Good morning. Would everyone
turn to 2 Kings chapter 23. Verse 26. Notwithstanding, and that's talking
about Josiah and the Lord's grace on him and the Lord's blessing
on Israel through him. Notwithstanding, the Lord turned
not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger
was kindled against Judah because of all the provocations that
Manasseh had provoked him. And the Lord said, I'll remove
Judah also out of my sight, as I removed Israel, and will cast
off this city, Jerusalem, which I've chosen, and the house of
which I said, my name shall be there. Now, the rest of the acts
of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the book
of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah? In his days, this is
his last days, Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, went up against
the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates, and the king Josiah
went against him. And he, Pharaoh, slew him, Josiah,
at Megiddo. when he'd seen him. And his servants
carried him in a chariot, dead from Megiddo, and brought him
to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulcher. And the
people of the land took Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, and anointed him,
and made him king in his father's stead." Now, what is interesting
about this, this was not Josiah's firstborn. He was not the rightful
king. But the people decided to make
him king. And so he is the king of the
people's choice. Jehoahaz was 20 and three years
old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
And his mother's name was Hamiltol, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libna.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according
to all that his fathers had done. And Pharaoh Nico put him in bands. He was putting bonds at Ribla
in the land of Hamath that he might not reign in Jerusalem.
And put the land to a tribute of 100 talents of silver and
a talent of gold. And Pharaoh Nico made Eliakim,
the son of Josiah, the king in the room of Josiah his father,
and turned his name to Jehoiakim, and took Jehoaz away, and he
came to Egypt and died there. And Jehoiakim gave the silver
and the gold to Pharaoh, and he taxed the land to give the
money according to the commandment of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver
and the gold of the people of the land of everyone according
to his taxation. to give it to Pharaoh Necho.
Jehoiakim was 20 and five years old when he began to reign, and
he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zebuda,
the daughter of Padua of Ruma. And he did that which was evil
on the side of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.
In his days, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up, and
Jehoiakim became his servant three years. Then he turned and
rebelled against him, and the Lord sent against him. Notice
the Lord sent against him, this king of Judah. The Lord sent
against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and
bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and
sent them against Judah to destroy it according to the word of the
Lord, which he spake by servants, the prophets. Surely at the commandment
of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight,
for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did, and also
for the innocent blood that he had shed, for he filled Jerusalem
with innocent blood, which the Lord will not pardon. Now the
rest of the Acts of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they
not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin, his son, reigned
in his stead. Let's pray. Lord, we come into your presence
in Christ's name, thy son, our redeemer, our hope. And Lord, we believe that through
him, you hear our prayers. We ask that he might be exalted,
that your gospel would be preached in the power of your spirit.
that you'd give us hearing ears and receptive hearts. Lord, grant
us the comfort of thy gospel. Forgive us of our sins for Christ's
sake. Lord, we would remember Dawn and the church at Danville
at this time. We pray that your will would
be done. Bless them for Christ's sake and Lord, give grace to
that family. Lord, we are so thankful that
you're on the throne and that everything happens according
to your commandment. We pray for grace to believe
your word. Be with all your people wherever
they meet together, in Christ's name we pray, amen. Now this story actually begins
in chapter 21, look in verse 11. Because Vanessa, king of Judah,
hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above
all that the Amorites did which were before him, and hath made
Judah also to sin with his idols, it says 2 Kings 21, I guess I
said that right, pages being, okay. Therefore saith the Lord
God of Israel, behold, I'm bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and
Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle,
and I'll stretch out over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the plummet
of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth
a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down, and I will forsake
the remnant of mine inheritance and deliver them into the hand
of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to
all their enemies, because they have done that which is evil
in my sight and have provoked me to anger since the day their
fathers came forth out of Egypt, even to this day. Moreover, Manasseh
shed innocent blood very much till he had filled Jerusalem
from one end to another. Beside his sins wherewith he
made Judah to sin, and doing that which was evil in the sight
of the Lord." Now the Lord says plainly, I'm not going to pardon
him. I'm not going to pardon him. Now, we're given this respite
through Josiah. What a blessing he was. But Josiah
dies, and now we're having what the Lord is doing. Verse 26,
notwithstanding, 2 Kings 23, in spite of Josiah, notwithstanding,
the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his wrath, wherewith
his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations
that Manasseh had provoked him. And the Lord said, I'll remove,
verse 27, the Lord said, I'll remove Judah also out of my sight.
This is talking about them being carried into Babylon and that's
going to happen very soon. And the Lord said, I'll remove
Judah also out of my sight as I've removed Israel and will
cast off this city, Jerusalem, which I've chosen and the house
of which I said, my name shall be there. Now the rest of the
Acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in
the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? Now in his
days, Pharaoh, this is what we considered last week, but we
need to read this to get up to where we're wanting to be. In
his days, Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, went up against the
king of Assyria. He wasn't going against Josiah,
he was going against Assyria. To the river Euphrates, and King
Josiah went against him, and he slew him. Egypt flew Josiah
and Megiddo when he'd seen it and the servants carried him
in a chariot dead for Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem
and buried him in his own sepulcher and the people of the land took
Jehoaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king
and his father's dead." Now notice this was the king of their choosing. He was not the firstborn of Josiah,
but this is the one they wanted. Verse 31, Jehoahaz was 23 years
old when it began to rain, and he rained three months in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal,
the daughter of Jeremiah of Libna. And he did that which was evil
in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done."
You know, I keep coming across this phrase throughout the Kings,
in the sight of the Lord, in the sight of the Lord. Now, the
Lord is the only one who sees things as they really are. Me
and you don't, but he does. And he did evil in the sight
of the Lord. Verse 33, and Pharaoh Nico put
him in bands at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might
not reign in Jerusalem. And he put the land to a tribute
of a hundred talents of silver and of gold. Now, he's sent back
to Egypt, and as a matter of fact, he ends up dying there,
verse 34, and Pharaoh Nico made Eliakim, the son of Joash, king
in the room of Josiah's fathers, and turned his name to Jehoiakim,
and took Jehoaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. Interestingly, Pharaoh changes
his name, showing that he thinks that he's in charge and he can
do this. but he doesn't realize that he's a pawn in God's hand
doing God's will, exactly as God would have him do it. Aren't
you thankful it's that way? These men, you know, all the
stuff that's going on today, God's in control of it. He's
ruling and reigning, and his will is being done exactly. Let's go on reading, verse 35.
And Jehoiakim, his name was changed by the king of Egypt to Jehoiakim,
he gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh. But he taxed the
land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh.
He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land
and everyone according to his taxation to give it unto Pharaoh,
Necho. Now, put yourself in these people's
place. Jehoiakim is taxing heavily. Maybe 50% of their income was
going to Pharaoh. Can you imagine what a miserable
condition that would be? No matter how much money you
made, at least half of it would go to somebody else in an unjust
way. And perhaps the economy was tanking
at this time. This is the beginning of the
end of right before they're getting ready to be sold into Babylon. Verse 36, Jehoiakim was twenty-five
years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in
Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zebuda,
the daughter of Paddai of Ruma. He did that which was evil in
the sight of the Lord. There we have the sight of the
Lord again. Let me repeat, the Lord is the only one who sees
things as they really are. Me and you don't. We don't know
what's going on, but He does. This man did evil. in the sight
of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. In
his days, here's where we're introduced to this man, Nebuchadnezzar. You remember him from the book
of Daniel? The Lord makes him the most powerful man in the
world, and he's going to destroy Egypt. He's going to bring Judah
and Israel and everybody else into the land of Babylon, but
he is the most, the Lord makes him, the most powerful man in
the world. And what I think is so interesting
is I think the Lord saved this man. He's used by God to write
scripture. You look in Daniel, and he wrote
some of that. You remember in Daniel chapter
three, I love that story where he made an idol, 90 feet tall,
a man-made God. And he said, whenever you hear
the music, bow down and worship. And you remember Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego? He said, they wouldn't do it.
He said, what's this all about, that you won't bow down to my
idol? He said, who's the God that's gonna deliver you out
of my hands? He didn't know Jehovah yet. And they said, well, if
he's pleased to deliver us from your hands, he can do it. But
whether he does it or not, know this, we're not gonna worship
your idol. And you remember them being thrown into the fiery furnace. The fire slew the people who
threw them in. And that's so representative.
The wrath of God is gonna slay everyone except those Christ
has died for. Now they're thrown into the fiery
furnace bound, but all of a sudden Nebuchadnezzar looks in the furnace. He said, did we not throw three
men? I see four men walking, loosed, and one's likened to
the Son of God. How'd he know? The only way I
know this is if you ever see the Son of God, you'll know who
he is. I mean, there's no mistaking this. And now Nebuchadnezzar
has been taught who the Lord is. Turn with me for a moment
to Daniel chapter four. Daniel chapter four. This is Nebuchadnezzar speaking,
and here's where Nebuchadnezzar is actually used to write the
scriptures. Nebuchadnezzar, the king unto all people, nations
and languages that dwell in the earth, peace be multiplied unto
you. I thought it good to show you the signs and wonders that
the high God hath wrought toward me. How great are his signs and
how mighty are his wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom. His dominion is from generation to generation. I,
Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, flourishing in my palace,
and I saw a dream which made me afraid. And he goes on to
tell what that dream was, and he had no idea what it meant.
I pick up in verse 24. Daniel's giving the interpretation
of the dream. This is the interpretation, O
king, this is the decree of the most high God which has come
upon my lord the king. They shall drive thee from men,
and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and
they shall make thee to eat grass as an oxen, and they shall wet
thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over
thee, till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom
of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. This is some kind of,
I've read, where it's some kind of disease where you think you're
a beast. It might have been, I don't know. But he was driven
from his palace for seven years and lived like an animal outside. And that's where his fingernails
grew so much and his hair looked like feathers. Seven years. Verse 26, and whereas they commanded
him to leave the camp of the free roots and the kingdom shall
be sure to thee that thou shalt have known the heavens do rule.
Whereof, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee and break
off thy sins by righteousness and thine iniquity by showing
mercy to the poor. It shall be a lengthening of
thy tranquility. And this came upon the king, Nebuchadnezzar, At the end of 12 months, he walked
in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake and
said, is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house
of the kingdom by the might of my power and for the honor of
my majesty? While the word was yet in the
king's mouth. There fell a voice from heaven
saying, O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken, the kingdom
is departed from thee, and they shall drive thee from men, and
thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall
make thee to eat grass as an oxen, seven times shall pass
over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom
of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour was the
thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar, and he was driven from men. The
grass, his oxen, his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till
his hairs were grown like eagle's feathers and his nails like bird
claws. And at the end of the days, that seven years, I, Nebuchadnezzar,
lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned
unto me. And I blessed the Most High,
and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion
is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation
to generation. And all the inhabitants of the
earth are reputed as nothing. And he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest
thou? At the same time, my reason returned unto me. And for the
glory of my kingdom, an honor and brightness returned unto
me, and my counselors and my Lord sought unto me, and I was
established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to
me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King
of Heaven, All whose works are truth, and his ways judgment,
and those that walk in pride, he's able to abase. Oh, he found
out who God was, didn't he? This man, Nebuchadnezzar. Now go back to our text. Verse one of chapter 24. In his days, Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon, came up, and Jehoiachin became his servant
three years. So did the king of Egypt, by
the way. Then he turned and rebelled against him after this three-year
period. And if you read in the prophet Jeremiah, who tells a
lot about this, at this time, Nebuchadnezzar left to go back,
and during this three-year period, he decided to rebel against him.
Now look in verse two. This is so important. And the
Lord sent against him bands of Chaldees and bands of the Syrians. This is against the king of Judah
and bands of the Moabites and bands of the children of Ammon
and sent them against Judah to destroy it according to the word
of the Lord, which he spake by his servants, the prophets. Now
who sent the Raiders? The Lord did. Now, did they know
it was the Lord sending them? No. No, they thought, we're going
to get Judah. We're going to steal their riches.
We're going to wrench ourselves. We're going to make things better
for ourselves. We're going to attack them. They didn't know that there were
pawns in the Lord's hand, but they were. And I find such comfort
in this. Everything, everybody, everyone, The Lord God is absolutely sovereign
in everything, in control of every person and every event,
and everybody is a pawn in His hand doing His will. I love that. Somebody says, I
don't like that. I do. I wouldn't want it to be
any other way. And that's the way it is. And
God reigns and rules just like Nebuchadnezzar found out. Now
let's look at verse three. Surely at the commandment of
the Lord came this upon Judah. to remove them out of his sight
for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did, and also
for the innocent blood that he shed, for he filled Jerusalem
with innocent blood, which the Lord would not pardon." Now,
that's a scary statement. If my sins are not pardoned,
it's because the Lord would not pardon them. He's just. He's
righteous. He's holy. Whatever he does is
just and right. And he said, I'm not going to
pardon these sins. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim
and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the
Chronicles of the kings of Judah? So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers
and Jehoiachin, his son, reigned in his stead. Now I want to go
back to verse three because I find this statement thrilling. Surely at the commandment of
the Lord came this upon Judah. Now what this is speaking of
is the absolute sovereignty of God. Surely at his command, this
came. Now, every one of these nations
were obeying the commandment of the Lord. And Nebuchadnezzar
understood this. He doeth according to his will
in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.
None can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? Give
an account for yourself. He gives no account of his matters.
He is completely sovereign over the free and uncoerced actions
of men. And the great proof of that is
the cross. Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. You have taken and with
wicked hands have crucified and slain for a truth For of a truth
against thy son, thy holy child Jesus, whom thou has anointed
both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people
of Israel were gathered together for to do whatsoever thy hand
and thy counsel determined before to be done. Everything that happens
was according to his determinant counsel. Now, I heard a preacher
once say, If you burn your biscuits in the oven, God didn't have
anything to do with that. That's so insignificant. Let
me say something. I don't wanna be anywhere, I
don't wanna be any place where God doesn't have anything to
do with it. Not even for a second. God controls everything and everybody. And there's nothing insignificant.
There's not a sparrow that falls to the ground without your heavenly
father. A sparrow, some on the other side of the planet, fallen
from a tree, dead. God's in absolute sovereign control
of that. I had a preacher say recently,
I believe God permitted the fall, but he didn't ordain the fall.
Why, that's foolishness. If there's a fall, God ordained
it. And he does everything he does
for the glory of his name, for the honor of his son, for the
cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, God rules. And everything he
does, he does by commandment. I love that. Verse three, surely
at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah. Now, think
of the commandment of the Lord. Number one, creation. Creation
came by his commandment. He spaked the universe into existence. There was a time when all there
was, was God. It wasn't any creation. God the Father, God the Son,
God the Holy Spirit, and God didn't have to create the universe
because He's lonely or because of some kind of perceived need
that He had. He did it simply because He willed
to do it. His command. I think of God's
providence. Everything in providence is His
will being done, His decrees coming to pass. But I love to
think of God's command in salvation. When God elected a people, He
was giving command for those people to be saved in His Son.
When Christ redeemed them, this is according to the commandment
of God, He commanded His Son, who was equal to Him, but became
subordinate to Him in order to save His people, He commanded,
go keep the law for them, die for them, put away their sins,
be raised for them. He obeyed His Father's command.
I think of the command of regeneration. When you believed, it's because
God commanded you to believe. Live! You lived. You heard. How we love the command of God. Surely at the commandment of
the Lord came this upon Judah. Now remember this. Everything
in your life is the commandment of God. Everything. Are you saying it's
God's fault when we sin? No, it's your fault when you
sin. It's my fault when I sin. I know that's the way everybody
thinks. Well, that God's the author of it. It's your fault
if you sin. But understand this, God's in
control of that. And even your sin drives you
once again to Christ to show you that he is all in salvation. God reigns. May we be given this
same faith that Nebuchadnezzar has. And just glorying in this,
he doeth according to his will. in the armies of heaven, and
among the inhabitants of the earth, and none could stay his
hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?