The prophets and historians of the Bible are thinking theologically about the fall of Israel. How could this have happened?
Final judgement on Israel
Hosea 13:9-16
Hosea’s plea and Israel’s restoration
Hosea 14:1-9
Samaria besieged
2 Kings 17:5, 18:9
Israel taken captive
2 Kings 17:6, 18:10-11
Reasons for Israel’s downfall
2 Kings 17:7-23, 18:12
Prayer for Israel’s restoration
Psalm 80
The Fall of Israel 721BC
A vision of Babylon’s fall
Isaiah 21:1-10
“The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right.” (2 Kings 17:9) This is the verdict of the writer of 2 Kings, as he looks back at what happened to Israel. This can only be a conclusion with hindsight, because of the Israelite themselves, it must have been a crushing blow. God had brought them out of Egypt, given them the Promised Land, made them a mighty nation, fought for them in battle, and now other nations with other gods have been victorious. They must have thought that their own God, Yahweh, had been defeated. But the writer, perhaps looking on from the comfort of Judah, decided that it was all their fault.
Psalm 80 gives us the people’s point of view, but with a sense that God is still in charge. Although it is a bitter lament, it is written from the perspective of faith. The Psalmist still believes that God is there, and ius struggling to understand why he has allowed terrible things to happen.
Many many people these days are in this position - when catastrophes happen, it is a common cry - “Why has God let this happen to me?”
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