Consequences of Disobedience

2 Kings 24:1-20
    1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. 2 And the LORD sent against him raiding bands of Chaldeans, bands of Syrians, bands of Moabites, and bands of the people of Ammon; He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken by His servants the prophets. 3 Surely at the commandment of the LORD this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the LORD would not pardon.
    5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 6 So Jehoiakim rested with his fathers. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.  7 And the king of Egypt did not come out of his land anymore, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the River Euphrates.
    8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother's name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.  10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, as his servants were besieging it. 12 Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner.
    13 And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. 14 Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land. 15 And he carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. The king's mother, the king's wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 All the valiant men, seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths, one thousand, all who were strong and fit for war, these the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.
    17 Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.  18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 He also did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For because of the anger of the LORD this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, that He finally cast them out from His presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

The kings progressed from Jehoiakim to Jehoiachin to Zedekiah (Mattaniah), but degenerated progressively further from obedience and holiness to the LORD.  God’s judgment then fell on the people as a nation as Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon was sent to take them captive, back to bondage as in Egypt before once more.  These were the consequences of disobedience.  They had forsaken their Deliverer and broken the first commandment and their covenant made by mercy with them, and now the promised consequences were experienced.  Innocent blood had been intentionally spilled and not forgiven (2 Kings 21:2, 11; 23:26) in their idolatry and forsaking their only real God.  They now reaped the whirlwind as Hosea 8:7 reminds us, for planting empty things of no substance like the wind which passes by, things like dead idols and false hope to rely on, these things only earn the wrath and judgment of the LORD God.  Their spiritual and national fields of their hearts and minds were thus as empty as the wind as they left their first love, rejecting Him and obedience to His words of life (Leviticus 18:4-5).  The result was the dismantling of the nation, the house of God with its treasures, and the people, all taken into captivity into a foreign place far from where the LORD said He would put His name and meet His people in mercy and grace.  Only the poor remained behind, a picture of the Lord’s words in Matthew 5:3-6 where acknowledgment of spiritual destitution is shown to be the starting point of grace in mercy for the humble penitent who seek to worship and honor Him and no other.  As Revelation 13:10 says, “He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” Let us then not be double minded in following our Lord with all our heart, life, thoughts, and strength, learning from those who have gone before us who neglected so great a deliverance (Hebrews 2:1-3).