Devotional: Poisonous Water

2 Kings 17:6-18

I like old western movies and TV programs. In western movies we often see a scene in which a man is crossing a desert. He is exhausted and hungry to the point of starving. He is thirsty and dehydrated. He is near the point of death. The man comes to a place and finds water. He musters up every ounce of his strength to get to the water. Oops! There is a sign. It says “Don’t drink, poisonous water.” The man has to make a decision. If he drinks the water and it is poisonous, drinking the water will kill him. He can continue on his journey in hope of finding water fit for drinking. Maybe he can make it to the next town.

Then we see a change. A stranger finds the man. He gives the man water to drink. He refreshes his hot scorched face with water. He puts him on his horse, takes him to the town, and gives him whiskey to drink and food to eat. The man survives.

In our scripture passage today we learn that the people of Israel are taken into captivity by Shalmaneser king of Assyria. The people disobey God. They worship other gods and practice many injustices. Their sins are like drinking poisonous water, and they symbolically die in that they are taken away into exile.

Now, here we are today. We are Christians in a free land. God’s word warns us of our sins. We do not obey God’s commands. We worship foreign gods in that we accept the notion that any religion is sufficient. We rationalize that since we live in a different time we can leave off with obeying the commandments of God. We are drinking poisonous water. We have the signs and symptoms of a dying nation in our economy; in our government; in our declining health; and in our injustices. We ignore the signs. We do not heed the warnings. We continue to drink poisonous water.

Prayer: God, open our ears so that we might hear. Open our eyes so that we might see. Renew our minds that we might head your warning. Rescue us before we drink poisonous water enough to die. Amen.