ARE WE WORTHLESS?

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In Christ, Mark

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

In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him.

Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who had been Shalmaneser’s vassal and had paid him tribute. But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys to So king of Egypt, and he no longer paid tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore Shalmaneser seized him and put him in prison. The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.

All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that aroused the Lord’s anger. They worshiped idols, though the Lord had said, “You shall not do this.”The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.”

But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God. They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.”

They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sought omens and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.

So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, and even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced. Therefore the Lord rejected all the people of Israel; he afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers, until he thrust them from his presence.
When he tore Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam enticed Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit a great sin. The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them until the Lord removed them from his presence, as he had warned through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria, and they are still there.

2 Kings 17:1-23

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

Through chapter 16 of 2 Kings, we read about the sinful behavior of King Ahaz, the king of Judah who “did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord” and instead “followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites”. He also “offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree”. (2 Kings 16:2-4)

Meanwhile, the Northern Kingdom of Israel was under the reign of Pekah for the first 12 years of Ahaz’s reign. Pekah was no better than Ahaz. He too “did evil in the eyes of the Lord” and “did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam” (2 Kings 15:28). Indeed, Pekah was wicked. He didn’t ascend to power by birthright. No, he took the throne by assassinating Pekahiah.

Ironically, Pekah would be assassinated in the 12th year of Ahaz’s reign by Hoshea. Through this action, we can figure out that Hoshea is evil too and indeed “did evil in the eyes of the Lord”.

How would the Lord deal with this evil behavior?

Enter the Assyrians led by King Shalmaneser.

Scripture tells us that Hoshea had paid tribute to Assyria annually but had stopped doing so. Instead, Israel’s king had “sent envoys to So king of Egypt”. Seeing Hoshea as a traitor, “Shalmaneser seized him and put him in prison” before invading “the entire land”, marching “against Samaria”, and laying “siege to it for three years”. This led to “the king of Assyria” capturing Samaria in the ninth year of Hoshea’s reign and deporting the Israelites to Assyria, settling “them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes”. The Northern Kingdom was gone.

What led to their demise?

Scripture gives us the answer:

“All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that aroused the Lord’s anger. They worshiped idols, though the Lord had said, “You shall not do this.” The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.” But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God. They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.” They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sought omens and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.”

Indeed, “the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence”. Judah would not be far behind them as they too chose to “not keep the commands of the Lord their God”.

Fast forward to where our world is today. Are we repeating the mistakes of the past?

We so often choose to worship the wrong things, disregarding God who expects us to worship only Him. We continue to choose sin over righteousness even though the Lord has commanded us to turn from our evil ways. Too many times we fail to observe God’s commands and decrees. We stubbornly decide to follow our will and become as stiff-necked as the Israelites who failed to put their trust in the Lord.

Where does this put us?

Our scripture tells us that the Israelites became worthless because they chose to worship idols that were worthless.

So are we worthless too?

Perhaps. For if we choose to worship the things of the world, the answer is “yes”. We become as worthless as the things we choose to worship outside of God…just as the people of Israel. And this is no place that anyone should want to be…rejected and looked down on by the Lord.

Conversely, when we choose to worship God and God alone, then we become rich…rich in spirit…rich in wisdom…rich in inheritance through His Son Jesus. We become people of great worth, valued greatly by the only One who can grant value through abundant blessings.

Where do you stand?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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