A Call to Repentance (2 Kings 24:3)
Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done.
—2 Kings 24:3
So 2 Kings 24:3 is describing the fall of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians. And what’s really interesting about this verse is how God is showing us in his Word that ultimately this came about as a result of their sin against him.
That what they experienced in the Babylonian takeover and captivity and being sent into exile was a result of sin and rebellion against God. It was a picture of the discipline of God, how all of this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord.
And as I read 2 Kings 24:3, I find myself wondering: what would have happened if God’s people had humbly repented, even at the last minute before Babylon was about to overtake them? And even just that thought drives me to pray for my own life and for us, that God would help us to learn from those who’ve gone before us, to see the consequences of sin and rebellion against God, so that when we sin, we might repent quickly.
2 Kings 24:3 pictures the danger of continuing in disobedience.
That even today, even right now in this moment, any unconfessed sin in any one of our lives, that we would repent of it now, humbly and immediately. So God, we praise you for your commands that we know are for our good. We praise you for your Word that we know is for our good. And so we pray that you would help us to obey your commands, to trust your commands, to walk in step with your Spirit and your Word today. I pray that over my life. I pray that over every single person listening right now.
And God, if at any point today we disobey you in any way, in our thoughts, our desires, our words, our actions, God, we pray that it would not be so. If it happens, God, help us to receive the swift conviction of your Holy Spirit. We pray for soft hearts that will confess sin quickly and run from it, that don’t continue in it as your people did all throughout the Old Testament and specifically here in 2 Kings 24:3, and experience your discipline and consequence for their sin because of it.
2 Kings 24:3 teaches us to turn from unconfessed sin.
God, we pray that you would bring to our hearts and minds, even right now, any unconfessed sin, sin that we need to repent of, that we might turn from it today, right now, in this moment. And as we pray all this, Jesus, we praise you for taking the ultimate penalty that we deserve for our sin, the ultimate consequence. We praise you for dying on a cross for us. We praise you for the forgiveness of sin you’ve made possible for us, for eternal life, for the opportunity to be clothed in your righteousness, Jesus. So help us to live in it today.
And if we stray from it in any way, to run back to it by the grace that you have given to us. And God, we pray that you’d help us to lead others to life in you. Knowing, we know, we know where people around us who don’t know you, Jesus, help us to remember the consequences of sin and death, eternal death, and help us to share the gospel, the good news of your grace today with urgency and with compassion.
A Prayer for the Sagolle People
God, we pray for the spread of this gospel, this good news around the world. We pray for the Sagolle people of Sudan, for over 25,000 of them, 100 percent Muslim. God, we pray that the Sagolle people would be reached with the good news of forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus. God, may it be so. Please bless your church in Sudan, South Sudan, and all across that area of Africa for the spread of the gospel to the Sagolle people. We pray all this in the name of Jesus, who makes forgiveness of sin and righteousness before God and repentance and restoration to relationship with God possible.
Oh God, I just pray just one more time. Please don’t let any one of us continue in sin, holding on to secret sin. God, don’t let any of us continue in disobedience to you. Bring us to repentance today, and quickly every time we turn from you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
