[2KG:17:1-41].
Lesson 332 - Junior
Memory Verse
"I am the LORD, and there is none else" (Isaiah 45:5).
Notes
Obedience and Disobedience
From the day that a mother shakes her head at her baby and says to him, "No, no," that child begins to learn that there are some things he should not do. As he grows older, he learns that there are some things which he may be tempted to do, but which he knows he should not do; and there are other things which he should do, and is tempted to neglect doing. Of course, we know that children who are saved are good and obedient and those who are not saved are often disobedient to parents, teachers, or others in authority. Let us for a brief time talk about unsaved children. If children persist in being disobedient, there comes a time when even the most patient father must punish them. In fact, it is the duty of parents who love their children to be kind enough to chastise them when they need it, for the good of the children in time to come. God, who is also a kind, loving Father to His children, is also good to those who obey Him; but also like an earthly father, He must correct His children, too, when they need it.Israel's Disobedience
Let us recall the things that God had told the Children of Israel to do, which they did in spite of His warnings. He had brought them out of Egypt from under the wicked king Pharaoh many years before and had proved to them that He was their God. Very clearly He had said, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" [EXO:20:3]). Many times they had broken that commandment; they had feared other gods, which were only images and idols. Then, as if God were not watching from Heaven, they had secretly done things that were wrong. They should have known that God saw them as they built the images and set them in array "in every high hill, and under every green tree" [2KG:17:10]). "And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen . . . and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger" [2KG:17:11]). God had said, "Ye shall not do this thing" [2KG:17:12]), and they should have remembered. Once more they made two calves and worshipped the stars, the moon, and the sun, and served Baal, the idol that had been proved by Elijah to be unable to hear, see, or speak.The Call of the Spirit
When God said, "Turn," they hardened their necks, or, in other words, stubbornly resisted the voice of God. His Word says, "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy" [PRO:29:1]). That verse is still true. Some boys and girls go on in sin without turning to God. Often they go to church and Sunday School, and when the altar call is given they go out the door instead of to the altar of prayer. Some parents plead with their children to give their hearts to God; sometimes a minister will talk to a young person about giving his heart to God, but he refuses. He is doing as the Children of Israel did: he "hardeneth his neck," or in stubbornness resists the call of God.The Punishment
Let us see what happened to the Children of Israel. First of all, God let a king from a heathen land, Assyria, come in and compel the people to leave their homes and their land and go into a strange land, probably to become slaves for the Assyrians. We read that the Lord "cast them out of his sight" [2KG:17:20]). He could no longer bear to look upon their sin and wickedness. Being driven from home on account of sin should be sufficient reason to cause people to turn unto God. We remember reading about the prodigal son who ran away from home and the father who loved him. When he had spent all his money he began to think once more of home, and soon he returned to those who were waiting and watching for him. The people of Nineveh believed God's prophet and repented of their sin. But not so with these people who were dwelling in Samaria. A priest came and tried to teach the people, but they continued in their sin. All manner of idols were erected to which the people bowed down: one was in the form of a goat, another a cock, a dog, a donkey, a mule, a peacock, and a rabbit. Just think of the mockery of such worship! We read that the people "feared the LORD, and served their own gods" [2KG:17:33]). Their religion became a mixture of right and wrong. But that kind of worship is worse than no worship at all. A young woman used to attend church on Sundays and go to the movies and other sinful entertainments during the week, but God showed her that the Gospel and the worldly things do not mix. Perhaps the Children of Israel were more or less afraid of God, but they had no reverence for Him and no intention of serving Him. We are commanded: "Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man" [ECC:12:13]). They had no desire to keep the commandments of God, and that was the reason the Lord "rejected" and "afflicted" the people and "delivered them into the hand of spoilers" and "cast them out of his sight" [2KG:17:20]). In our civilized land people do not bow down to idols of wood and stone; however, we have learned in previous lessons that any person or any thing which comes between us and God is an idol in our life. One of the things that could be called idolatry might be a desire to some day go into world and have a "fling." Although many boys and girls are restrained by Christian parents, yet they often plan to go out into sin and see what the worldly pleasures will bring, when they reach a certain age. Too many young people have done that and have regretted the day they first went astray from a father's and mother's teaching.Mercy and Judgement
It is true that God is a God of mercy, of love, and of kindness, who is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" [2PE:3:9]). But He is also a God of judgement and of vengeance; and when the "cup of iniquity" of this old world is full, He well sent destruction upon the wicked. Every man, woman, boy, or girl who is not saved is in danger of the day of wrath that is coming soon. Let every one who is not prepared to meet the Lord in peace, seek His face today, for "now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" [2CO:6:2]).