Putting an End to It

Scripture: Then the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, went up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria seized Samaria and exiled Israel to Assyria. He put them in Halah, in Habor by the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 2 Kings 17:5-6

Observation: And ... there it is, the end of Israel. As predicted by every prophet, Israel as a people is purged from the land, taken away into captivity, and in truth to never fully recover. Even when restored from exile, they will not be the same - Samaria itself will be considered by their own people to be populated by a contemptible version of themselves - and today the northern kingdom is primarily the contested west bank mostly comprised of Palestinian cities. Israel, and the nine tribes that once comprised it, is gone.

This final act did not happen through some massive event, either. Assyria - to whom Israel was already a vassal nation - simply got tired of their lack of compliance, made one attack on their capital, and that was it.  Israel capitulated. They were taken away, and people from other countries brought into to take over their cities, homes, and land.

Application: I think I will see major events coming. I believe I will see the moment God turns his back on America, or disaster is about to strike my family. That isn't really how God works. Sure, sometimes that happens, but those events are typically human or Satan made. God is more likely to simply get fed up and move people out. Or have a child born in a suburban barn. Or have an old man poor oil on a young shepherd boy standing in his own living room. Or talk to a lone herdsman climbing on a mountain.

This is the power of God - to change the direction of the entire earth through a small and even secret act that ripples beyond explanation. I wonder if that ripple has already begun. Whether it is in motion or yet to come, I will (try to) not be afraid.

Prayer: Lord, your judgment will come upon defiant people. May I and my family be numbered with you! I love you, and do seek to do your will day by day in this place you have put me, and in this time of your choosing. You yourself determined where I would live, where I would work, and where I will go. May thy will be done. Amen.