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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.…

2 Kings 1 Pastor Mark Hudson In Kings, a big theme is the power of the word of the Lord.  The Bible is the word of the Lord, and that same Bible tells us of how that word changes lives, punishes evil doers, is always fulfilled, and should always be respected, listened carefully to, and obeyed.  As a Bible reader, you know that many people who are within the believing community outwardly, are inwardly rejecting…

Esther 9 Devotional Pastor Mark Hudson Chapter 9 starts out in verse one with a phrase that summarizes the entire book, “on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them.”  For a time, Haman was close to killing all the Jews and now Haman is dead.  For a time, Haman was second only to the…

Esther 8 By Pastor David Groendyk Haman is dead! That’s good news. If we were quizzed on the book of Esther, I suspect most of us would think that was the end of the story. However, there is still a problem. The edict that was sent out to destroy, kill, and annihilate the Jews is still in effect, and edicts decreed by the kings of the Medes and the Persians cannot and will not be…

Esther 7 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence In Psalm 74:10-11 the psalmist pleads with God saying, “How long, O Lord, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever? Arise, and defend your cause O God.” Is that not our question and ongoing concern today as well? Have we not all longed at times for the day of justice when the righteous are vindicated and the wicked finally get their just due?…

Esther 6 Devotional Pastor Mark Hudson “A coincidence is a miracle in which God prefers to remain anonymous” (Jon D. Levenson Esther: A Commentary p. 19).  I love how Biblical authors say things like, “On that night the king could not sleep.” Then from verse 1 to v. 4,”Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had…

Esther 5 Devotional By Pastor Lawrence “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom but the fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” That is the substance of all the wisdom literature found in the Bible, as it is quoted in various forms in the books of Job, Psalms and Proverbs. It also sums up the greatest difference in our passage this morning between Esther and her antagonist Haman. Haman is…

Esther 4 Pastor Mark Hudson This chapter changes the course of events in this narrative. Chapter 3 ends with the king and Haman sending out an edict (from India to Ethiopia) to kill all the Jews. They celebrate their genocidal plans with a drink (or two). Meanwhile, Mordecai learns of this and he ‘tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out…