BOM-BITES Episode #594 – 2 Kings 17 – powered by Happy Scribe
Hey, my friends, what is up?
Derek here from BOMsocks with a new week of BOMites, where we feast upon the words of Christ one bite at a time.
So this week we are getting into kind of a crazy part of the Old Testament that can be very confusing if you don’t understand a little bit of context and text. Because again, the Old Testament is kind of a tough book. I get it.
But here, like I said, you’re going to see how context and understanding some things is going to help you a little bit with really one of the most important topics in the Old Testament. Now. What the come follow me. Curriculum has actually done They’ve created a little thing, and sometimes I hope we get a chance to go through these. Sometimes we just kind of skip over them.
But they have these things called thoughts to keep in mind. And one of the ones they have to study this week, along with the Come Follow Me curriculum is called Jesus Will Say to all Israel, come Home. That’s a line from one of our hymns, now let us rejoice. And that helps us understand what that phrase really means. So I would definitely invite you to read this because it helps put the pieces together as you’re studying this particular portion of the Old Testament.
So this is where you hear about the topics called the scattering and the gathering of Israel. So what do those two topics mean? What you get into this first part where it talks about the scattering. So it says several times between 735 and 720 BC, which is about where we’re at. The Assyrians were brutal.
They were a massive empire in the Old Testament, but they come in chapter 17 of Second Kings, chapter heading. It talks about how the Israelites forsake the Lord worship idols serve Baal or Baal, however you’ve seen them and reject all that the Lord has given them. And you’ve seen that happen numerous times leading up to this. Israel just vacillates back and forth between the we love God, but we also love serving idols back and forth. And it’s getting to the point where that idol worship is just getting more and more and the worship of Jehovah is becoming less and less.
So you go back to this and Come Follow Me, where it says, the Assyrian empire comes in and they wipe out that northern kingdom. These Israelites became known as the lost tribes, in part because they were removed from their homeland and scattered among other nations. But they were also lost in a deeper sense over time. They lost their sense of identity as God’s covenant people, remembering that the children of Israel were asked to be a peculiar people when you make that covenant that started with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and made it all the way through. The Lord blessed the children of Israel when they kept their covenants.
Now it also goes in and talks about how the southern kingdom of Judah was also at times, they were more righteous than the northern kingdom, so they lasted a little bit longer. But eventually the people also turned away from the Lord. The Assyrians came in and conquered most of the southern kingdom as well. So they come in and wipe out the northern kingdom and then most of the southern kingdom, and only Jerusalem was miraculously preserved. And later, between 597 and 580 BC, the Babylonians came in and they wiped out all of them and then destroyed Jerusalem, including the temple, and they carried away many of the city’s inhabitants captive.
And about 70 years later, there’s a remnant of Judah that’s allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, which that will be next week’s. Come, follow me. Many, however, stay in Babylon. So all of this is put together and called the Scattering of Israel. They were scattered because of their wickedness and their refusal to obey the Lord’s commandments, which leads us to the Gathering of Israel, which, as you very well know, is very much a part of President Nelson’s focus.
Is this the gathering? So in this particular come, follow me portion, it says the scattering is only half the story. The Lord doesn’t forget his people, nor does he fully forsake them, even when they have forsaken Him. Will you please keep that in mind? These are thoughts to keep in mind, especially with what’s going on in our world today.
The Lord does not forsake his people, even when they have forsaken Him. The many prophecies that Israel would be scattered were accompanied with Mary prophecies that God would one day gather them. And that day is today. Now, back in 2006, President Nelson said this with regards to the scattering of the gathering. He said, as descendants of Abraham, the tribes of ancient Israel had access to priesthood, authority, blessings of the Gospel.
But eventually the people rebelled. They killed the prophets and they were punished by the Lord. Ten tribes were carried captive into Assyria, which we just talked about. From there, they became lost to the records of mankind. Obviously, the ten tribes are not lost to the Lord.
There are a lot of theories out there where the ten tribes are. Most of them are false. Probably all of them are false. Two remaining tribes continued a short time and then, because of their rebellion, were taken captive into Babylon. When they returned, they were favored of the Lord.
But again, they honored Him not. They rejected and they vilified Him. A loving but grieving father vowed, I will scatter you among the heathen. And that he did unto all nations. Now, one of the things you’ll remember about President Nelson, he said this I thought this was so cool.
For more than 36 years, I’ve been an apostle. The doctrine of the Gathering of Israel has captured my attention. Everything about it has intrigued me, including the ministries and names of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, their lives and their wives, the covenant God made with them and extended through their lineage, the dispersion of the twelve tribes and the numerous prophecies about the gathering in our day. I have studied the gathering, prayed about it, feasted upon every related scripture, and asked the Lord to increase my understanding. I learned, and this is where, again, many of you are familiar with this concept, I learned that one of the Hebrewic meanings of the word Israel is let God prevail.
Thus, the very name of Israel refers to a person who is willing to let God prevail in his or her life. That concept stirs my soul. So that’s why, as you’re reading these chapters, you’re reading about a group of individuals who are scattered because of their wickedness. But today our responsibility is to gather, to be able to be part of that prophecy. And the fulfillment of that prophecy is pretty amazing.
Here’s President Nelson recognizing that and allowing us and inviting us to participate in that gathering. So that’s an important thing to understand with regards to this point in the Old Testament, is the scattering and the gathering of Israel, but then bringing Israel home to the true gospel of Jesus Christ. I love that concept, and I know it’s true. Thanks for watching, thanks for subscribing, and thanks so much for sharing these messages. We always appreciate that.
And please go check out our amazingly awesome, comfortable gospel themed socks@bombshawks.com. Godspeed. See you tomorrow. Bye.
Guest Author
dyejo
