DAILY DEVOTIONALS

2 Kings 24

 2 Kings 24 Pastor Lawrence Bowlin We are coming to the end of God’s patience with Judah.  They are going into exile.  I find it so interesting to try to understand what the author includes and leaves out.  The author leaves out much of the history about Babylon and Egypt.  We are not told why Babylon came to Israel but we know that Babylon was warring against Egypt.  For three years Jehoiakim served Nebuchadnezzar but…

2 Kings 23

2 Kings 23 Pastor David Groendyk Good King Josiah still reigns on the throne, and what a reign it is! Today’s chapter itemizes all the various ways in which Josiah leads Judah in repentance and cleansing. After the book of the Law is found and read and convicts Josiah, he gathers all the elders and leaders of Judah together to hear it and lead this reform too (vv. 1–2). They read the Word of God…

2 Kings 22

2 Kings 22 Pastor Lawrence Having the heinously wicked kings Amon and Manasseh for his father and grandfather, one would assume that Josiah would naturally follow in their footsteps, but the Lord had mercy upon him. Josiah became king when he was only eight years old after his father was assassinated. When he turned sixteen, the Lord opened Josiah’s heart and he began to seek the Lord. Then when he turned twenty, he began to…

2 Kings 21

2 Kings 21 Pastor Mark Hudson This chapter in 2 Kings describes the life and ministry of Manasseh who “did evil in the sight of the Lord” according to v. 2.  As a Bible reader might know, II Chronicles 33:10ff, also includes a period of repentance at the end of his life.  But we are looking at what this author is telling us and following his story.  We don’t know why this author didn’t include…

2 Kings 20

2 Kings 20 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence The question is often asked whether prayer actually changes God’s plans? And some might be tempted to use this particular passage to show that Hezekiah actually changed the mind of God through his humility and prayer to extend his life by fifteen extra years. But is that really what’s happening here? Certainly, we know from Matthew 6:25 that we cannot add a single hour to our life through…

2 Kings 19

2 Kings 19 Pastor Mark Hudson Hezekiah is not a normal king for this time in the history of the nation of Judah.  Hezekiah is a godly man but peaceful times this is not.  For once, we see a king from Judah or Israel going to God instead of the gods of the nations.  How does he respond to this potentially life-threatening, nation-ending news?  First, let’s look at the messenger who brought this news. Rabshakeh…

2 Kings 18

2 Kings 18 Pastor David Groendyk The northern nation of Israel is gone, and only southern Judah is left. Hezekiah is the new king, and the Lord’s assessment of him is a good one—“He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him” (v. 5). That is to say, Hezekiah was the best king…

2 Kings 16

2 Kings 16 Pastor Mark Hudson There are a number of subtle expressions of abhorrence in this chapter. Not every narrator’s evaluation of character’s is obvious to a reader who reads quickly and not carefully.  To the careful reader, though, the narrator is clear.  This chapter demonstrates why Israel and Judah are in such upheaval.  Ahaz, king of Judah, receives this evaluation: “he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord…

2 Kings 15

2 King 15 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence This chapter serves as Exhibit A on why believers ought to be praying for kings and all who are in high positions as Paul exhorts us in 1 Timothy 2:2 that “we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” In the narrative of this one chapter and during the reign of a single king in Judah over a span of fifty-two years,…

2 Kings 14

2 Kings 14 Pastor Mark Hudson Chapter 14 begins with a brief account of Amaziah, King of Judah.  He gets a C if he received a report card like we used to get in school.  Some students are satisfied with that.  Some of us are content with getting a job done even if the job was not your best effort and looks . . . well, okay.  Good enough.  At least, good enough in your…

2 Kings 13

2 Kings 13 Pastor David Groendyk We flip back to the northern kingdom of Israel again. Keep in mind from 2 Kings 10:30 that God had promised Jehu’s next four descendants would reign as kings. That’s no small promise given Israel’s history with assassinations and mutinies. Today’s chapter tells us about Jehu’s first two descendants—Jehoahaz and Jehoash. Both of these men are notable for two reasons: their moral wickedness (vv. 2, 11) and their military…

2 Kings 12

2 Kings 12 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Although all things rightfully belong to God since He is the creator and king of the universe, there are some things that are particularly holy unto the Lord such as the Sabbath or the Lord’s Day and tithes and offerings. These things that have been given over unto God are for God’s work to be used in the way that He commands. The rest of the time and…

2 Kings 11

2 Kings 11 Pastor Mark Hudson Structure of 2 Kings 11 D. R. Davis Death and preservation vv. 1-3 Secret plans vv. 4-12 Revealing King’s son v. 4 Priest’s instruction vv. 5-8 Compliance vv. 9-11 Coronation v. 12 Public event vv. 13-19 Revealing king’s son vv. 13-14 Priest’s instruction v. 15 Compliance v. 16 Covenant + destruction vv. 17-18 Installation v. 19 Death and peace v. 20. I doubt most Bible readers would know the…

2 Kings 10

2 Kings 10 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence “Vengeance is mine, I will repay” says the Lord.” These vindictive words of God are just as certain as his words of salvation, and in both of these words the righteous rejoice. Jehu overall does not appear to be a godly man; nevertheless, the Lord anoints him to act as his sword of vengeance against the house of Ahab and against the priests of Baal living in Israel.…

2 Kings 9

2 Kings 9 Pastor Mark Hudson One way to look at this chapter is found in D.R. Davis’ commentary on p. 148. Instructions and obedience, vv. 1-10 Coronation and conspiracy, vv. 11-16 Riding and Retribution, vv. 17-37 A cloud of dust, vv. 17-20 A series of deaths, vv. 21-137. Sometimes, you know if you do or say something, nothing will be the same.  Sometimes a word, a deed, or a decision changes things yet, you…

2 Kings 8

2 Kings 8 By Pastor David Groendyk Elisha has been an awesome minister of grace and restoration for the people of Israel so far, mainly saving, helping, and delivering. But chapter 8 is something of a turning point in his ministry. As Ralph Davis says, Israel has been sinning away her day of grace, wasting it, and not turning back to the Lord in repentance, so God is about to take action. The first half…

2 Kings 7

2 Kings 7 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence According to God’s perfect yet unfathomable will, He brought the Syrian troops to besiege the capital city of Israel for a number of months which led to such a great famine in Samaria that two women had vowed to eat one another’s sons in order to survive. When the king heard this gruesome report, he flew into a rage against God’s prophet Elisha who had told him to…

2 Kings 6

2 Kings 6 Pastor Mark Hudson Elisha has a growing number of students around him. This prompts “the sons of the prophets” to ask to build a bigger place. They leave for the Jordan but not until someone innocently asks Elisha to join them. These are not wealthy students so when one of them loses an axe head in the Jordan they just can’t go buy a new one. Since Elisha just happened to be…

2 Kings 5

2 Kings 5 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Our thoughts are not God’s thoughts, neither are our ways God’s way. Because this is a fundamental truth, we ought never to attempt to worship God according to our own imaginations but only in accordance with His Word. The mistake that Naaman made is a common one for those who do not know the Lord very well. He assumed that God would do something great for him because…

2 Kings 4

2 Kings 4 Pastor Mark Hudson “. . . Yahweh’s power is triumphant over debt (4:1-7), death (4:8-37), drought 4:38-44; two episodes), disease (5:1-27, and difficulty (6:1-7) [D.R. Davis, comment on 2 Kings, p. 53].   Debt’s devastation, for us, is mitigated by the various laws to protect against catastrophic loss.  But in ancient times, if there were laws to protect those in debt, those laws were not always enforced. The innocent or the poor often…

2 Kings 2

2 Kings 2 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence Back in 1 Kings 19, after Elijah complained to the Lord that he was the only godly man left in Israel, the Lord had told him that he had left seven thousand in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal and that the Lord had someone waiting in the wing to take the baton from him personally and to serve the Lord in the next generation.…