2 Kings 25

“I will scatter you among the nations and bring out my sword against you. Your land will become desolate, and your cities will lie in ruins.” (Leviticus 26:33, NLT)
 
We live in a world of piecrust promises: easily made, easily broken. People make a commitment and then break it when it is not convenient. But God is not like that; whatever He says, He will surely perform.
 
“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19, NKJV)
 
We appreciate this trustworthy attribute of God when He promises to bless whose who seek Him. But we must never forget that He is just as faithful to judge disobedience. God is patient, but He will always act according to His Word.
 
In 2 Kings 25 we observe the death of a nation. But God had warned them over 800 years earlier that He would bring their land and cities to desolation and scatter them among the nations if they did not obey Him and keep His commandments. Now the LORD was keeping His promise.
 
And yet God would not utterly wipe out the nation. Israel was still His people, and they will remain before Him forever.
 
“But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me, so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.” (Leviticus 26:40–42, ESV)
 
Their departure from the land was not permanent. God would restore them after seventy years of captivity. He would not cast them away nor despise them to utterly destroy them, for God is gracious and faithful to His covenant with Abraham. The promised Seed was still to come!
 
We should consider the promises of God as a sharp two-edged sword. They can bless, or they can curse. They should bring us both comfort and fear. In a world of uncertainties, we can always count on God to keep His Word.