What I want to do is, in a minute, we'll read some, but we're not going to read all 20 verses. As we break up the passage, we'll sort of make our way through it as we go. But let me remind you that the nation of Israel has been divided. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, has assumed throne of the two southern tribes. that are commonly called Judah, and Jeroboam, a relative nobody, has been given the right of rulership over the 10 northern tribes that are typically normally called Israel. And so the author has focused for now on the northern tribe, and we looked at Jeroboam, and the construction of the two golden calves, and this false religion that he has created. And the author is focusing on the northern nation, Israel, and Jeroboam, its leadership. And what I want to do tonight is I want to read a few verses in your hearing and give an opening, and then we will work our way through the text. So notice with me, 1 Kings 14, verse 1 says, at that time, Abijah, the son of Jeroboam, fell sick. Let me go ahead and give you a little bit of a warning. Jeroboam's son, his name is Abijah. The prophet is a hijab. And there is about a thousand percent likelihood I'm gonna get that mixed up tonight. I'll try to keep it straight, but if I misspeak, you try and keep it right in your mind. Jeroboam's son, the boy, is a bijah. And Jeroboam said to his wife, this is his plan, arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam, and get thee to Shiloh. Behold, there is a hijah, the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people. And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, I don't know what that is, and a crucible of honey, and go to him. He shall tell thee what shall become of the child. And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah, but Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were set by reason of his age. The Lord said unto Ahijah, behold the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shalt thou say unto her, for it shall be when she cometh in that she shall feign or pretend herself to be another woman. And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in at the door, that he said, come in, thou wife of Jeroboam, Why faintest thou thyself to be another? For I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. I speak tonight on the subject of foxhole faith. I wonder how many of you have ever heard the expression, there are no atheists in foxholes. There are no atheists in foxholes. It turns out that maybe that expression or proverb, if I might use that language, is maybe not quite as popular as what I thought it was. So let me take a moment this evening and sort of describe what that old adage or idiom is teaching. In that idea, there are no atheists in foxholes, is expressed to describe those who are pinned down and under fire during a time of war and are calling out or crying out to a higher power for help. This is not so much a theological statement as a general principle of life. I'm told that it was coined really in the first great war where it was there are no atheists in the trench. But then it sort of revamped during the Second Great War that there are no atheists in foxholes. So a foxhole is just a little hole in the ground that a soldier digs out to try and hide in or shelter in, sleep in, during an active battle. So just imagine. Maybe you're just some 18-year-old kid who is 1,000, 1,000, 1,000 miles from home, and there's war going on. You have dug a small hole in the ground. Overhead, bullets are zipping by. Artillery is exploding all around you. There are trees and equipment that are being shattered to bits by heavy ordnance. Your fellow soldiers are also sheltering in their foxholes. The screams of wounded men fill the air. Several entrymen are calling out for a medic. The sound and the weight of approaching tanks causes the ground beneath you to rumble. You haven't really slept or eaten well in days. And it is doubtful that you're going to get out of this battle alive. And so you may have entered in the military an atheist. But under that condition, there are no atheists in the foxhole. Now again, I'm not making an absolute or universal statement, but a proverb, an axiom, a general truth that if you were in that position, you would be calling out for someone, something to help you, some higher power, some God of any sort. Because in that moment, when you are desperate for help, you cry out, to whatever God there may be for mercy. Hence, there are no atheists in a foxhole. Now, I'm not suggesting again that this is an absolute truth, but I would have to imagine that it is an accurate proverb for those that have been in that situation. There are scores of people who really have no interest in God, and no interest in the things of God until they find themselves in a foxhole, until they find themselves in a fix. They have no interest in God, no interest in salvation, no interest in the gospel, no interest in church, no interest in religion, until they find themselves in a fix. Some desperate situation has occurred some tragedy, some potential disaster, some impending calamity has caused them to cry out to God for help. I have seen this in the ministry over and over and over again. And if you've been a Christian any length of time, you have seen the same thing play out over and over again. We're people who have no interest in God until tragedy comes. No interest in Jesus until some impending calamity. No use for religion, no interest in the Bible, no interest in church, organized religion, none of that until the world is falling apart around you and you need some help from somewhere. Well, this is exactly what we see in Jeroboam in this text. It is exactly what we see from Jeroboam. Tragedy has struck his home. His son is sick. So he semi-sorta turns to Yahweh God. I have six divisions within this text tonight, very simple little breakouts. First, Abijah's illness. Verse one, we see that Abijah, the son of Jeroboam, is sick. Now this is, and I'm reading a little bit into the text, but I think it's permissible. This is the heir. This is the prince. This is the one who is to inherit the throne. He is not A teeny tiny baby. He's really not even a young child. I don't want to guess or try to be overly specific because the Bible isn't. But he's old enough that people know him. He's earned the respect of some people. If I had to guess, mid-teens. If I had to guess, but that's just me guessing. Maybe older, I don't know. But he's sick. And again, go back into that ancient culture. They didn't have all the medical advances that we have today. They didn't have the technology that we have. We don't know what illness has befallen Abinjah, but he is sick and sick unto death. And so in this tragic moment, what does King Jeroboam do? Well, there are no atheists in a foxhole. So in this time of crisis, he turns his prayers, and I almost even hate to use that word because they're really empty petitions, to the one true and living God. So you see it binds his illness. Notice then Jeroboam's scheme, from verses two to the first part of verse four. So Jeroboam, he tells his wife, Honey, the boy is sick. Look at verse two. Disguise yourself. Pretend that you're not the queen. You're not the wife of me, the King Jeroboam. Go to Shiloh where Hygie is and ask him for help. Verse three, take with you ten loaves, and a crucible of honey, whatever those things are, this is a very modest and meager gift. So part of his scheme is not only having his wife take off her royal robes and dress like a commoner, but the gift that Jeroboam wants his wife to give the prophet or man of God is a very modest gift. It is nothing like he's pouring royal gifts on him, kingly gifts on him. So he is trying to fool the hides of the prophet into thinking that she's just your average Jewish person with a sick kid who needs help. Go to Shiloh, where the prophet is, and ask him for help. If he doesn't know This is, I think, Jeroboam's mind. If the man of God doesn't know who you are, he's more likely to help us. And so he sends her, verse 3, to his house with this very modest gift. And he says, find out what's going to happen to our boy. Find out what's going to happen to our child. Verse 4 says, Jeroboam's wife did. She rose, she went to Shiloh, she came to the house of Ahijah. But I want you to notice this. In this moment of crisis, where does Jeroboam turn? Remember, this is the guy who has set up two golden calves, established his own religion, set up his own priesthood, go back into the A prior chapter, learn about that or relearn about that. But in His moment of need, it is like He knows there is only one true and living God. He doesn't go to His priests or prophets and ask them for assistance. We don't read of Him bowing down before the golden calves asking them to heal His Son. Instead, he sends his wife to go to the man of God who had prophesied that he, Jeroboam, would assume the throne of the ten northern tribes, which reveals much about his stubborn, sinful heart. Rather than repenting of his sin of idolatry and leaving the nation of Israel into that wicked sin, rather than forsaking his sin, Rather than destroying the golden calves, he tries to trick the man of God. And really, if you want to get down to the heart of it, he's trying to manipulate God. And in his desperation, he doesn't turn to his bovine idols. He seeks an audience with the one true living God. So this tells us about his stubborn, sinful heart. Listen to me, Jeroboam doesn't want God. He just wants God's favor. He is no different than someone who is in a desperate situation, who doesn't want salvation, doesn't want redemption. They just want God to fix their problem. So he turns to the hides of the prophet, seeking mercy from God. This is the same prophet who has told him that God would ram the kingdom from the son of Solomon and give it to him. It's the same prophet that said to Jeroboam, if you will walk in covenant obedience, if you will keep my law and my statutes, he gives God gives to Jeroboam the same commitment that he gave to Solomon. If you'll do what's right, I will establish a dynasty. Same promise he made to David. But in his desperation, not in repentance, he seeks an audience with the one true God. Now listen. If God uses some tragic event, to call someone to do some spiritual soul searching, then hallelujah, amen, great. If someone is in fact up against some calamity, a disease, some personal tragedy, whatever that is, and it forces them to do some soul searching, And that ultimately leads them to repentance and faith in God, then hallelujah! Thank God for the calamity. Thank God for the tragedy. If it leads them to the person and work of Christ. But that is not what we see in Jeroboam. And very often this is not what we see in life. If, like Jeroboam, all people want is what they can get from God, rather than God Himself, it is not spirit-wrought repentance, it is selfishness. And friends, what Jeroboam needed to learn, I'm crossing illustrations and that's not good preacher work. What Jeroboam needed to learn What people need to learn today is God is no one's spare tire that you only pull out in case of an emergency. Most everyone, now I guess at least legally, everyone who has a boat is required to have life jackets on the boat. But hardly anyone ever gives it a minute's thought. until you're out on the water and a storm breaks loose. The God is not someone's life jacket or a spare tire that can only be turned to in a case of an emergency. He is Lord of all Lords, King of all Kings. He is Master, Sovereign, Ruler, the Omnipotent and Almighty. And you either receive Him as that or you don't receive Him at all. You don't get to just grab from God what you want and then press everything else away. This is what we see Jeroboam doing. And it is a warning against foxhole faith. Against shallow or superficial faith. It is a warning against only reaching out for what you can take from God rather than wrapping your arms around the person of God and the wonder and work brilliance and glory of God. God will have none of it. God doesn't need you. We need Him. And so, Hydes entails Jeroboam's wife, the queen, at the close of verse number 6, He has a heavy, weighty message for her. If you're keeping up item number three, the Hydra's rebuke of the king, verses four, let me get myself straight here, verse four through six. We've read that. It happens every once in a while, people. Notice Jeroboam's fate. Jeroboam's fate. Verse seven, go tell Jeroboam, thus saith Yahweh God of Israel, for as much as I exalt you exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee. Yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in my eyes. Notice, but thou hast done evil above all that were before thee. For thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger and has cast me behind thy back. Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam. This is Jeroboam's faith now. I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall and him that is shut up and left in Israel. and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dumb, till it be all gone. If that's not hard enough, heavy enough. Verse 11. Him that dieth of Jeroboam, his family, in the city shall the dogs eat. Him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat. for the Lord hath spoken. Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house, and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is some good thing There is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. Moreover, the Lord shall raise him up a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day. But what even now? Try to clear up some of this. So Jeroboam's scheme was to try and fool the prophet. His scheme fails. Hyde just says to the queen, come on in and sit down, I've got a heavy message for you. Her disguise, modest gifts, nor her husband's trickery, none of that can fool God. Someone once said, you can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. Let me add to that, you can fool God none of the time. And in spite of Jeroboam's trickery and scheming, he can't fool God. Hyge is an old man and his eyes are given out, but he can still see Jeroboam's scheming clearly. God makes it clear to him who she is and what she's there for and what this is about. And then God tells him, Jeroboam is speaking to his wife, but about Jeroboam. My fourth point, Jeroboam's future or his fate. And it is a dreary, dark fate. It begins by reminding the queen what God has done for the king. Essentially, God took Jeroboam from nothingness and made him the king over ten tribes. Had said to him, obey, walk in obedience, keep the covenant, I'll establish a dynasty. Verse 9, he commits evil. In fact, Jeroboam's evil is of such historical significance that he is compared to other kings, rotten, sinful kings, throughout the remainder of 1 Kings and 2 Kings. leadership, his simple idolatry is elevated as the apex of wickedness for ancient Israel. He's created his molten images, he's led the people away from Yahweh God, established his own religion, and there are going to be consequences to that. And in verse 10, we begin to see those consequences, Jeroboam's ugly future and fate. And he says, I'm going to bring evil. God is going to bring evil on the house of Jeroboam. And as we read the old King's English, it says, and he will cut off from Jeroboam, him that pisseth against the wall. And there's never a time that I read that in public, and I'm not uncomfortable. with that old English. But it simply means every single male. Let me just take a little rabbit trip. When Bible translators are doing what Bible translators do, they have to make the decision, do we render word for word, as closely as we can, from one language to the next? Or do we take what they're saying and do more than translate, interpret it into what the author means? Let me give you an example. If the Bible said in ancient Hebrew, it cost an arm and a leg, then translators would read that and say, do we translate that from Hebrew into in our case in English, as it cost an arm and a leg, or do we translate and interpret it as what it means, which is, it's very expensive. That's what the idiom means, right? Cost an arm and a leg. It's very expensive. And there are times in which, as we're reading our Old Testament, I wish they had taken a little different approach because that's uncomfortable, that language, but it just simply means they are translating word for word from the Hebrew, but it simply means every single male descendant of Jeroboam is going to be cut off, killed. And his entire, to close verse 10, vivid biblical language, his entire family is going to be swept away like one sweeps dung And that's what the word means, from their heart. The one in verse 11, him that dies of Jeroboam in the city, the dogs will eat. The one that dies in the field, the fowls of the air will eat. This is a gross offense to every Jewish person that would hear this. That their fallen carcasses will be eaten by dirty beasts, fowls, birds of the air, scavengers. That is a highly gross insult to the Jew. But this particular Jew, Jeroboam, has highly insulted the God of Israel. And then, verse 12, Hyde tells her, get up, go home. When you step into the city, your son's going to die. all Israel will mourn for him. So I said, we don't know how old he is, but he's old enough that he's earned the respect of the nation. So whether he's a teen or age 20 or whatever the age is, he's old enough that he's earned the respect of the people. But I want you to notice something really, really neat, clever, and really is very unique in verse 13. And all Israel shall mourn for him, bury him, For he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave in peace. That's really what it means. Because in him there is found some good thing to warn the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. In Abijah, God sees something holy or spiritual. I don't want to make too much of this, but I don't want to make too little of it either. I think that we are to understand that out of the house of Jeroboam, Abijah the son was the one shining light that was in right fellowship with the one true God. And yet, God says he is going to die. I want to put something in your ear that is very heavy. I know where I'm standing and I know who I'm talking to. But listen to this. What you can learn from verse 13 is that an early or a premature death for a believer can be a blessing. Listen, I cannot imagine the pain of losing a child, and frankly, I don't even want to. I don't even want to. But here, I mentioned this morning the hard truth. Here's another hard truth. An early death for a believer can actually be an act of mercy, and there is a biblical example of it. What we call a premature death. He's a young guy. However old he is, he's young. But a premature death can actually be an act of mercy by God himself, even if it is incredibly hard on the family that is left behind. God, in an act of mercy, took the life of this young man rather than him dying a cruel and despised and shameful death. He will go to the grave in peace, abiding. But none of the rest of the house of Jeroboam. Because look at verse 14. Moreover, the Lord will raise up a king over Israel, who will cut off the house of Jeroboam that day, but what even now? That's very difficult language in the closing of verse 14. But just to give you an understanding, a hijab is prophesying is two years. Two years from this point, Jeroboam's son will be killed by Baasha, the next king of Israel. Two years. And Jeroboam's entire family will be destroyed and annihilated. First Kings 15, verses 29 and 30. We'll get there soon, Lord will. But that's Jeroboam's future, his fate. But what about Israel? In verse 15 and 16, we notice fifthly, Israel's future and fate. Verse 15, for the Lord will smite Israel. Now he's talking about national Israel, the 10 northern tribes. As a reed is shaken in the water, he shall root up Israel out of this good land which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the Lord to anger. And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin and who made Israel to sin." So this is really one of the earliest prophecies that foretell of the coming exile of Israel. You follow me? It's going to be 200 years from the time Ahijah prophesied this. A little over 200 years. But the man of God says because of Jeroboam's sin and Israel following him in that sin, they're going to be exiled out of the land. That will happen a couple hundred years later. when the Assyrians come in and annihilate the northern nation of Israel and scatter them to the four winds. Sixly, verses 17 through 20, broadheading the king's death. And Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and came to Tirzah. And when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died. They buried him, and all Israel mourned for him according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by the hand of his servant, Ahijah the prophet, and the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and how he warred and how he reigned. Behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and 20 years. And he slept with his fathers. And Nadab, his son, reigned in his stead. Nadab's the one that's only going to reign two years before he's king. So we see the king's death. Step back and make a little application. None of the events led Jeroboam to repentance. We have the closing eulogy of his kingship and of his life. He dies, they bury him, his son reigns in his state. No words of affirmation, no words of confirmation, words that tell us that this was the ugly end of a sinful life by a rotten and wicked king. And though God had taken him from obscurity and promoted him to be king over one of the most powerful nations in the world at that time, that God's goodness did not lead Jeroboam to repentance. And in God's hand of judgment on Jeroboam, The death of his son didn't lead Jeroboam to repentance. Again, all he wanted was what he could get from God, manipulate God. He didn't want God. And now he's dead. And Israel says, we need another king. This Sunday night series that we're doing is subtitled, We Need Another King. Because now we're getting into this pattern, northern and southern nations, one lives and dies, one lives and dies, one lives and dies, one lives and dies. And over and over, we need another king. And all of it is pointing us to the coming king, the Lord Christ. And as I circle back in closing, friend, you need the Lord. You need Him. You don't just need what you can get from Him. You need Him. You need Him every single day and not just when tragedy is looming. So I ask, do you have foxhole faith? Only what God can do for you Or do you have saving faith and you actually want God Himself? Thank the Lord for all of His blessings and His benefits, but the greatest gift is the gift of God Himself to us. In His book, God is the Gospel, John Piper wrote these words. Christ did not die to forgive sinners who go on treasuring anything above, seeing and savoring God. And people who would be happy in heaven if Christ were not there, will not be there. They have a foxhole faith. They don't want God, they just want to try to manipulate God. Jeroboam did not seek and savor God. He did not value God's mercy to him, nor did he heed God's warnings and judgment against him. Friends, so I implore you to examine your own heart. Foxhole faith will not save you. Repent and turn to Christ in true and saving faith and desire Him above everything else. yearn for oneness with the true King. Listen, I don't blame a broken-hearted mother and a frightened father for doing what they can to try and save their son. That makes sense to us. For crying out to God in their hour of desperation. That's fully and completely understandable. Jeroboam and his wife. But what they failed to consider was that there was something far worse than the death of their child in his eternal death and separation from God himself. And rather than turning to God in repentance and faith, he, she, they only wanted to try and take from God. And only saving faith in Christ will keep you safe when the enemy of sin attacks. Not foxhole faith. Saving, justifying, real.