So we were discussing Josiah when we last left off.
Unfortunately, his reign came to a tragic end in 609 B.C. when he attempted to block Pharaoh Necho of Egypt, who was simply marching through Judah on his way north to confront Assyria.
Josiah’s intervention proved disastrous.
After defeating him, Necho brought Judah under Egyptian control and installed Jehoiakim as a puppet king.
A few years later, the balance of power shifted dramatically.
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon crushed the Egyptian forces and, in 604 B.C., invaded Judah.
Jehoiakim promptly transferred his allegiance from Egypt to Babylon, allowing him to keep his throne.
But his loyalty did not last.
Resentful of Babylonian domination, he eventually rebelled, and the uprising ended with his death in 598 B.C.
So what takeaway can we extract from this?
It comes down to this.
Judah kept looking to the world’s superpowers for security.
First it was Egypt.
Then it was Babylon.
Each time they shifted their allegiance, hoping the next empire would guarantee their survival.
It never did.
In fact, every alliance only tightened the chains around their necks until they became servants of the very nations they trusted.
The lesson?
Politics is a poor substitute for trusting God.
There’s nothing wrong with governments or political leaders serving their proper role.
But the moment God’s people begin looking to earthly powers as their ultimate source of hope, protection, or deliverance, they’ve already started down a dangerous path.
Scripture repeatedly reminds us that our security isn’t found in princes, presidents, kings, or empires.
It’s found in the Lord alone.
Ya feeling me here?
Done.
Leave a Reply