2 Kings 24

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

Kings Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. The past prophecies of judgment were fulfilled just as the Lord had said.

  2. The future prophecies of judgment would be fulfilled just as the Lord had said.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Remember, judgment begins with the household of God.

QUESTIONS

  1. Review the three invasions of Judah and Jerusalem by the Babylonian armies.

  2. Did these invasions happen by chance?

  3. Describe the conditions in Judah at the time of Zedekiah.

  4. What was Ezekiel and Jeremiah’s rebuke to the people at this time?

  5. How does 1 Kings 9:6-9 relate to this passage?

ANSWERS

  1. 2 Kings 24:1 records the first invasion, which took place in 605 B.C. The second invasion, recorded in verse 10, took place in 597 B.C., during the reign of Jehoiachin. It was during this second invasion that the prophet Ezekiel was taken to Babylon along with other captives. 2 Kings 25:1 begins the final invasion of Jerusalem. The city fell to the Babylonians in 586 B.C., and the beautiful Temple of the Lord that Solomon had built was destroyed by fire.

  2. No, they happened “just as the Lord had said.”

  3. Two Babylonian invasions had already taken place, and many people had been taken into captivity in line with the prophecies of judgment. But the city still had not fallen and the Temple was still standing, so many of the people of Jerusalem as well as the captives in Babylon thought that God would never let the city of His Temple fall.

  4. Both Ezekiel prophesying in Babylon and Jeremiah prophesying in Jerusalem warned the people not to listen to false promises. The prophecies of judgment that still were not fulfilled surely would be fulfilled.

  5. Even as Solomon was building the Temple, the Lord warned him of the consequences that would befall the city and the Temple if the people turned from God.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Read Deuteronomy 30:15-20, spoken 800 years before the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. From the time of Moses to the time of the Babylonian invasions, the prophets had foretold of the coming judgments. God would have to remove His people from the Land for their sins of idolatry and immorality. Why do you think they were so hard of hearing?

  2. All of the prophecies of judgment were fulfilled just as the Lord had said. While the consequences are negative here, it is equally true that all of God’s promises will be fulfilled just as He has said. How do you respond to this insight into God’s character?

CHALLENGE

  1. Judgment begins with the household of God. This means as believers we are held to a high standard, and God is always just in His judgments.

KEY VERSES

  • “He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken by His servants the prophets.” 2 Kings 24:2

  • “For because of the anger of the LORD this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, that He finally cast them out from His presence.” 2 Kings 24:20

2 Kings, Old Testament, TalksRon Reid2 KINGS 24