Day 13 - 40 Days in the Old Testament

Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days in the Old Testament
Day  13 | THE LORD KEEPS HIS PROMISES
THE LORD KEEPS HIS PROMISES

2 Kings 17:13
“Again and again the Lord had sent his prophets and seers to warn both Israel and Judah: ‘Turn from all your evil ways. Obey my commands and decrees—the entire law that I commanded your ancestors to obey, and that I gave you through my servants the prophets.’”
(NLT)

As 2nd Kings opens, we find that Israel has split in two, the northern Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah in the south.  The time is around 850 BC.  About 130 years later, the Assyrians invaded the Northern Kingdom and scattered or took captive their people.

The question could be, WHY did God allow HIS people to be captured?  Answer: Because the LORD keeps His promises.  HE promised good if they would obey and punishment if they did not. God sent the prophets Elijah and Elisha to warn God’s people in the northern kingdom, urging them to turn around, repent, and return to their God.

Again and again, the LORD sent his prophets to warn both Israel and Judah, “turn from your evil ways.”

God is faithful to His word, to His promises.  A blessing for His people’s faithfulness to Him and a punishment for their unfaithfulness.

The Kingdom of Judah was a little better and lasted longer than the Kingdom of Israel. Still, in 605 BC, the Babylonians conquered Judah and later destroyed Jerusalem and took additional captives back to their capital city.

The second book of Kings teaches us that sin has consequences.  As we will see in future Old Testament books, the LORD tries to get His people’s attention by sending prophets to warn about the result of disobedience.  In 2nd Kings, we discover that they did not turn away from their disobedience and found that God kept His promises and allowed their demise.

It might be said that America appears on a similar path today.  We can only pray that our country will awaken and turn from its ways of disobedience to Almighty God.
 
Prayer: LORD, forgive me for any disobedience and help me follow you daily.  Amen.