In Second Kings, chapter seventeen, verse eight, Israel all too eagerly accepted the lifestyles and standards of those who were not God’s people. Although separation from the nations was one of God’s fundamental requirements for Israel, as in Leviticus eighteen, verses three and thirty, Deuteronomy twelve, verses twenty-nine through thirty-one, and chapter eighteen, nine to fourteen, the people adopted heathen customs from surrounding nations.
The sins and idolatries of Israel had a double origin. The majority came from the heathen nations where the people of Israel were in contact and adopted voluntarily by the people themselves. This kind of worship involved the high places in verse nine and the images and groves in the following verse. A certain number, however, came in from a different source, being imposed upon the people by their kings. To this class belong the desertion of the temple worship, enforced by Jeroboam, the setting up of the calves at Dan and Bethel in verse sixteen by the same, and the Baal and Astarte worship introduced by Ahab. This last and worst idolatry was not established without persecution, as we learn from First Kings eighteen, verse four, which they had made.
Conforming to the world’s way of living is one of the great perils that God’s people face in every generation and culture. In the days of old, parents were more secure and strict with their kids growing up, along with being more in touch with nature, which helped mold the family in unity. However, with technology on the rise, nature is not an interest like it used to be with the various digital options that children have at their disposal. Time is spent more with electronics than anything else. The digital phone is the leading time-consuming device that can occupy the hearts and minds of kids and adults, which robs family gatherings and other related matters that society has adopted in whatever is the attraction on social media, which is the new normal.