Expository Sermon on 2 Kings 17
by Maylan Schurch
Bellevue Seventh-day Adventist Church 4/30/2022
©2022 by Maylan Schurch
Please open your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 17.
After several Sabbaths celebrating the last days of Jesus, and then last week’s wonderful concert by violinist Jaime Jorge, we’re turning back to sermons based on our read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan.
Each week in the bulletin you will see an announcement which tells you the Bible-reading range for the week ahead. I would encourage you to jump in and read this coming week’s passages. You can read them on your computer, or listen to them as your driving in your car. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been intensely surprised by something I found in those stories I thought I knew.
I think 2 Kings 17 is one of the Bible’s crucial chapters to help us understand the Old Testament especially. We’ll get into why, in just a minute, but first I have a question to ask you.
Think back to this past Monday. What were you doing?
This past Sunday night I had discovered that one of the headlights on Shelley’s car had burned out. So Monday morning I drove over to a Toyota dealer and had them put a new one in.
So on Monday, after I got that done, I did some other pastoral things, including spending an enjoyable evening with our Nominating Committee.
Anyway, that’s some of what I did on Monday. I don’t know what you did on Monday, but by now a sizeable portion of the planet knows what Palestinian farmer Nidal Abu Eid was doing.
I don’t know if you’ve kept up with this news, but on Monday, Farmer Nidal was plowing his land there in the Gaza Strip, getting it ready for planting, when what should he unearth but the carved head of a limestone statue. And it wasn’t just any statue – it was the carved limestone head of Anat, an ancient Canaanite goddess of beauty, love and war.
Anat’s head is only a little over 6 inches high, and none of the articles I read mentioned whether or not there was a statue nearby which she had been attached to. And the reason they know she is the goddess Anat and not just an ordinary citizen is that she is wearing a crown made of a snake, which evidently was Anat’s trademark. In fact one article said that Anat may have been the model for the Greek goddess Athena, who is often pictured with snakes.
Archaeologists tentatively date this statue to about 2500 BC. And if that’s correct, this means that she would have already been about 500 years old when Abraham and his family moved into the land of Canaan.
We’ll get back to more about the goddess Anat in a minute, but let’s do some setup. If you’ve been following along with our Bible reading plan, or if you remember the story from your previous Bible reading, Second Kings has reached the point where the nation of Israel’s apostasy will send them into captivity. And within a couple of hundred years, the same thing will happen to the kingdom of Judah.
And this apostasy isn’t just an interesting footnote to history. All the way through the Bible, from one into the other, Old Testament apostasy is used as an example and a warning for later believers.
And what’s so interesting about 2 Kings 17 is that in part of the chapter, it lays out exactly why this apostasy happened.
After all, in First Corinthians 10, verses 11 and 12, Paul talks about one of the first of those ugly apostasies, the one where the Children of Israel rebelled at the foot of Mount Sinai. After telling that story, he writes, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”
So that means that when we come across some Bible information about why apostasy happens, we need to perk up our ears and try to see if any of this applies to us. We need to hear how God diagnoses the terrible disease of apostasy.
So let’s dive straight into the chapter. It starts with some events in the life of Israel’s final king, Hoshea. When you go to a medical doctor, you notice the doctor is writing down cryptic notes about your diagnosis. What would a spiritual doctor write in a diagnosis of the nation of Israel?
2 Kings 17:1 – 6 [NKJV]: 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. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel who were before him. Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him; and Hoshea became his vassal, and paid him tribute money. 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. Now the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years. 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.
Isn’t it kind of chest-tightening to read this ancient story about one kingdom invading another? It cuts to close to the bone with what’s happening in Ukraine right now.
Now, what we’re going to read next is the first diagnostic note the Heavenly Spiritual Physician is going to make about this case.
Verse 7: For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God . . . .
Okay, that’s clear, but how did they sin? What did they specifically do to begin the tumble down toward apostasy?
Verse 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;
Did you get a hint of what I found as the first diagnosis? It’s implied more than specifically stated, but I believe that the first stage of the disease of apostasy could be put like this (if you’re taking sermon notes, here’s Sermon Point One):
Israel forgot the God who created and liberated them.
When you think of it, God first liberated Adam and Eve from dirt, and then liberated them from death on a certain sad afternoon in Eden. And the liberation from Egypt mentioned here was just one of a number of liberations.
But Israel forgot. In Deuteronomy, Moses often insisted that the people remember, remember, remember how God had helped them. Remember what He has done, tell these stories to your children so that they will remember too.
But Israel forgot.
What do you and I need to remember about God’s liberations for us? Most people who are in the United States of America are here because they or their ancestors wanted and needed liberation in some way.
My Swiss and German ancestors arrived in this country because of the promise of large amounts of land they could farm.
Others have fled religious or ethnic persecution. Others have sought the freedom to get the education they want.
God is a liberator. Jesus is a liberator. In John chapter 8, Jesus is talking to a group of Jewish people who seem to have forgotten how often God had to liberate their ancestors.
John 8:31 – 36: Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
If we are forgetful in this way, Doctor God prescribes remembering. The very fourth commandment, which talks about the Sabbath day, the day which liberates us from the pressure to work 24/7–the very fourth commandment reminds us that God created us and everything we see.
And when Moses gives a repeat version of the 10 Commandments Deuteronomy 5, he repeats the commandment like it is in Exodus, but in Deuteronomy 5:15 he switches out the “creator” part and inserts another reason for Sabbath-keeping:
Deuteronomy 5:15: And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
So as you remember the Sabbath, remember not only your Creator but your Liberator.
Now let’s take a look at God’s next diagnosis, faithfully recorded by whoever wrote 2 Kings.
2 Kings 17:7: 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,
So here’s God’s second diagnosis:
Not only did Israel forget the God who created and liberated them, but they feared other gods.
Aside from the huge snake head peeking over the top of her hairdo, Anat doesn’t look all that frightening. But those who know say that she was considered the goddess of beauty, love, and war. I mean, that covers a whole lot of territory when it comes to human relationships.
So I guess, if you considered that she ruled those three forces (beauty, love and war), people decided she was someone it might be better to stay on the good side of.
And Anat wasn’t the Canaanites’ only deity. According to an article by Ira Spar, in the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the land of Canaan had more than 234 deities, and they all were thought to have eternal life. Incidentally, this same article mentions that Anat was considered to be the sister of the god Baal, which Israel was often tempted to worship.
So, can you imagine being a conscientious Canaanite, living in perpetual worry that you might offend one or more of those many gods?
But what’s even more troubling for me to imagine is being an Israelite, knowing all they did about how there’s just one God (not a dizzying array of 234), and that He is the Creator–knowing this, how could the Israelites came to the point where they could Anat and her fellow deities?
A great Adventist Bible resource I discovered many years ago is Bibleinfo.com. When I am posting my “Daily Photo Parable” blogs a couple of times a week, Bibleinfo.com is the source I often direct the readers to.
When you go to the site, you can look up quite a number of Bible topics. I would suggest that you go to Bibleinfo.com sometime and look up “fear.” You’ll find close to 20 Bible passages which talk not about the “fearfulness” of fear, but how God and His Son tell us not to fear. Here are just a few examples:
Isaiah 41:10: “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
Luke 12:32: [Quoting Jesus] “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”
Psalm 46:1 – 3: God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling.
God does once in a while use the word “fear” to describe the way we should feel about Him. Maybe He looked down on all those frightened Anat and Baal worshippers and said, “Well, if you feel like you have to relate to a deity with fear, then go ahead and fear Me for now, if that’s what needs to happen for you to take Me seriously. Just keep learning more about Me, because gradually your fear will evaporate and turn to love.”
What are you particularly afraid of these days? There’s a lot to choose from. I don’t have to list all of the fear-igniters, because we all know quite a few.
But if your fears are causing you to seek comfort and safety in ways that leave God out of the picture, God implores you to come to His side and learn to know Him better. After all, He was the one who inspired David to confront even the worst of fears in this way: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me . . . .” (Psalm 23:4)
Now let’s look at another diagnosis, and this one’s pretty strange. See if you can pick out what’s happening here.
2 Kings 17:7 – 11: 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, 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. 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. They set up for themselves sacred pillars and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree. There they burned incense on all the high places, like the nations whom the LORD had carried away before them; . . .”
Do you know what I think this next diagnosis is? I’ll tell you, and see if you agree.
Not only did Israel forget the God who created and liberated them, and not only did they fear other gods, but Israel tried to localize God.
Well I mean by “localizing God”? Well, remember how in the 10 Commandments and many other places, God was very firm that nobody should carve an image, or maybe even draw a picture, and call it “God.”
I mean, Anat was a localized god, a god carved and positioned so we could look at her. So was the image of her brother Baal which I once saw in the Siegfried Horn Archaeological Museum. That little image of Baal was made of a metal that had turned green over the years, and his eyes were huge, and his mouth was open wide.
What do I mean by saying that these are “localized” gods? I mean that they were put in a place so people could come and see them. And once they saw them, they could back away to what they considered a safe distance. And then they could go on about their daily lives, knowing that those statues were in a particular location. And those high places – those places of sacrifice up in the hills – these were localized god-centers too.
If somebody needed help from one of these gods, they could just lift up their eyes to the hills and assume their help would come from there.
But that’s not what Psalm 121 says.
Psalm 121:1 – 2: I will lift up my eyes to the hills [period]. From whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
In other words, my help does not come from the hills. My help comes from the Creator of the hills. If you assume your help comes from the hills, you are localizing God. You’re saying, “God, I know you’re up there in that high place. Remember, I sacrificed some incense to You up there, last week? Well, now I need some help.”
One of the only times God seems to have allowed Himself to be “localized” is when he hovered in the cloud-pillar above the tabernacle during the wilderness journeys. But He never allowed Himself to be seen within that cloud.
And God must’ve gotten really frustrated when the ancient Canaanite who owned the carved head of Anat kept it around the house. And when the Israelites imitated the objects and statues and high places the Canaanites used for worship, they were localizing God. They were limiting him. They were signaling that in order to be powerful, God had to be represented by something made by humans, so He could be right here, right now, for my purposes.
Are there ways that we might be tempted to localize God today? Are there ways we try to position Him, put Him in a box of our own making? I remember back in 2020, a sizeable number of Christian leaders who claimed to have the gift of prophecy were stoutly declaring that Donald Trump would win the election.
And even more recently, the pastor of what I believe is the original Vineyard church, sort of the mother church to the Vineyard movement, that pastor and his wife have declared stoutly that God is calling that church to split from its fellowship of churches. Others in the Vineyard fellowship of churches disagreed, but what do you do when somebody claims, “God specifically told me to do this?”
I don’t claim to know, or to judge, the motives or the truth behind that situation, but it’s possible that these are attempts to localize God – to bring God down to where he can supposedly approve of something I want.
We must have too much reverence for that. We need to remember that the Lord has plans and ways that don’t always agree with what seem logical to us.
What we should do instead, rather than trying to imagine God in a specific location, such as a cross or figurine or an image or a tree – instead, we should remember that God created the heavens and the earth. God is not in the cross that we’ve had on the platform for the past couple weeks. God created the materials for that cross, and for that tomb, and for this carpet, and for the pew you’re sitting on.
And what’s even more powerful, God created you and me. There’s no need to try to localize God someplace else. Through His Holy Spirit, he welcomes the invitation to live within our hearts.
We’ve all seen toddlers in the grocery store who panic when they lose sight of their moms. They start hunting around for her, and finally start crying. They want to localize Mom, keep her within sight. But as the years go along, the child learns that even though Mom isn’t directly in view, she loves them and will take care of them. That’s the way it is with God. As Jesus told doubting Thomas, “You’ve seen Me and now you believe. But blessed are those who don’t have to see to believe.”
I’d like us to look at just one more diagnosis of spiritual ill health. And maybe this is the ugliest one of all. Let me show you what I mean. Watch this very interesting turn of events. Let’s start with the last part of verse 23:
2 Kings 17:23 – 28: . . . 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. Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities. And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them. So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the rituals of the God of the land; therefore He has sent lions among them, and indeed, they are killing them because they do not know the rituals of the God of the land.” Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the rituals of the God of the land.” Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.
Isn’t that deliciously ironic? Israel is deported to Assyria, and strangers come to occupy the land in their place. It says that the Lord sent lions, which killed some of them. (Incidentally, lion-hunting was a sport of the Assyrian kings. There are quite a number of ancient carvings showing a ruler with bow and arrow successfully killing lions.)
But now, with this land under Assyrian control, the lions are not controllable. It seems as though the Lord must have been trying to convince the Assyrians that He was more powerful than their kings, or their gods.
And the people got the message. So on the orders of the king, they find a deported Israelite priest, and send him back to teach the people to behave the way God wants them to.
But sadly, that’s not the end of the story. Let’s keep reading.
Verses 29 – 41: However every nation continued to make gods of its own, and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities where they dwelt. The men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. So they feared the LORD, and from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. They feared the LORD, yet served their own gods—according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away. To this day they continue practicing the former rituals; they do not fear the LORD, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances, or the law and commandment which the LORD had commanded the children of Jacob, whom He named Israel, with whom the LORD had made a covenant and charged them, saying: “You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them; but the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice. And the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, you shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods. And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. But the LORD your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” However they did not obey, but they followed their former rituals. So these nations feared the LORD, yet served their carved images; also their children and their children’s children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day.
Did you catch what’s happening here?
Not only did Israel forget the God who created and liberated them, and not only did they fear other gods, and not only did they try to localize God—but (worst of all) Israel syncretized their faith.
What do I mean, they “syncretized” their faith? It turns out that “syncretize” is a verb. And it means, “to attempt to unite and harmonize, especially without critical examination or logical unity.”
“Syncretism” is the noun form of the word, and it means “a combination of different beliefs or practices.” A truly disturbing number of Christians today are syncretistic. They claim to believe and preach the Bible, but in some things they act in un-biblical ways.
There is a reason you and I are in this room on this day. Our Adventist ancestors decided to discard the frankly syncretistic practice of what day of the week to worship on, and live directly by what the Bible says. And we could go on and on, listing other ways in which Christians over the centuries have gathered into their beliefs some biblically unbelievable ideas. We must not be “salad bar” Christians, taking a bit of this and a bit of that, majoring in what we happen to like and ignoring what we don’t.
What every Christian needs to do is keep reading our Bibles, deepening and maturing our faith, refusing to forget the God who created and liberated us, refusing to give our deep respect to any god but Him, refusing to localize Him (put Him in a box), and refusing to syncretize our faith.
O, for a faith that will not shrink,
Though pressed by many a foe,
That will not tremble on the brink of poverty,
Of poverty or woe; Of poverty or woe;
(A faith) That bears unmoved the world’s dread frown,
Nor heeds its scornful smile;
That sin’s wild ocean cannot drown, no, cannot drown,
Nor its soft arts beguile; Nor its soft arts beguile.
Lord, give me such a faith as this,
And then, whate’er may come
I’ll taste, e’en here the hallowed bliss, the hallowed bliss
Of an eternal home; Of an eternal home.
That’s our closing song—number 533. Let’s stand and sing it together.