2 Kings 8
Scripture
“Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah. He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever.”
2 Kings 8:19 NIV
Observation- What does it say?
The leadership in Judah were doing evil in the sight of the Lord. For instance, Hazael murdered Ben Hadad in order to succeed his throne as the new king. It was an event that Elisha had prophesied about. Also, Jehoram, king of Judah, did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Scripture stated that “he followed the ways of the kings of Israel”, which was not a good thing. Ahaziah was another king mentioned in this chapter who “did evil in the eyes of the Lord.” (Verse 27)
Although all the evil warranted God’s justice and consequence of destruction, the Lord would not destroy them because of a promise He had made to his servant David. There is a parallel to 2 Kings 8:19 in 2 Chronicles 21:7, where yet again, Scripture talked about how Jehoram, king of Judah, did evil in the sight of the Lord, yet God was not willing to destroy the house of David.
“Nevertheless, because of the covenant the LORD had made with David, the LORD was not willing to destroy the house of David. He had promised to maintain a lamp for him and his descendants forever.” 2 Chronicles 21:7 NIV
Understanding- What does it mean?
God keeps His promises and His promises are always good.
"The Hebrew Bible makes it clear that all of the kings of Judah were descendants of David (Bibleodyssey.org)." Although he was a man after God’s heart, unfortunately, not all of his descendants were. The worship of foreign gods all occurred after Solomon’s (his son’s) death. They did evil in the eyes of the Lord, yet God wouldn’t destroy them because He stayed true to His promise to not destroy the house or descendants of David.
God knew what He was doing. There was a purpose behind it despite all the evil happening around them and how hopeless the situation may have looked for Israel.
““Here I will make a horn grow for David and set up a lamp for my anointed one.” Psalm 132:17 NIV (Commentary: "Horn" symbolizes strong one, that is king in this verse).
Life Application
All hope is not gone or lost.
Do you ever feel like you’re stuck in a hopeless situation with no end in sight? Imagine how the people of Israel felt.
It really looked like a hopeless situation for Israel because of the corrupt kings in leadership. But (BIG but), God saw the bigger picture, as He always does and knew that His promise included a better King who would come through the line of David. That King is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
The enemy’s job is to steal, kill and destroy and to make us lose all hope. However, even when it feels like all hope is gone, it never is when we trust that God is in control and knows what He’s doing.
Thank You Lord that You always see the big picture. May we trust that Your plans are always for the best and put our hope solely on You. Help us to put our faith on the unseen and not lean on our own understanding. Amen.