[0:00] 2 Kings chapter 25 3 Kings chapter 25 4 Kings chapter 25 4 Kings chapter 25 5 Kings chapter 25 5 Kings chapter 25 5 Kings chapter 25 6 Kings chapter 25 6 Kings chapter 25
[4:29] 6 Kings chapter 25 6 Kings chapter 25 6 Kings chapter 25 6 Kings chapter 25 6 Kings chapter 25 6 Kings chapter 25 6 Kings chapter 25 6 Kings chapter 25 6 Kings chapter 25
[8:59] 6 Kings chapter 25 6 Kings chapter 25 6 Kings chapter 25 6 Kings chapter 25 7 Kings chapter 25 6ふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふふ focus our attention on different levels of human existence, helping us to see both sin and righteousness as they play out.
[12:06] Genesis, for instance, teaches us to trace the movements of sin and grace in four generations of a single family. 1 and 2 Samuel help us to trace the movements of sin and grace in the lives of Saul and David, showing us the development of their characters over the years of their lives.
[12:23] Kings and Chronicles zoom out further and show us the movements of sin and grace over the history of two kingdoms. Over a number of centuries. At each level, we learn something more about the character of life in God's world, in addition to the way that they are tracing as their fundamental message, the work of God as it goes from the very beginning, the story of creation and fall, all the way through to the time when God will deliver his people from the grave of exile and later, in the sending of his Son, restore humanity in relationship with himself.
[12:55] The book ends on a surprising note, with a brief flicker of hope in the gloom of exile. As Lissaray Beal notes, there is a return at this point to Judean chronology. It is the 37th year of exile, about halfway through.
[13:09] Jehoiakim, Zedekiah's nephew and his predecessor on the throne of Judah, is released from prison. He is treated kindly by evil Merodach and he is made to sit regularly at the king's table, above all the other captive kings in Babylon.
[13:23] He is also granted a regular allowance for his needs. Judah had been told that if they submitted to Babylon, they would enjoy peace. Now, in the darkness of the grave of exile, there is a slight stirring of the bones.
[13:41] A question to consider. What lessons should Israel have learned from the Lord's hand in their going down into exile and his blessing of them in it? What lessons might we learn?