Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena BT43 5DR
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 17 November, 2024
My covenant was with him of life and peace” (Mal. 2:5)
Morning Service – 11:00 AM
Church Divisions and Christian Ministers (1)
Carnal Christians (1) [youtube]
Scripture Reading: I Corinthians 3
Text: I Corinthians 3:1
I. The Issues
II. The Meaning
Psalms: 34:1-10; 109:8-14; 50:16-21; 119:97-104
Evening Service – 6:00 PM
The Complete Saviour [youtube]
Scripture Reading: Colossians 2
Text: Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 11
I. His Fulness
II. Our Life
III. No Supplements
Psalms: 63:1-8; 109:15-20; 45:1-6; 16:5-11
For CDs of the sermons and DVDs of the worship services, contact Stephen Murray
If you desire a pastoral visit, please contact Rev. Stewart or the elders
CPRC Website: www.cprc.co.uk • Live Webcast: www.cprc.co.uk/live-streaming
CPRC YouTube: www.youtube.com/cprcni
CPRC Facebook: www.facebook.com/CovenantPRC
Quote to Consider
Matthew Henry on I Corinthians 3:1-3: “They were still mere babes in Christ. They had received some of the first principles of Christianity, but had not grown up to maturity of understanding in them, or of faith and holiness; and yet it is plain, from several passages in this epistle, that the Corinthians were very proud of their wisdom and knowledge. It is but too common for persons of very moderate knowledge and understanding to have a great measure of self-conceit. The apostle assigns their little proficiency in the knowledge of Christianity as a reason why he had communicated no more of the deep things of it to them. They could not bear such food, they needed to be fed with milk, not with meat … It is the duty of a faithful minister of Christ to consult the capacities of his hearers and teach them as they can bear. And yet it is natural for babes to grow up to men; and babes in Christ should endeavour to grow in Stature, and become men in Christ. It is expected that their advances in knowledge should be in proportion to their means and opportunities, and their time of professing religion, that they may be able to bear discourses on the mysteries of our religion, and not always rest in plain things. It was a reproach to the Corinthians that they had so long sat under the ministry of Paul and had made no more improvement in Christian knowledge. Christians are utterly to blame who do not endeavour to grow in grace and knowledge.”
Announcements (subject to God’s will)
Monday catechism classes:
5:00 PM: Hannah, Penelope & Xander (Seniors OT)
5:45 PM: Grace, Jonas, Liam & Sammy (Beginners OT – Book 2)
6:30 PM: Eleanora, Felicity, Jorja & Sophie (Juniors OT)
7:15 PM: Jason, Kyan, Maisie & Sebastian (Heidelberg Catechism – Book 1)
8:00 PM: Bradley, Jack, Josh, Samuel & Taylor (Essentials)
Tuesday Bible study at 11 AM will look at Christ’s revelation to Paul on the Damascus Road in connection with the law and Israel.
The Belgic Confession classes will meet on Wednesday at 7:30 PM. The class will include an answer to the question, “Will the Antichrist be of the tribe of Dan?”
Ladies Bible study meets this Thursday at 7:30 PM at church. We will be discussing Psalm 143 using the book, A 30-Day Walk with God in the Psalms.
The Reformed Witness Hour broadcast next Lord’s day (Gospel 846 MW at 8:30 AM) by Rev. Bruinsma is entitled, “Satisfied With Marrow and Fatness” (Ps. 65:1-3).
The PRC church visitors, Prof. Kuiper and Dave Kregel, will be arriving on Friday, 3 January, and plan to be with us until Monday, 13 January.
The congregational dinner is planned for Friday, 3 January, 2025, at Adair Arms Hotel in Ballymena. Sign-up sheets are on the back table.
Offerings: £1,187.10. Donations: £200 (New Jersey).
Translation Additions: 3 French, 2 Polish and 2 Russian.
PRC News: Grandville PRC will call from a trio of Revs. DeBoer (Edgerton, MN), Maatman (Southeast, MI) and Smidstra (Holland, MI). Hope PRC (Redlands, CA) will call from a trio of Revs. W. Langerak (Trinity, MI), Maatman and Smidstra. Hudsonville PRC called Rev. Brummel (Calvary, IA). Southwest PRC called Rev. DeBoer. Zion PRC called Rev. Guichelaar (Grace, MI).
The Defeat of Moab
Brian D. Dykstra
II Kings 3
Ahaziah, Ahab’s son, ruled Israel for a brief time and died after a fall through a lattice. Since Ahaziah had no son to rule after him, his brother, Jehoram, took the throne. Jehoram’s name means, “Jehovah is exalted.” What was Ahab trying to accomplish by giving his son such a name? There wasn’t anything he did during his reign which exalted God. If he were trying to appease those who knew God’s anger against Israel’s idolatry, the faithful in Israel certainly saw through Ahab.
Scripture notes an improvement in Israel’s religious life under Jehoram’s rule “for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made.” Commentators give explanations for this. One possibility is that Jehoram saw what happened to his father and his brother, and decided that continuing to offend God with outright Baal worship was not wise. Another possibility is that Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, refused to join with Israel in battle against Moab unless Jehoram removed Baal’s image. While we can appreciate the putting away of Baal, it is sad to see that Jehoram continued in the sin of the golden calves. Despite Baal no longer being the “official” idol of Israel, there were devotees in Israel who continued to serve him, otherwise Jehu would not have had so many Baal worshippers to execute when he would become king.
Mesha, king of Moab, seeing that Israel has another inexperienced king, continues with his rebellion against Israel. Mesha started this rebellion when Ahaziah was king but Ahaziah did nothing about Moab’s rebellion. His injury from his fall prevented him from acting. Jehoram will act. Mesha refused to pay Moab’s tribute to Israel of 100,000 unshorn sheep. During these biblical times, a king’s wealth did not consist in a storeroom filled with gold coins but was primarily of great holdings of agricultural products. Mesha’s challenge is that, if Israel wants her tribute, she will have to come and fight Moab for it. II Chronicles 20:1 informs us that Moab and allies fought against Judah during Jehoshaphat’s reign. Although this military campaign wasn’t successful for Moab, Mesha might have thought another fight with Israel would have a different outcome. Even if Israel were to have a costly victory over Moab, Moab could still achieve the goal of breaking free from Israel’s domination.
Jehoram gathers his army and asks Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to come with him. We will concentrate on Jehoshaphat’s part of this expedition when we treat the history of Judah, DV. For now, we briefly note that Jehoshaphat gave Jehoram the same answer as he gave Ahab in I Kings 22 before that ill-advised alliance. Jehoshaphat still has not learned.
Jehoram decided to attack Moab “through the wilderness of Edom.” Edom’s king joined Israel and Judah to fight Moab. Edom had allied with Moab and Ammon to fight Judah earlier in Jehoshaphat’s reign. Those armies destroyed each other before they ever fought Judah. Edom might be looking to take revenge against Moab for that disaster. Certainly, Edom views this as an opportunity to share in the spoils of victory once the fight with Moab finishes. Why Judah was willing to have Edom as an ally after Edom showed what she thought of Judah is another question.
The armies decided to march around the Dead Sea’s southern shore, then north to Moab. There were other routes available. Israel could have attacked Moab from the north by going around the Sea of Galilee. Commentators suggest that this route, though shorter, would be more difficult. Attacking from the north meant Israel would have to cross the Arnon River which marks Moab’s northern border. Arnon’s banks are steep, providing an excellent natural defence.
Not only would attacking Moab from the south avoid the natural defence of the Arnon River, but Israel and Judah could enlist the help of Edom. The problem with this route was that it went through the wilderness. After marching for a week, the host had run out of water. Not only were the men dehydrated making them unfit to fight but also their animals, which they had taken along as a food supply, suffered as well. This army was in trouble.
Jehoram was certain that a just God had “called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!” How quickly those with a guilty conscience despair and fear God’s just punishment! Jehoshaphat wonders if there were a prophet nearby, knowing that they must turn to God for help. Although the godly Jehoshaphat is unaware that Elisha is near, a servant of the ungodly Jehoram knew. God foresaw Judah’s need and provided for His people by sending Elisha along with the host. God knows when His people will be in need and prepares to help. Rather than summon Elisha to come to them, the three kings go to Elisha.
Elisha spoke plainly. He told Jehoram he should go to his parents’ prophets, which Jehoram, knowing how pointless that would be, refused to do. Elisha says he will help, not to show God loves everyone and is gracious to all, but only because Jehoshaphat, an object of God’s (particular) grace, is there. Elisha requested that a minstrel play for him. The music was not meant to excite Elisha into an ecstatic state which would result in seeing visions. The music would calm Elisha because meeting Jezebel’s son reminded him of the evil she had done. Did the musician sing a psalm to beseech God’s lovingkindness and ask for an answer to prayer?
God heard and gave Elisha a remedy. Again, God’s answer is surprising. God will not send a cloudburst to supply water. Rather, the host will not see rain, but they are to dig and fill the valley with ditches. We can imagine how dehydrated men would react to an order to exert themselves in the wilderness heat and dig ditches. We must trust the Word of God though there are no visible reasons to think deliverance will come.
Water comes by way of the dry riverbed at the time of the morning sacrifice at God’s temple. The host now has abundant water, which was great enough, but Elisha also speaks of God delivering Moab into their hand by an overwhelming victory.
Moab heard about their enemy’s approach. Moab would not attack but they “stood in the border.” They would wait for the enemy to come to them. However, at sunrise, when the Moabites saw the rays of the sun reflecting off the water, they thought they saw blood, which they took as meaning that the three armies had fought each other and destroyed themselves. Moab had struck it rich! All they had to do was to run to the enemy camp and help themselves to the spoil of three armies. This would be a fantastic windfall!
Did Satan have similar thoughts of a great victory when he saw Christ’s blood on the cross? Did he, as Moab, believe he had finally brought the cause of God’s church to ruin? From Satan’s quoting the Bible during his temptations of Christ, we realize Satan knows Scripture. However, did he know Scripture well enough to see that the way of ultimate victory for the church was the cross? Moab planned to gloat over her enemies as she gathered the spoil. If Satan went to the sepulchre to gloat over his victory, he was disappointed when he saw that Jesus’ body did not decay as God would not suffer His holy One to see corruption. If that weren’t enough, the resurrection declared to Satan that his head had been crushed.
Israel, Judah and Edom destroyed Moab’s army, but their military campaign did not end. Thousands of soldiers ruined Moab’s fruitful fields by filling them with stones. They destroyed wells and cut down every fruitful tree. The Bible does not tell us how long these destructive efforts took, nor have I read anything about this in commentaries, but this must have taken time, certainly weeks or even months. The repairing of this destruction would occupy Moab for a long time and, when the allied armies left for home, they could do so without any fear of pursuit.
Mesha, Moab’s king, escaped to a walled city, where he hoped he could outlast his enemies or fight his way to freedom. He chose to fight. Determining that Edom was the weak link, he tried to break through Edom with seven hundred of his best men. Having failed, Mesha retreated to the city. The chapter closes with Mesha taking his heir apparent and sacrificing him on the city wall, which would make this dreadful act visible to all.
Why would Mesha sacrifice such a valued son? Commentators suggest Mesha saw this disaster as a punishment from Moab’s god. This sacrifice would appease their idol or, as others suggest, Mesha’s sacrifice would show his people his deep regret for having started this whole disaster. We read there was “great indignation against Israel,” but not Judah or Edom. The allied armies leave after witnessing this horrible deed, and it is suggested that Israel feared God’s anger because they had gone too far in retribution for Moab’s rebellion and wanted hastily to depart such a dreadful scene.
