The Downward Slide
Today, I joined with Pastor Steve Harris from Timberline Church to conduct the chapel service at Mackenzie Place retirement facility. The group of seniors is always appreciative and gracious. I then spent several hours on my landscaping project preparing for some grading work around the foundation of our house. I think having the use of my power wheelchair actually makes it easier in some ways (although longer) than if I was totally “able bodied.”
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “All these things happened because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God.…the people would not listen. They were stubborn, just as their ancestors had been who did not believe in the Lord their God. They rejected the Lord’s laws and the agreement he had made with their ancestors. And they refused to listen to his warnings. They worshiped useless idols and became useless themselves. They did what the nations around them did, which the Lord had warned them not to do.” 2 Kings 17:7,14,15 NCV
After the reign of Solomon two kingdoms emerge in Israel. The northern kingdom (ten tribes) known as Israel and the southern kingdom known as Judah. (comprised of Judah and Benjamin) After years of idolatry and wickedness in rulers and people the Assyrians conquer and take captive Israel and its inhabitants. We read of the “remove and replace” strategy of the Assyrians. “…he [the king of Assyria] took the Israelites away to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes….The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and put them in the cities of Samaria to replace the Israelites.” (2 Kings 17:6,25 NCV) They were never restored to the land. And they people relocated to Israel’s capital city from these other cities became the “Samaritans” of Jesus day.
Prior to this, we see the tragic violence and confusion in Israel’s leadership. After the forty-one year reign of Jeroboam II in Israel we see his son Zechariah ruled six months and was assassinated. Shallum who lead the revolt became King for one month and was assassinated. Meneham who lead the revolt became King (the third king in seven months) and ruled for ten years as a brutal and ruthless dictator. He paid off the Assyrians with money in the treasury and taxes from the people to stave off an attack.
Memeham’s son Pekahiah became King and ruled two years before being assassinated by one of his army captains. Pekah who lead the revolt became King, ruled twenty years but was continuously attacked the the King of Assyria. Finally, Hoshea, assassinated Pekah and became King and ruled for nine years (most of those years as a “puppet King” of Assyria) before Israel was taken captive. So we see four out of the last five Kings of Israel were all murdered by plots of leaders in their kingdom.
What we observe about Israel can be true of individual lives. A tragic end doesn’t take place over night. It is more often series of poor choices, disobedience to God and a troubled existence, that is culminated in a sad ending.
We also see that Israel failed to learn from the past. Instead of changing their ways, they followed the ways of their ancestors who failed to completely trust in the Lord.
They continually disobeyed the Lord’s instructions and commands. Moses gave instructions to parents to “teach your children” the ways of the Lord. There were priests and prophets who knew the law and ways of the Lord, so it was not for a lack of the availability of knowledge and understanding about God’s laws.
They refused to listen to God’s prophets. The Lord in His mercy sent His messengers to call His people back to Himself and to sound the warning about the coming consequences for their rebellion. But they turned a deaf ear.
They made their choices and their choices made them. “They worshiped useless idols and became useless themselves.” This undoubtedly took place gradually over the course of time. But they persisted and they became like the idols they worshiped….useless, empty, no power, no future.
They chose to follow the ways of the nations around them over the ways of the Lord. They wanted to “fit in” with the cultures of the day. Everyone else had these “gods” you could see. Israel was to worship the “unseen” God. By adopting the ways of cultures around them, they became more and more wicked. They sacrificed their children to pagan gods. They looked to the stars for direction about their future. At the same time they had an awareness of Jehovah God, but they oped for a “pick and choose” approach in their spiritual life.
When we see where Israel started and where they ended and it is a sad story of gradual and persistent life of disobedience and rebellion against the Lord. They failed to listen, they failed to repent. When I consider the history of Israel I find myself asking, “why didn’t the Lord just send fire from heaven to destroy the idols?” But then I realize that the Lord said he would test His people to see what was in their heart.
Some people today take the attitude, “If God doesn’t approve of what I’m doing, He will stop me.” The Lord only did that to one person that I can recall in thousands of years. His name was Saul of Tarsus. The Lord tests our hearts in order to reveal our hearts to us.
In our lives we will experience either a continual and gradual downward slide, or we will choose to respond to the Lord’s grace and mercy. When respond to the Lord, we then follow Him in the path where He leads, and ever upward path and journey that lead to an eternity in His presence. Jesus came to bring us life. Life abundant, free and eternal.