Tuesday, December 30, 2014

They Lost Their Wealth and Their Leading People (2 Ki. 24:8-17; 25:27-39; 2 Chron. 36:9-10)


6/30/2011 8:07:26 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  They lost their wealth and their leading people

 

Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:  2Ki. 24:8-17; 25:27-30; 2Chron. 36:9-10

 

            Message of the verses:  “8 ¶  Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9  He did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done. 10  At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. 11  And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. 12  Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his captains and his officials. So the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. 13  He carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, just as the LORD had said. 14  Then he led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land. 15  So he led Jehoiachin away into exile to Babylon; also the king’s mother and the king’s wives and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16  All the men of valor, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all strong and fit for war, and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon. 17  Then the king of Babylon made his uncle Mattaniah king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.”

            “27  Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; 28  and he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29  Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes and had his meals in the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life; 30  and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.”

 

            “9  Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem, and he did evil in the sight of the LORD. 10  At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon with the valuable articles of the house of the LORD, and he made his kinsman Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.”

 

            I believe that I had mentioned that Ezekiel was taken captive in 605BC along with Daniel, however I was mistaken for Ezekiel was taken captive in 597BC along with the king of Judah, Jehoiachin.  There were many more taken captive during this deportation to Babylon.  Jehoiachin would never have a son sit on the throne of Judah for after he was taken captive Nebuchadnezzar appointed his uncle king.  Zedekiah was the third son of Josiah and his birth name was Mattaniah but it was changed by Nebuchadnezzar to a Babylonian name. 

            Nebuchadnezzar’s son Evil-Merodach would let Jehoiachin out of prison in Babylon after he had been there for 37 years so he would have been 55 years old.  Evil-Merodach liked Jehoiachin above all of the other kings that Babylon had taken captive and he took care of him.  When the remnant would return seventy years later Jehoiachin’s son Zerubbable would be one of the leaders, but he would never continue the dynasty of David on the throne of Judah, for they would be under the control of other nations until they were again dispersed all over the known world as prophesied in the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy.  They would return as a nation under another David in May of 1948, but as Ezekiel prophesied it would not be a spiritual people until sometime during the tribulation period. 

            All of the things that happened to Judah were prophesied in different OT books like Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Jeremiah and also some of the minor prophets, but none of the leaders would believe the prophets and had some of them put to death.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The message of Pastor Ed last Sunday was to obey the Words of the Lord and if the children of Israel would have done this then this portion of Scripture would never have been written.  I want to learn from what they did not do and obey the Word of the Lord.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.      Obedience is better than sacrifice.

2.      Romans 12:1-2

3.      Philippians 4:11-13

4.      Proverbs 3:5-6

5.      Psalm 139:23-24

6.      Ephesians 6:10-18

 

6/30/2011 8:49:41 AM    

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