Some things never change. The Lord is Holy and Righteous. The Lord hates what is evil. People rebel against God. God calls people to repentance. Some respond. Some do not. The Lord judges the wicked.
2 Kings 21:12-15 Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumbs line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, because they have done what is evil in y sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.
The destruction is horrifying. The pain is unimaginable. Their entire country wiped out. Their city burned. Their temple burned. Their homes crushed. Gone. All gone.
The Israelites were left without a home in a foreign land. They became servants. Slaves. Those who once ruled the world now slept in the dust.
Sin degrades. Wickedness undermines. Rebellion fuels the fire of transgression. Sin always leads to destruction. Sin always rots from the inside out.
If the story ends there then all is lost. Life would not be worth living. Would God leave his people destitute? Would God abandon his people forever?
No. The Lord is faithful to his promise, both to judge and to restore. The beauty of the story is in redemption and restoration. The Lord rebuilt. The Lord warned. The Lord promised. The Lord followed through.
Then, the Lord came!
We celebrate Good Friday and Easter every year. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He rose from the grave, defeating sin and death on our behalf. Jesus bought our eternal redemption. He exchanged life for death so we could exchange death for life. In Easter we celebrate God's ultimate gift of new life. May we cherish this gift, showing thankful hearts by the way we live. Amen.
Taken from reading 2 Kings 20-25
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