Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Kings 17-18.

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The writer explains why Israel fell to Assyria.  There is a phrase in his explanation which I think is worth a little focus.  “They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations around them whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them.”  The writer then goes into detail about some of the specific things which they did, but the point is that those followed from the people of Israel becoming false.  We must strive to believe what is true, and only what is true.  Then we must act on that belief.  If we do not, then God will cast us out of His sight just as He did to the children of Israel.  I want to note that despite casting them out, God continued to call them to turn back to Him.  If we allow ourselves to start down the path of falsehood we inevitably end far from God.  So, let us not fool ourselves into thinking we can get away with a little sin.  The people of Israel started out that way.  Rather than gather in one place to sacrifice to God, as He had commanded, they performed sacrifices at local shrines.  But gradually they adopted worship practices from the people around them at those shrines and then began to offer sacrifices to other gods there as well.  Until eventually, they began to sacrifice their children to those gods.  They accepted one thing which was false, then little by little they accepted more falsehood.  We should strive to believe as many true things as possible, and act on those beliefs.  We have a choice.  We can either strive to learn more about God and to act on what we learn.  Or, we will gradually accept more falsehood and act falsely.  There are many different ways in which we may justify acting falsely, acting against God’s commands, to ourselves, but they all lead to the same place.  They all lead us away from God.  Instead let us seek to move closer to God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.