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‘The children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God.’
2Ki_17:7
I. A picture of Israel’s idolatry.—(a) In general. They sinned against the Lord their God. How suggestive this is. Jehovah was their God. He it was Who deserved their loyalty by reason of what He had done for them in the past. He had brought them up out of the land of Egypt. Then, in distinct contrast with this powerful God, we have the other gods, whose worshippers found no help in their deities, for the Lord cast out the heathen from before the children of Israel. It was a deliberate choice, too, for these infatuated rebels walked in the statutes of the heathen, and of their own idolatrous kings. This was the general charge; leaving their own mighty God, and serving the poor helpless idols that were powerless to save their devotees when first the children of Israel conquered Canaan.
(b) In particular. What an indictment follows. First, they destroyed the simple purity of the Mosaic ritual (this seems to be the meaning of an obscure passage), covering or adorning a worship which was not the true one. Second, they spread this false religion until it was to be detected by its altars all the land over. The tower of the watchmen, solitary and in desert places, beheld these altars, and so did the fortified city. Third, the hill tops were crowned with heathen obelisks, and under the boughs of the trees carved images of Ashteroth, the licentious goddess of the vilest worship, were placed. Fourth, the sacred privilege of prayer was degraded by burning incense as the heathen did. Fifth, the degradation of religion was followed, as is always the case, by the degradation of morals. Sixth, in one word, they served idols. The word used is one of indescribable contempt and opprobrium, and they did it with open eye and deliberate purpose, for the Lord had said unto them, ‘Ye shall not do this thing.’ This leads to
II. A consideration of the aggravated guilt of Israel, sinning, as they did, against light and knowledge and mercy.
(a) We listen to the pleading of Divine love. Prophets, speaking the message of God to Israel, and seers, upon whose spiritual sight flashed visions from on high, united to say, Turn ye from your ways and keep My commandments. To turn from self to God, this has always been the plea. There is no change in God’s Word to man.
(b) This is followed by a declaration of the determined resistance of Israel. The picture here is of the stubborn ox refusing to be guided, and making his neck rigid and unbending. The thought is that to resist God costs an effort. It is not natural or easy to refuse such tender pleadings as His.
(c) One brief sentence lets us into the secret of this godlessness. They did not believe in the Lord their God. The most amazing thing in all the world is unbelief. Israel formed part of the people specially called and chosen and cared for. Yet, with such a history in the past as no other nation ever had, they would not believe. One may well distrust self in the light of this lesson. The evil heart of unbelief is indeed deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.
Illustrations
(1) ‘In this chapter we read of the end of Israel’s sin—they were carried away into captivity. They had warnings enough, but they disregarded them. Opportunities for salvation came, down to the very last, but the condition always was repentance and a return to God, and the people would not leave their sins. “Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” They fell into the hands of their enemies and were carried away into a strange land as captives. They lost their homes, their country, their liberty. This was the ending of the kingdom, for as a nation they were blotted from the face of the earth and from the pages of history. They never returned.’
(2) ‘Mark that it was sin that caused all this trouble. The historian may explain in other ways the cause of the downfall of the kingdom. But whatever the political or other reasons may have been, on the moral side it was sin that brought the terrible ruin. Sin always brings calamity. It destroys nations. It destroys homes. It destroys individual lives. God loves men with a love that is wonderful, a love that led to the greatest sacrifice possible; yet even the Divine love cannot stay the natural outworking of sin.’