Day 15: 2 Kings 25
After Elijah’s demonstration of God’s power in yesterday’s reading, the kings of both Israel and Judah continued to lead their people astray. They worshiped idols, sinned against the Lord, and broke his covenant again and again. Finally, in approximately 740 BC, the northern kingdom of Israel was taken into captivity by the Assyrians (see II Kings 17), the result of the implementation of the covenant curse given to Moses way back in Deuteronomy 28 & 32. The southern kingdom of Judah lasted a few more generations because of some godly kings, but ultimately they, too, were taken into captivity by the Babylonians in approximately 586 BC.
When the kingdom of Babylon, led by King Nebuchadnezzar, finally overtook Jerusalem, it was a devastating scene. Homes were burned, the temple was ransacked, and the people were carried off away from their promised land. All of this happened because of the sin of the people of the nation of Israel. For generations, God had given chance after chance after chance, but to no avail. They had broken the covenant with their God again and again and again, and so God remained faithful to that same covenant and exiled them from the land.
And yet, here in the midst of a bleak ending to the books of the Kings, due to the direct result of the people’s sin, we find an unexpected bit of hope. Normally, when a nation was overtaken by another, the king was the first to be killed. This was often done in a ceremonious and symbolic way that was further humiliating to the nation that had been captured. The lack of a leader demonstrated once and for all that the nation as they knew it was done. But here, Jehoiachin, the last king of Judah, is not killed. Rather, he is treated with kindness and even eats at the king’s table with an allowance as long as he lived.
Admittedly, this is an odd bit of hope and a strange ending to the historical book. But, first, 1 & 2 Kings was most likely written by one of these Judahite exiles, explaining to the people their history and how they got to where they are now. To those readers, this would have left it open-ended. Perhaps not all hope was lost, as it most certainly seemed. Secondly, this continues God’s promise to David’s family in II Samuel 7 (see Day 12) that he would always have someone on the throne. The fact that Jehoiachin wasn’t killed outright allowed this line to continue. Finally, in consideration of the overall storyline of the Bible (Creation, Rebellion, Redemption, Restoration), much of these books clearly highlights the Rebellion aspect. And yet, these last verses offer a glimpse into redemption. Even in the midst of untold sin and direct covenant breaking, God had a remnant in mind: a group of people who would one day return to the promised land. Although the human side of it was beyond repair, God wasn’t done with these people yet.
Questions for reflection and discussion: When in your life have you felt overwhelmed by your own failings and sin, perhaps finding yourself in a place beyond hope because of what you had done? How does this chapter offer a glimpse of the hope of the gospel that is our solution today?
