2 Kings
23:4-30 - In 18:5, we read about Hezekiah; ‘There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him’. Here, we read about something rather different - ‘Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him’(25). This seems confusing: Which was the better king - Hezekiah or Josiah? We need to look more closely at these statements. Hezekiah is commended for his trust in the Lord - ‘’Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel’ (18:5). Josiah is commended for his obedience to God. His actions were ‘according to all the law of Moses’ (25). Trust and obedience belong together. Hezekiah’s faith led to obedience (18:6). By his obedience, Josiah showed that he had ‘turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might’ (25). We need both - trust and obedience.
23:4-30 - In 18:5, we read about Hezekiah; ‘There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him’. Here, we read about something rather different - ‘Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him’(25). This seems confusing: Which was the better king - Hezekiah or Josiah? We need to look more closely at these statements. Hezekiah is commended for his trust in the Lord - ‘’Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel’ (18:5). Josiah is commended for his obedience to God. His actions were ‘according to all the law of Moses’ (25). Trust and obedience belong together. Hezekiah’s faith led to obedience (18:6). By his obedience, Josiah showed that he had ‘turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might’ (25). We need both - trust and obedience.
23:31-24:17
- ‘The king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of
valour… all of them strong and fit for war’ (24:16). A prisoner of war
is taken out of the battle. We have been given ‘the whole armour of God’
(Ephesians 6:11,13). We must use ‘the weapons of our warfare’.
We must ‘take every thought captive to obey Christ’ (2 Corinthians
10:3-6). It is not easy to ‘fight the good fight of faith’ (1 Timothy
6:12). Satan wants to make us his prisoners of war. Satan is a very
powerful enemy - ‘the whole world is in the power of the evil one’. We
must live as those who ‘are of God’, firmly convinced that ‘He who is in
us is greater than he who is in the world’ (1 John 6:19; 1:4). The
world seems so strong. The devil seems so powerful. It will not always
be so - ‘Hallelujah!’ (Revelation 16:19; 18:21; 20:10; 19:1,6-7).
24:18-25:30
- ‘Finally, in the end, it came to the point that He cast them out of
His presence’ (24:20). There is a real word of warning here. God is
patient - ‘He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but
everyone to come to repentance’ (2 Peter 3:9). We dare not presume upon
God’s patience: ‘Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase?
God forbid!’ (Romans 6:1-2). There can come a point when God says, ‘This
is the point of no return, the end, the final straw’. This is what
God’s Word says in Romans 1:21-28 - ‘They did not honour God or give
thanks to Him… Therefore God gave them up… They worshipped and served
created things rather than the Creator… For this reason God gave them
up… Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up…’.
Don’t wait until it’s too late. Come to Christ now!
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