Consider this poignant cartoon that gave me pause to think about the doghouse—that metaphorical bastion of banishment. A man with pillow in hand stood before his dog—with pen in paw—sitting in front of his doghouse. The dog said, “Welcome back sir. Are you planning on being our guest for one night only or will this be your usual extended stay?” What got him there? Maybe it was his slip of the tongue like the man with a can of “peas pleas”?
A destitute couple had been shopping at a grocery store when the wife decided to steal a can of peaches. She was caught. The judge asked her, "How many peaches were in the can?" She said, "Six." The judge slammed his gavel: "I sentence you to six days in jail." Her husband promptly stood up behind her and replied, "Your Honor, she also stole a can of peas.” The wife may have been given a judgment of six days in jail, but the husband, with his “peas” plea, earned himself a longer stay in the wife’s doghouse.
No doghouse judgment is a pleasant stay, especially if it’s a sentence from God. In 2 Kings 17, we see God send Israel into exile—His doghouse for their continued disobedience. It will not be a pleasant stay. How do stay out of God’s Doghouse? Learn from Israel: A stiff neck head leads to a hard place. It was more than a slip of the tongue that put them there. They chose duplicity over fidelity in their relationship with God.
Here is the back story. After assassinating Pekah, the previous king of Israel, Hoshea took the throne in his place. Hoshea ruled Israel for 9 years and “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” During his reign, Israel was subjugated by the Assyrians, and Hoshea had to pay tribute to them. But Hoshea rebelled against the king of Assyria and went to Egypt for help. In response to Hoshea’s rebellion. Assyria invaded Israel and besieged it for 3 years. The Assyrians took all the Israelites captive and deported them hundreds of miles to the regions surrounding Nineveh. “This occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God” (17:7). In exposition, reflection, and application, consider the reason, pattern, and consequences of God’s doghouse in your life.
The reason for God’s Doghouse: Syncretism—feet in two places.
EXPOSITION: Israel mixed two faiths, thus serving two gods.
2 Kings 17:33 They feared the LORD and served their own gods according to the custom of the nations from among whom they had been carried away into exile…
REFLECTION: Remember when you had one foot in the world and one foot in the church: the bottle and the bible; selfishness and selflessness? APPLICATION: Chose fidelity, i.e. faithfulness to God, alone. Turn back to God, keep his commands. (13).
Second, the pattern that leads to God’s doghouse is deafness, defiance, divination, and duplicity—living a double life before God.
EXPOSITION: Israel fell into a prideful pattern that led to exile.
2 Kings 17:14 However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in the LORD their God. 2 Kings 17:17 …and their daughters pass through the fire, and practiced divination… and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD….
REFLECTION: Where in your life did you sell out to the world instead being sold out to God. APPLICATION: Stay true to the proven God.
Lastly, the consequences of the duplicity of living two lives are God’s doghouse—exile.
EXPOSITION: God allowed Israel’s enemy—Assyria—to carry them into exile—a foreign land—because of their secret life.
2 Kings 17:6 6 … the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria…9And the sons of Israel did things secretly which were not right.
REFLECTION: What were the consequences of your secret life. APPLICATION: Be faithful and open in your fidelity to God. He sees all and will judge. Trust me. His doghouse is no fun.
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