Carried Away to Babylon

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Matthew 1:9-11

We’ve been going through Matthew Chapter 1 in great detail verse by verse. We were right in the middle of the kings of Judah. We know the kingdom split after king Solomon because of his sin against the Lord.

We saw David, Solomon, Roboam, Abia, Asa, Josaphat, Joram, and Ozias. We talked about some of the kings being taken out of this generation of Jesus Christ and not being listed here.

Now, we’re continuing with the kings of Judah that are listed here in the generation of Jesus Christ. And remember, some of these kings were good kings and some of them were not good kings. They made their choice. We all have that choice to make too. Do good. Or do wrong.

Let’s continue in verse 9 of Matthew Chapter 1.

Four Kings of Judah To Learn From

Matthew 1:9
And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;

We see 4 kings of Judah listed here. Ozias, Joatham, Achaz, and Ezekias. These kings are discussed in detail in the books of 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, and 2 Chronicles. I want to show you a listing of the kings of Judah and show whether they did right or wrong.

The yellow highlights you see in the table are kings that are missing from the generation of Jesus Christ in Matthew Chapter 1.

The green highlights are the kings we just saw in verse 9. You can see Ozias was a good king, Joatham was a good king, Achaz was a bad king, and Ezekias was a good king. The good kings weren’t perfect kings. But I do want to stop on Ezekias or Hezekiah for a few minutes here.

How to Study These Kings

I want to give you an example of how to study these kings in the Old Testament. We can learn many things from these kings.

If you search for the name Hezekiah and Ezekias throughout the entire Bible, king #13 of Judah right there in that table, you’ll find that name 130 times in 119 verses. That’s a lot of occurrences of a king’s name. The name David is in the Bible 1139 times in 968 verses so Hezekiah isn’t as popular as David, obviously, but he is in the Bible many times.

King Hezekiah lived at the time of the prophet Isaiah so we see some interactions between king Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah.

One of the stories I want you to see and learn from today is about king Hezekiah.

2 Kings 18:1-3
Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.  2 Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.  3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.

2 Kings 18:4-6
He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.  5 He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.  6 For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.

We see that the Bible says Hezekiah is a good king. Why? He trusted in the Lord God of Israel. He kept God’s commandments.

2 Kings 20:1
In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.

Hezekiah Was Sick and Dying and Watch What He Does

Now, I want you to imagine that this was happening to you. Hezekiah was sick unto death. The prophet Isaiah comes to him and tells him that the Lord is saying he’s going to die. “For thou shalt die, and not live.”

Hey, that’s a scary thing. Hezekiah was sick unto death. And he was a good king who followed the Lord.

Many people think that if someone is sick that God is punishing them. That can be the case, but it’s not the case here. It wasn’t the case with Job. So don’t judge people in that way. If someone is sick, it doesn’t mean they are sinning against the Lord.

Jesus said the blind man in John Chapter 9 wasn’t blind because of sin. He was blind that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

So, Hezekiah is sick unto death. A good king who followed the commandments of the Lord is about to die. Isaiah tells Hezekiah this. And let’s see Hezekiah’s response. This is very important.

2 Kings 20:2-3
Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,  3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

Hey, when death actually comes, it’s scary. Knowing that you’re going to die is scary. Hezekiah wept sore. He’s crying. Hey, it’s okay to cry. This is a man, a good king, crying. He prays to the Lord. This is what I want you to see.

He prays, “I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight.”

Look, when you follow God’s commandments, when you come to church, when you’re giving it the best you’ve got for God, He sees this. Then, when you’re having trouble in life, you can go to God just like Hezekiah here. And ask him for help because you’ve followed His commandments.

Walk After God and Get His Help

If you aren’t trying, if you aren’t doing good, this isn’t going to work. But for king Hezekiah, in the generation of Jesus Christ, this worked because he did good in his life.

God added fifteen years to his life. Hey, be good. Do good. Come to church. Increase faith. Follow the commandments. God will be there for you.

Let’s move on to the next verse in Matthew Chapter 1.

Matthew 1:10
And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;

We see Ezekias, Manasses, Amon, and Josias. We have two bad kings followed by a good king. And I want to mention these are father and son. Hezekiah, a good king, has Manasses.

Every child has a choice. Please listen children. Please listen teenagers. You have a choice in your life. Your Dad and/or Mom can’t make you choose to do right. They can do their best raising you, but you have the choice to make. Do right or do wrong. Hezekiah set a good example, but it wasn’t enough. Watch what his son does.

2 Kings 21:1-2
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hephzi-bah.  2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

Manasseh, a king in the generation of Jesus Christ, does evil in the sight of the Lord. Let’s see what he does.

2 Kings 21:3
For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.

He worshipped false gods and encouraged the people to do so. When we make anything more important in our life than God Almighty, we worship those things.

King Manasseh Did Great Evil

Manasseh built altars in the house of the Lord to worship other gods. He made his son to pass through the fire. He observed times and used enchantments. Wizardry and witchcraft. He provoked God to great anger. God tried with him and the people. The Bible says they hearkened not unto the Lord. And God warned them. This is what the prophets are about in the Bible.

When you read through the Book of Jeremiah, for example, you might think God is being harsh. He’s warning them over and over again and they won’t listen.

Jeremiah 25:4-6
And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.  5 They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:  6 And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.

They didn’t listen. He tells them that He will send Babylon against them and utterly destroy them. God says He will make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. He will take the voice of gladness from them. The whole land shall be a desolation.

Look, we have a great church here for you. We’re here to teach the Bible, as we’re doing right now. And God wants you to hearken unto his words and his commandments. You have a choice. If you make bad choices, you will be desolate or wasted or ruined.

You Have a Choice to Do Right or Wrong

And listen, I don’t want that for you. That’s why we’re here. That’s why God put this church here. He doesn’t want that for you either. So you have a choice every Sunday and every Thursday. Get here and hear His words. Learn. Do better. Get better. Or go the other way. Your choice.

2 Kings 21:9
But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.

I know we can do better than that. The Bible says, “But they hearkened not.” They didn’t listen to God. They ignored Him. It’s easy to ignore God’s words. It’s easy to not listen here in church. It’s easy to get distracted, but please, stay with me as we read and study the Bible. And we’ll hearken and do right together.

We want to be like Hezekiah and not his son Manasseh. So far, we’ve seen twelve kings of Judah in Matthew Chapter 1. Let’s see that table again.

We see that Manasseh is the 14th overall ruler in the divided kingdom of Judah in the South. We see he is the 10th king of Judah listed in Matthew Chapter 1. Out of 20 total rulers, as listed in the Old Testament, twelve of twenty or 60% of the kings of Judah were bad kings. This is the physical line of Jesus Christ on Joseph’s side.

The Last Good King of Judah

The last good king of Judah is Josias, which we just read about in Matthew 1:10.

Here’s the point of that table right there. These were God’s people. In general they weren’t doing what he asked. There were some good kings so God allowed the nation to continue. But, as these bad kings continued to upset God, his patience ran out. And when you do so much evil that God’s patience runs out, you’re in big trouble.

Remember that in your life. You know right from wrong. Do right or God’s patience will run out. And God has more patience than anyone. But be very careful. Watch what happens.

Matthew 1:11
And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:

Josias or Josiah, the last good king of Judah, further down the line, begets Jechonias and his brethren. When Josiah dies, the kingdom of Babylon rises to a world power. God does this. The prophets had been prophesying of this long before it happened. The prophets or preacher’s of God’s word were warning the people.

That’s why we come here. We get warnings from God to do better. We need to listen. Later on, at Jechonias, they are carried away to Babylon just as the Bible says.

Jechonias is known as Jehoiachin in the Old Testament. Watch what happens.

2 Kings 24:8-9
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother’s name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.  9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.

He did evil in the sight of the Lord.

Babylon Sieges Jerusalem

2 Kings 24:10-11
At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.  11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it.

2 Kings 24:14
And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.

2 Kings 24:15
And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king’s mother, and the king’s wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.

Judah is Carried Away into Babylon

All of them were conquered and carried away. They didn’t get God’s help because they ignored God, His words, and His commandments. We know that we are saved and going to heaven since we have believed in Jesus Christ. But we still have this life to live. We still want to do good for God. If we don’t, trouble is coming. So, let’s stay out of trouble and do what God says.

This is what we’ve seen so far in Matthew Chapter 1 showing the generation of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 1:17, we see all the generations from Abraham to David are 14 generations. And from David until the carrying away into Babylon are 14 generations.

And next time we’ll see from Babylon unto Christ are 14 generations. So, you’re studying the Bible, you’re learning from the Bible, and you’re doing right in the eyes of the Lord.

Let’s keep this going. Let’s continue doing good. Let’s stay consistent. Let’s change your life. Let’s change the path for you, your children, and all the next generations. Let’s change this area. Let’s make it a fruitful and awesome area to live. It’s our choice. Let’s do this.

Let’s pray.

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