READING: 2 Kings 17-18, John 3:19-36
“So Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria.”
2 Kings 17:23
Sin always comes with a price. The cost may not be immediate, and it may seem that we have “gotten away with” something – but we do not fool God. The God of Israel had rescued His people from Egypt, but they nevertheless had a tendency to follow the pagan ways of the nations they encountered. They committed secret sin against God, and they built public high places for false gods. They continued to do “wicked things, provoking the LORD to anger” (2 Kings 17:11). God loved them enough to send them prophets to speak against their sin and call them to repentance, but they had closed ears and stubborn hearts. The people went so deeply into sin that they even offered their own children as offerings to false gods! (2 Kings 17:17). Ultimately, God “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 . . .” (2 Kings 17:23).
Clearly, the sin of the people was so deep and so ongoing that it should not surprise us that God judged them through exile. Their problem was not political inexperience or military weakness; it was sin. They simply would not listen to God or His prophets.
It’s easy, of course, to read these details, analyze them, marvel at the sin of the people, and completely separate ourselves from the story. When I read this summary of Israel’s history, however, I hear much that sounds similar to our lives. We whom God has rescued from bondage so quickly forget the grace that provided our rescue. The attraction of sin of our culture can be so strong that we turn to the “gods” that surround us; in fact, our churches are seemingly filled with people whose lives differ little from a pagan world. We have God’s Word, His spokespersons, and His church who challenge us at least weekly to stop provoking Him to anger and return to Him in repentance. We may not literally offer our children on altars to false gods, but we need not look far to find those who treat children more as expendable evils than as gifts of God.
Those comparisons alarm me, frankly. We know that God does not leave or forsake those who are genuinely His followers (Heb. 13:5), but that promise does not preclude the possibility of God’s allowing our sin to exile us so that we might return to Him. Whatever that judgment is might seem harsh at the time, but God loves us enough to bring us to the end of ourselves when sin dominates us. His judgment is a reminder not only that He is holy, but also that we are still His people.
ACTION STEPS:
- Intercede all day long for someone you know who has become snared in the ways of the world.
- Listen closely to and follow God’s Word today. Don’t just read it.
PRAYER: “Father, I’m too often guilty of ignoring what You teach me. Help me to hear You closely today.”
TOMORROW’S READING: 2 Kings 19-21, John 4:1-30
