2 Kings 25 (Part 3) Bible Study (Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah/Jehoiachin Released from Prison) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Father, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts that Lord,

we have a promise from You that death is not the final say.

We have eternity. We have you, your presence, your

glory to enjoy forever and ever. But until then, Lord, we pray

that our pilgrimage here on earth would be effective and

fruitful. Lord, we don't, we don't chase

after platforms or notoriety or recognition.

Lord, just make us content and faithfulness.

And may we each be absolutely convinced that we are walking in

the center of your will. And Lord, may we know true

contentment and longevity in that pursuit, in that

discipline, in that calling that has been clarified to each of

us. Lord, we pray that you would use

this final study in Second Kings to help us draw closer to you

and to know Your will for our lives.

We trust that you will use it. In Jesus name we pray.

Amen. Well, ladies and gentlemen,

brothers and sisters, tonight marks the final installment in

our study of the Book of Second Kings.

And I'm sure that you can agree that this book has presented us

a series of dramatic studies as we've been carefully observing

the decline of a nation who had a unique relationship with God

unlike any other nation and it's day.

And for the first time reader, it may seem that there's nothing

more to say after the last statement of the final verse in

our previous study. If you don't remember, look

quickly at verse 21 of Second Kings 25 and notice what the

writer records the last sentence there.

So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.

What more do you need to say after that?

The Babylonian conquest is complete.

Jerusalem lies and ruins. The majority of God's people are

now removed from the Promised Land and will endure the height

of heavenly discipline for many decades ahead.

What more can be said after this?

Well, clearly the Holy Spirit has more to say.

And as we are prepared to read this new section, I have a

feeling that the opening verses of it will not surprise us,

sadly. But the final part, the final

portion might because it offers incredible encouragement to us,

especially when we consider this being Israel's darkest hour.

But before we get to that hopeful closing, we have to

engage with the disappointing commentary that comes before it.

So let's read now. Second Kings 25, beginning of

verse 22 down to verse 24. And over the people who remained

in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,

had left. He appointed Gedalia the son of

Akhiqam son of Shafan governor. Now when all the captains and

their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gadalia

governor, they came with their men to Gadalia and Mizpah,

namely, Ishmael the son of Athania and Johanna, and the son

of Karea, and Soraya the son of Tanumeth the Neathophathite, and

Jehaziya the son of the Makatite.

And Gadalia swore to them and their men, saying, Do not be

afraid because of the Chaldean officials.

Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be

well with you. We noted last week that after

the Babylonians came in and orchestrated their final

deportation, they had left behind some vine dressers and

plowmen to tend the land. But even that small remnant

required some kind of oversight and leadership.

Nebuchadnezzar was wise enough to recognize that.

So what does he do? He appoints a governor.

He raises up a man by the name of Gadalia to fulfill that role.

Now, we don't know much about Gadalia, but there's something

about his father and his grandfather that helps us know a

little bit of his background in history.

He is the son of Ari Kham. Now, Ari Kham was one of

Josiah's top officials. We remember Josiah, the great

reformer. He played a role in helping

bring reform. And more than that, when you

read Jeremiah carefully, Ahikam actually protected Jeremiah from

being killed by the king. So this man Ahikam was a

righteous person, and it seems like his son Gadalia was

following in his steps. And it could be that

Nebuchadnezzar, though a Pagan himself, recognized something

noble about Godalia. That's why he granted him and

appointed him as a leader in this respect.

And Godalia's instructions to the remnant that remained

reflects his submissiveness and his integrity.

What did he tell the people? He said, look, don't be afraid

of the Chaldeans. As long as we remain here and

don't cause trouble, it will be well with you.

He's echoing what Jeremiah had prophesied for years.

And so we see that this man was also an ally to the prophet in

many ways, including and what we see here with his exhortation.

But although the Babylonians were not the ones to fear in the

story, there is someone else, and he's not associated with the

Chaldeans. Let's read now here in verse 25

to verse 26. But in the seventh month,

Ishmael, the son of Athenia, son of Eli Shama of the royal

family, came with 10 men and struck down Gadalia and put him

to death, along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who are with

him at Mizpah. Then all the people, both small

and great, and the captains of the forces, arose and went to

Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

It's hard to imagine how this can be true.

Are you kidding me? Jerusalem has fallen, Babylon

has conquered, thousands have died, and thousands more have

been removed from their homes. And it hasn't been very long

until we learn of a murder case among the remnant who are kept

back. This is absolutely absurd.

This is mind numbing. This is yet another case, I

believe, that helps us make a little bit more sense of

Jeremiah's words when he famously said that the heart is

deceitfully wicked above all things, desperately sick.

And he ends it by saying, who can understand it?

Who can understand? Indeed, who can understand?

I can't understand this. You guys have been brought so

low and you still have it in you to kill each other.

This is demented. This is twisted.

This is the human heart. And we cannot fully comprehend

just how depraved and twisted this heart really is.

Why did this happen? Why was Gadalia assassinated?

Well, with a little investigation we can learn

exactly why the culprit of the assassination is who?

A man by the name of Ishmael. Ishmael.

Now Ishmael, according to verse 23, was among who looked back

again. Now, when all the captains and

their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gadalia

governor, he's one of the captains.

Who are these captains? Very likely some of the military

leaders or guerrilla leaders who were successful in evading the

Babylonian conquest and exile. So they they must have escaped.

They must have hidden themselves.

And when they saw that the air had cleared, the fury of Babylon

had subsided, and new leadership was established, they come out

of the woodworks and they make their way back to the people.

But there's more to his background.

Read slowly verse 25 once more. But in the seventh month,

Ishmael, the son of Nathaniel, son of Eli Sharma of the royal

family. If you underline your Bible,

underline that part, what does it mean that he's of the royal

family? What does that indicate?

He's a descendant of David. He's from the royal line.

This is now beginning to make sense.

Think about it. How would you feel if you were a

descendant of David and someone outside the royal line was

elected and appointed to be the leader of the people who

remained in Judah? It's easy to see how someone

like Ishmael might have felt like he deserved to be that

leader. He's one of the few that

remained from David's line. And so even though Gedalia was

not made an official king, he was a governor.

You can see how this man, Ishmael was convinced that he

deserved to be the leader, and it disturbed them to the core.

What do you have here? You have selfish ambition at

work. Read closely, read between the

lines, look more carefully, ask more questions.

If he's of the royal family, why do we need to know that?

Because that's the motive behind his murderous plot.

But there's more details. See, there's 2 verses that we

just read. That's just a summary.

We have a detailed account of all that took place here in

Jeremiah's writing. And though we can't touch on

every point, I want you to see with me how Ishmael's plan was

exposed beforehand. It was made known and it shows

us a little bit more of the behind the scenes of why this

happened. Let's go to Jeremiah 40 now this

is quite interesting. Jeremiah 40 and verse 13.

Now Johannan, or Johannan the son of Korea and all the leaders

of the forces in the open country, came to Gadalia at

Mizpah and said to him, Do you know that Balis, the king of the

Ammonites, has sent Ishmael the son of Nathaniel to take your

life? But Gadalia the son of Akhiq

Khan would not believe them. Interesting.

So now we are introduced to another man by the name of

Johanan. He's there in Second Kings 25,

and he is also one of the captains perhaps of a different

band of soldiers that are mercenaries.

And he somehow uncovers Ishmael's plan to assassinate

Gadalia. And so he approaches Gadalia

faithfully. He says, look, you have to

understand this man wants to kill you, and he was actually

hired by the Ammonites to do it. Now here's my question.

Why would the Ammonites be interested in the death of

Gadalia? I'm actually asking, does

anybody have an idea why would the Ammonites be interested?

What does this have to do with them?

I think the best answer is that we saw earlier how the

surrounding nations recognize earlier in our study of second

kings, how they recognize the the, the very dangerous and

concerning uprising and, and powerful entity Babylon was

becoming. And so they attempt on many

occasions to create a coalition to try to figure out how they

can push back and resist this new empire.

And I believe the Ammonites understood that Gedalia's

willingness to work with the Babylonians undermine their

efforts to try to keep them in place.

And so it's likely that Ishmael, in knowing this, actually

approached the Ammonites and said, look, I'll take care of

Gadalia. Yeah, he's a puppet.

Let's get rid of him because he's obviously going to be an

obstacle in our attempt to try to hold Babylon back.

And so he probably got a price for it.

And at the same time, this would serve his personal interest.

We have a profound spiritual lesson before us, brothers and

sisters. You have now a foreign entity,

an enemy of Israel and Judah, working through a descendant of

David. To kill someone who is innocent,

to kill someone who is actually obeying God and submitting to

Babylon. Jealousy and selfish ambition

opens the door for Satan to enter and 'cause civil war among

God's people. Every time you think that's an

exaggeration, I'm here to tell you that the New Testament says

it in a very plain and obvious way.

Go to James chapter 3. We have looked at these verses

James 3 · chapter mention

throughout our study of kings more than once.

You know why? Because we've seen jealousy and

selfish ambition at play and more than one occasion.

And I just find it amazing that this is one of the final lessons

that God want God wants to give us in our conclusion of this

study. Look at James chapter 3 and

James 3 · chapter mention

verse 14. He's speaking to many Christians

in different areas and notice what he says.

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your

hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.

This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but it's

earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish

ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile

practice. End Quote.

Including murder. Including murder.

Want to talk about vile practice?

Murder is on that list. But did you notice how the word

demonic is sandwiched between the two references to jealousy

and selfish ambition? It's mentioned there in verse 14

and in verse 16. And what's tucked between

demonic? So it's not an exaggeration to

say that where pride and self entitlement is harbored and

justified, not resisted, not fought against, not brought

before God in His presence, you make a way for demonic activity

to intensify and to destroy anything that is good, anything

that is holy, anything that is righteous like Gadalia

represents. Brothers and sisters, be careful

of these things in your heart and in my heart, because if you

let them have free range, it will ravage a marriage, it will

disintegrate any friendship. It can shut the doors of a

church until nothing remains. I mean, Israel has already been

brought so low. And I mean Israel.

I'm talking about Judah specifically.

And yet because of Ishmael's selfish ambition, he brought it

even lower. I mean, how much lower can you

get? Everything's in rubble.

Everything is still burning, and yet you still have it in you for

your own sake, for your own name, for your own ego, to

destroy it further. It's hideous.

It's it's terrifying and it's something that we should be

warned about. Here's what moved me.

One of the final lessons in our study of Second Kings is a

warning about jealousy and selfish ambition.

Kill it fast about it. Starve it out of your heart if

you have to. Come before God and take time

away from everything else until that thing is eradicated from

your soul because it won't stay in your heart.

It will make a way for Satan to come in and do things that you

never thought was possible. And there's more that can be

said about Gadalia and his refusal to believe the report.

We can spend a lot of time there.

Like leadership can't afford to be naive.

That's one lesson. He refused to believe that

Ishmael was capable of killing him.

If you're a leader in this place, you got to be more

discerning than that. You got to be more careful than

that. You got to be willing to

investigate even those that you you think are not capable of

doing certain things. And he refused to do that.

But we have to move on and look at what's mentioned here in the

rest of Second Kings. Come back with me.

Look again at verse 26 of Second Kings 25.

After Gadalia's murdered, we read then all the people, both

small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and

went to Egypt, but they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

Egypt. What's going on here?

Here's what's happening. So remember we read about that

man who reported to Gaddalia what Ishmael was up to Johanna.

Well, when you read later on in Jeremiah, he actually scares

Ishmael away. Ishmael attempts to take the

remnant captive and to bring him to the Ammonites.

And who comes to the rescue? This individual.

And so he keeps the remnant. He brings him back home, but

everybody now is afraid of the Babylonians.

Why? Because the man that

Nebuchadnezzar had appointed was just assassinated.

So you can imagine what they're thinking, can imagine the fear.

Oh, Nebuchadnezzar, if he hears this, he's going to take us all

the way now. And So what did they decide to

do? OK, let's just go to Egypt.

He won't come to Egypt. Let's flee there.

Let's stay there for a little while and then we'll come back

to our hometown. And what's so amazing?

I mean, if you want to look at this in detail, go to Jeremiah

41 to chapter 43. You don't have to turn there,

but read it on your own time. They actually approached

Jeremiah. They say, Jeremiah, can you ask

God if this is his will for us to go to Egypt?

And Jeremiah says, OK, give me some time to pray.

A few days go by. Jeremiah gets a word from the

Lord and tells the leaders and the remnant don't trust God,

stay put, He'll take care of you.

Babylon will do nothing. What do you think the people

did? You're a liar.

They actually called Jeremiah a liar.

And so this man now who seemed to be righteous, I mean, he

reported Ishmael's plot. He actually rescued the remnant.

Now he leads the effort of bringing the remnant into Egypt,

and he even forces Jeremiah to go, yes, Jeremiah had some

ministry time in Egypt. And so while they're in Egypt,

God gives Jeremiah a word. And here's the summary.

Hey, Jeremiah, tell everybody who went down to Egypt that

they're going to die in Egypt and that they will never return

to their homeland. That's their punishment for not

trusting in me. This is heavy.

This is disheartening. It you almost feel like when is

this going to end? Well, it's almost over.

And as deeply disturbing this is, thankfully it doesn't end

there. Look now at verse 27.

This is where we're ending because we have no choice.

It's ending here. Let's read the rest of it, shall

we? This is going to be a much

shorter Bible study because we have a quiz coming up.

And in the 37th year of the exile of Jehoiakim, king of

Judah, in the 12th month, on the 27th day of the month, evil

Merodach, king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign,

graciously freed Jehoiakim king of Judah from prison.

And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats

of the kings who are with him in Babylon.

So joy I can put off his prison garments.

And every day of his life he dined regularly at the King's

table. And for his allowance a regular

allowance was given him by the king according to his daily

needs as long as he lived. A little bit of a strange way of

wrapping things up, don't you think?

Before we try to make sense of this, let's deal with the facts

that are clear. The Holy Spirit fast forwards in

time and brings us into Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar is no longer on

the throne, His descendant, evil Merodach is.

And what this man chooses to do in the first year of his reign

should shock us. He removes one of the last kings

who went into exile, takes off his prison guards, elevates him

to a prominent position, allows him to regularly dine at the

royal table, and takes care of him plentifully for the rest of

his life until his dying day. No explanation is given, and

that's intentional without notice.

As you come to the end of this record, it's as though the Holy

Spirit wants to stun the reader by providing a final

demonstration of grace, by not just saying it, but by

demonstrating it by providentially working in a

different country altogether. The very instrument of judgement

now becomes the means of relief and grace to a king who

represented the people. You see, what's happening here

is that God is providing a message of hope for the people

of God that after all the things that they've done, after their

nauseating disobedience that we just saw in the preceding

verses, he wants to reveal that he is absolutely faithful to his

promise to David. I have not forgotten my covenant

with David. And he also wants to show in a

very practical way that he is intensely merciful and kind.

And as you and I look at this, we can realize that message even

more by the wider context. What's the very last word of

Second Kings in the ESV? It's the word lived.

If you have any other translation, especially a word

for word translation, it's the word life.

That's the last word that we have in Second Kings life.

Does anybody remember how Second Kings begins?

Go to chapter 1, verse one. I'll wait for you to get there.

After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel.

So the very first statement of this book contains the word

death, and the very last word is life.

What's the point? God can rewrite your story even

though your history, your background, is riddled with

death, darkness, perversion, cycles of evil and disobedience,

indifference to the things of God, callous to the warnings

around you. He can change the ending.

The punctuation mark of your life can be life, not death, if

you allow him to. So I'm putting these thoughts

together midweek, and here's the thought that comes to me.

Remember, there are three kings who go into exile.

Jehoiah, Kim, Jehoiah, Kin or kin.

Who's the last one? Zedekiah. 3 deportations, one

for each. Now you can make a case that the

first one, Joya Kim, didn't actually get all the way to

Babylon, though he was arrested and though he was chained, and

though he was brought, some argued that he died along the

way, but he was still planned to go to Babylon.

And here's the thing that I was thinking about.

Out of all the three, why was this undeserved kindness granted

to the middle one? Why not the first?

Why not Zedekiah? I'm meditating, I'm thinking,

I'm comparing. Then it hits me.

Jehoiah Kin did something that the first and the Last King did

not do. Can I show it to you?

Go to Second Kings 24 verse 12, and Jehoiah Kin, the king of

2 Kings 24:12

Judah, gave himself up to the king of Babylon himself and his

mother and his servants and his officials and his palace

officials. The king of Babylon took him

prisoner in the eighth year of his reign.

You see it, the first king, Joya Kim, did not give himself up.

Zedekiah tried to escape the Chaldeans and they paid a price

for it. The main difference, though each

of them are rebel in their own way, is that the middle king

surrendered. He surrendered which was in

alignment with God's will surrender to Babylon.

Stop resisting, stop thinking and believing the lies that

you're going to be rescued from this agent of judgement.

Let's put all this together. Do you want God to rewrite your

story? Are you sick and tired of sin?

Are you? Are you deflated yet?

Because the trajectory of your life is disaster?

It has been, and it looks like that's where you're going.

You have to give up. You have to give up.

You have to surrender. That's the only way God can

rewrite the story. You can't hold on to your pride.

You can't hold on to your stubbornness.

You can't hold on to your lust. You can't hold on to that person

that God told you so many times to get rid of.

You can't hold on to the occupation that you know

dishonors the name of Jesus Christ.

You can't hold on to anything God says.

Give up and expect God to rewrite your story.

It'll never happen. Only when you completely

surrender do you have the possibility of God changing the

script of your life. So it's really up to you.

And that's one of the last messages.

In fact, you can say it's the very last message of Second

Kings. Give up.

Give up not because you're just told to and there's no promise

on the other side, because there is so much promise you got to

imagine, but that's what the people reading this originally

and for all time we're supposed to, we're supposed to put

together. Why Jehoiakim?

Because he gave up. And look at how God was kind to

him. He even used an enemy to be kind

to him. What about Zedekiah?

Most likely died in Babylon, a blind man.

What about Jehoiakim? He died a donkey's death, and it

received a donkey's burial, according to Jeremiah.

So here's our reigning Second kings.

Do you have anything you need to give up?

Have you been here since Second Kings 1 and you're still holding

on to that sin and you haven't learned a thing about these

kings? And what happens when you live

in disobedience? Have you not been moved once by

God's incredible mercy from one scenario to the next, one

administration after the other? If your heart is not moved by

what we see here in these final verses, God help you.

This is unbelievable. And the same God who did this

for this king is the same God who can do it for you, but you

have to surrender. How do I know if I surrendered?

You know, no, I don't know. OK, let me help you.

Do some inventory, examine your own life.

Actually ask these questions. If God were to ask me to get rid

of this, would I be able to let go of it?

Go every over every compartment of your existence, everything

believer, even your ministry, even good things, and have an

honest conversation with your own heart.

If God tells me to give this up, am I willing to give it up?

If you can't Ding, Ding, Ding, my friend, you have identified

an idol. But if you can say, Lord, all

that I am and all that I have is yours.

But if there's anything that I'm blinded to, there's anything

that I'm not aware of, if you were to highlight to me and tell

me I need to repent of it, I will repent of it.

That's how you know you've given up to the Lordship of Jesus

Christ and you are promised way more than whatever your little

plan, your little blueprint promise you.

Oh, I want to just say it one more time.

Let tonight really be the turning point as you see this

gracious example provided to you and me to surrender truly and

completely. Well, we thank you for Second

Kings. What an amazing book.

As dark as it has been, it ends with life.

And Lord, if there's one person in this place who's clinging to

death because they're deceived or they're afraid, or, or, or

whatever the reason may be, we ask, Lord, that you would use

these truths to shatter any of those shackles and that they

would know true freedom. Thank you that you are a God

filled with hope. Thank you that no matter what

kind of a mess that we've made of our lives, like Jehovah kin,

you can change it all. You can do a miracle with our

mess. And though we believe that you

are the same God that we are studying and we have been

studying week after week. Lord, may our hearts come alive

and Thanksgiving for how you've spoken to us through 1st and 2nd

Kings. May you receive all the glory, O

Lord, and how we apply these truths and share them with

others so they too may surrender to the kingship of Jesus Christ.

You are All in all. And Lord, we in a fresh way tell

you, we give up, we give up. Have everything, you're worthy

of it. In Jesus name we pray, Amen and

Amen. If you need to stay seated, you

stay seated. If you want to stand, you can

stand. But let's wholeheartedly worship

the Lord. The study is not over yet, but

let's just take this moment to engage with God directly before

we do what we're planning to do next.

So however you are comfortable, as long as you're not

distracting, just engage with these truths and seek God and

pour out your heart to him. He's here, He, he's hearing us

praise him. Come on up.

Thank you.