2 Kings 24 - Praying God's Word

Please read 2 Kings 24.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/2ki/24/1/s_337001

Meditate on verse 3.

Surely at the command of the LORD, it came upon

 Judah to remove them from His sight because of the sins of

 Manasseh, according to all that he had done.

2 Kings 24 records the first two of three sieges of Jerusalem and deportations of the people of Judah to Babylon. God commanded they be removed from His sight because of the sins of King Manasseh. Manasseh began his reign 92 years before the Babylonian exile even started. Four kings ruled after him, yet people who weren’t even alive during Manasseh’s reign experienced the wrath of God because of his sins.

Do not think for a moment that God takes sin lightly, or what you do contrary to the Word of God is no big deal. Sin is deadly, and it cost God His life to pay its cost. Thankfully, if you are a Christian, you will be saved from the wrath of God through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:9). Sadly, for those who choose not to become children of God, but remain sons  of disobedience, the wrath of God will come upon them (Ephesians 5:6; Colossians 3:6).

Pray for the opposite of 2 Kings 24:19-20 to be true of those you know are sons of disobedience, as their faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, please let __________ stop doing evil in Your sight.

 Let them follow You, so they do not experience

 Your anger and be cast from Your presence.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

2 Kings 23 - Praying God's Word

Please read 2 Kings 23.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/2ki/23/1/s_336001

Meditate on verses 2.

The king (Josiah) went up to the house of the LORD

 and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants

of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets

and all the people, both small and great;

and he read in their hearing all the words

 of The Book of the Covenant which

 was found in the house of the LORD.  

When the Book of the Covenant, the Word of God, was discovered in the Temple of the LORD, it radically impacted King Josiah. He wanted all of the people to hear the Words; he made covenant promises to the LORD, and he took action to remove everything idolatrous in Israel. God’s Word changed Josiah’s life.

How does the Bible, the Book of the Old and the New Covenant, impact you and those you love? Do you crave reading and hearing it? Does God’s Word make you want to follow Him better, with all your heart, soul, and might (v. 25)? What actions are you taking to remove things in your life contrary to God’s Word?

Pray 2 Kings 23:24-25 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, let _________ and me perform the Words of the Law

which are written in Your Book.  Let us turn to You

 with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our might,

 according to all the Law of Moses, according to all of Your Word.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

2 Kings 22 - Praying God's Word

Please read 2 Kings 22.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/2ki/22/1/s_335001

Meditate on verse 19.

“Because your heart was tender and

 you humbled yourself before the LORD when you

 heard what I spoke against this place and

 against its inhabitants that they should become

 a desolation and a curse, and you have

 torn your clothes and wept before Me,

 I truly have heard you," declares the LORD.

Have you ever received a message containing really bad news that made your heart faint and your body feel like it was sinking into the floor? That is probably how King Josiah felt as the Law of the LORD was read, and he realized he and his people were in so much trouble for disobeying God. Josiah grieved as he heard these Words:

“The LORD will send upon you curses, confusion,

 and rebuke, in all you undertake to do, until

you are destroyed and until you perish quickly,

on account of the evil of your deeds,

 because you have forsaken Me.”

—Deuteronomy 28:20

When God’s Word so touched Josiah that he humbled himself and wept before the LORD, God took notice and heard Josiah’s cries (vs. 18-19).

How does God’s Word affect you? Does it give you a tender heart toward the LORD and the things that are important to Him?

Pray 2 Kings 22:18-19 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, regarding Your Words which _________ and

 I have heard, let our hearts be tender and

 let us humble ourselves before You.  Please hear

 us as we tear our clothes and weep before You

because of the desolation and curse caused by sin. 

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

2 Kings 21 - Praying God's Word

Please read 2 Kings 21.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/2ki/21/1/s_334001

Meditate on verses 8-9.  The LORD is speaking.

"And I will not make the feet of Israel wander

 anymore from the land which I gave their fathers,

 if only they will observe to do according to

 all that I have commanded them, and according

to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them."

 But they did not listen, and Manasseh seduced them to do evil more

than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the sons of Israel.

Sometimes God lets people wallow in their sin. It is one of the worst punishments for sinning against Him, allowing people to stay in their self-made, putrid mess rather than plucking them out. That is what the LORD did to evil Manasseh and the people of Judah. Manasseh ruled for 55 years, practicing horrific sins throughout his reign and killing so many people that Jerusalem was filled with their blood (vs. 1-7, 16). The LORD did not put a stop to the atrocities because for over 700 years, the people and their forefathers had done evil in His sight and provoked Him to anger since the day they left Egypt (v. 15).

Is the LORD allowing you and those you love to wallow in sin? If so, stop and confess everything God. Ask Him to keep your feet from wandering from His righteous path. Pray using the words from 2 Kings 21:7-9 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, You have put Your name on _________ and me forever. 

Do not let our feet wander anymore from You. 

Let us observe to do according to

all that You have commanded

and according to all Your law.

 Help us to listen; do not let us be seduced to do evil.

For the sake of Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

2 Kings 20 - Praying God's Word

Please read 2 Kings 20.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/2ki/20/1/s_333001

Meditate on verse 13.

Hezekiah listened to them (the men from Babylon),

and showed them all his treasure house, the silver

and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and the house

of his armor and all that was found in his treasuries.

 There was nothing in his house nor in all his

 dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

The LORD wants you to pay careful attention to Hezekiah’s story because He recorded it three times in the Bible—2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29- 32, and Isaiah 36-39.

Pride overcame Hezekiah after the LORD heard and answered his prayers for protection from the Assyrians and healing from a mortal illness. When God in His mercy granted Hezekiah health and 15 more years of life, he stopped walking humbly with God and proudly showed off all of his God- given blessings to men who are actually Babylonian spies. The people of Judah would soon pay dearly for a king who got full of himself.

Be mindful of pride that can creep in as you experience the LORD’s favor. Be diligent to have a humble and grateful heart toward God for His unmerited love and mercy, remembering to be kind and unarrogant toward others who experience God’s blessings in different ways than you.

Pray 2 Kings 20:3 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, I beseech You to help _______ and me

remember to walk before You in truth and with a whole heart.

  Help us to do what is good in Your sight.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

2 Kings 19 - Praying God's Word

Please read 2 Kings 19.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/2ki/19/1/s_332001

Meditate on verse 14.

Then Hezekiah took the letter from the

 hand of the messengers and read it,

and he went up to the house of the LORD

and spread it out before the LORD.

King Hezekiah took his impossible situations to God. When Rabshakeh taunted and threatened, Hezekiah entered the temple to be in God’s presence (v. 1). When he received a message from Rabshakeh claiming God’s Word to be deceptive, he took the letter to God, so He could read it (vs. 8-14). Hezekiah’s actions were visual proof that he trusted in the LORD and clung to Him (2 Kings 18:5-6). God rewarded his faith with the miraculous defeat of the Assyrians, the salvation of Jerusalem, and the assassination of the Assyrian king, Sennachrib (vs. 31-37).

Is something or someone threatening to destroy you and those you love? Take refuge in the presence of God. Tell Him everything that is happening. Let His confident assurance and peace replace your anxious thoughts. Wait for Him to act on your behalf.

Pray 2 Kings 19:15-16 and 19 over your difficult situations as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“O LORD, the God of Israel and the God of my family,

You are enthroned above the cherubim. 

You are the God, You alone, of

all the kingdoms of the earth. 

You have made heaven and earth.

 Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear;

open Your eyes, O LORD, and see;

and listen to the words of those who threaten __________ and me,

which have been sent to reproach You, the living God. 

Now, O LORD our God, I pray, deliver us from

the enemy’s hand that all the kingdoms of the earth

 may know that You alone, O LORD, are God.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

2 Kings 18 - Praying God's Word

Please read 2 Kings 18.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/2ki/18/1/s_331001

Meditate on these phrases from verses 3-7.

He (Hezekiah) did right in the sight of the LORD…

He removed the high places…He trusted in the LORD…

He clung to the LORD…The LORD was with him…

Hooray! The high places have been removed! Finally, there is a king with the courage to do what is right in the eyes of God rather than catering to his selfish lusts and the ungodly demands of the people. Hezekiah is one of the eight good kings of Judah (Judah had a total of 19 kings and one queen). And Hezekiah is one of only two of the good kings who actually destroyed the high places. (You will read about the other destroyer of high places in 2 Kings 22.)

The rest of 2 Kings 18 tells about the destruction of Israel and the near destruction of Judah.  Be sure to notice Hezekiah’s strong leadership as he tells his people not to answer Rabshakeh when he tries to shake their confidence in God (vs. 17-37). It is best to ignore “Rabshakehs” in your life who want you to lose your trust in God’s miraculous provision. You do not need to acknowledge their ungodly negativity.

Pray 2 Kings 18:3-7 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, let _______ and me do right in Your sight.

 Help us to remove the high places and break

down anything that has become an idol in our lives.

 We trust in You, LORD.  We cling to You, LORD.

 Do not let us depart from following You;

let us keep Your commandments.  LORD, be with us;

wherever we go, please let us prosper.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell