“’Tis grace has brought me safe thus far And grace will lead me home.” —John Newton Imagine the view from heaven as the Books of the Kings conclude. Jerusalem is a ruin. The holy vessels lie at Shinar, in the house of Nebuchadnezzar’s god. No sweet savor arises to Your nostrils from the Great Altar […]
Some battles we lose because the enemy is strong; some are lost because we simply run away. The siege of Jerusalem was over. The walls had been breached, and the royal family decimated. Now “in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of […]
The last ruling priest (Eli), the last judge (Samson), the last king—all blind. And the last church? (Rev 3:17). The Babylonian army built a siege wall around Jerusalem and then sat down to watch the city die. Due to Hezekiah’s forethought, the inhabitants had access to water which ran from the Gihon Spring through a […]
Events are happening quickly as the foundations crumble under Judah. It’s kingdoom time! Jehoiachin, Judah’s penultimate king, also called Jeconiah or Coniah, has been so evil, abetting the kingdom’s hopeless unravelling, that God solemnly declares, “Write this man down as childless, a man who shall not prosper in his days; for none of his descendants […]
Many Christians, in spite of confessing their sins to the Lord, feel constantly condemned. But, says John, even “if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart” (1 Jn 3:20). In fact, adds Paul, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). How can this be? […]
Strange how the people must be taken far away to discover what He had given them back at home. “Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king” (2 Ki 23:36), and was dead by age 36. During that time, he was enthroned and renamed by Pharaoh Necho of Egypt, becoming his chief fund-raiser in […]
The world wants you to be sophisticated; God wants you to keep it simple. This story explains what He means. […]
We’re now beginning to see the dominos fall in Judah. But this isn’t random. It’s God’s hand of judgment. With Josiah “buried…in his own tomb…the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king” (2 Ki 23:30). At age 23, Jehoahaz should have known better, but “he did […]