Session 11 2 Kings 17:7-20

REJECTED (2 KINGS 17:14-17)

how the people responded to the warnings from God’s messengers.

14 But they would not listen.
Instead they became obstinate like their ancestors
who did not believe the LORD their God.
15 They rejected his statutes and his covenant
he had made with their ancestors
and the warnings he had given them.
They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves,
following the surrounding nations the LORD had commanded them not to imitate.

16 They abandoned all the commands of the LORD their God.
They made cast images for themselves,
two calves, and an Asherah pole.
They bowed in worship to all the stars in the sky and served Baal.
17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire
and practiced divination and interpreted omens.
They devoted themselves to do what was evil in the LORD’s sight and angered him.

Define:

Call attention to the word obstinate in verse 14
discuss the meaning of that word as it applied to the people of Israel.

Highlight:

Focus on verse 15
“they followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.”

The Hebrew word translated worthless carries the idea of being empty and unsatisfactory.
People in the ancient Near East would make hollow idols by pouring molten metals into a mold.
By following the hollow idols, God’s people had become hollow themselves.

Discuss:

• Why do people find it easy to reject God’s will and commandments and opt instead for hollow satisfactions that do not last?

Summarize:

Utilizing the information in Pack Item 11 (Handout: Foreign gods in the times of the Kings)
and Pack Item 14 (Handout: The Fall of Israel),
summarize the depths of evil the people “devoted themselves” to
in pursuit of these pagan worship practices.

Discuss:

• What makes evil so appealing that a person would reject God?
• Which of today’s culturally acceptable actions might God view as evil?

Transition:

God’s anger grew as the people continued
to accept and then embrace the pagan religions of the people around them.