Obedient Living Leads to Abundant Life (2 Kings 25:9–10)

“And he burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls around Jerusalem.”
– 2 Kings 25:9–10

2 Kings 25:9–10 summarize the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians referred to here as the Chaldeans. As I read 2 Kings 25:9–10, like the burning of the temple, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, every great house burned down, and the walls around Jerusalem broken down, just total destruction of the city and all that’s in it, I think back to not that many chapters before when the temple in Jerusalem was built by Solomon in the beginning of 1 Kings in all of its glory and its majesty. And yet here at the end of 2 Kings, it’s totally destroyed, burnt down, and all the people of God ravaged, taken many of them into exile, if they are still alive.

Obedient living for the worship of God alone leads to abundant life, glory, majesty, and beauty.

All of this is a picture of the effects of sin and idolatry and immorality and injustice among God’s people. He had warned them over and over and over again, and yet God’s people had hardened their hearts to his warnings. And that’s just it, and that’s how I want to lead us to pray, based on 2 Kings 25:9–10. When I think about 1 Corinthians 10, talking about how these things were written down for us, that we might be warned by their example, that we would hear2 Kings 25:9–10 today and be reminded in a clear way in our lives that obedience leads to life, walking in obedience to God’s word and living for the worship of God alone leads to life, abundant life and glory and majesty and beauty.

2 Kings 25:9–10 Reminds Us to Obey God

Not saying that means everything will always go perfectly for us in this world, but this is life. Life is found in obedience to God and His word and living for His worship. And the converse is true, disobedience leads to death and destruction and loss of abundant life, that we would learn this as we read 2 Kings 25:9–10 and we would live accordingly. God, please may it be so today.

I pray this over my life and over every single person listening right now, that we would trust you and your Word and obey you and your Word, that we might experience life to the full in it. And God that you would keep us from disobedience, keep us from trusting ourselves, trusting in the ways of this world more than we trust in you. God, that you would keep us from worshiping other gods and idols in this world. That you would help us to worship you alone, to love you with all our hearts, soul, and mind, and strength, and this to experience life to the full, God.

This Verse Leads Us to Pray for Help Obeying God

We pray this over each of our lives. We pray this over our families, over the churches we’re a part of. God, we pray that you would help us to keep our eyes fixed on you. And help us to seek you with all of our heart. From the moment we rise in the morning and all throughout the day. To the moment we lay our head on a pillow at night, God help us to seek you. And help us to trust you. Also, help us to live for your glory, help us to proclaim your Word. Please, help us to obey your Word. As well as, help us to experience in all these things the abundant life that you have designed for us.

And God, please keep our hearts from hardening to your good and gracious warnings to us. This includes warnings like we see in your Word here to us in 2 Kings 25:9–10. In all of this we praise you afresh today, Jesus. We praise you for dying on the cross for our sins. And we praise you for rising from the dead in victory over sin and death and the grave. Thank you for ascending into heaven. And thank you for sending your spirit down into our hearts, enabling us to obey you today by the power of your Spirit in us, enabling us to experience the life you’ve designed for us.

We say yes to that life today. And we pray that you’d help us to keep our eyes fixed on you. Help us to keep our hearts fixed on you. And help us to keep our lives centered around you. For we know, O God, that you are life to the full. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.

David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow MeCounter CultureSomething Needs to ChangeBefore You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.

Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

LESS THAN 1% OF ALL MONEY GIVEN TO MISSIONS GOES TO UNREACHED PEOPLE AND PLACES.

That means that the people with the most urgent spiritual and physical needs on the planet are receiving the least amount of support. Together we can change that!

Exit mobile version