Hoshea and the End

And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered 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. Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away unto Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 2 Kings 17:4-6

When it all comes to an end, who will be holding the reins? Is the failure of a nation, a kingdom, an institution all 100% the responsibility of the one who sits in charge at the time of failure? Simply put, the answer is no. Hoshea, the king of Israel, is just a symptom of the greater illness that infected the Northern kingdom from its inception, apostasy. Hoshea was one who did evil in the sight of the Lord, but the Scripture says he did not do as the kings that were before him. This is mostly due to the fact that he was a vassal to the king of Assyria and imprisoned for part of his reign.

The illness was sin in Israel, and it remains even in our present society. The cure was set before Hoshea and every sinful king before him in Israel. Consider the words of 2 Kings 17:13-14,

Yet Jehovah testified unto Israel, and unto Judah, by every prophet, and every seer, 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. Notwithstanding, they would not hear, but hardened their neck, like to the neck of their fathers, who believed not in Jehovah their God.

Jehovah spared no cost in sending His message to the northern apostates, but to no avail. Each generation hardened their neck in opposition to the Lord and the time came where God’s longsuffering was at its limit. It happened under Hoshea’s watch. What a sad state it was. May we not forget that God sent His messengers, even His own son, to bring the message that Christ is Lord and salvation is bought by His blood and found in His church. It is the only message necessary and the only one approved by God. When it comes to the end of your life, who will be holding the reins? If it is you, it is certain that you will be cast into captivity in hell. If you submit to the Lord, He will carry you into eternity in heaven. Please heed the Gospel message and become a New Testament Christian today.

Grace and Peace,

R.D. Beavers

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