So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.
– 2 Kings 25:21
This is one of the most important, in a sense, verses in all of the Old Testament and the story of God’s people when what God had promised came true. God had said over and over again, through prophet after prophet, “If you do not walk in my ways, obey my commandments, repent of your sin, turn to me, then I will drive you out of this land, the promised land that I have led you to and provided for you. I will drive you out as a picture of my loving, holy judgment and discipline.”
2 Kings 25:21 reminds us that God disciplines us out of his love for us.
And it’s that last word I really want to camp out on. Discipline. This is a picture of God saying to his people, “I love you, and I desire your good, and your good is found in obedience to me. That’s why I give you my Word so that you might follow it and live and experience life.”
God had promised blessing over and over and over again as the reward, the fruit of obedience to him. And yet God had said all the way back, so many pages before and so many places and times in the Old Testament, “If you disobey me, it will not be good for you.” And here in 2 Kings 25, they are finally driven out of the land into exile.
As we read that verse, I just want to encourage you today, even as I want to encourage myself in a sense, obedience is good, and God loves us so much that he will discipline us out of his love when we turn from that which is good for us. And I just want to encourage you, a part of me wishes I could just look you in the eye, even as I need people looking me in the eye, saying this, obedience to God is good. Obedience to God is good.
2 Kings 25:21 teaches us to trust God above our own judgment.
Trust in God is always, always, always good. Trust him and obey him. Do not trust yourself, and do not disobey him. It always leads to destruction. And there’s an adversary who wants your destruction. There’s an adversary who wants to lead not to your good but to your bad, and he’s working all the time to tempt you and to keep you from trusting in and obeying God. And so I want to pray over you.
God, I pray, yes, this for myself, and I want to pray this specifically over every single person who’s listening to this right now. God help them to trust and obey you, to know that obedience to you and your Word and your Spirit leads to blessing and joy and peace and life. Not that everything will be easy or comfortable in this fallen world for them, that actually, Jesus, you tell us the opposite. Things will be hard, and things will be difficult. Trials will come.
This verse encourages us to confident obedience.
But we will have you and life in you that transcends death, and peace in you that passes all understanding, and joy in you that transcends circumstances. Oh God, we pray, help us to obey you today, to trust you. Even as we pray this, we praise you, Jesus, for showing us what this looks like as you went to the cross on that Good Friday and trusted in the Father. And Philippians 2, “Became obedient to death, even death on a cross for the joy set before you.” Hebrews 12, “And for our eternal salvation.” God, we praise you for the obedience of Jesus that leads to his joy and our eternal good. So we pray, help us to do the same today by the power of the Spirit of Jesus in us, confident that obedience to you is always, always good.
Prayer for the Khamba People
And not just for us, as we pray today for the Khamba people of China, this Tibetan Buddhist people group of 150,000 men, women, and children who don’t know the good news of Jesus’ death on the cross for them and resurrection from the grave. God help us to obey your command to make disciples of all the nations, knowing this will be joy for us and good for them and glorifying to you. God, we pray, help us to faithfully obey your command to make disciples of all the nations, including, we pray, oh God, today for the Khamba people of China. All of this according to your Word in 2 Kings 25:21. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
