2 Kings 25:27-30  In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Awel-Marduk became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. He did this on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month. He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table. Day by day the king gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance as long as he lived. (NIV)

—

“If you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” That’s what the old saying says. The northern kingdom of Israel didn’t tie a knot. They slipped away, forever gone. 

Judah persisted, but just barely. Here we see the knot. Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king. He was exiled not long after that. Here he is, a man in his mid 50s living out his days in unexpected luxury. 

For centuries, God warned his people, “Turn or burn.” They chose the burn. 

A person could reasonably ask, “Are the good times over for good?” This short paragraph reminds us that God can do more with embers than we can with a blaze. 

When God is in charge, and he always is, and when we are repentant, and we should always be, there is hope. Someone famously counted how many times the Bible says something like “do not be afraid,” and the total comes to 366. That’s one for every day of the year, including leap year. Someone else counted up those instances and said a big chunk of that 366 is duplicates. Either way you look at it, it’s way more than one or two. 

God tells us not to be afraid because He’s in charge here. It may look like the world’s going to hell in a handbasket, but He knows exactly what’s happening next. He knows precisely what the conclusion is, and it’s better than we can imagine. We’ve never had a dream that luxurious. We’ve never had a hope that good and enduring. 

Bad times come. And just like bad people, they don’t endure forever. Not if we entrust our hearts to Jesus. The worst thing that will ever happen to us here leads us into the best thing that will ever happen to us forever. The final word is a good, good word. 

I wonder what Jehoichin thought about during all those years in his cell. I wonder what he thought about during all those days, the rest of his days at the king’s table and in his private quarters. 

Our Father’s tender heart was preparing to redeem his people. The end of the story had not yet been written. New opportunities to hear and obey his words of truth and life were coming. How would they begin again more intelligently? Where would that lead? 

Sadly, the people returned and fell into sinful habits once again. Some of those sins were the same old sins, and some of them were of a new and equally problematic kind. Even then, God didn’t give up on them. He made a way where there was no way. He did what only He could do to bring about the possibility of life shaped by grace and truth. But that’s a story for another day. 

Just so you know, if you feel like you’re at the end of your rope, and if you turn your heart toward God for rescue, he ties the knot. And when God ties the knot, you will remain secure. 

There’s so much more to this story, and it’s a good one. You don’t even have to know how to tie knots. Jesus put it this way: 

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”
‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭28‬-‭29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We live in the grip of God’s grace. Whether you find yourself in a prison cell or at a king’s table today, this a point worth pondering. This is a truth worth celebrating. 

—

I will live in the grip of God’s grace.

—

Our Father, thank you that the maintenance of my salvation is not up to me. I can’t hold on to you well enough to endure forever; however, I don’t have to. You hold me, and you never get tired. You never get weak. No one can snatch me out of your hand. I belong to you. Hallelujah! Amen.