Sermon outline, Third Sunday of Easter

Sermon outline, Third Sunday of Easter April 24, 2006

INTRODUCTION
Because of Israel’s faithlessness, and her hardness toward Yahweh’s prophets, He sends Assyria in to remove Israel and resettle the land with Gentiles. The arc of Israel’s history comes to a great, tragic conclusion, with Israel removed from her land.

THE TEXT
“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 . . . .” (2 Kings 17:1-41).


FAITH AND GOD’S JUSTICE
This “deuteronomic” passage explains the exile of the Northern kingdom. There is a massive emphasis on the fact that Israel went to exile for her sins, especially for forsaking Yahweh (vv. 1-6). It is as if all the commandments were collapsed into the first; Israel’s future always depended not on her works but on her faith, her loyalty to Yahweh. Her political fortunes depend on her worship.

If God promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that they would receive the land, how can He be true if He allows Israel to be conquered by Assyria. The passage shows that there is an eye-for-eye justice in God’s dealigs. Israel never “turned away” from their sin (vv. 22-23), so Yahweh “turned away” His people (v. 23; NASB translates “remove”). Israel “rejected” Yahweh’s statutes (v. 15), so she was “rejected” (v. 20). Yahweh had “carried away to exile” the Canaanites (v. 11), and he does the same with the Israelites who follow Canaanite customs (v. 8).

NOT A SAVIOR
Hoshea’s name means “savior,” but he is no savior for Israel. There is a clever providential irony in the fact that Joshua brought Israel into the land, while Hoshea is king was Israel is removed. Hoshea is condemned like the other kings of Israel, but there is a positive not in verse 2. Israel’s history does not end with the worst king, but with a comparatively decent king. Hoshea turns traitor against Assyria by trying to form an alliance with Egypt (vv. 3-5). Trusting in Egypt, or any power other than Yahweh, is disastrous. These verses foreshadow the later exile of Judah: Jehoiakim, like Hoshea, rebels against an overlord (24:1), and this provokes Nebuchadnezzar to come to the land to punish Judah for breaking the alliance.

STIFF-NECKED
Verses 7-23 are a straightforward description of Israel’s covenant unfaithfulness. They are charged with violating the Sinai covenant (vv. 7, 36, 39), and specifically the commandment to worship Yahweh exclusively (v. 7). The lists of specific sins in verses 9-12 and 16-18 are, interestingly, not unique to Israel. Judah also worship on high places (vv. 9, 11), and sets up shrines “under ever green tree” (v. 10; cf. 1 Kings 14; 2 Kings 16:4). The “two calves” of verse 16 refer to the sin of Jeroboam, but verse 17 mentions causing sons and daughters to pass through the fire, but only a Judahite king has been accused of this (2 Kings 16:3). Dittos for divination (v. 17; 2 Kings 16:15) and worshiping the host of heaven (2 Kings 21:5). This passage is the case against both Judah and Israel.

Israel’s fall is not merely a result of their unfaithfulness to the covenant in the first instance, but a result of their defiance of Yahweh in the face of His patience and repeated appeals through the prophets (vv. 13-14). They proved “stiff-necked” and hardened themselves, like Israel in the wilderness, like Pharaoh (see Romans 9). According to Deuteronomy 10:13ff., constructing the golden calf at Sinai is a specific example of their hard-heartedness. They worship vanity and became “vain,” light and airy as the gods they serve (v. 15).


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