God s People Scattered and Restored

Transcription

1 UNIT 3 God s People Scattered and Restored FROM THE TIME WE ARE BORN, our needs and desires take center stage above the needs and desires of anyone else. The world revolves around us feed us, clothe us, love us, help us. You and I are born so concerned with ourselves that like a black hole, everything and everyone is pulled into the centripetal vortex of our self-centeredness. The gospel of Jesus Christ goes the opposite direction. Instead of feeding our self-centeredness, it sends us upward and outward upward to love God and outward to love others. Instead of feeding our centripetal desires, it puts us on a centrifugal trajectory that elevates others higher than ourselves. Paul wrote, Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves (Phil. 2:3). How counterintuitive to the human nature! That others should come first. That others should be the focus of our attention. Jesus understood our basic need for survival, but He told His disciples a revolutionary truth: Love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31). Why? Because it was in His own nature to do so. God is always going out. Always sending, always serving. In fact, He would not tell us to do anything that He Himself did not do. Somewhere around 4 B.C., God the Son demonstrated this: He was born a helpless infant in Bethlehem, Jesus Christ. Born without original sin, Christ lacked that self-centeredness that causes others to elevate idols. And 33 years later, Jesus Christ would be elevated on a cross so you and I can be showered in God s grace that transforms us into people who love God and love one another. Aren t you glad God is in the business of restoring? Why is our natural tendency to stray and be scattered? Does your life display a grateful heart for the grace God gives through His Son? WINTER

2 SESSION 10 THE RISE AND FALL OF THE NORTHERN KINGDOM E veryone worships something. We might not bow down before marble idols or animal statues. But every one of us elevates something in our lives to the status of god. Some worship sports; others worship the reputations they carefully craft online. Some worship entertainment; others money. Even atheists who claim that God doesn t exist elevate their ideas and demonstrate an over reliance on their own intellects and rational capabilities. The question is not if we are worshipping; the question is what we are worshipping. The God of the Bible describes Himself as jealous. In Exodus 20:5, He says, I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. Moses attested to this attribute of God when he compared the Lord to a consuming fire. God is not to be trifled with. 84 TGP Personal Study Guide

3 READY YOUR HEART WORD OF EMBRACE I Kings 18:20-24 So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and gathered the prophets at Mount Carmel. Then Elijah approached all the people and said, How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If Yahweh is God, follow Him. But if Baal, follow him. But the people didn t answer him a word.then Elijah said to the people, I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal s prophets are 450 men. Let two bulls be given to us. They are to choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh. The God who answers with fire, He is God. All the people answered, That [sounds] good. Read the rest of the story, I Kings 18:25-39 in your Bible. WHEN MY WIFE AND I WERE DATING, prior to marriage, we faced some big decisions about the future of our relationship. I was in the Army and was stationed nearly eight hours away from where she was going to college. She had the desire to finish college and become a counselor. She was working her way through school and had a game plan. I was fresh out of boot camp and airborne school and I too had plans. I wanted to be either career military or use the military as good experience to go into the U.S. Marshals or Secret Service. The longer we dated, the more I realized that one of us was probably going to have to abandon a portion or aspect of our plan. In order to embrace a relationship with my girlfriend (now wife), I was going to have to abandon my predetermined plan in my mind. To embrace something is always a saying no to or an abandoning of something else. The Bible teaches clearly that we are to embrace a relationship with God, through His Son Jesus. We do this by embracing His Word, trusting it, and abandoning every other thing that competes with our commitment to His Word, namely idols. In order to embrace the Word of God, we have to abandon the idols in our life. We cannot have both. Just like my wife and I could not embrace a relationship with one another without abandoning our treasured plans, we are called to embrace God s Word and abandon our idols. PAUSE AND REFLECT Why is it important to embrace God s word? What does it look like to embrace God s word? What things do you need to abandon in your life in order to embrace God s word? WINTER

4 READY YOUR HEART SPOTTING FLAWS 2 Kings 17:6-11 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria. He deported the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah and by the Habor, Gozan s river, and in the cities of the Medes.[This disaster] happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt and because they had worshiped [a] other gods. They had lived according to the customs of the nations that the LORD had dispossessed before the Israelites and the customs the kings of Israel had introduced. The Israelites secretly did what was not right against the LORD their God. They built high places in all their towns from watchtower to fortified city. They set up for themselves sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. They burned incense on all the high places just like those nations that the LORD had driven out before them. They did evil things, provoking the LORD. They served idols, although the LORD had told them, You must not do this. WE ARE USUALLY REALLY GOOD at spotting other people s flaws. In fact, we re often a lot better spotting others flaws than our own. We can see so clearly the problems, quirks, and bad decisions of others, but in our own lives we are often blind. One of the things we can often see others doing, to our astonishment, is abandoning a good thing in order to embrace a lesser thing. An example I have personally seen is a husband abandon his wife and family to embrace somebody else. Everyone around him can see the damage he is causing to his children, his wife, his friends, and himself, but he seems oblivious to it. The abandonment of his family is fueled by a desire to embrace another person. Before we shake our heads in disappointment, we must recognize our propensity to do similar things in our own lives. Many of us, without realizing we are doing it, abandon God s Word and embrace our idols. We abandon the clear commands of Scripture that should govern not only how we act or behave, but how we think and what we know is true. Anytime we choose to abandon Scripture s clear teaching about something for the sake of our own way or our own wants, we are embracing our idols. PAUSE AND REFLECT Why is it easier to see the flaws in others than to see the flaws in ourselves? What can we do to uncover our own flaws? How do we go about correcting our flaws? 86 TGP Personal Study Guide

5 READY YOUR HEART IGNORING OBEDIENCE 2 Kings 17:12-18 Still, the LORD warned Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer, saying, Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments and statutes according to all the law I commanded your ancestors and sent to you through My servants the prophets. But they would not listen. Instead, they became obstinate like their ancestors who did not believe the LORD their God. They rejected His statutes and His covenant He had made with their ancestors and the warnings He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves, following the surrounding nations the LORD had commanded them not to imitate. They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God. They made for themselves molded images even two calves and an Asherah pole. They worshiped the whole heavenly host and served Baal. They made their sons and daughters pass through the fire and practiced divination and interpreted omens. They devoted themselves to do what was evil in the LORD s sight and provoked Him. Therefore, the LORD was very angry with Israel, and He removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained. MY DAUGHTER IS STUBBORN with a capital S. Recently, just before bedtime one evening, I told her to come with me to brush her teeth, as we do every night. For some reason, on this particular night, she responded with these words: No daddy, mommy brush my teeth. Since my wife was busy at the moment, I gave her a choice. I told her that she could either, A) go brush her teeth with daddy immediately, or B) wait for mommy, but also have her brand new Barbie swimming pool taken away for an entire day. Since the Barbie swimming pool was a new toy, and this 3-year-old thought it was about the coolest thing in the world, I was certain that this plan would result in a quick teeth-brushing. Boy was I wrong! Instead of just doing as she was told, she voluntarily decided to just take her punishment. She knew what was expected. She knew the consequences of her actions. Yet she still chose that path. The crazy thing is that we often do this exact same thing with God. 2 Kings 17 shows a great example of this truth. God gave clear expectations. And He told of the punishment to be expected if the expectations were not met. We must learn to take heed of God s warnings and be obedient to His word! PAUSE AND REFLECT Why do people often do things that they know are wrong? How do we stop ourselves from doing things that we know are wrong? How should we respond to sinful actions and thoughts in our lives? WINTER

6 God s Faithful Followers... This session examines the decline and fall of the Northern Kingdom. God demonstrated His covenant love by raising up prophets(like Elijah) to call His people back to a relationship with Him. But because the Northern Kingdom persisted in rebellion, God upheld His justice by scattering the tribes among the nations. Embrace His Word. Around 3000 years ago, a showdown of biblical proportions occurred between the prophet Elijah and king Ahab. Elijah believed that the God of the Hebrews was the only true God, while Ahab had begun worshipping a pagan god named Baal. When the combatants took the stage on Mount Carmel, Elijah addressed the crowd by saying, How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If Yahweh is God, follow Him. But if Baal, follow him. Hesitating between two opinions is often a convenient way of delaying our submission to God. In what ways might our hesitation to give God our worship alert us to hidden idolatries in our life? The rules for the showdown were as follows: Whichever deity could burn up the bulls on the alter would be worshipped as the one true God. After 450 prophets failed to summon Baal, it was Elijah s turn. Elijah created an altar, soaked it in water, and prayed to God. God answered Elijah s prayer. He sent fire down from heaven that consumed the altar, the bull, and even the water Elijah used to soak the sacrifice. In what ways does the Godglorifying purpose of Elijah s prayer life influence the way we pray for God to work? Are you willing to entrust your reputation into God s hands if it will bring Him greater glory? What are some ways that we can keep our hearts from drifting toward other gods? How does the good news that God accepts us because of Christ s work give our hearts a passionate affection for God more powerful than any idol?

7 Abandon Their Idols. God s people were encouraged to pay attention to their history so that in the future, they would not repeat the mistakes they had committed in the past. Think about God s work in your own life: W hat are some lessons you ve learned from spiritual valleys or mountaintops that you haven t considered lately? In what ways does God s work in the past influence your walk with Him today? Israel was obstinate like her ancestors. W hat effects does one generation have on the next? W hat traits are we passing down to the future generations of believers? Because the Israelites returned to the worship of Baal, God disciplined the nation He had set his affection on. Because they had broken their allegiance to Yahweh and had practiced pagan worship rituals, God drew them back to Himself through the use of foreign armies. 2 Kings 17:9 says, The Israelites secretly did what was not right against the Lord their God. Are there secret sins or habits in your own life that take precedence over your love for God? There is nothing so abominable in the eyes of God and of men as idolatry, whereby men render to the creature that honor which is due on to the Creator. Blaise Pascal Conclusion Everyone worships something. Jesus is the only one worthy of worship. Each day, every one of us is given a choice similar to the one Elijah gave the Israelites. God or idols. Life or death. What will you choose? Israel lost her distinctiveness from the surrounding nations and was punished by God. H ow does our distinctiveness aid us in our mission as God s people? W hat do you think about the statement: We become like what we worship? ow does the knowledge H that we become like what we worship encourage us to more faithful worship of Jesus Christ, the One in whose likeness we want to be conformed?

8 ENCORE THE RISE AND FALL OF THE NORTHERN KINGDOM God s faithful followers EMBRACE HIS WORD (I KINGS 18:20-39). This was a showdown that captivated the crowd. On one side of the ring you had Elijah. His name meant: Yahweh is my God. Elijah was a prophet who believed that the God of the Hebrews was the only true God. On the other side of the ring you had Ahab, the eighth king over the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Ahab worshipped a pagan god named Baal the god of rain and fertility. When the two fighters squared off on Mount Carmel, Elijah said to the audience, How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If Yahweh is God, follow Him. But if Baal, follow him. When the audience didn t respond, Elijah set the rules for the showdown. Whichever deity could burn up the bulls on the altar would be worshipped as the one true God. It was a challenge of biblical proportion, and there could only be one winner. After 450 prophets failed to summon Baal, Elijah began to taunt them. Shout loudly, he said, for he s a god! Maybe he s thinking it over; maybe he has wandered away; or maybe he s on the road. Perhaps he s sleeping and will wake up. But no fire fell from heaven for the prophets of Baal. When it was Elijah s turn, he boldly dug a trench around the sacrifice and filled the trench with water. Elijah wanted to make sure that the sacrifice was soaking wet so that when the fire came, the prophets of Baal and the audience would have no doubt that it was a miraculous act of God. Elijah poured water on the sacrifice three times until the moat was full. Then Elijah did something unexpected: he stepped toward the altar to pray (vs. 36). Elijah did not pray that his name would be upheld or that his reputation would come out on top. Instead, he prayed that God would receive credit for this miracle. In this way, Elijah s prayer resembled the prayers of Moses, Joshua, David, and Solomon. Even though Elijah could have been humiliated, he trusted in the power of God. And suddenly, God answered Elijah s prayer. Fire fell down from heaven and consumed the altar and the bull. Even the water that Elijah had doused all over the altar evaporated. Then Elijah dealt a final blow to the prophets of Baal by having them all killed by the sword, in keeping with the law of Deuteronomy 13:1-11. It was a showdown that none could soon forget. What do Elijah s actions teach us? First, they teach us that God is a jealous God. When it comes to God s centrality, there can be no competition. He is the first and the last, the beginning and the end. But there is another lesson that we can learn from Elijah s victory over the prophets of Baal. Elijah shows us the importance of dethroning the idols in our lives sometimes even with drastic measures. Jesus once said, If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away (Matthew 5:29). He was trying to show His disciples that God takes sin seriously. If we idolize our eyes by using them to sin against God, we need to do everything in our power to de-elevate them and raise our gaze back to God. Jesus implies that blindness is better than offering continual sacrifices to false idols. 2. ABANDON THEIR IDOLS (2 KINGS 17:6-18). Throughout the Old Testament, God s people are constantly being called to remember. In Joshua 4:1-7, God told Joshua to instruct the 12 nations of Israel to place stones in the middle of Jordan so 90 TGP Personal Study Guide

9 that future generations might forever remember what God accomplished in that location. Before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, Moses was very clear about how and what they were to remember. He told them to be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery (Deuteronomy 6:12). Many generations later, the Israelites chose to not listen to the Lord. So the Lord sent fire once again down from heaven. In 722 BC, the Assyrians known for their ruthlessness and cruelty burned down the cities in the Northern Kingdom of Israel and took as their prisoners the Hebrew people. Because of their disobedience, God s people had to learn the hard way that God meant what He said in Exodus 20:4-5: Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. You must not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers sin, to the third and fourth [generations] of those who hate Me. Because the Israelites returned to the worship of Baal, God disciplined the nation He had set his affection on. Because they had broken their allegiance to Yahweh and had practiced pagan worship rituals, God drew them back to Himself through the use of foreign armies. The Psalmist says, I will remember the Lord s works; yes, I will remember Your ancient wonders. I will reflect on all You have done and meditate on Your actions (Psalm 77:11-12). Memory can be worshipful when we, like the Psalmist, remember the mighty acts that God has accomplished. When we remember God s acts, we remember His faithfulness. When we remember His faithfulness, we remember the greatest act of faithfulness in history when Jesus Christ gave His life so that you and I can forever bask in the eternal presence of God. Jesus knew that we would suffer from spiritual amnesia, and that s why He gave us a tangible reminder. And He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me. (Luke 22:19). CONCLUSION The church has always oscillated between two things: becoming like the world or separating from the world we are called to reach. Back and forth the pendulum swings, from one side to the other. In the Old Testament, God instructed His people to be separate from the practices and beliefs of other nations. He told them to worship one God instead of many. He showed them through mighty acts of power that He alone was the only true God, and they were not to bow down to false idols. He even warned them against marrying the women of other nations because He knew that the Israelites would soon adopt their idols. Where do you fall on the scale of syncretism to separatism? How similar are your interests to those of the world? How different does your life and priorities look than those of your non-christian friends? In this lesson, we saw that God takes idolatry seriously. We saw what happens when God s people suffer from spiritual amnesia. We also saw that when God s people are slow to repent, His love is so overwhelmingly generous that God extends the message of salvation to other nations. Everyone worships something. Jesus Christ is the only One who is worthy of worship (read Revelation 5:8-9). He is the only One worth bowing to. And each day, every one of us is given a choice similar to the one Elijah gave the Israelites on Mount Carmel. The choice is yours to make. God or idols. Life or death. What will you choose? WINTER