Here A Little, There A Little

I. We are to live by every word of God. LUK 4:4. A. As such, we should be ready to consider what Scripture anywhere has to say about a given verse or topic under consideration. B. Doctrine is often set forth piecemeal: It is not always concentrated in one text and one may err by not considering what Scripture has to say elsewhere about what is in a particular text. 1. Consider the doctrine of N.T. baptism. Its purpose, requirements, mode, meaning, what it does and does not accomplish, etc. is scattered throughout the N.T. 2. How many have read JOH 3:16 and not considered ROM 9:13 and the obviously qualified “world” in texts like LUK 2:1; JOH 17:9; 1JO 2:15, etc.? 3. An unwillingness to research further than a given text or to consider information from other scriptures which militates against one’s presuppositional bias is the logical error of inadequate sampling. C. ISA 28:9-10 shows that doctrine is intentionally conveyed in piecemeal fashion. Paul describes this as “...comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1CO 2:13).

II. A good example of this is in 2KI 12. A. This chapter is a record of the ascent and reign of young (2CO 11:21) Jehoash/Joash. B. This chapter sets him forth in positive light but vs. 2-3 are somewhat foreboding. C. He did much good for the house of God and fended off a foreign invasion yet God allowed him to be assassinated by his own servants. D. vs. 16-17 indicate that Hazael’s militancy against Jerusalem promptly followed the temple repairs. But there is more to the story.

III. The parallel record of Joash in 2CH 24 adds some important details to his history. Note the summary info of Joash in 2KI 12:19. A. After the death of Jehoiada, the faithful priest, King Joash apostatized and legitimized false worship in Judah. vs. 17-18. B. Jehoiada’s son, Zechariah, prophesied against the apostasy and King Joash orchestrated his death by stoning. vs. 19-21. 1. Joash also slew Zechariah’s priestly brothers, which motivated his servants to conspire against him and assassinate him. v. 25. 2. Joash slew the very men who had anointed him king. 2CH 23:11. C. All this wickedness opened the door for the Syrian invasion and judgment. vs. 23-24. D. Mind that a substantial, important and dark portion of Joash’s record was not recorded in 2KI 12 and would have taken place between 2KI 12:16 and 2KI 12:17. E. We may note that it is common in life for one man or author to know things about someone that another either did not know or did not write about. F. We may also note that as the Holy Spirit only exposed Joash in one portion of Scripture, He does so also with us. The same Book which in one place commends us as the children of light when we walk in the light elsewhere exposes and condemns us as sinners when we walk in darkness. G. We may also walk fearfully in that the Author of our salvation knows everything about us and will judge us righteously. HEB 4:12-13; 1CO 4:5.

IV. The apostasy of Joash and the slaying of Zechariah segues into an interesting parallel in our N.T. A. Compare Zechariah’s last words, “...The LORD look upon it, and require it” (2CH 24:22) with the Lord Jesus' mention of Zechariah / Zacharias' bloodshed, “...It shall be required of this generation” (LUK 11:50-51). 1. God “required” the blood of Zechariah against Joash and again against the Jewish leaders of Jesus’s day. 2. Joash was good at building/refurbishing the temple but not so good at building a house for God in his own heart. He was in accord with the builders who set Christ at nought. ACT 4:11. B. In the Hebrew canon of Scripture, 2CH is the last book of 39 books (the same books we have in the KJV in different order). 1. Christ sealed the list of the martyred O.T. prophets with Zechariah, which excludes the deutercanonical books (Apocrypha). 2. Christ overlooked the martyrs of the post-exile era who died for the sake of national defense or internal political wrangling: their blood was not a consideration. God is more interested in the blood of prophets and saints than of patriots. PSA 105:13-15; 116:15; 72:14.

V. One could easily assume that 2KI 12:16-17 shows an immediate continuity of events denoted by “then.” But such was not the case, as 2CH 24 shows us. A. The word, “then” (when speaking of sequence in time, order, consequence, incidence, inference), means, “At the moment immediately following the action, etc. just spoken of; upon that, thereupon, directly after that; also in wider application, indicating the action or concurrence next in order of time: next, after that, afterwards, subsequently (often in contrast to first).” 1. “Then” may imply immediacy but also merely sequence. c/w MAT 5:24; 7:5. 2. The latter is a common form of highlighting in narrative: the author or speaker may only be referring to certain relevant points of significance which occurred sequentially. Example: “Columbus discovered the New World in 1492, then other Europeans came, then the Pilgrims arrived in 1620, then the American Revolution was fought in 1776...” Many details between the highlights are omitted here. B. A parallel to 2KI 12:16-17 is found in the Olivet Discourse (which embraces the divine requirement of the blood of Zechariah (and other prophets) which would be exacted upon that generation to whom Christ spoke). This discourse is primarily in MAT 24; MAR 13 and LUK 21. 1. In the Olivet Discourse, Christ was speaking of two events: the pending destruction of Jerusalem and overthrow of Judea, and His Second Coming to judge the earth. Contrast the frequency of the term “those days” of great tribulation which His disciples would see and be warned of by specific events so they could flee, and “that day” which none but the Father knew (MAR 13:32) and would come suddenly upon all men without warning signs. 2. MAT 24:29 shows things immediately following “those days” and MAT 24:30 carries on “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man...” referring to the day of His coming. As in 2KI 12:16-17, one might conclude that the Second Coming was/is associated with the “great tribulation” events of “those days” mentioned earlier. 3. But Luke shows that there is a great season, “...the times of the Gentiles...” that is between the two periods, during which a judicial blindness is imposed upon Israel. LUK 21:24 c/w ROM 11:25; 9:22-33. 4. The great tribulation of MAT 24:21 is not at the same time in history as the Second Coming.

VI. The “here a little, there a little” prophecy shows why God wrote the Bible this way. ISA 28:12-13.