2 Kings 17:1-19:37

17:1-41
‘The people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt’(7). What happens when people reject the God of salvation? - They become ‘empty’ and ‘worthless’ because they have chosen to ‘pursue emptiness’ by ‘following worthless idols’(15). If you don’t have salvation, you have nothing. Jesus makes this perfectly clear when He says, ‘What will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (Mark 8:36). You can have it all - all that the world thinks is important - and yet have nothing - nothing that really matters! The world has its ‘winners’. They have won ‘the praise of men’. We must be careful: ‘Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God’. It’s better to be ‘God’s friend’(James 4:4; 2:23)

18:1-37
Hezekiah ‘held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him…’(6). We give up so easily. We start well, then we lose our way. We don’t stick at it. Some people are all smiles - when things are going well. When the going gets tough, they lose their smiles - and you can’t see them for dust! What’s the problem? - They’ve taken their eyes off Jesus. They’re looking around at everyone and everything - except Jesus. Notice how different Hezekiah was! He ‘held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him’. This is what makes the difference - Keeping your eyes on Jesus. What is it that keeps us going? We are ‘kept by the power of God’- He‘is able to keep us from falling’(1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24). ‘Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus’(Hebrews 12:1-2).

19:1-37
‘Do not be afraid because of the words you have heard’(6). Who are you listening to - the world or the Lord? Sometimes, the voice of the world seems to be so loud - so loud that we can hardly hear the voice of the Lord at all. We need to listen well if we are to hear the voice of the Lord in today’s world. When we are discouraged, we need His Word of encouragement: ‘The zeal of the Lord will do this’(31). When you feel like saying, ‘I can’t’, remember this: ‘Our God is able’- ‘able to help those who are tempted’, ‘able to provide you with every blessing in abundance’, ‘able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think’(Daniel 3:17; Hebrews 2:18; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Ephesians 3:20). Don’t say ‘I can’t’. Say, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me’(Philippians 4:13).

Created over 3 years ago