Utumishi Blog

We’re still working through 1 Kings in our staff morning devotions. Here are some more thoughts..

2 Kings 17:7-23 is a good way into the book(s) of Kings. It drives home the author’s big theme – why Israel got vomited out of the land – and it gives us a good steer on how to preach Kings (and Old Testament narrative in general):

• History with a point. “All this occurred because…”  (2 Kings 17:7). There is a point – a lesson to learn. Greg Prior was really helpful on this at Raising the Bar back in February – “This history is prophetic history… this is a prophet preaching to us: turn to God and obey him!” In particular, Greg showed us, the author/preacher/prophet is giving God’s answer to two questions: (1) “Why did God allow his people to go into Exile?” (2) “What future is there for God’s people now?”
• Them not us. “All this occurred because the people of Israel…”  (2 Kings 17:7). Yes there are strong connections between us as the church and the children of Israel but first we need to hear this as the real history of people who are not us, who are not living in Nairobi in the 21st century. One of the great paradoxes is that it’s as we take ourselves out of the picture and make the effort to travel back in time to Samaria that we will hear God speaking powerfully to us right here and now.
• Idolatry. “…the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God…”  (2 Kings 17:7). That’s the heart of the problem. Leaving the fountain of living waters and digging out pathetic, cracked, putrid cisterns. Israel forsakes her husband, flings herself at tawdry suitors and arouses the Lord’s jealous anger. He seeks to woo his beloved back but “They would not listen” (2 Kings 17:14). As we prepare to preach on Kings it would be the greatest irony if we fall foul of the same idolatry that is all over the book. We must beware the idolatry of putting ourselves at the centre of everything, beware the common idols of preachers and above all listen to the voice of the true and living God from the text. Rather than use God’s Word as a pagan priest would perform divination (2 Kings 17:17) as a means to my own end, we are to submit to His message and let him speak.
• Part of a bigger story. “…their God who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh…” (2 Kings 17:7). It’s crying out, “Put me in a Bible overview!”  We need to ask, ‘How are the promises going?’  ‘Where is the story headed?’  ‘Who is it all about?‘

Part 3