Carried Away into Captivity

The People of God Set Priorities
Hope and Confidence Come from God
Obey the Lord

2 Kings 24:8-17

The Message

Jehoiachin of Judah

^8-9 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king. His rule in Jerusalem lasted only three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem. In God’s opinion he also was an evil king, no different from his father.

^10-12 The next thing to happen was that the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked Jerusalem and put it under siege. While his officers were laying siege to the city, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon paid a personal visit. And Jehoiachin king of Judah, along with his mother, officers, advisors, and government leaders, surrendered.
^12-14 In the eighth year of his reign Jehoiachin was taken prisoner by the king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar emptied the treasuries of both The Temple of God and the royal palace and confiscated all the gold furnishings that Solomon king of Israel had made for The Temple of God. This should have been no surprise—God had said it would happen. And then he emptied Jerusalem of people—all its leaders and soldiers, all its craftsmen and artisans. He took them into exile, something like ten thousand of them! The only ones he left were the very poor.
^15-16 He took Jehoiachin into exile to Babylon. With him he took the king’s mother, his wives, his chief officers, the community leaders, anyone who was anybody—in round numbers, seven thousand soldiers plus another thousand or so craftsmen and artisans, all herded off into exile in Babylon.
¹⁷ Then the king of Babylon made Jehoiachin’s uncle, Mattaniah, his puppet king, but changed his name to Zedekiah.

 
For Reflection

Physical abduction is not the only way we can be carried away into captivity.  We can also be seduced into engrossment in our material and cultural lives. Thus, we become captive to our will for pleasure, success and belonging to the culture which has seduced us. Our willing participation strips us of all which has real value, our sense of our Godliness.  We change our name as puppet kings; deluded into thinking we are responsible, in charge. And all those who sing our praises and compliment our successes bind us to this doomed enterprise.  Our temple of the Godly has been looted and destroyed.

 

Pray

That you will reject the cultural demands which seduce you away from a righteous path.  Pray that you will have the wisdom to live in this cultural but not be of this culture.  Pray that you will embrace the culture of the Kingdom of God.