Reading Second Kings

The Old Testament is filled with cycle after cycle. Second Kings continues the cycle started in the First instalment of the two book series. Israel, and now Judah as well, go through bad king after bad king, with a few good ones interspersed in there.

After partaking in a Genesis class this past semester, one of the things that has been talked about the most is how dysfunctional of a family our ancestors were. It started with Adam and Eve, and their disobedience, and continued through the story of the Kings of the Southern and Northern Kingdom.

King James Bible Online

Second Kings highlights the division of Israel even more. The United Kingdom of Israel lasted for 120 years, from 1053 to 933 B.C. After the division of the kingdom, the Northern part lasted for 210 years, from 931 to 721 B.C. before being captured by the Assyrians. The Southern part of the kingdom was called Judah, lasting 345 years from 931 to 586 B.C. before being captured by the Babylonians.

All in all, the history highlights how David's kingdom crumbled focussing on the disunity of this royal family, and really the family of Israel. Dividing into two separate kingdoms that were constantly warring against each other, we could state that this is how the once mighty nation of Israel was crippled into a faint name in history.

This for me brings up two lessons. The first is regarding unity. We must make every effort to remain unified in everything we do. Especially as a Christian community that is constantly under public scrutiny, we need to truly act like the body of Christ. We can't have strong disagreement amongst us, so strong that it divides us up. Together we are strong, because God is on our side.

Secondly, God works through every situation. That perhaps has been the most important lesson I've learned from my Genesis class. No matter the dysfunction, the turmoil, the pain or the stress, when we turn to God, He can always get a result. His plan triumphs through all the possible hiccups, all the barriers we may put in place. And while we may not always expect, or even want, the result that God fashions, ultimately His way is always the best way.