PART 3
HOW CAN YOU TELL WHEN A NATION IS DISCIPLED?
By Tim Taylor
The Kings & their Laws that Made Israel Sin
1 Kings 14:16, says "And He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned and who made Israel sin.”
The king sinned and he "made Israel sin." How? By the laws and policies the king introduced. In fact, we find this exact phrase used 20 times in the New King James version of the Bible in 1st and 2nd Kings.
What sins were they committing? They set up false worship to Baal's and Asherah. These religions included prostitution as part of their worship, and you'll find Baal worship sometimes included the sacrifice of children. These acts are some of the abominations warned about in Leviticus 18.
Instituting laws that encouraged abominable acts hastens judgment upon a people. It causes a spiritual law regarding land defilement to kick in.
It is in this context we find the prophet Elijah coming on the scene in 1st Kings 17. First, he confronts King Ahab and commands a drought. Then Jezebel begins to persecute and kill the prophets of the Lord. In 1st Kings 18, he confronts the false prophets of Jezebel. Ultimately, he was confronting the laws the civil government leader had put into place.
Why? Because those laws and policies hastened judgment on the people. It defiled the land and God, in His love, sent a prophet to deliver the truth that they would lose their land and their lives.
We also find kings who enacted laws policies that honored God's word like Hezekiah and Josiah in 2nd Kings. These actions invited blessings for all the people.
If you want a thorough list of the blessings and consequences then I encourage you to visit Deuteronomy 28.
