Trapped by sin! -- 2 Kings 17:5-12, 16-20
Trapped by sin! -- 2 Kings 17:5-12, 16-20
By Pastor Lee Hemen
November 4, 2018
Two men were members of the same church. Both were active and were positive witnesses to the presence of God. One grew as a Christian vividly. God gave him victory over various sins committed before becoming a Christian. He became a strong, positive Christian influence in his workplace and community. The other man did not make worshiping and serving God his highest priority. Instead, he began giving into temptations seeking pleasure and possessions instead of a relationship with the Lord. Eventually, he gave up any visible identification with believers and the Lord.
All 20 kings who ruled northern Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. None of them worshiped God only. None were descendants of David to whom God promised his family would always rule over God’s people. Ahab and Jezebel made Baal worship legal. God disciplined his people, but nothing turned them to the Lord. God sent prophets Elisha, Amos, and Hosea to warn Israel of its sin and call the nation back to him. Israel continued to sin and fall deeper into bondage. Finally, God sent Assyria to destroy Samaria and the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell. Israel was trapped by sin, let’s see how…
READ: 2 Kings 17:5-12, 16-20
When Shalmaneser succeeded Tiglath-pileser as king of Assyria, he attacked Hoshea the king of Israel and made him pay tribute. When Hoshea turned to the king of Egypt for help, Shalmaneser invaded Israel, and captured Samaria. Samaria fell because of the people’s sin against the Lord.
I. The downfall of sin is bondage! (2 Kings 17:5-6)
The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.
1. During the time Ahaz was king of Judah and Hoshea king of Israel, Shalmaneser was king of Assyria. Shalmaneser invaded Israel, which eventually fell into Assyrian bondage. Before this time, Israel had been progressively losing its freedom. Israel’s government was highly unstable. After Jeroboam II’s reign of approximately 40 years, five kings followed him in rapid succession. When Hoshea became king at first he paid Assyria tribute (bribe) money. Then he rebelled, quit paying what amounted to “protection money” to Assyria, and turned to Egypt for help -- big mistake! Considering Hoshea to be a traitor, Shalmaneser (who succeeded Tiglath-pileser as king of Assyria) invaded the whole land of Israel. Israel’s fall had been slow but sure in coming. “The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria (Northern Israel’s capital) and laid siege to it for three years.” The downfall of personal or national sin is bondage; bondage to one’s sin, bondage to others who begin to control you because of your sin. Jesus related the same thing when he taught about how a rich man’s money keeps them in bondage just like sin in that “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money (your sin). (Matthew 6:24 NIV)” There is always consequences for one’s sin. When we try to say we honor God but keep part of our lives in sin we suffer. Sadly, when nations or leaders of nations do this it can affect a lot of folks! “In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.” The Northern Kingdom became captive slaves because of their leaders past sins! The downfall of sin is bondage!
EXAMPLE: This past week we have seen how sin can enslave people and be used as an excuse to do horrendous acts. Murdering people because of who they are, firebombing buildings because of politics, or trying to blame others for people’s actions are feeble attempts to excuse sin. Like chains that enslave us, sin is just as binding. Peter wrote that “by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity--for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.” He goes on to write that if one has escaped the corruption of the world by faith in Jesus but then returns to it they are like a dog returning to its vomit or a sow that is washed and goes back to her wallowing in the mud. (2 Peter 2:18-22 NIV) The downfall of sin is bondage!
Israel’s downward slide to bondage moved from being made a vassal nation that paid tribute (bribe) money to Assyria to its people’s being exiled. The slaves who were once set free from Pharaoh are enslaved again! People who fail to obey God will experience spiritual bondage. We discover that…
II. Believers can suffer because of their disobedience! (2 Kings 17:7-12)
All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh King of Egypt. They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the LORD had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that provoked the LORD to anger. They worshiped idols, though the LORD had said, “You shall not do this.”
1. We discover that “All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh King of Egypt. They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced.” Some of those “practices” included sacrificing their children by burning them alive in fire; practicing divination, witchcraft, and sorcery; interpreting omens; casting spells; and going to mediums or spiritists to try to contact the dead. Do any of these practices ring a bell when you observe the practices of people today, even some who are professing Christians? Walking spiritual mazes, speaking in tongues, chanting certain phrases over and over, being superstitious, worshipping nature or the environment are just some ways folks have diluted their faith. Believers can suffer because their disobedience! Not all of Israel’s sins were public sins. “The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the LORD had driven out before them had done.” Families had begun to make their own backyard altars to any deity or dead relative! They had sexual relations with cultic prostitutes to honor fertility gods and goddesses! These horrible practices, done in the name of worship and in the name of God, “provoked the LORD to anger”! Like many Christians today “They worshiped idols, though the LORD had said, ‘You shall not do this.’” We often think we have the right to do whatever we want whenever we want as long as it makes us feel good about ourselves, and nothing could be further from the truth! Believers can suffer because of their disobedience!
EXAMPLE: “The data suggests this is the fastest growing religious group in America, are people who don't hold any firm religious beliefs,” Teixeira, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. Teixeira was discussing a recent Pew Research Center poll that found 62 percent of Americans hold New Age beliefs, such as astrology and the presence of spiritual energy in trees or mountains. The survey also found that those who identify as Christian were more likely than atheists and agnostics to hold at least one New Age belief. Sixty-one percent of respondents who identified as Christian said they held at least one New Age belief, compared with 22 percent of atheists and 56 percent of agnostics who said the same. Sixty-seven percent of mainline Protestants, 47 percent of evangelicals and 70 percent of Catholics said they believed in a New Age belief. And we wonder why churches are not growing. We learn here that believers can suffer because of their disobedience!
God has commanded his people to worship only him. Not trees,, mountains, or images we have made. These commandments are stressed repeatedly throughout Scripture. But people refuse to listen or obey. Disobedience was the reason God brought judgment on the Israelites and allowed Assyria to conquer their nation; therefore we should learn…
III. The lesson is to worship God only! (2 Kings 17:16-20)
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. 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. So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, and even Judah did not keep the commands of the LORD their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced. 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.
1. Again we discover that the Israelites “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. They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire.” God has terms about how we are to worship him. It is to be centered on him and not ourselves! When we make it about ourselves then worship begins to be about how we feel. Our worship becomes syncretism: the combination of different systems of philosophical or religious belief or practices! We see this with roadside altars to those who were killed or the belief in ghosts. Other pagan practices were widespread throughout Israel. Some parents sacrificed their sons and daughters by fire! They practiced divination and interpreted omens. The practice of divination and omens involved efforts to know and thus manipulate the future by human means instead of trusting the God of history. The practice astrology by bowing down to the “starry hosts” and it included such pagan activities as seeking omens or signs, telling fortunes, forecasting the future by examining animal organs, and trying to communicate with the dead. Does any of this sound familiar? People without God can only use human means to try to understand what’s going on in the world and in their lives. The people of Israel had God, but they ignored him and turned from him to the futile means that pagans used. In doing so they “sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger”! Even though the people did not care, God did! “So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence.” The only group that was left was Judah to the south “and even Judah did not keep the commands of the LORD their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced. 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.” Wow! The lesson is to worship God only!
EXAMPLE: God’s evaluation of Israel was that they sold themselves to do what was evil, thus provoking the Lord to anger. Instead of dedicating themselves wholly to the Lord, they gave themselves to practices that were characteristic of the people around them but were evil in God’s sight. God did not ignore his people’s pagan worship or practices. God’s anger is not a selfish anger. His discipline operates in our best interests. It is designed to bring us back to him because he desperately loves us. Remember, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NIV)” God would provide a way back to him and he still does! The lesson is to worship God only!
Conclusion:
The downfall of sin is bondage! Believers can suffer because of their disobedience! The lesson is to worship God only!
----
This article is copyrighted © 2018 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
November 4, 2018
Two men were members of the same church. Both were active and were positive witnesses to the presence of God. One grew as a Christian vividly. God gave him victory over various sins committed before becoming a Christian. He became a strong, positive Christian influence in his workplace and community. The other man did not make worshiping and serving God his highest priority. Instead, he began giving into temptations seeking pleasure and possessions instead of a relationship with the Lord. Eventually, he gave up any visible identification with believers and the Lord.
All 20 kings who ruled northern Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. None of them worshiped God only. None were descendants of David to whom God promised his family would always rule over God’s people. Ahab and Jezebel made Baal worship legal. God disciplined his people, but nothing turned them to the Lord. God sent prophets Elisha, Amos, and Hosea to warn Israel of its sin and call the nation back to him. Israel continued to sin and fall deeper into bondage. Finally, God sent Assyria to destroy Samaria and the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell. Israel was trapped by sin, let’s see how…
READ: 2 Kings 17:5-12, 16-20
When Shalmaneser succeeded Tiglath-pileser as king of Assyria, he attacked Hoshea the king of Israel and made him pay tribute. When Hoshea turned to the king of Egypt for help, Shalmaneser invaded Israel, and captured Samaria. Samaria fell because of the people’s sin against the Lord.
I. The downfall of sin is bondage! (2 Kings 17:5-6)
The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.
1. During the time Ahaz was king of Judah and Hoshea king of Israel, Shalmaneser was king of Assyria. Shalmaneser invaded Israel, which eventually fell into Assyrian bondage. Before this time, Israel had been progressively losing its freedom. Israel’s government was highly unstable. After Jeroboam II’s reign of approximately 40 years, five kings followed him in rapid succession. When Hoshea became king at first he paid Assyria tribute (bribe) money. Then he rebelled, quit paying what amounted to “protection money” to Assyria, and turned to Egypt for help -- big mistake! Considering Hoshea to be a traitor, Shalmaneser (who succeeded Tiglath-pileser as king of Assyria) invaded the whole land of Israel. Israel’s fall had been slow but sure in coming. “The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria (Northern Israel’s capital) and laid siege to it for three years.” The downfall of personal or national sin is bondage; bondage to one’s sin, bondage to others who begin to control you because of your sin. Jesus related the same thing when he taught about how a rich man’s money keeps them in bondage just like sin in that “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money (your sin). (Matthew 6:24 NIV)” There is always consequences for one’s sin. When we try to say we honor God but keep part of our lives in sin we suffer. Sadly, when nations or leaders of nations do this it can affect a lot of folks! “In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.” The Northern Kingdom became captive slaves because of their leaders past sins! The downfall of sin is bondage!
EXAMPLE: This past week we have seen how sin can enslave people and be used as an excuse to do horrendous acts. Murdering people because of who they are, firebombing buildings because of politics, or trying to blame others for people’s actions are feeble attempts to excuse sin. Like chains that enslave us, sin is just as binding. Peter wrote that “by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity--for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.” He goes on to write that if one has escaped the corruption of the world by faith in Jesus but then returns to it they are like a dog returning to its vomit or a sow that is washed and goes back to her wallowing in the mud. (2 Peter 2:18-22 NIV) The downfall of sin is bondage!
Israel’s downward slide to bondage moved from being made a vassal nation that paid tribute (bribe) money to Assyria to its people’s being exiled. The slaves who were once set free from Pharaoh are enslaved again! People who fail to obey God will experience spiritual bondage. We discover that…
II. Believers can suffer because of their disobedience! (2 Kings 17:7-12)
All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh King of Egypt. They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the LORD had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that provoked the LORD to anger. They worshiped idols, though the LORD had said, “You shall not do this.”
1. We discover that “All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh King of Egypt. They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced.” Some of those “practices” included sacrificing their children by burning them alive in fire; practicing divination, witchcraft, and sorcery; interpreting omens; casting spells; and going to mediums or spiritists to try to contact the dead. Do any of these practices ring a bell when you observe the practices of people today, even some who are professing Christians? Walking spiritual mazes, speaking in tongues, chanting certain phrases over and over, being superstitious, worshipping nature or the environment are just some ways folks have diluted their faith. Believers can suffer because their disobedience! Not all of Israel’s sins were public sins. “The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the LORD had driven out before them had done.” Families had begun to make their own backyard altars to any deity or dead relative! They had sexual relations with cultic prostitutes to honor fertility gods and goddesses! These horrible practices, done in the name of worship and in the name of God, “provoked the LORD to anger”! Like many Christians today “They worshiped idols, though the LORD had said, ‘You shall not do this.’” We often think we have the right to do whatever we want whenever we want as long as it makes us feel good about ourselves, and nothing could be further from the truth! Believers can suffer because of their disobedience!
EXAMPLE: “The data suggests this is the fastest growing religious group in America, are people who don't hold any firm religious beliefs,” Teixeira, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. Teixeira was discussing a recent Pew Research Center poll that found 62 percent of Americans hold New Age beliefs, such as astrology and the presence of spiritual energy in trees or mountains. The survey also found that those who identify as Christian were more likely than atheists and agnostics to hold at least one New Age belief. Sixty-one percent of respondents who identified as Christian said they held at least one New Age belief, compared with 22 percent of atheists and 56 percent of agnostics who said the same. Sixty-seven percent of mainline Protestants, 47 percent of evangelicals and 70 percent of Catholics said they believed in a New Age belief. And we wonder why churches are not growing. We learn here that believers can suffer because of their disobedience!
God has commanded his people to worship only him. Not trees,, mountains, or images we have made. These commandments are stressed repeatedly throughout Scripture. But people refuse to listen or obey. Disobedience was the reason God brought judgment on the Israelites and allowed Assyria to conquer their nation; therefore we should learn…
III. The lesson is to worship God only! (2 Kings 17:16-20)
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. 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. So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, and even Judah did not keep the commands of the LORD their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced. 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.
1. Again we discover that the Israelites “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. They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire.” God has terms about how we are to worship him. It is to be centered on him and not ourselves! When we make it about ourselves then worship begins to be about how we feel. Our worship becomes syncretism: the combination of different systems of philosophical or religious belief or practices! We see this with roadside altars to those who were killed or the belief in ghosts. Other pagan practices were widespread throughout Israel. Some parents sacrificed their sons and daughters by fire! They practiced divination and interpreted omens. The practice of divination and omens involved efforts to know and thus manipulate the future by human means instead of trusting the God of history. The practice astrology by bowing down to the “starry hosts” and it included such pagan activities as seeking omens or signs, telling fortunes, forecasting the future by examining animal organs, and trying to communicate with the dead. Does any of this sound familiar? People without God can only use human means to try to understand what’s going on in the world and in their lives. The people of Israel had God, but they ignored him and turned from him to the futile means that pagans used. In doing so they “sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger”! Even though the people did not care, God did! “So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence.” The only group that was left was Judah to the south “and even Judah did not keep the commands of the LORD their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced. 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.” Wow! The lesson is to worship God only!
EXAMPLE: God’s evaluation of Israel was that they sold themselves to do what was evil, thus provoking the Lord to anger. Instead of dedicating themselves wholly to the Lord, they gave themselves to practices that were characteristic of the people around them but were evil in God’s sight. God did not ignore his people’s pagan worship or practices. God’s anger is not a selfish anger. His discipline operates in our best interests. It is designed to bring us back to him because he desperately loves us. Remember, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NIV)” God would provide a way back to him and he still does! The lesson is to worship God only!
Conclusion:
The downfall of sin is bondage! Believers can suffer because of their disobedience! The lesson is to worship God only!
----
This article is copyrighted © 2018 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
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