2 Kings – Chapter 24

For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 2 Kings 24:20 – Under the original covenant God made with His people, it was a if/then sort of agreement. If they would obey His commands and follow Him, then God would bless and protect them. If though they rejected God’s commands and refused to follow Him, then they would find persecution and loss. What we find in our chapter is the final straw of God’s longsuffering and patience with Judah. They had turned to sin so intensely and for so long, despite all the prophet’s warnings God sent them, that it was time for them to feel the weight of their choice. Let us though today praise the Lord that we are under a new covenant through Jesus Christ. No longer is it the original if/then deal with God. Jesus is our righteousness before God. Our relationship with God is no longer based on our holy actions but based on the holy sacrifice of Jesus. We don’t have to fear God casting us out like we see in this passage for Jesus has secured our position with the Father. Today cherish the truth that because of Jesus every sin is forgiven, our future of Heaven is guaranteed, and our peace with God is eternally secured. All this is true for those who place their faith in Jesus, and if that hasn’t happened yet in your story, know today can be the day your life with Jesus begins. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac- Daily DEVO 3090

2 Kings 24&25 – What you see within these two chapters is defeat for the people of God. Their city is completely overwhelmed with the enemy. The people are taken away from all they know and placed with the enemy. The temple is ransacked and destroyed. From all angles this is a defeat for God’s people, but don’t take this as a defeat of our God. Yes His temple was destroyed but He wasn’t. Yes His people were defeated but He wasn’t. Our God is not able to be destroyed or defeated. He’s not like these other false gods we read together about in 2 Kings where time and time again their altars and idols were destroyed. Our God reigned and remained through all the attacks poured out on Him. Know that He is the same today. While our culture and world would love to deceive you into thinking He’s been destroyed He hasn’t. While even some in the church would like you to believe the enemy has bested God and has had God removed from our presence that’s a total lie. God is with us and God still reigns. Defeat in our life is not defeat of our God. Sin can still have influence over us if we let it, but it has no power over our God. Remember as we step into this next year the same Jesus that rose victoriously from the grave is still alive and powerful in your story. He’s never going to be defeated and His strength is for all who are with Him. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 395

…and Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign… 2 Kings 24:12 – Sin doesn’t bring freedom. Here we have the king of Judah pursuing the sinful worship of false gods and finding himself as a result under the captivity of Babylon. Sin has a way of making us think that when we lean into it we lean into the freedom we’ve been searching for. Take today’s passage as an example of the truth about sin. Instead, lean into a life of following God. There, and only there, will you find true freedom. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1047

And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 2 Kings 24:19 – If you’ve been reading along in 1 and 2 Kings, you’ll not be surprised by a verse like this. This was how the majority of kings up to this point lived their lives, doing evil instead of what is right by the Lord. So why single this verse out like we are if this is such a common one to find in these books? Because this time it’s being spoken of Zedekiah. He was the very last king of Judah before the nation fell. King after king before him refused to follow God and it lead to an enemy nation capturing their entire city and bloodshed. He got the chance over and over to witness where not following God would take him as king, yet still chose to not follow God. In my sermon this Sunday my last point will be that following God’s word is optional in our life. As with Zedekiah, we can choose to not follow it. Yet how many people either from scripture or in life have we seen choose to not follow after God and they are just walking through life missing something. Maybe that something is peace, or joy, or purpose, or assurance of what’s going to happen after death. Today make the choice to follow the Lord. Witness the example of those who don’t and let that spur you to want something better. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac -Daily DEVO 2230