Beginning of the End
King Josiah desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the South of the Hill of Corruption - the ones Solomon, king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh, the vile god of Moab, and for Molek, the detestable god of the people of Ammon. Josiah smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles and covered the sites with human bones. (2 Kings 23:13-14)
The final days of God’s people in the Promised Land. In the words of the prophet Jeremiah, who was preaching at the time of King Josiah, they had followed worthless - better translated empty - idols and became empty themselves.1 That emptiness led prophets like Jeremiah and others to speak out against the sins of God’s people. Sins like greed, mistreatment of immigrants, disregard for the poor . . .
From the least to the greatest all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike.2
They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground.”3
The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner, denying them justice.4 Like, say for example, locking children in cages.
What I find so interesting as we read the closing chapters of 2 Kings, which describes the inevitable fall of a once great nation, is how the historian who wrote these accounts points us back to where it all began.
For a short time, late in Israel’s history, a good king named Josiah sought to rectify the wrongs in his nation. Tragically, he died an early death in a battle with Pharaoh Neco of Egypt.
But what I want you to notice in the passage that marks the beginning of this post is how so much of the greed and injustice that Josiah battled in the nation goes back to King Solomon.
That’s right. The king who built that beautiful temple for Israel’s God. And it was that same king who also built the worship centers for what is described as the vile gods and goddesses of Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Molek.
Why?
The answer to that question is one followers of Jesus would do well to pay attention to in our day.
Solomon built those temples for political reasons. He mistakenly believed that the means justified the end. Political alliances formed through the marriage of the king to the daughters of other nations and their leaders would be good for the nation. And what harm could a few temples for their gods possibly do?
And, of course, Israel was riding high under Solomon. The rich were getting richer, while, sadly, the poor were getting poorer. (You may recall that Solomon’s conscription of forced labor ultimately led to the division of Israel into the two nations of Judah and Israel.)
Anyway, never mind the compromises; let’s focus on the blessings. Right? We’re getting our temple! And never mind what those pesky prophets are saying; we will take our cue from the prophets and priests who support our kings. After all, look at how God has blessed them -
Consider Pashhur, the Senior Pastor of the temple in Jerusalem (he has 2 million followers on Twitter!), who had that measly-mouthed-nobody-of-a-prophet Jeremiah beaten and put in the stocks. (Did you see his posts?)5
Or how about Amaziah, Senior Pastor in Bethel, who warned the king about that fig-picker and shepherd who claims to be a prophet? You know, Amos from Tekoa - “Amos is raising a conspiracy against you,” he warned the king. And, of course, the King - Jeroboam at the time - had Amos deported. Good riddance. (Do you see how important these alliances between our pastors and kings are?)6
And by the way, have you heard what that young King Josiah did? He had the Scriptures, which were found in the temple, taken to a woman who calls herself a prophet - Huldah. God only knows how far astray she led this naive young king.7
It’s so easy to lose sight of God’s Kingdom when we mistake it for the kingdoms of the world.
We compromise our faith and integrity when we make political alliances with idolaters. And let’s be clear - greed is idolatry.8 We may get our temples built, we may experience some short-term gains (very short term), but in the end, the pandora’s box we open will destroy us.
We’re doing that in the United States today. We are placing our faith in leaders who, for personal gain, will make alliances with any who propel their rise to power.
The tragedy of it is that so many are following the celebrity Christian leaders who are turning stones into bread, leaping miraculously from their temples of power, and saying “yes” to the promise of the deceiver to give them the kingdoms of this world. These leaders will answer to God for their blind ambition and for leading God’s people astray.
Sheep without a shepherd. Blindly following after the one who comes as an angel of light.9
Have we not read the Scriptures? Do we not know the warning of the prophet who said, “Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils, Why hold them in esteem?”10
Let’s place our faith in the one who turned down worldly alliances. The one who boldly spoke out against the misguided religious leaders of his day. The one who dared to call his own people to change their thinking (repent), for he had not come to make Israel great again. No, he had come to establish the Kingdom of God.11
They rejected him then. Many good but deceived people are rejecting him now.
Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ (I’m the only one who can save you.) and will deceive many.12
We will never find salvation apart from the Kingdom of God and its King. And his kingdom is not of this world. It doesn’t come by might or power. It comes by rejecting those things, and believing the impossible - that what seems to foolish and weak to the world is, in fact, the power and wisdom of God.13
In Christ,
Dan
Jeremiah 2:5.
Jeremiah 6:13.
Amos 2:7.
Ezekiel 22:29.
Jeremiah 20:1-2.
Amos 7:10,12.
2 Kings 22:11-17.
Colossians 3:5.
Mark 6:34, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15.
Isaiah 2:22.
Mark 1:15.
Matthew 24:4-5.
1 Corinthians 1:25.