Latest / Scripture Central / The True King | 2 Kings 16-25 | Come Follow Me 2026 | John Hilton III | July 13-19

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The True King | 2 Kings 16-25 | Come Follow Me 2026 | John Hilton III | July 13-19 · Scripture Central

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I don't know if you've ever had a situation in your life where
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you felt like there's no hope. Your back is to the wall and
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there is no possible solution. Do not be afraid.
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Sometimes this is all you can do.
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You just go to the temple. You pour out your heart to God.
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You say, I don't know what to do, but I'm looking at you.
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Keep on trusting. God does not always intervene in
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miraculous ways, but sometimes He does.
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It's a sliver of hope. God's plans are still moving
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forward. Imagine trying to understand the
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modern world without knowing anything about World War 2.
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There'd be so many questions you'd have Why do some nations
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have the borders they have? Why is there ongoing tension in
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part of Europe? Why do we have the United
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Nations? Understanding World War 2 gives
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you context for so many modern events today, and the final
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chapters of Second Kings give us this type of context for the
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rest of Scripture. They're going to explain why
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prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah are speaking with such
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urgency. They're going to help us to
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understand the back story of prophets like Daniel and
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Ezekiel. They help you understand why it
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was so shocking for Jesus to talk to a Samaritan woman.
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And they explain why the Book of Mormon begins with a family
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fleeing Jerusalem. Now, today's class is going to
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be a little bit different from most of our classes because
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we're going to really focus on the history of what's happening
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in the final chapters of Second Kings.
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And some of you might be thinking to yourself, Brother
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Hilton, this is a class focused on Jesus Christ.
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Why do we have to talk about the history?
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Well, Elder Remlin taught there isn't a dichotomy.
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We either know the history or we know of Christ.
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It's actually we do both, and the history forms a foundation
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that helps us understand Jesus Christ more and what is going on
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through his prophets. So buckle up and put on your
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history hat because if you can understand the history we're
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about to discuss, your understanding of all scripture
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will significantly improve and as a result, you'll draw closer
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to Jesus Christ. Now just it was a quick
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refresher. If we went back to First Kings
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chapter 12, that was when we had the split between the southern
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Kingdom of Judah and the northern Kingdom of Israel.
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So 10 tribes in the north and two tribes in the South.
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That split took place in approximately 930 BC.
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And over our past two classes, we've been exploring the lives
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of Elijah and Elijah, who are prophets in the northern Kingdom
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today. We'll start in Second Kings
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chapter 16 in about the year 735 BC and we're going to see 4
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kings in this chapter. The first one is Ahaz.
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We read Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign.
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Unlike David, his father, meaning his great, great, great
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great grandfather, he did not do what was right in the eyes of
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the Lord his God. He followed the ways of the
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kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire,
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engaging in the detestable practices of the nation's the
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Lord had driven out before the Israelites.
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He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places on
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the hilltops and under every spreading tree.
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So we're going to keep a list of our kings.
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First one is Ahaz. He's the king of Judah, and he's
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not a righteous king. Let's keep going.
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In verse 2, we read then Resin, king of Syria and Pika son of
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Ramallah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to war and they
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besieged Ahaz, but they could not overcome him.
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So we've got two more kings, Resin, king of Syria and Pekka,
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the king of Israel. They're coming to attack Judah
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now. So as I know are already feeling
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overwhelmed like that. This is too hard.
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I, I quit this history, too many kings to keep track of.
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But notice how in the Book of Mormon in Second Nephi chapter
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17, we read a story about these same kings.
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This is Second Nephi chapter 17, verse one.
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In the days of Ahaz, king of Judah, Resin, king of Syria, and
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Pika, the son of Ramallah went up toward Jerusalem to war
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against it. It's the same story length.
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So can you see how understanding Second Kings is going to better
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help you understand the Book of Mormon?
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OK, so we've got Syria and Israel coming to attack Judah.
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In Isaiah's record of this story, a HAS is specifically
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told by Isaiah not to make any alliance with foreign kings to
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help protect him. Do you think a HAS is going to
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follow Isaiah's counsel? No, we read.
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A has sent messengers to say to Tiglath Pelazer, king of
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Assyria, I am your servant and your vassal.
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Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria and of
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the king of Israel who are attacking me.
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A has does exactly the opposite of what Isaiah told him to do,
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and that introduces us to our 4th king, Tiglath Palazzer, the
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king of Assyria. Now a little context might be
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helpful. Judah, Israel, Syria, these are
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all small countries. We might liken them to 3rd
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graders on a playground, but Assyria is the big kid on the
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block, the high school student. Assyria is the superpower of its
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time. Now continuing the story we
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read, A has took the silver and gold found in the temple of the
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Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as
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a gift to the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria complied by
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attacking Damascus and capturing it.
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He deported its inhabitants and put resin to death.
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So now Syria is wiped off the map.
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Remember, Damascus is the capital of Syria.
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So it might seem like things have worked out well for a HAS
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because he bribed Assyria and Assyria took out Syria.
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I know it's a little confusing. Assyria is a superpower, Syria
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smaller country. But this really backfires on a
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HAS because you see, Assyria was going to wipe out Syria anyways.
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But now Judah has become a vassal state to Assyria and this
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is going to have serious consequences in the next
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generation. God told A has trust in me, but
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A has trusted in the king of Assyria.
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There's a lesson here for us. When we trust external sources
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instead of the Lord, we settle for less than what God is ready
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to give. So consider these two questions.
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What are our Tiglath palazzers today?
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Meaning, what are the external sources that we turn to for
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help? And the second question is what
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would raiding the temple to pay off Assyria look like today?
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The first thing that came to my mind was AI ChatGPT and using
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that as a primary source instead of going to the prophets, the
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scriptures, and even trusting the Lord that he would speak to
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us. It's not that those are
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necessarily bad sources, but they could be misleading.
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They aren't always correct. And I think that if we go go to
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secondary sources instead of the primary source, we could be
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misled. Thank you.
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So let's take a look at this second question.
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What would rating the temple to pay off Assyria look like today?
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I think about the covenants that we make at the temple and if we
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elect to step aside from those and put our focus and attention
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on the world because it's easier or more inviting than we have
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raided that temple covenant in trade off or something of the
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world. Even maybe on a simpler scale,
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just trading my time. I'm so busy serving Assyria that
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I don't have time to go to the temple and even serve there and
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remember those covenants. So keep in mind that Isaiah,
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he's alive and he's prophesying during this time period.
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He's going to write chapters specifically about this
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conflict. And as we turn the page to
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chapter 17, we come to a topic that is of great interest to the
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prophet Isaiah. It's going to talk about
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something that is a dominant theme in his writings.
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We read in the 12th year of a has king of Judah.
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Hoshea became king of Israel in Samaria and he reigned 9 years.
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He did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
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He's going to be the Last King of Israel.
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So we're going to add him to our list here.
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We also want to add a new king in Assyria.
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His name is Shalmaneser. So just like Judah had become a
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vassal state to Assyria, so had Israel.
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And when Hoshea decides to stop making payments to Assyria,
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Shalmaneser wasn't going to tolerate that.
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We read Shalmaneser seized Hoshea and put him in prison.
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The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against
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Samaria and laid siege to it for three years.
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Remember, Samaria is the capital of Israel.
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In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria
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and deported the Israelites to Assyria.
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This is a passage that you want to mark.
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You've heard of the scattering of the 10 tribes or the lost
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tribes of Israel. This is where it happens.
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They're scattered by Assyria. Now the Assyrians had a specific
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strategy that they would use when they conquered people.
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They would take people from one place and move them to different
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regions in their country. So if Assyria took over the
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United States, for example, they might take Californians and move
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some to Washington and some to Oregon, and some to Utah and
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some to Nevada. The purpose was to weaken any
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possibility of future rebellion by breaking up and separating
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the people. So not only are the 10 tribes
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now scattered, but the king of Assyria brings people from other
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areas and moves them in into the land of Samaria to replace the
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Israelites. We read they took over Samaria
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and lived in its towns. Each national group made its own
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gods. In the several towns where they
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settled, they worshipped the Lord, but they also served their
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own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from
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which they had been brought. So the people who are now living
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in Samaria, they're a mixed ethnic group worshipping several
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different gods. This story helps to see why
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there will be conflict between the people of Judah and Samaria
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when we get to the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
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And it helps to see the early origins of the conflicts between
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the Jews and Samaritans in the time of Christ.
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So can you see how this history is helping us get a better
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understanding of all of Scripture?
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But this isn't just a history lesson.
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The narrator of kings, he doesn't use the phrase and thus
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we see, but he still wants us to understand why this is
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happening. So I'm going to share with you a
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passage and mark, if you will, in your scriptures phrases that
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stand out to you. The Israelites worshipped idols,
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though the Lord had said you shall not do this.
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The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and
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seers. Turn from your evil ways.
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Observe My commands and decrees in accordance with the entire
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law that I commanded your ancestors to to obey, and that I
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delivered to you through My servants, the prophets.
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But they would not listen and were as stiff necked as their
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ancestors who did not trust in the Lord their God.
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They rejected His decrees and the covenant He had made with
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their ancestors and the statutes He had warned them to keep.
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They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless.
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They imitated the nation's around them, although the Lord
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had ordered them. Do not do as they do.
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What stands out to you from this passage?
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So at the beginning her it says the Lord warned Israel and Judah
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through all his prophets and seers.
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So they had many many warnings and just I guess it just went on
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deaf ears to them. They just ignored it.
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But seems like they had plenty of warning to turn from their
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evil ways if they would have listened.
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Yeah, this is an important point.
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This didn't just happen all of the sudden, but over and over.
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Like you said, it's the prophets and the seers.
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They were giving the warning. So when we think about us in our
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day, we have prophets and Sears. Are we listening to their
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warnings? I was really struck by they
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followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless.
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The thought that came to me is what do I waste my time on and
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then how does that make me become something different?
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So I thought we need to be careful as to what our idols
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look like. Yeah.
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Thank you. So Israel is scattered and now
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Judah stands alone. So you can see this is the time
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period of the prophet Isaiah who's prophesying in Judah, and
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we're now going to be introduced to a king, Hezekiah.
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So let's turn to 2nd Kings chapter 18.
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Hezekiah is the son of the wicked king Ahaz that we started
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out talking about today, but he does not follow the path of his
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father. We read Hezekiah removed the
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high places, smashed the sacred stones, and cut down the Astro
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poles. Hezekiah trusted in the Lord,
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the God of Israel. There was no one like him among
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all the kings of Judah either before him or after him.
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He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him.
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He kept the commands the Lord had given Moses.
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So we're going to add Hezekiah to our list of kings.
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Now remember, A has started paying tribute to Assyria, but
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his son Hezekiah stopped paying tribute.
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By now there's a new king of Assyria, Sennacherib.
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And Sennacherib wasn't happy that Hezekiah stopped paying the
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tribute, so he began to attack Judah.
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And several cities in Judah were defeated.
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And it got to the point where Hezekiah offered money to
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Sennacherib. But even though Hezekiah had
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admitted defeat, the king of Assyria wanted to conquer
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Jerusalem. So Sennacherib sent his chief
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officer to the city. Picture the scene 185,000
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Assyrians outside the city wall of Jerusalem.
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Inside, Hezekiah and his people are trapped.
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This would be like a handful of third graders facing an army of
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high school students. There is no hope for Jerusalem.
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The leader of the Assyrians wanted to meet with Hezekiah's
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officials, and one of them, you might remember him, Eliakim.
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We talked about him on our very first class.
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He's the one that Isaiah refers to as a nail in a shore place.
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So the leader of the Assyrians said to Eliakim and Hezekiah's
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other officials, hear the word of the great king, the king of
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Assyria. This is what the king says.
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Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my
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hand. Do not let Hezekiah persuade you
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to trust in the Lord. When he says, the Lord will
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surely deliver us. This city will not be given into
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the hand of the king of Assyria. The people are also able to hear
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the message. They're terrified.
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So Eliakim goes to tell Hezekiah what the leader of the Assyrian
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army has said. When King Hezekiah heard this,
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he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the
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temple of the Lord. He sent Eliakim, the palace
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administrator, and other officials to the prophet Isaiah.
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The officials told Isaiah this is what Hezekiah says.
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Today is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when
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children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength
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to deliver them. What a terrible metaphor.
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What happens to a mother when she's trying to give birth, but
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she doesn't have strength to deliver the baby?
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What's going to happen to the baby?
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What's going to happen to the mother?
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I don't know if you've ever had a situation in your life where
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you felt like there's no hope, your back is to the wall and
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there is no possible solution. That's where Hezekiah is.
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And I want to remind us that Hezekiah is a real person.
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Sometimes when we read the scriptures, the story can always
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just feel like just that, a story, just random characters on
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a page. But here, what you see on the
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screen, this is where Hezekiah Palace stood.
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In fact, recently in the same area, researchers found a seal
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bearing the name of Hezekiah on it.
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I definitely wouldn't base my testimony of the Old Testament
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on this seal, but it's an archaeological reminder that
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Hezekiah is a real person. So stop and inherit his world.
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185,000 Assyrians are on your doorstep and you have no hope.
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So Isaiah responds to Eliakim by saying this is what the Lord
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says. Do not be afraid.
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This is a message that Jesus consistently gives at the Last
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Supper, right as he's about to experience the most difficult 24
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hours in the history of the world.
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He tells his disciples, let not your heart be troubled.
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The Lord Jehovah in the Old Testament and Jesus Christ in
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the New Testament, they are the same and they are telling us do
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not be afraid. So continuing, Isaiah told
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Hezekiah, this is what the Lord says, do not be afraid of what
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you have heard. I will make Sennacherib want to
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return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down
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with the sword. So Hezekiah went to the temple
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and he offered up a humble prayer.
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He said, now Lord our God, deliver us from his hand so that
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all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord
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our God, sometimes this is all you can do.
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When your back is to the wall, when the 185,000 Assyrians are
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at your gate, you just go to the temple.
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You pour out your heart to God. You say I don't know what to do,
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but I'm looking at you, Lord. It reminds me several years ago
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when my family and I lived in Jerusalem, my wife and I were
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facing a really significant challenge.
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It seemed like something that we had been praying for and hoping
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for and working for was going to completely collapse.
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Because we lived in Jerusalem. We actually walked to this place
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near where Hezekiah prayed. We poured out our hearts to God.
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In this case, we felt angels on both sides of the veil come to
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help and strengthen us. In Hezekiah's case, there was a
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miracle as well. We read That night the Angel of
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the Lord went out and put to death 185,000 in the Assyrian
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camp. When the people got up the next
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morning, there were all the dead bodies.
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So Sennacherib, king of Assyria, broke camp and withdrew.
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He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.
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So when things are bleak, when it looks like there's no hope,
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keep on trusting. God does not always intervene in
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miraculous ways, but sometimes He does.
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We can pray for deliverance, and we can trust that what Elder
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Holland said is true. Some blessings come soon, some
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come late, and some don't come until heaven.
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But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they
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come. Now, we'll revisit Hezekiah when
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we get to the books of Chronicles.
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But for now, let's jump forward about 60 years after Hezekiah.
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There's a few different wicked kings in Judah, but then we come
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to a righteous King Josiah. During the reign of King Josiah,
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some workers were repairing the temple.
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And while they were working, the high priest Tokaya made a
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startling discovery. Buried in the temple was the
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book of the Law. Now, we don't know exactly what
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book they discovered. It might have been something
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like our book of Deuteronomy or maybe more parts of the Torah.
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But as they read the book, what they realized is Josiah people
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were not living the law. It would be like growing up as a
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teenager, just living a worldly lifestyle, and then all of a
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sudden receiving for the strength of youth and realizing,
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whoa, my life is totally out of harmony with what I'm supposed
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to be doing. That's what Josiah experiences.
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So Josiah tells Hilkiah, go and inquire of the Lord for me and
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for all the people of Judah about what is written in this
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book that has been found. Great is the Lords anger that
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burns against us, because those who have gone before us have not
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obeyed the words of this book. So Hilkiah goes to a woman named
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Holda who's known as a prophetess.
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So some people wonder why is Holda approached and not a
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different prophet? The Church's Scripture help
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manual says it is unknown why King Josiah's servants went to
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Holda to inquire of the Lord rather than to other prophets
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who were in Jerusalem at the time.
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But the fact that they went to her demonstrates her spiritual
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stature among the people. I wish we knew more about Holda,
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but she's a reminder of the spiritual strength of women.
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She was clearly recognized as the authority figure that He'll
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Kai went to speak with. Now, as we read this passage
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that describes Josiah's reaction to the book of the Law, I want
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you to just take a moment. Let this passage think and maybe
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mark some phrases that stand out to you.
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We read Josiah called together all the elders of Judah and
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Jerusalem. He went up to the temple of the
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Lord with all the people, from the least to the greatest.
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He read in their hearing all the words of the book of the
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covenant which had been found in the temple of the Lord.
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The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the
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presence of the Lord, to follow the Lord and keep His commands,
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statutes, and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus
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confirming the words of the covenant written in this book.
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Then all the people of the Lord pledged themselves to the
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covenant. How did that phrase?
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They pledged themselves to the. To the covenant, they stood to
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the covenant. There's a powerful lesson in
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what happens next. Josiah reading the book of the
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Law had a deep impact not just on his heart, but on his
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actions. Again, we don't know for sure
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what the book was, but let's suppose that it was something
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like the book of Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy chapter 6, it
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says do not follow other gods. So what does Josiah do?
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He removed from the temple of the Lord all the articles made
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for Baal and Asherah. Now it's easy to glide past
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that, but notice that there were articles made for ball in the
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temple of Judah. That shows you how bad the idol
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worship had gotten, and Josiah is getting rid of it.
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In Deuteronomy we read Moses saying that with the golden
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calf, he took it and burned it and ground it into powder and
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threw it into dust in the stream.
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What does Josiah do with the idols?
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He finds? He takes them, he burns them, he
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grinds them to powder that scatters the dust over the
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graves of the common people. In Deuteronomy, it says, let no
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one be found among you who is a medium or spiritist.
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What does Josiah do? He got rid of the mediums and
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spiritists to fulfill the requirements of the law written
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in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the
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temple of the Lord. So you can see that Josiah is
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putting into practice what he reads in the Scriptures.
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And there's a lesson for US. President Kimball put it this
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way. He said, I feel stronger that
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each of us must return under the Scriptures, just as King Josiah
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did, and let them work mightily within us, impelling us to an
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unwavering determination to serve the Lord.
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So think about your life. When has been a time that you
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have acted based on what you've read in the Scriptures?
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This is going right back to the beginning of my conversion
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reading a Nephi when he says I will go and do what the Lord
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have commanded. That scripture resonated with me
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as I started my learning process and I felt the conviction that
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what I was being taught is true, is correct and what the next
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step was to be. And reading the scriptures is
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what really led me to then join the church.
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So I give you the courage to go and do to be baptized.
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Yes. Thank you.
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So Josiah's reign is definitely a high point in Judas history.
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He's like Hezekiah. But unfortunately things don't
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end well for Josiah. At one point in time, he goes
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out to Megiddo, there's a battle and he's killed by the king of
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Egypt. And it's kind of interesting
22:54
that recent archaeological discoveries at Megiddo, which
22:57
you can visit today, show the evidence of a battle with Egypt
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at this time period of Josiah. So it's a cool little
23:04
archaeological nugget. Now we're coming to the final
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chapters of Kings, and these chapters are going to give us
23:10
the background for the entire book of Jeremiah as well as the
23:13
opening of First Nephi. So if you still have the
23:16
stamina, there's a few more names that we need to learn.
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Josiah dies and his son Johiah Keem is now on the throne.
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It's the year six O 9 BC and Josiah's just been killed by the
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Egyptians. Now at this point in time, Egypt
23:29
was a dominant force in the region, but four years later in
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six O 5 BCA new rising superpower Babylon defeats
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Egypt. This is why in second Kings
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chapter 24 verse one we read during Johiukim's reign,
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Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon invaded the land and Johiukim
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became his vassal for three years.
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I mean, it's tough to be Judah. They're caught in the middle of
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all these warring superpowers. Notice how the book of Daniel
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references this same event that's taking place in 6:05 BC.
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The book of Daniel begins in the third year of the reign of
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Jehoiakim, king of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem
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and beseeched it, and the Lord delivered Jehoiakim, king of
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Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the
24:17
temple of God. These he carried off to the
24:19
temple of his God in Babylonia and put in the treasure House of
24:22
his God. Then the king ordered Ashpenaz,
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chief of his court officials, to bring into the King's service
24:29
some of the Israelites from the royal family and nobility, in
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other words, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
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So if we were to think about a timeline here, we've got six O 5
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BC, Babylon invades Jerusalem, Daniel and his buddies are
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deported. Well, a few years pass and
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Johyochim rebels against Babylon.
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Of course, the king of Babylon is not having that, and so
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Babylon marches on Jerusalem. About this time, Jehyochim dies,
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leaving the Kingdom to his son Johyo Keen.
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I know this is a little confusing.
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Names are similar, but Johyo King is going to be important.
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The poor guy. He's only on the throne for
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about 3 months before Babylon takes over.
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We read in the eighth year of the reign of the king of
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Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar took to Hiyochen prisoner, as the Lord
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had declared. Nebuchadnezzar removed the
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treasures from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace
25:19
and cut up the gold articles that Solomon, king of Israel,
25:23
had made for the temple of the Lord.
25:25
He carried all Jerusalem into exile, all the officers and
25:29
fighting men, all the skilled workers and artisans, a total of
25:32
10,000. Only the poorest people of the
25:35
land were left. So it's during this deportation
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that the prophet Ezekiel is taken captive into Babylon.
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So understanding the storyline that we've been talking about,
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that's going to help you understand the book of Ezekiel.
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Now, just after this comes for Latter Day Saints, what might be
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the most interesting passage in Second Kings we read
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Nebuchadnezzar made Mataniah to Ohio, King's uncle, king in his
25:57
place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
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Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king, and he reigned
26:04
in Jerusalem for 11 years. So just to be clear, here's our
26:08
genealogy. Zedekiah is a son of Josiah, and
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our timeline is that in about the year 597 BC, there's a
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second wave of deportations and Zedekiah is put on the throne.
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Now, I think some of you already know why this is so important
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for Latter Day Saints. It's because in first Nephi
26:25
chapter one, verse 4, Nephi says in the commencement of the first
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year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, my father Leah
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having dwelt at Jerusalem in all these days, dot, dot, dot.
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So in other words, this is the setting of Nephi and his family.
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And I think as a casual reader of the Book of Mormon, we read
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chapter 1, verse four in the first year of the reign of
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Zedekiah. We're like, oh, nice, there's a
26:45
new king, blah, blah, blah. But I think Nephi expects us to
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have a little bit more scriptural literacy.
26:50
He wants you to know that when you read about the first year of
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the reign of King Zedekiah, Jerusalem is in a very difficult
26:56
time. It's already been conquered.
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The rightful king has been taken captive into Babylon.
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There's a puppet king Zedekiah now on the throne.
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All these nobles and Craftsman have already been deported.
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The temple has been stripped of its treasure.
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Everyone in the city knows that Babylon could return at any
27:13
moment. That's the context for First
27:15
Nephi chapter 1. So when you understand this
27:18
history in Second Kings, it's going to change the way you read
27:20
about Nephi and Lehi and their experiences.
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Now, Second Kings won't tell us a lot about Zedekiah, but don't
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worry, when we get to the book of Jeremiah, we'll do a deep
27:29
dive into Zedekiah's life because Zedekiah's a major
27:32
character in the book of Jeremiah.
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But for now, what Kings tells us is Zedekiah did evil in the eyes
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of the Lord, just as Joachim had done.
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Now the prophet Jeremiah, he warned Zedekiah, Zealon is so
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powerful, you have to submit to Babylon, but Zedekiah refused to
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listen. We read Zedekiah rebelled
27:55
against the king of Babylon, and of course the king of Babylon
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wasn't having that. We read in the ninth year of
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Zedekiah's reign, on the 10th day of the 10th month,
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Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, marched against Jerusalem.
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With this whole army he encamped outside the city and built siege
28:10
works all around it. The city was kept under siege
28:13
until the 11th year of King Zedekiah.
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Now, we read this in just a couple of sentences, but this
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siege is lasting for about two years.
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Can you imagine what life would be like inside of Jerusalem
28:28
during this time? In the book of Lamentations we
28:30
read those killed by the sword are better off than those who
28:34
die of famine. Wracked with hunger, they waste
28:37
away for lack of food from the field.
28:40
Again, modern archaeology can confirm the story.
28:43
There's an area in Jerusalem that you can visit today where
28:46
you see a wealthy home, and you can still see a layer of ash in
28:51
the home from the Babylonian destruction.
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Now, not to be too graphic, but one of the ways that we know
28:56
this was a wealthy home is it had a primitive toilet in it,
29:00
which you can still see today. And that toilet had been placed
29:03
over a waste pit. And scientists today are able to
29:06
analyze the waste under that toilet to learn what were the
29:10
eating habits of the people who were living in this home.
29:13
So keep in mind that very few people had toilets.
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So this family was quite wealthy and even they struggled.
29:18
We read. At the end of the siege, the
29:21
Ahil household were eating wild plants and weeds to survive.
29:25
Since it was impossible to leave the city to bring back fresh
29:28
food, people were forced to eat whatever grew within the city.
29:31
Evidence of tapeworm were found, typically contracted from eating
29:35
uncooked meat. It is likely that as the famine
29:38
worsened, they slaughtered the animals they had with them
29:41
within the city and ate them uncooked as wood was needed for
29:44
weapons and fortification. Finally, in the year 586 BC,
29:48
Babylon broke through Jerusalem's defenses.
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We read Babylonian soldiers set fire to the Temple of the Lord,
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the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem.
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Every important building was burned down.
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The Babylonian army broke down the walls around Jerusalem.
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They carried into exile the people who remained in the city,
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along with the rest of the populace.
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Now let me just pause right there.
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Notice how the Jews go into exile.
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That's a little different than the 10 tribes who are scattered.
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So a serious strategy was to move people into different areas
30:20
to completely erase their national identity.
30:23
Babylon didn't do that. So many of the Jews move
30:26
together as a block. They were in exile, but they
30:28
still retained their national identity.
30:31
That's part of the reason why they would be able to recover 70
30:34
years later. Now, continuing, we read the
30:36
commander left behind some of the poorest people of the land
30:40
to work the vineyards and fields.
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So as we look at the chronology, this is the end of the Kingdom
30:46
of Judah. It's what Jeremiah and Lehigh
30:48
had warned would happen. Now, with the temple destroyed
30:51
and most of the people in exile, what did those who remain do?
30:55
It's ironic. Some of the people who remained
30:58
in Jerusalem decided to flee to Egypt.
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Think of it, centuries before, the Israelites had left Egypt
31:05
for the Promised land. Now they're leaving the promised
31:08
Land to go back to Egypt. First Kings begins with the
31:12
building of Solomon's Temple, and it ends with the temple's
31:16
destruction. And the author of Kings wants
31:19
you to know that this destruction is not a random
31:22
event. He writes.
31:23
Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God.
31:26
Therefore the Lord rejected them.
31:29
It's not a happy story, but at the end of Kings, there's a tiny
31:33
sliver of hope. We read in the 37th year of the
31:36
exile of Johiah King, king of Judah, the king of Babylon
31:40
released Jehiah king from prison.
31:42
So remember, this is the grandson of Josiah.
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He had been taken captive into Babylon.
31:48
He's been in prison. But now all of a sudden, the
31:50
king of Babylon spoke kindly to Johiah King and gave him a seat
31:55
of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with
31:58
him in Babylon. So Jehio Keen put aside his
32:01
prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the
32:04
King's table. Day by day.
32:06
The king gave Jehio Keen a regular allowance as long as he
32:10
lived. And that's the end of the Book
32:12
of Kings. It's not much, but it's a sliver
32:15
of hope. And Matthew picks up on this
32:17
thread when he recounts the genealogy of Jesus Christ in the
32:22
middle of Christ's generations. Matthew writes about Josiah, the
32:26
father of Johiah Keen, and his brothers at the time of exile to
32:29
Babylon. And then he'll tell us that
32:31
Johiah Keen is the grandfather of Zerubbabel.
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And we'll learn more about Zerubbabel when we get to the
32:36
book of Ezra. But for now, the point that I
32:39
want to make, the point that I hope we see as we come to the
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somewhat discouraging ending of the Book of Kings, is that even
32:45
in the midst of the Babylonian exile, God's plans are still
32:50
moving forward. So let's step back and look at a
32:52
big picture in the Book of Kings.
32:54
In Israel, there were 19 kings, and the narrator tells us that
32:58
all of them were wicked. In Judah, there were 20 kings,
33:01
and the narrator tells us that most of them were wicked.
33:05
And even when there was a righteous king like Hezekiah or
33:08
Josiah, permanent peace could not be established.
33:12
The Book of Kings teaches us that no earthly king can bring
33:16
us salvation, but we don't worship an earthly king.
33:20
Every one of the kings of Judah was an ancestor of Jesus Christ,
33:25
the true king. Some 600 years after the fall of
33:28
Jerusalem, Christ was on trial before Pilate.
33:31
Pilate asked him. Are you the king of the Jews?
33:34
Jesus said. Is that your own idea or did
33:36
others talk to you about me? Am IA Jew?
33:39
Your own people and chief priests have handed you over me.
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What is it you have done? My Kingdom is not of this world.
33:46
If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by
33:49
the Jewish leaders. But now my Kingdom is from
33:52
another place. You are a king.
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Then you say that I am the king. In fact, the reason I was born
33:59
and came into the world is to testify to the truth.
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Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.
34:06
Pilot responds. What is truth?
34:09
It's ironic that Capital T Truth is standing in front of Pilot,
34:13
but Pilot doesn't recognize him. Pilot has Christ scorched and
34:17
brings him out to the people wearing a crown of thorns.
34:21
Pilot said. Here is your king.
34:24
Pilot meant it as an ironic statement, but truer words were
34:27
never spoken. Our king wore a crown of thorns
34:31
so that we could wear a crown of eternal life.
34:34
Because he was a king who died for you then he is a king you
34:38
can completely trust right now. This king will not fail you.
34:42
Here is your king, Pilot says. We can look to him, trust in
34:47
him, and adore him. He is the way, the truth and the
34:52
life.