Seize the Moment – Day 885

The Shedding of Innocent Blood!

2 Kings 24

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, August 19.

 

“That’s the last straw!” It’s that moment of exasperation in a relationship, or at work, or in your participation with some activity, where you just can’t take it anymore. No more! It’s over!

 

That moment came in God’s dealing with Israel, as 2 Kings 24:4 declares, “for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the Lord would not forgive.” In this heartbreaking chapter, the Babylonian army laid siege to Jerusalem, and the first exiles were taken to Babylon (10-16). Nothing is more heartbreaking than that statement, “the LORD would not forgive.”

 

What was the last straw? What is the shedding of innocent blood? One commentator explained, “The phrase ‘to shed innocent blood’ signified in the late monarchical period the oppression of the poor and the underprivileged.”[1] This is made clear through God’s Word in Jeremiah 22:3 & 5:

 

“Thus says the Lord, ‘Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.’ … ‘But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself,’ declares the Lord, ‘that this house will become a desolation.’”

 

God cares deeply about justice and that His people care for those who cannot protect or care for themselves. James 1:27 explains, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” God cares so much about justice that He sent His Son to shed His innocent blood for the forgiveness of your sin (Matthew 26:28; John 1:29; Acts 20:28). Jesus declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

 

Seize the moment and “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

God bless you!
 
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
 
 

FOOTNOTES:

 

[1] William H. Barnes, 1-2 Kings, ed. Philip W. Comfort, vol. 4b, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2012), 352.

 

^