2 Kings 24 Devotional

Nothing Outside His Word

“And the LORD sent Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim in order to destroy Judah, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servants the prophets.”2 Kings 24:2 (BSB)

Judah's end comes in stages. Jehoiakim rebels against Babylon, and raiders from four nations come against Judah (24:1-2). Then young Jehoiachin surrenders, and Nebuchadnezzar carries him off with his mother, his officials, the warriors, and the craftsmen, leaving only the poorest people behind (24:12-16). The gold articles Solomon made for the temple are cut to pieces (24:13). Zedekiah is installed, and he too rebels (24:17-20).

On the surface it looks like an empire swallowing a small kingdom. The narrator insists on something deeper. The LORD sent these raiders, as his prophets had said (24:2). It happened at his command, because of Manasseh's sins and the innocent blood he shed (24:3-4). The treasures went to Babylon just as the LORD had declared (24:13), as Isaiah had told Hezekiah years before (20:17). It means that even Judah's worst day was not outside God's hand or beyond his word. The God who kept his warnings this exactly will keep his promises too.

To think about: What hard season in your life might look different if you believed it was not outside God's hand?