Hiding Through the Judgment

2 Kings 25:22-26

April 25, 2010

Most of you are familiar with

What is presently going on in the book of Kings.

· At this point, Judah no longer has a king.

· The temple has been burned, along with every house

· The city wall has been destroyed

· Everything of value has been stolen

· The exile of the Jews has been completed.

(15,000 were exiled, the rest were killed)

And over the last two weeks we have talked about

Exactly why that happened.

Israel had entered into covenant with God.

The stipulations of that covenant were clear.

Israel was to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind

And to make that love evident through total devotion and obedience.

They were to love and worship God only.

They were to set themselves apart from the people of the world.

They were to strictly obey all the commands of God.

If they would do this, then God would bless them bountifully.

But as you know, Israel did not keep her end of the agreement.

Disobedience, Idol Worship, Worldliness, Shedding Innocent Blood

The covenant was broken and the consequences were clear.

If you don’t keep God’s covenant, you don’t live in God’s land.

WHY?

Because that land was only for those who are in a covenant with God.

If you break that covenant, you must be removed.

Deuteronomy 28:63-68 "It shall come about that as the LORD delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the LORD will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it. "Moreover, the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. "Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. "So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. "In the morning you shall say, 'Would that it were evening!' And at evening you shall say, 'Would that it were morning!' because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see. "The LORD will bring you back to Egypt in ships, by the way about which I spoke to you, 'You will never see it again!' And there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer."

It was clear.

You can claim to be God’s people,

You can take His name upon yourself.

But if your claim is a lie, and you take God’s name in vain,

Then I will remove you.

And that is exactly what has happened to Israel and Judah.

They claimed to be God’s people.

They claimed to have a relationship with Him.

But they were liars.

They were hypocrites.

They were apostates.

They were tares among the wheat.

They were goats among the sheep.

So Judah has been removed.

BUT THERE IS ONE MINOR PROBLEM WITH ALL OF THIS.

Nebuchadnezzar didn’t remove everyone.

(22) “Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah,”

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

1) The Poor

2 Kings 25:12 “But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.”

2) Those who hid during battle

Jeremiah 40:7 “Now all the commanders of the forces that were in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the land and that he had put him in charge of the men, women and children, those of the poorest of the land who had not been exiled to Babylon.”

3) Foreign Jews who were living in another land, who have returned

Jeremiah 40:11-12 “Likewise, also all the Jews who were in Moab and among the sons of Ammon and in Edom and who were in all the other countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant for Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan. Then all the Jews returned from all the places to which they had been driven away and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered in wine and summer fruit in great abundance.”

And so it seems that there were actually a few

Who successfully hid through the judgment.

That is troublesome because God said it wouldn’t happen.

In fact, through Zephaniah,

God promised to be very thorough in the judgment.

Zephaniah 1:10-13 "On that day," declares the LORD, "There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, A wail from the Second Quarter, And a loud crash from the hills. "Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar, For all the people of Canaan will be silenced; All who weigh out silver will be cut off. "It will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, 'The LORD will not do good or evil!' "Moreover, their wealth will become plunder And their houses desolate; Yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them, And plant vineyards but not drink their wine."

Yet, Nebuchadnezzar came and went and somehow,

Despite the promise of God, these were able to remain in the land.

And if you think on that very much it really makes it seem

As though there are loopholes to the judgment.

And by the way, that is precisely what a lost world is counting on.

That somehow when the judgment comes around

They will be able to survive it.

Well, this morning I want to show you why that is not the case.

4 parts to our text this morning.

#1 THEY REMAINED IN THE LAND

2 Kings 25:22

Just as we mentioned, here is the fact we have seen.

Nebuchadnezzar left some behind in the land.

He intended for them to work the fields and the vineyards of the land.

And as I said, this is somewhat troublesome

Because here are false Jews who not only got to stay in the land,

But even seem to have been given virtual ownership of it.

These Jews, rather by hiding, or by being poor,

Seem to have really done well for themselves.

And you will also see that Nebuchadnezzar has appointed a new leader.

“he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them.”

So there you have it.

Those who survived judgment and their new leader.

#2 THEY RECEIVED INSTRUCTION

2 Kings 25:23-24

Here you see that some men came to Mizpah

Where Gedaliah was ruling the land.

These were some of those hiding armies.

· They had successfully avoided the Babylonian army.

· They did not try to defend Judah or Jerusalem, instead they hid themselves.

And now that Babylon is gone they return to the new ruler of the land.

And when they did, they received some instruction.

(24) “Gedaliah swore to them and their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans; live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.”

Obviously this band of rogue fighters

Did not like the fact that they had to submit to Babylon now.

No doubt they wanted to live in the land

Without having to pay tribute to Nebuchadnezzar.

AND GOD IS EXTREMELY MERCIFUL

They will be allowed to remain in the land,

But the land is no longer theirs.

In a way, this could almost be seen like a second chance.

I really think you can see a parallel here to the great tribulation in which those who survive the great peril are actually given a chance to submit and be saved.

If these survivors will submit to God’s plan,

Then they can stay in the land.

#3 THEY REBELLED AGAINST THE LEADER

2 Kings 25:25

These Jews were disobedient.

These Jews wanted nothing to do with submission.

And therefore these Jews rebelled and killed Gedaliah.

There is a little more to the story.

Jeremiah 40:13-16 “Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah and said to him, "Are you well aware that Baalis the king of the sons of Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?" But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them. Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, "Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and not a man will know! Why should he take your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the remnant of Judah would perish?" But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael."

It appears that some of the people of the land

Knew that these Jews had no intention of submission,

Yet Gedaliah would not listen and as a result he was killed.

Jeremiah 41 indicates that while they were eating bread together,

Ishmael struck down Gedaliah and the Chaldeans that were with him.

It is yet another case of disobedience to the plan of God.

They remained in the land

They received instruction

They rebelled against their leader

#4 THEY RAN TO EGYPT

2 Kings 25:26

Jeremiah actually gives quite a bit more insight into the story.

Jeremiah 41:16-18 “Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him took from Mizpah all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, that is, the men who were soldiers, the women, the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon. And they went and stayed in Geruth Chimham, which is beside Bethlehem, in order to proceed into Egypt because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, since Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.”

When this happened all the people in the land were terrified,

Because they just knew that Babylon would be back to kill them all.

And they instantly had a plan.

They were going to flee to Egypt.

Now at this point, according to the book of Jeremiah, the leaders actually did seek out Jeremiah for God’s will on the matter.

Jeremiah 42:1-3 “Then all the commanders of the forces, Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people both small and great approached and said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Please let our petition come before you, and pray for us to the LORD your God, that is for all this remnant; because we are left but a few out of many, as your own eyes now see us, that the LORD your God may tell us the way in which we should walk and the thing that we should do."

So they wanted to know if they should run or stay.

And to make a long story short, God was merciful yet again.

He actually sent word through Jeremiah

That the people should stay in the land.

All they needed to do was trust God and submit to God’s appointed leader of the land and they could stay.

But again these people prove to be disobedient.

They respond to Jeremiah’s prophecy.

Jeremiah 43:1-4 “But as soon as Jeremiah, whom the LORD their God had sent, had finished telling all the people all the words of the LORD their God — that is, all these words — Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, "You are telling a lie! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, 'You are not to enter Egypt to reside there'; but Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us to give us over into the hand of the Chaldeans, so they will put us to death or exile us to Babylon." So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces, and all the people, did not obey the voice of the LORD to stay in the land of Judah.”

Now in case you missed it, what you have just seen

Is the completion of God’s judgment.

If you would submit to God and obey Him

You could remain in the land,

But if you refused, you were removed.

And eventually everyone was removed.

If you read Jeremiah 43:8 you will see that even Jeremiah went to Egypt with them (not as a means of disobedience) and through him God promised that all of those deserters would die in Egypt.

And so God’s Word was fulfilled.

There were none who successfully hid from God’s judgment.

There were none who stayed in their sin

And yet somehow managed to stay in the land.

That land was only for those who had kept the covenant of God,

And everyone who broke that covenant was removed.

GOD IS THOROUGH TO REMOVE THE DISOBEDIENT FROM HIS LAND.

And all along we have seen the parallel to the church today.

Just as there were false believers living in Israel,

There are false brethren in the church today.

Apostates

Hypocrites

Tares

And many times we have noted that they will not inherit the land

That God has in store for His true children.

False brethren may enter the church and seek to remain,

But God knows them, and they will not survive the judgment.

Matthew 3:11-12 "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. "His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

John the Baptist knew that Jesus would be thorough.

However, that doesn’t mean that there won’t be many who try.

There will be false brethren who not only try to remain in the church,

But who even try to slip through the judgment.

Matthew 22:11-14 "But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ' Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless. "Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "For many are called, but few are chosen."

Matthew 7:22-23 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

Luke 13:26-27 "Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets'; and He will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.'

Matthew 3:9 “and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ' We have Abraham for our father'; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.”

There will be all sorts of excuses offered.

Some just try to sneak in on their own goodness.

Some try to present their resume.

Others seek to use their familiarity as an excuse.

Others try to use their family tree.

They are men who seek to slip past the judgment.

They desire to hide from the wrath of God,

And seek to live in the promised land undetected,

Despite having never truly entered into a relationship with God.

But none will make it.

Listen to me.

Although there are many who seek to hide through the judgment,

No one will be able to on their own.

Revelation 20:11-15 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

During the judgment all the hiding places are turned over.

Even those who have sunk to the bottom of the sea

Will not be able to hide there from the judgment of God.

The great can’t overcome it, and the small can’t hide from it.

God is thorough in judgment.

On your own, you cannot hide from it.

BUT THERE IS ONE WHO CAN HIDE YOU

1 Peter 3:18-22 “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you — not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience — through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.”

Figuratively speaking Jesus is our Ark.

That means that while on our own

You and I could never hide through the judgment

There is a way to be hidden, and that is in Jesus Christ.

It really enforces that text we often quote:

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Trying to get to heaven without Jesus

Would have been like trying to survive the flood without the ark.

On your own you cannot hide from judgment, God is too thorough.

And this is what we have been stressing.

This is what the writer of kings has been stressing.

Don’t suppose that you can be ½ hearted in the covenant

And yet enjoy the full benefits of salvation.

You may sneak in to God’s land, but you will not stay there.

You may sneak in to God’s church, but you will not stay there.

Matthew 13:37-43 “And He said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. "So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. "Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

The only salvation is found in total faith in Jesus Christ.

A faith that is evidenced by total submission and obedience.

There is no other way.

And all the way from Babylon, several thousand years ago,

The writer of kings is begging this very thing of you.

Having witnessed the horror of being kicked out of the land of promise,

The writer of kings is begging you not to make the same mistake.

Don’t suppose that just because

You have managed to fool those around you

That God is somehow fooled.

He sees you, He knows you,

And He will remove the tares from the wheat.

A couple of weeks ago in Sunday School we studied this passage.

John 2:23-25 “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

The word “believed” and the word for “entrusting” are the same word in the Greek.

PISTEUO

There were many who believed in Jesus,

But Jesus didn’t believe in them.

He saw their heart.

He knew what they were.

He knew they were not fully committed.

And He did not give Himself to them.

And what a way to be evaluated.

I know we live in an area of the world where everyone believes in Jesus.

But I wonder how many Jesus believes in.

There are many who claim to know Jesus.

But I wonder how many Jesus knows.

DO YOU GET THE POINT?

Israel claimed to be in a covenant, but she lied

And despite all her religion, despite all her history,

Even she could not survive the judgment.

This morning I ask you to learn a lesson from her mistake

And don’t follow her example.

Don’t give your lip service to God.

Give Him your heart.

Give Him your life.

Love Him with everything you have

And evidence it by your unwavering obedience to His word.

In short – BE REAL

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”