ARE YOU IN "THE CYCLE"?

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In the twenty-third year of Joash son of Ahaziah king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord by following the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit, and he did not turn away from them. So the Lord's anger burned against Israel, and for a long time he kept them under the power of Hazael king of Aram and Ben-Hadad his son.

Then Jehoahaz sought the Lord's favor, and the Lord listened to him, for he saw how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel. The Lord provided a deliverer for Israel, and they escaped from the power of Aram. So the Israelites lived in their own homes as they had before. But they did not turn away from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit; they continued in them. Also, the Asherah pole remained standing in Samaria.

Nothing had been left of the army of Jehoahaz except fifty horsemen, ten chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers, for the king of Aram had destroyed the rest and made them like the dust at threshing time.

As for the other events of the reign of Jehoahaz, all he did and his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? Jehoahaz rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. And Jehoash his son succeeded him as king.

2 Kings 13:1-9

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Study of the Old Testament shows a reoccurring phenomenon I like to call the Old Testament Cycle. Here’s how it goes:

First, the people of Israel decide to follow sin and go astray from what God commanded.

Then, God becomes angered by His people’s actions and so He sends a messenger to relay His displeasure and warn the people about what will happen if they don’t turn from their sinfulness.

The people then decide to ignore God’s warning and continue to sin, leading to God making good on His word and disciplining His people in some way.

And then the people, immersed in the hardship God has brought upon them, cry out to Him and ask for deliverance.

Finally, God forgives His people, delivers them from their hardship and restores them.

And then, the people turn around and fall right back into sin again…and “the cycle” repeats.

Today’s passage is just one of many classic examples of “the cycle” at work.

In it, we read where Jehoahaz has become king of Israel in the 23rd year of Joash, the king of Judah. Scripture wastes little time telling us that Jehoahaz “did evil in the eyes of the Lord” during his 17 year reign, choosing to follow “the sins of Jeroboam”.

What were those sins?

Well, going back to when Jeroboam was ruling, we find that anyone was consecrated as a priest. The king made the call instead of consulting who God wanted to serve as His holy representatives and spiritual leaders. Jeroboam also fully supported the worship of golden calves and we need only go back to Mount Sinai to know how God felt about that practice.

In fact, as we do return to Mount Sinai, we recall a man named Moses who God used to send His commandments to the people. Two of those commands ordered the people to have no other gods before God Himself and to not worship idols. Fast forwarding to the time of Jehoahaz, the people were still violating those commandments.

And so, not surprisingly, the “Lord's anger burned against Israel” and, in punishment for their apostasy, He “kept them under the power of Hazael king of Aram and Ben-Hadad his son” for a long time.

Well, such was the oppression of being under Aram’s rule that “nothing had been left of the army of Jehoahaz except fifty horsemen, ten chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers, for the king of Aram had destroyed the rest and made them like the dust at threshing time”. And in dire straits, we read where “Jehoahaz sought the Lord's favor…and the Lord listened to him”, delivering Israel from their oppression by providing a deliverer who helped them escape “from the power of Aram”.

And so “the Israelites lived in their own homes as they had before” and they also returned to doing other things as they had before…like commit the same sins over again. Scripture tells us they “did not turn away from the sins of the house of Jeroboam” but rather “continued in them” to include the “Asherah pole” which ”remained standing in Samaria”.

In other words, the cycle had come around full circle as the people of Israel quickly returned to what they wanted to do vice what God wanted them to do.

Question…are you in “the cycle”?

Have you sinned…then received a message in some way from God that convicted you of that sin and yet still continued in it…then fell into some form of hardship brought on by your sinful ways…which then led you to cry out to God for help and forgiveness…and then found that He listened and restored you…and then…you turned around and reverted right back to sinfulness again.

Can you relate to this?

I know I can…and I think we all will go through “the cycle” at some time or another in our spiritual life here on earth.

So how can we break the cycle and escape?

The key comes in strict obedience to God’s word and will…a word and will that never allow us to fall into sinfulness if we follow it. In other words, it has to be all about God’s will…not our own.

Friends, we have so much to learn from the Old Testament scriptures. For they expose the very humanity that you and I deal with and, sometimes struggle with, each and every day. Successfully not repeating the mistakes of the past often first starts with knowing what those mistakes were to start with.

So now is the time to recognize “the cycle” and strive to not fall into it ourselves.

With God’s help, and only with His help, can we do just that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com