The Religion of Samaria
Introduction. 2 Kings 17:24-41 Following the conquest
by the nation of Assyria, most of the people of Israel were deported to
Assyria. In their place, Assyria imported captives from other countries to live
in Samaria, the region of Israel where their capital had been. By New Testament
times the people in this region came to be known as the Samaritans and were in
conflict with the Jews who had returned from the Babylonian exile, and held to
a religion vastly different that that which was practiced by the Jews in Judea
and Galilee.
In our text, we see the first steps
toward the development of this odd blend of religion among those who were
imported. There are several characteristics of their religion that our own
generation would do well to consider. Tonight we will consider three things that
characterized the religion of Samaria and compare it to attitudes we must avoid
today.
I. A Religion of Fear.
A. Descriptions
of their fearful attitude.
1. “So
they feared the Lord...” (2 Kings 17:32).
2. “They
feared the Lord, yet served their own gods...” (2 Kings 17:33).
3. “So
these nations feared the Lord, yet served their carved images...” (2 Kings
17:41).
4. But they
had the wrong kind of fear—“...they do not fear the Lord...” (2 Kings 17:34).
B. There
is a proper type of godly fear.
1. The
gospel teaches this (Matt. 10:28; Acts 10:34-35; Phil. 2:12).
2. This
was taught in the Old Testament (Prov. 1:7; 14:26-27; Ecc. 8:12-13; 12:13-14).
3. This
“fear of the Lord” or what the Hebrew writer calls “godly fear” (Heb. 5:7;
11:7; 12:28).
a.
Is the kind of awesome reverence towards God that motivates us to turn
away from evil and serve God faithfully at all times.
b.
It is NOT the kind that never thinks of God when things are going well,
and then trembles at the prospect of facing God.
C. The
people of Samaria had the wrong kind of fear.
1. They
wouldn’t have thought of God, had it not been for the lions (2 Kings 17:25-26).
2. When
they did think of Him, it was only to seek His help.
3. This
is like so many people today who think of God only...
a.
When they are ill, but forget Him when they are well.
b.
During calamities, but not during joys.
c.
When faced with problems, but not when enjoying success.
4. If
we turn to God only when things go wrong, our religion is no different.
D. With the
proper kind of fear (awesome reverence), we will draw close to God through
obedience; and when we do so, we will find Him to be so gracious and loving
that we will serve Him out of love and not just a fear of judgment (1 John
4:16-18).
II. A Religion of Form.
A. Their heart
was not in their service to the Lord.
1. They
continued to serve their “carved images” (2 Kings 17:33-34).
2. Their
service possessed form, but not substance.
B. This is
common today.
1. There is a
need for proper form in religion.
a. Humans
have both a physical and spiritual nature.
b. We express
spiritual devotion through sound, scriptural, physical forms.
c. God has
provided proper physical forms of worship (e.g. The Lord's Supper,
singing, prayer, giving, Bible study).
2. But to go
through the form without the proper spirit and attitude is hypocritical (Matt.
15:7-8).
C. How can Christians
be guilty of such worship?
1. If we sing “Give
Me The Bible,” but never read it.
2. If we sing “Here
Am I, Send Me,” but are not willing to go teach or take action to serve the
Lord.
3. If we Sing “Wonderful
Story Of Love” with a bored attitude and no joy in service to the Lord (Prov. 15:13)
D. Proper worship
will follow the example of David.
1. “I will
praise You with my whole heart...” (Ps. 138:1).
2. “Praise the
Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! While I live I will praise the Lord; I will
sing praises to my God while I have my being" (Ps. 146:1-2).
3. “Praise the
Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant and praise
is beautiful” (Ps. 147:1).
E. Is our
religion one of simply going through the proper form, or does it have substance
as well? If not, then our religion is no more pleasing to God than that of the
people of Samaria.
III. A Religion of Compromise. Sometimes compromise
is a good thing. When two people have a disagreement and you are talking about
choices that are just as wholesome and more one way or another, compromise is a
way in which one side gives a little and the other side gives a litte and the
conflict is resolved. In matters of divine revelation it is a different thing.
Truth can never compromise with error.
A. The
people of Samaria tried to compromise truth.
1. They
wanted to have God and their idols (2 Kings 17:41).
2. They
gave God lip service, but they gave the “gods” their true service.
B. Christians
can do the same thing.
1. When
they seek to serve God, while also serving the world.
2. Jesus
says this is impossible (Matt. 6:24).
3. When
we try to serve both, the world always wins.
a.
This shows up in how our jobs, our recreation, or relationships take
precedence over our service to God.
b.
It shows up in how we seek to rationalize our conduct.
C. God
cannot tolerate this type of compromise.
1. He
requires total commitment to Him, no matter the price (Deut. 6:5, 14-15; Luke
14:26, 33).
2. To
compromise with the world is to commit spiritual adultery (James 4:4).
3. Christians
must “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matt. 6:33).
Conclusion. It is easy to see the error of the religion
of the people of Samaria. They had a religion of fear (but not godly fear).
They had a form of religion (but not the true substance). Finally, they created
a manmade religion that sought to compromise truth with error. The lesson we
must learn from them is the fact that unless we are careful, our religion can
easily become just like theirs. We must...
•
Let Elijah challenge us to reject the religion of compromise (1 Kings
18:21).
•
Let Paul challenge us to reject simply a form of religion of form
without the substance (Rom. 2:28-29).
•
Let John challenge us to reject a religion characterized by an
improper type of fear (1 John 3:18-19).
Kyle Pope 2014
Modified from a sermon
by Mark Copeland