Month: October 2020

2 Kings 25:1 So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He camped outside the city and built siege works around it.
We have talked in Sunday School many times about the idea that we either say to God, “Thy will be done” or He will say to us, “thy will be done.” This chapter seems the epitome of the later. The Israelites wanted a human king like everyone else. God knew that was not what was best and tried to guide them to His will, but they were adamant. They wanted a king. So God allowed them to get what they wanted.
2 Kings 25:8-9 On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard… came to Jerusalem. He set fire to the temple of the LORD, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down.
Their succession of kings led them further and further from God, split the nation in two, led Israel into captivity, and now Judah has fallen as well. Our choices are not without consequences. But even in the destruction, there are seeds of hope. 
2 Kings 25:18 The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank and the three doorkeepers.
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the understanding that You love us and want what’s best for us. Thank You for not abandoning us to our pigheadedness. Thank You for giving us seeds of hope when our way leads to disaster. Draw us closer to You. Always. Amen.
2 Kings 25:21 …So Judah went into captivity, away from her land.
Have a blessed day

2 Kings 24:2 The LORD sent Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite and Ammonite raiders against [Jehoiakim] to destroy Judah, in accordance with the word of the LORD proclaimed by His servants the prophets.
Oct 1 marked one year since I started in Genesis and have been walking chapter by chapter through the Bible. Tomorrow, I will finish my twelfth book of the Bible. Here’s what I am seeing: In the beginning, God created…everything—land and sea, sky and earth, light and dark, humans and animals. And He declared it all good. And that goodness, imparted in us by our Creator, is present within us, but selfish tendencies, the “me first” attitude, covetousness, all that is in there, too. 
2 Kings 24:3 Surely these things happened to Judah according to the LORD’s command, in order to remove them from His presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done….
I have to stop myself from slipping into judgement mode as I keep seeing similar patterns of behavior again and again. It is easy to judge, but I know that I travel the same cycle in my own life—living for God, aware of God, really wanting my own way, putting myself first, understanding my error, living for God. It is a tale as old as time, and my job is to keep striving to get it right, to put God first. Always. Jesus, Help me.
2 Kings 24:4 …including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was not willing to forgive.
Lord, Thank You for this day and for this scripture. Thank You for a glimpse of understanding of human nature. Thank You for Your mercy and grace. Help me to live for You. Always. Help me to shine Your light. Amen.
2 Kings 24:13 As the LORD declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures from the temple of the LORD and from the royal palace, and cut up the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the LORD.
Have a blessed day.

2 Kings 23:3 [King Josiah] went up to the temple of the LORD with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the LORD.
King Josiah is on fire for God. He does everything in his considerable power to shine God’s light. He reads the Book of the Covenant to the people. He renews the covenant in the LORD’s presence. The people renew the covenant as well. He tears down all the places dedicated to idols. And yet, his sons, two of whom rule after him in fairly quick succession, are just as evil as so many who came before.
2 Kings 23:4 The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the LORD—to follow the LORD and keep His commands, statues and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to that covenant.
As is often the case right now, I find myself struggling with optimism and pessimism. Josiah, it seems, did so much to move people back to the Lord. The people said all the right things, did all the right things, and yet fully embraced his evil sons when they took the throne. It is easy to be overwhelmed by despair, but the phrase “hold onto hope,” God’s hope, keeps rattling around in my head. 
2 Kings 23:32 [Jehoahaz] did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as his predecessors had done.
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for knowing our hearts. Thank You for the reminder to hold on to Your hope, especially in difficult times. Help us to shine Your light for all to see. Draw us closer. Amen.
2 Kings 23:37 And [Jehoiakim] did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as his predecessors had done.
Have a blessed day.

2 Kings 22:2 [Josiah] did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.
For the first time in a really long time, Judah has a good, godly king. Josiah came to power when he was 8 years old. He should have had a copy of The Book of the Law from the beginning. There should have been one with the king and one in the temple. Yet it seems pretty clear that he hasn’t seen it before Shaphan brings it home, and he realizes pretty immediately the magnitude of his country’s sins against God.
2 Kings 22:8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the LORD.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it.
As I think through the rules, laws, and commandments, I can boil it down pretty simply to “Love God. Love others.” And yet, as I think back over the last 24 hours, I can identify several times that my attitude or my thoughts were less than loving. And I didn’t even leave the house yesterday. My point is that God’s law hasn’t been hidden from me. I actively seek Him every day, and still I fall short of His goal to love Him and love others. Jesus, Help me.
2 Kings 22:10 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the reminder that I am to love You and love others, in my thoughts, words, and actions. Forgive me for the many, many times I fall short of that goal. Help me to keep striving. Draw me closer to You. Amen.
2 Kings 22:19 “Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people…and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the LORD.”
Have a blessed day

2 Kings 21:2 [Manasseh] did evil in the eyes of the LORD, following the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
This chapter in 2 Kings focuses on King Manasseh, one of THE worst kings. His practices were detestable. His example led his people deep into idol worship. There seems to be nothing redeeming in his reign or his person, but God….
2 Kings 21:3 He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected alters to Baal and made an Asherah pole, as King Ahab of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them.
Commentary says that Manasseh did eventually find God and repented earnestly, one lost lamb returned to the fold. But he had done so much damage. And his people, even his own son, never did repent. However, his grandson will become one of the best kings of all times. Beauty from ashes. Thank You, Jesus.
2 Kings 21:10-11 The LORD said through His servants the prophets: “Manasseh king of Judah has committed these detestable sins. He has done more evil than the Amorites who preceded him and has led Judah into sin with his idols.”
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You that You can bring beauty from ashes. Thank You for loving us and pursuing us relentlessly. Thank You for Your compassion and mercy. Help us to live for You. Always. Amen.
2 Kings 21:12 “Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.”
Have a blessed day.

2 Kings 20:1 …“This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die….”
It is easy for me to cling to God when life is falling apart. When He is the only thing helping me take my next breath, my next step, my need for Him, my praise for Him, my gratitude for His mercies are front and center in my mind. I definitely see this with King Hezekiah in this chapter. 
2 Kings 20:2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD….
But when Hezekiah is given 15 more years to live, when the Babylonian envoys come with well wishes, thoughts of God are far from him. Hezekiah delights in showing *his* storehouses, *his* armory, and *his* kingdom. God, who granted him 15 more years, doesn’t even seem to enter his mind and certainly isn’t part of his conversation. I want to stand in judgement of Hezekiah, but I know the human temptation to relegate God to seasons of need. Jesus, Help me.
2 Kings 20:12-13 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of Hezekiah’s illness. Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine olive oil—his armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the reminder that being mindful of You every hour of every day is a gift and a practice that must be cultivated. I know that every good thing comes from You. I know that even the bad things draw me closer to You. Help me keep You first always. Help Your praises always be on my lips. Draw me closer. Help me to shine Your light every second of every day. Amen.
2 Kings 20:15 …Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”
Have a blessed day.

2 Kings 19:4 It may be that the LORD your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that He will rebuke him for the words the LORD has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.
And now King Hezekiah has his feet back under him, his eyes back on God. In this chapter, he provides a good roadmap of what to do: Seek the LORD and His people. Ask for guidance and prayer. Bring all Your troubles before the LORD and allow Him to work.
2 Kings 19:5-6 When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.’”
How differently my default reaction would have been. There would have been a lot of sputtering and personal affront. I would have brought it before the LORD, but I would have taken it away with me to stew some more. Jesus, Help me.
2 Kings 19:14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the faithful example of Hezekiah in this chapter. Help me, always, to bring my troubles to You and leave them at Your feet. Draw me closer. Amen.
2 Kings 19:15 And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: “LORD, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.”
Have a blessed day.