JUDAH’S LAST DAYS

Tonight (Wednesday, 10/26, 7:00 pm), gather with your Calvary Chapel family in the Holy Ground Cafe’ or on our website (www.calvaryinv.com), Facebook, and Youtube (Calvary Inverness) as we continue with our three-year journey through the Bible (2 Kings 23-25).

King Josiah, the great-grandson of King Hezekiah, had come to the throne of Judah at the tender age of eight. At twenty-six, he was brought the book of the law by the High Priest. As he heard the words read to him, he immediately responded by making the necessary reforms that had brought the nation to the precipice of the judgment of God. The King knew there was no way to avoid God’s retribution upon the nation, but he acted to save as many people as possible. And, for a little while, the nation responded to his reforms and followed God as described in the law given to Moses.

After Josiah’s death, the nation quickly forgot everything that had been done and returned to following the dictates of its heart. Three of Josiah’s sons and one grandson succeeded him on the throne, but unlike Josiah, all of them were evil rulers.

The book concludes with the third and final Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem. The city was razed to the ground, including the Temple of Solomon. All the articles that were used in the worship of Jehovah were gathered and taken to the pagan temple in Babylon. The population was either murdered or taken captive. The nation chosen by God above all others lay in smoldering ruins. The prophet Jeremiah, the author of the books First and Second Kings, wrote in the book of Lamentations about the anguish he had to endure as he watched his beloved city destroyed.

Today, there are numerous lessons for the church and our nation. Jesus Christ is coming first for the church and then to rule and reign on the earth for a thousand years. Those left behind will experience a seven-year judgment that Jesus said had not been cut short, no flesh would survive. There is nothing anyone can do to change that truth. The church can and should live a life wholly separated from sin and unto God so that they can be useful and effective instruments in saving as many people as possible before judgment comes.

Please pray that this three-year journey through the Word of God will be received by open hearts that long to grow in the Grace and Knowledge of Jesus. And that He would do deep and practical Work in and through us for a world in desperate need of a Savior.
In His Strong Love,
Pastor