2 Kings 16-17, 2 Chronicles 28
Following Jotham, king of Israel, his son Ahaz became king of Judah at age 20. He had the ability to continue his fathers’ example of leading his people in righteousness. Instead, he copied the ways of the nations around him in order to appease them. He trusted alliances over God, altered God’s temple to suit foreign tastes, and led Judah into deeper sin.
God became furious with Israel as they continued to worship other gods and idols. All throughout the country they created altars and burned incense and practiced what other nations practiced. Even after being with Israel through tribulation, the people would not walk with Him in his promise.
In 2 Kings 17, we see Hoshea become the king of Israel in Samaria. He betrayed the king of Assyria, and therefore Samaria was invaded and overtaken. During this time the Israelites are still worshipping all sorts of gods, and were therefore handed over to foreign forces. When Assyria resettled Samaria, different cultural groups continued to further the practices of their gods in the cities in the land of Israel. It turns out that that doesn’t go so well for them, and so we come to this situation where they are worshipping two masters at once:
“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.” (2 Kings 17:33 NIV)
And this continued on and on through generations:
“Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.” (2 Kings 17:41 NIV)
Jesus in Matthew 6 says that you cannot serve two masters, and that is supported right here in Israel’s history. In the pursuit of worldliness and spirituality where there was none, the kingdom of Israel served two masters (or more) and divided itself. The Israelites had issues with the Assyrians and their war, but that doesn’t mean that they had to adopt customs in order to succeed. God’s judgment in both cases of Ahaz and Hoshea wasn’t just about their political failure. It was about their spiritual betrayal. Worship had become self-centered, cultural, and hollow. And because their hearts were divided, their kingdoms fell.
There is a warning here for us: half-hearted worship invites whole-hearted ruin. When we try to mix our faith with the ways of the world, our foundation cracks. God calls for our full attention and our full faith, not just a little here and there when we care to be available between him and the appeasement of the world.
However, although God sent the people of Israel away, they still came back. This is also a reminder that when we fall or when we stumble there is still hope. In fact, God’s discipline of the nation of Israel in 2 Kings 16-17 wasn’t just wrath to be wrath: it had a purpose. It was a call to return. Eventually, that worked out. In that sense, we are very similar. God calls to us to be with him, however, do we ignore the call and continue the ways of the world, or do we rest our faith in the eternal rock?
To give you a solid answer to that question (no pun intended), here is 2 Kings 17:15
“They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless.”(2 Kings 17:15 NIV)
-Colby Leggitt
Discussion Questions
- Are there ways in which I’ve compromised my faith for acceptance or comfort?
- What would it look like to worship God with my whole heart today?
- Where is the line in adopting the ways of the world before it interrupts our walk with God?
Seek Grow Love 