Israel’s Great Sin
We pick up with the nation of Israel mired in deep rebellion against God.
7 This disaster happened because the people of Israel sinned against the Lord their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt and because they worshiped other gods. 8 They lived according to the customs of the nations that the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites and according to what the kings of Israel did. 9 The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right. They built high places in all their towns from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 11 They burned incense there on all the high places just like the nations that the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did evil things, angering the Lord. 12 They served idols, although the Lord had told them, “You must not do this.” (2 Kings 17:7-12 CSB)
Notice a few things.
One, this was not a recent rebellion, but rather a long-time one. God’s people had been sinning against Him for some time—which is evident as you read through this part of the Bible.
Two, this was not an accidental rebellion. This was not about sins of omission. This was not about Israel “falling” into sin. This was about Israel willfully choosing to sin against God.
Three, the root of the sin was idolatry. It was worshiping other things instead of the one true God. Worship reveals where our hearts are. Israel’s hearts were far from God.
As we continue to read what would happen to Israel, we first have to understand the depth of Israel’s sin. If we fail to do this, we run the risk of thinking God will act unjustly, or at least disproportionately. In fact, what we will see is the opposite—God showed His people great restraint. Which takes us to the next verse.
God’s Numerous Warnings
There is a scene in the 1971 film Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where Wonka (Gene Wilder) half-heartedly warns a child not to do something. His warning is barely audible and far from impassioned. It was a warning more for himself than the child. It was uttered merely to make himself feel better afterward. Unlike God’s warnings to Israel.
13 Still, the Lord warned Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commands and statutes according to the whole law I commanded your ancestors and sent to you through my servants the prophets.” (2 Kings 17:13 CSB)
God sent prophet after prophet to warn His people of what was coming because of their evil ways and gave them numerous opportunities to repent. But they refused. Again and again. At times, it seems they dug in their heels even more and amped up their rebellion against God. We cannot miss this: every single prophet, indeed every single day that God’s righteous judgment of Israel was delated, was an act of mercy and grace.
But it was not just the quantity of God’s warnings to Israel that stand out, it was also His heart behind each warning. God’s warnings were impassioned please for His people to return to Him. They were not devoid of emotion—they were not Wonkonian.
Perhaps the clearest illustration of God’s heart for His rebellious people is found in the New Testament, when Jesus, just before His arrest, approached Jerusalem, the seat of the Jewish religious leaders who were out to get Him, and this happened:
41 As he approached and saw the city, he wept for it, 42 saying, “If you knew this day what would bring peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come on you when your enemies will build a barricade around you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. 44 They will crush you and your children among you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in your midst, because you did not recognize the time when God visited you.” (Luke 19:41-44 CSB)
Such is the heart of God for His people—even as they are mired in rebellion against Him. So how did the people of Israel respond to God’s warnings?
14 But they would not listen. Instead they became obstinate like their ancestors who did not believe the Lord their God. 15 They rejected his statutes and his covenant he had made with their ancestors and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves, following the surrounding nations the Lord had commanded them not to imitate.
16 They abandoned all the commands of the Lord their God. They made cast images for themselves, two calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky and served Baal. 17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire and practiced divination and interpreted omens. They devoted themselves to do what was evil in the Lord’s sight and angered him. (2 Kings 17:14-17 CSB)
They amped up their rebellion once again. Take inventory of what you feel right now—it’s important.
Frustration. Anger. Disbelief. Shock. Resignation.
What you feel is likely some combination of these emotions plus others. The reason is because we are rubbing shoulders with Israel’s wickedness. We are not seeing them as a slightly disobedient people—a good people who goof once in a while—we see them for who they are—a wicked people hostile to God. Now, and only now, are we ready to read the next verse.
God’s Righteous Judgment
18 Therefore, the Lord was very angry with Israel, and he removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained. (2 Kings 17:18 CSB)
And thus came judgment. God sent a foreign military juggernaut to destroy His people. We cannot miss the reality of this. It’s somewhat easy to say, but much more difficult to grasp when we remember what this meant—God brought in an army to kill many of his people and capture the rest. That doesn’t sit well. A God who loves is also a God who commissioned such violence. And this is why we had to walk through this passage carefully—to see the depth of Israel’s sin. To see God’s heart for them and the opportunities they had to repent. God’s judgment here is far from undeserved. If we want to claim anything was not fair, it would be that such judgment did not occur earlier and much more severely. Notice that it wasn’t really “the rest” who were captured. Judah was not (at least for now). And here is a picture of God’s grace.
This is a challenging passage, for sure. But when we understand what led into it, and, what comes out of it (Israel would indeed repent), we can see that this is not a story we can merely stomach, but actually rejoice in. God is a good God—a God full of grace and mercy. Even in His judgment of His people.
Preschool Tip: For little ones, you might want to stay abstract here. Talk in terms of God’s people failing to love Him and making wrong choices which led to God punishing them. However you choose to articulate this, be sure to saturate this session with reminders that God is good and that He is love—proven in Him providing Jesus to forgive us from all of our wrong choices.
Kids Tip: Press in more deeply with the sinfulness of Israel and God’s numerous warnings to them. Our older kids can handle this and it is important for them to see Israel properly, because then, they have the opportunity to see themselves properly—rebels who choose to sin against God in need of God’s mercy and grace.
-From Brian Dembowczyk at TGP website
#JesusJams for today!
CLICK HERE for this weeks story summary
Christ Connection: God’s people disobeyed Him over and over again, so God punished them and sent them away from their home. We disobey God over and over again too, but Jesus took our punishment for us. People who trust in Jesus will never be sent away but have a home with God forever.
If you have a bible at your house, turn to 2 Kings 17. If you don't have one, that's okay! CLICK HERE.
Option: Sort red, yellow, and green Dump crayons, markers, and colored pencils together in a large bin. Find sheets of red, yellow, and green construction paper or other red, yellow, and green items. Invite preschoolers to pick out the red, yellow, and green writing utensils from the bin and place them on the matching sheet of paper. End the game by guiding preschoolers to sort crayons, markers, and colored pencils back in their original bins to help with cleanup. Remind Kids • Often red, yellow, and green are used to say stop, warning, and go. God told His people to stop sinning and worship Him. God sent prophets to warn His people, but Israel did not listen to God’s warning. Finally, God made his people go from their home to another country.
Option 2: Wait and draw Give each preschooler a marker and a sheet of paper. Set a timer for thirty seconds. Tell preschoolers they may begin drawing when the timer goes off, but they must stop when it goes off again. Reset the timer several times, alternating between letting the children draw and making them wait. Hold up the red and green papers from the last activity to help them see when it's time to draw and when it's not.
Remind • Was it hard to be patient and wait to draw? Our lesson today reminds us that God is patient. He waited for Israel to turn from their sin and follow Him again, but Israel did not listen to God’s warning.
Discussion Question:
