Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 109, 2 Kings 24-25
In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. And he burned the house of the LORD and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile.
2 Kings 25:8-11 ESV
Don’t lose hope! The Lord is still on His throne! Jesus is still the KING of Kings!
Keep going, and keep reading … The story isn’t finished yet.
Don’t Lose Hope! The Story Isn’t Finished! 2 Kings 24-25
He Will Hold Me Fast – Sovereign Grace Music T4G
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And [King Josiah] deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem … And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the LORD, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the LORD… and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba.
2 Kings 23:5-8 ESV
Today’s passage about godly King Josiah pointed me to the KING of Kings, Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew 5:29 ESV, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.”
And again in Matthew 18:7-9 ESV, “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.”
Let’s be SERIOUS about those temptations that lead US to sin, as well as those people who lead OTHERS to sin.
“Now, O LORD, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.”
And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him: “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.”
2 Kings 20:3-6 ESV
God Hears the Prayers of His People – 2 Kings 20-21. FormerAtheist58
Our Father – Don Moen
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The enemy lies, deceives, and accuses, all while promising blessing. How do we fight back?
Pray. Pray. And pray!
And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said:
“O LORD, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God.
Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed.
So now, O LORD our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone.”
2 Kings 19:19 ESV
The Tactics of the Enemy vs The Faith of the Redeemed – 2 Kings 18-19. FormerAtheist58
His Glory And My Good – CityAlight (Lyric video)
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So these nations feared the LORD and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children’s children—as their fathers did, so they do to this day.
2 Kings 17:41 ESV
The world says you can have it all. That’s not true. You can’t worship the one true God while still worshipping the world, its idols, and its ways.
You have to make a choice. Like Joshua said, “Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15)
Who can remember all these kings’ names? Are Joash and Jehoash the same man? What about Joram and Jehoram, or Azariah and Uzziah? And wait – Is he a king over Israel or Judah? I’m so confused.
But … Listen … There’s ONE name that matters most. The ONE name by which we must be saved.
Here’s my thought for today: Don’t Quit! Mom-life is hard. Wife-life is hard. Following Christ is hard. Don’t quit.
And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The LORD’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.” And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”
2 Kings 13:17-19 ESV
Don’t Quit! FormerAtheist58
He will Hold Me Fast – Getty and Selah
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If you want GOD to reign in your life, you have to put His enemies to death. If you want GOD to be your King, you can’t let sin and Satan keep having dominion over your life.
2 Kings 11:12-15a ESV — Then he brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him and gave him the testimony. And they proclaimed him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!” When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she went into the house of the LORD to the people. And when she looked, there was the king standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets. And Athaliah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!” Then Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains who were set over the army, “Bring her out between the ranks, and put to death with the sword anyone who follows her.”
Colossians 3:5-8 ESV — Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
Romans 8:13 ESV — For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Romans 6:11-14 ESV — So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
But Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin—that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel and in Dan.
2 Kings 10:28-29 ESV
Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your Holy Spirit who brings conviction of sin and Your Living Word that pierces our hearts like a skilled surgeon removing a cancerous tumor. Thank You for the body of Christ, for those iron sharpening iron relationships that are so essential in this dark world. Grant us wisdom to know when to admonish the idle and when to encourage the fainthearted. May we help the weak and restore with gentleness the repentant, remembering our own need for help and restoration. In the Name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, we pray. Amen.
Beware of Hating Other’s Sins while Overlooking Your Own – 2 Kings 10 – FormerAtheist58
Matthew West – Good (Lyric Video)
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When I was an atheist, it sometimes felt like Christians WANTED me to “get what I deserved.” That was not Elisha’s reaction.
And the man of God [Elisha] wept. And Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women.”
2 Kings 8:11b-12 ESV
Seeing Elisha weep over the destruction coming to the people of Israel reminded of Ezekiel 33:11, “As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?”
Heavenly Father, Give us a love for the lost. May our hearts break for them. May our love for our neighbor drive us onto our knees and out of our front doors. May we not rejoice in the death of the wicked, but desire earnestly for them to repent and be saved. May we remember that it is only by Your grace that any of us can be saved. Thank You for Your mercy and love. In the Name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, we pray. Amen.
Elisha Wept. Do We? – 2 Kings 8-9 – FormerAtheist58
Jesus is Coming Back Soon – Forrest Frank & Josiah Queen
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