ESOCS Devotional 31 July 2021
TEXT: 2 KINGS 25:1-24
MEMORY VERSE: “And he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire.” (2 Kings 25:9 KJV).
The book of 2 Kings opened with Elijah being carried to heaven – the destination awaiting those who follow God – and ended with the people of Judah being carried away to foreign lands, as humiliated slaves because of their failure to serve God in truth and in Spirit (John 4:23, 24).
Judah was invaded three times by Babylonians (2 Kings 24:1; 24:10; 25:1). Israel was invaded by the Assyrians three times too. From our text, Judah, like Israel, was unfaithful to God despite His several warnings. So, He allowed them to be destroyed and taken away (Deuteronomy 28:15-68) – a Reproach!
The story in our text, (and the whole of 2 Kings) is an illustration of what happens when we make anything more important than God, when we make harmful allegiances, when our conscience becomes desensitized to right and wrong, and when we are no longer able to discern the purpose of God for our lives.
We may fail, like the people of Judah (and Israel), but God’s promises do not fail. He demonstrates His mercy in the face of deserved judgment after giving people repeated opportunities to repent. He helps us to straighten our lives and start all over. That was what happened to the people as recorded in the book of Ezra – when the people acknowledged their sins, God was ready to help them return to their land and start (life) again. But we must not allow reproach to come before we do the right thing.
The same way God deals with a nation, that is how He deals with man (the individual). But man’s repentance is uppermost in God’s mind (Ezekiel 18:4-9, 23). Sin is a reproach both to a nation and the inhabitants.
- To what extent does your country, her people, and Church know God?
- Ask God to forgive the Nation, the people, and the Church.
Read Other ESOCS Devotional here
FURTHER READING: 2 Kings 24; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Proverbs 14:34; Jeremiah 23:40
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ESOCS Devotional 31 July 2021
