November 10, 2023

Sometimes we don't like it when God keeps His word.

2 Kings 24-25

Daniel King
Friday's Devo

November 10, 2023

Friday's Devo

November 10, 2023

Friday's Devo

November 10, 2023

Friday's Devo

November 10, 2023

Big Idea

Forgetting God's Word is the first step away from faithfulness.

Key Verse | 2 Kings 24:10

At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.

2 Kings 24-25

1 In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. 2 And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldeans and bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by his servants the prophets. 3 Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the LORD, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and also for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD would not pardon. 5 Now the rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 6 So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. 7 And the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

Jehoiachin Reigns in Judah

8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.

Jerusalem Captured

10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it, 12 and Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign 13 and carried off all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the LORD, which Solomon king of Israel had made, as the LORD had foretold. 14 He carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, except the poorest people of the land. 15 And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon. The king's mother, the king's wives, his officials, and the chief men of the land he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, 7,000, and the craftsmen and the metal workers, 1,000, all of them strong and fit for war. 17 And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Zedekiah Reigns in Judah

18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For because of the anger of the LORD it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.

And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Fall and Captivity of Judah

1 And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it. 2 So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king's garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 6 Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they passed sentence on him. 7 They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon.

8 In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 And he burned the house of the LORD and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 10 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile. 12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

13 And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the LORD, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service, 15 the fire pans also and the bowls. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. 16 As for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. 17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, 1 25:17 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters and on it was a capital of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits. A latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with the latticework.

18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; 19 and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and five men of the king's council who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the city. 20 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.

Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah

22 And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor. 23 Now when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite. 24 And Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.” 25 But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

Jehoiachin Released from Prison

27 And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed 2 25:27 Hebrew reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. 28 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king's table, 30 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived.

Footnotes

[1] 25:17 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
[2] 25:27 Hebrew reign, lifted up the head of

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Dive Deeper | 2 Kings 24-25

Gloom and doom. As we reach the finale of 2 Kings, it feels a bit like things are spiraling out of control for the people of Judah. The language throughout these chapters emphasizes their sin was not without consequences. It may make us wonder, "Is God finally done with them? Will He cut me off as well if I fail Him too many times?" Yet in the midst of all of this, we are left with one small glimmer of hope: Judah's former king, Jehoiachin, is released from prison and allowed to eat with the king of Babylon, who "spoke kindly to him" (2 Kings 25:28) and gave him preferential treatment. 

Why is this important? Even as Judah is exiled for their sins and the line of David's heirs ruling in Jerusalem is interrupted, the line of David is not cut off. In 2 Samuel 7, the Lord says that although David's offspring will be disciplined for iniquity, His steadfast love would never depart from them. 2 Samuel 7 adds, "And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever." (2 Samuel 7:16) We see this ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, and who else should we find in His lineage other than Jehoiachin! (Matthew 1:11) 

With this in mind, we can confidently trust in God to fulfill His promises despite our unfaithfulness. That doesn't mean we run away from God in unrepentant sin. King Solomon's prayer for Israel was that they might turn to God in prayer if they were exiled (1 Kings 8:46-51). In the same way, we who are exiles (1 Peter 1:1) should seek God daily, running to Him and trusting that He has control. We can take heart, placing our hope in the truth that this is not our home.

This month's memory verse

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

– 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Discussion Questions

1. Jehoiachin isn't the only surprising person in Jesus' lineage. Take time to check out some of the other people in Jesus' genealogy in Matthew 1 or Luke 3. Who sticks out to you?

2. What is an area in your life in which you are struggling to trust the promises of God and to give over control to Him?

3. Think about the implications of believers in Christ being labeled as "exiles" in 1 Peter. What is the significance of this? What are some of the parallels between the exiled Israelites and us as believers in Christ?

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Hugh Stephenson

Good morning, Daniel. Love this from your devo- “With this in mind, we can confidently trust in God to fulfill His promises despite our unfaithfulness. That doesn't mean we run away from God in unrepentant sin. King Solomon's prayer for Israel was that they might turn to God in prayer if they were exiled (1 Kings 8:46-51). “ Q1. Rahab. Hands down. Think about it. A Canaanite prostitute in Jericho has her heart turned to Yahweh so that she risks her life and her family’s life to help the two spies. That’s not just a surprise. That’s a miracle. Oh…by the way, she is a lineal ancestor of Jesus. You think the gospel is not just for a few? She proves it really is for every “tribe, tongue and nation”, Revelation 7:9, (https://www.convergemedia.org/every-tribe-tongue-and-nation/). https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Rahab.html Runners up include Ruth the Moabite widow, Mary Magdalene, Jael, Abigail, Esther, and any number of others. Q2. Unsaved prodigal children. Hand own. In my experience in recovery ministries there his noting that will bring a proton to their knees like that. Certainly true for me and Amy. Q3. It doesn’t take much reading of the news for believers to feel like exiles in a hostile territory. Yet, God called has called me and every other follower to proclaim, witness and teach, (Psalm 71:18, Acts 1:8 Matthew 28:19-20). Moreover, every person ever born has been or is an exile. I’m called to share who Jesus is and what he’s done for me and for them.
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Hugh Stephenson

A short helpful summary of the monarchy- “To review, during the divided monarchy there were in Israel nine dynasties and 20 kings, of whom seven were assassinated. The writer evaluated all of them as bad, but Ahab was probably the worst and Jehu the best. In Judah there was only one dynasty, with 19 kings, plus one queen who usurped the throne. Five of these rulers suffered assassination. Twelve were bad, eight were good, and four of the good kings were reformers (very good). Manasseh was the worst king, and Josiah was probably the best. In the history of the Surviving Kingdom, the writer emphasized that ultimately, deportation (unrest) and captivity (enslavement) are the inevitable consequences of persistent departure from God and His will.” ------------------------------------ Thinking more about what drives me and everyone else to all the different forms of idolatry. What do I want? What am I not getting? My own short answer? I want the presence of God in my life. If I can’t “see it” then what do I do? I seek some unhealthy and non-natural way of getting something else that is as close as I think I can get. Hence…idols; opinions of others, worldly success, material goods, athletic achievement, houses, cars, experiences. As a boy, the spectacular natural setting of my youth told me about God without my really understanding it. In Sunday school I developed a deep love for the children’s Bible my parents gave me. I knew there was more to everything beyond what I was seeing. In a recent class I learned about “Natural Revelation- https://www.gotquestions.org/natural-revelation.html. This was a real eye opener and enhanced what the Spirit had already taught me. The real epiphany was in realizing that loving relationships was what I really wanted. Genuine friends A close family. And, eventually, a deep and abiding relationship with Jesus.
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Hugh Stephenson

How much time I is a long time? How about 2,534 years. That’s the time period since King Neb came in and executed God’s justice on the remaining Israelites and when they got their land back in 1948. (I know there is thought to be three deportations but I’m using 586 B.C. because that’s what is commonly used.) Which kind of leads to the question, “Why reward evil King Neb at the expense of God’s people? The answer I am taught is that God may choose to use evil people to serve as a tool of judgement against His less evil people. See also Assyria, Egypt, Edom etc etc. He may also use them as a source of wealth and blessing FOR His people. See also the same list just cited. My favorite example is the Exodus where all the Egyptians “voluntarily” gave the Israelites all manner of wealth and goods. Much of this sustained them. Also, I’m taught that much of the cloth for tabernacle garments as well as metals, gold and silver used in the pieces were from the Egyptians. In all this I see a fascinating interplay between judgement, mercy, and blessing. Sometimes judgement is just getting out of the way and letting the natural consequences do the “teaching” that judgement entails. Sometimes it’s actual “hand of God” judgment. In mercy, I see the preservation of the line of Judah, the care of so many people that were deported, the blessing of faithful Israelites like Daniel, the warning of prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. And the eventual return 70 years later with such great leaders as Nehemiah and Zerubbabel. In blessing I also see the faithful preservation and protection of God’s Word. Not only for Josiah and His discovery but the continued preservation through many occupations of Israel by hostile peoples incudes the Romans right up to the end in 70 AD. I can look back over my 65 years and see the same “triad” of judgement, mercy, and blessing. Judgement - In all my craziness God NEVER took away any consequence of any bad decision. I’m a slow learner so it took a long time. Mercy - I also see that in virtually every circumstance I can think of He lessened the consequences from what they could have been and should have been. Blessing - Over time, God was incredibly patient and gave me every single thing I had ever wanted, desired, and prayed for. But the greatest blessing was showing me that, without Him, it was all worthless. With Him it has been priceless. ----------------------- Lastly, from the notes- “The church operates under a different covenant than Israel did, and what God requires of Christians is different in many respects from what He required of the Israelites. Nevertheless, He still deals with Christians in the same way He dealt with the Israelites: He blesses those who trust and obey Him, and He disciplines those who do not (cf. Rom. 11:21-22). God has preserved the Books of Kings to teach us how consistently He deals with people on this basis.” "What does the writer tell the reader? Trust the Lord and find hope in him. If God can give the land once, God can give it again. If the Lord can raise up one David, another can come to take his ancestor's place. If people could be faithful in Hezekiah's and Josiah's reigns, then they can be obedient again."
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Michael Sisson

Re: 2Kings 25:8-9 2Kgs 25:8-9 (NASB) Now on the seventh day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. >>>He burned the house of the LORD<<<, the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. A remarkable number of tragedies have befallen the Jewish people on the same day, Tisha B’Av (the 9th of Av), including the destruction of BOTH the First and Second Temples. “The First Temple built by King Solomon was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE, and the population of the Kingdom of Judah was sent into the Babylonian exile. According to the Bible, the First Temple's destruction began on the 7th of Av (2 Kings 25:8) and continued until the 10th (Jeremiah 52:12). According to the Talmud, the actual destruction of the Temple began on the Ninth of Av, and it continued to burn throughout the Tenth of Av.” — Tisha B’Av https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tisha_B%27Av
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Greg Jones

Great questions to go along with the devotional. Q1 Who sticks out. Manasseh Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon. 2 Kings 24:3-4 Q2 What is an area in your life in which you are struggling to trust the promises of God and to give over control to Him? Sometimes I hate that question. There are some things that I don’t like that I sometimes have to accept because they are not in my control. But I still have to live with what it is I dislike. And ruminating on the dislikes of what God has control over can be a receipt for developing a victim mentality. Sometimes the struggle can be this, trusting what I dislike while acknowledging God is in control and being completely unaware of how that is affecting me. Especially if I only surround myself with people who support my dislike. The antidote, trust God is in control while acknowledging how the dislike is affecting me. As for the promises of God. We reap what we sow, that’s control. We don’t control the yield of what we sow. Q3a I take it as a distinction being made between those who were exiled but never returned to Jerusalem and those who were exiled and did return. There are believers in both groups as well as Gentile believers. B What is the significance of this? In Jerusalem the temple is still operating the disciples are still going to temple and participating in Jewish rituals. But there is a part of Judaism that is about statehood and with statehood comes self determination. And there is a part of Judaism that developed in the absence of statehood. In that absence of statehood a different kind of self determination developed. Peter is identifying with the “nation” that has been scattered about the nationhoods over time. To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. And identifying with that different self determination that is not attached to nationhood. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Submission to Authority 13 Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution,[b] whether it be to the emperor[c] as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 [[[For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.]]] (He’s talking about having a counter affect to something else that is going on at the time) 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. C What are some of the parallels between the exiled Israelites and us as believers in Christ? But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. I don’t hear Peter addressing all believers of his day in this letter. He’s talking to a subset of Jewish believers. The temptation was to get out from underneath the lordship of foreign authorities so that they could lord over themselves. Today it can be tempting to want to lord over ourselves and lord over others. Not sure if those are parallel lines. They might be intersecting lines.
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Michael Scaman

A hard punishment for a king and prince. No legacy rulrs. Jer 22:30 will say of Jeconiah 'write this man down as childless" because he won'tt have children who will be rulers. Coniah (Jeconiah went to captivity after only ruling a short time. Coniah's uncle became king. Matt-eniah (God's gift similar to Matthew) but the King of Babylong changed his name to Zedekiah (God is just, as if putting a divine rubberstamp on Babylon's actions)
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Sue Bohlin

Thanks, Daniel, and I reiterate Greg's affirmation of your great discussion questions. This sad, sad descent into God's more-than-justified discipline for Israel's unfaithfulness and rebellion against Him is not just historical data. There is emotion attached. In reading about the dismantling of the temple elements that Solomon had lavished money and care on, and the wanton destruction of the buildings, I was thinking about what it would feel like for us as Americans to be attacked and overrun by enemies who bombed the Statue of Liberty. (Having had a first run with the images of planes flying into the World Trade Center . . .) Such deep sadness. And loss. The politics of human war-making is such a good reason to develop an ever-greater awareness of the unseen spirit realm, and pour our attention and resources into Kingdom endeavors rather than earthly ones.
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Amy Lowther

1. When everybody was baptized, Jesus was baptized too. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in bodily form as a dove. In the genealogy, there were several people and each person served a purpose. 2. None. 3. Their stories may not be interpreted accurately. Parallels include beliefs influence quality of life.