Old Testament: 2 Kings 17, 18
Poetry: Ps. 135
New Testament: Philippians Introduction Below
The school year has just ended in SC, and I am thoroughly enjoying summertime. After teaching for 5 years (and being in public school/college all those years before it), summer has become a beautiful time of rest, relaxation, and lots of swimming and sunshine. Summer is one of the perks of being a teacher, but it is definitely a time that feels earned. After a year of pushing students to be better learners and better people, I need a break.
One of the most challenging things about being a teacher is the constant redirection and discipline that are required to make sure a classroom runs smoothly. If everyone is always doing what they want – whether that’s blurting out, going to the bathroom (as soon as we start taking notes!), or playing on the iPad – not much learning is happening. One of my jobs as a teacher is to set up a structure for my classroom that involves rules so that students know how to overcome doing what they want so that they can do what they need in order to learn. Sometimes students are happy to follow these rules. But, sometimes they are not. When they don’t follow rules, there is a system of warnings and consequences to try to get them back on track. Lunch detention, emails home, you know the drill. Occasionally, a student will not listen, and that is when the big punishment happens: ISS or OSS. Any public school kids know about this place of detention. The purposes of ISS, or in-school suspension, are two-fold: (1) By taking them out of the classroom, they miss out on the fun and good things we do as well. Normally, they don’t want to be away from the class because of this. (2) It also removes the student from the learning environment so they don’t pull everyone else down with them.
In our reading today, we see the punishment the Israelites received that reminds me quite a bit of ISS, except much more severe and far-reaching. The Israelites were exiled from their land as a consequence of their sin. We read in 2 Kings 17:1-23 about how the Israelite king, Hoshen, continued to follow the pattern of doing evil in God’s sight. This caused the king of Assyria to invade the land and ‘carry the Israelites away to Assyria and place them’ throughout the land of Assyria (v. 6). Verse 7-8 says, “And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of the Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods, and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced.” Verses 9-23 go on to describe the Israelites’ descent into sin from the time they entered the promised land with Joshua until the present time. In Deuteronomy 28, we read the promised consequences for the sin of disobedience and see these consequences given after the Israelites choose repeatedly not to listen to what God has told them to do. Despite knowing these consequences, the Israelites still pursued other gods and idols. When God would try to call them out of their sin and draw them back to him, they would not listen.
Ps. 135 describes the difference between God and idols. Calling back to the deliverance from Egypt, it states the great works of God and praises him because “For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his own possession” (v. 4). In contrast, the idols are the work of human hands that cannot speak, see, hear, or breathe. “Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them” (v. 18). It’s chilling to read this Psalm after seeing the demise of the state of Israel. Because the Israelites trusted in their idols, they either died or were forced to live in captivity where their “life shall hand in doubt before them. Night and day they shall be in dread and have no assurance of their life” (Deut. 28:66). Instead of Israel being God’s chosen possession, God “rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until he had cast them out of his sight” (2 Kings 17:20).
This is a harsh consequence, but like the punishment of ISS, it is twofold in purpose. The descent into sin needed to be stopped. This was God’s boundary line, stating that if they continued to act like this they would not be allowed to remain with him. It also removed Israel from close proximity to Judah, the nation that still remained in the Promised Land. At this point, Judah was not too far gone, so God didn’t want Judah to be brought down further into sin by Israel.
God takes idolatry seriously, and there are severe consequences for it. We cannot be God’s chosen people if we choose to pursue idols. Idols look different than in the Israelites’ time, but they are all around us: Beauty, Money, Sex, Work, Family, Political Beliefs, Identity, Alcohol, Drugs, Social Media, Image. These are the intangible idols. We can’t hold them in our hands like idols of the olden days, but we may worship them all the same, giving offerings of our time, money, and relationships – sometimes sacrificing our parents, children, spouses, or friends on the altar of their worship. We will be exiled from his presence if we choose to pursue idolatry if we choose these things over God. It is not too late to turn back to him! Cast down your idols today.
~ Cayce Fletcher
Reflection Questions:
- What are some of the idols that you see in your life or the life of the people around you?
- Why does God give such harsh consequences for idolatry? What is the danger of idolatry?
- What does exile look like in a modern day context? Do you think God punishes people in the present day, or is it just a future consequence (aka a lake of fire punishment)?
Philippians Introduction
Paul wrote the book of Philippians to the Christians in Philippi, which was the first church Paul established in Europe. Despite the fact that Paul wrote this letter while he was a prisoner in Rome, Paul repeatedly talked about joy – showing that he could be content in any circumstance (4:11).
Paul reminded the Philippians to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (1:27), despite the persecution they were suffering (1:29-30). He pointed to Jesus as the ultimate example of humility and submission, and reminded the Philippians that they should have the same attitude as that of Jesus (2:3-11).
In chapter 3, Paul reminded the Philippians that even Paul didn’t earn his righteousness from following the law, even though he was a model Jew. Instead, all of us receive righteousness that comes from God and is by faith in Christ.
I particularly like Paul’s admonition in 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present our requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
I also like Paul’s reminder in 4:13, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
May we be able to say like Paul in 4:9, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
–Steve
Seek Grow Love 