S.S.S. Study Kings and Prophets
Family School at Faith Baptist Church
Week 6
Brief overview of Israel's fall into captivity
2nd Kings 15:19-20,29,Chapter 17,18:9-12
2nd Kings 15:19-20 Israel is threatened by Pul king of Assyria, and without ever consulting God King Menahem pays off the wicked Assyrian king by taxing the people.
You can try to pay off the devil, or pay for your sins yourself but it will never be enough, that is a wicked and prideful way of thinking, I can pay, I can earn, I, I, I, Acts 8:9-24 Simon the sorcerer. This is a temporary fix for Israel when they could have had complete victory, if they had served God.
Verse 29 Assyria is back and takes away captive eight cities/lands, paying off the devil is never enough, paying for your own sins is never enough, collection time will always come, and the price is not gold or silver, it's death, then eternity in Hell. Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" Romans 6:23, Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"
2nd Kings 17:1-3 Again Assyria comes to Israel, and again does Israel not consult God and they become servants to Assyria, even worse they tried to recruit help from Egypt (a type of the world) in verse 4.
How offensive this must have been to God, who saved them out of Egypt, protected, provided, and cared for them, yet they would not seek God for help. God gave His Son for you, how do you treat your salvation? Galatians 5:13.
Verses 5-6 Samaria falls after a three year siege and Israel is taken captive. We can attempt to hold back judgement of sin as long as we want but the bible tells us, Luke 12:2 "For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known." Numbers 32:23. Trying to hide sin instead of repent is an awful slippery slope, just ask king David in 2nd Samuel 11.
Verses 7-18 God explains why He allowed them to fall
They Feared other gods, Lived like the heathen, Sinned in secret, Built high places and altars to other gods, Idolatry (served idols), Yet God tried to get them back on track with preachers (verse 13), they Rejected God, Hardened their necks, Rejected His word, Became vain, Sacrificed their children to false gods, practiced Divination and enchantments.
24-28 foreigners were placed in Israel by the Assyrian king and are killed by lions sent from God, so the king sends one priest back to teach the foreign occupants of Israel to fear God. (This shows that God fights for what is His and He will be honored even if it isn't His chosen people in the land, these victims were not from Israel but they were still Gods creation. Be careful when asking the question "what has God ever done for me!?"
29-32 Israel made their own gods just as the heathen before them had.
2nd Kings 17:33 "They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence." The people tried to have a relationship with both God and the world, but that does not work, Luke 16:13, Luke 10:27.
Verses 33-41 God reiterates why they fell, God always has a righteous reason for every action He takes, His judgement upon His people was just. Just as today He deals justly. Malachi 3:6.
The reasons God gives for Israel's fall are some of the same reasons that we fall today
Feared other gods, we are commanded to trust in our God and have faith, we should never let fear of other people or things stop is from serving God, Acts 5:29, Proverbs 3:5, Matthew 28:20
Lived like the heathen, 1st Corinthians 15:24, 1st John 2:1, what is sin? 1st John 5:17, why is it important to live righteously? 1st Corinthians 6:19-20, your body, soul, spirit, mind, aspirations, will, all that you are and have belongs to. Jesus Christ NOT YOU! This should make our decisions in life so much easier if we desire to serve Him.
Sinned in secret. Jeremiah 23:23-24.
Idolatry (served idols) 1st Corinthians 10:14, Idol worship is alive and well in our world today!
God still tried to get them back on track with preachers verse 13, Romans 10:14 God uses Christian friends, pastors, mom, dad, brother, sister, sermons, lessons, even circumstances in life all to get our attention and turn us back to Him. He gave us His only begotten Son while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8) so that we would be able to have a relationship with Him in the first place.
Rejected God, John 3:19-20, remember to reject God is not necessarily to say we hate God, it can simply be ignoring His will for our life.
Hardened their necks, 2nd Chronicles 30:7-9, in Acts 7:51 Stephen refers to the council as stiffnecked just before they attack and kill him to stop his preaching.
Rejected His word, 2nd Timothy 1:13, Psalm 119:160, 2nd Timothy 4:2 says to preach the word, 1st Corinthians 1:21 by preaching God saves those who believe. Which makes Gods word just as important today.
Became vain, Ephesians 5:6, 1st Timothy 6:20, Titus 3:9 the word amusement is a combination of two words muse which means "to think, or take thought", and a which here means "the absence of" so amusement literally means "to not think".
Child sacrifices T.V., Music, movies, pop culture, etc allowing children/teens to get sucked into these things may as well be sacrificing them to the gods of entertainment.
Divination and enchantments, Deuteronomy 18:10-12, wizardry, witchcraft, sorcery, all still practiced today, now promoted by Hollywood, the Wicca and voodoo religions are gaining much ground among young people, you can buy voodoo doll keychains for help with bullies, popularity, grades, etc. the bible often calls these people, those with familiar spirits. Leviticus 20:27, we have the Spirit of God in us if your saved, but that is not the only spirit out there, Acts 19:13-16, Mark 5:1-15 Legion, a military term a legion of men consisted of over 5,000 soldiers. It is not something to promote, play with, or purchase.
Israel's fall to the world teaches us many things, many lessons hard to hear, even harder to let change us. As we consider this event in history, let us look inward, seek out the secret sins, the open rebellions, the subtle idolatry, the fascination with evil, the vanity, and all else God desires us to cleanse from our lives and get rid of it, many times we come to a place of silent rebellion against the law of God in the ways in which we believe matter least, we decide that "it doesn't matter" but God does care, He wants us to be holy 1st Peter 1:16, Zephaniah 1:12 "And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil."
Memory Verses: Jeremiah 1:5-8 "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. 6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. 7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. 8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD."
S.S.S. Study Kings and Prophets
Family School at Faith Baptist Church
Week 6
Brief overview of Israel's fall into captivity
Student Notes:
Homework: For each of the ten sins listed in this lesson find at least one example of Israel committing each. Give the verse reference and explain briefly the situation for each.
S.S.S. Study Kings and Prophets
Family School at Faith Baptist Church
Week 6
Brief overview of Israel's fall into captivity
Student Homework:
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