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THE KING’S BUSINESS
The Fall and Captivity of Israel DECEMBER 19, 1915. LESSON XII. 2 Kings 17:7-14, 18. (Commit vs. 7, 8 ). G olden T ext : “He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”—Prov. 29:1. DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Mon., Dec. 13—Luke 2:8-20. Tues., Dec. 14—Isaiah 9:2-7. Wed., Dec. IS—Matt. 2:1-12. Thurs., Dec. 16—Luke 1:46-55.
Fri., Dec. 17—John 1:9-14. Sat., Dec. 18—Luke 2:25-32. Sun., Dec. 19—1 John 4:7-14. EXPOSITION AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
v. 7. " And it was- so, because the chil dren of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, which brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh King of Egypt, and had feared other gods." This lesson brings us to the close of the history of Israel as a separate nation. Hoshea’s reign, like that of all the kings that preceded him, was thor oughly bad, though it was not the worst in the history of the nation. The Holy Spirit sums up his reign in a single sent ence: “He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord” (v. 2). This is the con stant refrain in the history of Israel as recorded in the Bible (ch. 2 :2; 10:31; 13:2, IT; 15:9; 18:24). It may not have been evil in the sight of men, nor in Hoshea’s own sight, but that was of no account as long as it was “evil in the sight of Jehovah.” Hoshea vacillated between Assyria and Egypt, and by his vacillation brought ruin upon his own head. Egypt did not help him, and his flirting with Assyria only intensified the wrath of As syria. The Israelites were God’s people and were supposed to obey Him and to live for Him, but instead of doing this they “had sinned against Jehovah their God,” and it was this that brought upon them the judgments recorded in verses 4 to 6 of this chapter. That Israel’s captivity and suffering were the direct outcome of their sin, is brought out in the Revised Version of verse 7 as given above, more clearly than in the Authorized Version. The verse
before us shows the magnitude of their guilt and their ingratitude, by bringing out the fact that Jehovah their God, against whom they had sinned, was their deliverer who “had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pha raoh, King of Egypt.” What an ingrati tude to sin against such a God. But .the sin of men today is even more inexcusable, because • God has redeemed us with the precious blood of His Son. v. 8 . “And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children o f Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.” The line of demarcation between Israel and the nations that God had cast out' before them, had been clearly drawn by God Him self, but Israel had disregarded God’s call to separation, and had “walked in the statutes of the nations whom Jesus cast out from before” them. The same thing is true of many who profess to be the peo ple of God today. The line of demarca tion between the church and the world, although clearly drawn in the Bible, is not clearly drawn in the practice of professing Christians today. We do well to carefully note the outcome of this course of pro cedure on Israel’s part (vs. 6 , 18). v. 9. “And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the Lord their God, and they built them high places in all the cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.” The fact that Israel did these things “secret-
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