Sunday, November 30, 2014

Israel Lost Her Land (2 Ki. 17:6, 18:9-12)


5/30/2011 9:48:58 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Israel lost its land

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  2Kings 17:6; 18:9-12

 

            Message of the verses:  “6  In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.”

            “9 ¶  Now in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. 10  At the end of three years they captured it; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was captured. 11  Then the king of Assyria carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and put them in Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12  because they did not obey the voice of the LORD their God, but transgressed His covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded; they would neither listen nor do it.”

 

            God is a covenant keeping God as He does not change nor change His mind.  God has a plan and nothing on the face of the earth or in heaven or any other place can stop the plan that the Lord has.  God made a covenant with the people of Israel and the land that they live on belonged to the Lord and the people belonged to Him too, and they disobeyed God’s Law and not because God is the only God and will not go against His character or His attributes he caused the Assyrian Empire to defeat Samaria, the northern kingdoms capital and move these people to another place just like Judah would go through in a few years, and all of that was because they disobeyed His Law and because God kept His covenant with them.

Israel’s disobedience would bring defeat in war:  “25  "The LORD shall cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you will go out one way against them, but you will flee seven ways before them, and you will be an example of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth.  49  "The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you shall not understand, 50  a nation of fierce countenance who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young.”  (28th chapter of Deu).

God would bring oppression and slavery for breaking His covenant:  “29  and you will grope at noon, as the blind man gropes in darkness, and you will not prosper in your ways; but you shall only be oppressed and robbed continually, with none to save you.”  33  "A people whom you do not know shall eat up the produce of your ground and all your labors, and you will never be anything but oppressed and crushed continually.  48  therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.  68  "The LORD will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I spoke to you, ’You will never see it again!’ And there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer."  Also in captivity:  “36  "The LORD will bring you and your king, whom you set over you, to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone.  43  "The alien who is among you shall rise above you higher and higher, but you will go down lower and lower.  63  "It shall come about that as the LORD delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the LORD will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it. 64  "Moreover, the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. 65  "Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. 66  "So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. 67  "In the morning you shall say, ’Would that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ’Would that it were morning!’ because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see. 68  "The LORD will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I spoke to you, ’You will never see it again!’ And there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer."

All of this from the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy which I have just listened to and the chapter is a very sobering chapter that is in the Word of God.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am marveled at the way the Bible sometimes describes some important events in just a few verses.  The 28th chapter of Deuteronomy has sixty-eight verses in it to describe what would happen to Israel if she obeyed or disobeyed, and yet in 2Kings there are only a few verses to describe the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel.  The crucifixion of Jesus Christ takes only a verse or two to say it was going to happen.  I trust that the Lord has put into His Word what He wants there and what I am to do is listen to it  and to learn and apply His Word to my life so that I can bring honor and glory to the Lord.

 

My Steps of Faith For Today:

 

1.      Continue to read the Word of God and to study it and apply it to my life.

2.      Continue to learn contentment.

3.      Give myself to the Lord this day for worship and for service.

4.      Put on the whole armor of God so that I can stand.

5/30/2011 10:30:36 AM

 

 

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