07/01/2019 - KING IN THE WRONG PLACE

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And the king of Assyria uncovered a conspiracy by Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and brought no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.  2 Kings 17:4

Because he did not love God, Hoshea became servant to Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, and later, instead of seeking the Almighty to be delivered from such shame, he approached the pharaoh of Egypt.  Certainly he had not understood who was the Lord, although his ancestors had been freed by the Almighty from the clutches of the Pharaoh centuries before.  To return to seek him who had been defeated by Moses must have been out of any consideration. 

Hoshea had been submitted to the demands of Shalmaneser to consider himself a servant and pay him tribute. What horror!  How low had the king of the people of God fallen!  However, before submitting to the governor of Assyria, the servants of the Lord had fallen into sin and now the devil.  The trail of the fall is always in decline.  The sinner falls into the hands of the demon that tempted them, and sinks further more becoming submissive to his tempter. 

If the king of Samaria had made the Lord to be his refuge, he would have been more prudent and acted as a man of faith.  Before the Assyrian monarch entered his territory, Hoshea would have prayed to God with his people and the Almighty would have taught the intrusive a lesson.  However, as is the case with many who say they are of God, he lived in sin and committed the same errors as his antecessors, even though he was a little better.  But even so it was not enough to count with the help of the divine.

Why didn’t he separate himself from the bad examples left by his predecessors and seek the Most High?  This was his greatest error. Although he had sinned less than the other monarchs, it is not the quantity of sins that separate us from God.  In truth, one iniquity is enough to remove us from Him and one sin is enough to cover His face so that He does not hear us.  Consecrate yourself to the Heavenly father, renouncing your life of vanity and be happy!

Hoshea revolted against the king of Assyria not because he drew near to God.  The devil will not let well alone those who abandon him, unless this person has had an encounter with the Lord.  He went to seek So, the pharaoh of Egypt and trusting in him he stopped paying tribute to the king of Assyria.  Then he invoked the fury and ire of that king against him.  The only way to stop paying tribute to the devil is to belong to Jesus.  It is worth it!

So says the Word: Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength (Jeremiah 17:5). But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength (Isaiah 40:31). They will rise on their wings like eagles, going so high they will not be reached by any evil to do them harm (v. 31b). Those who proceed in this manner run what is necessary but never tire.  But Hoshea did not do this and paid a very high price as a consequence.  How have you lived?

Those who trust in the Lord are different, for He is always at their side.  To have confidence and trust in God enables them to be prudent and wise.  Don’t live far from the commandments, for they will make you wiser than your enemies and you will not be imprisoned. 

In Christ, with Love,

R. R. Soares