"come short," "missed Since they failed to realize God's purpose why should He prolong their ^national existence? Man's duty, t he duty of nations, is to giority - God (See. 12:13). If they "come snort" they should die (Rom. 6: ; 12-23). (b) He was " t h e . r" God by voluntary choice; they c h o s e ' H im and H e t h em (Deut. 26:17- is; Josh. 24:16-18). -(c) They had agreed to s j r ve H im (Ex. .19:8). He had more than kept His part (Josh. 21:45; 1 Chron. 22:18), for they bi-oktS their- faith at the first (Ex. 32:8).: ( d ) . B ut "they walked in the statutes of the heathen." ..bid the very things tor whicji " t he wrath of God cometh on the chil- dren of disobedience" (Eph. 5:6; 2 Kgs. 17: 8). " p id secretly" in the name of religion things which should not be named amo ng saints i-or it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them In secret" u'.ph. 4:3). _ Tliey forgot t h at all things a t e naked and open in the eyes of tiiui with whom they had to do (±ieb. 4:13), a na t h at a aay would come when He would judge tne secrets of men (Rom. 2:16; 1 \ , o r. 4:6), They chose the works of the flesh, r a t h er t h an the fruits of the Spirit (i»aL 0:19-21), *et the law, of the .Lord, was perfect (Psa. i 9 : ( - l l ), the command- ment" was holy, and just, and good; the law spiritual (Rom. 7:12, 14). Compare the ••statutes" and " t he gods" with the law, and the Eord. "They caused their sons . . . to pass through the Tire.y,/ They ¡aid their babes, in the a r ms of the hideous Moloch; from his burning embrace they fell into "the fire. " Wlieieas they should haye, laid t h em in His a r ms Wh,o says, "Suffer the childien to come unto Me; /VKho takes them in Mis a r ms to bless, them. (e) Tteiy- f i d all this with their whole heart, fiUfng the Jind with their sin;! setting up ttieli- idol s.innes and practicing their impute' anfl pagan rites from the booth in the field t 0 tha shrine in the city; lrom the green tree in the open, to the" grove oh mM $ hill. As- often with us, every'tning w a s / " w i de open." So it runs on." AYhat lessons for Chiircli and nations; for glflfistians, and parents; for all men. (4) TheJudgment. (a) " T h e r e f o r e /' As they "sold themselves to do evil" (v. 17) the Lord d e l i v e r e d ' t h em into the hands of their purchaser, and Satan led them Gap- ; .-tive, and has' his. way with t h em still. " T he La.d was very.angry." His w r a th was jhst, as the account shows. And all who/ feel t h at w r a th In the end-time wiirbe'compelled to justify God, and wonder a t His lohg- suflering. (b) It is not too late. Today If ye will hear His voice harden not your h e a r t" (v. 14; Heb. 4:'7). "They did not be- lieve in the Lord their God" (v. 14), and t h at was and is the damning sin (Jno. lg:9; Heb. 2:17-19). the aim."
for (Pro. 4:13). Of these three were mu r- dered; one, Jeroboam II, brought the realm to the height of material, prosperity, but despite , prophetic expostulation its wicked- ness was equally marked. This last flash of glory was God's vindication • of H is ability and willingness to save even on the verge of final rejection of Him, and by Him. (4) Hoshea "did evil In the sight of the Lord, but not as the Kings of Israel t h at were before him." He was "not so b a d" as oth-- ers is a very popular subterfuge, b ut a very patent discredit (Luke 18:11, 12). It was under, the man "not^so b a d" t h at the king- dom fell. II, HOW T HE END CAME. (1) The Biblical account is very brief, but graphic. Shalmaneser, King of Assyria, -overran nothern Palestine, took city a f t er city; Pekah, King of Samaria (Israel) was slain; Hoshea enthroned in his stead, and placed under tribute and servitude, to the Assyrian. Hoshea seized an opportunity to seek an alliance with Egypt, but So, Its king, declined, and, Shalmaneser threw Hoshea, bound, into prison, and laid siege to Samaria which a f t er a three-years' strug- gle fell into his hands. The population was, largely, deported to northeastern Asia, and natives of other subject countries col- onized in the depopulated regions of Samaria. (2) The archaeeologlcal account. After more t h an 2,500 years the records of As- syria have been dug from Its ruins, deciphered, and found to corroborate the Bible account almost item by item. The kings, the cities, the battles, the sieges, the massacres, the numbers of captives, and amounts of spoils and tributes, are there. III. .W'HY T HE END CAME. (1) The cause of Israel's fall is succinctly but explicitly recorded, for the warning of men a nd nations in all times; and is a guar- antee t h at in His own times the Almighty will meec out their desserts according to their deeds whether good or bad (Rom, 2:8- 16). (2) Usually the inspired historians stated the bald historical facts without com- ment or application, leaving men to recog- nize for themselves the Hidden H a n d; just as in nature God is manifest by the facts through which men see for themselves the Invisible Pace (Rom. 1:19, 20). But in this extraordinary providential dispensation t he causes of the withdrawal of His favor from the people of His covenant are clearly named "To justify the ways of God with men." (3) The Indictment. .They "had sinned against the Lord (Jehovah) their God." (a) The Hebrew "sinned" means
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