How do you live, breathe, and exist in a world filled with so many idols and avenues leading to idolatry? The book of 2 Kings focuses on the kingdoms of Israel and Judah from the end of Elijah’s ministry, seen in 1 Kings, to the beginning of the Babylonian captivity. The main theme relayed throughout the book is the idea of a legacy and it’s faithfulness or unfaithfulness to God. The Israelites have been living in the promised land for generations and the words spoken by Moses and Joshua about guarding themselves from the idols and idolatry of the inhabitants of the land they possessed have come to fruition with the adoption of the god’s throughout the land and a lack of respect and regard for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Continue Reading…
Call for God fearing leadership within the home: 2 Kings Summary
Exile from everything held dear: 2 Kings 25
In 2 Kings 25 the exile for the sons of Israel has come to fulfillment. For generations the people drifted away from worshiping God and the kingdom of Babylon comes to carry off the people of Judah into exile just as Isaiah told Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20:17,18. The city of Jerusalem was rased and all the wealth of the city was carried off into Babylon. Will good come from the Israelites being taken away into exile in Babylon? Can you imagine being taken away from the comfortable life you have known to be placed in a foreign land? How would you view life if everything you knew and held dear were stripped away from you? How does the adversity that we endure change out lives? Continue Reading…
True motivation sourced in a love of God: 2 Kings 23 and 24
Why do we seek to obey God? What is the reason for our faith? How often is a relationship with God reduced to a barter economy where we build up credit for our behavior to obtain something from God? After the book of the law was shown to Josiah he set about tearing down, burning, and defiling all the idols and places of worship that were shown to be wicked from the book of the law. What compelled Josiah to cast down the idols that had been built up with in Israel and Judah for generations? Was he hoping to win God’s favor? The actions of Josiah make me question why I do things ‘for God’ in my own life. Deep down what are the motives behind our faith and hope in Jesus Christ? Continue Reading…
May God raise up our children to fear Him: 2 Kings 21 and 22
Can there be any way to know with any certainty that your child will grow up to love God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength? How is a God fearing legacy instilled in children? The scripture is consistently proclaiming that we need to love God and love people as we seek to cling to God. Can we really worry about our children’s faith when holding to our own faith is all consuming? Faith is the evidence of things unseen and the assurance of the hope we have in Jesus Christ for our future. Is the raising of children a great test of our faith? As we live out lives seeking to hold fast to our growing faith in God we will be an example for our children but in the end it is only by the grace of God that our children will grow to know and trust in Him. It feels like a great burden to know that we are powerless but in our weakness God’s faithfulness will be proclaimed. Continue Reading…
Tears shed in troubled times: 2 Kings 19 and 20
In the moments when your world is crashing down upon you and the outlook for life is bleak how do your reactions and actions portray you? What moments have you faced in life that made your whole world come to a halt? Where did you turn? How did you act? The way we act in the midst of trouble, trial, and tribulation will show who we truly are and what we believe. Do your actions point towards an almighty God who is the wellspring of hope or do your actions lash out against fate and destiny in remorse over your lot in life?
At the end of 2 Kings 18 the Assyrians besiege Judah and Hezekiah the king of Judah found himself in the midst of a moment where he was unsure of the future and hope was dwindling. In the midst of this troubled time Hezekiah seeks out God and He proves himself faithful to Judah by turning away the army of Assyria. Continue Reading…
What is learned in exile from all you know: 2 Kings 17 and 18
Why is Israel besieged and taken captive in 2 Kings chapter 17? What does captivity mean for the people within Israel? Does the captivity of Israel mean that God has turned His back on Israel? What lesson can be learned from Israel’s disobedience? These people who were led into captivity had no regard for God because generation after generation they had done what we fitting in their own eyes without care for God. They worshiped the gods of the inhabitants of the promised land, which they were consistently warned about not doing. Was it easy for the people to turn away from God because they made one sinful choice after another which led them far from God? Continue Reading…
Systemic degradation of God fearing leadership: 2 Kings 15 and 16
Why are we given all of the these brief details about the different kings of Judah and Israel in 1 and 2 Kings? It sure seems a little repetitive at times. Does it truly matter that one king followed God while another did not follow God? What factors influenced a king to seek out and follow God? What influences drew some men away from following God? In 2 Kings 15 many different kings of Judah and Israel are listed. It is interesting how some men are said to have followed the example of their father by following God. Who are these men who followed God? At the beginning of chapter 15 we are told that Uzziah followed God like his father and at the end of the chapter Jotham followed God like his father. 2 Kings 15 is bookended by two kings of Judah who followed God while the kings of Israel listed all did evil in the sight of God. Continue Reading…
Who walks in your footsteps: 2 Kings 13 and 14
Would you like it if you knew that people would be continually compared to you generations after your death? It would be great to make such an impact on the world so that your memory and name lived on. Would you live life differently today if you knew that you would be remembered for your wickedness? Consistently in 2 Kings it has been said of the various kings that they followed in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat. What does this mean? What did Jeroboam do to claim such a reputation?
After the death of Solomon in 1 Kings 11 the nation of Israel split into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Jeroboam ruled Israel after the division and he realized that if the people of Israel went to worship God in Jerusalem they would want to reunite as one nation. Continue Reading…
What kind of example does your life portray: 2 Kings 11 and 12
What kind of influence does a person’s upbringing have on them? Do the actions of parents and guardians matter when a child is raised? The question of how a God fearing legacy is instilled from generation to generation was brought to mind again as I read 2 Kings 11 and 12. In the midst of all the idolatry happening in both Israel and Judah were there children raised who feared God?
After Ahaziah the king of Judah was killed by Jehu Athaliah proclaimed herself queen. In order to make herself queen Athaliah sought to kill all of the royal offspring but Joash the son of Ahaziah was hidden in the house of the Lord for six years and kept safe from her. How did growing up in the house of the Lord impact the life of Joash? Continue Reading…
The wages of sin is death: 2 Kings 9 and 10
The story of 2 Kings 9 and 10 is the fulfillment of the word spoken to Elijah in 1 Kings 19 that the wickedness of Ahab and Jezebel would not go unpunished. The judgement upon the house of Ahab didn’t come in his lifetime because God honored his repentant heart. How would you react if you were Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat after a man enters the room where you are and anoints you king and tells you that the Lord will use you to avenge Him? I would be a little stunned and very confused.
How does God use such flawed and frail beings as us? Why does He care about us? It is truly humbling to realize that God takes and interest in humanity despite our consistent failure. Continue Reading…
