{"id":35939,"date":"2025-05-18T22:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T05:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=35939"},"modified":"2025-05-14T16:22:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T23:22:11","slug":"2-kings-24-8-25-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/2-kings-24-8-25-7\/","title":{"rendered":"God\u2019s Preferred Way of Working in Your Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

2 Kings\u00a0 24:8-25:7 \u00a0 (CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 2 Kings 24:8-25:7.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.\u00a0 See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

2 Kings 24:8-19 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He did evil in the eyes of the\u00a0LORD, just as his father had done.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem and laid siege to it,
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city while his officers were besieging it.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his attendants, his nobles and his officials all surrendered to him. In the eighth year of the reign of the king of Babylon, he took Jehoiachin prisoner.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0As the\u00a0LORD\u00a0had declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed all the treasures from the temple of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0and from the royal palace, and took away all the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the\u00a0LORD.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He carried into exile all Jerusalem: all the officers and fighting men, and all the craftsmen and artisans–a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest people of the land were left.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. He also took from Jerusalem to Babylon the king’s mother, his wives, his officials and the leading men of the land.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The king of Babylon also deported to Babylon the entire force of seven thousand fighting men, strong and fit for war, and a thousand craftsmen and artisans.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He did evil in the eyes of the\u00a0LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done.
\n<\/em>
\nOn\u00a02\u00a0Kings\u00a024:8-19:\u00a0 These verses describe how in approximately 597 B.C. while Jehoiachin is king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invades Judah again, this time deporting back to Babylon approximately 10,000 Judahites, including King Jehoiachin, his mother, wives, officials, 7,000 soldiers and 1,000 craftsmen and artisans.\u00a0 Only the poorest of the poor are left in Judah.\u00a0 Nebuchadnezzar also takes all the gold inside the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, just as Isaiah the prophet had predicted in\u00a02\u00a0Kings\u00a020:13-18.\u00a0 This is the second time that people from Judah are deported to Babylon (the first time being in 605 BC during Babylon\u2019s first invasion of Judah, which is referred to in 2 Kings 24:1-4).\u00a0 Nebuchadnezzar then makes Jehoiachin\u2019s uncle Zedekiah king in place of Jehoiachin.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

1.God is true to His Word.<\/strong>\u00a0 He will accomplish what He says He will do.<\/p>\n

2.When King Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s kingdom advanced upon the people in Judah, it was an invasion by force that hollowed the land of its best resources.\u00a0 Compare that to the way God\u2019s kingdom advances upon people:\u00a0God\u2019s preferred way of dealing with people is not to invade their lives by force.\u00a0 Rather, God gently and patiently waits for us to open the gates ourselves and welcome Him.\u00a0 During our lifetime, God will only take over as much land as we willingly give Him.<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0That\u2019s how God likes to expand His territory in us.\u00a0 As Jesus says in Revelation, \u201cHere I am: I stand at the door and knock.\u00a0 If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

God\u2019s goal in letting His kingdom take over your life is not to hollow you out like Nebuchadnezzar, but to fill you.\u00a0 God\u2019s goal in advancing His kingdom in your life is not to abuse you and enslave you, but to have you a love relationship with you and to set you free.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>While Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s kingdom did not last, Jesus\u2019 kingdom will last forever.\u00a0 Those are crucial differences between the kingdom of men and the kingdom of God.<\/p>\n

2 Kings 24:20-25:7 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0It was because of the\u00a0LORD’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence. Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege works all around it.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0By the ninth day of the [fourth] month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled at night through the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden, though the Babylonians were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah,
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0but the Babylonian army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered,
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and he was captured. He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where sentence was pronounced on him.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.<\/em><\/p>\n

On\u00a02\u00a0Kings\u00a024:20-25:7:\u00a0 King Zedekiah of Judah rebels against Babylon, refusing to pay tribute to King Nebuchadnezzar.\u00a0 So King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invades Judah a third time, this time intent on destroying the capital city of Jerusalem completely.\u00a0 After laying siege to Jerusalem for almost\u00a02\u00a0years, the Babylonian army to breaks through the walls of Jerusalem.\u00a0 Zedekiah and his army try to flee, but the Babylonian army catches up to Zedekiah, takes Zedekiah prisoner and kills Zedekiah\u2019s sons in front of him before putting out his eyes and deporting him to Babylon.\u00a0 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sets fire to Jerusalem, burning down the temple, the royal palace, homes and every important building.\u00a0 Anything valuable in the temple is removed and taken back to Babylon.\u00a0 The priests and leaders of Jerusalem are executed.\u00a0 Jerusalem has fallen and lies in ruins.\u00a0 In Jeremiah 39, you can read of how the prophet Jeremiah experienced the fall of Jerusalem first-hand.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0 While the fall of Jerusalem was triggered by Zedekiah\u2019s rebellion against King Nebuchadnezzar, in\u00a02\u00a0Kings\u00a024:20 we read of the ultimate reason why Jerusalem fell:\u00a0 it was because of God\u2019s anger against Judah\u2019s sin and Judah\u2019s persistent rebellion that Jerusalem finally fell.<\/p>\n

R<\/strong>ebelling against God always comes at a cost.\u00a0 When we keep rebelling against God, we risk losing everything that God has entrusted to us.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0We are always better off trusting God than fighting against Him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Father, thank You that when Your kingdom advances in my life and in my land, it is not a burden that enslaves me, but a blessing that sets me free. Thank You for being a king who does not force His way into our lives, but who is patient and merciful even when we are rebellious, and who gently waits for us to open the door to You. Expand Your territory in my life today.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 2 Kings 24:8-25:7.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.\u00a0 See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!\u00a0<\/p>\n

2 Kings 24:8-19 (NIV)
\n8\u00a0\u00a0Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem.
\n9\u00a0\u00a0He did evil in the eyes of the\u00a0LORD, just as his father had done.<\/p>\n

On\u00a02\u00a0Kings\u00a024:8-19:\u00a0 These verses describe how in approximately 597 B.C. while Jehoiachin is king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invades Judah again, this time deporting back to Babylon approximately 10,000 Judahites, including King Jehoiachin, his mother, wives, officials, 7,000 soldiers and 1,000 craftsmen and artisans.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35941,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35939"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35942,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35939\/revisions\/35942"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}