Thurs.’s Devo - Judah’s Fall and Decline

Read: 2 Kings 23:31-25:30; Acts 22:17-23:10; Psalm 2:1-12; Proverbs 18:13 The people of Judah had made Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz their king. He only reigned in Jerusalem 3 months and did evil in the Lord’s sight. Pharaoh Nero of Egypt put Jehoahaz in prison in Egypt where he eventually died. Neco demanded that Judah pay him 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold. Neco installed Eliakim, another son of Josiah to rule Judah and changed his name to Jehoiakim. *** Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jerusalem and Jehoiakim surrendered to him and agree to pay tribute. He paid it for three years, then rebelled. The Lord sent bands of raiders against Judah to destroy it just as God’s prophets had foretold. The Babylonians captured all the land Egypt had captured from Judah and Egypt didn’t retaliate. *** Jehoiakim died and his son Jehoiachin became the next king of Judah. He only ruled for 3 months and did evil. When the king of Babylon came and besieged Jerusalem, Jehoiachin surrendered to them. Jehoiachin was taken prisoner and all the treasures from the Lord’s Temple were carried to Babylon just like Isaiah had told Hezekiah would happen when he showed the Babylon messengers everything in his kingdom. *** All the elite, the best warriors, officers and craftsmen were taken to Babylon. The king of Babylon installed Mattaniah, Jehoiachins’ uncle as the next king and changed his name to Zedekiah. He was only 21 years old. He reigned 11 years but he was evil, too. He rebelled against the king of Babylon so Nebuchadnezzar led his army against Jerusalem. They besieged it for 2 years. The famine became so severe that the Zedekiah and his men tried to escape at night and were captured. They made Zedekiah watch as they killed all his sons. Then they gouged out his eyes and took him to Babylon. *** Babylon’s captain of the guard came to Jerusalem and burned down the Temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem. He destroyed all their important buildings and much of the wall. He took the rest of the people who lived in Jerusalem and any defectors to Babylon. He left the poorest people behind to care for the vineyards and the fields. *** They took anything of worth from the Temple back to Babylon. He took all the officers and priests and had them killed. Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah as governor over the people that were left. All the people left in the land met with Gedaliah in Mizpah to talk about their fate. Gedaliah told them that the Babylonians wouldn’t harm them as long as they served the king of Babylon. But, later that year, Ishmael, who was a member of the royal family went to Mizpah with ten men and killed Gedaliah. He also killed the Babylonians who were there as overseers. The people fled to Egypt afraid of what the Babylonians would do to them when they found out what Ishmael had done. *** In the 37th year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, Evil-merodach ascended the throne in Babylon. Jehoiachin who was in prison found favor in his eyes and Merodach promoted him. He gave him new clothes to replace his prison garbs and let him eat with him as long as he lived. *** In Acts, Paul had been allowed to address the people rioting against him. He had been giving them his testimony. When he got to the part where God told him to leave Jerusalem and go to the Gentiles because the Jews there wouldn’t accept his message, they got very aggressive again. *** The Roman commander had Paul brought inside and tied down to whip him. Paul asked him if it was legal to beat a Roman citizen. He asked if Paul were a Roman citizen which he was. The commander quickly withdrew the ropes and whips. *** The next day the commander ordered a trial and brought Paul out to testify. Paul said he stood before God with a clear conscience. Ananias the high priest commanded the one next to Paul to slap him on the mouth. Paul called Ananias a corrupt hypocrite because he broke the law by ordered him slapped. He hadn’t realized he was the high priest. *** Paul saw that many of the members of the high council were Sadducees and some Pharisees so he shouted, “Brothers, I am on trial because my hope is in the resurrection of the dead!” He said this because he knew they were divided on this subject. This caused an uproar among the council and they grew so hostile the Roman soldiers had to rescue Paul and put him back to the fortress. *** Religion is a terrible demon that causes internal conflict and fights against unity. Love unites and gives grace. *** Lord, may we walk in the Spirit of love and unity and resist the temptation to argue about religious or other matters. You are our unifying truth.