U-Turn Here – and Now!
2 Kings 17:5-20
Too many today seem not to take sin – or its consequences – seriously. They attempt to justify actions the Bible calls sinful by thinking of them as “cultural differences” or “outdated restrictions.” Some try to cover up their sinful attitudes and actions with a show of religious piety. Others have succumbed to the siren calls of today’s “new atheism.” They no longer believe in God, and thus ignore the Scriptures’ commands and warnings regarding what God calls sin. Let us consider the clear message that comes from the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
The final years of Israel’s Northern Kingdom were characterized by increasing political and social chaos, featuring a series of rulers who persisted in the sinful practices of previous kings and in the provocation of God’s judgment.
That judgment came in Assyria’s invasion of Israel and siege of Samaria. The collapse of the Northern Kingdom, the siege and capture of its capital city, and the deportation of its people to Assyria happened because of the Israelites’ persistent sinfulness and hypocrisy. We can be certain that living in rebellion against the Lord ultimately brings the consequences of His judgment. In other words, to use the title of the famous sermon by R.G. Lee, we can count on there being “payday someday” (2 Kings 17:5-9).
Through the prophets, the Lord repeatedly had warned the people of Israel to turn from their sins. But the people stubbornly rejected those warnings. The Lord still warns people today to repent of their sins. Through the Scriptures, through Bible teachers and preachers, and through examples of His judgment in history, God sounds the alarm against sin. The Lord’s warnings to repent are demonstrations of His grace and patience. When the Lord graciously warns us, He is giving opportunity to repent of our sinful ways, in order that we might escape judgment and the consequences of our sin. We act foolishly and ungratefully if we fail to repent immediately. In the famous words of a sermon preached by C.H. Spurgeon, we must “turn or burn” (2 Kings 17:13-15).
The nature of God’s anger toward Israel was righteous anger against sinfulness. When Israel failed to repent, the Lord showed His righteous anger and executed His sovereign judgment against Israel by allowing the nation’s defeat and exile. We can be motivated to repent when we fully appreciate the extent to which our sinful attitudes and actions hurt our relationship with the Lord and bring harm to ourselves, to our neighbors and even to our descendents. By failing to repent, we live out the famous sermon preached by Jonathan Edwards, as we become “sinners in the hands of an angry God” (2 Kings 17:18-20).
Because of God’s clear and faithful warnings, all are given the opportunity to repent from disobedient attitudes and actions. Christians need to demonstrate trust in God and belief in the Scriptures by repenting immediately. When through God’s revelation we discern ourselves to be following the wrong path, we must be quick to follow the road sign He gives us: “U-turn here – and now!”
Larry McDonald– Lessons by Larry McDonald, dean of North Greenville University’s Graduate School of Christian Ministry and professor of Christian spirituality. He holds a Ph.D. from Southeastern Seminary and a D.Min. from Reformed Theological Seminary.