The 15th chapter of 2nd Kings takes us on a rapid overview of a little over a half century. The bulk of that time, Azariah reigned in Judah, though confusingly, the narrator of 2nd Kings switches between two variations on his name. So either he's Azariah or he's Uzziah, and he flips back and forth between the two. And that's how the chapter begins and at the end of the chapter his son Jotham reigns. Now in between there are five successive kings of Israel. So two kings in the south, their reigns actually overlap somewhat significantly and during their reigns five kings in the northern ten tribes of Israel. Now at first glance it might seem a valid conclusion that since Azariah and his son Jotham did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and their reigns are reasonably long, while those in the North did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and their reigns are generally short, well, for one of them only one month, one might reasonably conclude that there's a connection between the length of a reign and the righteousness of the king. But that would be over-simplistic. As you go through the books of kings, you find that there are some wicked kings who reign a long time and there are some good kings who reign relatively brief periods. Even in this chapter there are significant variations in the lengths of the reigns of the wicked kings. So we mustn't draw too much from the fact that Azariah reigned for 52 years, whereas Shalom and Mahanaim and the others only reigned a relatively brief period in comparison. Indeed, for a significant portion of Azariah's reign, he is in more or less solitary confinement in a house because he has been struck with leprosy. More on that in a moment. But we have these two nations, and as we consider these two nations, I want you to see that there are significant differences in the reigns of the kings. In the nation to the north, they are governed by self-serving despots. That's the best way that we can describe these men. They're only in it for what they get for themselves. Indeed, in most cases, though not quite all of them, they have gained the throne through murdering the existing king. In other words, it's treachery, it's treason. They have taken matters into their own hands, slaughtered the existing king, and taken the throne for themselves. But the significant phrase that is repeated over and over again in the lives of these five kings of Israel is the fact that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord as their fathers had done. They did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which he made Israel to sin. And this, of course, has become a repeated refrain all the way through the lives of the kings of Israel. Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, was the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel. After Solomon had died, the kingdom was torn in two and the ten northern tribes were given to Jeroboam and the two southern tribes were given to Rehoboam, Solomon's son, to reign over. It was a judgment because of Solomon's idolatry. because he followed his many foreign wives in their worship of the Baals and other gods and built temples for them and altars for them and bowed down to them and God's judgment then came upon Israel by bringing this division and he only preserved the southern kingdom of Judah because of his promise to Solomon's father David, and the covenant that he had made with David, that David would always have a son on the throne, an eternal throne that would exist forever and ever. And that is God's promise, so that is God's fulfillment. though it takes various twists and turns along the way. In the north, king after king after king after king have followed in the footsteps of Jeroboam. Whereas in the south we can trace the lineage of David, in the north, well there is never really any dynasty, perhaps the closest we get to it is the dynasty of Jehu that lasts for four generations. but the kingdom changes hands fairly frequently and it shifts from family to family to family and in this chapter we see it shifting hands a number of times but always with the same refrain, he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which he made Israel to sin. And this sin would bring the judgment of God upon Israel. In fact, we are speeding towards that final judgment of God upon the ten northern tribes of Israel. In fact, the last king whose life is presented to us, Pekah, who reigns in Israel briefly, He himself is conspired against by Hosea, the son of Elah, who strikes him down and puts him to death. And Hosea will be the last king of Israel. So that's where this story is going, this story of the northern nation of Israel in its rebellion against God, in its refusal to submit to God and to repent of its sins and to remove its idols and to return to the worship of the God of Abram, Isaac and Jacob. And yet, in the midst of this story, we have a word concerning the faithfulness of God to his own promises. Despite the wickedness of these kings, generation after generation, God is faithful to his word. We read in verse 8, in the 38th year of Azariah, king of Judah, Zechariah, the son of Jeroboam, reigned over Israel in Samaria six months. And at the end of that little paragraph concerning Zechariah, we're told that this was the promise of the Lord that he gave to Jehu, your son shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation. And so it came to pass. Jehu had fulfilled God's promise of judgment upon the house of Jezebel and he had rid the nation of that family and as a result of that God had promised that he would allow the family of Jehu to continue on the throne of Israel for four generations and Zechariah is the fourth. Well, He only reigns for six months, but nevertheless this is the fulfillment of the Lord's promise. Your son shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation. This is God's faithfulness to His Word. Despite the fact that through those four generations they have been wicked kings who have not departed from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nehemat which he made Israel to sin. God is faithful to his word and in the faithfulness of God to his word the people should have taken heart. In the faithfulness of God to his word, the people should have taken courage. In the faithfulness of God to his word, the people should have sought his mercy. But instead they made it a reason to take advantage of delayed judgment and continue boldly in the sins of their fathers. And it is true that even today people see the delay of judgment and they think that God is not really interested, that God doesn't really care, that God isn't really concerned, that God won't really act. And because of God's delayed judgment, because God is patient, Because God doesn't bring his condemnation and act upon it against those who rebel against him. They think that they have a free hand to do whatever they want. But in reality, as Paul tells the church in Rome, God's patience is intended to lead people to repentance. The fact that God is faithful to his word and allows generation after generation of Jehu's descendants to continue on the throne in faithfulness to his promise should have caused the people to turn to him to seek his mercy. That promise should rather than end with Zechariah be continued as God shows mercy and forgives. for God has shown himself to be a forgiving God and a God ready to show mercy and it may be that in your own life you see a comfort and an ease despite your own sinfulness and refusal to bow the knee to Christ and you think God doesn't really mind God isn't really interested I can go on another day, another week, another month, another year, who knows, perhaps another decade. And his judgment will not come. But rather you should be crying out to God for mercy and seeking the life that he offers to all who will humble themselves before him and turn from their sins and find mercy at the cross of Jesus Christ. But these are kings who are not interested in God, they're only interested in themselves. These are kings that are not interested in the glory of God, they're only interested in their own glory. They're not interested in the power of God, they're only interested in their own power. And so they continue in this path of rebellion against the living God and ultimately judgment falls upon each one and judgment will fall upon the nation as a whole. Well that's the nation to the north. In the south, Azariah reigns in Judah and then his son begins to reign as co-regent with him. We are told that he began to reign in the 27th year of Jeroboam II, King of Israel. and he was 16 years old when he began to reign and he reigned 52 years in Jerusalem. So his was a long reign but one commentator notes the fact that even he doesn't have as long a reign as King David. None of the sons of David reign as long as David did, 70 years upon the throne of Israel. Some come close He comes about as close as any of them. And yet his 52 years reigning in Jerusalem is nothing to compare with that of David. He reigns over a nation that has been torn apart. He's been left with a remnant. And though he does what is right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done, nevertheless the high places were not taken away. Remember the high places are places of worship, not in this case probably places for worshipping idols. They were probably used as places of worshipping the Lord, the God of Israel, but nevertheless they were not to be used in that way. Only the temple in Jerusalem was the place for worshipping God. He had designated that as his place of worship and the people were to travel to Jerusalem to bring their sacrifices and their offerings for him. Nevertheless, he does not remove the high places, the people still sacrifice and made offerings on the high places. And then we're told this interesting fact, the Lord touched the king so that he was a leper to the day of his death and he lived in a separate house. Now that's interesting and that should cause us to pause because we've had the usual formula that introduces the life of the king in the 27th year of Jeroboam the king of Israel. Azariah the son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign and he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. and the Lord touched the king so that he was a leper. There's a departure from that formulaic introduction that we have become used to and we must ask, well, what's going on here? Why is this the case? And while we need to be careful that we don't make a generalised connection between sickness and sin, Sickness is the judgment of God upon the sin of the person who is struck with sickness. In the case of kings of Israel, it is legitimate to make such a connection because the king stands in a unique place. He stands for the people. There's a phrase that is used, as goes the king, so goes the kingdom. Because that was the way that God purposed to deal with the kingdom. If the king was faithful to him, the kingdom would be blessed. Regardless of the people and their behavior, it was what the king did that mattered. And if the king did what was evil in his sight, then the nation would suffer as a result and here we have a suffering nation because here is a king who has been set aside and is unable to fulfill the responsibilities of a king he's segregated and separated in a house apart and his son has to take responsibility for the household and govern the people of the land. Why? Why is this the case? And we could reasonably conclude, just from reading 2 Kings, that Azariah, or Uzziah as he's otherwise known, must have done something that displeased the Lord. And if we thought that, we would be right. For if we were to go to 2nd Chronicles, we're not going to do that now, you can look it up later, in 2nd Chronicles there's far more detail about the life of Azariah and the good things that he did when he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but also a disastrous decision that he made to go into the temple himself. and to offer incense in the temple. That was a work of a priest and the king was forbidden from doing the work of a priest and yet Azariah took it upon himself to do that and it was for that reason that God struck him with leprosy and judged him in that way. Now think about this, this is a man who has up until that point done what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He is a son of David, a descendant of David. He is a king in the kingdom that God had promised to preserve and to bless in a unique way from all the nations of the world including the northern kingdom of Israel. He had promised that a son of David would reign upon the throne of this kingdom and yet the fact that Azariah is a son of David, a descendant of that great king, doesn't protect him from the judgment of God when he rebels, when he takes matters into his own hands, when he follows his own wisdom rather than obeying the wisdom of God that he had declared in his law. He began well, but he ended badly. and judgment came upon him. Indeed he wasn't the first one to begin well and to end badly. He was, well the chapter tells us that he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord according to all that his father Amaziah had done and his father Amaziah similarly began well but he wasn't thorough in his following and obedience to God. And so it is from generation to generation that examples are given and examples are followed. How careful that must make us as parents in the way that we live our lives, in the decisions and choices that we make and the pattern that we are presenting for our children to follow. Nevertheless, the Lord preserves the kingdom and Jotham the son of Azariah initially reigns alongside him and then when he dies takes over full sovereignty of Judah and so we're told that in the second year of Pekah the son of Ramaliah king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah began to reign. He was 25 years old when he began to reign. He reigned 16 years in Jerusalem. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord according to all that his father Uzziah had done. Nevertheless, the high places were not removed. The people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of the Lord. And that again, there's another difference isn't there? There's something that tells us, pause a moment, what's going on here? He hasn't been thorough in his obedience to God. and yet he is concerned for the worship of God for he builds this upper gate of the house of the Lord. He doesn't remove the high places but he does make it more desirable to come to the temple with this new gate that he's built to encourage the people to enter into the courts of the Lord. Nevertheless, were told in those days the Lord began to send Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Ramaliah against Judah. It's a foreboding comment that is made that things are not well in Judah they may not be as bad as they are in Israel but things are not well in Judah. The sons of David may reign upon the throne, but the sons of David are not following the Lord in full obedience, and judgment is coming upon them. And so we have these two nations, one whose kings are leading them in the path of idolatry and under the judgment of God. The other in which the kings are somewhat faithful to the Lord, but not completely faithful to the Lord, and therefore the nation doesn't experience the full blessing of the Lord, but finds itself repeatedly under the chastening hand of the Lord. the correcting hand of the Lord, like a father with a rebellious child, not running him out of the home, but seeking to correct him, to restore him. And this is the patience of the Lord, and this is the goodness of the Lord, this is the faithfulness of the Lord to his own covenant, to his own promises. For while we have the tale of these two nations, there's another story going on. A story that is being woven through the history of these nations as God fulfills his plans and his purposes to build another nation. In fact, he's doing it all along. There is a nation being birthed, a nation that is governed by a king who will reign eternally. He hasn't come yet. and yet he is foreshadowed. He doesn't reign yet and yet his reign is promised and it is certain. For the sons of David who succeed him generation after generation upon his throne are being preserved despite their failures, despite their rebellions, despite their shortcomings so that at the right time The son of David will come, the promised son in whom the blessings of the covenant will be fulfilled, he will come and he won't be a self-serving king, he will be a servant king. He will be selfless and he will endure suffering on behalf of his people and through his suffering he will gain sovereignty and will be given all authority in heaven and on earth and under the earth so that every knee will bow to him and every tongue will confess that he is Lord. And his sovereignty will continue through the ages of this world and into the world to come. As he selflessly continues to rule over this world for his people's good, building together a nation. And it began, it has begun, even in the Old Testament. as a remnant, receives the promises, and believes the promises, and hopes and trusts in the promises, and puts their faith in the God who promises a Saviour who is to come. And that Saviour has come. Great David's greater son, Jesus of Nazareth, has come into this world, and he suffered in this world, to break the power of sin, to break this chain reaction of sin from generation to generation, to free people from its bondage and to bring them into the kingdom of God. And he reigns now seated upon the throne of God and this nation that he is building encompasses all the nations of the world. It began there in Israel and in Judah and from those nations there were those whose knees had not bowed to the false gods of the nations who trusted in the promises of God and so it would be through the generations. And now since the coming of Jesus Christ and his commission to his followers to go in all the world, disciples have been made from people of every skin colour, of every ethnicity, of every language, of every strata of society. And he is building a kingdom that will be glorious, a kingdom without borders, a kingdom that will be eternal. And those who bow to this King will find in him security. They will find that he preserves them and protects them and provides for them and gives them the assurance of his love. And for those who bow to him, who share in his sufferings in this world, they will share in his glory, the glory of the kingdom that he is building, a glorious kingdom in which there is righteousness and peace and where sin will not be found and therefore there will be no suffering and there will be no sorrow, it will be perfect, it will be a paradise for those who trust in him. and through the rise and the falls of the nations of this world Jesus Christ is working to call sinners to himself that they may bow to him and know his sovereign reign over their lives and for their good. And so here is a day in a day of the patience of the Lord in which you have the opportunity to come to this King and to kneel before this King and to plead for mercy from this King that you may enter into the service of this King and know the protection of this King and ultimately enter into the joy of this King. And it will be worth it for everyone who has Jesus Christ as their King, has the God of all creation, as their king and he will be faithful to his word as he has always proven himself to be. Let's pray. Lord God, we do pray that you would be merciful even here this evening and that those who are still trapped, caught, chained in their sins, that you would break them free and show mercy to them and forgive them and draw them into your kingdom and reign over them and do them good. Lord, we pray that you would break the power of Satan in their lives, that you would remove the darkness from their hearts. We pray that you would shine the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that they would see him for the great and glorious King that he is and that they would bow down to him. We pray that you would not allow them to be deceived by the evil one, to think that the delay of the judgment of God gives them the freedom to live their lives as they like. But may it be that they will learn that this delay is for their benefit, that they may turn from their sins and trust in Christ, Lord we pray that you would help each one of us to trust in Jesus, to trust in him day by day as our King, to listen to his voice, to obey his commands knowing that they are always good and his word is always worth following. And so may we be distinct in this world, be different from this world, from this mass of people who are following their own selfish desires. May we be servants to the Servant King and do His will for His glory, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.