LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Aug. 29: Despite disobedience, God offers new beginnings_82304

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Posted: 8/20/04

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Aug. 29

Despite disobedience, God offers new beginnings

2 Kings 23:36-25:30

By David Morgan

Trinity Baptist Church, Harker Heights

God's people can never presume upon God's blessings and deliverance. Nurturing a relationship with God requires commitment and obedience.

God's prophets frequently had urged Judah to return to God to escape judgment. But the nation insisted upon doing things its way. Now the end was near. With Josiah's death came the end of Judah's hope and freedom. Four kings reigned after him, but not one could reverse the godlessness that resulted in exile.

Destiny arrives

Jehoahaz, Josiah's son, reigned only three months before Pharaoh Neco replaced him with Eliakim. Neco displayed his mastery over Judah by changing Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim and forcing him to pay heavy tribute.

Jehoiakim's foreign policy had three phases: paying tribute to Egypt; serving Babylon's king, Nebuchadnezzar; and revolting against Babylon. Jehoiakim seemed swayed by appearances of political power and may have stopped his tribute-paying service to Nebuchadnezzar when Egypt temporarily regained military advantage. A deportation of leading citizens, including Daniel and his friends, occurred during the third year of his reign (Daniel 1:1).

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Rebellion against Babylon brought swift reprisal. Babylon's vassal nations–Moab, Ammon and Aramea–attacked Judah. God was using Judah's enemies to destroy the land in response to the divine pronouncement of destruction. Prophets repeatedly warned the nation God would punish the people for breaking the covenant.

God's judgment, not the military supremacy of enemies, caused Judah's destruction. Verses 3-4 specifically connect the attacks with God's word that the Lord would destroy the nation because of Manasseh's wickedness (2 Kings 21:11-13; 23:26). “At the command” literally reads “according to the mouth of Yahweh.”

God no longer would forgive Judah and overlook its sins. Some people struggle with the notion that God may not forgive. God did not relent because the nation did not repent. God's judgment was inevitable. During this period, Jeremiah declared the need for Judah to prepare for defeat and exile.

The particular word for “forgive” also was used in Solomon's prayers when he dedicated the temple (1 Kings 8:30). He asked God to forgive the people when they turned to the temple and prayed for forgiveness. But this prayer assumed something the people refused to do–obey God. Judah could still boast of the temple's presence but not of God's protection. The people had presumed upon the presence of God as symbolized by the temple to protect them from their enemies. They were mistaken. Moses had warned them that disobedience would bring about the destruction of their land (Deuteronomy 29:24-28).

The motions of prayer and worship are not sufficient for God's favor. The Lord may be gracious, but disobedience brings judgment.

Fellowship departs

Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem while Jehoiakim was king and captured it from Jehoiachin, three months after Jehoiakim's death. The temple and the city itself were spared destruction this time. The Babylonians deported the king and apparently treated him well. About 10,000 other people, including leaders and artisans, also were taken.

The narrator offered God's appraisal of the political situation in verse 20. The attackers were agents who carried out God's judgment against the people for their unfaithfulness and disobedience.

Zedekiah, who replaced Jehoiachin as king, failed to learn the lessons of history. He, too, rebelled against Babylon. Nebuzaradan, Nebuchadnezzar's aide, besieged Jerusalem. The city fell about 18 months later. The Babylonians burned the temple, broke down Jerusalem's walls and deported more of its residents.

God had abandoned the nation to its enemies, because his anger burned against them for their disobedience. God was actually fighting against Judah. The Lord would renew fellowship with them and restore them to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile.

Hope remains

Destruction and exile are not God's final word. The narrator ended his account of Judah's history with a glimmer of hope. After 37 years of exile, Nebuchadnezzar's successor, Evil-merodach, freed Jehoiachin from prison. Precisely what this release meant is not obvious. On the one hand, eating at Evil-morodach's table allowed the Babylonians to observe him and exercise some control over him. On the other hand, the conditions of the release suggest Jehoiachin may have regained some leadership and involvement in the affairs of the exiles. It appears that in some way he resumed, even in exile, his role as Judah's king.

The Lord was not yet finished with the covenant people. God kept watch over them to preserve them. God would lead many of their descendants to return to Jerusalem, where they would rebuild both city and temple.

God is always in control. Grace is God's final word. While we can never presume upon God's graciousness, the Lord offers forgiveness and new beginnings.

Question for discussion

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