When the End is at Hand

O. T. #877  "When the End is at Hand"
Nov. 29, 2016
2 King 25

LET IT GLOW

What do we do when the end is at hand? Perhaps it is news from the doctor on test results that leaves you studded; maybe it comes when the boss drops a bomb that you have been terminated at your job; or the slamming of the door when a spouse leaves your marriage. What happened? What did I do wrong? What caused my world to shatter into pieces? How can I fix this? Is it my fault? I can do better. Oh, I know all things work together for my good and God's glory. Good verse, huh? What do I do when the end of _____ is at hand? Is it the end of life as it once was? Is it the beginning of the end? What now? So many questions, so few answers. Are you there? Is a loved one there?
Friends, it is not always our doings that causes these situations. sometimes it due to the sins of another.

Judah's end was at hand and it was their fault. God had given them a nation, a land, an everlasting love, and all they needed. All they had to do was love God, obey His commands and statues. Yet, with all their blessings, Israel and Judah turned away from God to idol worship, for years and years, for king after king.
Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 lay out the rules for blessings and cursings.

I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. (Lev. 26:12)

Now God was going to use Babylon to bring about judgment to His people for their sins. Here we go, the bow is coming.

When Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, besieged Jerusalem, which was Judah's capital, King Jehoiachin and the royal family, and 10,000 citizens were led away into captivity. The treasures n the Temple and king's house were also taken. Only the poor sort of people remained. Then Babylon's king made Zedekiah those people's ruler. He was the uncle of Jehoiachin, Josiah's son and brother of Jehoiakim.

Zedekiah did what was evil in the Lord's sight. The Lord's anger was upon Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out is presence. (24:20)

Judah's experiences during the siege can be read in Jeremiah 37-38. However, Jerusalem endured for 11 years. Hezekiah's tunnel provided fresh water supply for the city. But, the food supply ran out after 2 years. Just as Israel had been invaded 3 times by Assyria, so was Judah by Babylon. Hmm

What happened next?

• The city wall was broken up;
• all the men of war fled by night between the two walls near the king's garden, giving access the Kidron Valley, scattered and separated from their king;
• the king went with them and fled toward the planes of Jericho.
• Before Zedekiah could cross the Jordan River, he was captured by the Babyonian army, then taken to their King Nebuchadnezzer at Riblah.

Did you catch that-the king of Judah fled away when the end was at hand? Jeremiah had warned Zedekiah this would happen (Jer. 32 and 34).

What will we do when the end is at hand for us? Will we flee from our faithful God? Will we stick out on our own? Or will we cling tighter onto His right hand which holds us?

LET IT GROW

What occurred to Zedekiah when he stood before the Babylonian empire king?
Verse 7 answers that question: And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

The last thing Zedekiah was permitted to see before he was blinded and taken to Babylon was the death of his sons. There were no claimants left to the throne. (Falwell)

Zedekiah did not see Babylon, as foretold by Ezekiel and Jeremiah. He did see King Neb though. We know that Judah spent 70 years in captivity, too.

What will we see before our spiritual eyes go blind? Or will we close them? Will we keep them open and continue to remain faithfully trusting in our Great King Jesus? Isaiah predicted His coming to earth. We believe it happened by faith. We feel His presence by way of the Holy Spirit confirming it in our heart.

LET IT GO

Praise to King Jesus, who left heaven to become a man in order to provide for my salvation.

When the end is at hand, trust God.