(REFLECTIONS ON 2 Kings 24:1-20)

In today’s Scripture, we see Jehoakim king of Judah rebel against Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. The Lord used this rebellion to bring judgment on Judah because of the sins of Manasseh.

3 Surely at the command of the Lord it came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the Lord would not forgive.

This rebellion led to the exile of Judah to Babylon under Jehoakim’s son, Jehoiachin, when he became king of Judah. Rebellion was the human act, but the exile to Babylon revealed that history and God’s spiritual purposes are deeply intertwined.

After the king of Babylon made Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, king of Judah, Zedekiah again rebelled against the king of Babylon. Today’s passage leads us to consider the interaction and play between our human actions and the Lord’s spiritual authority and sovereignty over the world.

It might be hard for us to wrap our heads around, but our human actions, the decisions we make, the rebellion in our hearts and lived out in the world, may not be isolated to just the physical world, but is intertwined with our spiritual life. Yes, we try to separate faith and life, spiritual and physical, but what we can learn from today’s account is that it is all deeply intertwined with God being Lord over it all.

There is not a clear one-to-one causal relationship so it is not a simple formula of cause and effect, but it does remind us that what is in our actions are related to our spiritual relationship with God, and ultimately His sovereignty of over lives and this world.

Since our physical life and spiritual life is deeply intertwined with God’s will, we must continue to press forward and learn to trust in the grace given to us through Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit.

Let us not think that there is a time for spirituality, and then a separate time for the physical world, but may we live all of our life through Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, because it is all intertwined with God.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: 2 Kings 24