Glimpse of Hope

Reading of the Day: 2 Kings 24-25, 1 Chronicles 1

2 Kings 25:27: And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;

There would be a lot of repair work which needed to be done in Jerusalem. The brokenness we talked about last post was really setting in for God's people. After the courageous brokenness of the previous king Josiah, who rent his clothes at the thought of not living in a way pleasing to God, the people did not take long to fall back into sin once again (even after a lot of repair work already took place!). But this is because it would take a collective brokenness & humbling process of all the people for God to start truly bringing the people to a place of closeness once again. So, the people were carried away as captives to Babylon...they were literally broken up & divided, scattered, and disorganized. The house of God was burned, the precious items were taken, and it seemed like all hope was lost...but this was all part of God's plan! No one, nothing, is more powerful than God! God was just using the enemy to help Him in His cleansing process, doing what He had to do in order to give His people the wake-up call they so desperately needed! At the end of 2 Kings 25, we see a random glimpse of hope which just shows that Babylon was not in control, God was...and, He still loved His people: 2 Kings 25:27 "...Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;" and the passage goes on to say: 2 Kings 25:28-30: "And he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon;

And changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life.

And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life."

After this, the chapter ends, and we get into the next book of the Bible, 1 Chronicles. There was no explanation for this kindness...so we could only attribute it to God! God was giving His people a glimpse of hope. This season would soon end, if only the people would faithfully follow the plan! That didn't mean it would be easy, but it meant it would be worth it! If we keep a God-fearing perspective, we will always find the glimpse of hope in the uncomfortable situation. We will find that sometimes, it is for our good, and God is doing something important in us through it all. We will see that our God is loving, and does everything for our benefit, and not our hurt. So, let us withhold nothing as we march forward, hanging on to every glimpse of hope which comes our way.