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…
Tag Archive - Hope
Exile from everything held dear: 2 Kings 25
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…
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…
Where will you turn in your moment of crisis: 2 Kings 3 and 4
I love the intentional, specific, and beautiful language that is used throughout Scripture. In 2 Kings 3 Jehoram the son of Ahab becomes king of Israel. He did what was evil in the sight of God, not to the extent of Ahab and Jezebel, but he choose to cling to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. The struggle that was faced by Jehoram and by everyone living today is choosing to follow the sins of those around us instead of clinging to God. This language steams from when Joshua gave his final instructions to the people of Israel to cling to God instead of the ways of the people around them. What do you cling to? Continue Reading…
Kingdoms come to ruin without God as King: 1 Kings Summary
The book of first Kings does not follow one fluid story like the books of Joshua or Ruth rather we follow a timeline of the kings of Israel with great detail given about specific moments in peoples lives while other people only have general highlights given. Why is the book written in this manner? It is consistently repeated throughout the book of 1 Kings, “are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?” What does this statement tell us about 1 Kings? The book gives us a summary of what happened to Israel as various kings took control and also the nation of Israel dividing into Israel and Judah. When details are omitted in 1 Kings it is referencing 2 Chronicles where greater detail of the actions of each king is given. Continue Reading…
The Lord He is God and His power reigns over idolatry: 1 Kings 17 and 18
In 1 Kings 17 Elijah a prophet of the Lord proclaims to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 1 Kings 17:1 After these words Elijah follows heads away from Ahab and hides in the wilderness. Was Elijah concerned about having his needs met since he just prophesied a drought in the land? Did Elijah have the faith to trust that God was going to supply his needs. God proves Himself faithful as he sends ravens to bring Elijah bread and meat twice daily. Can God supply your needs? Do you need a road map to take a step of faith? Elijah didn’t know what was going to happen next but he trusted that God would supply for his needs as he followed Him. Continue Reading…
Idolatry leads toward unfaithfulness and death: 1 Kings 13 and 14
What power is there in the idols of your life? Can you find true and lasting fulfillment in your iPhone, does Facebook satisfy the deep desire for fellowship that you have, can the joy you find in your family and friends carry you through the difficult moments of life, does the money you earn working incessantly form the foundation of who you are, or will the praise and adoration of men give you a sense of fulfillment on your death bed that you can die confident of what lies ahead? What is the driving motivation in your life? The state of our sinful inclination has not changed since the time of the old testament. We live in a sex saturated world that seeks to satisfy all the needs we have in an instant but the one true need we have for fulfillment can only be satisfied in God. Continue Reading…
