did they get in this position and how did they get out?

This story starts with a sneak peek at the “BOAM BROTHERS”. (BAMN!)

Now, they are not actual brothers, mind you, but they are related in lineage through the line of David. They are now kings of opposite sides of the fence…

King Jeroboam ruled the Northern Kingdom, and all of their kings were evil. King Rehoboam ruled the Southern Kingdom (the descendants of King David). They had more good kings than bad kings. However, many of them started out well but finished poorly.

Today’s message begins with “The BOAM BRO’S”, Jeroboam and Rehoboam. God sends word to Rehoboam, “You shall not go up or fight against your relatives, return every man to his house, for “THIS THING” is from me.” (11:4)

As you may recall from our study in 1 and 11 Kings, it was God who divided the kingdom due to the sin of the people. He gave over a LARGE part of the kingdom to Jeroboam. “This Thing”-the discipline of a divided kingdom-was from HIS divine hand!

Let’s take a look now at Rehoboam’s family for a minute and in particular at his son, Abijah, who will be the next king of Judah.

'It was that Rehoboam took as a wife, Mahalath, daughter of Jerimoth, the son of David and Abihail… He also took, Maacah, the daughter of Absalom who bore him Abijah."(11:18, 20)

This is not “The Love Boat”; This is “Keeping the Kingdom Afloat”. In other words, his marriages were politically motivated.

Abijah came out of the lineage of David, but he followed in the footsteps of his father, Rehoboam for the most part…(This isn’t a compliment!) I Kings 15 mentions his sin is not “following after the Lord, as David had done”, while Chronicles focuses on this one battle with Jeroboam.

King Abijah was kind of a confusing character as he “says one thing” but does quite another. He acted the "Part" but did not have "The Power". (He was PARKED in the GARAGE, but wasn't a CAR. You see?)

Abijah gives a rousing speech to Jeroboam, but while he is speaking, Jeroboam set an ambush that surrounded all of Judah. (He was an interrupted preacher who didn’t even get to the Invitation hymn!) King Abijah’s “War of Words’ brought him no victory that day. He was surrounded… Now What??

We live in a time where we are also surrounded daily by a “War of Words”...What will we choose to believe and WHO do we serve?

Are we "Parked in the church parking lot" or "filled with the power of a true car"?

Gentlemen (and ladies), START YOUR ENGINES!!!!