2 Kings 13 & 14 -- Is It All Downhill From Here?

This is getting SO sad to read.  In Israel, it seems that about EVERY king the Bible ends up saying, "Jeroboam had LED Israel to sin, and ______ did not STOP doing these same sins."

God finally handed Israel over to Aram.  Jehoahaz, the king of Israel at the time, "begged The Lord, and The Lord LISTENED to him.  The Lord had SEEN the troubles of Israel.  He gave Israel a man to SAVE them (it never mentions his name here), and they escaped from the Arameans ... but they still did not stop doing the same sins that the family of Jeroboam had done."

Jeroboam had been chosen by God as the first true king of the northern kingdom, and he'd sinned so badly by introducing the golden calves that it led to YEARS of trouble, and yet the people never even seemed to CARE.  They wanted to DO what they WANTED.  It's almost like there was a disconnect between their actions and the punishments God would bring as a result.

In the southern kingdom, "Amaziah did what The Lord said was RIGHT."  He regained some territory then asked to meet with Israel's king, who dismissed him as prideful and arrogant, and went to war with him.  Israel tore down parts of the wall protecting Jerusalem and removed treasures from the Temple and the palace.  Then Amaziah's subjects KILLED HIM!

It seems so wrong that evil thrived and good men were taken down.  It reminds me too much of America today!  I know it all stemmed from bad leaders who LED the PEOPLE to do evil back then.  Unfortunately, that seems true today as well.  

Father, please don't let history repeat itself.  Help us by removing any judicial blindness You may have placed on us, allowing ALL Americans to see just how far we've strayed from what You established on this continent 237 years ago.  Don't let it be too late for US.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford