Nevertheless they would not hear, but stiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who did not believe in the LORD their God. 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. 2 Kings 17:14-15 (NKJV)
The above Scripture tells a sad story of the nation of Israel turning its back on God about 1000 B.C. They had been given the blessings of God, and all other nations had witnessed this. But they freely chose to go against the prohibitions of God, which began a downward spiral of spiritual prostitution for which they paid dearly. God became jealous of their worshiping of false gods, the practicing of idolatry, and pagan incense customs as well as their participation of divination and deliberate sorcery, which had further corrupted their spiritual experience.
The remarkable fact of all of this is their apostasy—the falling away from their faith in God—was initiated by their own Kings. That’s right! Instead of following the Word of God as their way of worshipping, and living the kings of this once great nation succumbed to the practices of the surrounding nations, which had infiltrated their culture. Instead of Israel making an impact on these foreign nations, living holy and sanctified lives unto God; they instead chose to embrace the pagan ways of life.
Q: Can history repeat itself? Can we, as a nation founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs, find ourselves so eager to welcome others into our land and into our lives that we would actually compromise our core values of faith and biblical truth, all so we don’t offend others?
I want to be clear, I am very thankful to live in a country with such diversity of culture and people, but if we choose not to live and love others as Jesus taught then how will others know about Him? When others see Jesus in our actions and in our very nature, then they will identify with God’s presence within us and want to know more.
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NKJV)
Loving others doesn’t mean we abandon our core beliefs because we risk offending—it means we share what the Bible teaches about God’s truth so others might know Jesus as we do.
STUDY QUESTION: What can we learn from the Scriptures with regards to Israel following different beliefs?
PERSONAL INVENTORY: Have you found yourself being referred to as narrow-minded because of your belief in the Word of God?
APPLICATION: Let’s hold fast to the teachings of the Word of God, and place our trust in Him. Let’s ask for God’s empowerment of our witness to those in our lives.
The above Scripture tells a sad story of the nation of Israel turning its back on God about 1000 B.C. They had been given the blessings of God, and all other nations had witnessed this. But they freely chose to go against the prohibitions of God, which began a downward spiral of spiritual prostitution for which they paid dearly. God became jealous of their worshiping of false gods, the practicing of idolatry, and pagan incense customs as well as their participation of divination and deliberate sorcery, which had further corrupted their spiritual experience.
The remarkable fact of all of this is their apostasy—the falling away from their faith in God—was initiated by their own Kings. That’s right! Instead of following the Word of God as their way of worshipping, and living the kings of this once great nation succumbed to the practices of the surrounding nations, which had infiltrated their culture. Instead of Israel making an impact on these foreign nations, living holy and sanctified lives unto God; they instead chose to embrace the pagan ways of life.
Q: Can history repeat itself? Can we, as a nation founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs, find ourselves so eager to welcome others into our land and into our lives that we would actually compromise our core values of faith and biblical truth, all so we don’t offend others?
I want to be clear, I am very thankful to live in a country with such diversity of culture and people, but if we choose not to live and love others as Jesus taught then how will others know about Him? When others see Jesus in our actions and in our very nature, then they will identify with God’s presence within us and want to know more.
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NKJV)
Loving others doesn’t mean we abandon our core beliefs because we risk offending—it means we share what the Bible teaches about God’s truth so others might know Jesus as we do.
STUDY QUESTION: What can we learn from the Scriptures with regards to Israel following different beliefs?
PERSONAL INVENTORY: Have you found yourself being referred to as narrow-minded because of your belief in the Word of God?
APPLICATION: Let’s hold fast to the teachings of the Word of God, and place our trust in Him. Let’s ask for God’s empowerment of our witness to those in our lives.
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