Babylon comes for Jerusalem - part 1
We see in today’s readings that the Lord fulfils His word. Many doubt that the Lord will return as the Apostle Peter also writes, but we know our Lord is not slack concerning His promises. For those dwelling in Jerusalem, time was up, the Babylonians were coming.
2 Kings 24:
1 In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him.
2 And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldeans and bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by his servants the prophets.
3 Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the LORD, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done,
4 and also for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD would not pardon.
5 Now the rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
6 So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.
7 And the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.
Jehoiachin Reigns in Judah
8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
9 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.
Jerusalem Captured
10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it,
12 and Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign
13 and carried off 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 in the temple of the LORD, which Solomon king of Israel had made, as the LORD had foretold.
14 He carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, except the poorest people of the land.
15 And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon. The king's mother, the king's wives, his officials, and the chief men of the land he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
16 And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valour, 7,000, and the craftsmen and the metal workers, 1,000, all of them strong and fit for war.
17 And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
Zedekiah Reigns in Judah
18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
19 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.
20 For because of the anger of the LORD it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
Things to think about…
1. The Lord gave the people of Judah so many opportunities to repent and ultimately have the Lord’s hand relent in judgement. In 2Kings 24 we see the times the King of Babylon coming against Jerusalem. What is not widely known is that the Babylonians came up against Jerusalem 3 times. Once in 605BC, then again in 597BC and finally in 586BC. Each time they rebelled against the Word of the Lord until eventually in 586BC they were all taken to Babylon except the very poor. We need to listen when the Lord speaks. What areas has the Lord been speaking to you about lately? For me it has definitely been about patience. The Lord is telling me to persevere and remain faithful. What is He saying to you? He promises to bless when we are obedient, Dt 28.
2. Remember Josiah was killed by Neco the Egyptian Pharoah. Neco then placed the land of Judah under tribute to give 100 talents of silver and 1 talent of gold. When Babylon became strong they took over any influence Egypt had over the region. The Judean king Jehoiachin sees this as an opportunity to not pay tribute to anyone, 2Kings 24:7-10. This doesn’t work out well for him. Unless we have our hearts conquered for Christ, one form of slavery will be replaced by another. Changing jobs, houses, spouses or churches will not fix the core issue. The only answer is to resign our will and life over our Lord and be faithful with what He tells us in His Word.
3. Even though Jehoiachin does evil in the sight of the Lord rather than allow a long siege to happen to Jerusalem he gives himself, his family and Jerusalem to the King of Babylon. 10,000 captives are taken. All the skilled workers and those considered valuable are taken to Babylon. The year is 597BC. The prophets Daniel and Ezekiel are taken to Babylon at this point.
4. The King of Babylon appoints Zedekiah to the Judean throne. He submits to the king of Babylon for 9 or so years then rebels and doesn’t pay his tribute, 2Kings 24:20 like he was instructed. He thinks the Lord will ignore his sin and somehow bless him. The testimony is that he did evil in the sight of the Lord, vs 19. He is sadly mistaken as we shall see in tomorrow’s readings. The prophet Jeremiah had been prophesying for years at this point that Babylon would take Judah captive for all turning away from following the Law and following after idols. The time had come for the prophesies to be fulfilled.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sermon title was “and the 6 arrows” - from 2 Kings 13:14-25
1. Elisha had performed many miracles and unlike his mentor Elijah he was not going to leave earth without dying. He would die of disease. Do you think much about growing old and the day of your death? How have you prepared?
2. Elisha asks Joash to strike the ground with arrows. Joash strikes the ground 3 times. Elisha said he should have struck the ground 5 or 6 times to finally deal with Syria as an enemy. Our greatest enemy is sin and has been struck down by the blood of Jesus on the cross. But how do we attempt to save ourselves with our own self-righteous arrows? Andrew used the description of eating 2% dog poo in children’s biscuits. Only a little bit of bad influence in something that is generally good. How can we do the same even as Christians?
3. People often look at attending church and Christianity as being things that are done rather than as a result of a state of grace before God? Discuss how you tell others about grace in Christ.
Prayer Points
1. Growth in our kids and youth ministries
2. Pray for testimonies that people will be giving every second week. Please consider when you would like to do yours when the pastor asks you to share yours.
3. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
4. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Lord’s blessing over Andrew Otte’s message on Sunday.
2. Worship team and technical team. Thankyou Rod, Zac, Molly, Riley, Rin, Tim.
3. More visitors and spirit of joy on Sunday.
Announcements
1. Members meeting 28th Nov after the service.
2. Country Carols, monster trucks, fire works – Sat 18th Dec. Feel free to park at CBC if required.
3. Kids@church back. Please check your rosters
4. Recharge Youth – back on Friday 6:30pm at church all high schoolers.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
6. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel https://www.youtube.com/.../UChm3coa3s9EHGHBtsns6MaQ/videos .
Catechism question for November...
Q. 13. What is the Lord's Supper?
A. The eating of bread and drinking of wine in remembrance of the sufferings and death of Christ.
Bible References – Mark 14:22-24; 1Cor.11:23-29.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
Pastor Jay