I love the story of Daniel in the lions' den. It's so dramatic and Daniel is such an amazing hero, unflinching in his devotion to God and in the face of mortal danger. I was thinking about how Daniel was able to face such a trial with confidence. Obviously God's Spirit gave him strength, but I also think Daniel's courage had a lot to do with the fact he had a clear conscience before God.
When you read Daniel 6, his godly character and moral purity is emphasised: 'he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.' (v4) His enemies had to trap him by his faith as he was otherwise blameless before the king, and in line for a promotion (v3). His diligence and honourable conduct were unparalleled in the pagan land of Babylon.
Once the king makes the law banning prayer 'to any god or man for thirty days' except himself (v7), Daniel does not hesitate to continue praying to the LORD of heaven and earth. 'When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open towards Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.' (v10) In fact, this law made Daniel even more desperate to pray than ever! He knew he couldn't go on without the sustenance of his God. He knew that his privileged position was a gift from his Creator, not something he had simply earned by his own merit. If he had thought it was, he would have simply ditched prayer for a month and carried on at the top of the tree. But Daniel's view of God makes this impossible. He refuses to compromise.
It's interesting that his windows were open 'towards Jerusalem'. He's in exile, in Babylon, yet his heart is turned towards the place of the temple, the heritage of his fathers, the faith of his people. He is consciously following the scriptures where King Solomon, at the dedication of the temple, prayed that if the people were exiled for disobedience, they should turn their hearts back to Jerusalem and pray for God's mercy once again: 'yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly’, if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you towards their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive' (1 Kings 8:47-50). Daniel was consciously engaged in this work of intercession, knowing and understanding that the exile was all part of the plan of God in disciplining his people. Daniel's regular prayer was fuelled by the hope that Yahweh would hear; He would forgive; He would bring His people home. In chapter 9 we see perhaps a clearer glimpse of this intercessory heart of Daniel, but for now it helps for us to see that to him, prayer was an absolute necessity. It wasn't something he could just drop out of his schedule. Both on a personal level, and on a corporate, national level, prayer was of the utmost importance and priority to this godly man.
Daniel knows, then, that in choosing prayer he is choosing something better than the king's approval, even than his own life. He understands that in choosing prayer, the way of obedience, he can then stand before God in a clear conscience. He can say, 'I've been faithful to You, LORD, above all others.' Daniel doesn't know if God will rescue him from the lions (much like his three friends with the fiery furnace). But he does know that if he dies, he will be able to meet His God unashamedly. That gives him a powerful courage and an ability to stand firm amongst some frightening enemies and terrifying circumstances.
It's so interesting to see the impotence of the king - ironic impotence, as the reason he is unable to help Daniel is because of the power invested in his own laws ('Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed' v15) - compared with the sovereign power of God. The king 'set his mind to deliver Daniel' and 'laboured' to do so (v14), but was ultimately powerless and ineffective. Daniel tells the king the next day 'My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths' (v22), a very clear answer to the king's question: 'has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?' (v21). There can be no doubting it: Daniel's faith is vindicated publicly.
Daniel declares God has saved him 'because I was found blameless before him' (v22). Perhaps this was something the angel told him; we don't know. But it encourages us that if we diligently follow God in faithfulness wherever He places us, then we can have courage to face any obstacles, with a clear conscience before our King.
Showing posts with label 1 Kings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1 Kings. Show all posts
Friday, October 31, 2014
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Seeking Spiritual Experiences
In our Church Bible study last night, we looked at Revelation 1 where John is 'in the Spirit' and sees the Lord Jesus Christ in glory. He receives a message for the church, given by an angel, from Jesus and ultimately from God the Father. Someone pointed out that John was probably doing hard labour each day as part of the penal colony on Patmos. It wasn't perhaps the place where you would expect such a revelation to occur. We thought then about Paul and Silas in prison, and the whole place shaking with the power of God (Acts 16). The point was, that you can experience God anywhere and in any circumstances.
It made me think about the tendency towards pilgrimage in Christianity as well as other religions. Last week we were on holiday and went to St David's in West Wales, where there is a cathedral and many stories of Saint David (apparently when he was baptised there was a great light). People go to these places because they want a spiritual experience.
We could also think about Elijah- after the great victory over Baal at Mt Carmel (1 Kings 18), Jezebel sought his life and he fled to Horeb, that great mountain where Moses had experienced God. God appeared and asked 'Why are you here, Elijah?' In His grace, God revealed Himself again (and not in the great wind, but in the still, small voice), but the point remained that Elijah shouldn't have been afraid and run there seeking a spiritual experience. He should have trusted in God.
Jesus appears to John in Revelation to give seven letters, one for each of the seven churches referred to in Chapter 1. And the letters seem to warn the churches not to get caught up in 'being spiritual', but to seek more of Jesus. The church at Ephesus is told not to lose their 'first love' (Rev 2:4). It doesn't matter how many good deeds we do, or how hard we work- if we do not do them out of love for Christ, they are worthless (see also 1 Cor 13, where Paul suggests that even martyrdom itself is worthless if I have not love).
It can be tempting, then, to seek after a spiritual experience of God- perhaps at a certain church, or a certain type of meeting, or on a mountain top, or amongst certain people. But the Bible tells us that God is with us wherever we go, and we just need to seek Him. If Jesus' walk on earth took Him from the affirmation of God at His baptism to the loneliness of the wilderness and temptation, and from the shining beauty of His transfiguration to the rejection of the cross, we cannot expect every day to be a Mount Carmel. But if we learn obedience in the tough places, our joy will abound even more. (Rom 5:1-11)
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Sex before marriage: what does the Bible say?
Some people think that the Bible doesn't say much about sex. Other people think the Bible is really negative about sex. I was asked by a Christian friend recently how I would go about explaining what the Bible says about sex before marriage to someone who is a Christian and sleeping with their boyfriend or girlfriend. This post is really my response to that question.
The argument starts in Genesis. God makes Adam and Eve, marries them, and they enjoy sex as an expression of their unity: 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.' Gen 2:24 The implication is that you can't become one flesh physically (ie in sexual intercourse) without first being joined before God in marriage. This makes sense in that sex is a picture of giving yourselves completely to one another- this just isn't appropriate outside the safety net of marriage, where you have made a lifelong commitment to each other.
The high value God places on sex within marriage is emphasised throughout the Old Testament- most notably in the command against adultery (Ex 20:14). If you engage in pre-marital sex, you are in one sense being unfaithful to your future spouse. If the person ends up being someone you marry, you have still spoilt something special and unique meant for marriage only.
There are people in the Old Testament who disregard God's design for sex and marriage, and the result is always spiritual disaster. Look at Solomon: he had a ridiculous number of concubines (300!), and they had a terrible influence on him. He also married 700 women, and they 'turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God' (1 Kings 11:4). Solomon had built the temple and was gifted with wisdom from God, and yet in this matter he was blind to the warnings he was given, and so his kingdom was torn away from him (1 Kings 11:11). This ties into the idea that Christians going out with/marrying non Christians is spiritually damaging, because you are essentially uniting yourself with someone who is spiritually dead (see Ephesians 2 for the strong contrast between Christians and non-Christians, and 2 Cor 6 for instruction on not being 'yoked' with unbelievers).
The New Testament letters speak a lot about sexual purity. There are several key passages where 'fornication' (ie sex before marriage) is condemned (1 Cor 6:12- 7:40; Eph 5:1-7; 1 Thess 4:1-8), and in Hebrews 13:4 it says that the marriage bed should be kept pure, for God will judge the sexually immoral. The key emphasis in all these passages is that we've been saved by God's grace and set free from the crippling, disabling power of sin over our lives. Therefore our whole lives as Christians are about using that power to resist sin and live 100% for Jesus instead of being ruled by passion just like non-believers are.
When people have problems with what the Bible teaches on sex, it actually points to a bigger problem: their attitude towards God. Too often we are driven by our own desires for a relationship or physical intimacy, instead of putting God's agenda at the top of our priorities. If you're a Christian and you know another Christian who is struggling in this area, encourage them to draw closer to God. If you can, suggest meeting up together to read the Bible. Working through a short letter like 1 Thessalonians would only take a few sessions, and all you'd have to do is read it and discuss it. If they're really serious about being a Christian, they have to accept that it intrinsically means giving up what you want, and going God's way instead. And the joy of being a Christian is that God's way is so much better!!! As Paul writes, those things (sexual immorality included) lead to death. Why would we want to go back to them? (Romans 6:21)
Ultimately, we need to realise that God loves us far more than we comprehend. He loved us enough to send Jesus to die for us. Won't He give us anything that's good for us? Would He with hold the best from us? Of course not. (see Romans 8).
Therefore the Bible's teaching on sex and marriage is there to help us. God is FOR sex (he invented it!!!) and He has such a high value on it that he reserves it for those who are married. People who sleep with others before marriage are de-valuing sex. God's way is best because it preserves society and the family unit- look at the result of people sleeping together outside marriage: STDs, AIDS, broken homes, kids without fathers... And I hate to say it, but usually the girl in the relationship is the one with everything to lose and nothing to gain. A guy can sleep with someone and walk away; the girl ends up way more emotionally scarred and potentially with a baby to look after.
I think if a guy really loves you, he'd be willing to wait : Christian OR non Christian. But the real sticking point about Christians going out with non Christians is that they can't be a gospel team, working together to serve Jesus. One serves Jesus; the other belongs basically to the devil and is spiritually dead. I think one of the greatest blessings of Christian marriage is that you keep each other going with Jesus, pick each other up when you're down, lead each other back to the cross. However attracted you are to each other, it's the spiritual bond you share that will keep you going in the tough times.
Summary:
God has such a high value on sex that He designed it to be just for marriage.
The argument starts in Genesis. God makes Adam and Eve, marries them, and they enjoy sex as an expression of their unity: 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.' Gen 2:24 The implication is that you can't become one flesh physically (ie in sexual intercourse) without first being joined before God in marriage. This makes sense in that sex is a picture of giving yourselves completely to one another- this just isn't appropriate outside the safety net of marriage, where you have made a lifelong commitment to each other.
The high value God places on sex within marriage is emphasised throughout the Old Testament- most notably in the command against adultery (Ex 20:14). If you engage in pre-marital sex, you are in one sense being unfaithful to your future spouse. If the person ends up being someone you marry, you have still spoilt something special and unique meant for marriage only.
There are people in the Old Testament who disregard God's design for sex and marriage, and the result is always spiritual disaster. Look at Solomon: he had a ridiculous number of concubines (300!), and they had a terrible influence on him. He also married 700 women, and they 'turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God' (1 Kings 11:4). Solomon had built the temple and was gifted with wisdom from God, and yet in this matter he was blind to the warnings he was given, and so his kingdom was torn away from him (1 Kings 11:11). This ties into the idea that Christians going out with/marrying non Christians is spiritually damaging, because you are essentially uniting yourself with someone who is spiritually dead (see Ephesians 2 for the strong contrast between Christians and non-Christians, and 2 Cor 6 for instruction on not being 'yoked' with unbelievers).
The New Testament letters speak a lot about sexual purity. There are several key passages where 'fornication' (ie sex before marriage) is condemned (1 Cor 6:12- 7:40; Eph 5:1-7; 1 Thess 4:1-8), and in Hebrews 13:4 it says that the marriage bed should be kept pure, for God will judge the sexually immoral. The key emphasis in all these passages is that we've been saved by God's grace and set free from the crippling, disabling power of sin over our lives. Therefore our whole lives as Christians are about using that power to resist sin and live 100% for Jesus instead of being ruled by passion just like non-believers are.
When people have problems with what the Bible teaches on sex, it actually points to a bigger problem: their attitude towards God. Too often we are driven by our own desires for a relationship or physical intimacy, instead of putting God's agenda at the top of our priorities. If you're a Christian and you know another Christian who is struggling in this area, encourage them to draw closer to God. If you can, suggest meeting up together to read the Bible. Working through a short letter like 1 Thessalonians would only take a few sessions, and all you'd have to do is read it and discuss it. If they're really serious about being a Christian, they have to accept that it intrinsically means giving up what you want, and going God's way instead. And the joy of being a Christian is that God's way is so much better!!! As Paul writes, those things (sexual immorality included) lead to death. Why would we want to go back to them? (Romans 6:21)
Ultimately, we need to realise that God loves us far more than we comprehend. He loved us enough to send Jesus to die for us. Won't He give us anything that's good for us? Would He with hold the best from us? Of course not. (see Romans 8).
Therefore the Bible's teaching on sex and marriage is there to help us. God is FOR sex (he invented it!!!) and He has such a high value on it that he reserves it for those who are married. People who sleep with others before marriage are de-valuing sex. God's way is best because it preserves society and the family unit- look at the result of people sleeping together outside marriage: STDs, AIDS, broken homes, kids without fathers... And I hate to say it, but usually the girl in the relationship is the one with everything to lose and nothing to gain. A guy can sleep with someone and walk away; the girl ends up way more emotionally scarred and potentially with a baby to look after.
I think if a guy really loves you, he'd be willing to wait : Christian OR non Christian. But the real sticking point about Christians going out with non Christians is that they can't be a gospel team, working together to serve Jesus. One serves Jesus; the other belongs basically to the devil and is spiritually dead. I think one of the greatest blessings of Christian marriage is that you keep each other going with Jesus, pick each other up when you're down, lead each other back to the cross. However attracted you are to each other, it's the spiritual bond you share that will keep you going in the tough times.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Why were the Israelites exiled out of the Promised Land?
I've been putting together my notes for OT2 and this is such a huge question, covering all of the Former Prophets.
1. Rebellion against the Lord.
This began even as Moses led them out of Egypt: 'the whole community grumbled' (Ex 16:2). They spent 40 years in the wilderness because of this!
At the end of the book of Joshua, he gives the people a strong reminder that they need to obey the Law (Josh 23:6). If they fail, the consequence will be exile:
'If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods... the Lord's anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land He has given you.' (Josh 23:16).
During the time of the Judges, as Joshua's generation dies, 'another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what He had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals.' (Judges 2:10-11). Consequently, they were routed by their enemies and God raised up Judges to save them. 'Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshipped them.' (Judges 2:17)
Even the Judges themselves were dubious heroes; Gideon lacked decisive faith and made a golden ephod which became a snare to Israel, Jephthah made a rash vow which resulted in him killing his own daughter, and Samson's life was full of compromise instead of being a true Nazirite.
The ending of the book shows moral chaos in the gruesome story of the Levite and his concubine, which threatens to destroy the unity of Israel by causing civil war and the near cutting-off of the Benjaminites.
2. Lack of godly leadership.
The chaos in Judges is attributed to the fact there is no king; 'everyone did as they saw fit' (Judges 21:25).
The people in 1 Samuel demand a king. As Samuel presents Saul to them, he gives them a solemn warning:
'if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God- good! But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against His commands, His hand will be against you.' (1 Sam 12:14-15)
No sooner is Saul declared king than he goes against God's Word and offers up the burnt offering himself instead of waiting for Samuel, the priest. Samuel tells him that because of this his kingdom will not ensure and God has sought out 'a man after his own heart' (1 Sam 13:14). Saul repeatedly tries to do things his own way, instead of obeying God. In the rest of 1 Samuel, we see his deterioration into madness, paranoia and murderous thoughts towards David, despite David's righteous conduct and refusal to touch the Lord's anointed (see 1 Sam 24).
When David finally becomes king, and he is the best of the kings, he commits adultery and murder in a terrible sequence of events (2 Sam 11).
The majority of the kings in 1 & 2 Kings commit terrible acts in the eyes of the Lord, and lead the whole nation into apostasy. Ahab, king of Israel, did more evil than all before him (1 Kings 16:30). He and his wife Jezebel persecute Elijah and install Baal worship as the norm. Even after the glorious display of God's power at Mt Carmel, they remain unchanged.
3. Ignoring the Prophets.
Not only does the dramatic revelation of the reality of God as Lord leave Ahab unmoved, but repeatedly he is shown to ignore and despise God's prophets.
In one incident, a prophet comes to tell him that God will give him victory over Ben-Hadad (King of Aram), and Ahab decides to let the king go. In another incident, Ahab desires Naboth's vineyard (which, according to the distribution of the land and to the inheritance laws, he had no right to claim), and allows Jezebel to have Naboth killed so that he can seize it. Elijah comes to rebuke him for this dreadful action, and Ahab greets the prophet by calling him his 'enemy' (1 Kings 21:20). God says through Elijah 'you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin' (1 Kings 21:22), and the incredible thing is that Ahab does then humble himself. In great mercy, God decides to bring disaster upon Ahab's son instead of Ahab himself.
And yet how much has Ahab really changed? Not much it seems, because when the godly king Jehoshaphat of Judah comes to help him against the king of Aram, Jehoshaphat insists upon seeking counsel from a 'prophet of the Lord', not just a phoney prophet who says whatever the king wants to hear. Ahab acknowledges that there is a true prophet, but he hates him because he never prophesies anything good about him (1 Kings 22:8). Jehoshaphat's reply 'The king should not say such a thing' highlights how wrong Ahab's attitude is towards the prophets and thus towards God, as the prophets speak God's Word to him.
4. Forgetting the Law.
In Josiah king of Judah's day, the Book of the Law is found as they repair the temple. This is a sad indication of how God's Word has been forgotten over the reigns of so many godless kings. Josiah is a great reformer, but he recognises that it is too late: they stand under God's wrath for disobeying His commands (2 Kings 22:13), which the prophet Huldah confirms.
5. Lack of godly parenting.
'Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen... Teach them to your children and to their children after them.' Deut 4:9
Closely linked to the people forgetting the Law is the fact that parents were not training their children in the ways of the Lord, and this is why there was so much moral chaos and apostasy.
Even the God-fearing men were at fault here: Eli was challenged by God ('why do you honour your sons more than Me?' 1 Sam 2:29) and David did not have effective control of his family- the incident of Amnon raping his half-sister Tamar, and David's lack of decisive action to intervene which causes Absalom to act in bloody vengeance, is a prime example of this (2 Sam 13).
6. God keeps His covenant promise.
God had made it clear that if Israel were not obedient, He would send them into exile. That is why the exile happened.
'Therefore the Lord rejected all the people of Israel; He afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers, until He thrust them from His presence.' 2 Kings 17:20
And yet, in all of this, there is hope in God's grace. Not all the kings were bad (Josiah and Hezekiah stand out as really godly leaders), and Isaiah prophesies the future fall of Sennacherib (king of Assyria) in 2 Kings 19, and reminds the people that God is in control:
'Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass.' v25
1. Rebellion against the Lord.
This began even as Moses led them out of Egypt: 'the whole community grumbled' (Ex 16:2). They spent 40 years in the wilderness because of this!
At the end of the book of Joshua, he gives the people a strong reminder that they need to obey the Law (Josh 23:6). If they fail, the consequence will be exile:
'If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods... the Lord's anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land He has given you.' (Josh 23:16).
During the time of the Judges, as Joshua's generation dies, 'another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what He had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals.' (Judges 2:10-11). Consequently, they were routed by their enemies and God raised up Judges to save them. 'Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshipped them.' (Judges 2:17)
Even the Judges themselves were dubious heroes; Gideon lacked decisive faith and made a golden ephod which became a snare to Israel, Jephthah made a rash vow which resulted in him killing his own daughter, and Samson's life was full of compromise instead of being a true Nazirite.
The ending of the book shows moral chaos in the gruesome story of the Levite and his concubine, which threatens to destroy the unity of Israel by causing civil war and the near cutting-off of the Benjaminites.
2. Lack of godly leadership.
The chaos in Judges is attributed to the fact there is no king; 'everyone did as they saw fit' (Judges 21:25).
The people in 1 Samuel demand a king. As Samuel presents Saul to them, he gives them a solemn warning:
'if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God- good! But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against His commands, His hand will be against you.' (1 Sam 12:14-15)
No sooner is Saul declared king than he goes against God's Word and offers up the burnt offering himself instead of waiting for Samuel, the priest. Samuel tells him that because of this his kingdom will not ensure and God has sought out 'a man after his own heart' (1 Sam 13:14). Saul repeatedly tries to do things his own way, instead of obeying God. In the rest of 1 Samuel, we see his deterioration into madness, paranoia and murderous thoughts towards David, despite David's righteous conduct and refusal to touch the Lord's anointed (see 1 Sam 24).
When David finally becomes king, and he is the best of the kings, he commits adultery and murder in a terrible sequence of events (2 Sam 11).
The majority of the kings in 1 & 2 Kings commit terrible acts in the eyes of the Lord, and lead the whole nation into apostasy. Ahab, king of Israel, did more evil than all before him (1 Kings 16:30). He and his wife Jezebel persecute Elijah and install Baal worship as the norm. Even after the glorious display of God's power at Mt Carmel, they remain unchanged.
3. Ignoring the Prophets.
Not only does the dramatic revelation of the reality of God as Lord leave Ahab unmoved, but repeatedly he is shown to ignore and despise God's prophets.
In one incident, a prophet comes to tell him that God will give him victory over Ben-Hadad (King of Aram), and Ahab decides to let the king go. In another incident, Ahab desires Naboth's vineyard (which, according to the distribution of the land and to the inheritance laws, he had no right to claim), and allows Jezebel to have Naboth killed so that he can seize it. Elijah comes to rebuke him for this dreadful action, and Ahab greets the prophet by calling him his 'enemy' (1 Kings 21:20). God says through Elijah 'you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin' (1 Kings 21:22), and the incredible thing is that Ahab does then humble himself. In great mercy, God decides to bring disaster upon Ahab's son instead of Ahab himself.
And yet how much has Ahab really changed? Not much it seems, because when the godly king Jehoshaphat of Judah comes to help him against the king of Aram, Jehoshaphat insists upon seeking counsel from a 'prophet of the Lord', not just a phoney prophet who says whatever the king wants to hear. Ahab acknowledges that there is a true prophet, but he hates him because he never prophesies anything good about him (1 Kings 22:8). Jehoshaphat's reply 'The king should not say such a thing' highlights how wrong Ahab's attitude is towards the prophets and thus towards God, as the prophets speak God's Word to him.
4. Forgetting the Law.
In Josiah king of Judah's day, the Book of the Law is found as they repair the temple. This is a sad indication of how God's Word has been forgotten over the reigns of so many godless kings. Josiah is a great reformer, but he recognises that it is too late: they stand under God's wrath for disobeying His commands (2 Kings 22:13), which the prophet Huldah confirms.
5. Lack of godly parenting.
'Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen... Teach them to your children and to their children after them.' Deut 4:9
Closely linked to the people forgetting the Law is the fact that parents were not training their children in the ways of the Lord, and this is why there was so much moral chaos and apostasy.
Even the God-fearing men were at fault here: Eli was challenged by God ('why do you honour your sons more than Me?' 1 Sam 2:29) and David did not have effective control of his family- the incident of Amnon raping his half-sister Tamar, and David's lack of decisive action to intervene which causes Absalom to act in bloody vengeance, is a prime example of this (2 Sam 13).
6. God keeps His covenant promise.
God had made it clear that if Israel were not obedient, He would send them into exile. That is why the exile happened.
'Therefore the Lord rejected all the people of Israel; He afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers, until He thrust them from His presence.' 2 Kings 17:20
And yet, in all of this, there is hope in God's grace. Not all the kings were bad (Josiah and Hezekiah stand out as really godly leaders), and Isaiah prophesies the future fall of Sennacherib (king of Assyria) in 2 Kings 19, and reminds the people that God is in control:
'Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass.' v25
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