[A summary
statement about why things happen the way they did to the northern kingdom of
Israel] Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land and came to Samaria, and
for three years he besieged it. 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 Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities
of the Medes. 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. And the people of Israel
did secretly against the LORD their God things that were not right. They built
for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified
city. They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and
under every green tree, 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.” 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. They despised his statutes and his covenant that
he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after
false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around
them, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them that they should not do like
them. 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 host of heaven and served Baal. 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. Therefore the LORD
was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but
the tribe of Judah only. (2 Kings 17:5-18 ESV)
Scripture
states a believer can drift away from God. Floating along the currents of
natural desires and social trends is a very devious tactic of the enemy. Drifting
is undetectable and destruction comes upon a person surreptitiously.
Is another
kind of demise possible? Can people willfully move from faithful to unfaithful? Can a believer decide to diminish in or walk
away from faith? If so, what happens should a follower of Jesus choose to do an
about-face, become faithless?
Everyone
must live with the decisions they make. When someone elects to follow Jesus, it
is called conversion. Yet while
abiding in Christ a person can select reversion.
Various
Bible passages show progressions, a domino effect. An unwholesome activity
leads to another. A poor decision is followed by another. An evil event is a
springboard of another.
When
providing leadership at a college I would occasionally speak in ministry
conferences. At least one church group or pastor in attendance would be facing a
momentary struggle. I often heard, “I don’t know how it happened. I don’t know what
caused the fallout. I don’t know what created the mess.” Yet with careful
reflection a person soon notices a poor assessment and selection brought the issue
to an unpleasant yet predictable outcome.
Scripture
declares God jealously does not share His own with another. He tenderly watches
over His flock like a Shepherd. He desires the best, but only as He defines
best. He hopes the best and creates the best. But He has pre-determined to take
into consideration your choices. He accepts the decisions you make.
The parable
of the prodigal son in Luke 15 shows someone choosing a path contrary to the
wishes of the father and is allowed to do so. Yet the foolish young man also
had to live with the consequences. The father did not want the filthy surroundings
for his son but the son was bent on going that direction and the father lovingly
refused to interfere.
Anyone
selecting a pathway of unfaithfulness is allowed to finish, but warnings and indicators
are given along the way. If they alter course the tragedy is prevented, if they
ignore the alarm bells ringing in their head than welcome to a slop-bucket
existence. Hogs are waiting to dine with them. The pigpen will come. The only
thing unknown is when.
The
summation comment recorded in Scripture about the northern kingdom of Israel
shows a domino effect and the tragic conclusion of reversion.
Following the
practices of the nations (Vs. 7-9)
Faith is in jeopardy when social trends
become religious standards. Israel’s
standard moved from the word of God
to the ways of society. Were they thinking, “If God hasn’t destroyed
them, we should be able to do it as well!”?
Many prefer to embrace a philosophy of
popular opinion. However,
majorities can be and are often mistaken. What a foolish notion: “Everyone is doing it so it must be okay. Surely not
everyone can be wrong.”
People have a natural aversion to being considered different. The human mind
frequently interprets different as
something odd or strange. As social standards diminish, which they are, followers of
Jesus are bound to be conspicuous. Genuine believers are going to appear distinctly different.
The United States, initially rooted in a
Judeo-Christian worldview, is no longer a nation giving homage to the one True
God. The new base for actions is humanism. The individual is exalted, not God. The general public considers people capable of solving problems through
social reform and education.
Many preferred practices today are in direct
contradiction to Scripture, such as men and women living together out of
wedlock, same-sex marriages, deception and dishonesty in politics and marketplace,
vulgar and violent amusement, mind-bending chemical addictions, the selfish
destruction of the unborn. Some
good people write these things off as the
new normal.
“And the
people of Israel did secretly against the LORD their God things that were not
right.” (V. 9) The northern kingdom of
Israel kept up the appearance of being divinely special while secretly living
by the preferred standards of the day.
Do you embrace the idea you can do whatever
you want as long as it does not hurt anybody? If it harms you, aren’t you
somebody?
Do you advocate whatever is done in the privacy
of the home is okay? Sounds more like the opinion of an advice columnist
instead of counsel from the Bible.
Technology makes it easier to sin privately,
to bring all kinds of junk into the home. Does this end personal responsibility
or accountability before God?
G. Raymond Carlson rightfully said, “True
character is tested by what a person thinks when alone, what a person reads
when alone, and what a person does when alone.” The Lord observes 24/7.
The practices of
the nations lead to idolatry (Vs. 10-12)
Idolatry comes in three forms: Tangible idolatry, connected to wealth and assets;
intangible idolatry, connected to
influence and power; and, self
idolatry, connected to fame and prestige.
Reversion moves on a straight path to
idolatry. When enamored with errant activities, a person ends up consumed
with corrupt ambitions.
Recall Israel conquering Canaan: From slaves in Egypt and nomads in Sinai to landowners
in Canaan, unfamiliar with how to cultivate a good yield from the ground.
Did they seek advice from their domestic slaves
and field workers about the best way to gain a great harvest? A Canaanite would likely counsel, “Producing
a good crop includes honoring the idol Baal, the local fertility god.” As long as God’s people want what others have,
they must take on their ways to achieve those ends.
Walking in the Spirit contradicts fulfilling
the desire of the sinful nature. Godly
ways always resist unrighteous, dishonest, and egocentric practices. To be consumed with possessions, power and
prestige easily jeopardize becoming like Jesus.
Society’s activities lead to society’s
ambitions.
God will send a
warning (Vs. 13-14)
When acting like the unchurched and being motivated
like them, God sends a message, Beware! In His infinite wisdom and mercy, He sees the direction people are
heading and warns, “Abandon the present course of action and get back on the true
path.” In this day and age
getting messed up does not take much.
Surrounded by unwholesomeness, believers
easily find themselves becoming very much a part of the environment. Instead of showing people the way to live,
they can end up participating in ego-indulgent activities.
How should followers of Jesus respond when
God sends warning? Israel responded
by taking on an unteachable spirit – they “would not listen,” they were “stiff-necked,” they “did not trust in
the Lord.” (V. 14)
If a friend confronted you with genuine love
and said, “What you’re doing is dangerous to your eternal wellbeing,” how would
you respond? Here are a few replies
I heard:
“I have the Holy Spirit and I know what I can
and cannot do.”
“That is the way you interpret the Bible – I
see it differently.”
[My
favorite] “The Holy Spirit told me it is okay for me to do it!” a sort of
spiritual 007 license to walk waywardly.
The reversion process continues from taking
on their activities, to becoming
motivated by their ambitions, to
gaining their attitude – idiosyncratic
independence, measuring appropriate behavior using personal preference. In other words, unteachable!
Scripture teaches believers are brothers and
sisters in Christ. He has placed
them in a divine network called the church. He instructs them to have joy with the joyful and sorrow with the
sorrowful, accurate empathy.
Followers of Jesus are not detached from God
or one another. They are to remain sensitive to God and accountable to each
other. Failing to listen, becoming
stiff-necked, is a diminishing in belief that leads to a diminishing of faith, to
becoming unfaithful.
Rejecting warnings
is an act of vanity. (Vs. 15-17)
A person can become puffed-up by modern day
influences and feel invincible. Look
carefully at current conditions:
Activities are generally humanistic.
Ambitions focus mostly on self-gratification.
Attitudes primarily elevate careless ease.
Arrogance is leading people to reject
honorable ways and disobey heavenly directives.
Sad but true, pride always precedes a fall.
If pride comes before the fall, what
comes before pride? Following
the crowd!
Scripture instructs every believer: “Do not
be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind….
(Romans 12:2 ESV) People with genuine faith in God are clearly identifiable. If
a follower of Jesus becomes unwilling to be recognized as belonging to God, the
alternative is reversion.
Freewill
I have heard said, “I am free to do
as I choose.” That is true! But then be willing to live with the consequences!
If you prefer ignoble activities and take on inferior ambitions and acquire raunchy attitudes and adopt flagrant arrogance, then the sweet fragrance of
salvation dissipates and reversion quickly follows. What comes next? Get ready
for horrid consequences, separation from God. (V. 18)
Things that often appear and start out
seemingly harmless can eventually bring devastating results. As people of faith,
choose faithfulness every day. (Revelation 2:10)
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