First and Second Kings are often regarded as one book. It covers the period from King Ahab to the time when Israel and Judah were taken into captivity—the period known as the exile. The reason this happened was that they disobeyed God, worshipped idols and turned to grotesque religious practices that were not only evil but very harmful to women and children.
The basic lesson we learn from this is that sin will always catch up with you. You can't outrun it, and there are long-term consequences to our behaviour. This is something we all need to be aware of, as we often forget that we will all stand before God, our maker and that He, as the judge of all the earth, will deal with us fairly but righteously. Hebrews 9:27,28 state this - 'And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him' KJV.
This book covers a period of 300 years. The first half primarily focuses on the story of a prophet named Elisha. He brings God's message to the reigning monarchs for 66 years, and it is recorded that he did 16 miracles.
The second section of the book deals with events leading up to the fall of Samaria (the northern kingdom of Israel) and the capture of Jerusalem and Judah. The nation of Israel had 19 kings, and none of them were good. Judah (the southern kingdom) had 19 kings and 1 Queen, 8 of whom were God fearing and good.
There are numerous references to God's anger in this book. He is exceptionally patient with humans, and His chosen outcome is to forgive; however, at some point, God says, 'Enough is enough.' There are warnings throughout Scripture that God's patience will not last forever. For instance, Genesis 6:3 states, 'My spirit shall not always strive with man.' But his long-suffering is legendary, as Peter writes, 'The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance' (2 Peter 3:9 CSB).
The Bible says that God is angry with the wicked. You may question the definition of wickedness, but the Bible states that it is anything contrary to God's law, as contained in the Ten Commandments. God hates wickedness because it is damaging to people and offensive to him. In our current society, we engage in a significant amount of wrongdoing. We sacrifice the unborn child. We refuse to bring fairness and justice to many who are disadvantaged, and they suffer as a result. One of the causes of God's anger with our world is the rejection and suppression of truth. Paul the apostle wrote in Romans chapter 1, verses 18-20 these words - 'But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. NLT'
In summary, this book reminds us that God is holy and that people are sinful. Still, thankfully, within its pages, we also find examples of those who recognised God's grace and forgiveness when they acknowledged their sin and trusted in Him.
You could do the same while there is time.
"Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, Acts 16:31 NLT."
All photos courtesy of Unsplash
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