Our God: Loving, Gracious and Terrifying: 2 Kings #21
This exposition of 2 Kings 17:1-23 was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church by Pastor Rod Harris on Sunday evening, December 4, 2016.
Intro:
The apostle Paul, writing to the church at Corinth, said the following:
I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. (1 Corinthians 10:1-6)
When we come to the Scriptures we do not come to an ancient text to discover obscure facts about an ancient people. We do not approach Scripture for merely historical purposes but to learn something about the character and nature of our God and how we are to relate to Him. This is not some dusty old book about ancient times with little or nothing to do with us or our lives today. This is the revelation of God. This is God speaking to us. Paul later said that every word is inspired, breathed out, by God and is profitable for instruction, reproof and training in righteousness. As we explore the narrative passages of 2 Kings we are not just getting a civic lessons in the political wrangling of the Jewish people, we are gaining insight about the God we serve. In coming to 1 Corinthians 17 we come to the end of the northern kingdom. Following the death of Solomon the kingdom divided with 10 tribes forming the northern kingdom with its capital in Samaria and Jeroboam as their king while Judah and Benjamin rallied around Rehoboam in the south. Now, after 200 years of stubborn rebellion God brings an end to the northern kingdom. As we watch Israel’s fall we are reminded of some very relevant truths. Our text is found in the 17th chapter of 2 Kings.
Text: 2 Kings 17:1-23
The text begins like most sections of 2 Kings. We are told that another king has come to reign in Israel. We are given the time reference, the 12th year of Ahaz king of Judah. We are told that Hoshea reigned for 9 years. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD – however note, “Yet not as the kings of Israel who ere before him.” So he was bad just not as bad as most of those other guys. We find that he was a vassal of king Shalmaneser of Assyria. A vassal is one who reigns by permission of another on the condition that he pays tribute to his superior. Apparently Hoshea was not too bright because he broke his deal and sought to conspire with the king of Egypt. This got him locked up and hastened the end of his kingdom.
the 12:6 is the account of the fall of Israel: In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
That’s it? 200 years of history and one sentence to describe its end? Starting with the 12:24 we are told how that after exiling a large segment of the population (the king who followed Shalmaneser boasted of exporting some 24,000 in one deportation – there were multiple deportations over several years) foreigners were brought in to “resettle” the area. No big battle. No great event. Just a whimper.
The larger section and the focus of our study is on the reason for the end. We will focus on the 12:17-23. The great truth I want us to note is that…
Thesis: The fall and consequent destruction of Israel serves to remind us of the devastating consequences of stubborn unbelief.
There are three things I want us to note in this regard.
- The depth of our depravity can only be understood in the light of God’s grace extended to us through redemption. (17:7-12)
- Our depravity is only worsened by our refusal to hear the gracious pleas of our Lord to return and find peace and rest. (17:13-17)
- Our obstinate refusal to hear and heed our Lord’s gracious offer brings a horrifying judgment. (17:18-23)
Conclusion:
The tragedy of this judgment is underscored by a phrase repeated three times.
The LORD removed Israel out of his sight…
…he cast them out of his sight…
…until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight…
Out of his sight = removed from the land, yes but it is more than that.
Fellowship is broken.
It is not just location but rejection.
Nothing is sadder.
Being removed from the Lord’s presence may involve more than ending up in Assyria. It may mean being cast into outer darkness.