DAY 180 Read 2 Kings 15:8 through chapter 16 and 2 Chronicles 27.
Today's reading: The sad record of six kings of Israel traces the continuing slide toward oblivion. Even the king of Judah "walked in the way of the kings of Israel."
Memory gem: "My people are doomed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee" (Hosea 4:6).
Thought for today:
"The iniquity in Israel during the last century before the Assyrian captivity, was like that of the days of Noah, and of every other age when men have rejected God and have given themselves wholly to evil-doing. The exaltation of nature above the God of nature, the worship of the creature instead of the Creator, has always resulted in the grossest of evils. Thus when the people of Israel, in their worship of Baal and Ashtoreth, paid supreme homage to the forces of nature, they severed their connection with all that is uplifting and ennobling, and fell an easy prey to temptation. With the defenses of the soul broken down, the misguided worshipers had no barrier against sin, and yielded themselves to the evil passions of the human heart.
"Against the marked oppression, the flagrant injustice, the unwonted luxury and extravagance, the shameless feasting and drunkenness, the gross licentiousness and debauchery, of their age, the prophets lifted up their voices; but in vain were their protests, in vain their denunciation of sin....
"The transgressors were given many opportunities to repent. In their hour of deepest apostasy and greatest need, God's message to them was one of forgiveness and hope. 'O Israel,' He declared, 'thou hast destroyed thyself; but in Me is thine help. I will be thy King; where is any other that may save thee?'" Hosea 13:9, 10....
"From generation to generation, the Lord had borne with His wayward children; and even now, in the face of defiant rebellion, He still longed to reveal Himself to them as willing to save. 'O Ephraim' He cried, 'What shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.' Hosea 6:4."--Prophets and KIngs, pp. 281-285.
Today's reading: The sad record of six kings of Israel traces the continuing slide toward oblivion. Even the king of Judah "walked in the way of the kings of Israel."
Memory gem: "My people are doomed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee" (Hosea 4:6).
Thought for today:
"The iniquity in Israel during the last century before the Assyrian captivity, was like that of the days of Noah, and of every other age when men have rejected God and have given themselves wholly to evil-doing. The exaltation of nature above the God of nature, the worship of the creature instead of the Creator, has always resulted in the grossest of evils. Thus when the people of Israel, in their worship of Baal and Ashtoreth, paid supreme homage to the forces of nature, they severed their connection with all that is uplifting and ennobling, and fell an easy prey to temptation. With the defenses of the soul broken down, the misguided worshipers had no barrier against sin, and yielded themselves to the evil passions of the human heart.
"Against the marked oppression, the flagrant injustice, the unwonted luxury and extravagance, the shameless feasting and drunkenness, the gross licentiousness and debauchery, of their age, the prophets lifted up their voices; but in vain were their protests, in vain their denunciation of sin....
"The transgressors were given many opportunities to repent. In their hour of deepest apostasy and greatest need, God's message to them was one of forgiveness and hope. 'O Israel,' He declared, 'thou hast destroyed thyself; but in Me is thine help. I will be thy King; where is any other that may save thee?'" Hosea 13:9, 10....
"From generation to generation, the Lord had borne with His wayward children; and even now, in the face of defiant rebellion, He still longed to reveal Himself to them as willing to save. 'O Ephraim' He cried, 'What shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.' Hosea 6:4."--Prophets and KIngs, pp. 281-285.
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