Lead into Captivity, Go into Captivity

2 Kings 17:1-23
    1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel who were before him. 3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him; and Hoshea became his vassal, and paid him tribute money. 4 And the king of Assyria uncovered a conspiracy by Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and brought no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.
    5 Now the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
    7 For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had feared other gods, 8 and had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the LORD had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made. 9 Also the children of Israel secretly did against the LORD their God things that were not right, and they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from watchtower to fortified city. 10 They set up for themselves sacred pillars and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree. 11 There they burned incense on all the high places, like the nations whom the LORD had carried away before them; and they did wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger, 12 for they served idols, of which the LORD had said to them, "You shall not do this thing."
    13 Yet the LORD testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His prophets, every seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets." 14 Nevertheless they would not hear, but stiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who did not believe in the LORD their God. 15 And they rejected His statutes and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed idols, became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them that they should not do like them. 16 So they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, made for themselves a molded image and two calves, made a wooden image and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. 17 And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger. 18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah alone.
    19 Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. 20 And the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His sight. 21 For He tore Israel from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD, and made them commit a great sin. 22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, 23 until the LORD removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day.

He who leads into captivity goes into captivity (Revelation 13:10).  The kings of Israel persisted in leading God’s people astray by committing and supporting sin against their LORD.  Hoshea Is mentioned here as doing less evil than those before him, but even he continued the chain of idolatry and disobedience.  As a leader, this captivity to sin enslaved all Israel, and eventually led to the nation being taken captive by Assyria.  They had been delivered from idolatry and the bondage to sin in Egypt under Pharaoh, then sinned against the LORD their God by following the nations around them which they had been commanded to drive out for this very reason.  They became like those they befriended and turned their back on their deliverer.  They thought by hiding on high places to worship idols that God somehow would not see, or at least that others trying to follow the LORD might not, knowing fully well that the LORD had said to them, "You shall not do this thing."  He had sent messengers to warn and correct their course, but they turned a deaf ear to the prophets.  Israel stiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who did not believe in the LORD their God, and continued in willful disobedience.  This is a parallel to our response to the gospel of deliverance from sin and its bondage (Hebrews 10:26-28, 31); we have believed to deliverance of our lives who are reconciled and regenerated in Christ, and do not fall back into the sin of disbelief and destruction (Hebrews 10:39) as Israel did with stiff necks of unbelief and willful disobedience.  Our obedient belief and works is trusting in God and His Son (John 6:28-29).  From Him we have ears and eyes opened to trust and obey willfully and with eternal, absolute hope in this grace in which we stand (Romans 5,2).  May we learn from Israel and Judah whose leaders led them and themselves into captivity, and not do the same by our examples which teach following the ways of the world in opposition to God’s word and will.  May we then be examples to the flock in word and deed, making it our resolution for this year and all to follow as 1 John 2:15-17 reminds us.  Amen.