Between Wickedness And Godliness

1 Chronicles 3:17-18 " The sons of Jeconiah who was taken prisoner by the Babylonians, were Shealtiel, Malkiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah."

Matthew 1:12 NLT "After the Babylonian exile: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel."



We don't really know much about Shealtiel. He is mentioned eleven times in the Bible - but there are precious few details about his life. What we know about him only comes from two geneologies; 1 Chronicles 3 and Matthew 1. In fact, there are only three facts about Shealtiel that we can glean from scriptures:
One: He was the son of Jeconiah.
Two: He was born in Babylon.
Three: He was the father of Zerubbabel.

That's it. His whole life; what he did, who he married, how he served God...none of that is known to us! If it weren't for the family lists in scripture, we wouldn't have even known that Shealtiel ever existed! How depressing for him, right? However, when we take a deep look at Shealtiel's surroundings, we can see more clearly what kind of man he must have been.

First, let's look at Shealtiel's father, Jeconiah:

Jeconiah was the son of King Jehoiakim and grandson of King Josiah. Although Josiah was a righteous man, Jehoiakim was anything but. While denying the very God that made King Josiah powerful, Jehoiakim also rebelled against the most powerful empire in the world - Babylon. This was an extremely foolish move!

When Jeconiah was only eight years old, Jehoiakim made him an "associate king". He co-ruled the nation of Judah at his father's side for ten years. No doubt, during this time, Jeconiah learned the wicked ways and practices of his father and even began to follow them. 2 Chronicles 36:9 has this testimony about Jeconiah, "He did evil in the sight of the LORD." After Babylon-supported raiders killed Jehoiakim, Jeconiah became king of Judah at the age of eighteen. He never turned from his wicked ways or repented. After three short months as king, Jeconiah was captured and taken to Babylon as a prisoner.

While he was in Babylon, his uncle Zedekiah was instated as king by the Babylonian emperor. Most Jews still regarded Jeconiah as king though, and erroneously believed that God would bring him back to the throne. This led Jeremiah to announce by the Holy Spirit that none of Jeconiah's descendants would ever sit on David's throne. Jeconiah destroyed the destiny of his children by his own wickedness. Still, it wasn't all bad for him. After several years of captivity, the next Babylonian emperor had pity on this one-time king. He let Jonah out of prison and gave him a life in Babylon. It was during this time that Shealtiel was born.

Now let's look at Shealtiel's son, Zerubbabel:

We don't know much about Zerubbabel's early life. His name is actually Assyrian, not Hebrew. It means "the one conceived in Babylon." Zerubbabel never knew anything but life in captivity. He never experienced any other culture other than that of Babylon and then Persia. But somehow, this was the man that Cyrus picked to lead the first wave of returning exiles. Zerubbabel led over 40,000 Jewish people back to Jerusalem to repopulate and rebuild.

In Jerusalem, Zerubbabel was instated as governor by Cyrus and he laid the foundation of the new temple. This was a man that feared God and worked closely with Joshua the high priest. God responded to Zerubbabel's trust in Him and declared through Haggai, "On that day, says the Lord of Hosts, I will take you Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, my servant, and wear you like a signet ring; for it is you whom I have chosen."

God rejected Jeconiah and his descendants as kings because of his wickedness. But when Zerubbabel embraced Him, God worked around His own curse and brought a blessing on this family once again. Now the question is, who taught Zerubbabel to fear God? It certainly wasn't a common thing in his culture. Babylon and Persia were both god-less, immoral, and idolatrous empires. So where did this man who was "conceived in Babylon" learn about the ways of God?

 From his father.

 This is where Shealtiel comes in. He saw the wickedness of his father. He knew the stories of what God did to Judah because of the evil that his people were practicing. And he knew the prophecies of repentance and restoration for the Jewish people. So Shealtiel bridged the gap between a wicked generation and a restored generation. He was a member of a repentant generation.

Daniel was a member of that same generation. He was only a child when he was ripped out of Jerusalem. He was forced to grow up in a pagan and ungodly culture. But listen to his prayer in Daniel 8:4-11:

      "Lord, you are a great and wonderful God. You keep the covenant you made with all those who love you and obey your commands. You show them your love. We have sinned and done what is wrong. We have been evil. We have refused to obey you. We have turned away from your commands and laws. We haven’t listened to your servants the prophets. They spoke in your name to our kings and princes. They also brought your message to all of our people in the land.

      “Lord, you always do what is right. But we are covered with shame today. We are the people of Judah and Jerusalem. All of us are Israelites, no matter where we live. We are now living in many countries. You scattered us among the nations because we weren’t faithful to you. Lord, we and our kings and princes and people are covered with shame. We have sinned against you.

     “You are the Lord our God. You show us your tender love. You forgive us. But we have turned against you. You are the Lord our God. But we haven’t obeyed you. We haven’t kept the laws you gave us through your servants the prophets. All of the people of Israel have broken your law and turned away from it. They have refused to obey you."

It was a wicked generation that brought sorrow to Israel. Shealtiel's generation was raised in that sorrow and became repentant, seeking God's forgiveness for the sins that their fathers had committed. They knew that they were to be exiled for seventy years - per God's decree. So Shealtiel knew that he wouldn't see Jerusalem or the promised restoration of God's people. So what did he do? He prepared his son.

Now we can see a few powerful truths from the life of Shealtiel.

First, we can see the divine order of things. No one can move straight from wickedness to restoration. The proper order is to move through repentance. God will not restore if you won't repent. Whine about grace all you want to...but grace does not cover an immoral lifestyle! This was the message that John preached, the message that Jesus preached - this is the gospel of the Kingdom - "Repent for the Kindom of Heaven is at hand!"

Secondly, I can see a profound truth in my own life. I grew up in a generation that has been alienated from God. Our fathers sowed the seed, and now we're reaping the horrible harvest. Violence. Laziness. Perversion. Immorality. Despair. My generation seems to have no hope, and we're still only digging ourselves deeper. We've been born into captivity.

As much as I try to shield them from it...my own kids have been born into this culture too. Like Zerubbabel, they have been "conceived in Babylon." But I have learned my part from Shealtiel; I have two major responsibilities:

1 - I must push into a changed lifestyle. If you're a believer that happens to be in the Millennial generation, listen to me. We cannot afford to be passive in our Christian walk! We can't afford to lose track of where our Bibles are, go days without seeking God's face, or allow ourselves to be disconnected from our spiritual leaders. We must repent of the wickedness that infiltrated our father's generation and now runs rampant in our own. We must change!

2 - I must prepare my kids for role. My kids are going to see God's glory! My kids are going to operate in the kingdom of God, not this world's system! My kids are going to lay, once again, the right foundation in the church! They're not going to "play church"! They're not going to treat God's house like a social gathering or country club! My kids are going to lead the way back to the Kingdom of God!

...But Is It What God Wants?

James 4:13-16 “Look here, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.’ How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.’ Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.”

Up until yesterday, I read this passage of scripture as if it were telling us not to plan ahead, because we don’t know if we’ll still be alive to do what we’ve planned. That’s probably why I didn’t pay very much attention to it, since I knew that Proverbs 21:5 specifically tells us to make diligent plans for the future - “The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty.” So what is it? Should we make plans or not?

I think asking this question is beside the point. Of course we need to make plans for our life! In two different passages in Proverbs (6:6 and 30:25), the lowly ant is considered wise because it stores food in the summer to eat during the winter. Isn’t that planning ahead? Should the ant give up its preparation because it doesn’t know if it’s going to be stepped on today? And what is our Christian walk if it’s not a plan for the future? I don’t know about you, but my plans extend 1,000 years into the future and beyond!

The issue in this passage isn’t the planning itself. The issue here is, who’s responsible for the decisions in your life - you or God? You see, when you made Jesus your Lord - you made Him your owner, your ruler, your boss. You no longer have the right to direct your own life anymore. Didn’t you know this already? 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Your life belongs to God now! That means, whatever He says you do!

Psalm 37:23 shows what this kind of life looks like, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD.” Romans 8:14 echoes this, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” When you truly give your life to Jesus, you’re surrendering the control of every decision you make!

Sadly, this couldn’t be any more different from the modern American ‘gospel.’ We’re being told that God’s grace allows us to add God’s forgiveness to whatever lifestyle we want. We’ve told Jesus to be our Savior and never really made Him Lord. The motto of this gospel is, “Jesus died so we could live (any way we want)!”

The fact is, Jesus didn’t die so we could live our own life. He died so we could die to our own life! 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 says this: “If One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” When Jesus died for us, He gave us the power to die to our will and live in His will.

No more of this American religion! No more calling Jesus ‘Lord’ and ignoring what He tells us! No more hearing and never doing! Listen to how your Lord ended His most famous sermon:

Matthew 7:24-27 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.”
“But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

The first type of man represents the people who hear (and read) God’s Word and do it! Even though it’s tough, even though everyone says there’s an easier way, even when it takes longer to get what they want - they build their life God’s way. This kind of life, built on obedience to God’s Word, stands up to the storm.

The second type of man represents the people who hear God’s Word and go about their own way. They know they should spend time in the Bible, but they’ve got a busy life. They know that God loves cheerful givers, but money’s tight at the moment. They know that the Bible tells parents to discipline their kids, but they want their kids to like them! So, instead of doing things God’s way - they decide that God will understand if they do it their own way. After all - “God knows my heart!” So they call Him ‘Lord’ and then act like they’re living their own life. This is a life built on sand, my friend! Let a few raindrops fall, and everything collapses!

I know God’s way isn’t always easy - but it is always right! It’s time for a true altar call this morning. It’s time, once and for all, to lay down your life as a living sacrifice. It’s time to finally make Jesus your Lord and Savior. Stop pretending like you can still do things your own way!

Luke 6:46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?”

Pre-Ordained Breakup

To the uninformed, it appears as if we're breaking up. Churches are being emptied. People are running out the door in droves. Offense is running rampant throughout local congregations. It looks like we’re falling apart   – but there's something much deeper going on.

This is a little more reading than I normally put in my posts, but get over it - you can never go wrong with reading God's Word, right? I want you to see that this concept is straight from God's Word  - not my opinion! I don't have to interpret this story, Jesus did that for us! 

In Matthew 13:24-30, Jesus tells this story to His disciples: “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

A little while later, in verse 36, His disciples asked Him to explain the story. So Jesus responds with the application to the church in verses 37-43:“He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

It would be a true statement to say that this is the story of the rapture of the church – but it's also true to say that this is the story of what happens in the time before we leave. Now that we've found the key to this story in the second passage, let's go back and use it in the first.

Verse 24 -  The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;
The man is Jesus. The good seed are those of us who “sons of the kingdom” or who understand Jesus absolute authority over us as King. We were planted by Jesus Christ and have been been growing for about 2,000 years now.

Verse 25 - but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
It's not surprising who the enemy is, he's been the enemy of everything godly since the beginning. What is surprising to some people, is the tares. These are people who were planted by the devil “among the wheat!” Did you realize that the devil has plants (or “moles” to use a spy movie term) inside God's church? Verse 41 describes them as people “that offend, and those who practice lawlessness.” While God's leaders were sleeping, these people were slipped into our ranks.

I know that we have always defined offense as getting our feelings hurt. But the real meaning of “offend” in this passage is “to cause to fall away.” These are the people who cause others to leave God's kingdom. These are the people who spread strife and division in churches, destroying their reputations. These are the people who will split a church in two, carry weak believers out the doors with them, and then abandon them to the world. These tares are the people who are damaging the church by their rebellion and lawlessness.

Verse 26 - But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.
Tares in the church are nothing new. The early church had to deal with them too. Both seeds were planted around the same time, but as we get closer to the end, the tares have gotten stronger and much more noticeable.

Verse 27 - So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
According to verse 39, we know that the reaper are angels. But this is another group called “servants.” Who could it be, having a conversation with Jesus and asking Him where these “tare” people came from? These are the local church leaders. These are the men and women that God holds responsible for local congregations. And as the tares get more and more obvious, I'm sure that there's been more than a few pastors who have had this conversation with God!

Verse 28 - He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’
As soon as these local pastors learn about where the tares in their church come from, their immediate, and very understandable response is, “Do You want me to kick them out, God?” No pastor wants tares in their church; ruining the good seed!

Verse 29 - But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.
God's response to these pastors is right on! A lot of times, when a Pastor confronts and tries to uproot a person who is a tare, their roots in that church pull out a lot of good seed.
But this next verse is my favorite part of this story!

Verse 30 - Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
The two types of people, represented by the good seed and the tares, share the same churches until the “time of the harvest.” This harvest has two parts:

The first part of the harvest is when God sends His angelic reapers into His kingdom to gather out the tares “into bundles”. That means some people are going to leave. This is directly opposite to the church growth principles we’ve used in our churches! These divisive people are going to leave church, escorted out by angels! They may think they’re bored. They may think they’re offended. They may think they have a valid reason. But the reality is, God’s angels are removing the tares from the wheat. They're going to be gathered together into bundles – groups of these people gathering together! Can you imagine what that must be like? A group of divisive, disgruntled, and generally unhappy church people getting together every week – not my idea of a good time!

But here's the best part! After God uproots the tares out of His kingdom, “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father!” We're gonna start seeing church – the way it was always intended to be! What will it look like to see groups of believers gathering together with no offense and no lawlessness? We're finally going to see God do what He wants done in His church!

And then, the second part of the Harvest happens...”gather the wheat into My barn.” When we finally become a “glorious church, without spot or blemish” - we'll be ready to leave!

Yahweh Tsidkenu

Jeremiah 23:6 “And this will be his name: ‘Yahweh Is Our Righteousness (Yahweh Tsidkenu).’ In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety.”

God is Righteous. He is completely righteous, there could never be the slightest hint of wickedness in Him. That’s why He stands in direct opposition of sin - He hates it. God is so righteous that He sees the wicked thought in the same way He sees the wicked action. He will punish both of them in the same way.

David couldn’t help to declare God’s righteousness. In his mind, that’s who God is! Look at just a few of the things David wrote about God’s righteousness.
Psalm 36:6 “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths.”
Psalm 11:7 “For Yahweh is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright.”
Psalm 45:6 “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.”
Psalm 97:2 “Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.”

There are many, many more verses in David’s psalms about the righteousness of God. As far as David was concerned, God’s righteousness and justice were what gave Him the right to rule.

Now, from our point of view, God’s righteousness can be a fearful thing. Our righteousness and His righteousness won’t ever match or line up. The best mankind can do - the most righteous we could ever be - is described in Isaiah 64:6: “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness is like filthy rags.” We just don’t measure up. We can’t do enough righteous things to become righteous. Why? Because there isn’t enough good deeds in the world to erase a single act of wickedness.

Is it any wonder then that our first reaction to God’s righteousness is fear? Isaiah (Isaiah 6:5), Manoah (Judges 13:22), and David (1 Chronicles 21:16) were all terrified when they saw God. Why? Because their first thoughts were about God’s righteousness and their sinfulness. As Paul preached to Felix (the man who held Paul prisoner) about God’s righteousness, it brought fear to him too. Acts 24:25 says, “As he reasoned with them about righteousness and self-control and the coming day of judgment, Felix became frightened. ‘Go away for now,’ he replied. ‘When it is more convenient, I’ll call for you again.’” The righteousness of God makes sinners a little nervous.

But the separation of our wickedness and God’s righteousness didn’t only affect us. One reason God hates our wickedness so much is because of the separation it brings with it! Listen to what He said in Isaiah 48:18 “Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”

God hates our wickedness, but He hated our separation even more! This is why He paid such a high cost to eliminate them both. 2 Corinthians 5:21 shows us what He really wanted for the sinner; “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” As much as God hates our sin, He still took it on Himself to destroy the separation between us. This is how it worked; He took our sin and gave us His righteousness.

Romans 3:21-22 agrees - “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law (apart from working to earn it) is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.” God plan was to provide righteousness to those who would put their trust in Him. His desire was to become our righteousness!

Incidentally, this was always His plan. The first time you see the word “righteousness” in the Bible is in Genesis 15:6, “And he [Abram] believed in Yahweh, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” Righteousness has never come by trying to do, do, do, do....anytime you see it, it has only come by faith.

So then, this should be the response of everyone who has received the free gift of righteousness:

“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness”
(Isaiah 61:10)