#soap # 2 Kings 24 ## Title: Necessary Endings ## Scripture: (2 Kings 24:1) “During Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked. Jehoiakim was his subject for three years, but then he rebelled against him.” (NET) ## Observation: If you were to start the story with this chapter, it would be easy to start asking God a lot of questions. How could You do this to Your people? How could You not care for them? It reminds me of what has happened many times in my house. I will come home at the end of a long day and see my girls in a lot of trouble. I would look at my wife and ask why she is being so hard with them. Her first response is, “Don’t do that. You haven’t been here all day.” Point taken. God has been working with His people for hundreds of years at this point. He has been warning them to turn back to Him. They have gone through short spans of difficulty with the intent of turning their hearts fully back to God. Nothing has worked. He has been warning about disaster through His prophets for years. Nothing is working. Finally, judgment comes. It is the necessary ending to generations of unfaithfulness. However, even in this story there is hope. If God had that much mercy on His people and worked with them that long, He will have patient mercy on you too. ## Application: Turn to God before necessary endings come. ## Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for Your mercy.