Surely these things happened to Judah according to the Lord’s command, in order to remove them from his presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive.
2 Kings 24:3-4 (NIV)

As our chapter-a-day journey approaches the end of the book of Kings, the Great Story is approaching the end of the Kingdom Age. Human history itself is entering the Age of Empires. Just a few chapters ago, when King Hezekiah proudly showed the Babylonian envoys all of his vast wealth and treasure, the prophet Isaiah proclaimed that one day the Babylonians would steal all the treasure away, along with Hezekiah’s own descendants.

In today’s chapter, Isaiah’s prophetic words are fulfilled. The ascendant Babylonian Empire doesn’t initially destroy Jerusalem. Judah first became a vassal to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. In order to control Judah, Nebuchadnezzar took the royal family, the military, the educated, and the skilled people of Judah into live in exile in Babylon. It was a brilliant strategy. It depleted Judah of those most capable of building a rebellion against the empire and strengthened Babylon internally by gaining a significant population of highly skilled and educated people. Among the 10,000 of Judah’s best and brightest were Daniel and Ezekiel.

This exile is among the most important periods in the history of the Hebrew people and of the Great Story itself. In a real sense, exile is the predominant theme of the entire Great Story. From the third chapter of Genesis through the final chapters of Revelation, humanity is living in exile “east of Eden.” The exile of the Hebrews in Babylon is, therefore, an exile within an exile. It’s a defining moment in their story.

Just as humanity’s exile from Eden was the consequence of Adam and Eve’s sin, the narrator tells us that the Babylonian exile is the consequence of the sins of the Kingdom of Judah. He then specifically names the evils of Manasseh, especially the shedding of innocent blood. Manasseh’s repentance later in life couldn’t silence the innocent blood crying out to heaven.

This is a dark moment in the history of God’s people. The narrator of Kings has been leading readers to this moment from the very beginning. The book was likely written by one of the educated, best-and-brightest taken into exile in today’s chapter. The reason the book of Kings was written was to answer a question that all the Hebrew exiles were asking as they found themselves living as strangers in a strange land: “How did we end up here?”

The author makes it quite simple. Innocent blood was crying out. God responded exactly as He always said He would. And in the moment, things feel bleak and hopeless. However, there is hope hiding in today’s chapter if you have the eyes to see it.

Earlier this year, my local gathering of Jesus’ followers did a series of messages about individuals named in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1. Having delivered a few of those messages myself, I spent some time studying the list. Among those named is “Jeconiah” which was another name for Jehoiachin, the King in today’s chapter, whose rebellion against Babylon prompted the exile.

The road to Jesus runs straight through this exile.

In the quiet this morning, I couldn’t help but find hope in this connection.

Innocent blood crying out resulted in the exile of God’s people.
Innocent blood poured out will make way for their salvation.

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