The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 8:19,
"Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah. He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever."
This observation was made in light of the fact that the sitting king of Judah, Jehoram, had "followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab." Verse 18. The verse goes on to say that Jehoram did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
The northern ten tribes of Israel had a succession of nineteen kings, all of which had done "evil in the eyes of the Lord." As such we read of the demise of the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC.
However, unlike the northern ten tribes of Israel, Judah, who eventually fell to the Babylonians in 586 BC, returned to the land as a people following a seventy year captivity. We read of no further national identity of the northern kingdom specifically following her defeat at the hands of the Assyrians.
We are told of the Lord's commitment to Judah as something the Lord did for David's sake. As Christians, this is important for us because it was through Judah, David's tribe, that Jesus Christ our King would make his genealogical heritage.
In Isaiah 11:1-5 we read of the "Branch of Jesse" (Jesse was David's father),
"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist."
"Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah. He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever."
This observation was made in light of the fact that the sitting king of Judah, Jehoram, had "followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab." Verse 18. The verse goes on to say that Jehoram did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
The northern ten tribes of Israel had a succession of nineteen kings, all of which had done "evil in the eyes of the Lord." As such we read of the demise of the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC.
However, unlike the northern ten tribes of Israel, Judah, who eventually fell to the Babylonians in 586 BC, returned to the land as a people following a seventy year captivity. We read of no further national identity of the northern kingdom specifically following her defeat at the hands of the Assyrians.
We are told of the Lord's commitment to Judah as something the Lord did for David's sake. As Christians, this is important for us because it was through Judah, David's tribe, that Jesus Christ our King would make his genealogical heritage.
In Isaiah 11:1-5 we read of the "Branch of Jesse" (Jesse was David's father),
"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist."
This "Branch", foretold centuries following David, is the Son of God, born from the line of David of the tribe of Judah.
As we are told in 2 Kings 8:19, the Lord would not destroy Judah, as the "lamp" that he would maintain through Judah was Jesus Christ himself. As such, Judah figured prominently in the plans of the Lord.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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