(Revealing the origin of the foundation of Christian Doctrine)
By MBPSTB
Tuesday, 3rd DotW
26 March, 2019
Apologetics/Undoing False Teachings
Most Christians are taught that the roots of their doctrinal beliefs originated with the Roman Catholic Church. That all denominations sprung forth from this place.
While some of that is true, there is found within the writings of the 2 books of both Kings and Chronicles and even in the Apocryphal book Sirach, that Jeroboam is the
chief instigator and main reason Christianity holds fast and operates within the doctrinal beliefs that are the foundation of its faith. That the Roman Catholic
Church was the first to do so and all others followed suit we have to ask the question: Where did the RCC get it’s ideas from?
Can we trust secular history exclusively to give us answers? Or, can we look to the Scriptures themselves to give us the answer?
Below are the verses listed that can provide us the clues:
(1Ki 11:26 KJV) And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king.
Jeroboam was from the tribe of Ephraim and King Solomon appointed him leader over the ten tribes known as the house of Israel:
(1Ki 11:28 KJV) And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.
(1Ki 11:29 KJV) And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field:
(1Ki 11:31 KJV) And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:
(1Ki 11:40 KJV) Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
So here we find out that Jeroboam left Jerusalem and fled to Egypt.
(1Ki 12:2 KJV) And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;)
(1Ki 12:3 KJV) That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying,
Jeroboam had all the congregation of Israel with him and came forward to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon whom was made king. Jeroboam and the people asked for relief from the burdens placed upon them by Solomon and the pagan influences he had allowed in because of his many pagan wives and concubines.
Rehoboam however, forsook the counsel of the elders who had serve his father Solomon and went with the younger advisors and came against the people.
(1Ki 12:12 KJV) So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.
(1Ki 12:15 KJV) Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
So here we find the beginnings of the split of the nation of Israel and with this split, the dividing of Israel as a nation, the downfall, the loss of divine power they held was crumbling.
Ten tribes given to Jeroboam known as the house of Joseph, House of Israel, Northern Ten Tribes or Ephraim collectively due to Jeroboam being of Ephraim and leader of the Ten tribes.
Rehoboam had Judah, known as the House of Judah and some smaller groups from other tribes were with them, mostly Benjamin, Simeon and Levi.
**It is commonly taught that the whole of Benjamin was included in the house of Judah, but Ahijah the Shilonite did not prophesy any but ONE TRIBE and that one tribe was Judah primarily.**
** Benjamin had joined Judah by Rehoboam’s command(1Kings 12:21-24)
** Levi was kicked out of their places and retunred to Jerusalem:
2Ch 11:14 For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office unto the LORD:
**Levi was originally placed among all of the twelve tribes, given cities within each of those tribes and would have stayed in their respective tribe’s cities, for reasons of the commandments given and families that had intermarried within the respective tribes(reference Numbers and Joshua). 1Ki 12:17 But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
(1Ki 12:20 KJV) And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
(1Ki 12:25 KJV) Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel.
(1Ki 12:26 KJV) And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
At this point, Jeroboam feared that Israel would depart and return to Jerusalem and made decisions that would forever impact the House of Israel as they began to stray as lost sheep to this day. Below are the points of contention which became doctrine to this day in the House of the Lost Sheep of Israel.
1Ki 12:27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
1Ki 12:28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
1Ki 12:29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
As the northern ten tribes began to turn from the Way of the LORD, He in turn would distance Himself from them and let them continue in their sins
and cause them to become scattered and cause them to lose all memory of their heritage until such time as He would call them out, a remnant in the
last days.
1Ki 12:30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.
In the religion of Christianity, among all the denominations that sprung forth, we find all these practices of Jeroboam. Instead of Levites, he allowed
any and all to become priests and so we see the same within our churches as it is to this day.
1Ki 12:31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
Even changing feast days and departing from the Feasts of God, abandoning completely His Way.
(1Ki 12:32 KJV) And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
(1Ki 13:1 KJV) And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
1Ki 13:2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.
1Ki 13:3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
(1Ki 13:4 KJV) And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
1Ki 13:5 The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
1Ki 13:6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
1Ki 13:7 And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
1Ki 13:8 And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:
1Ki 13:9 For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.
1Ki 13:10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.
1Ki 13:11 Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.
1Ki 13:12 And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.
1Ki 13:13 And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
1Ki 13:14 And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.
1Ki 13:15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
1Ki 13:16 And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:
1Ki 13:17 For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.
Harken unto these clues as we see here that even certain who claim to be
prophets (of the House of Israel known in these days as Christianity)can say they have a word from the LORD and it be not so, but a lie
1Ki 13:18 He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.
1Ki 13:19 So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
1Ki 13:20 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:
NOW understand that even a false prophet who lies can be given a true word:
1Ki 13:21 And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,
1Ki 13:22 But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
1Ki 13:23 And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.
1Ki 13:24 And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.
1Ki 13:25 And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
1Ki 13:26 And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him.
1Ki 13:27 And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.
1Ki 13:28 And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass.
1Ki 13:29 And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him.
1Ki 13:30 And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!
1Ki 13:31 And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones:
1Ki 13:32 For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.
(1Ki 13:33 KJV) After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.
(1Ki 13:34 KJV) And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.
(1Ki 14:1 KJV) At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick.
(1Ki 14:2 KJV) And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people.
(1Ki 14:4 KJV) And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
(1Ki 14:5 KJV) And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman.
(1Ki 14:6 KJV) And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.
(1Ki 14:7 KJV) Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel,
1Ki 14:9 But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:
(1Ki 14:10 KJV) Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.
(1Ki 14:11 KJV) Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it.
(1Ki 14:13 KJV) And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.
(1Ki 14:14 KJV) Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now.
1Ki 14:15 For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.
1Ki 14:16 And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.
(1Ki 14:19 KJV) And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
(1Ki 15:25 KJV) And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years.
1Ki 15:26 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.
BECAUSE OF THE SINS OF JEROBOAM, SON OF NEBAT
(1Ki 15:30 KJV) Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger.
(1Ki 15:34 KJV) And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.
(1Ki 16:2 KJV) Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins;
(1Ki 16:3 KJV) Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
(1Ki 16:7 KJV) And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the LORD against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam; and because he killed him.
(1Ki 16:19 KJV) For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin.
(1Ki 16:26 KJV) For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities.
Here begins the adding of even more sins to the ways of Jeroboam who set in place the doctrines that caused the falling away of the lost sheep of the House of Israel!
(1Ki 16:31 KJV) And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.
AND GOD SAID He would make the whole of the House of Israel to be like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
(1Ki 21:22 KJV) And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.
(1Ki 22:52 KJV) And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin:
(2Ki 3:3 KJV) Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.
(2Ki 9:9 KJV) And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah:
(2Ki 10:29 KJV) Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.
(2Ki 10:31 KJV) But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.
(2Ki 13:2 KJV) And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.
(2Ki 13:6 KJV) Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.)
(2Ki 13:11 KJV) And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: but he walked therein.
(2Ki 14:24 KJV) And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
God’s Word stands true and faithful. Even though Israel had sinned and continued to sin, because of His word God declared to keep them even if He had to scatter them and cause them to forget their place. This He had to do because to keep them in the land was to profane and pollute the land and their heritage and the Covenant which they broke, but not God, He breaks not His Covenant with Israel but it is in place to this day.
(2Ki 14:27 KJV) And the LORD said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.
(2Ki 15:9 KJV) And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
(2Ki 15:18 KJV) And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
(2Ki 15:24 KJV) And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
(2Ki 15:28 KJV) And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
(2Ki 17:21 KJV) For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin.
(2Ki 17:22 KJV) For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them;
(2Ki 23:15 KJV) Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove.
(2Ch 9:29 KJV) Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
In the 2nd Book of Chronicles we find the same as in 1st Kings the events which led to Jeroboam causing the House of Israel to become as lost sheep.
From chapter 10 through chapter 11. The Levites returned to Jerusalem and came under the reign of Rehoboam.
2Ch 11:14 For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office unto the LORD:
2Ch 11:15 And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.
2Ch 11:16 And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers.
2Ch 11:17 So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon.
(Amo 1:1 KJV) The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
(Amo 7:9 KJV) And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
(Amo 7:10 KJV) Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.
(Amo 7:11 KJV) For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.
After David, in the time of his son Solomon began the departure and fate of Israel, destined to be torn apart and corruption and pollution of the Way of Truth causing to be abandoned.
Sir 47:12 After him rose up a wise son, and for his sake he dwelt at large.
Sir 47:13 Solomon reigned in a peaceable time, and was honoured; for God made all quiet round about him, that he might build an house in his name, and prepare his sanctuary for ever.
Sir 47:14 How wise wast thou in thy youth and, as a flood, filled with understanding!
Sir 47:15 Thy soul covered the whole earth, and thou filledst it with dark parables.
Sir 47:16 Thy name went far unto the islands; and for thy peace thou wast beloved.
Sir 47:17 The countries marvelled at thee for thy songs, and proverbs, and parables, and interpretations.
Sir 47:18 By the name of the Lord God, which is called the Lord God of Israel, thou didst gather gold as tin and didst multiply silver as lead.
Sir 47:19 Thou didst bow thy loins unto women, and by thy body thou wast brought into subjection.
Sir 47:20 Thou didst stain thy honour, and pollute thy seed: so that thou broughtest wrath upon thy children, and wast grieved for thy folly.
Sir 47:21 So the kingdom was divided, and out of Ephraim ruled a rebellious kingdom.
Sir 47:22 But the Lord will never leave off his mercy, neither shall any of his works perish, neither will he abolish the posterity of his elect, and the seed of him that loveth him he will not take away: wherefore he gave a remnant unto Jacob, and out of him a root unto David.
Sir 47:23 Thus rested Solomon with his fathers, and of his seed he left behind him Roboam, even the foolishness of the people, and one that had no understanding, who turned away the people through his counsel. There was also Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, and shewed Ephraim the way of sin:
Sir 47:24 And their sins were multiplied exceedingly, that they were driven out of the land.
Sir 47:25 For they sought out all wickedness, till the vengeance came upon them.
THIS is where it all began. THESE are the verses which clue us in IF we have been reading and studying. Reading and studying. Not just a surface level perfunctory and obligatory manner.
Author’s Note: As time goes on over the years of putting together these studies, these breakouts, unpacking the original language meanings can in many cases, radically change the understanding of what was meant but has been obscured by mistranslation; It becomes increasingly clear that it has been done in futility. Why is that? Because God has so intricately woven into His Divine Word fabric, His “dots to connect”, His clues to the Truth of the matter. Mankind would rather believe what mankind has discovered than to believe what God has written to us through His obedient bondservants, the prophets.
While putting this study together (and it’s not the first one), in order to fully round out and offer more up to establish this, so many more books in the bible come to mind, other verses which play a significant and crucial role in getting the bigger picture of the truth behind the roots of the Christian doctrine by which the citizens of the Kingdom operate today, this work would be even longer and the attention of the audience would be lost.
The overall truth is so huge, so overspreading throughout the Word from Genesis to Revelation, one will never, ever, get it unless they devote themselves fully to it, commit themselves to it and in these days in which we find ourselves, commitment and devotion are rare. Instead of taking a bible to read while waiting in a doctor’s office, they’d rather play Candy Crush on their smartphones and not engage. Instead of reading and studying daily, we choose to get our children into soccer, or basketball, field hockey, soft ball, etc. Or there’s Bingo night or football games to go to, buy the season tickets before they are sold out. We put our children into the hands of strangers to rear up whether in daycare or public schools and they are not taught the things of God and certainly not cared for the same way a natural parent could. Even in our busy working homes, we could, if we were committed, find time to read and share the Bible with the whole family. To engage our children and build and establish morals and values that would define them as moral and righteous adults of the future, securing in them the things which could then be passed along to their own children.
In these days of time rapidly increasing, if we are to gain ground against the enemy forces which have been let loose in our world, we must take a stand and that stand, that sword we can wield is found in the Word of God. That Word, is our Sword.
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2Ki 17:7 For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,
2Ki 17:8 And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.
2Ki 17:9 And the children of Israel did secretly ( fooling the common people into believing that these things they did were good and symbolic of the tru faith, yet these things they did and still do are so far removed from the one true God) those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places (Cathedrals, tall buildings with pagan spires atop them) in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
2Ki 17:10 And they set them up images (wooden crosses and some with the crucified Jesus upon them to be gazed at) and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree:
2Ki 17:11 And there they burnt incense (certain religious sects [such as Catholic, Episcopalian,etc] that swing incense burners as they walk down the aisles between the people) in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger:
2Ki 17:12 For they served idols (the statues of angels and saints that line the sides of their highplaces, their statues of Mary) , whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.
2Ki 17:13 Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.
2Ki 17:14 Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God.
2Ki 17:15 And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them.
2Ki 17:16 And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
2Ki 17:17 And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
2Ki 17:18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
2Ki 17:19 Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
2Ki 17:20 And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.
2Ki 17:21 For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin.
2Ki 17:22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them;
2Ki 17:23 Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
2Ki 17:24 And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.
2Ki 17:25 And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which slew some of them.
2Ki 17:26 Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.
2Ki 17:27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.
2Ki 17:28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.
2Ki 17:29 Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt.
2Ki 17:30 And the men of Babylon made Succothbenoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima,
2Ki 17:31 And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
2Ki 17:32 So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.
2Ki 17:33 They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.
2Ki 17:34 Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;
2Ki 17:35 With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:
2Ki 17:36 But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.
2Ki 17:37 And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods.
2Ki 17:38 And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods.
2Ki 17:39 But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.
2Ki 17:40 Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner.
2Ki 17:41 So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.