0:00 Second Kings chapter 17. Brother, you you prayed beautifully. Thank you, Brian, for praying. Thank you for the praise team for helping us love the Lord in song, but it's on my heart to pray again. And so before we even read one verse or I make any other comment, can we just turn our attention to the Lord once more?
0:28 Lord, it's only gonna be by the power of your Holy Spirit to make this more than a lesson. For this to be a life changing Bible study, it has to come from you. And so we ask Lord that you would visit us. Thank you that you live in us. Thank you that you've sealed us.
0:46 Thank you that you are our guarantee. But Lord we pray for the manifest power of the Holy Spirit. And we ask Lord that even as we go through these truths that we would hear the voice of Christ. And Lord our request is single, that we would love the Lord Jesus Christ more. That the love that we can all testify of, that is filled with inexpressible joy and glory.
1:13 Oh, Lord, wash us again in that kind of a love. We trust that you're able to provide it and we pray that you deal with every obstacle, every distraction, anything that would hinder one heart in this place from receiving what you have to say. Lord, we adore you and we pray that you help us cherish you more through this study. In the name of the living Christ we pray. Amen and amen.
1:38 Second King 17. If I were to title this Bible study, I think I would go with the final straw. The final straw because we have been studying week after week, one king after another, failing to uphold God's righteous standard and the nation's abject abhorrence of God's word. And now we have come to the patience of the Lord reaching its breaking point. This is significant because this is going to manifest in the kingdom of Israel facing its ultimate punishment.
2:17 The forced evacuation of this people from the promised land. This is going to change the rest of our study in the Old Testament. This is absolutely massive. It's imperative. And there's so much in it for us to consider, but we have to keep this in mind.
2:36 That even before the people cross the border and entered into their new home, the Lord warned so many times that if they continued in sin, they would be vomited out of the land just like the previous inhabitants. But even though those warnings came to them before and after they lived in this land, none of them could imagine that it would be possible, no matter what they did. And this was a false security that many of them had false hope in. And it was something that the Lord addressed through his servants the prophets on more than one occasion. In fact, it's all over the writings of the prophets.
3:18 So allow me to give you a couple of examples. One that comes to mind is Amos chapter six verse one. And you don't have to turn there unless you want to see with your own eyes. But he says there, woe to those who are at ease in Zion. To those who feel secure in the Mountain Of Samaria.
3:34 That was the capital of the kingdom of Israel. And in that same chapter in verse seven he says, therefore you're gonna be the first one to be exiled. I think of Jeremiah chapter seven verses three and four, where the prophet says, thus says the Lord of hosts the God of Israel, amend your ways and your deeds and I will let you dwell in this place. Following it with this, do not trust in deceptive words. And the words specifically that Jeremiah had in mind was, this is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.
4:09 What were they saying? There is no way that God will allow anybody to conquer the temple. It's permanent. And they had all these strange explanations in their own hearts and even from false prophets who were saying peace, peace, when there was no peace. So here's what we can learn right from the beginning.
4:31 It's a dangerous thing to try to rationalize God's justice with our carnal wisdom. And man has many clever ways of trying to dismiss the concept of divine judgment against sin and they do this again in many ways. Some try to redefine what sin really is. Others put into question God's willingness to judge and what his wrath truly entails. And some just lie about his desire to bring about swift justice against iniquity and make him out to be someone who is not wrathful at all.
5:11 So this was a constant diversion. This was something that was prominent in the days of the prophets and it caused many people to be crystalized in their sin and you have to recognize something. This deception was not only prevalent in the days of Jeremiah and Amos and Isaiah and Ezekiel. It was true in the days of the apostles. I'll ask you to turn here in Ephesians chapter five.
5:33 I know I told you to turn to second Kings 17. Just keep your hand there, but look at this in the New Testament in Ephesians chapter five verse five to six. Paul says, for you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or who is covetous, that is an idolater, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. So this is prominent in Paul's day as well.
6:08 You had people who are being taught, people who are persuaded that God will not judge certain sins. That these are just impulses. This is just natural. This is something that he winks at. This is something that he will not consider or take into account and Paul calls those empty words.
6:25 And more than he says, this is deception. Yes, there are sins that we can commit that God will pour out his wrath on. Namely if you are outside of Christ. Do you think it's any different today? Do you think that there are people who are downplaying the wrath of God?
6:43 That are redefining what eternal judgment really is? It's becoming increasingly popular in churches, in Christendom. Be careful. Be careful of those who would try to question God's character, his nature, who emphasize one element of him while ignoring another. This people here understood that God was patient.
7:07 I'm talking about Israel, but they could not fathom how and why he would punish. So let's read the first six verses together, because what you and I are gonna look at is the final king of Israel. Not of Judah, but of the Northern Kingdom. Second king 17 verse one. In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea, the son of Elab began to reign in Samaria over Israel and he reigned nine years.
7:35 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, yet not as the kings of Israel who were before him. Against them came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. But the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore, the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land and came to Samaria and for three years he besieged it.
8:06 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria and placed them in Halah and on the Habar, the River Of Gozan in the city of the Medes. Behold, the final ruler of this kingdom And as significant as that is, he doesn't seem to be the focus of these verses at least. Did you notice how many times the title king of Assyria appears in these verses? It's repeated a total of six times. This is a linguistic attempt to try to help us understand that there is one kingdom now that's overshadowing another.
8:51 In other words, there's a new sheriff in town. The king of Israel is no longer in charge. A foreign nation now has come to take full control. And yes, it's gradual, but we see where this is going. And this is so important for us to consider because it's kind of odd to see the king of Assyria encroaching upon the kingdom of Israel under this administration.
9:17 Why is it strange, at least initially? Look back at verse two. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord yet not as the kings of Israel who were before him. So he was evil, but he was not as evil as his predecessors. And so some students of the Bible have come to this and they were puzzled.
9:35 Why does an invasion occur under a king who is not as wicked as those who came before him? It would make more sense for an Ahab like king or an Ahaz. Why Hosea? And many explanations have been given but I think it's more simple than people make it out to be. It's actually not as complicated.
9:56 Because it doesn't say that Hoshea was innocent. Does it? Doesn't say that he was righteous. It just shows that he sinned differently than those who came before him. If anything, this is a reminder to all of us that sin is sin.
10:12 And that we all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. Because we are very tricky and and we are very clever in how we try to make ourselves less sinful than others. We compare. We contrast. And you and I may transgress in different ways, but choosing certain sins over others does not give us a better chance of being acquitted.
10:41 That's exactly what James talks about in James two eleven. He says that the law says do not commit adultery and it also says do not murder. And if you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. Okay. So you you don't sin in this way, but you sin in another.
10:55 You're still you're still a transgressor in your own right. You still have broken God's law. You're still stained with sin and you need a savior. Hosea here is is not innocent. He can't escape this.
11:10 He himself is in trouble. And you and I have to understand because if we compare, we can convince ourselves that we can make make it past God's righteous standard when all the while we are desperately in need of it. I think of Isaiah having this conversation the other day with somebody. Where Isaiah there in Isaiah chapter six in the presence of the Lord, he says I'm a man of unclean lips and I'm among a people of unclean lips. The context makes that so much more profound than people initially understand it.
11:46 Because in the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah had that vision. How did Uzziah remember this for a couple weeks ago. How did Uzziah sin? He went into the temple of the Lord, assumed to be a priest. How was he punished?
11:58 He became a leper. What was a leper to do if they to do if they came into close proximity with somebody who was not a leper? They were to announce what? Unclean. Unclean.
12:09 Unclean. Unclean. Unclean. And here's Isaiah the prophet, who up to chapter six was telling all the people of Israel, woe to you. Woe to you.
12:18 And then once he sees the glorified Lord there on his throne, he says, I'm a man of unclean lips. What is he saying there? Well, he's saying many things including this. I'm no better than Uzziah. I'm no better than that man.
12:32 In the presence of Jesus Christ, I need a savior. Oh, I'm a prophet. Well, who cares? I preach. Well, in the presence of the Lord, even your best deeds are unclean.
12:45 So Hoshea here, he's not gonna go free. He's also going to be facing judgment. And here's what's so significant. Assyria does not immediately take over the kingdom. Does he?
12:58 It's gradual. And before he takes full control, he takes control of the people in terms of taxation. So now they're subjugated to them. They have to pay every year. They have to give up their resources.
13:11 And look at this at verse three. This stood out to me here. It says here that he had to pay him tribute. That's the last word there at verse three. The word in the Hebrew is found all over the book of Leviticus, describing what?
13:24 The offerings that the people were to make in the temple as an act of worship. And I think there's a subtle lesson there. I think there's a reminder here that whether we're aware of it or not, we all worship someone or something. This is how low the nation got. That instead of focusing and giving all their tribute to the Lord, they gave it to another king.
13:47 Whatever your ultimate allegiance or loyalty is to is what you worship. There's no other way around it. And so in refusing to worship the true God, he is in essence worshiping another king. And that is true for all of us. To fail to faithfully worship the Lord, you will give what belongs to God to something else.
14:11 You will, as we heard so many times become a slave to someone or something else. And those have tragic consequences when God is not the object of your worship. Let Let me give you an example. I know we haven't read these verses but scroll down to verse 15. It says here, they despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them.
14:34 They went after false idols and became false. And they follow the nations that were around them concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them. I think the King James captures this verse a little bit more accurately. The ESV says that they what? They went after false idols and became false.
14:56 King James would say they went after vain things and became vain. But when you look at the Hebrew, it's even more profound. It draws out the meaning, I believe, obviously in the original language, for us to consider the the severity of wrong pursuits. The word there for vain or false in the Hebrew is hevel. And And when I looked into this word, I wanted to know what it meant.
15:19 It was interesting. It means to act emptily, void, something that's profitless, something that's futile. In other context, it would be the word breath or vapor. So if you go with the original, you know how you can translate that one part in that verse? They went after empty things and became empty.
15:46 And here's what came to mind. You all know it, that before you came to Christ there was a hollowness in the soul. Right? You can testify to that and you know it when you're not walking closely with the Lord. You you feel like you're a shell.
16:00 You feel like I'm missing something. And I believe that's a proof text to back that feeling up. In pursuing empty things, what happens? They became empty. And that's the sad state of anybody who does not have the Lord as their king.
16:19 And here's the beauty of our God, that he is so willing to rescue us from tyrannical masters that have deceived us and lied to us and keep us bound and bring us unto himself and become our Lord and fulfill us as he becomes our Lord and our savior. Hoshea had that choice. I believe that's the reason why the Lord does not allow Asir to immediately ransack everything. He allows him to come in steps close enough for Hoshea to taste the misery of being ruled by something or someone else. So what does Hoshea do?
16:52 Does he cry out for mercy? Does he realize that, I'm I'm I'm doing the wrong thing here Lord. I surrender. I repent. Now look what he does in verse four.
17:00 Again, but the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to sow king of Egypt and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. He blew it. The one opportunity for you to cry out so that you can be liberated, to be saved, You turn to another savior. And why he messes up here is not because his attempt to conspire against Assyria angered the king, it's because he went to another solution apart from God himself.
17:34 Can I ask you a question? Did God give precise instruction namely to the kings of how they should relate to the nation of Egypt? Does anything come to mind from the old testament? We've referenced this passage over and over again throughout our study in kings. It's in that passage in Deuteronomy 17.
17:56 And in verse 16, he was so specific in telling what his future rulers ought to do and how they should relate namely to the Egyptians. Listen to this in Deuteronomy seventeen sixteen. Only he, being the king, only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses. Now look at this. Since the Lord has said to you, you shall never return that way again.
18:29 The Lord knew the temptation that would come. And Egypt in the scriptures is often a picture of the world. And under no circumstances was Israel ever meant to engage with the place that they were delivered from. And this may not resonate with you now, but I hope that you'll remember it for a time where it will really count. The temptation to rely on fleshly carnal actions, wisdom, or worldly partnerships will be much more intense when you're in trouble.
19:07 When you find yourself surprised by some kind of distress or decision, you feel like there are no answers, be careful of being allured to go back to the way you used to think or your former man. Because in those moments, you know what the Lord does? He allows those things to happen so that he will watch to see if you'll come to him. Where will you run? Who will you call?
19:36 What will you rely on? What will you implement? And there's a place in Isaiah 30 where the Lord speaks about this very incident through the prophet Isaiah. Oh, it's worth turning there in Isaiah 30 verse one. Ah, stubborn children, declares the Lord, who carry out a plan but not mine and who make an alliance but not of my spirit that they may add sin to sin who set out to go down to Egypt.
20:06 And do what? Without asking for my direction. To take refuge in the protection of pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt. So what was the problem here? Not that they couldn't find answers elsewhere in practical means, but they did so without asking direction from God.
20:29 That's what broke God's heart. Do you wanna enrich your relationship with the Lord? Can I offer one thing? Make it a regular habit to consult him. This is his desire.
20:42 He takes delight in receiving your request. And if you do that, listen, he not only will hear you, you will receive something in return. You will inherit a steady peace. If that's a pattern in your life, I can guarantee it. You will know more of his presence because you're constantly coming to him and you will know the very blessing of God on the thing that you're asking him to help you with.
21:12 Because he doesn't just watch, he waits. He waits. And he waits for the moment that you turn to him to do something else. Look at the same passage in Isaiah 30. Scroll down to verse 18.
21:25 It's in the same context. Look what he says. Therefore, the Lord waits to be gracious to you and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you for the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for him. Do you see that?
21:42 So not only does he observe, he say, what will you do when you're pressed? And understanding this that he waits, not just for you to obey, but for you to know his mercy. He longs to show mercy. And notice that the deliverance, the answer is not necessarily immediate. In the same passage we're told, blessed are all those who wait for him.
22:06 So so many people are frustrated in turning to the Lord as a reflex because they they want immediate answers. Okay. But there's a specific blessing for those who wait for the answer. And you can comfort yourself with this. I've done my part to turn to him, to receive from him, and I trust that he is merciful to me in that place.
22:26 This this king refused to do it, at least for the time being. And this captivity would be so shocking to the original readers that the author is compelled by the spirit to do something with the rest of the chapter. He's gonna give a summary of why they were exiled. This is staggering. This is altering for the future of this people.
22:48 And so from verse seven, back in our main text in seventeen, second King 17, from verse seven down to verse 23, there's gonna be an overview. Comments that you're very familiar with because we've seen them over and over in our study of second Kings. But as I was staring at this passage the other day, praying, Lord, I know there's something else here. You don't repeat yourself without without a goal. Just meditating and just asking the Lord for something, I realized that certain words and certain phrases were standing out.
23:24 And as things stood out, I realized that there's specific reasons why the people were removed from the promises of God. And there are the same reasons, the same causes, the same factors that might lure you and me away from God's perfect will for our lives. See the promised land signifies that God's good promises, his gifts. And though the people remained his people, even though they were in exile, they removed themselves from a position of receiving his promises. It's possible for Christians to do the same.
23:59 Praise God. He seals us and keeps us until the end for eternal life. But you can miss out a lot in this life. That's why for the rest of the study, you have to really pay attention. This is my heart.
24:10 This has been my prayer. Because I think there are at least four reasons why Christians are not under God's total blessing, are not walking in the fullness of his plan for their lives. And it's here. It's it's exemplified with this nation. And so let's look at four reasons, four causes for a person who is in Christ to miss out on all that Christ would have for them.
24:37 And the first one is this, no awe of God. There is no awe of God. Look at verse seven to verse eight. And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and had feared other gods, and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced. Highlight that phrase at the end of verse seven, have feared other gods.
25:16 Obviously, that doesn't mean that they were in dread of different deities or local powers. This speaks of them having a greater reverence and adoration for other things instead of the Lord himself. And that was a cause for them to slip to a wrong path. And this is not mentioned first without purpose. This is where a lot of things go wrong for people.
25:44 When they're no longer mesmerized and amazed of who God is, things become problematic. Another way of saying it is that the true protection that we can inherit from evil comes from standing in amazement of who the Lord is. Proverbs eight thirteen, the fear of the Lord is the hatred of evil. The fear of the Lord is the hatred of evil. That tells us more than just what the fear of the Lord is, that also explains what the fear of the Lord does.
26:17 It causes you to hate evil. It inspires you to abhor that which God abhors. Whatever he loathes, you loathe. And anytime you find yourself attached or attracted to that which God hates, you can know this for sure. You are deficient.
26:35 I am deficient in my awareness of the majesty of God. Always. Whenever sin looks better than the savior, I have lost my sense of awe of who the Lord is. You know, I was thinking about different verses. I mean, when you talk about the concept and the truth of the fear of the Lord, so many things can come to mind and there's this obscure passage that I've I've preached on before.
27:01 But then I saw it in a different light, because I remember once, I don't know when exactly, I remember spending a time, addressing the issue of fear, ungodly fear. And what fear inspires a man to do, and fear really, that emotion when it is tolerated, leads you to sin in different ways. So, I know I told you to go to Isaiah earlier, but this is so worth going to again. Go to Isaiah and look at chapter 57 verse 11. Notice the specific criticism that the Lord gives through the prophet to the people.
27:35 Whom do you dread and fear so that you lied and did not remember me, did not lay it to heart? Have I not held my peace even for a long time and you do not fear me? So again, here, you you see how what fear can do to a person. It can encourage you to do what? Lie.
27:54 Maybe you've known that temptation when you were faced with something and you understood if I tell the truth, there are gonna be consequences. So I'm gonna exaggerate or I'm gonna downplay this or I might just outright deny it. Fear stimulates us to different sins. But the diagnosis is deeper than that. Look at the last part.
28:14 He says, and you do not fear me. So it's not just the presence of an unrighteous fear. It's the absence of the fear of the Lord. So because they didn't fear the Lord, they felt the liberty to lie. And the Lord says, you didn't fear me.
28:31 That's why you succumb to this. And that should be a strong reminder for us that when we do not have the Lord as our ultimate satisfaction, ultimate delight, ultimate wonder, other things that take his place will lead you to do things that you never planned doing, which brings me to the second point. Let's go to our main text. They didn't have an awe of God. But notice what we find here in verse nine.
28:57 One word in this verse. And the people of Israel did secretly against the Lord their God things that were not right. They built for themselves high places and all their towns from watchtower to fortified city. What word stands out to you in that verse? Good.
29:15 Secretly. Isn't that fascinating? The public blatant ideology of this people. You know where it began? In private.
29:26 You wouldn't know that apart from this verse, at least I can confess that. Because everything that we've seen was just out in the open. But no, in review of the sins of the nation, the Holy Spirit says it started in secret. Number two reason why people will disqualify themselves from God using them and blessing them with His maximum blessing, They live in secret sin. They live in secret sin.
29:51 And again, I don't think it's random that the second point is following what we just touched on concerning the fear of the Lord. Because when you fear the Lord, it's very hard to sin in secret. I I firmly believe that the one who honors the Lord in this way will live with the following understanding, sin is sin. Whether it's private or public, whether it's internal or external, whether people know about it or not, it doesn't matter because the Lord is aware of it. That's one of the ways you know that you're walking in the fear of the Lord.
30:29 And I firmly believe that people walk away from what God has for them, because so many have convinced themselves as long as other people don't know about this, I am okay. You're not. Because God knows. And he's the one who ultimately blesses. Promotion comes from the Lord, Psalm says.
30:53 Empowerment comes from the Lord. True treasure comes from the Lord. And on the flip side, a child of God who believes, I may be able to fool others but I can't fool God. Oh, you have secured for yourself a trajectory of great gifts and blessing and security. I can't fool God.
31:14 I can't. He knows what's in here. He knows what I think about. He knows my motives. Man, if you're there and you stay there, every area of your life will be blessed.
31:28 Every area. Your marriage will be blessed. Your relationship with your children will be blessed. Your relationship with others will be blessed. Your ministry will be blessed.
31:34 Everything will be blessed. But if you think like these Israelites that you can act like a ceiling and walls can keep God from seeing what I'm doing? Come on. Who are you fooling? So many truths that encourage me in the scriptures deal with the heart.
31:52 Where you have guys like Nehemiah who prayed from the heart. Abraham's servant looking for a wife for Isaac, he prayed in his heart. And that shows me every time that the voice in my heart is just as loud as what I'm saying in this microphone. It's quiet to you, but to him it's just as loud. That changes so much.
32:12 Does it not? We see here that the people refuse to believe that. And so it started secretly, but then they begin to go in the high places. Third reason, a third cause for us to veer off God's promises is in verse 10. They set up for themselves pillars in Ashem on every high hill and under every green tree, and we continue.
32:36 And there they made offerings on all the high places as the nations did whom the Lord carried away before them, and they did wicked things, provoking the Lord to anger. And they served idols of which the Lord had said to them, you shall not do this. Number one, there is no law of God. Number two, they send in secret. Number three, you can't expect God's full blessing if you imitate the world.
33:05 Where do I get that from? Says Says here in the middle of verse 11, as the nations did whom the Lord carried away before them. One of the most shocking verses in the New Testament regarding believers is what James says in James four four, you adulterous people. Who's he speaking to? A bunch of churches.
33:27 And he says, you adulterous people. Don't you know that friendship with the world is what? Enmity with God. Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. And the world that James is referring to speaks about the godless self centered antichrist value system of this world.
33:50 He's not talking about the things that we see and we can enjoy in this life. No. He's talking about the passions, the desires, the ambitions of those who hate Christ. And when believers succumb to these things, they make themselves unfit for much in the kingdom. Because the Lord can't use somebody to reach the world if they're enamored by the world.
34:16 And that's what we find here with this nation that was called to be a light to the nations. They wanted to be like the nations. And so the Lord had no use for them. How can I make you shine? How can I how can I expect people to taste something different when you wanna blend in so much?
34:34 And so why do so many professing believers want to look like the world? Why do they wanna cuss like the world? I don't understand this trend of Christians cussing. Why? What do you get out of that?
34:51 Why and how are you entertained by the same vulgarity that the world drinks in and enjoys? The ambitions of the world and at the same time expect testimonies. I'm not talking about legalism. I'm talking about blatant obvious things that a line has been drawn. This is of the world.
35:12 This is of those who are in Christ. It won't happen. And you might be wondering, well, I know some people who have ministries and they look they look like the world. They sound like the world. They're they're pretty culturally savvy, if you want to call it that.
35:28 Okay. Fine. They have a platform. I can tell you this. They don't have God's power.
35:33 Okay. Fine. They have money. They don't have God's favor. Well, they have somebody coming to their meetings.
35:40 Fine. But do they really have true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ or are they just spectators? I'm talking about the real raw blessing of God. I'm not talking about marketing success. I'm not talking about physical things.
35:54 I'm talking about the deep things of the soul. Real fruit, things that will carry out into eternity. I can't expect that if I'm gonna flirt with the things that breaks my God's heart. So this nation wanted to be like the nations, so be it. You want it so badly?
36:12 Go live with them. You like idols? Go live with those who worship idols. They have plenty of them in Assyria. But you can't have both.
36:21 Last thing. Let's come back to our main text. In verse 13, yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer saying, turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes in accordance with all the law that I commanded your fathers and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets. But they would not listen, but were stubborn as their fathers had been who did not believe in the Lord their God. Let me say this before we go to this fourth point.
37:03 You don't need to be entrenched in all of these things. All it takes is one of them. If I don't have an awe of God, that's all it takes. If if I live in secret sin, that's powerful enough. If if I am imitating the world, that does enough damage.
37:17 And though these are all interconnected in their ways, we can see them as separate threats. Here's the last one. If I want a definite way of stepping out of bounds of what God has for me, all I have to do is ignore his word. Ignore God's word. So here's the kindness of the Lord in verse 13.
37:38 He sent prophets and every minister that he had, every seer, they were saying the same thing. It was a giant megaphone. Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments. Over and over again, and we got a little sample of the roster of prophets that were there at this time. Guys like Jonah and Hosea and Isaiah.
37:58 These were men who are ministering at the same time. It's incredible. And they still did what? Verse 14. The first few words, they would not listen.
38:11 We should all be concerned for anybody on an individual or on a corporate level who is not sensitive to the scriptures, sensitive to the word of God. I I worry for those who are consistently distracted when the pure word of God is being taught, no matter who's teaching it. Or worse, when it's heard, but it's never taken to heart. Because you see, other things will unfold over time when a person or a society as a whole are exposed to the word like this generation was, but does not listen, but turns a deaf ear, but refuses to receive it when you hear the word of God irresponsibly. It's dangerous.
38:58 Jesus spoke about that on so many occasions. Listen. What is he gonna say to every church on Sundays as we listen? He who has an ear, let him hear. In other words, you can hear sounds and words, but not really get it.
39:10 That's exactly what was happening here. And here is the gradual decline. We have an outline right here. So it starts with verse 14. Right?
39:21 But they would not listen. But look at the next phase, verse 15. They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. So you went from not listening to now despising. And the word despising here is the image of not taking it seriously, yes, but the conviction that you once knew and praise God for is an annoyance.
39:48 You shun it now. You turn off your conscious as quickly as possible. You deflect. You never allow it to apply to you. And over time, your conscience becomes more and more numb, insensitive.
40:06 And things that once pierce your heart and you couldn't wait for the benediction of the end of the service so you could find some quiet place or go home early to get on your knees, it just bounces off of you. Oh, you wouldn't say it, but inside, you despise it. It bugs you. I'm happy that I can say this about very few experiences and not many. But I'll tell you how I've seen this in my own life from the platform.
40:39 This was years ago. I remember seeing a specific season of somebody's life where they would come to church always once the meeting was over. They only came for the fellowship. And the only way I can explain that was they didn't wanna hear God's word. It was too hot.
41:02 It was too convicting. So I I I want my friends. I want my fellowship, but they didn't want God's word. And I've seen that happen more than once. And the way they were living backed it up, that God's word wasn't doing its work in them and they didn't wanna sit under God's word.
41:19 This can happen in different ways, but that's not even the final step. There's another thing that takes place. Look here at verse 16. And they abandoned and they abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God and made for themselves metal images of two calves and they made an Asherah and worshiped all the hosts of heaven and served Baal. So you went from not listening to despising and now you have abandoned.
41:48 Here's the image, it's no longer a negative feeling that you have, you are now actually walking in the way of the world. You are now pursuing the things that the world loves. You are now sacrificing of yourself to that which the world sacrifices for. And for some, they might be at this phase, you know, picking and choosing certain things in the scriptures. Others, it can be radical apostasy.
42:18 They just deny the thing altogether. They don't want anything to do with the Lord and that happens unfortunately to some. So they walk away and they sometimes deny it. And when you when you stay there long enough and you don't allow the word to torch the lies and the temptations that try to callous your heart, and you don't allow God's thunderous and comforting voice to obliterate anything that tries to steal his goodness, his blessings from your life, you become more vulnerable to things that you thought were deplorable. You are now desensitized and you begin to entertain and even embrace things like what we read here in verse 17.
43:07 And they burned. And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord provoking him to anger. Do you see it? Who would have thought that would started with not listening would lead to burning? Burning who?
43:32 Their children. You think this is outrageous. This is exaggerated. Is it? Is there not a silent holocaust happening while we're having bible study here in America?
43:46 Is it so outlandish to believe that there are people who are literally killing their sons and their daughters? Do you think such people are listening to the word of God? No. Such people have abandoned it. And so understand, when you deviate from this, when when this does not become the means of your worship, of your guidance, of your delight, You can go from not listening.
44:16 And the way you do that at home is you just tuck this away. And when you come here, you're here, but you're not really here. And if it's really a church, a pulpit that preaches the truth, if you're not careful, you can begin to despise. And there's many ways of despising the truth. And, oh, I've seen it.
44:36 It goes from despising to abandoning. From abandoning to making decisions that can leave scars on your life and other people's lives because it all began with you choosing to ignore the word of God. So this is how the people walked away from the promised land. And here's how the Lord, by the Spirit, through the author, brings this section to a close in verse 18. Let's just read from verse 18 down to verse 23.
45:07 Therefore, the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only. Judah also did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the customs that Israel had introduced. So right there, you and I are being prepared that Judah is headed for trouble. Verse 20.
45:27 And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them, and gave them into the hand of plunderers until he cast them in rather cast them out of his sight. When he had torn Israel from the house of David, they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king and Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord and made them commit great sin. The people of Israel walked and all the sins that Jeroboam did. They did not depart from them until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight. As he had spoken by all his servants, the prophets, so Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria until this day.
46:06 For the rest of this chapter, we're gonna realize that Assyria didn't stop there. Because although they made the land vacant and they dispersed the people of Israel, they're going to now replace the vacancy with their own kind of people. And the decision that Israel will make here will actually have effect leading up to the days of Jesus. So I can't keep you here for another hour, but I'll choose to leave that for next week. I think what we heard suffices for us to digest the word of the Lord.
46:45 Help us, Lord, to examine our hearts. And we pray, Lord, that we would just have a renewed awe of you. We pray, Lord, that you would never allow us to be casual with the scriptures. Help us fall deeper in love with you. Thank you, Lord, that in crisis moments, even if the troubles that we are facing come from our own sin, you watch and you wait to be merciful to us.
47:22 Help us believe that every single time. If it's a mess that we didn't ask for or if it's a mess that we created, help us believe that your blazing eyes of love look upon us and you're waiting for us to turn to you and ask for your help. And if that's if that's for anybody here who finds themselves in muck and mire, may they take this truth today and apply it immediately. And Lord, for all of us, all of us here, help us, Lord, stay near you. We want our lives, this short brief life, to not be empty, but to be filled with your life.
48:04 So if there's anything that is vain, anything that we're pursuing that's replacing you, oh, show it to us. We will abandon it. We will not abandon you, Lord. By your grace, keep us close to you. So, Lord, even tonight, we worship you, and we worship you with hearts that are longing to have all that you have for us.
48:24 In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Oh, let's worship the Lord together. Let's stand and adore him and love him and fear him, for he is worthy and it is for our safety.
