Journey Through 2 Kings
Before we begin our journey through 2 Kings, consider the following question. Have you watched the news lately? It can be discouraging. It is bad news after bad news after bad news. One of the great dangers of consuming too much news is that we get our eyes on the national scene. You might ask, should we not pay attention to the national scene? Of course, we should keep up with current events. We should pray for our nation. We should be aware of what is going on around us.
However, one of the dangers of focusing too heavily on the national picture is forgetting the personal one. National problems often come from personal problems. National victories are won through personal victories. National revival can only come from personal revival.
Listen to an Overview of 2 Kings:
Overview of 2 Kings
When you come to 2 Kings, it is easy to look at the national picture: a nation, kings, kingdoms, and an empire. We can focus on them, but overlook the message of the Holy Spirit to your own soul. Let me remind you that these are God’s examples for us.
God shows us these nations, their disruption, and their disobedience, so that we will learn from them. It is easy to spot another man’s sin, and sometimes it is hard to spot our own sin. It is time to take a long, hard look at our own lives. It is easy for me to get angry and anxious about the wickedness and darkness all around me, but what about the darkness creeping into my own soul?
That is the message God has for us in the Book of 2 Kings. It is a continuation of the story begun in 1 Kings. You will recall in 1 Kings that the nation of Israel was divided. It became two nations: the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
When you pick up the story in 2 Kings, you find Israel and Judah drifting further from God. This book spans about 300 years of history. These 300 years are a downward spiral, revealing the rapid deterioration of these nations.
A Book of Captivity
Some people have thought, when they look at the books of 2 Kings, that it is a book about royalty. However, the book of 2 Kings is not a book about royalty, but captivity. More than even the disruption and division, both Israel and Judah go into captivity. Their disruption became a disaster.
Remember, they broke the first commandment. God said, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3) They disobeyed that command and became idolaters. That was their root sin, and bondage became their fruit. It is as if God said, “You want other gods? Then I will let you go into captivity under the most idolatrous people on earth, and see how you like it.” Sometimes God gives us what we want, only for us to realize that our desires were corrupt and destructive.
Israel fell into captivity under the Assyrians (722 B.C.). Then Judah went into captivity under the Babylonians (586 B.C.). What was once managed became the master. That is just like our own sin. Remember, this is not a national message. It is a personal one. Those small sins that we excuse, make room for, and think we can control eventually become our captors. Now we live in captivity, in the slavery of sin. My friend, sin always leads to captivity, and this book helps us to understand the consequences of disobedience. (WATCH: Ryan’s Journey to Freedom to see the wonderful power of God to set free.)
Key Verse
We find a key verse in 2 Kings 10:10: “Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the Lord hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah.”
This verse finds its context in just one of the many kings that are mentioned in this book, but it is a microcosm of the whole. It is the long story in short. What is that story? It is that the kings have done the wrong thing before God.
A Book of Kings and Prophets
There were a few good kings, but by and large, they were wicked men like Ahab, who decided that they would take their own paths. What does God do? God sends them preachers. In this particular verse, it is the servant Elijah. What a preacher Elijah was! You will find that the account in 2 Kings parallels the messages of many Old Testament prophets.
- Prophets like Jonah, Amos, and Hosea preached to the Northern Kingdom of Israel before they went into the Assyrian captivity.
- Men like Obadiah, Joel, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah preached to the Southern kingdom of Judah before they went into the Babylonian captivity.
God always sends his preacher. May I ask, who is the preacher God has sent your way today? What message is the Lord trying to get across to you? What or whom has the Lord placed in your path to prevent you from falling into the captivity of sin, disrupting your life and the lives of so many other people? Know this: the Bible says, “Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the Lord.”
Everything God says is true. Every promise He makes, he fulfills. Every warning He sends comes to pass. The great message of 2 Kings is not about the words of human kings. It is about the word of the King – the word of God.
2 Kings 1-10 – Focus on the Northern Kingdom
It is not merely about what we do, it is about what God says He will do if we fail to obey Him. If you journey through 2 Kings, you begin in the first ten chapters with the story of Israel, the Northern kingdom. Why does God begin with Israel? Because God requires much from those who have the most light.
You will observe that men like Elijah and Elisha primarily ministered in the Northern Kingdom. Think of the light they had. If God has given you great light, then you have a great responsibility. “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” (Luke 12:48)
2 Kings 11-17 – Highlights of the Northern and Southern Kingdom
In chapters 11 through 17, the journey through 2 Kings takes us to the story of both Israel and Judah. In these chapters, the story alternates back and forth between them, highlighting different kings and what they did during their reigns. This section ends with Israel falling captive to the Assyrians.
Consider that, even in the midst of the darkness, you see glimmers of light. God always has His people. There is always a remnant. Even during wicked days, people served the Lord. No matter how bad the national news may be today, make sure you are part of the remnant serving God and walking in a holy path before Him today.
2 Kings 18-25 – Focus on the Southern Kingdom
The journey through 2 Kings concludes in chapters 18 through 25 with the story of Judah. Judah fought off the Assyrian captivity, but they will eventually go into Babylonian captivity. God provides them with a period of grace. What brought that about? Read it for yourself at the end of 2 Kings chapter 18 and in chapters 22 and 23. You will find that a spiritual awakening comes – a time of revival and reform.
Conclusion
Consider how this applies to our own generation. I believe that God has given us a window to repent. He is “…longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). He has offered us a space of grace, a moment to turn to Him. Judgment is coming. The consequences of sin are inevitable, but we have this moment to turn to the Lord.
You cannot choose for everyone, but you must choose for yourself. You cannot make the whole nation turn to the Lord, but you can turn to him yourself today. I pray that your life will not be the story of the consequences of disobedience. Make your life the story of obedience.
To order The Need of Our Nation, a resource describing the need for revival in our country, click HERE.
