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April 18 + Daily notes & readings

DAY 108

We're finishing 2 Kings today.  Much like we've seen with other books, there is no happy ending.  Although, can you spot the sign of hope at the very end?
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DAILY READINGS

2 Kings 23-25 & Psalm 108

DAILY NOTES

2 Kings 23
  • This chapter outlines all of King Josiah's reformation.  Notice the amount of work he did to eradicate the false worship of the people.  
  • There's also a remind of 1 Kings 13, when Josiah asks about the grave of the prophet.  
  • For the first time since the judges, Passover is observed by the people.  I'm curious what their thoughts were when they did that.  
  • According to the writer, God's wrath did not turn away.  That is a set up for how the book will end.
2 Kings 25
  • In 2 Kings 24, there is a first exile of the people of Jerusalem.  This second deportation is the final one that leaves Judah in complete exile.  
Psalm 108
  • Imagine being so filled with awe and wonder, thanksgiving and praise that you couldn't help but sing/shout to God.  
  • The praise of the psalmist turns to a prayer of help (because human help is worthless).  

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

There have been many lows, spiritually speaking, we have seen from the people of God.  The worship of Baal and other gods had become regular practice for them.  They had "forgotten" what God had done for them and how their ancestors once lived in unity with God.  Now, we're seeing the absolute low for them.  

The people of God have been taken captive and sent into exile.

Of course, we're told of how the foreign kings laid siege to the city, burned the house of the Lord and took away all the nation's valuable.  But it's that one line that makes it all real: So Judah went into exile out of its land.

Every generation that did evil before the Lord, even the generations that did right, brought us to this point.  Think about where we've been so far.  Egypt.  The Red Sea. The Wilderness. The Promises Land.  Now, we're not being led by God; we're being forced out by our enemies.  

What goes through the mind and heart of a people that has this kind of experience?  You and I can't fathom that, but can try to think about what you would be thinking about? Hoping for? Wishing? Praying?

Praise God because even at our lowest, God isn't through with us!

Stay blessed...john
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