2 Kings review

In 2nd Kings, we have a continuation of the record of the kings of Judah and Israel until they were taken away captive out of the Promised Land.  Elijah, one of God's great prophets was still active in the beginning of the book, but the people often didn't listen to him or even wanted to destroy him, but God always protected him.  If we are faithful to God, He will always protect us spiritually.  We have the passing of the mantel of Elijah to Elisha, who became God's prophet after Elijah was taken up into heaven.  Elijah was the second and only other man we know of who didn't die, following Enoch.  We know that God is always going to have someone called to replace His leaders in the church when they die or retire, if the person He has called will be obedient to His call.  Unless Jesus Christ returns first, we will all face physical death one day, but our spirit will be in heaven forever with God if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ.  As followers of Christ, as long as we are here, we have a purpose in God's kingdom.  We have the record of the little children mocking Elisha and their destruction because of their actions.  We cannot mock God's preachers and teachers today and expect to never be held responsible for our actions.  I believe their destruction was not because Elisha was so important personally, but because he was God's representative.  We should never believe that we are more important to God than anyone else, even the worst of sinner, but we also should never allow people to speak evil of God's people without calling them out for doing so, because if they do, they are showing dishonor to God.  We have a record of the continuation of the divided kingdom, even though they should have been united as God's people.  As Christians, we are all a part of the family of God, but too often we are divided in our actions for Him.  We need to learn to be faithful to God not only individually but as the church collectively, and if we are, there should be no divisions and fighting amongst ourselves.  We find in both kingdoms that practices of worship were not in accordance with God's word, at times through the worship of idols and at times by worshipping in places that God had not established as places of worship.  We should certainly never allow the worship of idols, which is anything that we put our faith in other than Jesus Christ, to exist in our lives.  When we do establish a place to come together as Christians to worship God, we need to make sure that it is by His direction and that nothing that is not in accordance with His word is allowed to go on there when we do gather together to worship Him.

2 Kings 25:22

2 Kings 25:22 says, And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler. Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah as the ruler over those left in Judah.  These were the poor people who were considered unimportant and of no threat to Babylon.  We may be poor and unimportant in the eyes of the world, but as Christians, we should always be a threat to their evil ways.  I don't believe we should ever just sit back and do nothing because it is safer to do so, but we must always act under the power and authority of the Holy Spirit.  Verse twenty-three adds, And when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.  We are that all the captains of the armies and their men came against Gedaliah, who Matthew Henry said was probably a better ruler than most of their own kings had been.  Verse twenty-four continues, And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you.  Gedaliah told them to be patient and dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon and everything would be well with them.  Nothing is said about them being prevented from worshipping God.  If our worship of God is not threatened by the government, I believe the Bible clearly states that we are to be obedient to it. Verse twenty-five states, But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah.  Ishmael and ten men came to Gedaliah and killed him.  Then, Ishmael and those with him as well as the Chaldeans that were with him went to Mizpah. This had been an important place to Israel, and they went back there, but it is God Who makes places great, and not just the physical location itself.  Wherever we are as followers of Christ is just as important as any other place, as long as we are obedient to God.  Verse twenty-six continues, And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees.  We are told that all the people, both great and small, came to Egypt because they were afraid of the Chaldeans.  God had delivered them from bondage in Egypt and brought them to the Promised Land, and now they were willingly returning to Egypt.  If we are a follower of Christ, we have been delivered from the power of sin, but we can still willingly let it back into our life.  Verse twenty-seven says, And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;  Thirty-seven years after Jehoiachin had been imprisoned, Evilmerodach, Nebuchadnezzar's son and successor as king of Babylon brought him out of  prison.  He had surrendered willing and had been imprisoned for a long time, but he was still alive.  We really aren't told if he ever repented and followed God or not, but at least he had plenty of time to think about it.  If we were to be imprisoned for our faith in God, we must stay faithful to Him, whether Jehoiachin did or not.  One day, we will be set completely free from the power of sin and free to worship God forevermore.   Verse twenty-eight adds, And he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon;  The king of Babylon then set Jehoiachin on a throne that was above even the other kings around him.  We who were imprisoned by sin, if we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, are set free and can come and dine at the King's table, or with God Himself.  Verse twenty-nine continues, And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life.  Matthew Henry says that Jehoiachin had his prison garb changed to royal robes, and this is what happens to us when we become a follower of Christ.  Verse thirty concludes, And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.  Jehoiachin had a daily allowance for the rest of his life.  He was not given a great amount to last for a long time, but a daily rate.  God will provide for our needs spiritually ever day of our life as long as we are obedient to Him.  God does not promise us great material wealth, only what we need daily.

2 Kings 25:18

2 Kings 25:18 says, And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:  The Babylonians began to gather the religious leaders, starting with Seraiah the chief priest and the second priest and three keepers of the door.  Matthew Henry says that Seraiah seems to have been Ezra's father, so his death which we see happened soon, did not stop his son from becoming a great man of God.  God's work will always continue until the return of Jesus Christ, no matter how many of His people may be killed.  Verse nineteen adds, And out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king's presence, which were found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, which mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the people of the land that were found in the city:  They continued by gathering the military leaders in Jerusalem as well as the scribe.  We cannot expect our military leaders to deliver us from the power of evil in the world today if we do not follow put faith in God and follow His commandments.  Verse twenty continues, And Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah: Nebuzaradan took these men and brought them to the king of Babylon in Riblah.  God had brought the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and had brought them into the Promised Land with the understanding that they would be faithful to Him, and they had failed to do so.  Now, they were being led out of the Promised Land and into captivity in Babylon, if they were allowed to live at all.  The only way we can escape the coming judgment of God is to accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord and put our faith in Him no matter what.  Verse thirty-one adds, And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land.  We are told that these men were slain at Riblah.  Though they were God's Chosen People, they had continually refused to be obedient to Him, so now He allowed them to be taken captive once more.  As followers of Christ, we are a part of God's Chosen People, but if we allow sin back into our lives, He may remove His protective hand from us.  Even if we do remain faithful, at times He may not prevent us from being punished or even killed by those in power, but if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, we will always be a part of His Kingdom, no matter what may happen to us in this lifetime.

2 Kings 25:8

 2 Kings 25:8 says, And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:  In the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuzaradan came to Jerusalem.  The city of Jerusalem had not immediately been destroyed when the people finally surrendered, but Nebuzaradan came now about a month later to complete the destruction.  Of course, without God's people there, it was just buildings, except that God had made Jerusalem special to Himself.  If we as Christians are taken away captive, then our church buildings become just buildings, except for the fact that they were dedicated to God.  Verse nine adds, And he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire.  Nebuzaradan burned God's Temple, the king's palace, the houses of the great men of Jerusalem, and all the houses of Jerusalem.  Nothing was spared.  Without God's protection and His people there, Jerusalem was defenseless, and so are we as Christians today.  Anytime we as individuals or as a nation turn away from God and His commandments, we become defenseless spiritually if not physically.  Verse ten continues, And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.  After the buildings were burned, the walls of Jerusalem be broken down.  Matthew Henry points out the Temple had stood for 420 or 430 years according to who is counting them, but now God did not spare it.  If we as a nation turn away from God, we should not expect Him to continue to protect us, no matter how long He may have been doing so.  Verse eleven states, Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away.  Nebuzaradan then carried the rest of the people of importance away in captivity.  No one who was considered to be of importance was left.  If people considered to be of importance to God were carried away today, would we be carried away with them or would we be considered of no importance?  Verse twelve adds, But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.  The poor people were left to be vinedressers and husbandmen.  At least the poor people weren't carried away captive, even if they were left in positions of serving those who had defeated them.  We would be better off being poor and not carried away in captivity to some other force in the world and having to serve them physically than we would be if we were completely taken away from a place where God is known to be the ultimate power.  Verse thirteen continues, And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the Lord, and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the Lord, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon.  The Babylonians broke up all the things made of brass in the Temple and took the brass back to Babylon.  They had no fear of destroying the things dedicated to God and to His worship services, and people of the world today still have no fear of destroying things that are dedicated to God and our worship of Him.  Of course, if nearly all the Christians have been taken away captive, as the people of Israel were, then there wouldn't be much need of things that were dedicated to worshipping God.  Verse fourteen says, And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.  Verse fifteen adds, And the firepans, and the bowls, and such things as were of gold, in gold, and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.  These two verses continue to list the things that had been made to be used in worshipping God that were taken away from Jerusalem.  In many places in the world today, those in power still attempt to take away anything that is associated with the worship of God, but they can never take away the Holy Spirit, so as long as we remain true to God, they may take away all our material possessions, but they can never take us away from Him.  Verse sixteen continues, The two pillars, one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord; the brass of all these vessels was without weight.  Verse seventeen concludes, The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the chapiter upon it was brass: and the height of the chapiter three cubits; and the wreathen work, and pomegranates upon the chapiter round about, all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar with wreathen work.  Some of the brass in the Temple was too heavy to even be weighed.  Still, Matthew Henry points out that since the people had profaned the Temple, God no longer protected it and allowed it to be totally destroyed.  No matter how valuable our houses of worship to God may be today, if they are profaned, then they become of no value to God.  It really is the people and not the buildings that make up God's church, and if the people become profane, then we should not be surprised if destruction comes. 

2 Kings 25:1

2 Kings 25:1 says, And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.  In the tenth year of his reign in Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar came with all his troops and besieged Jerusalem.  He came to stay as long as necessary it seems, since he had forts built around Jerusalem.  Those who oppose God and His people today are still willing to dig in and stay for as long as necessary to defeat them, but unlike Jerusalem, spiritually they never will.  Of course, we must remain faithful to God for this to be true, and the people of Jerusalem hadn't. Verse two adds, And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.  Jerusalem was besieged for about two years.  I have to wonder if the people inside had turned to God in true repentance and asked Him for deliverance if the siege would have gone on this long, but since they had rejected Him so many times, we will never know.  If we as followers of Christ are besieged by sinful forces in the world today, all we can do is repent of any sin in our life and ask God to deliver us.  Of course, spiritually, He already has.  Verse three continues, And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.  After being besieged for so long, the people of Jerusalem ran out of bread.  These were God's Chosen People that He had fed with bread from heaven in the wilderness, and now in the land flowing with milk and honey that He had given them, due to their disobedience they were starving.  We as Christians should never find ourselves spiritually starving because we have access to the Living Bread.  Verse four states, And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.  The people inside, starting with all the men of war, slipped out of the city and Zedekiah the king did as well.  If we find ourselves spiritually starving because of being besieged by the power of evil in the world, we don't need to try and slip away, but we must stand firm in our faith in God.  Our King will never desert us.  Verse five adds, And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.  Zedekiah and his army were not successful in getting away.  The army of the Chaldeans overtook the king in the plains of Jerico.  We are never going to be successful in trying to escape from the forces of evil by our own strength, but we must always look to God for deliverance.  Verse six adds, So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.  Zedekiah was brought to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah, and judgment was passed on him.  The only judgment we should ever be concerned about as followers of Christ is God's judgment, and if we have truly accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we have already been pronounced not guilty.  Verse seven states, And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.  All of Zedekiah's sons were killed as he watched, then his eyes were put out, and he was put in brass fetters and carried to Babylon.  Think about the last thing that you see being your children put to death, and then you are left alive to remember it.  Zedekiah, due to his disobedience to God, was about as far removed from being a king as he could be and still be alive.  We need to acknowledge that the world can be a cruel place, sometimes especially to Christians, but we must never lose our faith in Jesus Christ.   

2 Kings 24:8

 2 Kings 24:8 says, Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.  Jehoiachin only ruled for three months, which was one of the shorter reigns.  We have no assurance of how long we will live, so we need to come to Christ for salvation as soon as we hear the gospel.  Putting it off might leave us forever lost.  Verse nine adds, And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.  Of course, Jehoiachin did not come to God at all, but did evil in His sights as his father had done.  People tend to follow the example of their parents, but not always.  Still, we as followers of Jesus Christ need to try to live our lives in a way that will point our children to Him.  There are plenty of people who will point them away from Him.  Verse ten continues, At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.  During Jehoiachin's brief reign, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem.  This is where God's Chosen People lived, and yet they had failed to live up to their covenant with Him.  As Christians, we enter into a covenant relationship with God through our faith in Jesus Christ, and we need to live in obedience to that covenant through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Even if we do, we will likely be besieged by evil many times in our life.  Verse eleven states, And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it.  This verse repeats the fact that Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem.  Verse twelve adds, And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.  Jehoiachin, when he heard that the king of Babylon had himself come against Jerusalem, he immediately surrendered.  When we face evil in the world today, if we do not put our faith in God, we will never be able to stand against it.  Verse thirteen continues, And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said.  Nebuchadnezzar took away all the treasures of the house of God and even cut in pieces the vessels of gold that Solomon had made under God's direction.  He had no respect for God nor fear of Him.  There are many countries today that try to remove even any reference to God from their culture, because they have no respect for or fear of Him, but we need to pray that we who call ourselves a Christian nation never become that way.  All this was happening because those who were called God's people had turned away from Him.  Verse fourteen declares, And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.  Nebuchadnezzar carried away all the people of Jerusalem, including what were referred to as their mighty men of valor, and left only the poorest sort of people in the land.  In this case, it would seem that being poor would have been a blessing, because the poorest weren't carried away captive.  People may think of themselves as mighty men of valor, but if they are not putting their faith in God, they may find themselves captive to someone who is more powerful.  Verse fifteen adds, And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.  Jehoiachin and all his family, officers, and mighty men were carried away to Babylon.  If we don't put our faith in Jesus Christ, we will always be a captive of sin, and we may lead others around us to be also.  Verse sixteen continues, And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.  Those who should have stood up and fought against Nebuchadnezzar surrendered without a fight.  I believe that too often as Christians we give up the fight against sin in the world.  Verse seventeen says, And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.  Nebuchadnezzar appointed Jehoiachin's uncle king of Jerusalem in place of him.  Matthew Henry said Jehoiachin was childless, so this was a further indication of how powerless he was.  The people of the world, those who do not believe in God, will always try to have people in power who do not believe in Him either.  The new kings name was changed to Zedekiah, Matthew Henry says to show Nebuchadnezzar's power over him.  Verse eighteen adds, Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.  Zedekiah reigned for eleven years, but he was still under the power of Nebuchadnezzar.  We are either going to be under the power of Satan or under the power of God.  Even if we reach great heights of power, we will still be under the power of one or the other of these two.  There really is no neutral ground.  Verse nineteen continues, And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.  Zedekiah continued to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord, even though he had seen the devastating effects of doing so.  Even as they see the devastating effects of sin ruling their lives, many people still choose to repent and turn to God for salvation.  Verse twenty concludes, For through the anger of the Lord it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.  Though he didn't repent and turn to God for help, Zedekiah eventually rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.  Unless we turn to God for salvation and deliverance from the power of sin, we may rebel against someone in power over us, but even if we are successful in defeating them, we are still lost and doomed spiritually.

2 Kings 24:1

2 Kings 24:1 says, In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.  Jehoiakim became a servant of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, for three years, and then he rebelled.  Matthew Henry says that Jehoiakim had been subjected to Nebuchadnezzar for a period of time, then Nebuchadnezzar had restored him to power with a promise from Jehoiakim that he would be loyal to him, and then Jehoiakim rebelled.   No matter how powerful a ruler may be today, we as Christians cannot afford to become their servants instead of being God's servants.  We must always stand in opposition to anyone teaching something that is not in accordance with God's word, no matter what it may cost us, and we should never enter into pacts with them to start with just to give us more freedom or power.  Verse two adds, And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants the prophets.  We are told that God then sent several countries against Judah to destroy it as His prophets had said would happen.  Had he remained true to Nebuchadnezzar, he would have been better off than he was when he rebelled.  If we simply rebel against those who are in power in the world so that we may have freedom and power without turning to God for support, we may end up worse off than we were before. Verse three continues, Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;  We are the told that the commandment of the Lord came upon Judah to remove them because of the sins of Manasseh for his idolatry and the people following him in that idolatry.  It had been several years since this prophesy, and Josiah had been the best king at following God's commandments, but I don't believe that most of the people ever did.  What we can be sure of is that God's promised judgment is going to come, no matter how many years it takes, and we just have to be faithful to Jesus Christ as long as we live or until He returns.  We will never find assurance and security anywhere else but in our faith in Him.  Verse four states, And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the Lord would not pardon.  There is then the added reason why God had pronounced His judgment on Manasseh, and that was because he had shed innocent blood.  I believe innocent blood would be the blood of those who were faithful to God or the very young, since we are only innocent until we know right from wrong and if we repent and put our faith in Jesus Christ once we do.  We will never be innocent in God's eyes any other way.  Verse five adds, Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?  As always with the kings of Israel and Judah, we are told that the rest of the works of Jehoiakim were recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings.  Verse six continues, So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.  After Jehoiakim died, his son Jehoiachin became king.   God's promise that Judah would be destroyed because of the sins of Manasseh and the people following him in those sins still had not totally come to pass, but that didn't make it less certain that it would happen.  No matter how long it may be before it happens, we can be certain that God's ultimate judgment is coming.  Verse seven concludes, And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt.  Judah didn't have to worry about Egypt at this time, nor could they enter into an agreement with him for protection, because the king of Babylon had taken all the land of Egypt near them.  Just because the threat from one powerful enemy may end, that doesn't mean we are safe, because a more powerful one may have taken his place.  The only way to have real security in this old sinful world is by putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.