The title, “Evil, Evil, Evil !” for today’s meditation sounds unpleasant. But this is precisely what describes almost all the monarchic kings who are supposed to rule and lead their people to Yahweh but they did not. It is because of their evil hearts that bring down God’s punishment upon the nation. This chapter has three consecutive kings of Judah – Jehoahaz (v32), Jehoiakim (v37) and Jehoiachin (v9) and the writer describes them with this same description in verses 32, 37 and chap 24 verse 9, “And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.”

The political background of this passage evolves mainly around Judah, Egypt and Babylon and. The timeline for this passage begins one decade before the final downfall of Judah in 586 BC (tomorrow’s MCDD). Another two centuries earlier in 722 BC, the northern Israel had already fallen to the Assyrians for the same evil reason. The passage for today in 2 Ki 23:31-37 tells us that the southern Judah was under the control of Egypt and King Jehoahaz of Judah was being kept in prison by Pharoah Neco in Egypt until he died there. Neco also appointed Jehoahaz’s brother, Jehoiakim to succeed him back in Jerusalem and an alliance was made between Judah and Egypt. Neco was the one who changed his name from Eliakim to Jehoiakim, both having the same meaning, “established by God.” As a pagan ruler, Neco perhaps wanted to tell Jehoiakim through his name changed that his throne and the alliance with Egypt was established by God.

In the next chapter in 2 Ki 24:1, it narrates the rise of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Babylonian empire superseded the Assyrians. King Jehoiakim thought that Neco Pharaoh of Egypt could help him and he decided to rebel against King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. But Egypt could not protect itself from Babylon (v7). Jehoiachin succeeded Jehoiakim and Nebuchadnezzar attacked and placed Jerusalem under siege (v10). He surrendered. Nebuchadnezzar took many treasures from the palace and temple and deported Jehoiachin with many Israelites.

In v2-4, the name of Yahweh appears four times to emphasis that the calamity and downfall of Judah was brought about by Him because of these evil kings, particularly King Manasseh. Phrases like “the Lord sent against him... and Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord…at the command of the Lord… the Lord would not pardon.” Judah as well as Israel are both chosen nations of God; but their downfall to Babylon and Assyria respectively is due to their evil hearts that turn them away from God.

A church is a community of God’s people coming together and our purpose is to be a witness to a dying world outside the church who do not know Him. Christ the bridegroom has cleansed and sanctified the Church as His bride to be holy and blameless. But the church is made up of believers who are still in this fallen world and sometimes our carnal personality messes things up in the way we serve or relate to one another in the church. The meaning of the adjective, moral does not only refer to sexual conduct which we are quick to associate when a person commits immoral sin. But the word concerns principles of right and wrong or conformity to standards of behavior and character based on these principles. The words from our mouth, the decisions from our mind, the actions from our hands and the emotions from our hearts can also be immoral when we are not sensitive to God’s spirit and choose to sin against God.

Prayer : Dear God, I pray that You help me and our church to be a community which is being described by Micah 6:8, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”