Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, since he promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.
– 2 Kings 8:19
Oh, what a good verse amidst such a tragic chapter, just like so many of these chapters and 1 Kings and 2 Kings. We just see the sinfulness of God’s people and the sinfulness of their leaders and just rampant evil and wickedness and immorality and idolatry. And yet God is merciful and gracious.
2 Kings 8:19 teaches us that God is faithful despite our unfaithfulness.
The Lord was not willing to destroy Judah. Why? For the sake of David, his servant, since he promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever. In other words, God is always faithful despite our unfaithfulness. Aren’t you thankful for that reality? I have been unfaithful to God in so many ways, and God has always, always, always been faithful to me a hundred percent of the time.
He has always been and will always be faithful to all of His promises. One of the things I love at just different points and reading through the Old Testament, when they look back and they say, not one word that God has promised has failed, God doesn’t fail his people. God is always faithful to his people, and I just want to invite us to praise him for his faithfulness and to repent of our unfaithfulness today.
God, we glorify your name. We worship your name. Lord, we praise your name. We thank you for your faithfulness. Oh God, we thank you for always being true to your Word, always being true to your character, and for every single thing you do that is always, always, always, a hundred percent of the time, good and wise, and out of the overflow of your perfect love and perfect power, oh God, we trust in you.
2 Kings 8:19 reminds us that God is merciful toward those who repent.
We praise you that you never fail your people. And we praise you that you’re faithful to every single one of your promises. And God, we pray that you would forgive us for our unfaithfulness to you. Even now, in each of our hearts, we pray that you would open our eyes to specific ways we have been unfaithful to you, that we need to confess before you, that we have not repented of.
God, help us to see our unfaithfulness in light of your faithfulness. Even as I pray this, I just think about verse John 1:9, if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Oh God, all glory be to your name for your faithfulness to forgive us for our unfaithfulness. Jesus, we praise you for making this possible through your death for us on the cross.
Prayer for the Golog People
We praise you for the gospel. God, we pray you to help us to share that gospel with people around us today in our neighborhoods and to share this gospel with people around the world and all nations.
Lord, we pray specifically today for the Golog people of China, for nearly 200,000 of these Amdo Tibetan Buddhists in remote areas. God, please cause the good news of your forgiveness and your faithfulness to spread to the Golog people that they might be forgiven, that they might know your faithfulness, your faithful love, your faithful mercy, your faithful salvation, that they might walk with you, the Faithful One, forever. Oh God, please be faithful to your promise to cause this gospel to go to all the nations, people from every nation and tribe and tongue, and people, including the Golog of China, might praise your name for your faithfulness. We pray all this in light of your Word in 2 Kings 8:9. In Jesus’ name, 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.
