Guidance or Rubber Stamp?
Opening Prayer
Lord, help me to come to You as my king, ready to do what You say.
Read 2 Kings 25:18-30
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
[18] The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank and the three doorkeepers. [19] Of those still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the fighting men, and five royal advisers. He also took the secretary who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land and sixty of the conscripts who were found in the city. [20] Nebuzaradan the commander took them all and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. [21] There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed. So Judah went into captivity, away from her land. [22] Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to be over the people he had left behind in Judah. [23] When all the army officers and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah-Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Jaazaniah the son of the Maakathite, and their men. [24] Gedaliah took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Do not be afraid of the Babylonian officials,” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.” [25] In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood, came with ten men and assassinated Gedaliah and also the men of Judah and the Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah. [26] At this, all the people from the least to the greatest, together with the army officers, fled to Egypt for fear of the Babylonians. [27] In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Awel-Marduk became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. He did this on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month. [28] He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. [29] So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table. [30] Day by day the king gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance as long as he lived. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How would you describe the action of the people?Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia, had destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. He killed or captured most of the royal family and upper classes. However, he permitted the poorer classes to remain and care for the land. He appointed Gedaliah as their governor (22), assuring them that they would then live in peace (24) under the protection of the Babylonian garrison stationed in the land. The Jewish community was well on the road to recovery when Ishmael, a descendant of Zedekiah, rose up and assassinated Gedaliah as well as those in the Babylonian garrison (25). Anticipating a reaction, the people panicked and turned to the prophet Jeremiah, who was with them in Judah. They wanted him to confirm that they should flee to Egypt. The message from God was that they were to remain in Judah (Jeremiah 42:1-17). This was not what the people wanted to hear, and they left for Egypt anyway, taking Jeremiah with them. A few years later, most of them perished when Nebuchadnezzar attacked Egypt.
Apply
Rather than bring your plans to God for his approval, ask God to direct you in whatever way pleases him.
Closing prayer
Lord, please help me to bring my decisions to You and to accept Your answer.
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