Exile

Today I read in II Kings. I had been noticing that just about every king of Israel was evil, and I was waiting for another good one who didn't offer sacrifices to Baal and all that. But the little title over chapter 17 read, "Hoshea Last King of Israel". And guess what? He was bad too. So since the Israelites had rejected him for years and continued doing all these detestable things, God sent the Assyrians to attack Israel and they took Samaria captive. There is a long explanation if you will about why these things took place. Read 2 Kings 17:7-23. You can sense God's sorrow that his people didn't listen to him. You can tell he didn't want to remove them from his presence. Even after the exile, the Samaritans did the same things as before, so God sent lions among them. It was reported to the king of Assyria, "The people you deported and resettled in the towns of Samaria do not know what the God of that country requires. He has sent lions among them, which are killing them off, because the people do not know what he requires." They had been away from God for so long they forgot all about his commandments! One of the priests of the LORD came to them and taught them how to serve God again, but it says, "Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods in the several towns where they settled, and set them up in the shrines the people of Samaria had made at the high places... They worshiped the LORD, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate for them as priests in the shrines at the high places. They worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought." They served two masters. They worshipped the LORD, and whatever else they wanted. God says later that this is a bad thing! And how often do we do it today? We serve God, but whatever else we want can also be our god.

But wait! Judah is still out there and they have a new, good king! Hezekiah removed the high places and smashed the idols and all that! Hooray!

But Assyria is coming to take them too. Sennacherib came and shouted threats and said that God told him to come and take Judah into captivity. But that made God angry, and he put many of Sennacherib's soldiers to death. Not an arrow was shot into Jerusalem. Because Judah came back to God, he saved them. God's not mean for punishing those who disobey him - he is quick to forgive and see the best in us!

Everybody should read 2 Kings 17-19 today. It is a great example of God's willingness to forgive us and see our hearts.