Passaic City record., 1891-05-21
CAPTIVITY OF ISRAEL.
LESSON WI, SECOND QUARTER, IN
TERNATIoNAL SERIES, MAY "a.

| ICompiIed from lesson Helper Quarterly By per.
mission of H. S. Hoffman, publisher, Philadel
phia.l
6. ain the ninth year of Hoshea. the king
of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel
away into Assyria."
After more than $50 years of continued
rebellion against God, during which time
nineteen kings reigned over them, not one
of whom did right in the sight of the Lord,
Shalmanezer, king of Assyria, besieged
Samaria, the capital of Israel q Kings xvi,
24) In the sixth year Of Hoshea, and after
three years took it and carried Israel into
captivity Tvs. 1-5). That God would do
this If they refused to obey Him He had
plainly foretold by His servant Moses Q,ev.
XVI, 27-33; Deut. xviii, 49, 6D, and by the
prophets He had given them many warn
ing, so that they were without excuse.
Z. "For so it was, that the children OF
Israel had sinned against the Lord their
God, which had brought them up out OF
the land of Egypt, ETC."
God through Moses, and through his ser
wants Hosen, Amos and jeremiah, makes
frequent reference to His bringing them out
of Egypt as reason why they should obey
s. "And walked in the statutes of the
heather, whom the Lord cast out from be-
fore the children of Israel"
O. "And the children of Israel did secretly
those things that were not right against
the Lord their God"
Not only publicly but secretly were they
mingled among the heather and learned
their works" Q3s. cvi, 35). In the dark they
did wickedly, saying. "The Lord seeth us
not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth."
10. ''And they set them up images and
groves in every high hill and under every
green tree"
Even Judah did this also in the days OF
the son of Solomon Il Kings xiv, %, 23),
and then followed the plundering of the
temple by the king of Egypt, only thirty
four years after it's dedication Il Kings vi,
3S; xiv, 25, 26). When we consider the
plain commands of God not only not to
set up these places, but to destroy all such
things and places which the heather had
set up Deut. xvi, 81, %; xii, p, we are apt
to ask, "How could they thus fly in the
face of Gods" But we had better ask our
own hearts.
II. "And there they burnt incense in all
the high places, as did the heathen whom
the Lord carried away before them; and
wrought wicked things to provoke the Lord
to anger"
IL. For they served idols, whereof the
Lord had said unto them, Ye shall not do
this thing"
Besides the second commandment re-
corded in Ex XXX and Deut. V, listen to
Lev. XVI, /, 'sYe shall make you no idols
nor craven image, to bow down
unto it, for l am the Lord your God"
Jehovah their creator and covenant keep
ing God desired to be their portion. He
wanted them all for Himself, and He would
be wholly for them. He would be their
shield and their exceeding great reward, as
He said to Abram
13 "Yet the Lord testified against Israeli
and against Judah, by all the prophets,
and all the seers, saying, Turn ye from
your evil ways"
See some of His pleading with them in
Isa. i, 16, II; ", Z; Jer iii, II; XIV, 81 Eek.
xxxiii, II; Hos. xiv, /. "Thus saith the Lord
God, the Holy One of Israel, In returning
and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and
in confidence shall be your strength; and ye
would not" lisa. xxx, 15).
II. Notwithstanding they would hot
hear, but hardened their necks, like to the
neck of their fathers, that did not believe
in the Lord their God"
On the last verse we quoted from Isaiah
the sad words, "And ye would not" 1t
was the same all through their history, till
Jesus Himself uttered the same words
shortly before they crucified Him.
Is. "And they rejected his statutes, and
his covenant, and they followed vanity and
became vain"
He is wisdom, and wisdom is the princi-
pal thing, better than rubies or gold or
silver; but fools despise wisdom; it is too
high for them prov iv, Z; viii, II, 10; j. Z;
vx-;,y Tn Tar idn1G and
idolatry are called lies and vanity. When
the people of Lystra took Paul and Barna-
bas for gods, and would have worshiped
them, Paul exhorted them to turn from
these vanities unto the living God who
made all things (Acts xiv, 15).
16. "And they left all the commandments
of the Lord their God, and made them
molten images"
The calves at Dan and Bethel, and the
idol groves everywhere, proclaimed their
folly. They turned their backs on the
Creator and worshiped the works of His
hands, sun, moon and stars, rather than
Himself It seems to me that if we as be-
levers think more of the gifts of God than
of Himself; if it is Heaven or happiness,
or our own personal welfare we are chiefly
seeking, we are in danger of committing
Israels sin. God Himself is our saliva
tion, and His commandments should be
our delight because He has given Himself
to us; and obedience to His last command,
$50 ye into all the world, and preach the
Gospel to every creature" should give us
the greatest JOY of all. But if we are more
concerned about our idols, our own peace
or happiness, or it may be the molten
images we carry in our purses, what does
He think of us?
II. "And they caused their sons and
their daughters to pass through the fire,
and sold themselves to do evil in the sight
of the Lord"
The Molochs of today are society, fash
ion, pleasure, the dance, the theatre, the
card table, and to this destroying fire
from the pit how many sons and daugh-
ters are consecrated God only knows For
an evenings pleasure many who bear the
| name of Jesus will for the time being sell
| themselves to the devil. Jesus has bought
| our bodies and souls, and He wants all
| there is to us for His glory. Neither the
| world, the flesh, nor the devil has the
| least claim upon us, nor any right to us.
1S. Therefore the Lord was very angry
with Israel and removed them out of his
| sight"
He could see than as well in Assyria as
| in Samaria, so in that sense they were not
out of His sight, but His face did not shine
| upon them nor did they enjoy His favor