Kingdom Divided Lesson 20 – Isaiah Part 3

 

Isaiah 40

The rest of Isaiah focuses on Israel’s future restoration.  In Isaiah 39 God announced that the Babylonians would someday capture Jerusalem and take the people into exile, but now in Isaiah 40:1-2 God declared comfort, hope and deliverance for His exiled people.  They needed to hear some words of comfort after all they ‘d been through.  He told them that their sin had been paid which is a picture that through the death and resurrection of the Messiah the debt had been fully paid.  The word ‘comfort’ means a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint.  The one true source of comfort is in Jesus, “because He will save His people from their sins.” - Matthew 1:21.  “Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of comfort, who comfort us in all our troubles….” – 2 Corinthians 1:3-7.

We learn about the person of God in these verses:

Isaiah 40:1-11 –  God is comfort.  His Word stands forever.  He is Sovereign and powerful.

Isaiah 40: 12-26 –  God is Creator.  He is Holy.  He has great power and mighty strength.

Isaiah 40:27-31 – God is everlasting.  He never grows tired or weary.  He gives strength to the weary and power to the weak.

We can find strength in His Word and knowing He is in control.  He gives us strength when we pray, when we have faith, and then we trust in Him.

Isaiah said to prepare the way of the Lord (Isaiah 40:3) which is a direct fulfillment in the New Testament in the person of John the Baptist.  Jesus was the coming Messiah and King.  John the Baptist’s ministry was to be the one crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord.  Preparing means to examine your life and see where your choices and actions have not been pleasing to God.  It means to remove all things that prevent you from being right with God.  This leads you to repentance and for the coming of the Lord into your heart. 

We can find strength in God when we feel weak, weary, confused or discouraged because He is the everlasting God.  “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” – Isaiah  40:28-29. 

In times of distress or uncertainty, what brings you comfort?

What or who do you rely on for strength and energy?

Principle:  God’s amazing forgiveness brings us the deepest comfort.

Isaiah 41-45  

Through Isaiah God encouraged Israel.  “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God;  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isiah 41:10.

Then he condemned the foolishness of idolatry.  He said God Himself is the first and the last; apart from Him there is no God (Isaiah 44;6).  All who make idols are nothing and are worthless.  All who speak up for them are blind, ignorant, and shameful.  Those who craft idols are nothing but men.  Idols cannot save.  Only God can save.  Idols cannot give life.  Only God can.  He is your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb.

Why does God hate idols?  God hates idolatry because He is unwilling to share His glory.  He created us and everything in this world so He alone is worthy of our worship.  There is none above Him and none that can even stand beside Him.

People fashion idols today.  They may not worship a golden statue, but they worship other things.  An idol is when something or someone becomes more important to you than God.  It’s anything that you love, treasure, prioritize, identify with, or look to for needed fulfillment outside of God.  One of the Ten Commandments and found in Exodus 20:3 is against idolatry.  Some idols are money, material things, jobs, status, family, children, entertainment, sex, and even technology like phones and computers.  To identify your idols ask yourself, ‘where do I spend my time, where do I spend my money, where do I get my joy, what’s always on my mind?’

Isaiah 42 is known as the Servant Song.  The Servant here is talking about Jesus the Messiah revealing His servant heart and the very nature of God the Father.  He is marked by gentleness and is a gentle Savior.  He meets us where we are in all our hurt and pain, where we’ve been bent and bruised.

Then he gives Israel and us reasons not to fear – God created us, He formed us, He redeemed us, He called us by name and we are His.  He is always with us, we belong to Him, He is our God.  He alone is God.

God said He is the Lord and there is no other.  He formed the light and created the darkness.  He brings prosperity and creates disaster.  “I, the Lord, do all these things.” – Isaiah 45:7b.  We are to look to Him to be saved.

Principle:  God is Lord and there is no other.

Isaiah 46-47

God continued His message through Isaiah.  He used Babylon as an instrument to judge His people, but He held Babylon accountable for her pride, idolatry, violence and brutality.  Babylon’s gods cannot do anything.  The people had to carry the idols, they were expensive to make and the people were wasting their money.  No idol can ever do anything to help its owner.  Idols are helpless.  God can do everything.  He has a plan and He will save Jerusalem.

False gods have to be carried, but God carries His people.  He carried them from before their birth and He promises to continue to carry them until their hairs are gray.  God watches over our every movement and remains faithful to us.  He is not only interested in our early years, but in every day of our lives.  He’s with us in the womb to the tomb and every day in between.  He’s with us in every season of life.  “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you  I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” - Isaiah 46:4

Principle:  God has plans and a purpose to carry out in each of our lives.

Woe to Babylon!  The people were cruel to their slaves and now they were themselves slaves.  They will suffer the same shame they caused.  They will stand accountable to God.  The final words in chapter 47 are “no one can save you”  This is true for all who will not find salvation in the Lord.

Principle:  Salvation is found through Jesus alone.

Isaiah 48

We learn in Isaiah 48:3-5 that God was not surprised of Israel’s stubbornness and rebellion against Him.  This demonstrates that God is the sovereign Lord of history and He controls its flow.  He knows all things and all possibilities.  He is never caught by surprised.  God said, “Listen to me…. I am he; I am the first and I am the last.” – Isaiah 48:12.

Isaiah 48:16-19 described God’s actions and posture toward His people.  He said to come near to Him and listen.  He is their Redeemer; the Holy One of Israel and He is the Lord their God.  He teaches what is best and directs the way they should go.  If only they had paid attention to His commands, they would have peace like a river, their descendants would have been like the sand, and they would never be destroyed.  Because of their rebellion they forfeited peace, prosperity and well-being.

Judah persisted in stubborn rebellion and idol worship.  They were totally unwilling to change.  He told them to listen and understand.  They were His chosen people but their behavior was evil.  He said the Lord must punish them because they have damaged His name.  He put a limit on their punishment or they would otherwise be totally destroyed.  Isaiah told them if they had only listened.  Instead of happiness, the people became miserable prisoners in a foreign country for many years.  He told them to leave Babylon and to send out a message that the Lord had redeemed them.

In what ways are you rebelling against God?

What idols do you worship?

What is keeping you from changing your stubborn ways?

Are you paying attention when God is speaking to you?

Principle:  God offers peace and wellbeing to those who follow Him.

This week’s Attribute of God is He is Savior.  We have no power to save ourselves because we are dead in our sin.  Death is the punishment for sin, but God sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.  Jesus saves completely and there is no sin left for God to punish.  He gives us new  desires and a new ability to fight sin through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus is the only way we can be saved!

Key verses:

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” - Isaiah 40:8.

“The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” – Isaiah  40:28-29.

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:31

“I, the Lord, do all these things.” – Isaiah 45:7b.

Next time we will study the final section of Isaiah in our study of Kingdom Divided.  Hope to see you here. – I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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Kingdom Divided Lesson 19 – Isaiah Part 2

 Isaiah 1-39 

This section of Isaiah emphasizes God’s coming judgment on His people. In Isaiah 1, Isaiah records a vision from God which revealed the future events of Judah and Jerusalem.  Isaiah listed Judah’s sins against God.  God created the people of Israel, but they didn’t accept Him as their Lord.  They broke His laws, resisted His loving correction, and failed to live right.  They had become wicked and rebelled against Him.  He asked them why they continued to rebel and not give up their wickedness.  He told them to stop making worthless burnt offerings to God because He no longer needed them.  He said their hands were full of blood and He had no reason to hear their prayers.  They should change their life and stop living a life of sin.

He told them there would be a day of redemption for Jerusalem, but only if they sought forgiveness and changed their ways.  This was the only way to true righteousness and to make the city and people a great nation once again.

Isaiah listed eight admonitions to these rebellious people – wash your hands that are full of blood, take your evil deeds out of my sight, stop doing wrong, learn to do right, seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the cause of the fatherless, plead for the widow (Isaiah 1:16-17).  

Because of their sin, God would purify them in judgment in the form of nations oppressing and conquering them.  He would turn His hand against them.  Disaster would strike and bring utter chaos. (Isaiah 1:24-25; 5; 7:18-25; 39:5-7).  God still loved them, which is evident in Isaiah 1:18-20.  If they would repent and be obedient, He would forgive them.  He will do the same for us.

Have you experienced God’s purifying discipline?

How are you stronger?

We see all kinds of destruction these days - tornados, earthquakes, floods, pandemics, wars, and the list goes on.  Why do you think these things are happening?  I think it’s because we are a rebellious people just like in the times of Isaiah and God is purifying us.  God still loves us, but He wants us to repent and be obedient.  His forgiveness is waiting.  He wants us to stop doing evil and do what is right.  If you think the catastrophes are bad now, just wait.  It will get much worse as the end draws near.

In Isaiah 12 Isaiah felt the Lord was angry with him, but he decided to praise Him anyway.  It’s wonderful when the anger of God is turned away.  His anger is turned away because of what Jesus did on the cross.  This chapter is a hymn of praise and thanksgiving for redemption and salvation by Christ that we see in the preceding chapter of prophecy.  He praises the greatness of God.  He gives thanks and has joy of hope for the future. 

Points of Isaiah’s song of praise:

I will give thanks to you for though you were angry with me, your anger has turned away

You comfort me.

God is my salvation.

I will trust and will not be afraid.

In that day give thanks to the Lord, call on His name.

Make known what He has done, proclaim that His name is exalted.

Sing to the Lord for all He’s done.

Shout and sing for joy.

For He is the Holy One of Israel.

 

Principle:  God is the God of salvation.

Isaiah mentions the sins of neighboring nations in a series of poems in Isaiah 13-24.  God will bring judgment against Babylon, Assyria, the Philistines, and against Moab.  Israel’s neighbors had great influence on them as do our neighbors have influence on us.  He will bring judgment on their sinful neighbors and on our sinful neighbors as well.

Our friends and neighbors influence us whether we are aware of it or not and sometimes in a bad way.  Christians have many enemies.  The biggest is the world itself – it’s value-system dominates society and is contrary to the ways of God.  The world is the man-centered way of life which ignores God and operates by selfish principles and lives by ungodly standards.  It’s principles are force, greed, pride, selfishness, ambition, materialism, and pleasure.  We are bombarded daily with lust and selfish desires.  The world influences us all.  It would like to dominate our personalities and mold our thoughts.

Isaiah gives Israel a message of hope in the coming of the promised Messiah, King Jesus.

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:  The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” – Isaiah 7:14. 

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6.  

 “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the  fear of the Lord – and he will delight in the fear of the Lord……Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” – Isaiah 11:1-5.

 “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.” – Isaiah 11:10).

His promise of the Messiah was fulfilled.  We are fortunate to live now and know this fact.  Now we have the hope that we will live forever because Jesus lives.  God established and secured His hope for you when He raised Jesus from death.

God’s promises through Isaiah concerning His coming kingdom:

Isaiah 2:1-5 – In the last days the Lord’s temple will be established and all nations will stream to it.  Many people will come and God will judge the nations.

Isaiah 4:2-6 – In that day the branch of the Lord (Jesus) will be more beautiful and glorious.

Isaiah 9:1-3 – There will be no more gloom and distress, but joy and rejoicing.

Isaiah 11:6-9, 12-16 – The will be no more predators among the animals, a little child will be safe to lead them.  The Millennial reign of the Messiah will be glorious.

Isaiah 14:1-8 – Judah will settle in their own land and be joined by the Gentiles.

Isaiah 27 – In that day the Lord will punish the Leviathan (a symbol of Israel’s enemies).  All will gather and worship the Lord.

These promises gave Judah hope as they faced God’s judgment because their punishments were only temporary.  They knew that God still loved them and would bring them to Him once again.  This gives us hope, too.  When Jesus returns, we will reign with Him forever.  There will be no more tears, pain or hardships only happiness and joy.  When life is unexpectedly hard and you need hope, go to God’s Word and to God in prayer.  He knows your heart and He is faithful.

Principle:  God offers hope as judgment draws near.

We first hear of Satan, the serpent in the book of Genesis when he was in the garden.  During Isiah’s time Satan was already a fallen angel but Genesis doesn’t explain how he fell.  In Isaiah 14:12-15 we read about him before his fall.  He is called morning star, full of pride, and cast out of heaven.  In Ezekiel 28 he is called a guardian cherub full of wisdom and beauty.  When Satan was cast out, a third of the angels followed him and were cast out with him.  The book of Revelation calls him a great dragon and his angels are called stars and demons.

God is truth.  Satan is a liar. Every lie in your head or lies you are fed from this world originates with Satan.  Jesus said Satan is a murderer and doesn’t stand in truth because there is no truth in him.  He is the father of lies (John 8).  Satan is the god of this world and he is blinding unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4).  He seeks to deceive us all.  He will end in the lake of fire and so will those who follow him (Revelations 20:10).  Satan hates you, but God loves you (John 10:10).

Are you being deceived?

Who are you believing and following?

Principle: God is Truth.

Isaiah 29:13 tells us - don’t try to honor God with your lips, if your heart is far from Him.  Jesus calls those people hypocrites.  The Pharisees and scribes were hypocrites who created man-made rituals and traditions that they expected everyone to keep.  They followed these rules and looked righteous on the outside while on the inside their hearts were far from God.

Principle:  God only honors worship that comes from the heart.

He goes on to say that God will come with a vengeance and judgment against the Nations because of their rebellion.  He says for God’s people are to be strong and not fear, because He will come to save them.  They will enter Zion with singing and everlasting joy will crown their heads.  There will be no more sorrow and sighing will flee away.  (Isaiah 27-35)

This week we see many attributes of God. 

He is worthy of praise

He has perfect faithfulness 

He is a stronghold for the poor

He is a refuge for the needy 

He is a shelter from the storm 

He is a shade from the heat 

He has victory over death 

He will wipe away tears from His faithful ones 

He will remove disgrace from His people 

He is Savior 

He is the source of our strength 

He is goodness and just

I’m sure you can think of more of God’s attributes.

He is Infinite/Eternal – self-existing, without origin

He is Immutable – He never changes 

He is Self-sufficient – He has no needs 

He is Omnipotent – He is all powerful 

He is Omniscient – He is all-knowing 

He is Omnipresent – He is always everywhere 

He is Wise – He is full of perfect, unchanging wisdom 

He is faithful – He is true 

He is Good – He is kind and full of good will 

He is Just – He right and perfect in all He does 

He is Merciful – He compassionate and kind 

He is gracious – He is inclined to spare the guilty 

He is loving – He loves us 

He is Holy – He is perfect in every way 

He is glorious – He is beautiful and great 

He is Spirit – He is invisible 

He is Trustworthy – He cannot lie 

He is Righteous – He cannot and will not pass over wrongdoing. 

He is Incomparable -  there is no one like Him

Next time we will continue our study of Kingdom Divided in Isaiah.  Hope to see you here. – I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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Kingdom Divided Lesson 18 – Isaiah Part 1

 

Note:  For clarity the Kings of Israel are coded in Orange and Kings of Judah are coded in Blue.

God chose Isaiah to deliver a challenging message to the rebellious people of Judah.  Isaiah served as a prophet to Judah during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah.  Judah was going through times of revival and times of rebellion.  They were threatened with destruction by Assyria and Egypt, but were spared because of God’s mercy.  Isaiah brought a message of repentance and deliverance from God.  Chapters 1-39 tell of events during Isaiah’s lifetime.  Chapters 40-66 give prophecies of the future.  This book is filled with many prophecies of the Messiah that was to come.

The following verses point to major themes throughout Isaiah’s prophecy.

Isaiah 2-3 – God’s children have rebelled against Him.

Isaiah 1:16-18 – Isaiah tells the people to stop doing wrong.

Isaiah 9:19; 22:5 – God will bring judgment on the land and the people.

Isaiah 9:6; 11:1-3 – Jesus will save the people.

Isaiah 27:6; 32:1-2; 40:1-2; 43:1-2 – The people will be redeemed.

Isaiah 6 – Mission and Message

Isaiah had a vision from the Lord.  He saw the Lord sitting on a throne.  The train of His robe filled the temple.  The throne was surrounded by angels known as seraphim with six wings.  They cried out “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” – Isaiah 6:3. 

Why did they say holy three times?  Perhaps it was because there are Three Person in the One God we call the Trinity or maybe it was to declare His holiness in the highest possible degree.  They cried out that the whole earth is full of His glory.  We are often blind to the obvious glory of God all around us. 

He saw the temple was filled with a cloud of smoke.  The cloud marks the presence of the Lord.  The smoke reminds us of the pillar of cloud that represented the presence of the Lord in Exodus 13:21-22; 19:18 and 1 Kings 8:10-12. 

Isaiah’s immediate response to seeing God in His glory was “Woe is me!” – Isaiah 6:5a.   He was overwhelmed with his unworthiness to be in such a place.  He was reminded of the kind of man he was.  He realized he was unlike the Lord God and unlike the angels.  He saw his sinfulness and as having unclean lips.  A seraphim flew to him and touched his lips with a hot coal which took away his sins.  Once he had met with the Lord, been convicted of his sin, cleansed from guilt and sin, and was humbled, then he was ready to serve God. 

Are your lips unclean?

Are you consumed with guilt?

How has God brought you to be aware of your sin?

What is keeping you from being humbled and ready to serve God? 

The first step in coming to Christ is to recognize your sin.  Sin is transgression of the law of God and rebellion against God.  You have to know your sin in order to fight it.  Knowing sin reveals your need for salvation.  You need to know just why Jesus died for you.  Then you rely on the Holy Spirit to overcome sin as you become a believer.

Then Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?” – Isaiah 6:8a.   Here we see another reference to the Trinity by the word ‘us’.  Isaiah answered God’s call without hesitation.  “Here am I!  Send me.” – Isaiah 6:8b.  Now that Isaiah was cleansed he is ready to fulfill God’s mission and speak for Him.

How do you respond when God calls you work for Him?

What keeps you from answering His call?

God then described Isaiah’s mission in verses 9-13, which can be a difficult passage to interpret.  God told him to go and preach to a people even though they won’t hear him or respond.  This would prove their guilt.  God was warning His people of what was to come if they didn’t listen and stop the foolishness.  Isaiah was to continue to preach until destruction comes.  He should preach in hope the remnant of Israel would be restored.

God promised that after everything is destroyed a ‘holy seed’ would remain.  This seed is referring to when the Messiah will come and bring salvation to the world (Isaiah 6:13).

Isaiah wasn’t given an easy job.  He was to warn of the coming judgment and would be in constant rejection by the people.  Isaiah’s message was for his day and it’s also for our day.  People are just like the people of Judah.  They reject God daily.  God had a heart for those who rebelled and rejected Him as He has a heart for those kind of people today.  He desires and seeks sinners to come to Him.  He continues to warn us, convict us, and continues to give us second chances.  He is not obligated to forgive, but we should rejoice in the fact that we serve a God of multiple chances.  We have all failed God in some way.  us.  Every moment of your life is a second chance so don’t waste it.

We should never give up being a witness for Jesus.  People may not listen.  They may insult and reject you, but you should never give up.  You are planting seeds and you may not see the results in your lifetime, but maybe one day they will surrender to Him.  When you see little visible fruit and get discouraged, go the His Word and go to Him in prayer.  He will give you strength, encouragement and hope to continue.

Principles: 

God continually seeks sinners to come to Him.

God is a God of multiple chances.

What is keeping you from fully surrendering to God?

Do you spend time in His Word to get to know Him better?

How are you resisting God?

Are you stubborn and reject God and His ways?

How has He given you a second chance?

This week’s attribute of God is He is Holy.  Isaiah saw God’s holiness and glory.  There is no one like God.  He is perfect in goodness and righteousness.  “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” – Isaiah 6:3

Next time we will continue our study of Kingdom Divided in Isaiah.  Hope to see you here. – I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

__________________________________________

 

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Kingdom Divided Lesson 17 – 2 Kings 21-25; 2 Chronicles 33-36

 

Note:  For clarity the Kings of Israel are coded in Orange and Kings of Judah are coded in Blue.

2 Kings 21; 2 Chronicles 33 – King Manasseh of Judah

When Hezekiah passed, his son Manasseh succeeded him as king of Judah when he was 12 years old and reigned for 55 years.  Like so many other kings, he did evil in the eyes of the Lord.  He rebuilt the high places for idol worship that his father had destroyed.  He led the people into idolatry and sin.  He sacrificed his own son, practiced sorcery and divination and consulted mediums and spiritists.  He did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.  The people found themselves like the northern kingdom of Israel who rejected God.  Because of this, God was angered and brought the Assyria army against him and took him prisoner.

2 Chronicles 33 tell us that in Manasseh’s destress he sought the favor of the Lord and he humbled himself and turned to God.  God responded by listening to his pleas and brought him back to Jerusalem to rule his kingdom.  Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.  He received God’s forgiveness and changed his life.  He destroyed the foreign gods and altars and restored the Lord’s altars.  He told the people to serve the Lord.  But the people still continued sacrifices at the high places, but only to the Lord.

Principle:  God forgives when we humbled ourselves and turn to Him.

After Manasseh’s death his son, Amon became king.  He refused to follow his father’s example of repentance and he did evil in the eyes of the Lord.  He worshipped idols and bowed before them.  His officials plotted against him and assassinated him.  Then the people killed all those who plotted against King Amon and made Josiah his son king.

2 Kings 22-23; 2 Chronicles 34-35 – King Josiah of Judah

Josiah’s heart for God brought reformation and restoration to Judah.  He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the ways of David.  He purged Judah and Jerusalem of high places where idols were worshipped.  He restored the temple of the Lord. (2 Chronicles 34:1-8)

The book of the law of the Lord was recovered by Hilkiah the high priest.  When the book was read, they were aware that they had sinned against God.   When Josiah heard the words of the law, he was humbled because they had broken every commandment.

Josiah sent word to the prophetess, Huldah to inquire more of the Lord.  She described the unrepentant Judah and the disaster awaiting the nation.  Josiah destroyed anything and anyone who was against the Lord.  He destroyed images of other gods, places of worship, the sacrificial altar to Baal and Asherah.  He tore down buildings, temples, and anything that offended God.  He got rid of the mediums and spiritists.  After he had done all these things, He gave orders to celebrate the Passover.  The Passover hadn’t been observed since the days of the judges.

Principle:  God’s Word can convict our hearts.

The Lord was pleased with Josiah and all he had done, but not with the people of Judah.  There was judgment awaiting Judah because of all Manasseh had done.  He still decided to remove them from the land in the next few generations.

Josiah battled with the king Assyria and king of Egypt, Pharaoh Neco.  Josiah was defeated in battle and was killed by Neco.  Then Josiah’s son Jehoahaz was anointed king.  Josiah’s reforms didn’t last long.  Jehoahaz did evil in the sight of the Lord.  He reigned only three months. 

Neco dominated Judah.  He put Jehoahaz in chains and imposed a levy on Judah.  Neco made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king and changed his name to Jehoiakim.  Jehoahaz was taken to Egypt and there he died.

2 Kings 24; 2 Chronicles 35:1-14 – King Jehoiakim of Judah

Jehoiakim taxed the land according to the command of Pharaoh Neco.  He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and didn’t follow the ways of Josiah.  Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded the land of Judah and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years.  Jehoiakim rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.  The Lord sent Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite and ammonite raiders against him to destroy Judah. 

Then Jehoiakim’s son, Jehoiachin became king of Judah and reigned for three months.  He also did evil in the eyes of the Lord.  When Nebuchadnezzar laid siege on Jerusalem, Jehoiachin was taken prisoner along with his mother, wives, princes, servants, and other officials.  The temple treasures and all the gold articles were removed from the royal palace.  The prophecy against Jerusalem was taking form.

The Babylonian king appointed Mattaniah as king of Judah.  His name was changed to Zedekiah.  He was the uncle of Jehoiachin.  He ruled for eleven years before he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.   

Principle:  When God’s promises of salvation are ignored, His promises of judgment will be fulfilled.

2 Kings 25; 2 Chronicles 36:15-23 – The Fall of Jerusalem

Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon.  Nebuchadnezzar marched against Jerusalem and encamped outside the city.  For two years there was no traffic going into and coming out of the city.  Because of this, famine became severe.  Finally, King Zedekiah of Judah was able to break through.  Zedekiah fled at night with his guards, but he was captured and put in prison.  The Babylonian army emptied and burned the city, destroying any major structures and buildings.  They burned the house of the Lord, Solomon’s great temple.

Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah as governor of Judah.  Then a royal family member named Ishmael killed Gedaliah which made everyone flee to Egypt in fear of the Chaldeans response.  Chaldeans is another name for Babylonians.  Most of the people were killed, but a captured remnant was taken to Babylon to serve as slaves for 70 years.

Jehoiachin as set free by the new rule of Babylon, Evil-Merodach.   He was shown kindness by the new king and was provided for all his days.

Judah’s final four kings led the nation’s to its final fall.  Jehoahaz did evil in the eyes of the Lord.  Jehoiakim did evil in the eyes of the Lord and taxed the people to pay Neco what he had demanded.  Jehoiachin did evil in the eyes of the Lord.  Zedekiah did evil in the eyes of the Lord and didn’t humble himself before the prophet Jeremiah.  He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and wouldn’t turn to the Lord.  He as well as the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful.

The Lord tried to reach the people by sending messengers to warn them.  He brought consequences down on them for their sins.  Then He took their kings away in captivity and gradually He took them, too.  The people responded by mocking the messengers while they continued in sin and followed other gods. 

We have learned God’s righteous ways in Jerusalem’s fall.  He was patient and postponed judgment for hundreds of years giving them every chance to repent.  His righteousness always prevails.  He requires judgment of sin.  We should worship God in times of grief, uncertainty, change, instability, joy or celebration.  We have no hope without God.  He created you and he knows what’s best for you.  Only God is worthy of our worship.

Principle:  God’s righteousness always prevails.

What is keeping you from worshipping the one true God?

What in your life do you put in front of God?

Do you seek Him only in the bad times?

This week attribute of God is He is Righteous.  Everything He is and does is right.  He never lies.  He is fair, just and faithful in all He does.  He expects us to be righteous.  God’s righteousness requires judgment of sin.  We can’t be perfectly righteous, but He sees us as clothed with Christ’s righteousness.  “The Lord is righteous in all His ways” – Psalm 145:17a

Next time we will continue our study of Kingdom Divided with Isaiah.  Hope to see you here. – I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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