2 Kings 17:7

 2 Kings 17:7 says, For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,  Though God had delivered the people of Israel from Egypt and their enslavement under Pharaoh, they had turned away from Him and followed other god's.  God has provided deliverance from the power of sin and death for all who put their faith in Jesus Christ, and we who do should never turn to other gods, which do not have to be idols, but can be anything that we make more important than God.  Verse eight adds, And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.  The people of Israel followed the laws of the heathen, who God had cast out from Israel.  There are many laws today that go against God's word, and as Christians, we cannot follow them, no matter the cost to us in this lifetime.  Verse three continues, And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the Lord their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.  We are told that the people of Israel did sinful things in secret, including building high places for worship in their cities, but it was not secret from God.  We must acknowledge that there are no secret sins.  God always knows all our sins, so there is no need to think we can hide them.  Verse ten states, And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree:  They also set up idols on every high hill and in every grove.  To say that they did this in secret was not consistent with their actions.  It is one thing to secretly defy God, and another to openly sin against Him, though both are wrong.  Verse eleven adds, And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the Lord carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger:  They burned incense in all these high places as the heathen did.  There are people today who not only worship in groves, but they worship the groves themselves and often burn incense as a part of their purifying ritual.  There is nothing that we can do that is going to purify us, except accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, and once we do, we must put away all other worship of other gods.  Verse twelve continues, For they served idols, whereof the Lord had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.  They were serving idols, even though God had forbidden them to do so.  There are certain things that God has forbidden us to do as Christians, and we must follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit in not doing them.  Verse thirteen says, Yet the Lord testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. God testified against both Israel and Judah, all of His chosen people, and called on them to turn away from their evil ways and follow His commandments, just as He calls on us to turn away from our sins today by accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord and following His commandments under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.   Verse fourteen adds, Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God.  The people of Israel and Judah would not listen to Him but hardened their necks or refused to turn away from their sins and look to Him. God is going to call everyone to salvation, but many have and will continue to harden their necks and refuse to look to Him for salvation.