10/16/2008
2 Kings 17:24 - 28 (HCSB) 24Then the king of Assyria brought [people] from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in place of the Israelites in the cities of Samaria. The settlers took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. 25When they first lived there, they did not fear the LORD. So the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.
26The settlers spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations that you have deported and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the custom of the God of the land. Therefore, He has sent lions among them, which are killing them because the people don’t know the custom of the God of the land.”
27Then the king of Assyria issued a command: “Send back one of the priests you deported. Have him go and live there so he can teach them the custom of the God of the land.” 28So one of the priests they had deported came and lived in Bethel, and he began to teach them how they should fear the LORD.
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The King of Assyria captured Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel. One of the things a king would do is to disperse the inhabitants of that city to other areas and then repopulate the city with foreigners. This would reduce the risk of an uprising among the natives of that city.
The Assyrian king did just that to Samaria and God sent lions in among the people. Look at their reaction. They say: “We don’t know how to honor the god of this place – therefore he has become angry.”
In ancient times, people believed that the gods were basically super-humans: unseen and powerful, but not omnipresent. Every geographical region would have its own god or gods. These gods would be worshiped locally and were expected to defend his or her worshipers in battle or to cause prosperity or health.
The king of Assyria, also ignorant of God, decides to remedy the situation by sending some priests back to Samaria to teach the people about (what he believed to be) a local god.
We see similar situations when nations would come up in battle against Israel. When Israel would prevail, the vanquished would declare “Israel’s god is too great.” But they would not yield to Israel’s God in worship. This used to puzzle me because I have always believed that there is only one God and that if my God is stronger than what my enemy believes in, then my enemy should consider his or her belief system false. But the ancients did not think this way. That is because they still believed that their god was valid and just needed more strength. In some cases they believed that the local gods had a home-court-advantage in battle.
Many people today are of a similar mindset. They believe there are many roads to heaven and that the God of the Bible is valid but not exclusive. They believe that they can worship many things or practice certain behaviors that are just as valid as worshiping God.
But, our God is above all. He is the creator of all things. He is in every land all at the same time. He sees everything all at the same time. He knows everything all at one instant. Everything is subject to His command, and it is only by His mercy that we go on in our sins rather than die instantly.
Are you worshiping multiple gods? Since God is the God of all, shouldn’t you give all your worship to Him?
Jeff Justus
Cleff Publishing
www.cleffpublishing.com
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