Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: 2 Kings 17 and Psalm 134

When the LORD entered into the Covenant with Israel in the wilderness, He made it clear that if they would be His people and faithfully worship Him, He would be their God and bring abundant blessings upon them. However, if they should turn from Him and His Word to evil and idolatry, He would hand them over to the consequences of their rebellion (e.g. Deuteronomy 30:11-20)

Over centuries, as their human leaders (first the judges and then the kings) led them into idolatry and evil, God warned His people – through circumstances, through His Word and through His prophets – that the time was coming. And then finally, “in the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria” (v.6). As the author of 2 Kings explains: “All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God” (v7). He then goes on to list the many ways they had done this, including the worship of pagan gods and the false worship of God (as if He was just one of many gods); adopting the culture, ethics and practices of the pagan nations (instead of shining like light in the darkness by living as a the holy people of God in the midst of the evil, as God required); child sacrifice, divination and sorcery.

We are left in no doubt that God was longsuffering in the face of the rebellion of multiple generations of Israelites. Time and time again, God reached out to them, calling for repentance, and warning of the consequences if they did not repent. But eventually their opportunities to repent ran out, and God allowed the consequence of their sin to come upon them.

As disciples of Jesus, we should learn the lesson of Israel’s rebellion. In 2 Peter 3:8-14, the apostle warns believers that the Day of the Lord may seem to be slow in coming, but this “slowness” is due to God’s patience and His desire that no one should perish but that all should come to repentance. Peter instructs us to live holy and godly lives as we look forward to the Day, and to make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with the Lord when that Day comes. Unlike the Israelites, we ought to keep our focus firmly on the Lord and His Word, making every effort to please Him in every way out of love for Him.

Lord Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, please keep me faithful. Grant me the desire and the power to live a life that is pleasing to you. Search my heart today, and reveal to me the attitudes, behaviours and speech patterns from which I am called to repent. And lead me in Your everlasting way. Amen.