[Teachldsseminary] TEACH: 2 Kings 17-19 (Israel scattered)

Fri Feb 15 12:16:52 MST 2008

Good points. One thing I've been telling my students is that we are
descended from the lost tribes and they are their ancestors!  We tend to
forget that Ephraim and Manasseh are among the lost tribes and we talk about
the lost tribes as another group of people.  

Also, the prophecies coming up by the OT prophets about what Ephraim will do
in the latter days will mean a lot to them when they realize it is
prophecies about them!

Linda Harper
Duncan, SC

-----Original Message-----
From: teachldsseminary-bounces at latter-dayvillage.com
[mailto:teachldsseminary-bounces at latter-dayvillage.com] On Behalf Of Marji
Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008 1:56 PM
To: Free Email list for LDS Seminary Teachers
Subject: [Teachldsseminary] TEACH: 2 Kings 17-19 (Israel scattered)

SOME MUSINGS.
Marji

Today for the presentation on 2 Kings 16-19 we had an interesting
discussion.  This is when Israel is threatened by the Assyrians and
the ten tribes are 'lost'.  The student manual has some very good
scriptures to use with this lesson, be sure to check there.  One of
the scriptures is Deut. 4 - where the prophecy and warning of Moses is
recorded, which stated that if Israel did not remain faithful, that
they would be destroyed and scattered.  Very powerful to read that
prophecy and overlay it on the events of these chapters, because what
was warned became what happened when Israel turned to idolatry.

One of the students was studying the time period and shared some
comments from his textbooks which said that the Assyrians were among
the most brutal of all societies in regard to their captives.  The
Assyrians were brutal - maiming and dismembering their captives,
burning crops, cutting down fruit trees, ravaging the land. (Sound
similar, perhaps, to IED's that blow off hands, legs, blind people?)

As another overlay, I summarized the Proclamation on the Family, and
we discussed how the proclamation is "our" warning, similar to that
which Moses gave to the people of old.  At the end of it, you will
recall, it says that if the disintegration of the family continues, it
will bring upon us the consequences foretold by *ancient AND modern*
prophets.  So as we read the warnings and declarations of these
prophets to ancient Israel, the students should know that those same
warnings have been re-invoked in our day (and there is none to
escape).

These chapters seemed especially significant to me so we've discussed
them for a couple of days.  Not to mention that there is one of the
greatest of all Bible humor there.  Hezekiah pleads for the Lord to
protect Israel and Jerusalem, and the Lord hears his prayer.
(Hezekiah and Josiah were the ONLY two righteous kings to rule
Israel).  The Lord promises to defend Israel against the Assyrians, so
he sends an angel who slays 185,000 of them during the night.  {"and
in the morning when they awoke, they were all dead men"}.

Don't you just feel sorry for those lost ten tribes who were carried
off by one of the most barbaric peoples ever?  Their great sin was
idolatry and the forsaking of the ways of the Lord.  SWK has given an
extensive description of modern idolatry, which we should all be aware
of and reiterate to our students (OT Institute Manual, vol. 1, P. 128
or Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 40-42).

Other resources available for this lesson include a summary of modern
day commandments and warnings by SWK ("this applies to you and me",
"are there enemies who could and would afflict us?" " Have you thought
of that?  And I will make your cities waste, and bring your
sanctuaries unto desolation,"  "The Lord goes further and says:  I
will destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high
ways shall be desolate," And I will bring a sword upon you") [see OT
Institute manual Vol 1, 189-190, or The Lord Expects His People to
Follow the Commandments, Ensign, May 1977, p. 4-6).

The above citation is taken from the section on Leviticus 26:
Blessings or Cursings: an option for Israel.  The manual says:
Leviticus 26 is one of the most powerful chapters in the Old
Testament.  The Lord put the options facing Israel so clearly that
they could not be misunderstood.  If Israel was obedient, there would
be blessed with bounties, safety, and security, peace and protection
from enemies."

"If Israel refused "to hearken unto me, and will not do all these
commandments" then the blessings would be withdrawn, and sorrow,
hunger, war, disease, exile, tragedy, and abandonment would result"
MODERN ISRAEL HAS BEEN GIVEN THE SAME OPTIONS (see Proclamation on the
Family, "ancient and modern prophets").

BRMc has a good quote on the scattering and gathering of Israel (OT
Institute Manual, Vol. 1, p. 217 or Come: Let Israel Build Zion,
Ensign, May 1977, p. 117).

Something else to mention is that the State of Israel is very recent
on the timeline of history.  Our students have never known a time when
Israel as a country did not exist.  But it has been since AD 70 until
1945 that Israel was scattered -- that's a long time!

Neal Maxwell spoke in conference of the need for parents to "give up
one outside activity" and spend that time instead with their families,
as one way to strengthen the family.

As I read it (so far), it seems to me that two of the MAJOR issues in
the blessing/ cursing prophecies are:  NOT KEEPING THE SABBATH HOLY,
AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FAMILY.

Enjoy and pray for insights.

Marji

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