2 Kings 15:23-31: a reflection

23In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria for two years. 24He did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight. He didn’t depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin. 25Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against him and attacked him in Samaria, in the fortress of the king’s house, with Argob and Arieh; and with him were fifty men of the Gileadites. He killed him, and reigned in his place. 26Now the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 27In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria for twenty years. 28He did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight. He didn’t depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin. 29In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria. 30Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, attacked him, killed him, and reigned in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. 31Now the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

This passage records a bleak stretch of Israel's history: a rapid succession of kings, each doing evil, one assassinating the next, the kingdom sliding into conspiracy, bloodshed, and the loss of its lands to Assyria. And a phrase repeats through the accounts of these kings: he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel to sin. King after king simply continued in the same inherited pattern of sin, never breaking from it, and the nation spiraled downward.

Notice the repeated failure: none of these kings departed from the sins of Jeroboam. The pattern of sin had been set generations before, and each new king simply carried it on, doing the same evil his predecessors had done, never breaking the cycle. And as the sin continued unbroken, so did the instability and ruin: conspiracy followed conspiracy, and the kingdom fell apart. No one would break from the inherited pattern, and so it carried them all down.

That speaks to the inherited patterns of sin in our own lives and families. We can simply continue in the patterns we have received, the habits, attitudes, and sins passed down to us or established in us long ago, never breaking from them, as these kings never departed from the sins of Jeroboam. But such patterns, left unbroken, carry us downward. God calls us not to continue in an inherited pattern of sin, but to break the cycle, to depart from it, to turn to him. Do not simply carry on the sins you have inherited or established, as though you had no choice. By God's grace, break the pattern; depart from the sins that would otherwise carry you and those after you downward, and begin, in your own life, a new pattern of turning to God.

Lord, in this bleak stretch of Israel's history, king after king did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, simply continuing in the same inherited pattern of sin, and the nation spiraled into conspiracy and ruin. Speak to me about the inherited patterns of sin in my own life and family. I can simply continue in the patterns I have received, the habits, attitudes, and sins passed down to me or established in me long ago, never breaking from them, as these kings never departed from the sins of Jeroboam. But such patterns, left unbroken, carry me downward. You call me not to continue in an inherited pattern of sin, but to break the cycle, to depart from it, and turn to you. Keep me from simply carrying on the sins I have inherited or established, as though I had no choice. By your grace, help me break the pattern, depart from the sins that would carry me and those after me downward, and begin, in my life, a new pattern of turning to you.