Hope During the Exile

2 Kings 25:27-30

 

Well, we have now reached the end of our study of the kings.

 

While it has certainly been enlightening,

We cannot say that it has always been cheerful.

 

The story of the kings is a story of

Wicked kings

Stubborn people

Ignored prophets

And an Angry God

 

That has been clearly seen in the last couple of weeks

As God’s judgment has been poured out upon this group of apostates.

 

God has thoroughly and systematically removed all of Israel

From the promised land and has exiled them into a foreign country.

It has been a difficult judgment to watch.

 

And our lesson has been clear.

Seek God

Trust God

Obey God

Love God

And don’t do any of those things for any other god.

 

And since Israel did not take that advice,

It has been a depressing book to study.

UNTIL TODAY

 

The writer of kings actually concludes this story on a very positive note.

 

And this is good, for even in the midst of the judgment of Israel, God never failed to have words of encouragement.

 

TO ILLUSTRATE THIS BEST,

I want to spend a few minutes in the book of Jeremiah.

 

You know Jeremiah.

He was a prophet who lived in Jerusalem.

He was widely ignored…

He was often persecuted…

But he was extremely faithful.

 

And he was appointed by God to announce the coming doom of Judah,

Which he did faithfully.

 

But it was in the midst of this doom,

That God had some of the brightest words of hope He ever spoken

Through this same prophet.

 

TURN TO: JEREMIAH 29

 

Jeremiah 29 begins with a letter written by Jeremiah to those exiles who were taken over on one of the first two waves. (Remember Nebuchadnezzar took them in three shifts)

 

And Jeremiah’s counsel is that they should dig in

And prepare themselves to be there a while.

READ 29:4-7

 

And so Jeremiah reveals that this judgment is for real,

And it will last a very long time.

 

But it is then, while announcing that discouraging news, that Jeremiah gives a few words of hope.

READ 29:10-14

 

How many times have we quotes that very passage.

It was preached by Jeremiah

In one of the darkest moments of Israel’s history.

 

God promised that what He did, He did for Israel’s good.

It was in her best interest that she go to Babylon.

 

For it would be in Babylon that Israel would finally learn

To seek God and to seek Him with all their heart.

 

And because Israel would finally learn to seek out God,

It would be in Babylon that Israel would finally find Him.

 

(14) “I will be found by you,” declares the LORD”

 

And so Jeremiah was giving some hope in the midst of despair.

 

But that is not the only words of hope Jeremiah had for these judged people.

 

TURN TO: JEREMIAH 31

 

This is another extremely famous passage of Scripture.

 

Again Jeremiah is preaching

During one of the darkest moments in Israel’s history.

 

Most have been killed, many have been exiled, and the city of Jerusalem is under attack, about to fall to Nebuchadnezzar.

It is at this moment that Jeremiah uttered a few more words of hope.

READ 31:31-34

 

It runs very close to the truth we learned in the 29th chapter.

That God was about to do something in their lives

That was truly remarkable.

 

You and I know it as the “New Covenant”

In which salvation no longer depended upon our obedience,

But upon God’s mercy.

 

Even while destroying Jerusalem,

God was promising a day when righteousness

Would be the order of the day and God’s favor would follow.

 

And still God is not finished.

 

TURN TO: JEREMIAH 32

 

There again, if you were to read the entire chapter you would know that God gave a strange command to Jeremiah.

 

He commanded Jeremiah to buy a field in Judah.

You must know that land wasn’t worth much,

Seeing as how Babylon was about to seize it all.

 

Yet God commanded Jeremiah to buy some,

And God had a purpose in this.

READ 32:15

 

The point is that God has a plan to one day bring

A purified and devoted people back to the land of Israel.

READ 32:36-41

 

God again has a message of hope

In the midst of judgment and destruction.

 

Let me show you one more.

TURN TO: JEREMIAH 33

 

If you read the first part of this chapter you will see that

Jeremiah received this prophecy while in prison.

 

Jeremiah appeared to the people to be a traitor, because he prophesied against the city and therefore he was held in custody.

 

But again, during this dark moment God reveals words of hope.

READ 33:14-26

 

The point is that even during Israel’s darkest moments

God never failed to leave them with a promise of hope.

 

Judgment may be coming, but there was always hope

That God would not fully forsake them.

 

God would remember them and God would deliver them.

God never failed to give hope.

 

And therefore it is only fitting that as the writer of kings

Brings this book of warning to a close

That he also end it with a few words of hope.

 

Now the writer of kings doesn’t utter a prophecy,

What he does do is give a real life illustration of God’s plan for Israel is.

 

The writer will focus on the king you and I know as Jehoiakin,

And through his circumstances give us hope as well.

 

Hopefully you remember Jehoiakin.

We covered him quickly.

 

Also called Jeconiah.

 

We called him “The Despised King”

Jeremiah 22:24-30 “As I live,” declares the LORD, “even though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull you off; and I will give you over into the hand of those who are seeking your life, yes, into the hand of those whom you dread, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans. “I will hurl you and your mother who bore you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die. “But as for the land to which they desire to return, they will not return to it. “Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar? Or is he an undesirable vessel? Why have he and his descendants been hurled out And cast into a land that they had not known? “O land, land, land, Hear the word of the LORD! “Thus says the LORD, ‘Write this man down childless, A man who will not prosper in his days; For no man of his descendants will prosper Sitting on the throne of David Or ruling again in Judah.'”

 

This king was despised by God.

This king was promised to have no descendants on the throne.

 

Of all the kings this story could be about,

The writer chooses one that was truly disliked by God.

 

He does so on purpose.

Because if God could show mercy to Jehoiachin

Then certainly He could show mercy to Israel.

 

Lets look at a living picture illustration of what God has planned for Israel.

 

There are four things here that occur for Jehoiachin

#1 HE WAS SET FREE

2 Kings 25:27

 

You immediately notice that we are “in the thirty-seventh year of the exile”

 

That means that Jehoiachin has been in prison for 37 years.

He was taken captive when he was 18, he is now 55

 

He spent his prime years in a Babylonian prison.

 

But now, 37 years into the exile Babylon gets a new king.

Nebuchadnezzar has died and his son Evil-merodach became king.

 

And in that first year, this new king “released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison;”

 

No doubt Nebuchadnezzar had sentenced him for life,

And surely at age 55 Jehoiachin had lost all hope of ever being released.

 

He was a refugee…

He was a criminal…

He was under the wrath of God…

And it must have appeared to him that all hope was lost.

 

Until the unthinkable happened and Jehoiachin was released.

 

But that isn’t all that happened.

 

#2 HE WAS SHOWN FAVOR

2 Kings 25:28

 

Now it is one thing to be released and free to go where you please,

But it appears that Evil-merodach went the extra mile with Jehoiachin.

 

“he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon.”

 

To put it simply, Evil-merodach befriended Jehoiachin.

He just started being nice to him.

 

He even bestowed on him a ceremonial title.

He put him above all the other conquered kings.

 

Certainly this was a “shadow position”

And had no real authority, but what throne isn’t?

 

It must have felt nice to know that he was so popular with the ruler.

 

Jehoiachin was set free Jehoiachin was shown favor

#3 HIS SINS WERE FORGIVEN

2 Kings 25:29

 

The writer reveals that “Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes”

 

This may seem insignificant to you, but I promise you it is anything but.

 

Throughout Scripture garments represent character.

Those seen in filthy garments are seen as wicked and evil.

Those seen in clean garments are seen as righteous.

 

Perhaps you remember Joshua the high priest

When he was being accused by Satan.

 

Zechariah 3:3-4 “Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.”

 

You may also remember the parable of the wedding banquet

Where the man sought to slip into the wedding banquet

Without wedding clothes (i.e. clean garments)

 

In Revelation, those who are saved are those who have been washed.

Revelation 7:13-14 “Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

 

That is why the Psalmist said:

Psalms 96:9 “Worship the LORD in holy attire; Tremble before Him, all the earth.”

 

That is also why when Isaiah preached salvation he said:

Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.”

 

The point is that garments are representative of character

And by allowing Jehoiachin to remove his prison clothes,

It was more than just cleaning up.

 

It was signifying that Jehoiachin had a change in status.

He was no longer to be considered a fugitive,

He was to be considered a friend.

 

Jehoiachin had been forgiven.

 

He was set free He was shown favor His sins were forgiven

#4 HE WAS SAVED FOREVER

2 Kings 25:29b-30

Here we certainly see more about the favor he received.

 

(29) “had his meals in the king’s presence regularly”

(30) “a regular allowance was given him by the king, a portion for each day”

And both of those are absolutely mind boggling.

 

Here is an enemy king, a man in prison,

Being released and treated like a son.

 

And that alone is amazing, but the truly amazing part

Is the duration of each of these benefits.

 

Both of them occurred “all the days of his life;”

 

These benefits never expired.

He never lost his status.

He never lost his provision.

 

He did nothing to deserve it,

But once it was conferred to him, it was his forever.

 

It sort of mirrors that familiar passage:

Psalms 23:6 “Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

 

No doubt you could look at Jehoiachin and say,

“What a lucky guy!”

 

But this story is far from coincidence.

 

Jehoiachin is a prophetic picture of Israel.

He was a despised king – Israel had become a despised nation

He was imprisoned – Israel was in bondage to sin

He was clothed in filthy rags – Israel was also covered in iniquity

He had no worth – Israel did not either

 

Yet, what Evil-merodach did for Jehoiachin,

God was going to do for Israel.

 

God was reminding her of the promises that were given.

God will

Set her Free

Show her Favor

Forgive her Sin

Save her Forever

This story is meant to be beautiful

Because of the horrific backdrop behind it.

 

Israel had done nothing to ever expect

That God would ever be gracious again.

 

But that goes against the nature of our great God.

 

Psalms 103:8-14 “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.”

 

The point here is easy to see.

 

Regardless of how faithful Israel was to God,

God chose to remain faithful to Israel.

 

A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO WE TALKED ABOUT LAMENTATIONS.

 

To keep from falling into the deepest of despair,

Jeremiah focused on God’s faithfulness.

 

Lamentations 3:19-33 “Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers And is bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a man that he should bear The yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone and be silent Since He has laid it on him. Let him put his mouth in the dust, Perhaps there is hope. Let him give his cheek to the smiter, Let him be filled with reproach. For the Lord will not reject forever, For if He causes grief, Then He will have compassion According to His abundant lovingkindness. For He does not afflict willingly Or grieve the sons of men.”

 

It was that passage that inspired Thomas Chisholm to write these words:

 

“Great is Thy faithfulness, O God, my Father, there is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not; As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.”

 

“Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!”

 

The lesson learned is that God is faithful even when we are not.

2 Timothy 2:11-13 “It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”

 

Boy did Israel ever learn that.

They brought upon themselves the judgment of God

Because they denied Him.

 

Yet, their faithlessness could not undo God’s faithfulness.

He had chosen to be faithful to Israel, and no amount of infidelity could change that.

 

Even today, God is remaining faithful to faithless Israel.

 

Having rejected the Messiah, they are currently under the judgment of God, yet God’s faithfulness remains.

 

Paul said:

Romans 11:25-29 “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery — so that you will not be wise in your own estimation — that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.” “THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.” From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

 

The point is this:

 

GOD’S FAITHFULNESS IS NOT DEPENDANT UPON OURS

 

And that is absolutely proved here at the end of the book of Kings.

We are dealing with a people who have rejected God at every turn

And in every possible way.

 

They have forsaken His temple…

They have forsaken His ordinances…

They have ignored His messengers…

They have done it all right in front of God’s face.

 

YET THE PROMISES OF GOD REMAIN

 

Now this is not a sermon meant to encourage you

To sin without fear of punishment.

 

Israel was punished.

70 years in captivity is no laughing matter.

 

So this sermon is not meant to yet you think that sin is no big deal.

 

Rather, this sermon is meant to encourage those of us who have sinned and desire to be restored to God.

 

For those in here like that, the news is good!

GOD STILL ACCEPTS PRODIGALS

 

He will set you free

He will show you favor

He will forgive your sin

He will save you forever

 

It is simply time for you to call upon Him.

 

What He did for Jehoiachin was just a picture

Of what He had already promised to do for Israel.

AND WHAT HE’LL DO FOR YOU

 

 

Run to Him, Seek Him, Obey Him, Trust Him,

Love Him with all your heart.

 

And God will receive you.

 

Luke 15:20-24 “So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.”

 

Hiding Through the Judgment

2 Kings 25:22-26

 

Most of you are familiar with

What is presently going on in the book of Kings.

• At this point, Judah no longer has a king.

• The temple has been burned, along with every house

• The city wall has been destroyed

• Everything of value has been stolen

• The exile of the Jews has been completed.

(15,000 were exiled, the rest were killed)

 

And over the last two weeks we have talked about

Exactly why that happened.

 

Israel had entered into covenant with God.

The stipulations of that covenant were clear.

 

Israel was to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind

And to make that love evident through total devotion and obedience.

 

They were to love and worship God only.

They were to set themselves apart from the people of the world.

They were to strictly obey all the commands of God.

 

If they would do this, then God would bless them bountifully.

 

But as you know, Israel did not keep her end of the agreement.

Disobedience, Idol Worship, Worldliness, Shedding Innocent Blood

 

The covenant was broken and the consequences were clear.

If you don’t keep God’s covenant, you don’t live in God’s land.

 

WHY?

Because that land was only for those who are in a covenant with God.

 

If you break that covenant, you must be removed.

Deuteronomy 28:63-68 “It shall come about that as the LORD delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the LORD will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it. “Moreover, the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. “Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. “So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. “In the morning you shall say, ‘Would that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Would that it were morning!’ because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see. “The LORD will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I spoke to you, ‘You will never see it again!’ And there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.”

 

It was clear.

 

You can claim to be God’s people,

You can take His name upon yourself.

But if your claim is a lie, and you take God’s name in vain,

Then I will remove you.

 

And that is exactly what has happened to Israel and Judah.

They claimed to be God’s people.

They claimed to have a relationship with Him.

But they were liars.

They were hypocrites.

They were apostates.

They were tares among the wheat.

They were goats among the sheep.

 

So Judah has been removed.

 

BUT THERE IS ONE MINOR PROBLEM WITH ALL OF THIS.

Nebuchadnezzar didn’t remove everyone.

 

(22) “Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah,”

 

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

 

1) The Poor

 

2 Kings 25:12 “But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.”

 

2) Those who hid during battle

 

Jeremiah 40:7 “Now all the commanders of the forces that were in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the land and that he had put him in charge of the men, women and children, those of the poorest of the land who had not been exiled to Babylon.”

 

3) Foreign Jews who were living in another land, who have returned

 

Jeremiah 40:11-12 “Likewise, also all the Jews who were in Moab and among the sons of Ammon and in Edom and who were in all the other countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant for Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan. Then all the Jews returned from all the places to which they had been driven away and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered in wine and summer fruit in great abundance.”

 

And so it seems that there were actually a few

Who successfully hid through the judgment.

That is troublesome because God said it wouldn’t happen.

In fact, through Zephaniah,

God promised to be very thorough in the judgment.

 

Zephaniah 1:10-13 “On that day,” declares the LORD, “There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, A wail from the Second Quarter, And a loud crash from the hills. “Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar, For all the people of Canaan will be silenced; All who weigh out silver will be cut off. “It will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good or evil!’ “Moreover, their wealth will become plunder And their houses desolate; Yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them, And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”

 

Yet, Nebuchadnezzar came and went and somehow,

Despite the promise of God, these were able to remain in the land.

 

And if you think on that very much it really makes it seem

As though there are loopholes to the judgment.

 

And by the way, that is precisely what a lost world is counting on.

That somehow when the judgment comes around

They will be able to survive it.

 

Well, this morning I want to show you why that is not the case.

 

4 parts to our text this morning.

#1 THEY REMAINED IN THE LAND

2 Kings 25:22

 

Just as we mentioned, here is the fact we have seen.

 

Nebuchadnezzar left some behind in the land.

He intended for them to work the fields and the vineyards of the land.

 

And as I said, this is somewhat troublesome

Because here are false Jews who not only got to stay in the land,

But even seem to have been given virtual ownership of it.

 

These Jews, rather by hiding, or by being poor,

Seem to have really done well for themselves.

 

And you will also see that Nebuchadnezzar has appointed a new leader.

 

“he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them.”

 

So there you have it.

Those who survived judgment and their new leader.

 

#2 THEY RECEIVED INSTRUCTION

2 Kings 25:23-24

 

Here you see that some men came to Mizpah

Where Gedaliah was ruling the land.

 

These were some of those hiding armies.

• They had successfully avoided the Babylonian army.

• They did not try to defend Judah or Jerusalem, instead they hid themselves.

 

And now that Babylon is gone they return to the new ruler of the land.

 

And when they did, they received some instruction.

(24) “Gedaliah swore to them and their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans; live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.”

 

Obviously this band of rogue fighters

Did not like the fact that they had to submit to Babylon now.

 

No doubt they wanted to live in the land

Without having to pay tribute to Nebuchadnezzar.

 

AND GOD IS EXTREMELY MERCIFUL

They will be allowed to remain in the land,

But the land is no longer theirs.

 

In a way, this could almost be seen like a second chance.

 

I really think you can see a parallel here to the great tribulation in which those who survive the great peril are actually given a chance to submit and be saved.

 

If these survivors will submit to God’s plan,

Then they can stay in the land.

 

#3 THEY REBELLED AGAINST THE LEADER

2 Kings 25:25

 

These Jews were disobedient.

These Jews wanted nothing to do with submission.

And therefore these Jews rebelled and killed Gedaliah.

 

There is a little more to the story.

Jeremiah 40:13-16 “Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah and said to him, “Are you well aware that Baalis the king of the sons of Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them. Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, “Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and not a man will know! Why should he take your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the remnant of Judah would perish?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael.”

 

It appears that some of the people of the land

Knew that these Jews had no intention of submission,

Yet Gedaliah would not listen and as a result he was killed.

 

Jeremiah 41 indicates that while they were eating bread together,

Ishmael struck down Gedaliah and the Chaldeans that were with him.

 

It is yet another case of disobedience to the plan of God.

 

They remained in the land

They received instruction

They rebelled against their leader

#4 THEY RAN TO EGYPT

2 Kings 25:26

 

Jeremiah actually gives quite a bit more insight into the story.

 

Jeremiah 41:16-18 “Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him took from Mizpah all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, that is, the men who were soldiers, the women, the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon. And they went and stayed in Geruth Chimham, which is beside Bethlehem, in order to proceed into Egypt because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, since Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.”

 

When this happened all the people in the land were terrified,

Because they just knew that Babylon would be back to kill them all.

 

And they instantly had a plan.

They were going to flee to Egypt.

 

Now at this point, according to the book of Jeremiah, the leaders actually did seek out Jeremiah for God’s will on the matter.

 

Jeremiah 42:1-3 “Then all the commanders of the forces, Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people both small and great approached and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please let our petition come before you, and pray for us to the LORD your God, that is for all this remnant; because we are left but a few out of many, as your own eyes now see us, that the LORD your God may tell us the way in which we should walk and the thing that we should do.”

 

So they wanted to know if they should run or stay.

 

And to make a long story short, God was merciful yet again.

He actually sent word through Jeremiah

That the people should stay in the land.

All they needed to do was trust God and submit to God’s appointed leader of the land and they could stay.

 

But again these people prove to be disobedient.

 

They respond to Jeremiah’s prophecy.

Jeremiah 43:1-4 “But as soon as Jeremiah, whom the LORD their God had sent, had finished telling all the people all the words of the LORD their God — that is, all these words — Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘You are not to enter Egypt to reside there’; but Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us to give us over into the hand of the Chaldeans, so they will put us to death or exile us to Babylon.” So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces, and all the people, did not obey the voice of the LORD to stay in the land of Judah.”

 

Now in case you missed it, what you have just seen

Is the completion of God’s judgment.

 

If you would submit to God and obey Him

You could remain in the land,

But if you refused, you were removed.

 

And eventually everyone was removed.

 

If you read Jeremiah 43:8 you will see that even Jeremiah went to Egypt with them (not as a means of disobedience) and through him God promised that all of those deserters would die in Egypt.

 

And so God’s Word was fulfilled.

 

There were none who successfully hid from God’s judgment.

There were none who stayed in their sin

And yet somehow managed to stay in the land.

 

That land was only for those who had kept the covenant of God,

And everyone who broke that covenant was removed.

 

GOD IS THOROUGH TO REMOVE THE DISOBEDIENT FROM HIS LAND.

 

And all along we have seen the parallel to the church today.

 

Just as there were false believers living in Israel,

There are false brethren in the church today.

 

Apostates

Hypocrites

Tares

 

And many times we have noted that they will not inherit the land

That God has in store for His true children.

 

False brethren may enter the church and seek to remain,

But God knows them, and they will not survive the judgment.

 

Matthew 3:11-12 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

 

John the Baptist knew that Jesus would be thorough.

 

However, that doesn’t mean that there won’t be many who try.

There will be false brethren who not only try to remain in the church,

But who even try to slip through the judgment.

 

Matthew 22:11-14 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘ Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

 

Matthew 7:22-23 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

 

Luke 13:26-27 “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’

 

Matthew 3:9 “and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘ We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.”

 

There will be all sorts of excuses offered.

Some just try to sneak in on their own goodness.

Some try to present their resume.

Others seek to use their familiarity as an excuse.

Others try to use their family tree.

 

They are men who seek to slip past the judgment.

They desire to hide from the wrath of God,

And seek to live in the promised land undetected,

Despite having never truly entered into a relationship with God.

 

But none will make it.

 

 

Listen to me.

Although there are many who seek to hide through the judgment,

No one will be able to on their own.

 

Revelation 20:11-15 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

 

During the judgment all the hiding places are turned over.

Even those who have sunk to the bottom of the sea

Will not be able to hide there from the judgment of God.

 

The great can’t overcome it, and the small can’t hide from it.

God is thorough in judgment.

 

On your own, you cannot hide from it.

BUT THERE IS ONE WHO CAN HIDE YOU

 

1 Peter 3:18-22 “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you — not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience — through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.”

 

Figuratively speaking Jesus is our Ark.

 

That means that while on our own

You and I could never hide through the judgment

There is a way to be hidden, and that is in Jesus Christ.

 

It really enforces that text we often quote:

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

 

Trying to get to heaven without Jesus

Would have been like trying to survive the flood without the ark.

 

On your own you cannot hide from judgment, God is too thorough.

 

 

And this is what we have been stressing.

This is what the writer of kings has been stressing.

 

Don’t suppose that you can be ½ hearted in the covenant

And yet enjoy the full benefits of salvation.

 

You may sneak in to God’s land, but you will not stay there.

You may sneak in to God’s church, but you will not stay there.

 

Matthew 13:37-43 “And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

 

The only salvation is found in total faith in Jesus Christ.

A faith that is evidenced by total submission and obedience.

There is no other way.

 

And all the way from Babylon, several thousand years ago,

The writer of kings is begging this very thing of you.

 

Having witnessed the horror of being kicked out of the land of promise,

The writer of kings is begging you not to make the same mistake.

 

Don’t suppose that just because

You have managed to fool those around you

That God is somehow fooled.

 

He sees you, He knows you,

And He will remove the tares from the wheat.

 

A couple of weeks ago in Sunday School we studied this passage.

 

John 2:23-25 “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

 

The word “believed” and the word for “entrusting” are the same word in the Greek.

PISTEUO

 

There were many who believed in Jesus,

But Jesus didn’t believe in them.

 

He saw their heart.

He knew what they were.

He knew they were not fully committed.

And He did not give Himself to them.

 

And what a way to be evaluated.

I know we live in an area of the world where everyone believes in Jesus.

But I wonder how many Jesus believes in.

 

There are many who claim to know Jesus.

But I wonder how many Jesus knows.

 

DO YOU GET THE POINT?

 

Israel claimed to be in a covenant, but she lied

And despite all her religion, despite all her history,

Even she could not survive the judgment.

 

This morning I ask you to learn a lesson from her mistake

And don’t follow her example.

 

Don’t give your lip service to God.

Give Him your heart.

Give Him your life.

 

Love Him with everything you have

And evidence it by your unwavering obedience to His word.

 

In short – BE REAL

 

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

 

Explaining the Exile

2 Kings 25:8-21

 

Most in church today are familiar with the term “Exile”.

It is one of those bible terms that is often used and is very familiar.

 

Sort of like the Exodus was the leaving of Egypt,

The Exile was the entrance into Babylon.

Most are familiar with the concept.

 

But this is an area in which our familiarity can actually work against us.

Because the more we hear about an exile taking place,

The less shocked we are by it.

 

Today when someone says all of Israel was exiled into Babylon,

Most people don’t even bat an eye. That is a familiar truth.

 

And so we don’t get all that excited about it,

Nor do we treat it like it is any big deal.

 

But if we look at it like that, it is obvious we are not taking the time

To contemplate what it really was.

 

The exile was NOT a pretty site.

It was the total annihilation and deportation of an entire people.

What the holocaust is in our day, the exile was in this day.

 

It was as supreme and horrific a judgment

As a nation could possibly experience.

 

You were defeated, you were deported, and if you survived

You were forced to dwell wherever your new master placed you.

 

Exile was a horrific thing.

 

And the Bible helps us understand just how horrific this event was.

 

There is an entire book of the Bible

Dedicated just to explaining the horror of this event.

We call it Lamentations.

 

It was written by Jeremiah after the events that we read of today.

Jeremiah is very literally sitting on a rock that used to be a part of the temple

And is lamenting what he sees.

 

His words give us a great glimpse into just how horrible it really was.

 

TURN TO: LAMENTATIONS

1:1-6 – 5:1-22

If you want a picture from the New Testament,

We turn to the book of Matthew.

 

And when Matthew explains what it was like on that day

That Herod killed all those babies in Bethlehem,

 

In order to explain what the weeping and wailing was like,

Matthew quotes the words of Jeremiah as he looked at the exile.

 

Matthew 2:16-18 “Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH, WEEPING AND GREAT MOURNING, RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN; AND SHE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED, BECAUSE THEY WERE NO MORE.”

 

The point is that the exile was a horrible thing.

And just in case you have grown a little desensitized to it,

I hope to maybe stir up your understanding a little this morning.

 

God’s people had sinned against God,

And the exile was the punishment for that sin.

 

And the writer of Kings is explaining to you what the exile looked like.

 

The final statement of this section.

In verse 21, “So Judah was led away into exile from its land.”

 

That tells us that the verses preceding that statement

Are meant to explain to us exactly what exile looked like.

 

And as we see the exile this morning, I want you to fully understand

That the penalty for apostasy, the penalty for rejecting God

IS NO LAUGHING MATTER.

 

And as we look at our text, there are three main things

That the writer wants you and I to know about the exile.

 

These are things that occurred.

 

#1 THEIR CITY WAS DESTROYED

2 Kings 25:8-12

 

We can obviously read over those verses and just sort of digest them as facts, but let it be real to you for a moment.

 

Imagine a foreign enemy entering this town,

And burning every church and every house with fire.

We all remember the horror of September 11th,

But imagine that sort of destruction covering the entire land.

 

This was not Babylon just seizing control of a territory,

This was Babylon completely destroying everything in this land.

 

He burned the house of the Lord and all the houses.

He broke down the wall around the city.

 

Lamentations 2:5-9 “The Lord has become like an enemy. He has swallowed up Israel; He has swallowed up all its palaces, He has destroyed its strongholds And multiplied in the daughter of Judah Mourning and moaning. And He has violently treated His tabernacle like a garden booth; He has destroyed His appointed meeting place. The LORD has caused to be forgotten The appointed feast and sabbath in Zion, And He has despised king and priest In the indignation of His anger. The Lord has rejected His altar, He has abandoned His sanctuary; He has delivered into the hand of the enemy The walls of her palaces. They have made a noise in the house of the LORD As in the day of an appointed feast. The LORD determined to destroy The wall of the daughter of Zion. He has stretched out a line, He has not restrained His hand from destroying, And He has caused rampart and wall to lament; They have languished together. Her gates have sunk into the ground, He has destroyed and broken her bars. Her king and her princes are among the nations; The law is no more. Also, her prophets find No vision from the LORD.”

This was ultimate destruction.

 

AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ACTUALLY ATTRIBUTED TO THIS JUDGMENT WAS THEIR FALSE ASSURANCE.

 

The people just didn’t think they would be destroyed.

(11-12) “Then the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the people, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile. But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.”

 

You may have noticed that there were some who decided not to fight,

But instead chose to go and surrender to Babylon ahead of time.

 

This may make them appear to be cowards.

But this was actually the command of God.

 

Jeremiah 38:2-3 “Thus says the LORD, ‘He who stays in this city will die by the sword and by famine and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live and have his own life as booty and stay alive.’ “Thus says the LORD, ‘This city will certainly be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.'”

 

Jeremiah 38:17-18 “Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘If you will indeed go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will survive. ‘But if you will not go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given over to the hand of the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and you yourself will not escape from their hand.'”

God had actually commanded them to abandon the city,

But many rebelled.

 

WHY DID THEY REBEL?

False Assurance

 

And by the way, this was a shock to the people.

Lamentations 4:12 “The kings of the earth did not believe, Nor did any of the inhabitants of the world, That the adversary and the enemy Could enter the gates of Jerusalem.

 

TURN TO: JEREMIAH 7:1-15

(we see that they were trusting in deception (8))

 

They didn’t think this was possible, but it happened.

 

Every building in Jerusalem was leveled.

All that was left were the smoking embers of a city that once was.

This was a total destruction.

 

All because the people were disobedient and trusted in things

That that they should not have trusted in.

 

(The Spiritual Application is obvious)

 

When people have false assurance,

They lose their desire for obedience,

And both lead them into judgment.

 

For Judah it led them into exile and complete destruction.

 

Their city was destroyed

#2 THEIR POSSESSIONS WERE STOLEN

2 Kings 25:13-17

 

This section has a clear point.

Although most everything in Jersusalem was knocked down and burned,

The Babylonians did spare some things.

 

Anything of value they stole before they set the place on fire.

 

You probably remember that this was prophesied:

2 Kings 20:16-18 “Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD. ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the LORD. ‘Some of your sons who shall issue from you, whom you will beget, will be taken away; and they will become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.'”

 

And now that is coming to pass.

Babylon is stealing it all.

Obviously most of the gold and silver had already been taken.

This is now the Babylonians totally scrapping the place.

 

But if you notice, the writer of kings

Has a particular interest in two things that were stolen.

 

(13) “Now the bronze pillars which were in the house of the LORD, and the stands and the bronze sea which were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon.”

 

(17) “The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was three cubits, with a network and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these with network.”

 

Of all the things stolen the writer is particularly interested in these pillars.

 

WHAT WERE THEY?

 

They were actually built by Solomon.

1 Kings 7:15,21 “He fashioned the two pillars of bronze; eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of both…Thus he set up the pillars at the porch of the nave; and he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz.”

 

These were two decorative pillars set up by Solomon

To signify something to the people of Israel.

 

Jachin means “He shall Establish”

Boaz means “In it is strength”

 

They were meant to symbolize the strength of God’s temple

And that by virtue of this temple God had established Israel.

 

Israel is no longer established and Israel is no longer strong.

And God appointed the removal of the pillars.

 

And please notice that these monuments were not treasured by Babylon.

They weren’t going to put them in the Babylonian museum.

They weren’t going to set up a temple in Babylon for the Jews.

 

Just look at verse 16

“The two pillars, the one sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD – the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight.”

 

They don’t talk about these artistic structures according to their beauty,

They talk about them according to their weight.

 

What were priceless emblems of worship to the Jews

Were nothing but scrap metal to the Babylonians.

 

(Imagine someone coming in here with an axe and demolishing everything in order to salvage some of the wood)

 

This was a brutal event to behold.

 

Of this event Matthew Henry wrote:

“It was a righteous thing with God to deprive those of the benefit of worship who had slighted it so long and preferred false worships before it. Those that would have many altars shall now have none.”

 

What does exile look like?

 

Their City was Destroyed Their Possessions were Stolen

#3 THEIR LEADERS WERE KILLED

2 Kings 25:18-21

 

Here you recognize what the rulers of Babylon are doing?

 

Everyone who had a hand in rebelling against Babylon;

Everyone who encouraged those to stay and fight;

Were systematically gathered and executed.

 

72 leaders of the people were found in the city and they were brought before Nebuchadnezzar who “put them to death”

 

There would be no hope of an uprising.

There would be no hope of winning your freedom.

Anyone who had the ability to lead such an insurrection was killed.

 

Of course the result was to leave behind

A defenseless, demoralized, and utterly hopeless people.

 

That is exactly what was left,

And those survivors were led on a march to Babylon.

 

Jeremiah 52:28-30 “These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away into exile: in the seventh year 3,023 Jews; in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 persons from Jerusalem; in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile 745 Jewish people; there were 4,600 persons in all. “

Chapter 24 spoke of 10,000 captives.

The remaining captives were 4,600

So roughly 15,000 people were exiled.

 

The only survivors from a nation

That would be like the sand of the seashore.

 

The realization is that there were a lot more people who died

Than there were people who were exiled.

 

Death was the order of the day.

 

Ezekiel gave a dramatic prophesy about this.

Ezekiel 5:1-4 “As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword; take and use it as a barber’s razor on your head and beard. Then take scales for weighing and divide the hair. “One third you shall burn in the fire at the center of the city, when the days of the siege are completed. Then you shall take one third and strike it with the sword all around the city, and one third you shall scatter to the wind; and I will unsheathe a sword behind them. “Take also a few in number from them and bind them in the edges of your robes. “Take again some of them and throw them into the fire and burn them in the fire; from it a fire will spread to all the house of Israel.”

 

Obviously the hair represented the people,

It was only that “few in number”, bound in Ezekiel’s robe that survived,

And even some of them were then removed and killed.

 

The point is that death was a huge part of this exile.

 

Lamentations 2:22 “You called as in the day of an appointed feast My terrors on every side; And there was no one who escaped or survived In the day of the LORD’S anger. Those whom I bore and reared, My enemy annihilated them.”

 

The point is that when you read in Scripture

That Israel disobeyed God and so He exiled them to Babylon.

 

Don’t picture it as though they all packed their luggage

And went on some 70 year sabbatical to a tropical paradise.

 

Most were killed

Those that survived were sent as slaves of slaves in a foreign land.

Their city was destroyed and their possessions were stolen.

 

These were people who were left with absolutely nothing

And there was nothing to do but lament.

 

Exile is a horrible thing.

 

And I don’t know if you picked up on it or not,

But there is actually a very interesting parallel

To this passage in the New Testament.

 

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

 

You caught what the thief came to do.

Steal, Kill, Destroy.

 

That is precisely what Babylon did.

 

And all along God was crying out to Jerusalem

As the One who gives life, begging them to turn

From their evil ways and come to Him.

 

But they continually refused.

 

And when you refuse the One who gives life,

You automatically fall into the hands of the destroyer.

(Paul actually handed apostates over to Satan – 1 Timothy 1)

 

And all that is left to do is lament the horror of that judgment.

 

In fact Jesus called that day of judgment

“A place of weeping and gnashing of teeth”

 

The point is not pleasant, but it is so vitally important.

These Jews were false believers,

They were apostates who had turned away from God.

 

And as such they were not welcome to live in the land

God had promised to His children.

 

Because they had rejected Him judgment was their fate

And it came in the form of a horrific exile.

 

That same warning is for us today.

• It is for any who know the truth of God but refuse to yield to it…

• It is for any who put on a show of religion, but have not truly yielded to Him…

• It is for any who claim allegiance with their mouth, but their heart is far from Him…

 

Those people must learn that the judgment of God

Is severe on such people.

 

In fact, the writer of Hebrews said it like this:

Hebrews 10:26-31 “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

 

“It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

And if you don’t believe the writer of Hebrews,

Then ask the writer of Kings.

 

He most likely was one of those surviving Jews

Led away into captivity in Babylon.

 

And his timeless warning to the ages,

For all who read the book he left behind, is

• Seek God,

• Obey God,

• Trust God,

• Remove all idols from your land and from your heart.

 

For God is a jealous God

And He will not allow those whose heart is not fully His

To dwell in the land of promise.

 

This morning I again encourage you

To learn the lesson of the book of Kings.

And be genuine before the Lord.

 

Give Him your heart

Give Him your soul

Give Him your mind

Give Him your strength

 

Love Him above all else, and be real.

 

Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

 

If God Be Against Us…

2 Kings 23:31 – 25:7 (24:3-4)

 

I read those two verses at the beginning,

Because from the start I want you to have firmly grounded in your mind

The truth about what is taking place here.

 

I want you to know from the outset

That the destruction you are about to witness taking place

Did so at the command of Holy God.

 

These events are not Satan attacking God’s people…

These events are not a godless world trying to put the light of the righteous…

This is God bringing about judgment on a group of hypocritical followers

That do not love Him as He commanded.

 

God is at the root of this judgment.

 

While studying Hezekiah, we had a sermon called “If God Be For Us…”

And of course the obvious response is, “Who can be against us.”

 

And that rang true in Hezekiah’s reign,

As he trusted God and God killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night

And rescued Jerusalem from the lion’s mouth.

 

When God is on your side, you have no need to worry or fear.

 

But one can only imagine what the flipside would look like

What if you were one of the Assyrians?

 

What if you found out that God was your enemy?

 

MOST PEOPLE HAVE DIFFICULTY VIEWING GOD AS AN “ENEMY”

 

Mostly because John 3:16 has so been driven into our heads

About the love of God most people today (even those who reject Him)

Still don’t see God as an enemy.

 

But that theology is not accurate or biblical.

Romans 5:10 “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

 

After giving the parable of the talents,

Jesus spoke specifically about those who hid their talent in the ground.

 

Luke 19:27 “But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.”

 

Paul described what an enemy of God looks like.

Philippians 3:18-19 “For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.”

 

Which is of course what James also said:

James 4:4 “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

 

Even Jesus said:

Matthew 12:30 “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”

 

The point is that we don’t just go through this life neutral.

You are either God’s ally or you are God’s enemy.

You are either for God or against Him.

 

And when God is for you life is great, BUT WHAT ABOUT WHEN GOD IS AGAINST YOU?

 

That is precisely what we see taking place in our text this morning.

 

Now we just recently studied Josiah: The Devoted King.

 

But it was Josiah’s grandfather that is important to this truth.

 

Manasseh was so immoral, and so idolatrous that it was during his reign

That God decided that He had seen enough.

 

And therefore the judgment upon Judah is inevitable.

God is no longer offering forgiveness.

God even commanded Jeremiah to quit praying for this people.

 

God is against them and judgment is a certainty.

 

We are going to see the last 4 kings

Who ever sat upon the throne in Jerusalem.

 

DO YOU REALIZE THAT AFTER THESE KINGS,

THERE HAS NEVER BEEN ANOTHER

NOT UNTIL KING JESUS RETURNS.

 

I want to show you the last four, and therefore

Let you see what life is like when you find yourself an enemy of God.

#1 JEHOAHAZ: THE CONFUSED KING

2 Kings 23:31-34

 

Jehoahaz was the son of Josiah.

He was not the oldest, but he was the people’s choice for the throne.

He reigned in the place of his father, but there was one problem.

(32) “He did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.”

 

I don’t want to spend a lot of time chasing down facts about these kings,

But I will show you why he was a confused king.

 

Jeremiah 22:11-17 “For thus says the LORD in regard to Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of Josiah his father, who went forth from this place, “He will never return there; 1but in the place where they led him captive, there he will die and not see this land again. “Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness And his upper rooms without justice, Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay And does not give him his wages, Who says, ‘I will build myself a roomy house With spacious upper rooms, And cut out its windows, Paneling it with cedar and painting it bright red.’ “Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink And do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. “He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; Then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?” Declares the LORD. “But your eyes and your heart Are intent only upon your own dishonest gain, And on shedding innocent blood And on practicing oppression and extortion.”

 

There you see what sort of a king Jehoahaz was.

He had no clue what it was that made a person kingly.

He thought fancy houses and long robes where what made a man a king.

 

He would have done well to remember the admonition of God to Samuel.

1 Samuel 16:6-7 “When they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’S anointed is before Him.” But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

And Jeohahaz certainly did not understand that.

He was clueless to what things really mattered.

 

Ezekiel 19:1-4 “As for you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel and say, ‘What was your mother? A lioness among lions! She lay down among young lions, She reared her cubs. When she brought up one of her cubs, He became a lion, And he learned to tear his prey; He devoured men. ‘Then nations heard about him; He was captured in their pit, And they brought him with hooks To the land of Egypt.”

 

There again Ezekiel points out what a ruthless and foolish king he was.

Ezekiel even went so far as to proclaim his punishment.

 

He would be carried to Egypt.

(VERSES 33-34)

 

He was wicked and God judged him.

 

Jehoahaz: The Clueless King

#2 JEHOIAKIM: THE STUBBORN KING

2 Kings 23:35 – 24:7

 

Jehoiakim was also the son of Josiah.

In fact he was Jehoahaz’s older brother.

 

Probably the reason Pharaoh chose him is the same reason the people did not. He was most likely a soft individual and Pharaoh knew he could control him.

 

Pharoah imposed a tax and Jehoiakim taxed the people.

 

And then comes the evaluation of his life.

(37) “He did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.”

 

Jehoiakim was also a wicked king.

Jeremiah 22:18-23 “Therefore thus says the LORD in regard to Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, “They will not lament for him: ‘Alas, my brother!’ or, ‘Alas, sister!’ They will not lament for him: ‘Alas for the master!’ or, ‘Alas for his splendor!’ “He will be buried with a donkey’s burial, Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem. “Go up to Lebanon and cry out, And lift up your voice in Bashan; Cry out also from Abarim, For all your lovers have been crushed. “I spoke to you in your prosperity; But you said, ‘I will not listen!’ This has been your practice from your youth, That you have not obeyed My voice. “The wind will sweep away all your shepherds, And your lovers will go into captivity; Then you will surely be ashamed and humiliated Because of all your wickedness. “You who dwell in Lebanon, Nested in the cedars, How you will groan when pangs come upon you, Pain like a woman in childbirth!”

 

God was specifically angry with Jehoiakim

Because he refused to listen to God.

 

This is what Ezekiel noted as well.

Ezekiel 19:5-9 “When she saw, as she waited, That her hope was lost, She took another of her cubs And made him a young lion. ‘And he walked about among the lions; He became a young lion, He learned to tear his prey; He devoured men. ‘He destroyed their fortified towers And laid waste their cities; And the land and its fullness were appalled Because of the sound of his roaring. ‘Then nations set against him On every side from their provinces, And they spread their net over him; He was captured in their pit. ‘They put him in a cage with hooks And brought him to the king of Babylon; They brought him in hunting nets So that his voice would be heard no more On the mountains of Israel.”

 

Because of Jehoiakim’s wickedness he also would be judged.

He would be punished and carried to Babylon.

 

(VERSES 1-6)

The writer of kings doesn’t mention Jehoiakim’s exile,

But the writer of Chronicles does.

 

2 Chronicles 36:6 “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him and bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon.”

 

(Incidentally this is also when Daniel and his friends were exiled to Babylon – 609BC.)

 

It is apparent, however, that he was set free from Babylon

Because his death also involved the burial of a donkey.

But again we see a defiant king and more judgment from God.

 

Jehoahaz: The Confused King Jehoiakim: The Stubborn King

#3 JEHOIACHIN: THE DESPISED KING

2 Kings 24:8-17

 

And again we are dealing with yet another wicked king.

 

(9) “He did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.”

 

So this is now Josiah’s grandson, the son of Jehoiakim.

And he is a wicked king.

 

This king is actually despised by God.

Jeremiah 22:24-30 “As I live,” declares the LORD, “even though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull you off; and I will give you over into the hand of those who are seeking your life, yes, into the hand of those whom you dread, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans. “I will hurl you and your mother who bore you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die. “But as for the land to which they desire to return, they will not return to it. “Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar? Or is he an undesirable vessel? Why have he and his descendants been hurled out And cast into a land that they had not known? “O land, land, land, Hear the word of the LORD! “Thus says the LORD, ‘Write this man down childless, A man who will not prosper in his days; For no man of his descendants will prosper Sitting on the throne of David Or ruling again in Judah.'”

 

I think it’s obvious that God despised this king.

God making a promise that none of this king’s descendants

Would ever sit on the throne of Israel.

 

God brings about punishment on Jehoiachin as well.

(VERSES 10-17)

 

Just as God said that He would get rid of Jehoiachin and his mother,

That’s exactly what He did.

 

(This is also when Ezekiel and 10,000 captives were deported to Babylon – 594BC)

 

Furthermore God said Jehoiachin’s son would not sit on the throne Instead his uncle “Zedekiah” became king.

 

Jehoahaz: The Clueless King Jehoiakim: The Stubborn King

Jehoiachin: The Despised King

#4 ZEDEKIAH: THE ABANDONED KING

2 Kings 24:18 – 25:7

 

This is now the third son of Josiah to be king,

But sadly he isn’t much like his father either.

 

(19) “He did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.”

 

And so God wasn’t very pleased with him either.

 

I called him THE ABANDONED KING,

Because that is precisely what God did to him.

 

Jeremiah 24:8 “But like the bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness — indeed, thus says the LORD — so I will abandon Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land and the ones who dwell in the land of Egypt.”

 

If you have read the book of Ezekiel,

You know that Ezekiel saw a most horrific site.

 

Ezekiel 10:18-19 “Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. When the cherubim departed, they lifted their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight with the wheels beside them; and they stood still at the entrance of the east gate of the LORD’S house, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them.”

 

Ezekiel saw God’s glory get up off of the mercy seat and move from the Holy of Holies to the entrance of the east gate of the LORD’S house.

 

Ezekiel 11:22-23 “Then the cherubim lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them. The glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood over the mountain which is east of the city.”

 

The Hebrew term is ICHABOD

“no glory” or “the glory of the LORD has departed”

 

It is the name that Phinehas’s wife gave to her son who was born after she heard that her husband was dead and that the ark of the covenant had been stolen by the Philistines.

 

Ezekiel actually saw it, and it happened during Zedekiah’s reign.

God left them.

 

He abandoned them to be destroyed.

(VERSES 25:1-7)

 

Do you realize that the last thing Zedekiah ever saw on this earth

Was the death of his sons?

 

Now I know we have just covered a lot of text

In a short period of time, but we did so on purpose.

 

I was hoping to allow you to see the big picture of what is going on here.

Each of these four kings all 3 things in common.

1) EVIL

All four of them “did evil in the sight of the LORD”.

• They all hated God’s Word

• They all shed innocent blood

• They all worshiped idols

• THEY WERE ALL EVIL

 

2) ENEMIES

And not just coincidental enemies,

The enemies they faced were specifically from God.

 

Jehoahaz faced Egypt

Jehoiakim faced Chaldeans, Arameans, Moabites and Ammonites

Jehoiachin and Zedekiah both faced Babylon

 

(24:2-4) “The LORD sent against him bands of Chaldeans, bands of Arameans, bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites. So He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken through His servants the prophets. Surely at the command of the LORD it came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the LORD would not forgive.”

 

I hope you see that these men had enemies

Because God was sending them.

 

(24:20) “For through the anger of the LORD this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.”

 

They had Evil in common

They had Enemies in common

3) EXILE

 

Each of these kings was exiled from God’s land.

 

Jehoahaz died in Egypt

Jehoiakim was exiled to Babylon, then returned and his body was thrown out into the streets.

Jehoiachin was exiled to Babylon with his mother

Zedekiah was exiled after being blinded and witnessing the death of his sons.

 

And the point is that God was against these kings

And they didn’t have a chance.

 

All of them suffered the same fate.

Indeed the nation suffered the same fate.

They were enemies of God and they could not hide from His judgment.

 

When God is for you, who can be against you,

But when God is against you, there is nothing you can do.

 

NOW FOR A LITTLE APPLICATION

 

It is always the common practice of people in the church to read such Scriptures and immediately try to apply it to America.

 

America is an idolatrous nation.

Tolerant of false religion

In love with the things of the world

Chasing money as fast as we can

 

America is a disobedient nation.

Loving the things God hates

Disregarding the Laws of God on an increasing basis

 

America is a nation that sheds innocent blood

We may never know the number of unborn babies that never see the light of day

 

And because of those facts it is easy to read passages like this

And then go on some rant about how America better watch out.

 

But listen you cannot take the history of Israel and apply it to America.

IT IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SCENARIO

 

If you want to apply to America:

Pick Greece, Pick Rome, Pick Babylon, Pick Assyria, or any of those Canaanite nations.

 

BUT NOT ISRAEL

WHY?

 

ISRAEL WAS A COVENANT NATION

 

SO WHO DO WE APPLY TEXTS LIKE THIS TO?

 

That is easy.

WHO WAS ISRAEL AND JUDAH AT THIS TIME?

 

They were those who claimed to be in covenant with God,

But they had broken that covenant.

 

They were apostates.

They were hypocrites.

They were religious on the outside, and idolatrous on the inside.

Physical descendants of Abraham, but not spiritual descendants.

Although they looked like Israel on the outside,

They were not truly Israel on the inside.

 

Paul said:

Romans 2:28-29 “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”

 

These were outward Jews, not inward ones.

 

They were hypocrites, false claimers, covenant breakers,

And because of that God was kicking them out of the land

That was reserved for those who keep His covenant.

 

TURN TO: DEUTERONOMY 6

(I know we quote it a lot)

 

YOUR PART OF THE COVENANT

Love Me and prove it with obedience

 

MY PART OF THE COVENANT

To let you live in the land intended for My people.

 

But if you break your part of the covenant

And prove that you were lying when you entered My covenant

Then I will kick you out of that land completely.

 

And since Israel proved to be liars, God removed them from their land.

 

This is the type of people we are dealing with.

 

AND SO WHEN WE WANT TO APPLY THESE TEXTS TO OUR DAY, WE DO NOT APPLY THEM TO THE WORLD,

WE APPLY THEM TO THE FALSE BRETHREN OF THE CHURCH.

 

The Bible promises that there will be false believers among the brethren,

And those false brethren are enemies of God destined for judgment.

 

Matthew 13:36-43 “Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.”So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

 

Just as it was not enough to live in God’s land and call yourself a Jew

And perform the outward religious ceremonies.

 

It is enough to dwell in God’s church and call yourself a Christian

And perform the outward religious ceremonies.

 

The Love for God must be real.

The Commitment to God must real.

The Obedience to God must be real.

Because the enemies will someday be removed and cast into the fire.

 

This is the message that the writer of kings

Has been trying to portray throughout the book.

 

He is a Jew living in Babylon and he writes this book to reveal to the Jews

How something as horrible as the Babylonian exile could happen.

How did we go from David’s kingdom to this?

 

It happened because those who claimed to be God’s people

Failed to truly be God’s people, and God removed them.

 

That is why the writer has stressed

The importance of seeking and trusting and obeying God.

 

He wanted all of us to know that taking God’s name is not enough

If you never really give Him your life.

 

HAS THAT NOT BEEN CLEAR THROUGHOUT THE KINGS?

(All the way back to Elijah asking, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions?”)

 

There is no room for hypocrisy in a relationship with God.

 

Matthew 12:30 “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”

 

Please don’t try to hide in the land without being committed.

God will find you and God will remove you.

 

This morning I want to ask you to genuinely and truly

GIVE YOUR LIFE TO JESUS CHRIST.

I want to ask you to fully commit your life to God.

 

Be a child of God, not an enemy of God.

 

Matthew 13:47-50 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

 

“The Devotion of Josiah”

2 Kings 23:1-30 (1-3)

 

I know it has been a couple of weeks since we studied the kings,

But last time we did, we talked about a young king named Josiah.

 

You remember him as one of the few truly good kings Israel ever had.

We called him “The Devoted King”

 

• It was he who started out to restore the temple.

• The book of the Law was found and read to him.

• He humbled himself under that Law.

• God promised to save him from the coming judgment.

 

He was a devoted king.

 

So the writer chooses to spend a little more time on his life.

 

The purpose is obvious.

TO SHOW US WHAT TRUE DEVOTION LOOKS LIKE

(And even more so, devotion to God’s Word)

 

And I just cannot overstate how important devotion is to the Christian life.

 

I don’t know of a single spiritual discipline that occurs without devotion.

Not in your personal life.

Not in your family life.

Not in the life of this church.

 

The only way to get from where we are

To where God wants us to be is devotion.

It takes commitment. It takes long-suffering. It takes patient faithfulness.

It takes devotion

 

However, the concept of devotion is becoming a lost art.

 

The temptation is to trade genuine results for quick ones.

As a result the church today has largely become “fad” driven.

 

John MacArthur recently wrote in an article called “How Did We Make Such an Evangelical Mess?”

“Evangelical churchgoers desperately want their churches to stay on the leading edge of whatever is currently in vogue in the evangelical community. It almost seems like ancient history now, but for a while, any church that wanted to be in fashion had to sponsor seminars on how to pray the prayer of Jabez. But woe to the church that was still doing Jabez when The Purpose-Driven Life took center stage. By then, any church that wanted to retain its standing and credibility in the evangelical movement had better be doing “Forty Days of Purpose.” And if your church didn’t get through the “Forty Days” in time to host group studies or preach a series of sermons about The Da Vinci Code before the Hollywood movie version came out, then your church was considered badly out of touch with what really matters.”

And as you sit back and watch this endless fad jumping take place,

I constantly ask myself “Where is the devotion?”

 

One would think that the process to turn a lost person

Into a mature sanctified Christian is a 6 week process.

But we know that is not the case.

 

The process of sanctification is a slow process.

The concept of killing off the old man

And letting the new man shine forth takes a long time.

 

And the church does not achieve true spiritual success

By jumping from fad to fad, ditching what is too slow

And running after the next explosive ministry idea.

 

The church achieves true sanctification and godliness

By being devoted to one thing, and that one thing is God’s Word.

 

Paul told the Thessalonian believers:

1 Thessalonians 2:13 “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.”

 

In order for the slow process of sanctification to occur,

There must be devotion to God’s Word.

 

That is also why (as we have seen in our Sunday night study)

Paul continually tells Timothy to remain committed to God’s Word.

 

1 Timothy 4:13-16 “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

 

It is a call for devotion.

And it grieves me when I see or hear of other churches

Who are quickly following every gimmick.

Revealing that God’s Word wasn’t working fast enough for them.

 

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

 

 

We as believers must learn to be devoted to God’s Word.

Even if the results aren’t as flashy as “The Fad-Driven Church”

 

We aren’t just seeking to bring a large quantity of goods to the judgment, But that everything we do bring survives through the fire.

 

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 “According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

 

We are not just seeing how big and how fast we can build.

We are making sure that what we do build stands for all eternity.

 

And to build like that it requires devotion.

 

And this isn’t just true for the church, but for your family as well.

To train your kids to be genuine in the faith,

The same devotion is required.

 

The recent fad is to ship our kids off to some circus type event

That will get our kids drunk on emotion and peer pressure

Hoping that in the course of that week they will make a decision.

 

And if all goes well, I can neglect the true training of my child,

Ship them off for a week, and for the onetime cost of $250

They will come back in love with Jesus.

(They usually come back in love, but rarely is it with Jesus)

 

But it you want your kids to be real followers of Jesus,

Then you have to be devoted to God’s Word.

 

Deuteronomy 6:1-9 “Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. “O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

 

There are no short cuts there.

You as a parent must be devoted to God’s Word.

The same is true for you personally.

 

There are those who run from one emotionally rally to the next

Trying to continually feed on some sort of spiritual circus

As though that is how sanctification is achieved.

 

But if you want to be formed into the image of Christ,

There is no substitute for devotion to God’s Word.

 

Lenny preached on it last week:

Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

 

The parallel passage to that verse is found in Ephesians.

Ephesians 5:18-19 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;”

 

Paul speaks of the same reality. And that reality is true godliness.

And the way that is achieved is by being “filled with the Spirit”

The equivalent which is letting “the word of Christ richly dwell within you.” Those are the same thing.

 

And they are necessary if you are to be

The Christian God intends for you to be.

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR DEVOTION TO GOD’S WORD.

 

The simple point thus far is that the things of God

Cannot be achieved through a drive through window.

 

The process of sanctification and spiritual growth

Are slow processes that require devotion.

 

AND THIS MORNING WE GET THE PRIVILEGE

OF SEEING WHAT TRUE DEVOTION LOOKS LIKE.

 

Now before we dive into the text, allow me to paint you a picture

Of what the nation that Josiah led actually looked like.

 

Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, & Jeremiah all prophesied during his reign.

We can get a great understanding of what Judah was like during his reign.

 

Zephaniah 3:1-7 “Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, The tyrannical city! She heeded no voice, She accepted no instruction. She did not trust in the LORD, She did not draw near to her God. Her princes within her are roaring lions, Her judges are wolves at evening; They leave nothing for the morning. Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men; Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law. The LORD is righteous within her; He will do no injustice. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He does not fail. But the unjust knows no shame. “I have cut off nations; Their corner towers are in ruins. I have made their streets desolate, With no one passing by; Their cities are laid waste, Without a man, without an inhabitant. “I said, ‘Surely you will revere Me, Accept instruction.’ So her dwelling will not be cut off According to all that I have appointed concerning her. But they were eager to corrupt all their deeds.”

 

Zephaniah paints a pretty good picture about the obstinate rebellion

That characterized Judah during the days of Josiah.

 

Jeremiah said the same:

Jeremiah 25:1-7 “The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, “From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, these twenty-three years the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. “And the LORD has sent to you all His servants the prophets again and again, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear, saying, ‘ Turn now everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and dwell on the land which the LORD has given to you and your forefathers forever and ever; and do not go after other gods to serve them and to worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, and I will do you no harm.’ “Yet you have not listened to Me,” declares the LORD, “in order that you might provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.”

 

I really wish I had the time to have you turn to Jeremiah 5-7 where you could see over and over just how stubborn Judah was during those days.

 

Let me just give you a few here.

Jeremiah 5:3 “O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You have smitten them, But they did not weaken; You have consumed them, But they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to repent.”

 

Jeremiah 5:23 “But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; They have turned aside and departed.”

 

Jeremiah 6:10 “To whom shall I speak and give warning That they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed And they cannot listen. Behold, the word of the LORD has become a reproach to them; They have no delight in it.”

 

Jeremiah 6:16-19 “Thus says the LORD, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ “And I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’ “Therefore hear, O nations, And know, O congregation, what is among them. “Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people, The fruit of their plans, Because they have not listened to My words, And as for My law, they have rejected it also.”

 

Jeremiah 7:24-26 “Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward. “Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets, daily rising early and sending them. “Yet they did not listen to Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck; they did more evil than their fathers.”

 

In fact their obstinance is so bad and their rebellion is so severe that God even commanded Jeremiah to quit praying for this people.

Jeremiah 7:16 “As for you, do not pray for this people, and do not lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me; for I do not hear you.”

 

The point is that Josiah was not king over a group of saints

Who were eager to hear God’s word and obey it.

 

Josiah was king over some of the most

Defiant and stubborn people who ever lived.

 

FURTHERMORE THEY WERE ALREADY A CONDEMNED PEOPLE.

 

And that is clearly seen even in our text this morning.

Josiah is about to do some amazing things.

But after he is done, you will notice that God does not change His mind.

 

(Verses 26-27) “However, the LORD did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath with which His anger burned against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him. The LORD said, “I will remove Judah also from My sight, as I have removed Israel. And I will cast off Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the temple of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.'”

 

HERE IS WHAT THAT MEANS

Josiah was king over a people who were already appointed for judgment, And a people who were not interested hearing how to be saved.

 

Talk about ministering in a dry pool.

 

It is the perfect opportunity to reveal what true devotion looks like.

Anyone can be devoted during a time of fertility and great harvest.

Anyone can preach when people are flocking down the aisles.

Anyone can witness when people are responding in groves.

 

But if you want to see a picture of true devotion:

Find a man who continues to do it even when they don’t.

That is where we find Josiah.

 

There are 4 areas in which we see the devotion of Josiah.

#1 HE READ THE LAW

2 Kings 23:1-3

 

We already said that if true devotion is going to exist

That devotion must be in regard to the word of God.

 

That is obvious here.

Josiah has just had the word read to him.

And now he determines to go public.

 

And please notice this is all his idea.

(1) “Then the king sent and they gathered to him…”

(2) “The king went up to the house of the LORD…

(2) “and he read in all their hearing all the words of the book…”

(3) “The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD…”

 

I mean this is all Josiah’s idea.

No one is doing it for him.

 

Here is a king who decided to be wholly devoted to God’s word.

 

Look at the conditions of his covenant.

(3) “to walk after the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book.”

 

That is a declaration of devotion.

 

Now you will notice at the end of verse 3 “And all the people entered into the covenant.”

 

Don’t read too much into that, Jeremiah and Zephaniah already revealed that these people aren’t really committed to God regardless of what they might say.

 

But Josiah was devoted.

He Read the Law

#2 HE REMOVED THE IDOLS

2 Kings 23:4-20; 24-25

 

It is one thing to say you are going to devote yourself to God,

But true devotion requires action.

 

Jesus said:

John 8:31 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;”

 

Josiah is setting out to prove himself genuine.

And he does so by first removing all of the idols.

 

And he is very systematic and thorough about it.

 

1) CLEAN OUT THE TEMPLE (4-7)

 

You will notice all the references here are to God’s house.

 

Verse 6 causes some people difficulty as to why he would throw the dust on the graves of the common people.

 

2 Chronicles 34:4 “They tore down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars that were high above them he chopped down; also the Asherim, the carved images and the molten images he broke in pieces and ground to powder and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.”

 

Kind of like how churches used to bury their members outside the church

Apparently that is what these idolatrous sites were as well.

 

But the main thing I want you to see is that in his devotion

The first thing he did was get all the idolatry out of God’s house.

 

If we want to be devoted, the first thing we must clean up is God’s temple.

And by that I don’t mean this church building.

 

I’m talking about the temple of your heart.

 

Josiah’s first action was to clean out the temple

2) CLEAN OUT JUDAH (8-14)

 

Here you noticed we are dealing with “the cities of Judah”

The writer even says, “from Geba to Beersheba”

 

Geba was the extreme north, Beersheba was the extreme south.

 

After clearing out the temple, Josiah started clearing out his nation.

Once you clean up your heart, you can branch outward as well.

 

Matthew 7:5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

 

And I hope you saw how thorough he was.

(13) “The high places which were before Jerusalem, which were on the right of the mount of destruction which Solomon the king of Israel had built”

 

Those aren’t just idolatrous sites, those are historical markers.

It’s been 300 years since Solomon was king.

 

And even kings like Hezekiah who supposedly tore down

All the high places didn’t mess with those.

 

That would be like trying to remove the statue of Liberty.

(You think healthcare was a fight)

 

But Josiah did it.

It was an idolatrous site and it had to go.

He didn’t care who built it, or how long it had been there.

 

Clean out the temple Clean out Judah

3) CLEAN OUT SAMARIA (15-20)

 

Samaria was the old Northern kingdom. (now run by Assyria)

But in Josiah’s heart that was still God’s land

And the idols had to be removed.

 

That is now like cleaning out idolatry in America

And then going north into Canada to do the same.

 

And by the way God said Josiah would do this.

1 Kings 13:1-2 “Now behold, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD, while Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. He cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.'”

 

We call this devotion.

Not only did he read God’s word,

He also obeyed it by removing idolatry from the land.

 

(Verses 24-25) “Moreover, Josiah removed the mediums and the spiritists and the teraphim and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD. Before him there was no king like him who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.”

 

He Read the Law He Removed the Idols

#3 HE REINSTATED THE PASSOVER

2 Kings 23:21-23

 

Now you may say, “That’s not new”

You may remember Hezekiah had the Passover.

 

But not like this he didn’t.

(21) “Then the king commanded all the people saying, “Celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God AS IT IS WRITTEN in this book of the covenant.”

 

In other words, don’t just do it, do it right.

(22) “Surely such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges…”

 

Not even David had a Passover like this one.

 

But under Josiah Judah did it right.

(23) “But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah the Passover was observed to the LORD in Jerusalem.”

 

 

This was a nation that did not care about God’s redemption.

They no longer cared about their deliverance from Egypt.

 

And so doing the Passover was insignificant to them.

And doing it exactly according to the book would have been a nuisance.

 

But Josiah made them.

It takes devotion to God’s Word to enforce it upon those who don’t care.

 

He was devoted to reading and obeying God’s word to the letter.

 

Now of course, as we read to begin the sermon,

All his devotion seemed to be completely unsuccessful.

 

(Verses 26-27) “However, the LORD did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath with which His anger burned against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him. The LORD said, “I will remove Judah also from My sight, as I have removed Israel. And I will cast off Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the temple of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.'”

 

And don’t let that bother you.

Josiah knew that going into the whole deal.

 

God had reaffirmed the coming judgment back in the 22nd chapter.

Josiah knew before he ever got started

That his efforts would not change anything.

 

BUT HE DID IT ANYWAY.

Because God commands devotion.

 

He Read the Law, He Removed the Idols, He Reinstated the Passover

#4 HE RESTED FROM HIS LABORS

2 Kings 23:28-30

 

Some have tried to look at his death as though somehow he messed up

And was not pleasing to God, and that is why he died at the age of 37.

 

Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

He died young because God had made him a promise.

 

2 Kings 22:19-20 “because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares the LORD. “Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.”‘” So they brought back word to the king.”

Josiah didn’t die young as a form of punishment.

He died young as a reward.

God spared him from seeing what was about to occur.

 

Revelation 14:13 “And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”

 

That was what occurred for Josiah.

 

He was devoted to God even though he saw no “success”

In his labors and God honored his devotion.

 

• He was king over a nation that did not love God’s word,

AND HE READ IT TO THEM.

• He was king over a nation that loved idolatry,

AND HE REMOVED THEM.

• He was king over a nation that did not want God’s salvation,

AND HE MADE THEM TAKE THE PASSOVER ANYWAY.

 

His devotion was not based on public opinion,

But on personal conviction.

 

We’ve all seen times when Jesus became sort of a fad.

But Josiah was truly devoted. He did it when no one else cared.

 

That is what you and I are called to do as well.

“be instant in season and out of season”

 

God wants you and I to be devoted to Him.

Luke 9:57-62 “As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

 

There is no substitute for diligence.

There is no short degree in perseverance.

You can’t receive sanctification in 40 days.

 

Let go of your ideas of instant success.

Let go of your desires for a “quick-fix”

And devote yourselves for the long-haul of dedicated Christian service.

 

Then and only then will what we accomplish be genuine.

 

It may not appear that Josiah took many results with him

As he stood for the judgment.

But I promise you that what he did take with him

Survived through the fire.

 

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 “According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”