We have all lived long enough to know that when two opposing forces or nations are attacked; they unite as one when faced with a common enemy. This was certainly the case for God’s people, divided for centuries into two kingdoms; Judah in Jerusalem and Israel in Samaria.  The opposing force where the evil nations around them who powerfully overtook them. And God allowed it.

As God foretold; the sins of His people were many and were multiplying exponentially. “Evil desire gives birth to sin which leads to death.” (James 1:15) The results of their sins caused death and destruction of all that is good.  A few kings, mostly from Judah, “did what was right in the eyes of God” but were not completely perfect. Pride in doing good would cause them to take credit for all God did. Pride would then bring shame to their families and cause others to sin to cover up their sins. In our study of the Kings, we realize how quickly we can turn from God to satisfy our selfish natures. 

The Laws of God were set aside and eventually forgotten.  The Big Ten Commandments given to them by Moses were broken daily from the inside out and outside in.  Some of the sins of the kings of Israel and the evil kings of Judah which caused all people to sin included;

• Worshiping of all the idols of other nations who were evil and opposed to God
• Building high places to burn incense and worship the stars
• The worship of Baal and other idols in the Temple of God! Evil Kings had the audacity to move God’s altar aside to accommodate altars to Baal!
• Outside the Temple, God’s people got caught up in the customs and cultures of the godless nations who surrounded and lived among them.
• God’s people, whose hearts were eventually far from Him, adopted the ritualistic sacrifice of their own children as this was a requirement of the worship of other gods by throwing their children into a bonfire! 
• God’s people turned to murder, rape, ravaging the helpless, while stealing whatever their hearts desired—for their hearts were far from God! 

As you have probably figured out, this will not end well! This is not good for you, says God! Turn from your wicked ways and turn back to Me! God warns His people for a full century about these decadent detestable behaviors not of Him with a promise of discipline. Now it is time, after repeated warnings, to fulfill what God promised.

This discipline from God is not what He wants for His people but He knows what they need to turn from evil and turn back to the One who has never stopped loving them with “compassions that fail not.” Lamentations 3:22-23

Great is God’s faithfulness even when we are not faithful to Him.

2 Kings 24

During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded the land, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. But then he turned against Nebuchadnezzar and rebelled. ² The Lord sent Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite and Ammonite raiders against him to destroy Judah, in accordance with the word of the Lord proclaimed by his servants the prophets. 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, ⁴ including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive.

⁵ As for the other events of Jehoiakim’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ⁶ Jehoiakim rested with his ancestors. And Jehoiachin his son succeeded him as king.

⁷ The king of Egypt did not march out from his own country again, because the king of Babylon had taken all his territory, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

Jehoiachin King of Judah

⁸ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem. ⁹ He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father had done.

¹⁰ At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem and laid siege to it, ¹¹ and Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city while his officers were besieging it. ¹² Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his attendants, his nobles and his officials all surrendered to him.

In the eighth year of the reign of the king of Babylon, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. ¹³ As the Lord had 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. ¹⁴ He carried all Jerusalem into exile: all the officers and fighting men, and all the skilled workers and artisans—a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest people of the land were left.

¹⁵ Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. He also took from Jerusalem to Babylon the king’s mother, his wives, his officials and the prominent people of the land. ¹⁶ The king of Babylon also deported to Babylon the entire force of seven thousand fighting men, strong and fit for war, and a thousand skilled workers and artisans. ¹⁷ He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Zedekiah King of Judah

¹⁸ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. ¹⁹ He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰ It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence.

The Fall of Jerusalem

Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Stay tuned for what lies ahead in the Babylonian captivity! —God’s discipline for His beloved people.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We can continue to live in a fallen state of heart, mind and soul that consistently seek self satisfaction which leads to a depressed state of mind that wants more and more self gratification; or we can run, not walk, first to Jesus who with outstretched arms is ready to forgive us and reconcile (reconnect) us back to God. There are only two choices. Who will you choose? Darkness or Light? Death or Life?

That which “caused the heart of God to burn with anger” were sins that destroyed His relationship with His people which led them to love less and sin more.  Sin breaks the heart of God because His desire is to give His best to us.  When we refuse all His blessed gifts; His righteous anger burns because we are saying no to the best of all He has to give!  God loves us that much and more!

As parents, we can understand this “heart condition.” We tell our kids not to run out into the street with a warning; you might get hit by a car!  We teach “do not play with matches” with the warning; you could start a fire you cannot control and cause harm to you and others. Or maybe we give them the gift that long for but now decide it’s not for them. A sadness comes over us when they do not return the love and provisions we have for them.

God did and does the same as our loving Father. He warned His people repeatedly through his prophets to His beloved people to stop worshiping idols who cannot hear and cannot do anything for you and turn your hearts back to me who has all and desires to provide all you need! 

God still does that today through his prophets who proclaim Truth with the right path to walk with God in His ways that empower us to be more like the God who created us “in His own image”!  In fact, God gave us authority through Jesus, His Son, to be proclaimers, too!  (See Matthew 28:20; 2 Corinthians 5:20)  All who believe are saved. All who are saved are proclaimers of the Savior and Lord of our lives!

God gave His People (Israel and Judah) many opportunities to turn from evil that only produces violence against His created; but they no longer listened. 

As we have also experienced as parents, when we nag with repeated warnings to stop doing those things that are not good for them and that cause pain to others around them, while stunting their growth as maturing adults; they no longer listen until the promised punishment for the wrong is delivered.  We discover quickly we must live what we preach as we love, discipline, and forgive our children.  Since we are not perfect; God also provides us with the opportunity to teach forgiveness to our children by pointing the way to the One who was/is and always will be perfect—Jesus who forgave and forgives us.  We forgive because He forgave.

God warned the people for over one hundred years that continued disobedience would lead to disaster. We get into trouble when we forget what God has done for us.  “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) But God made a way for us to come back to Him with full pardon—His Name is Jesus.

CONSIDER THIS THOUGHT—

The people who led Israel and Judah astray were conformists, weak people who followed the crowd and pleased the people. God warned them of their folly by raising up men and women who were distinctively different and sought to please the Lord, but these faithful witnesses were ignored, abused, and martyred.

At this critical time in our history, God is seeking dedicated, distinctive people—not cookie-cutter, carbon-copy Christians. Friendship with the world is enmity with God (James 4:4), and to love the world and trust it is to lose the love of the Father (1 John 2:15–17). We are to be living sacrifices for the Lord (Romans 12:1, 2), distinctive people whose lives and witness point to Christ and shine like lights in the darkness.      –Warren Wiersbe, Wiersbe Study Bible

Lord,

I offer my life to you, all that I am with all that you have given to me.  Make we a vessel of your love, mercy, and grace.  May your glory be seen in me as I proclaim You as Truth, the Only Way, to Eternal Life now and forever!

In Jesus Name, Amen