4.20 2 Kings 22-25

2 Kings 22-25. Congratulations! Today you have completed the Book of 2 Kings 22-25.

Transcript

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Hello, friends and neighbors. Welcome to the Sunny Side of Life Bible in a Year Experience. Join me each day as I read the Bible from start to finish. I'm reading from the Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation, published by Tyndale House Publishers. I pray this daily reading will bless you as much as it does me. So let's get started. April 20th, 2 Kings chapters 22 through 25. Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 31 years. His mother was Jedida, the daughter of Adea from Bazcath. He did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right. In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent Shaphan, son of Azaliah and grandson of Meshulam, the court secretary, to the temple of the Lord. He told him, Go to Hilkiah, the high priest, and have him count the money the gatekeepers have collected from the people at the Lord's temple. Entrust this money to the men assigned to supervise the restoration of the Lord's temple. Then they can use it to pay workers to repair the temple. They will need to hire carpenters, builders, and masons. Also, have them buy the timber and the finished stone needed to repair the temple, but don't require the construction supervisors to keep account of the money they received, for they are honest and trustworthy men. Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan, the court's secretary, I have found the book of the law in the Lord's temple. Then Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shiphan and he read it. Shaphan went to the king and reported, Your officials have turned over the money collected at the temple of the Lord to the workers and supervisors at the temple. Shefhan also told the king, Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll. So Shaphan read it to the king. When the king heard what was written in the book of the law, he tore his clothes in despair. Then he gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikim, son of Shaphan, Akbor, son of Makaiah, Shaphan the court secretary, and Isaiah, the king's personal advisor. Go to the temple and speak to the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah. Inquire about the words written in this scroll that has been found, for the Lord's great anger is burning against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words in this scroll. We have not been doing everything it says we must do. So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikim, Akbor, Shaphan, and Azah went to the new quarter of Jerusalem to consult with the prophet Holda. She was the wife of Shalom, son of Tikva, son of Harhas, the keeper of the temple wardrobe. She said to them, The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken. Go back and tell the man who sent you, this is what the Lord says. I am going to bring disaster on this city and its people. All the words written in the scroll that the king of Judah has read will come true. For my people have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to pagan gods, and I am very angry with them for everything they have done. My anger will burn against this place, and it will not be quenched. But go to the king of Judah who sent you to seek the Lord and tell him, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the message you have just heard. You were sorry and humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I said against this city and its people, that this land would be cursed and become desolate. You tore your clothing in despair and wept before me in repentance, and I have indeed heard you, says the Lord. So I will not send the promised disaster until after you have died and been buried in peace. You will not see the disaster I am going to bring on this city. So they took her message back to the king. Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem, and the king went up to the temple of the Lord with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, along with the priests and the prophets, all the people from the least to the greatest. There the king read to them the entire book of the covenant that had been found in the Lord's temple. The king took his place of authority beside the pillar and renewed the covenant in the Lord's presence. He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all his commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul. In this way he confirmed all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll, and all the people pledged themselves to the covenant. Then the king instructed Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second rank and the temple gatekeepers to remove from the Lord's temple all the articles that were used to worship Baal, Asherah, and all the powers of the heavens. The king had all these things burned outside Jerusalem on the terraces of the Kidron Valley, and he carried the ashes away to Bethel. He did away with the idolatrous priests who had been appointed by the previous kings of Judah, for they had offered sacrifices at the pagan shrines throughout Judah and even in the vicinity of Jerusalem. They had also offered sacrifices to Baal, and to the sun, the moon, the constellations, and to all the powers of the heavens. The king removed the asherapol from the Lord's temple and took it outside Jerusalem through the Kidron Valley, where he burned it. Then he ground the ashes of the pole to dust and threw the dust over the graves of the people. He also tore down the living quarters of the male and female shrine prostitutes that were inside the temple of the Lord, where the women wove coverings for the asherapole. Josiah brought to Jerusalem all the priests who were living in the other towns of Judah. He also defiled the pagan shrines, where they had offered sacrifices all the way from Giba to Beersheba. He destroyed the shrines at the entrance to the gate of Joshua, the governor of Jerusalem. This gate was located to the left of the city gate as one enters the city. The priests who had served at the pagan shrines were not allowed to serve at the Lord's altar in Jerusalem, but they were allowed to eat unleavened bread with the other priests. Then the king defiled the altar of Totheth in the valley of Ben Hanam, so no one could ever again use it to sacrifice a son or daughter in the fire as an offering to Molech. He removed from the entrance of the Lord's temple the horse statues that former kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They were near the quarters of Nathan Melech, the eunuch, an officer of the court. The king also burned the chariots dedicated to the sun. Josiah tore down the altars that the kings of Judah had built on the palace roof above the upper room of Ahaz. The king destroyed the altars that Manasseh had built in the two courtyards of the Lord's temple. He smashed them to bits and scattered the pieces in the Kidron Valley. The king also desecrated the pagan shrines east of Jerusalem to the south of the Mount of Corruption, where King Solomon of Israel had built shrines for Asharath, the detestable goddess of the Sidonians, and for Shemash, the detestable god of the Moabites, and for Molech, the vile god of the Ammonites. He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the asherapoles. Then he desecrated these places by scattering human bones over them. The king also tore down the altar at Bethel, the pagan shrine that Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had made when he caused Israel to sin. He burned down the shrine and ground it to dust, and he burned the asherapole. Then Josiah turned around and noticed several tombs in the side of the hill. He ordered that the bones be brought out, and he burned them on the altar at Bethel to desecrate it. This happened just as the Lord had promised through the man of God when Jeroboam stood beside the altar at the festival. Then Josiah turned and looked up at the tomb of the man of God who had predicted these things. What is that monument over there? Josiah asked. And the people of the town told him, It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted the very things that you have just done to the altar at Bethel. Josiah replied, Leave it alone, don't disturb his bones. So they did not burn his bones or those of the old prophet from Samaria. Then Josiah demolished all the buildings at the pagan shrines in the towns of Samaria, just as he had done at Bethel. They had been built by the various kings of Israel and had made the Lord very angry. He executed the priests of the pagan shrines on their own altars, and he burned human bones on the altars to desecrate them. Finally, he returned to Jerusalem. King Josiah then issued this order to all the people. You must celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God as required in this book of the covenant. There had not been a Passover celebration like that since the time when the judges ruled in Israel, nor throughout all the years of the kings of Israel and Judah. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah's reign, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem. Josiah also got rid of the mediums and psychics, the household gods, the idols, and every other kind of detestable practice, both in Jerusalem and throughout the land of Judah. He did this in obedience to the laws written in the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had found in the Lord's temple. Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses, and there has never been a king like him since. Even so, the Lord was very angry with Judah because of all the wicked things Manasseh had done to provoke him. For the Lord said, I will also banish Judah from my presence just as I have banished Israel, and I will reject my chosen city of Jerusalem and the temple where my name was to be honored. The rest of the events in Josiah's reign and all his deeds are recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. When Josiah was king, Pharaoh Nico, king of Egypt, went to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah and his army marched out to fight him, but King Neko killed him when they met at Megiddo. Josiah's officers took his body back in a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. Then the people of the land anointed Josiah's son Jehoahaz, and made him the next king. Jehoahaz was twenty three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libna. He did what was evil in the Lord's sight just as his ancestors had done. Pharaoh Niko had put Jehoahaz in prison at Riblah in the land of Hamath to prevent him from ruling in Jerusalem. He also demanded that Judah pay seventy five hundred pounds of silver and seventy-five pounds of gold as tribute. Pharaoh Niko then installed Eliakim, another of Josiah's sons, to reign in place of his father, and he changed Eliakim's name to Jehoakim. Jehoahaz was taken to Egypt as a prisoner, where he died. In order to get the silver and gold demanded as tribute by Pharaoh Nicah, Jehoiakim collected a tax from the people of Judah, requiring them to pay in proportion to their wealth. Jehoiakim was twenty five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Israel eleven years. His mother was Zabeda, the daughter of Padiah from Rumah. He did what was evil in the Lord's sight, just as his ancestors had done. During Jehoiakim's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the land of Judah. Jehoiakim surrendered and paid him tribute for three years, but then rebelled. Then the Lord sent bands of Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Judah to destroy it, just as the Lord had promised through his prophets. These disasters happened to Judah because of the Lord's command. He had decided to banish Judah from his presence because of the many sins of Manasseh, who had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. The Lord would not forgive this. The rest of the events in Jehoiakim's reign and all his deeds are recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. When Jehoiakim died, his son Jehoichin became the next king. The king of Egypt did not venture out of his country after that, for the king of Babylon captured the entire area formerly claimed by Egypt, from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River. Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother was Nehushta, the daughter of El Nathan from Jerusalem. Jehoachin did what was evil in the Lord's sight just as his father had done. During Jehoiachin's reign, the officers of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up against Jerusalem and besieged it. Nebuchadnezzar himself arrived at the city during the siege. Then King Jehoachin, along with the Queen Mother, his advisors, his commanders, and his officials, surrendered to the Babylonians. In the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, he took Jehoichin prisoner. As the Lord had said beforehand, Nebuchadnezzar carried away all the treasures from the Lord's temple and the royal palace. He stripped away all the gold objects that King Solomon of Israel had placed in the temple. King Nebuchadnezzar took all of Jerusalem captive, including all the commanders and the best of the soldiers, craftsmen and artisans, ten thousand in all. Only the poorest people were left in the land. Nebuchadnezzar led King Jehoachin away as a captive to Babylon, along with the queen mother, his wives and officials, and all Jerusalem's elite. He also exiled seven thousand of the best troops and one thousand craftsmen and artisans, all of whom were strong and fit for war. Then the king of Babylon installed Mataniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, as the next king, and he changed Mataniah's name to Zedekiah. Zedekiah was twenty one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libna. But Zedekiah did what was evil in the Lord's sight, just as Jehoiakim had done. These things happened because of the Lord's anger against the people of Jerusalem and Judah, until he finally banished them from his presence and sent them into exile. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. So on January fifteenth, during the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led his entire army against Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against its walls. Jerusalem was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah's reign. By july eighteenth, in the eleventh year of Zedekiah's reign, the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone. Then a section of the city wall was broken down. Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians, the soldiers waited for nightfall and escaped through the gate between the two walls behind the king's garden. Then they headed toward the Jordan Valley, but the Babylonian troops chased the king and overtook him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered. They captured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah. They made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah's eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon. On august fourteenth of that year, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebucharadne, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem. He burned down the temple of the Lord, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings in the city, then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side. Then Nabuzaradin, the captain of the guard, took as exiles the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had declared their allegiance to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population. But the captain of the guard allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind to care for the vineyards and fields. The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars in front of the Lord's temple, the bronze water carts, and the great bronze basin called the sea, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon. They also took all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, ladles, and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices at the temple. The captain of the guard also took the incense burners and basins, and all the other articles made of pure gold or silver. The weight of the bronze from the two pillars, the sea and the water carts, was too great to be measured. These things had been made for the Lord's temple in the days of Solomon. Each of the pillars was twenty seven feet tall, the bronze capital on the top of each pillar was seven and a half feet high, and was decorated with a network of bronze pomegranates all the way around. Nabuzerodon, the captain of the guard, took with him as prisoners Sariah, the high priest, Zephaniah, the priest of the second rank, and the three chief gatekeepers. And from among the people still hiding in the city he took an officer who had been in charge of the Judean army, five of the king's personal advisors, the army commander's chief secretary, who was in charge of recruitment, and sixty other citizens. Nabuzeradin, the captain of the guard, took them all to the king of Babylon at Ribla, and there at Riblah in the land of Hamath the king of Babylon had them all put to death. So the people of Judah were sent into exile from their land. Then King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedalia, son of Ahikim, the grandson of Shapon, as governor over the people he had left in Judah. When all the army commanders and their men learned that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedalia as governor, they went to see him at Mizbah these included Ishmael, son of Nathania, Johanan, son of Korea, Saria, son of Tanhumath, the Nataphathite, Jezaniah, son of the Makathite, and all their men. Gedaliah vowed to them that the Babylonian officials meant them no harm. Don't be afraid of them, live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well for you, he promised. But in mid-autumn of that year, Ishmael, son of Nathania, the grandson of Elishima, who was a member of the royal family, went to Mizbah with ten men and killed Gedaliah. He also killed all the Judeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizbah. Then all the people of Judah, from the least to the greatest, as well as the army commanders, fled in panic to Egypt, for they were afraid of what the Babylonians would do to them. In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of King Jehoiachin of Judah, Evel Morodak ascended to the Babylonian throne. He was kind to Jehoiachin and released him from prison on April 2nd of that year. He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a higher place than all the other exiled kings in Babylon. He supplied Jehoiachin with new clothes to replace his prison garb and allowed him to dine in the king's presence for the rest of his life. So the king gave him a regular food allowance as long as he lived. That's it for today, friends. Feel free to read ahead on your own. Before I go, let's share the Lord's Prayer together. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, in power, and the glory forever. Amen.