17:1-4 Hoshea reigns in Israel for nine years. He is an evil king, he does not request or heed the counsel of God. Hoshea and the kingdom of Israel are in a difficult position of their own making. They are too weak to stand and defend themselves on their own, so Hoshea pays the king of Assyria to protect them; essentially he sells the kingdom to an enemy. The king of Assyria discovers that Hoshea is plotting against him, has not been paying, and therefore has him captured and put into prison.
Hoshea has already made his life like a prison: he is slave to the constant fear of losing the kingdom. He has no contentment, no rest or security because he has been living neither wisely nor righteously. By ignoring the counsel of God and living in direct opposition of his philosophy, Hoshea is forced to eat the fruits of his own labor.
Proverbs 1:5-7A wise man will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
To understand a proverb and an enigma,
The words of the wise and their riddles.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:25-25Because I have called and you refused,
I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,
Because you disdained all my counsel,
And would have none of my rebuke,
Proverbs 28-33Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.
Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord,
They would have none of my counsel
And despised my every rebuke.
Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way,
And be filled to the full with their own fancies.
For the turning away of the simple will slay them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them;
But whoever listens to me will dwell safely,
And will be secure, without fear of evil.
In the midst of the proverb is God's offer to pour blessing and wisdom into us if we are willing to allow Him to lead - and discipline - us.
Proverb 1:23Turn at my rebuke;
Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.
If we are willing to listen, God is willing to help us to learn.
17:5-6 The king of Assyria has capture Israel's king; there is no longer a barrier between him an conquering this entire kingdom. For three years, Assyria forces Samaria into submission until they control the city. The Israelites are pulled from their land to be taken as property of Assyria.
17:7-12 The people of Israel did not have the protection of God because they forfeited it. Though this capture can be considered punishment or discipline, ultimately, the people of Israel chose their fate. They put their trust in false idols and those inanimate things were unable to rescue or even care for them. God offers blessings of peace and mercy and joy but so often in the world, people want fame and wealth and power. The children of Israel turned to false gods to pray for things God had declared invaluable. It is amazing how much - yet how little - has changed in our world today.
17:13-14 But God does not let go of this people. He made a promise, a covenant with Abraham to guide this people in an everlasting effort to love and save all of humanity. God chose this people because they were weak and small, Deuteronomy 7:7; He anticipated their brokenness. He exerts magnanimity and extreme patience in sending prophets and righteous people to plead with and counsel Israel and Judah: "Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets."
But the prophet's advice falls on deaf ears. This is a precise example of what God means when it was stated in Jeremiah 5:21 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.
17:15 The people rejected God. In a vehement refusal to change their hearts and receive the discipline to do so, the prophets are ignored. God generously provides a path and a wisdom for each of us, each day, but if we stubbornly refuse to listen, God cannot rescue us from the quagmire.
The people of Israel and Judah allowed the way of the world to infiltrate their lives and suffocate their faith. God calls us to be different than our world which values what He has declared cheap. We must not assimilate to corruption when perfection has offered us an inheritance. The Bible preaches a message that is opposed from what we learn from the world: integrity is born of humility, wealth of charity and honor of compassion.
17:16-18 They sold themselves to do evil. In Genesis 4:7 God speaks to Cain: "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it." God declares plan and simple that evil desires to have us. It actively pursues and tempts us into submission. When we reject God, we walk right into our slave-master's hands.
God is described here to be very angry. This is a heartbroken and frustrated anger. Why will they not allow God to help them? He loves us so much; it pains Him to allow us to walk away but he refuses to treat us like slaves. Unlike evil, He will not force Himself into our lives if He is unwanted.
17:19-23 With a heavy heart, God relinquishes Israel and Judah to their captors - a corrupt king of their own, and the corrupt king of another nation, Assyria. Life did not have to be as it was. They could have been free and prosperous but they were unfaithful to the One who could consistently provide those things.
17:24 Assyria takes possession of Samaria and plants its own people in the cities.
17:24-28 The Assyrians have a difficult time settling the land. They figure that their difficulty stems from dwelling in a land whose Master they do not know. The king of Syria sends for a priest of Israel to teach these new inhabitants of Samaria the way of God. But they king does not request the priest's services because he wants to change or to be better; he merely wants to conquer this land without resistance.
17:29-33 Unsurprisingly, once taught, the Assyrians disregard the priest's lessons. Though the Assyrians are aware of the presence and power of the Israelites' God, they continue to serve their own idols. This is the worst sin there is: to know about God but to reject him anyway. Because only true evil would ever reject righteousness. Matthew 12:31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
17:34-39 In Genesis, God proffered a beautiful covenant with the children of Jacob: the twelve tribes which would become Israel and Judah:
“You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them; but the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice. And the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, you shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods. And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. But the Lord your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.”God's instruction is simple: follow me and live righteously and I will remain with you and protect you forever. Yet humanity, then and now, still wrestles with such an easy choice! Such a gracious offer.
17:40-41 The people of Israel and Judah remain on a trajectory of faithlessness and corruption. Their example should cause us to ask ourselves: why am I allowing sin to court and claim me when I already belong to the Lord?
