2 Chr 36: 17-23

Since the entire nation of Judah turned their collective back on the Lord, they were either killed or captured by Nebuchadnezzar. The Lord had no pity and was no respecter of age or gender. According to the commentary: Zedekiah and his army ran from the city and they tried to escape. But the soldiers from Babylon caught them near Jericho town. They took Zedekiah to the town called Riblah in Syria to meet King Nebuchadnezzar. As Zedekiah watched them, they killed his sons. Then they took his eyes out so that he was blind. They bound him with chains and they took him to Babylon.

The Babylonians destroyed most of the city and especially the Temple. Since the Lord "left" the temple and his Presence was abhorred with Jerusalem, it was symbolic that it was destroyed.The entire captivity process was to be 70 years by the Babylonians. This was because Cyrus and the Persian Empire would overtake the Babylonian empire and become the first king of Babylon. The Lord would then allow the Jews to re-enter Jerusalem since Cyrus was a believer and would restore the Lord's Presence in Jerusalem.

Thus ends the book of  2 Chronicles - which has been a long time coming. I'm not sure where the Lord will lead me next in my studies but it will be in the OT.

Going to LabCorp after Sandy to complete my tests this morning. Should be "fun" day at work but hopefully an uneventful one. Prayers for the family in Edison who remains without power. Prayers also for those less fortunate than our situation. Hopefully a spirit of community will take over and there will be few if any incidents.

Praise for today: God is our refuge and strength, an ever help in times of trouble. Ps 46:1

2 Chr 36: 11-16

We just had the "perfect storm" or the "storm of the century". While the devastation has been first and foremost in the eyes of the media and the nation, we are reminded of nature's awesome power and our ability to prepare and cope with the situation. Clearly the writing was on the wall many days in advance and even I was amazed at its destructive forces and the path of devastation that ensued. I was amazed at the scenes at AC and lower NYC as the crests and waves flooded those streets. I was also saddened to hear of the countless stories of people (including many of my own) who lost power and feared for the losses that could ensue. I am awaiting word if we will even have services this weekend as lower Manhattan recovers and the commuter systems restores services (assuming power is available). I'm sure there are countless stories that will be told of how families and neighbors pull together. I am also saddened to hear how the AC mayor took it upon himself to ignore a state order to evacuated and put them up in local shelters and now must pay the price.

This section of Scripture deals with an evil and selfish king who ignored the warnings of the prophets and led his people into a path of destruction. He was evil in the eyes of the Lord and where the head goes, the body will follow. His "priests" were also evil and rather than worship the Lord, they worshipped idols. Jeremiah told Zedekiah and his priests and the people to repent and worship the Lord but they refuse and ridiculed the Lord's messenger. As a result, the Lord allowed the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem and start the captivity. Admist all of this, Zedekiah actually agreed to be under Bablylonian rule and signed an agreement with the king of Bablyon, Nebuchadnezzar. He reneged from the agreement and sought an allegiance with the new king of Egypt, Hophra or actually that Babylon and Egypt would do battle against each other. Zedekiah was will still be under Babylonian rule according to Jeremiah and the people would be enslaved - just as Jeremiah predicted.

The perfect storm back then as well but unlike Sandy, this storm would have no imminent recovery time and no FEMA. The enslavement would last much longer and the hopes would be dashed as well.

I am so grateful for all of the people that have reached out to me and my family. Prayers are powerful. Yesterday, I went into work and had to stuff 5 pounds into a 1 pound bag. We had power and food but still being under a statewide emergency edict was extremely limited in driving and was still working into the night yesterday to correct issues so that they would not linger going forward. Today is day off so I will try to catch up here with things that I need to do and tighten up my sermon (if we still have services on Sunday).

Praise for today: The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

2 Chr 36: 5-10

The next section is a tale of two kings, first Jehoiakim who was the king that succeeded Jehoahaz, his father. His reign lasted 11 years and according to other parts of the Bible and history was a self indulging and arrogant king. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord. Jeremiah, the prophet was the Lord's mainstay throughout this time and did much to warn and correct him in what the Lord wanted but was not well received. The result was him being in captivity via King Nebuchadnezzar in bronze chains into Babylon with his ill-gotten gains as well. During this time frame, there was another prophet Uriah (Jer 23) who was killed by Nebuchadnezzar while Jeremiah was not. The reason that the Egyptians were the ones that were oppressing the Judeans was that the Babylonian empire had, by this time, extended to Egypt so Jehoiakim had to obey Babylon rather than Egypt.

The second king, was Jehoiakim's son - Jehoiachin. He was as bad as his father and his reign only lasted a little over 3 months. According to the commentary: Then in March 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar’s army entered the city. Nebuchadnezzar himself came to Jerusalem. He took Jehoiachin as a prisoner to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar took all the valuable things from the temple. And he took many people from Jerusalem to Babylon. He took about 10 000 people from the city. This included Jehoiachin’s family, 7000 soldiers and all the business people (2 Kings chapter 24).

Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin’s uncle Mattaniah the king of Judah and Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar changed Mattaniah’s name to Zedekiah.

 

The event last night was pretty good and was focused on ending domestic violence. The keynote speaker was Lavon Morris-Grant who was a victim of domestic violence as well. She is a Christian and gave a stark and gripping account of her life and how she had to cope with the ridicule of being a victim - not only from her friends and family but even her own church which abandoned her. She was also a great woman of action and faith and I got a chance to pray with her afterwards.

 

Getting ready to head home but for how long? The impending hurricane hitting landfall late this weekend may prompt me to stay in NJ longer rather than coming down on Sunday. We'll see...

 

Praise for today: But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge. Psalm 94:22.

2 Chr 36: 1-4

With Josiah's death. the door was open for the next king and the people chose Josiah’s son Jehoahaz. Apparently, the Bible points out that Jehoahaz's father was also in contention given he too was in the lineage and could have assumed the throne. Nevertheless, the people chose and they chose poorly. According the account in 2 Kings 23, he didn't last long - just a mere 3 months and he was evil in the sight of the Lord. Neco was still bent on controlling Judah and captured Jehoahaz and put him in chains. With him out the way, Neco put his brother on the throne to control him and Judah as well. Eliakim who was his name was renamed Jehoiakim by Neco and was a few years older than his brother.

With the last chapter comes the advent of the exile as the kings of Judah followed a destructive path not just for themselves but for the people as well.

Got finished with my message and now I can relax somewhat today and go the charity event after work. Just hoping a get a decent parking spot later to lug my stuff home tomorrow.

Praise for today: The Lord will keep you from harm - he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalm 121: 7-8

2 Chr 34:20-27

With three powerhouse nations surrounding Judah, they of course were always at odds against each other. Assyria was the weakest and Babylon was becoming stronger so Egypt (king Neco) was going to align himself with Assyria against Babylon. Having to go through Judah, he and his army were confronted by Josiah and his troops. Neco had no issue with Josiah and in fact told him that God was behind this but this was not well received by Josiah who appeared bent on going into battle against the Egyptians. Josiah was so gung-ho about this that he even changed his battle gear so that he could blend in with his troops. Arrows were fired and Josiah was mortally wounded. He died shortly thereafter and was immortalized in a Book of Sorrows by Jeremiah. This was not the book of Lamentations but rather another book that was lost in the shuffle of time.‘He did what was right and fair. So, everything was good for him. He helped people who were poor. And he helped those who needed his help’ (Jeremiah 22:15-16). The people mourned as he was put to rest in the land and tombs of his fathers.

As I scroll forward, it seems like Josiah was the last good king of Judah before the exile. Sad to say, the bad outnumbered the good and still the nation was sent into exile BUT still produced the ultimate King - Jesus Christ. Still interesting to read and ponder about.

Another decent day at work, got invited to a charity which our firm is taking a table on Thursday night. Should end at a decent hour which is good. Got my ironing done and had a salad for dinner after a working lunch yesterday. Nothing done on the message but that will be for tonight.

Praise for today: I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness and will sing praises to the name of the Lord Most High. Psalms 7: 17.

2 Chr 35: 10-20

So the feast was recorded and obviously the fact that it occurred was noteworthy and recorded. What should have been an annual event was started after a long hiatus. The Levites picked up the slack where there were not enough priests to do the tasks at hand - slaying and preparing the animals and draining the blood for the doorposts, etc. The Levites also were the singers and the guards at the temple. And so the feast was complete and for 7 days they held the Passover feast without yeast. The Bible records this as among the best feasts ever even surpassing those that were held in David and Solomon's day. Perhaps because the people as well as the leaders were active and behind it.

Decent day at work and also here. David and I changed our phone plans so that it could accommodate his growing needs without hardship from month to month. I cooked enough ribs in black bean sauce and broccoli in oyster sauce for the week and then some. Never grow tired of a good thing. Tonight I will put the finishing touches on the message, hopefully... The debate was relatively interesting but still didn't sway me from voting my convictions.

Prayers for the family as we progress towards the holiday season. I also felt a little weird yesterday at the gym with some slight disorientation which forced me to bike rather than do any standing style exercise. We'll see how it goes later.

Praise for today: Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with righteousness. Psalm 48:10

2 Chr 35: 1-9

Josiah was a student of the Scriptures and thus after reading the account of Exodus and the Passover feast was inspired to continue the remembrance of the event. This took place in the 18th year of his rule in 622 BC, and much work had to be done to commemorate Passover. The Levites had to be given their duties as was in the case of David and retraining had to be done.  Also, the restoration of the ark had to occur as well since it was probably removed by some loyalists who didn't want to see it desecrated. Josiah gave of his own wealth to provide the sacrifices as well as his officials - this was an act of sacrifice from their part and meant that they were totally behind it and led by example. The sacrifices were enough for 30,000 poorer families to be represented and that was a good thing.

Clearly Josiah and his officials gave sacrificially and they tried to put the nation on the right track towards honoring and revering God. They were doing the right thing as they they led by example and be inclusionary rather than exclusionary.

Good but exhausting weekend. Good session on Friday's FW and also Saturday was a long day in Queens for the Missions weekend. Sunday was more of the same but thankfully an easy ride down here to Delly and a relaxing evening.

Praise for today: He who sacrifices thank offerings honor me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God. Psalm 50:23