2 Kings 17:24-41
Oxymoron belief= A rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory faith are combined,
From the dictionary: oxymoron = A rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined, as in…
“Taped Live” , “Living Dead” , Plastic Glasses , Tight Slacks
Peace Force, Silent Scream , Deafening Silence
Pretty Ugly, Head Butt, Working Vacation, Work Party
Dodge Ram , Virtual Reality
Brief Background of : 2 Kings 17 NASB
22 And the people of
Israel persisted in all the evil ways of Jeroboam. They did not turn from these
sins 23 until the Lord finally swept them away from his presence,
just as all his prophets had warned. So Israel was exiled from their land to
Assyria, where they remain to this day.
The Northern 10 Tribes Captivity & The Assyrian
Resettlement
A. It was because
of their repeated sin against God.
B. They were
taken captive by the Assyrians.
Most of the time,
what we are experiencing are the products of our choices & activities in
the past.
Following the conquest by the nation of Assyria, most of
the people of Israel were deported to Assyria. In their place, Assyria imported
captives from other countries to live in Samaria, the main province of Israel
at that time. There are several
characteristics of their religion we would do well to take note of.
24 The king of Assyria
brought men from Babylon and from Cuthah and from Avva and from Hamath and
Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of
Israel. So they possessed Samaria and
lived in its cities.
25 At the beginning of
their living there, they did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them which
killed some of them.
The statement that
these people `feared not the Lord" means they were unacquainted with His
worship and had no reverence for Him.
1.
With the depopulation of the land the lions had
come into these newly desolate lands and posed a formidable danger to the new
inhabitants.
2.
They perceived that their trouble arose from
their ignorance of the God of the land,
On which basis they appealed to the Assyrian king to send
them someone who could teach them how to worship the God of the land, so they
could do things which would please Him and escape from the lions.
26 So they spoke to
the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have carried away into exile
in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the god of the land; so he
has sent lions among them, and behold, they kill them because they do not know
the custom of the god of the land.”
27 Then the king of
Assyria commanded, saying, “Take there one of the priests whom you carried away
into exile and let him go and live there; and let him teach them the custom of
the god of the land.”
28 So one of the
priests whom they had carried away into exile from Samaria came and lived at
Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the Lord.
29 But every nation
still made gods of its own and put them in the houses of the high places
which the people of Samaria had made, every nation in their cities in which
they lived.
30 The men of Babylon
made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made
Ashima,
31 and the Avvites
made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire
to Adrammelech and Anammelech the gods of Sepharvaim.
Divided Devotion: Oxymoron Belief #1:
Fearing God & fearing other gods
1) THIS
IS EVIDENT BY THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS...vv 28,29 Is this a contradiction?
2) THE
SAMARITANS HAD THE WRONG KIND OF "FEAR"...
1.
They would have never thought of God, had it not
been for the lions. vs 25-26
2.
When they did think of Him, it was only to
tremble before Him.
3.
This is like so many people today.
a. Who
think of God only...
b) When
they are ill, forgetting Him when they are well
c) During
their calamities, but not during their joys Ex. 911, Earthquake, Tsunami, Typhoon
d) When
faced with problems, but not when enjoying prosperity
3) Like some sailors, who in a storm pray fervently to God for deliverance, making promises.
4) But
then get drunk or engage in immorality as soon as they get to land.
1.
If we turn to God only when things go wrong, our
religion is no different than the Samaritans'!
5) Should
be …In sickness & in health, Thick & Thin, joys & sorrows.
1.
But with the proper kind of fear (awesome
reverence), we will draw close to God through obedience;
12 But even though a person sins a hundred times and still
lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off. 13 The
wicked will not prosper, for they do not fear God. - Ecclesiastes 8:12-13
When we do so –(fear, revere), we will find Him to be so
gracious and loving that we will serve Him out of love and not just a fear
of judgment.
This is true
"fear of the Lord"... Is NOT the kind that never thinks of God when
things are going well, and then trembles at the prospect of facing God. It is the
kind of awesome reverence towards God that motivates us to turn away from evil
and serve God faithfully at all times.
1. As
taught by Jesus.
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the
soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
(Mat 10:28)
*God’s promise: (Deliverance
alone from God)
39 But the Lord your God you shall fear;
and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.”
What are your fears? Do you trust him..only?
Point 2 :Continuing with the
passage…
32 These
new residents worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed from among themselves
all sorts of people as priests to offer sacrifices at their places of
worship.
….
34 And this is
still going on today. They continue to follow their former practices instead of truly worshiping the Lord and
obeying the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands he gave the
descendants of Jacob, whose name he changed to Israel.
Divided Devotion:
Oxymoron Belief #2: Worshipping God & worshipping other gods cf. 34-38 (God alone & His laws)
The new people did not forsake their own gods, but merely
added the Lord to their idols.
1) THEIR
HEARTS WERE NOT solely TO THE LORD...
a)
As evident by the fact they continued to worship
their "carved images".
2) SUCH
WORSHIP IS OFTEN COMMON TODAY...
a)
A RELIGION OF "accommodations," compromise, a form of Hinduism,
i)
Of Tolerance: It doesn’t matter what you
believe….just as long as it doesn’t hurt others
3) False
Worship = No Worship
a)
Well, they believed in God didn't they? NO!
b)
Verses 35-40 characterizes the true worship of
the true God.
35 with whom the Lord
made a covenant and commanded them, saying, “You shall not fear other gods,
nor bow down yourselves to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them.
36 But the Lord, who
brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched
arm, Him you shall fear, and to Him you shall bow yourselves down, and
to Him you shall sacrifice.
37 The statutes and
the ordinances and the law and the commandment which He wrote for you, you
shall observe to do forever; and you shall not fear other gods.
38 The covenant that I
have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods.
……………..
40 However, they did
not listen, but they did according to their earlier custom.
T3. False
worship is the same as no worship!
Ex. Sac. Bee. NFL worship,Horoscope, Psychic, Karma, Feng Tzu
Literally other gods…Budha, Frog, Cross, Cystall balls
God’s Promise: Deuteronomy 6 The Message (MSG)
3 Listen obediently, Israel. Do what you’re told so that
you’ll have a good life, a life of abundance and bounty, just as God promised,
in a land abounding in milk and honey.
4 Attention, Israel!
God, our God! God the one and only!
5 Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him
with all that’s in you, love him with all you’ve got!
33 They feared the
Lord and served their own gods according to the custom of the nations from
among whom they had been carried away into exile.
….
41 So while these
nations feared the Lord, they also served their idols; their children
likewise and their grandchildren, as their fathers did, so they do to this day.
(sad to say passed on to the next gen.)
Divided Devotion: Oxymoron Belief #3: v.33 Serving God & Serving other gods.
"serving 2
gods? " Worshipping God &
serving idols at the same time????
1) IN
THE CASE OF THE SAMARITANS...
a)
They liked the latter best vv 33, 41
b)
They gave God lip service, …but they gave the
"gods" their true service
2) SUCH
CAN HAPPEN TO CHRISTIANS TODAY...
a)
When they seek to serve God, while also try to
serve the world or other gods
b)
But this is impossible according to Jesus: “No
man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other;
or else he will hold to the one, and
despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Mat 6:24)
c)
When people try to serve both, It shows up in
their lives It shows up in how their
families, jobs, their recreation, etc., takes precedence over their service to
God.
Priorities: God, Family: Spouse, Kids, Recreation:
Fishing, Lake Tahoe, Play….Job
C. BUT GOD
CANNOT TOLERATE "double standard"....
1. He
requires total commitment to Him, no matter the price.
Deut.6 God’s promise:
10-12 When God, your God, ushers you into the land he promised through
your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you, you’re going to walk into
large, bustling cities you didn’t build, well-furnished houses you didn’t buy, come
upon wells you didn’t dig, vineyards and olive orchards you didn’t plant. When
you take it all in and settle down, pleased and content, make sure you don’t forget how you got
there—God brought you out of slavery in Egypt.
13-14 Deeply respect God, your God. Serve and worship him exclusively. Back up your promises with his name only.
Don’t fool around with other gods, the gods of your neighbors, because
God, your God, who is alive among you is a jealous God.
With this passage fresh in our minds, how might the
Samaritans' worship compare with our service to God today? In some cases, the
comparisons may be a little too close for comfort!
Application:
I believe it is easy to see the error of the Samaritans'
religion. They had a religion of
"fearing, worshipping & serving
too many masters" This is the direction we see today in religion. Many
folks think they can ignore this contradictions. But unless we are careful, our beliefs can
easily become like theirs!If we are honest, our religion is closer to the
Samaritans' than it should be.
Let Elijah challenge us to give up "a religion of
compromise"
21 Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much
longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God,
follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” 1 Kings 18:21
Undivided devotion: Fear God, Worship God, Serve God Alone!
Valentine: Ask yourself if you like a spouse who will
tell you, Honey I’m 90% devoted to you…
Research taken from messages of : Don Robinson & Andy Stanly
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