Enough! (2 Kings 17)
After a period of nearly 200yrs since Jeroboam’s succession from Judah, the northern tribes of Israel are eventually conquered by the Assyrians and deported into exile (2 Kings 17:6). Under the direction of the Holy Spirit, the writers of Scripture are very keen to make it plain as to why this happened.
“And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God…and had feared other gods and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel…” (2 Kings 17:7-8)
This was an event that came about not because of bad military or political strategy (although the passage reveals there were mis-steps made), Scripture attributes the source of the capitulation and capture of Israel by Assyria as being God Himself as the active agent.
The whole of the chapter reads like a charge sheet being read out in a court room, the list of charges against the accused, the guilty one;
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- You have sinned against your God who brought you out of Egypt and into this Promised Land
- You walked in the customs of the nations whom I judged and drove out before you
- You followed wicked evil kings who lead you into sin
- You built for yourself your own places of worship, altars to false gods & served idols
- You did wicked things before me, and made sacrifices to these false gods
- You provoked me to anger (says God)
- I warned you again and again through the prophets, but you would not listen and were stubborn (vs13-14)
- You did not believe
- You despised my commands
- You even burned your sons & daughters as worship to false gods provoking me to righteous anger
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And because of this the judgement comes;
18 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only… 20 And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until he had cast them out of his sight. (2 Kings 17:18&20)
23…the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had spoken by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria until this day. (2 Kings 17:23)
Yes, God is ‘slow to anger and abounding in love’ (Exodus 34:6) but that does not mean that eventually God will not say; ‘enough!’ God was patient, forbearing with Israel but eventually love for all those sinned against, all those who lost loved ones, love for all those babies sacrificed to false gods looked like God judging sin. God had appealed again and again, urged them to turn from their wickedness – but they refused to with hard stubborn hearts.
So what can we learn from this for our lives?
May we not ever trust our hearts, which are so prone to lead us astray from serving the living God. May we hold on to His words, will and ways laid out for us in Holy Scripture. May we never tamper with His Word and make our own false gods suitable to our fancies and our modern culture’s preferences. May we repent when and if we have sinned against Him, and may we worship our Holy God with holy reverence and as our loving response to all the love He has poured out to us through the gift of His precious Son, Jesus.
Two words that matter 