2 Kings 24-25: The Destruction of Judah and The Mercy of God

We come this morning to the end of the book of Kings, where we find the destruction of Judah. Due to Judah's great wickedness and sin, God causes Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar to overtake Judah, destroy the city of Jerusalem, and take the Israelites captive.

This chapter has many implications for the big picture of the Bible, some of which we will look at today. Firstly, let us realize within this story that God did not fully destroy the Israelite people. Although he allowed them to be led into captivity, he did not allow them to be fully destroyed, for to do so would be to go against his promise to David in 2 Samuel 7. Let us remember that the Davidic Covenant promised David and Israel that there would always be a ruling heir of David on the throne. If God were to wipe out the people of Israel, this promise would have been false. Nevertheless, even amidst the sin of Israel, the Lord had a sovereign plan to judge and eventually restore the kingdom of Israel (but we're getting ahead of ourselves here...).

Secondly, let us realize the great biblical picture of judgment upon sin. Although 2 Kings seems to not highlight as much the reasons for Judah's destruction (namely because the prophets of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and many others do that for us), it does imply that the reason for the destruction was because of the wickedness of the people of Israel. Thus, we see that God even deals with his chosen people with fairness. Our God is a just judge, and he must punish wickedness, even if it occurs amidst his people. Does that nullify the Gospel, that is, the reality that Christ has paid the ultimate price for us on the cross? Certainly not. But what it does mean is that just because you are a child of God does not mean you have the liberty to sin (see Romans 6).

Yet not only is God a keeper of his promises and a righteous judge, we see in this narrative that he is also sovereign. Let us note that this destruction of Judah was prophesied by Isaiah and some of the other prophets before it happened. Let us also realize that the Lord prophesied of a future deliverance of Israel. Many biblical critics read chapters like these in the Bible and see nothing but a condemning, wrathful God who is anything but loving. However, if we read the Bible rightly, we see a sovereign, loving God who is a righteous judge who deals with his people while simultaneously being a loving father who causes all thing to go well for his chosen people, even if that means he has to put him in captivity just so he can deliver them.