PROCLAMATION
“He carried into exile
to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to
him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power.” 2 Chronicles 36:20 (NIV)
EXPLANATION
After all the good
that King Josiah accomplished, in the end he went to war without consulting The
Lord. When Necho king of Egypt attacked
Carchemish on the Euphrates river, Josiah marched out to meet him in battle. (2
Chronicles 35:20) Necho told Josiah that
he had no quarrel with him, and that The Lord God was with him and that He had
told him to do what he was doing. However,
Josiah ignored him and persisted in battle where he was shot by an archer and
mortally wounded. (2 Chronicles 35:21-24) The people made Jehoahaz son of Josiah king of
Judah, but he only reigned for three months. (2 Chronicles 36:1-2) The king of Egypt dethroned him and made his
brother Eliakim king of Judah and Jerusalem.
He changed the kings name to Jehoiakim. (2 Chronicles 36:3-5) Then Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked
him and took him to bound in shackles to Babylon. His son Jehoiachin succeeded him as king. (2
Chronicles 36:6-8) Jehoiachin was king
for three months before Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and replaced him with his
uncle, Zedekiah, who did evil in the eyes of The Lord and led the people away
from God. (2 Chronicles 36:9-14) Zedekiah
rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar who then attacked them and killed all of their
young men and women. All of the people
who were not killed were taken into captivity and they lived in exile in Babylon. He raided the temple and the palace, taking
everything of value, and then burned the temple and the palace. (2 Chronicles
36:13-20)
APPLICATION
When we act without
asking The Lord God if that which we plan to do is in His will, when we ignore
what the man of God says for us to do, when we cause people to sin and go
against The Word of God, we will be punished severely and pay a serious price
for our actions. When we as believers
behave in an ungodly manner, we will not lose our salvation, but we will be
punished for our misbehavior. Our prayer
requests for forgiveness does not cancel out our punishment, our forgiveness restores our right fellowship with
God. So, pray, confess shortcomings, ask
for guidance and direction, and be obedient to His Holy Word.
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