2 Kings 17:14-23 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 2 Kings 17:14-23. As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first. See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
2 Kings 17:14-23 (NIV)
14 But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who did not trust in the LORD their God.
15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the LORD had ordered them, “Do not do as they do,” and they did the things the LORD had forbidden them to do.
16 They forsook all the commands of the LORD their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal.
17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger.
18 So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left,
19 and even Judah did not keep the commands of the LORD their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced.
20 Therefore the LORD rejected all the people of Israel; he afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers, until he thrust them from his presence.
21 When he tore Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam enticed Israel away from following the LORD and caused them to commit a great sin.
22 The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them
23 until the LORD removed them from his presence, as he had warned through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria, and they are still there.
On verses 14-23: These verses summarize the overall story of 2 Kings, which is that despite the Lord warning His people about the consequences that would result if they kept on sinning, the Israelites both in Israel and in Judah persisted in all forms of sinning against the Lord (v14 to 19). So the Lord does as He had warned. Just as Abijah had prophesied approximately 200 years before in 1 Kings 14:15-16, God thrusts the Israelites from His presence and out of the land that He had given to them (v20-23).
What can we learn from this?
1. Just as the Israelites were ousted out of their homeland because of their persistent sin, the price we pay for our persistent sin is to be thrust from God’s presence. As Isaiah 59:2 says, “It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.” But praise God! When we had no way of returning to God’s presence, He made a way for us through Jesus Christ. Through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, our sins which used to separate us from God are forgiven, and by faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross we can enter God’s presence again.
2. A common theme is 2 Kings is that God’s Word is reliable and true. What God promises will happen will indeed happen in God’s perfect timing, even if it is centuries between the announcement of a prophecy and its fulfillment.
Lord Jesus, when our persistent sins thrust us out of the presence of the Father, You sacrificed Yourself for us so that we could have a way back home. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
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