DEVOTIONAL

Before we navigate through a chunk of 2 Kings, I want to remind us of how important it is to read the Bible as a whole. The blood bath that spans across 2 Kings 8-10 can make some of us wonder whether God is good when He pours out His wrath. However, what I see throughout the Bible is God’s wrath and mercy at work in tandem. The idea of both working together is hard to comprehend coming from the same God, but the passage today paints a helpful picture of it.

Also, I think Lamentations 3:17-18,21-24 summarizes the wrestle we have as recipients of God’s wrath and mercy which says, “my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.”…But I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

With these words in mind, jump into the passage with me which begins with a lot of war and bloodshed, but the mercy of God relents on Judah in 2 Kings 8:19. Even though the people of Judah live in rebellion against God under king after king, God chooses to wipe out part of Judah and stop. Why? God remembers His promise to David. Our sin cannot outweigh the mercy of God. When Jesus endured the wrath of God on the cross for my sins and was raised to life, Jesus tipped the scales forever to give victory to God and His people over sin and death.

Q: How do you experience God? Is He full of wrath and not mercy? Do you believe your sin cannot outweigh the mercy of God for you?

 

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:21-23

Next, Jehu enters the story in 2 Kings 9-10. He is anointed as king of Israel. How is Jehu a vessel to show the mercy and wrath of God in Israel? When Jehu becomes king, he leads the people back to worship God instead of Baal. This is the mercy of God. My prayers of gratitude to God overflow with ease after God draws me back to Him and away from things I held as idols to serve and satisfy me. The way God forgives my sin over and over abounds in mercy. Now, get ready for the bloodshed again. As king, Jehu carries out the wrath of God by killing everyone in Ahab’s family and Baal worshippers. Remember Ahab? He is king of Israel at the end of 1 Kings. What does he do? Ahab turns Israel away from Yahweh to Baal. Altars, sacrifices, praise, incense, all of it, is lifted to Baal by Israel under his leadership. Imagining the events unfold is a lot to take in, but I think I understand why it happens. God is the One True God. There is none like God in all the earth. And Israel forgets. They spend decades with their backs to God that they lose sight of the holiness, sovereignty, mercy, and love of God.

And, what about Judah? Do they experience similar events of the mercy and wrath of God like Israel? Absolutely. If I placed the events of Israel and Judah into movie genres, then Israel is in action and Judah is in drama. Both include wild events, but the story of Judah picks up in 2 Kings 11 with drama. After Ahaziah is killed people go crazy, but praise God that seven years later Jehoiada the priest of God steps up. For a nation once tethered to God, they cannot see which way is up. By the power of God, Jehoiada overthrows Athaliah, acting as “king”, to make way for little Jehoash to reign as the next king of Judah. Isn’t it fun, or confusing, to read all of these “J” names. Keeps me on my toes!

I see the mercy of God toward Judah through the divine placement of Jehoiada as he counsels Jehoash from an early age. Jehoiada is a priest, so he plays a big role to help turn Judah back to God under Jehoash. During Jehoash’s forty years as king in Judah, the house of God is prioritized to repair and care for which gives us the impression that the people turn back to God.

Then Jehoahaz sought the favor of the Lord, and the Lord listened to him, for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them.

2 Kings 13:4

After Jehoash is killed, the events jump back to Israel in 2 Kings 13. Israel is back under oppression from Syria, what’s new? Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, becomes king of Israel. He does not build the momentum that Jehu rekindled to love and serve Yahweh above all other gods. God allows Syria to oppress Israel because they turn from God. However, read 2 Kings 13:4-5. Jehoahaz calls on God to save Israel from Syria. How does God respond? He listens to Jehoahaz and makes a way for Israel to return home. God divides Israel into pieces back in 2 Kings 10:28-32 under Jehu and now they are reunited as one. Even though Israel faces oppression from Syria for a couple decades, God remembers His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God remembers and is gracious and compassionate.

The wrath of God feels too hard when I think about it outside of His mercy. However, we see in the history of Israel and Judah that the relentless mercy of God is greater than His wrath. God makes a way for His people even though they build up idols and do evil. God promised a lamp for David and his descendants. He keeps that promise. I hope you see in this passage how God is that lamp shining bright in the darkness. And what about us? On this side of the cross of Jesus, we can sing confidently the truth in Lamentations, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Q: What are specific moments you have experienced the mercy of God? Give praise to God for remembering His covenant with Abraham and for His faithfulness in your life.

Additional Reading: 2 Chronicles 22-24

 

But the Lord was GRACIOUS to them and had COMPASSION on them, and he turned TOWARD them, because of his COVENANT with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would NOT destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now.

2 Kings 13:23