Last week we read of the end of the northern kingdom, Israel, as they were defeated by the Assyrians and taken into captivity.  This week, we read the sad ending of the southern kingdom, Judah.  In many ways, the last century of Judah was a roller-coaster with very good kings (Hezekiah and Josiah) and very bad kings (Manasseh and Amon).  Perhaps the greatest explanation for why things went the way they did was the phrase, "they did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites" (21:9).  And even though Hezekiah was a good king, his sin became the reason that Babylon eventually came in and defeated Judah.  The account at the end of 2 Kings contains lots of details, particulary around the destruction of the temple.  Why do you think that is the case?  As we considered with the northern kingdom, in the midst of the destruction, where do you see evidences of God's grace?  In particular, what do you notice about the "royal line"?  What message do these chapters have for us today? Be sure to check out the blog for the guiding questions as you read and for the opportunity to interact with each other.  We enter our rhythm of LEARN-READ-INTERACT.

From How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens, Michael Williams makes these points about 1 & 2 Kings:

Phrase: Turning Away

Theme: God expels Israel and Judah from his presence in the Promised Land when their kings turn away from Torah.

Christ-Focus: God turns away from Jesus on the cross as judgment against those who have turned away from him (Romans 3:10-12; Matthew 27:45-46).

Implications: We need to rely on God's strength and the encouragement of each other to keep from turning away from the path of life (Hebrews 3:12-13).

Questions: What is your "rule of life"?  What are you more likely to do: what you know is right or what you want to do at the time?  What are you doing to guard against turning away from God?

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