February 5, 2010 (2 Kings 16-17, 2 Chronicles 28, Isaiah 13-17)

More and more judgment. I'll be glad to get out of these chapters and get in to some of the more encouraging readings. But even in the midst of all this are snippets of God's grace.


^{2 Kings 17:7} This disaster came upon the people of Israel because they worshiped other gods. They sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them safely out of Egypt and had rescued them from the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. ⁸ They had followed the practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of them, as well as the practices the kings of Israel had introduced. ⁹ The people of Israel had also secretly done many things that were not pleasing to the Lord their God. They built pagan shrines for themselves in all their towns, from the smallest outpost to the largest walled city. ¹⁰ They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles at the top of every hill and under every green tree. ¹¹ They offered sacrifices on all the hilltops, just like the nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of them. So the people of Israel had done many evil things, arousing the Lord’s anger. ¹² Yes, they worshiped idols, despite the Lord’s specific and repeated warnings.

¹³ Again and again the Lord had sent his prophets and seers to warn both Israel and Judah: “Turn from all your evil ways. Obey my commands and decrees—the entire law that I commanded your ancestors to obey, and that I gave you through my servants the prophets.”

¹⁴ But the Israelites would not listen. They were as stubborn as their ancestors who had refused to believe in the Lord their God. ¹⁵ They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they despised all his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols, so they became worthless themselves. They followed the example of the nations around them, disobeying the Lord’s command not to imitate them.

I am convicted as I read and think about these things. What have we been duped into imitating? What does God require of us? We are to be "in" the world, but not "of" the world. What does that mean? Does that mean no TV, no movies - only Bible reading and church? I don't think so, but I also think we are far more 'worldly' than God really wants us to be.

³⁵ For the Lord had made a covenant with the descendants of Jacob and commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow before them or serve them or offer sacrifices to them. ³⁶ But worship only the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt with great strength and a powerful arm. Bow down to him alone, and offer sacrifices only to him. ³⁷ Be careful at all times to obey the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands that he wrote for you. You must not worship other gods. ³⁸ Do not forget the covenant I made with you, and do not worship other gods. ³⁹ You must worship only the Lord your God. He is the one who will rescue you from all your enemies.”

⁴⁰ But the people would not listen and continued to follow their former practices. ⁴¹ So while these new residents worshiped the Lord, they also worshiped their idols. And to this day their descendants do the same.

Worship - what does that word mean? I just looked it up - from the root: worth
What do I feel has worth?
This is something that I want to dialog with others about. I feel this verse is pertinent. I feel I do this. Although I worship the Lord, I also find worth in other things. And spend more time showing other things their worth, than I do showing the Lord His worth.

^{Isaiah 17:4} “In that day Israel’s glory will grow dim;
its robust body will waste away.
⁵ The whole land will look like a grainfield
after the harvesters have gathered the grain.
It will be desolate,
like the fields in the valley of Rephaim after the harvest.
⁶ Only a few of its people will be left,
like stray olives left on a tree after the harvest.
Only two or three remain in the highest branches,
four or five scattered here and there on the limbs,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.

⁷ Then at last the people will look to their Creator
and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
⁸ They will no longer look to their idols for help
or worship what their own hands have made.
They will never again bow down to their Asherah poles
or worship at the pagan shrines they have built.
⁹ Their largest cities will be like a deserted forest,
like the land the Hivites and Amorites abandoned^o]">[o]
when the Israelites came here so long ago.
It will be utterly desolate.
¹⁰ Why? Because you have turned from the God who can save you.
You have forgotten the Rock who can hide you.
So you may plant the finest grapevines
and import the most expensive seedlings.
¹¹ They may sprout on the day you set them out;
yes, they may blossom on the very morning you plant them,
but you will never pick any grapes from them.
Your only harvest will be a load of grief and unrelieved pain.

Verse 7 above tells us that it is only after God punishes us that we come to our senses. As that is true with God, it is also true with our children. If we didn't punish them to 'wake them up', they would continue on in their self-destructive ways. I guess a good prayer would be, "God, please do whatever you need to do to 'wake me up' - to get me on the right path."