The Lord God Alone

Prayer

Recap of the Story of the Old Testament

It’s been months since we last left off in our journey through the story of the Old Testament. And if you’re anything like me, I need refreshers - after all, we’ve covered a lot of history, thousands of years of history. And since it’s been a while, I want to do a brief overview of the entire story of the Old Testament, major themes.

It all starts, of course, in Genesis, where we get the story of creation, of God making the world by his command, speaking it into existence, and making it good. Everything - the heavens and the earth, the sky and the seas, the dry land. All the plants and animals. And lastly, humans, male and female, in his image. And it was all good until Adam and Eve, the first humans, disobeyed God, and sin entered the world. The Fall.

The next major period is that of the patriarchs, starting with Abraham, with whom God makes a covenant to make a great nation through him. We made our way through the generations that followed - Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and the family making their way to Egypt to escape the famine. As the years passed, that family grew into a nation, but a nation enslaved by the Egyptians.

That led us to Moses, who, by God’s hand, led God’s people, the Israelites, out of slavery into the wilderness where they wandered for 40 years, and where God made a covenant with his people, where He would be their God, and they would be his people, obedient to him. God fulfilled his promise to Abraham and his descendants by giving them the land he had long ago swore to, the land of the Canaanites.

Over the centuries that followed we saw the repeated theme of the Israelites falling into disobedience, worshipping the false gods of their neighbors, God bringing punishment upon them, the Israelites calling out for mercy, God sending a leader to save them. Under that leader’s rule they would be faithful for a while until the whole cycle repeated itself.

Because of this continual unfaithfulness, the Israelites thought they would fare better under the leadership of a king, so they demanded God give them one - he relented, which brings us to the last main period we’ve been covering - the monarch. Which first existed as a united kingdom, then divided into two - the northern kingdom of Israel (which never had a faithful king and were constantly engaging in worshiping other gods along with Yahweh) and into the southern kingdom of Judah, who were more faithful overall.

Though there are a number of themes that run throughout the story of the Old Testament, two in particular stick out.

First is God’s faithfulness to his people. Over and over again God shows them mercy. Over and over again he saves them. Provides for them. Teaches them. The entire story of the Old Testament - really the entire story of the Bible - is God showing his steadfast love for his people, keeping his promises.

And this in spite of the second major theme of the Old Testament - the constant unfaithfulness of the people. Over and over again the Israelites - though they might be faithful for a while - turned to disobedience. To worship and serve other gods, rather than to worship and serve the one true God, the Lord Almighty.

And that unfaithfulness was in full display at the point of the story where we last left off in 2 Kings. Here I want to pick up with the kings we were looking at, and as we’ve been doing, run through their reigns - not because I have any expectation you’ll remember them (I certainly don’t), but to give you a sense of how completely in disarray the northern kingdom of Israel was becoming.

Image of Divided Kingdom III - Back in July we were looking at the southern kingdom of Judah under the reign of Joash, who led a reform in Judah, repairing the long-neglected temple. But in his later years, he turned toward unfaithfulness. His son, Amaziah, reigned after him. In the northern kingdom of Israel, Jeroboam, took the throne. And like all the Israelite kings before him, he did evil in the eyes of the Lord. It was during Jeroboam’s reign that the prophets that we covered - Jonah, Hosea, and Amos were sent by God to preach repentance, Jonah to the Ninevites, and Hosea and Amos to the northern kingdom of Israel (where their preaching fell on deaf ears).

Image of Divided Kingdom IV - I want to do a quick rundown of the kings who followed Jeroboam and Amaziah, to bring us to what I want to cover today:

In the southern kingdom of Judah, we had Amaziah, then his son, Azariah (also known as Uzziah, just to make things even more confusing). Notice that for some of these kings, their reigns overlap, father and son might co-reign for a time. Such was the case for Azariah, as he was afflicted with leprosy and forced to live in isolation, so his son, Jotham reigned in his stead. Finally, Jotham’s son, Ahaz reigned. The kings before him were generally faithful to the Lord, doing what was right in his eyes, but Ahaz was not, he did evil.

In the northern kingdom, a lot more turmoil - short reigns because of all the betrayals and assassinations that took place. After Jeroboam his son, Zechariah, reigned. Zechariah was assassinated by Shallum, who was assassinated by Menahem. Menahem’s son, Pekahiah then reigned. Until he was assassinated by Pekah, who in turn was assassinated by Hoshea. You can read all about these wonderful kings in 2 Kings 14-15.

The Northern Kingdom of Israel - their unfaithfulness and fall

So that brings us to what I want to cover this morning. We’re in the reign of Hoshea, King of Israel, about 732 BC. The other important thing to know is what was happening in the nations surrounding Israel and Judah. Before, it was Aram who had been the constant threat to Israel, but now a new empire, cruel and powerful, had emerged, the Assyrians. The southern kingdom of Judah, under the reign of Ahaz, had already become their willing vassal, paying annual tribute, to provide protection from Israel and Aram.

Israel, however, had also become a vassal under Assyria - but not by choice. But rather to avoid destruction. Here’s where we pick up the story in 2 Kings 17:1-6 - In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him. 3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who had been Shalmaneser’s vassal and had paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys to So king of Egypt, and he no longer paid tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore Shalmaneser seized him and put him in prison. 5 The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.

A lot of political intrigue here - but here’s what essentially happens: Hoshea rebels against Assyria, against Shalmaneser, stops paying the tribute. Instead, he turns to Egypt for help. Turns out, not a good move. Shalmaneser marches on Hoshea, laying seige on the nation of Israel, and after three years, conquers it. In order to prevent a future revolt, he deports Israelites to other parts of the Assyrian empire.

And if you continue reading 2 Kings 17, you learn why all this happened, why the nation of Israel is destroyed, vv. 7-9, All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods 8 and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. 9 The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns.

In spite of God’s constant warnings, the prophets he sent his word through, in spite of how many times he brought calamity on them, and how many times he saved them, they would not repent. They continued in their sin, their evil, their idolatry. It got so bad that they engaged in some of the most horrific acts imaginable, sacrificing their sons and daughters in the fire. As verse 14 describes, “they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors.”

It turns out that not only did the Assyrians deport Israelites to other parts of the empire, but they imported other peoples into the towns of Samaria (remember, Samaria was the capital of Israel and another name for the nation), to replace them. Of course, these peoples brought the worship of their foreign gods with them. The Lord sent lions to kill some of these people for their idol worship in the land of his people. So the Shalmaneser sent one of the Israelite priests to return to the land to teach those people the worship of the Lord God.

Though you wonder how helpful that had to be considering the Israelites were synchronistic in their worship beforehand - synchronistic meaning at the same time, like synchronized swimming. Sure enough, that continues, if not even more so. This becomes a land of mixed worship, worshiping Yahweh and at the same time, worshiping all these other gods - 2 Kings 17:33, They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.

And this is how it ends for the northern kingdom. In 722 BC, it is destroyed, never to exist again. There is no record of the people returning. Instead, we have this mixed group living in the land - some Israelites and the people imported. And they continue their mixed worship. From here on out our focus will only be on the southern kingdom of Judah. The northern kingdom of Israel, their story ends on this sad note, 2 Kings 17:40-41 - They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former practices. Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.

As best as we can tell, it’s these people, their ancestors, who become the Samaritans we read about in the New Testament (John 4, the woman at the well, parable of the Good Samaritan) - the hated enemy of the Jews.

It seems to me that there is one obvious lesson from all of this, the one thing that the Lord was telling his people to do over and over and over and over again. And it remains the core issue for us today. The very first commandment, the one from which all the others follow: Exodus 20:3, You shall have no other gods before me. Or, as Jesus tells Satan in the wilderness when he comes to tempt him, quoting Deuteronomy 6:13, Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.

So simple and yet so vital. I mean, this is it. It starts here. God, and God alone. No others. He alone is the one we are to follow, to live in obedience to. Not a political party. Not a nation. Not other gods. Not ourselves, our hearts. The Lord our God.

It’s important to heed what the story of the kingdom of Israel teaches us - really, what the Old Testament teaches us - is that all of us are susceptible to worshiping other gods. Not just susceptible, but we will do it. Every single last one of us. That is the unbroken record of humanity, we constantly turn to worship and serve other things. We put just about anything and everything we can before God.

I read a story last week of a burlesque troupe at Vassar college in New York that did a sexual performance at the campus chapel they called “Whoreship and Prayer.” As you can imagine, Christians on campus were horrified, but in spite of their protests, the administration did nothing. Here’s the thing: I’m sure there was faithful worship and teaching for years at that chapel at Vassar, genuine worship of the one true God. But slowly and surely, false teaching crept in. The administration and students turned to other things, other gods - until you get to this point.

This is the way it always happens, it’s rarely blatant idol worship (or at least starts that way). The danger for us, like the Israelites, is that synchronistic worship, it’s God AND. God and a comfortable lifestyle. God and my job. God and my family. God and my personal happiness.

So, I want to offer a word for the New Year, a word that has long been given to God’s people. Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. Commit yourself to having no other gods before him. Pretty simple, huh?! So simple and yet so vital. Our faith starts here, in putting Jesus first. Not just first, above all, but alone. He alone is Lord. No Jesus AND. Just Jesus.

Consider yourself to be his willing vassal, ready to serve him. Pay him tribute, not just annually, but daily.

Here’s the thing, we don’t want to do this primarily out of fear of punishment, or out of guilt, or duty or obligation. Those can be helpful motivators, but as we can see from the history of the Israelites, those don’t take you far. No, our primary motivation has to be because our hearts are absolutely convinced of the goodness and faithfulness of God. Because we have known and experienced God’s redeeming love in Jesus and we want to love him in return.

We worship and serve him alone because there is no one or nothing else worth worshiping and serving, of giving our lives over to. I weep for those deluded students at Vassar who think giving themselves over to sexuality is a god worth serving. Or those administrators who’d rather protect their position and power than take an unpopular stance and stand up for what is good and right. And for myself when I chose to treasure other things more than God.

Let’s chose Jesus Christ. To stand up for him. Because we know and trust that he alone is worthy - of all glory and honor and power and wisdom.

Spiritual Practice of the Shema, Deuteronomy 6:4-6, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.

Goes on to encourage the Israelites to make this a regular practice - they are told to impress these commands on their children, talk about them as they sit at home, walk along the road, as they lie down, when they get up. To write them on your doorframes of their houses and gates. In other words, memorize them, keep them at the center of their daily life. Here’s why - because as we engage in such practices, they become central to who we are. Changes how we think, our very hearts, we become more and more a person who loves the Lord with all of our heart and soul and strength.

So as you come into the new year, how can you put this core command on your heart? What will help you not just remember, but become more and more committed to worshiping and serving the Lord alone, to loving him with all that you are? Because the more you do this, the more you’ll recognize and be ready to repent when you see other things that have or are taking a hold of your heart. Pray the Shema every morning. Write the greatest commandments on your bathroom mirror. Pray it as a commitment. Teach them to others (kids, grandkids).

Closing Prayer - Time of Reflection