I have been struck with what must have been a horribly sad day in Heaven. [Give me a little literary license here - I'm aware that Heaven is a place of eternal joy! 🙂]
I've been on 'pause' for several days trying to assimilate the content of II Kings 17. This chapter records the end of Israel - the northern kingdom [later known as Samaria]. God had warned them for years that He would raise up an army from the north [Assyria] to utterly destroy them. Their rebellion finally pushed God to the limit [720 B.C.] and Assyria's King Shalmaneser came in with force and defeated Israel He deported many of the people to distant lands while importing people-groups from far distant areas to repopulate the land of Israel. [Read the chapter for remarkable details.]
[Consult yesterday's blog for a recap: https://hal-lelujah.blogspot.com/2025/08/learning-from-samaritans.html]
This project of God's had begun with creation and progressed through the development of a special people through Abraham and Sarah. He gave them laws through Moses to maintain their priorities and focus. While allowing for free choice, God tried to cultivate a people who would love and serve Him and be a spiritual influence on their entire world.
Even during difficult trials - like the 400 years in Egypt - God gave them leaders like Joseph and Moses to guide and provide! Gradually, His plan unfolded and God introduced them to the long-promised land of Canaan. God gave them victory over the inhabitants of Canaan and the twelve tribes eventually overcame the native population and divided the land between the twelve tribes.
But, in spite of God's command to worship only Him, the people worshipped the gods of the Canaanites. When confronted with their profligate spiritual practices, they asked God for a king - an earthly ruler. Then came a succession of kings:
We have to pause here to recognize that Solomon began with an apparent determination to be faithful to God - like his father, David. However, his wives [700 wives and 300 slave women] distracted him and had him build temples to their gods.
Upon Solomon's death, his son, Rehoboam, became king. He was young and foolish [read his story in I Kings 12]. A man named Jeroboam turned the hearts of many of the tribes of Israel against Rehoboam. These tribes refused to serve Rehoboam! They made Jeroboam their king! This was the initial separation of Israel into the northern kingdom [Israel - later Samaria] and the southern kingdom [Judah or Judea]. Jeroboam was as notoriously evil as David was righteous! [For more details about his rule and reputation see: https://hal-lelujah.blogspot.com/2025/02/unrealized-potential.html]
Samaria's die was cast by these historical events and would culminate with its utter destruction less than a hundred years later with Shalmanezer's seige of Samaria!
Judea would unfortunately follow in Samaria's pattern of disobedience and rebellion. Judea fell to the Babylonians a little over a hundred years later in 587 B.C. Both countries were decimated and abandoned except for a few who were left to tend the land. Judea's captivity had been declared by God through many prophets who promised that they would be held captive for seventy years!
Ezra and Nehemiah - at the end of the 70 years - led some of their people back to the land of Judea with hopes of rebuilding the city and temple. This was due to God's grace exhibited through the Persian ruler Cyrus who granted the refugees permission and funding to return to their land and rebuild their temple! [See Ezra 1:1-4]
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Have you ever worked really hard on a project, but when it was all finished - you were not satisfied? Somehow, it just didn't turn out the way you had planned. All the investment of time, creativity and money produced something that fell short of your expectations!
Imagine God's disappointment when His grand human experiment totally failed and He had to send His people into exile as punishment for their chronic disobedience. Imagine His sorrow in seeing the magnificent temple that Solomon had built for His worship - being totally decimated!
COULD IT HAVE BEEN A SAD DAY IN HEAVEN?
My nephew, Zac Calhoun, taught this year at Family Camp. He reminded us that when Solomon dedicated the temple he had built, "a cloud filled the Temple of the LORD. The priests could not continue their work, because the Temple was filled with the glory of God." [I Kings 8:10-11] He then reminded us that when Ezra and Nehemiah rebuilt the temple after the seventy years in Babylon [Ezra 6:13-18], there was no similar indication that God had accepted the Temple! [His reasoning for this point was sound and convincing!]
It is apparent that God had the longer view in mind!
He foresaw the arrival of His Son, Jesus! He anticipated the initiation of a new covenant that would be consummated on the Day of Pentecost when "something like flames of fire...stood over each person there" [Acts 2:3]. This sign - like the sign given Solomon - signified God's approval!
May His divine approval continue to rest on those who are wholly dedicated to Him and His purposes! TO GOD BE THE GLORY! AMEN!
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