This program of daily devotions is designed to take you through the Bible in three years. It is our desire to help you gain a better general understanding of God's Word.
Please understand that in a study this brief, we will be concerned with only the major emphases and context of the Scriptures.
Each day a devotion for one or two chapters is posted, beginning with chapter one of Genesis and going through chapter twenty-two of Revelation. You are free to print each page as it appears. If you miss a day, you may contact us and request that devotion. Please send your request, along with $.50 (p&h) for each page to:
Bruce McGee,Pastor
205 Adams
Columbia, LA 71418
HERE
Bro. Bruce's commentaries for the books of
Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus are
now available in hard copy for $7.50. Just
mail your request for COMMENTARY ON GENESIS to the address above.
2KINGS
1 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.
2 And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
3 And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.
Jerusalem had never suffered so much. When Zedekiah rebelled, the king of Babylon sent his army to totally defeat Judah.
4 And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.
5 And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.
6 So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.
7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
Zedekiah fled, but was captured. The king of Babylon was in Riblah in Syria. Zedekiah was brought before him in chains. The king of Babylon paraded Zedekiah's sons before him, then killed them all! Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes. The last thing Zedekiah saw on this earth was his own children dying because of his insensitivity to God!
8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:
9 And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire.
10 And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about.
The next month, the Babylonian army came into Jerusalem and burned down Solomon's temple and destroyed all the great walls of Jerusalem.
11 Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away.
12 But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.
The Babylonians left a few people to keep the land, and particularly the vineyards.
13 And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon.
14 And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
15 And the firepans, and the bowls, and such things as were of gold, in gold, and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.
16 The two pillars, one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD; the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the chapiter upon it was brass: and the height of the chapiter three cubits; and the wreathen work, and pomegranates upon the chapiter round about, all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar with wreathen work.
The glory of God's house didn't disappear overnight. Due to the sins of idolatry and the consequences of those sins, much of the gold had already been removed from the temple.
18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:
19 And out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king's presence, which were found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, which mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the people of the land that were found in the city:
20 And Nebuzaradan captain of the guard took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah:
21 And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land.
Probably these men thought to hide themselves among the people. But they were found.
22 And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler.
We know very little about Gedaliah, except that he was appointed by the king of Babylon to rule the people who were left in Judaea. Gedaliah was the son of Ahikam. Ahikam had been a principal officer in the court of Josiah (2Kings 22:12-14).
23 And when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
24 And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you.
25 But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah.
26 And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees.
Gedaliah had enemies who didn't believe that submission to the king of Babylon was God's will. They gave him a hard time for a while, then they killed him.
27 And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;
28 And he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon;
29 And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life.
30 And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.
In this, the end of 2Kings, we see the workings of God's GRACE. Please continue in Bible Study with us.
CHAPTER 25
The army came in the 10th month of Zedekiah's 9th year of reign. In the 4th month of the 11th year, the barricade around Jerusalem had totally eradicated the city's food supply. Jeremiah 34 is a pronouncement of God's prophecy that this would happen.
Jeremiah's prophecy was that God would allow the Babylonians to capture them because of their selfishness. They would not listen to God; instead they acted for their own interests.
When one generation forsakes God, the next generation suffers.
Then they carried away more captives.
I have been asked, "How could a loving God do this to His people?"
Well, it was God Who caused this to happen. However, it was because of the sin of the people.
God had decreed the consequences of serving self and not serving Him. God has set LAWS in motion to govern sinful man. The law of gravity, for instance, says that what goes UP must come DOWN. That law continually works.
The law of God's LOVE also continually works. When man repents and turns to God, He will forgive and bless. However, some consequences for sin may still remain. But the purpose for the law of sin is to bring man to repentance.
When man refuses to repent and turn to God, the law of sin says that man brings harm to himself. And that's what happened to these people. They brought harm to themselves by refusing to serve the Lord.
God had given them many chances to repent. They had squandered all of them away.
All that was of any value, the Babylonian army took away.
NOTHING on this earth is of any REAL value except our FAITH in God!
When God's judgment comes - NONE ESCAPE!
They were carried to Babylon and killed.
It was these men who decided to take Jeremiah and all the people they could and go to Egypt. Jeremiah had been telling them that this was NOT the thing to do.
He told them it was their SIN that had placed them in bondage, and if they ran from the discipline that they would be destroyed.
They went to Egypt anyway, and there they died.
Remember Jehoiachin? He had found GRACE in the sight of Nebuchadnezzar. During the reign of Evilmerodach (Nebuchadnezzar's son), Jehoiachin was given a prominent place in Babylon's kingdom. He sat at the king's table, and was treated as royalty.
Even God's discipline is merciful!
God watches over His people. When He says He will preserve, He will do that very thing.
It is far better to repent of sin and serve the Lord than to rebel and serve the consequences of sin!