Doing Evil in the Sight of the Lord

He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, yet not like the kings of Israel who were before him. King Shalmaneser of Assyria came up against him; Hoshea became his vassal, and paid him tribute. But the King of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to King So of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year; therefore the king of Assyria confined him and imprisoned him.  II Kings 17: 2-4 NRSV

Here we see the continuation of the kings who followed Solomon - both those in the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Even the kings who did not do evil in the sight of the Lord still never got rid of all the idol worship in their country. Then we get to Hoshea. He not only does evil but begins to let Israel fall under the vassalage of Assyria. In trying to get out of that situation, Hoshea ends up making it worse for himself and he is put into prison.

Hopefully, if you are reading this devotional, you would not be considered doing "evil in the sight of the Lord!" However, neither you nor I can say we are following God 100%. We both probably have some idols still around our house and in our lives.  We must continue to do what God asks of us, following in God's footsteps each day. And if we find ourselves becoming vassals of something or someone other than God, may God help us from digging ourselves into an even worse situation!

Amen.

Copyright 2010 Amelia G. Sims