Called to Be Separate

The kingdom of Israel had not yet been scattered, but was soon to be. Judah was also contaminated with much apostasy. “And in Isaiah's day idolatry itself no longer provoked surprise…. Iniquitous practices had become so prevalent among all classes that the few who remained true to God were often tempted to lose heart and to give way to discouragement and despair. It seemed as if God's purpose for Israel were about to fail and that the rebellious nation was to suffer a fate similar to that of Sodom and Gomorrah.” Prophets and Kings (PK), p. 306. In these discouraging times, Isaiah was called to help prepare a remnant to stand faithful during this crisis of apostasy.

            When Ahaz became king, conditions became worse than ever before. “Many who had formerly withstood the seductive influence of idolatrous practices were now being persuaded to take part in the worship of heathen deities. Princes in Israel were proving untrue to their trust; false prophets were arising with messages to lead astray; even some of the priests were teaching for hire. Yet the leaders in apostasy still kept up the forms of divine worship and claimed to be numbered among the people of God.” PK 322.

            Ahaz worshipped Baalim, making molten images, burning incense in the high places, and even sacrificing his own children in the fire. God could not protect Israel from Syria, and many were taken captive.

“And Ahaz…cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem. And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods….” 2 Chronicles 28:24, 25. Yet even in those times there were some who remained faithful to God.

            Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah, was swift to bring in reforms, re-opening the temple and its services, and leading out in seeking God’s forgiveness. He impressed upon a group of remaining loyal priests the need of immediate action to forestall the judgments that would be a sure result of continued transgression. “The northern kingdom was rapidly crumbling to pieces; many were perishing by the sword; a multitude had already been carried away captive; soon Israel would fall completely into the hands of the Assyrians, and be utterly ruined; and this fate would surely befall Judah as well, unless God should work mightily through chosen representatives.” PK 332. The loyal priests and many common people cooperated in the work of reformation. Hezekiah reinstituted the Passover, and had Ahaz’s idols removed from the streets.

            The Passover was a success. “Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the Lord.” 2 Chron. 30:12. “The seven days usually allotted to the Passover feast passed all too quickly, and the worshipers determined to spend another seven days in learning more fully the way of the Lord. The teaching priests continued their work of instruction from the book of the law; daily the people assembled at the temple to offer their tribute of praise and thanksgiving; and as the great meeting drew to a close, it was evident that God had wrought marvelously in the conversion of backsliding Judah and in stemming the tide of idolatry which threatened to sweep all before it.” PK 337, 338.

          “Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Ben-jamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all.” 2 Chron. 31:1.

            Yet when Hezekiah’s son, Manasseh, came to the throne, he conformed to the wicked practices of the heathen, rebuilding the high places which his father had destroyed. He also  “reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them…. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he caused his children to pass through the fire…also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a  familiar spirit, and with wizards…. So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen….” 2 Chron. 33:3-9.

“Yet those evil times were not without witnesses for God and the right. The trying experiences through which Judah had safely passed during Hezekiah's reign had developed, in the hearts of many, a sturdiness of character that now served as a bulwark against the prevailing iniquity. Their testimony in behalf of truth and righteousness aroused the anger of Manasseh and his associates in authority, who endeavored to establish themselves in evil-doing by silencing every voice of disapproval. ‘Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another.’ 2 Kings 21:16.” PK 381, 382. One of the first martyrs was Isaiah. Yet other prophets delivered God’s warning of judgment to fall.

Judah would not heed God’s calls to repentance, so He allowed Manasseh to be taken captive. In captivity, Manasseh sought the Lord in true repentance. God mercifully returned him to Jerusalem, where he set about removing the idols and altars he had formerly erected, and repairing the temple altar. Sadly, although he “commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel [,] Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the Lord their God only.” 2 Chron. 33:16, 17.

Manasseh’s son, Amon, did not recover from the heathen ways he had learned from his father, and his short reign was an evil one.

Josiah, Amon’s son, reigned righteously, destroying the images, altars, and groves. During his reign the book of the law, which had been lost in the temple, was found. As Josiah heard it read, he recognized in it a picture of the desperate situation of Judah, and the warnings of ensuing judgment urged him to take action. He commanded, “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found.” 2 Chron. 34:21.

            The Lord revealed that the judgments would have to come. The people were so desensitized that they would soon return to their sin, if it remained unpunished. Yet Josiah took steps to save as many of the people as possible. Gathering the people, “he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the Lord.” He also covenanted “to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments, and His testimonies, and His statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book.” Verses 30, 31. “And all the people stood to the covenant.” 2 Kings 23:3.

Josiah removed from the temple the vessels dedicated to Baal and the host of heaven. “And he put down the idolatrous priests…them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven….. And he brake down the houses of the sodomites …where the women wove hangings for the grove…. And he defiled Topheth…that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech. And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun…and burned the chariots of the sun with fire…. Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord.” 2 Kings 23:5-11, 24.

            We are told of the time after Josiah’s death that: “The reformation under Josiah had cleansed the land of the idolatrous shrines, but the hearts of the multitude had not been transformed. The seeds of truth that had sprung up and given promise of an abundant harvest had been choked by thorns. Another such backsliding would be fatal; and the Lord sought to arouse the nation to a realization of their danger.” PK 410, 411. Through Jeremiah God appealed, “O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved….” “Ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 4:14; 6:16.

“But by the great mass of the people the call to repentance and reformation was unheeded.” PK 412. The kings who arose after Josiah’s death were ungodly. Many had followed their example, yet Jeremiah continued to lift a call to righteousness, strengthening the faithful, and calling sinners to repentance. Through him God revealed that judgment could yet be averted, if they would wholeheartedly repent and reform. “Notwithstanding their claim to be the chosen people of God, reformation of heart and of the life practice alone could save them from the inevitable result of continued transgression.” PK 414.

Yet when the people persistently refused to heed the warnings given, their sentence of punishment was finally pronounced. “Behold, I will bring upon Judah…all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard….” Jeremiah 35:17. Perhaps this last resort, captivity, would lead them to repentance. Yet “prophecies of oncoming judgment were mingled with promises of final and glorious deliverance. Those who should choose to make their peace with God and live holy lives amid the prevailing apostasy, would receive strength for every trial and be enabled to witness for Him with mighty power.” PK 427.

Placed in the stocks for his straight testimony, Jeremiah continued to speak. He dictated the divine messages he had received, “a solemn reproof for sin, a warning of the sure result of continual apostasy, and an earnest appeal for the renunciation of all evil,” and had them written up in a scroll. PK 433. In fury, the wicked king Jehoiakim cast it into the flames. “The gracious opportunity proffered them at the time of the burning of the sacred roll, was their last. God had declared that if at that time they refused to hear His voice, He would inflict upon them fearful retribution. They did refuse to hear, and He pronounced His final judg-ments upon Judah, and He would visit with special wrath the man who had proudly lifted himself up against the Almighty.” PK 436.

During his reign the Chaldeans and other heathen nations attacked Judah. “Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh…for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the Lord would not pardon.” 2 Kings 24:3, 4.

Shortly after Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin ascended the throne, Jerusalem was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar, and he and 10,000 of the city’s inhabitants were taken captive to Babylon. The next king, Zedekiah, did evil. He rebelled against Babylon, thus rejecting Jeremiah’s earnest counsel to cooperate with their conquerors.

            “Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the Lord…. And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by His messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because He had compassion on His people, and on His dwelling place: But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and misused His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.” 2 Chron. 36:14-16.

Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, yet for a time was distracted by the Egyptian army. Even then, Jeremiah pleaded with Zedekiah to submit to God’s counsel, but he would not. “And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire…. And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon.” Verses 19, 20.

            In this tragedy of rejection of God’s loving counsel and consequent destruction, a few glimmers of hope remained.  “Among the righteous still in Jerusalem, to whom had been made plain the divine purpose, were some who determined to place beyond the reach of ruthless hands the sacred ark containing the tables of stone on which had been traced the precepts of the Decalogue. This they did. With mourning and sadness they secreted the ark in a cave, where it was to be hidden from the people of Israel and Judah because of their sins, and was to be no more restored to them. That sacred ark is yet hidden. It has never been disturbed since it was secreted.” PK 453. Though trampled by His professed people, God’s Law remained preserved.

God had promised that He would bring again a remnant after the seventy years of captivity. “Lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.  For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.” Jeremiah 30:10, 11.

“And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds…. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.” Jeremiah 23:3-8. 

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake…But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Jeremiah 31:31-33.

All quotations are from Ellen G. White.