The Dwelling Place Bible Podcast for Busy Moms | Entrusted Ministries

What do we do when our children make choices that disappoint us? And how does understanding the incredible mercy we've received from God change the way we parent?

In this episode of The Dwelling Place Bible Podcast for Busy Moms, Stephanie Hickox finishes 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles as we continue through our chronological Bible reading plan. As Jerusalem falls, the temple is destroyed, and Judah is carried into exile, we see both the devastating consequences of sin and the astonishing mercy and sovereignty of God.

And even in the darkest chapters, Scripture points us toward hope: God's ultimate plan was never thwarted. He was preparing the way for the day when He would come to dwell with His people—not merely in a temple, but through Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with us.

Along the way, Stephanie draws a powerful parenting lesson from God's mercy: when we remember how much God has forgiven us, we're better equipped to respond to our children's failures with grace, patience, and faithful discipline.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• What happens when Judah finally experiences the judgment God has been warning about for generations
• Why the destruction of Jerusalem and Solomon's temple was so devastating
• How 2 Chronicles 36 reveals God's persistent compassion toward His people
• Why God's discipline doesn't mean His plans for His people have failed
• The remarkable mercy shown to Jehoiachin at the end of 2 Kings
• How remembering God's forgiveness can transform the way we discipline our children
• Why our children's failures can become opportunities to model grace rather than respond with impatience
• How God used even pagan kings like Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus to accomplish His sovereign purposes
• Why the 70-year exile fulfilled God's Word through Jeremiah
• How the ending of Chronicles points directly toward the coming of Christ
• What it means for God to truly dwell with His people
• Why the presence of God should be something our children see beautifully modeled in our everyday lives

When Your Child Disappoints You

One of the most personal parenting applications in this episode comes from the mercy shown to Jehoiachin.

After reading about the wickedness of Judah's kings, it's striking to see an undeserving king receive kindness and favor.

And it raises an important question for us as mothers:

How does remembering God's mercy toward us change the way we respond to our children's sin?

We know our children's behavior can be exhausting. Disobedience, selfishness, disrespect, bad decisions, and repeated failures can wear us down.

But we're not parenting perfect children.

And we're not perfect mothers.

When we regularly remember the depth of our own sin—and the depth of God's grace—we can discipline our children without forgetting that we, too, are recipients of radical mercy.

Grace doesn't mean ignoring sin or removing consequences.

It means correcting our children as people who desperately need the same Savior we do.

God's Discipline Doesn't Mean His Plans Have Failed

The destruction of Jerusalem could have looked like the end of God's promises.

The temple was destroyed.

The city was burned.

The people were exiled.

But God's purposes had not failed.

God's plans for His people cannot be thwarted by their sin, rebellion, or circumstances.

That's an important truth for Christian moms, especially when we look at our children's lives and don't see the spiritual growth we hoped for.

We faithfully teach.

We pray.

We correct.

We model repentance.

We point them toward Scripture.

But ultimately, God is the One who works in their hearts.

We can entrust our children to Him without pretending that their choices don't matter.

The Lord Has Always Desired to Dwell With His People

The destruction of the temple makes the title of this podcast especially meaningful.

Throughout Scripture, we have watched God make His dwelling place among His people:

• In the garden
• In the wilderness
• In the tabernacle
• In Solomon's temple
• And ultimately, in Christ

The temple was never the final destination.

The story was always moving toward Emmanuel—God with us.

And through Christ, we can now draw near to God.

That is the greatest treasure we can give our children—not a perfect home, a successful life, or comfortable circumstances, but a mother who genuinely walks with the Lord.

Our prayer should be that God's presence would be so beautiful in our lives that our children would want to walk with Him too.

Finishing 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles!

There's another reason this episode is special: we're finishing 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles!

If you've been following along with the chronological Bible reading plan, you've made it through another major portion of Scripture.

Together we've completed:

Job → Genesis → Exodus → Leviticus → Numbers → Deuteronomy → Joshua → Judges → Ruth → 1 Samuel → 2 Samuel → 1 Kings → 2 Kings → 1 Chronicles → 2 Chronicles → Proverbs → Ecclesiastes → Song of Solomon → Isaiah → Hosea → Amos → Obadiah → Jonah → Micah → Nahum → Zephaniah

And we're getting closer and closer to the New Testament—and to focusing our eyes on Jesus.

Bible Reading for This Episode

📖 2 Kings 24–25

📖 2 Chronicles 36

If you're following along with the Dwelling Place chronological Bible reading plan, read these chapters alongside today's episode as we continue seeing God's story unfold in its historical context.

Questions for Christian Moms to Consider

1. When my children disappoint me, do I respond primarily from frustration or from an awareness of God's mercy toward me?
2. How can remembering my own need for grace change the way I discipline?
3. Am I trusting God with the parts of my children's lives that I cannot control?
4. What does my everyday life communicate to my children about the value of God's presence?
5. Would my children describe my relationship with the Lord as something beautiful and desirable?
6. How can I intentionally model repentance, dependence, and worship in front of my children?

A Prayer for Moms

Lord, remind us of the mercy You have shown us when we become impatient with our families. Help us remember that we are recipients of grace and that we cannot take credit for the sanctifying work You are doing in our own lives.

Teach us to discipline our children faithfully while extending the same mercy we have received from You.

And above all, make Your presence beautiful in our homes. May our children see mothers who genuinely love Your Word, seek Your presence, repent when we fail, and delight in walking with You.

Thank You, Jesus, that You are Emmanuel—God with us.

Keep walking through Scripture with us: The Dwelling Place Bible Podcast for Busy Moms helps Christian moms read the Bible chronologically, understand Scripture in context, and discover how God's Word applies to everyday motherhood.

If you're looking for a Bible podcast for busy moms, chronological Bible reading plan, biblical parenting encouragement, Christian parenting wisdom, or help studying the Bible as a mom, this episode is part of an ongoing journey through the whole story of Scripture.

Because what moms do over and over matters to God.

Friend, you don't have to parent perfectly to parent faithfully. Keep bringing your children—and yourself—to the God who is perfectly faithful. Resources Mentioned:

• Entrusted With a Child's Heart
• The Again Podcast: Interview with Chris McKenna Part 1, Part 2
• Full-Circle Discipline Resources
• Journey Through the Bible

Commentaries Most Referenced: Moody Commentary, MacArthur Commentary

This is the Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox,

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in today's reading of Second Kings

twenty-four and twenty-five and

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Second Chronicles thirty-six, we'll

continue to uncover this idea of

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the Lord dwelling with His people

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And though it will be hundreds of years,

we can't help but set our sight On the

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God that will come to dwell with us,

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I apologize if my voice sounds a

little bit different and if some of the

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most recent episodes aren't as smooth

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a daily podcast can be a little bit tricky

when you're recovering from sickness

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all right, I have good news for you.

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Today, we are finally finishing the books

of Second Kings and Second Chronicles.

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So we'll turn back in our Bibles

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Continuing to go through our

chronological Bible reading plan, which

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helps us to read the stories in order,

in their context, but I'll admit

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there's a little bit of shuffling we

might be thankful to be done with.

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In fact, I thought it would be

kind of fun if we could go through

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and just say the names of the

books that we finished together

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And it might feel kinda corny

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but I wanna celebrate all that you've done

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So let's do it in callback style.

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I'll say the book of the Bible, and

then you're gonna proudly say the

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name after me Hey, the first book

of the Bible we finished was Job

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Then Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,

Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, First

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Samuel, Second Samuel, First Kings.

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. After today, Second

Kings, First Chronicles.

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After today, Second Chronicles, Proverbs,

Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah,

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Hosea, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum

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And Zephaniah

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And before you know it, we'll wrap up

those last books of the Old Testament

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and I can't even wait to start the

New Testament and to focus on Jesus.

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This Bible reading plan almost

feels like a pregnancy, doesn't it?

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how it takes nine to 10 months

before you actually have the

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arrival of the newborn king

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Let's open 2 Kings 24

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In verse one, we find an important detail.

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In his days Nebuchadnezzar king

of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim

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became his servant for three years.

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Then he turned and rebelled against him

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and the Lord sent against him bands

of the Chaldeans, and bands of the

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Syrians, and bands of the Moabites,

and bands of the Ammonites, and sent

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them against Judah to destroy it,

according to the word of the Lord that

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he spoke by his servants the prophets.

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Surely this came upon Judah at the command

of the Lord to remove them out of his

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sight for the sins of Manasseh according

to all that he had done, and also for

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the innocent blood that he had shed.

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For he filled Jerusalem with innocent

blood, and the Lord would not pardon.

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You would think that these smaller

nations around Judah, that they

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would rise up and align together

to try to protect themselves.

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Instead, and probably through God's

sovereignty, they turn against Judah

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and help the Babylonians defeat them

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At that time the servants of

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up

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to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.

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Do you remember how there were

really three waves of captivity?

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This is the first wave where he takes

Jehoiachin and his mother into Babylon

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But Nebuchadnezzar carries all of the

treasures of the house of the Lord

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and the treasures of the king's house,

and he cuts in pieces all the vessels

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of gold in the temple of the Lord

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even if you're not familiar with

Nebuchadnezzar from the Book

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of Daniel, you can clearly tell

here that he does not fear God

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at the conclusion of chapter 24,

Zedekiah is now on the throne,

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becoming king at 21 years old

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And the final verse, "For because

of the anger of the Lord, it came to

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the point in Jerusalem and Judah that

he cast them out from his presence.

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In 25, we have it confirmed what

we already knew, that Zedekiah

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rebelled against the king of Babylon

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Nebuchadnezzar and his army continue

to come against the city zedekiah

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His family and his men tried to escape,

but the Babylonians cut them off,

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capture them, and slaughter his sons

right in front of him before gouging

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out his eyes and carrying him into exile

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But the author of Kings gives

us more detail regarding the

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destruction of the temple.

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In twenty-five thirteen through seventeen,

" And the pillars of bronze that were in

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the house of the Lord, and the stands

and the bronze sea that were in the

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house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in

pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon.

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And they took away the pots and the

shovels and the snuffers and the dishes

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for incense, and all the vessels of

bronze used in the temple service,

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The firepans also and the bowls.

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What was of gold the captain of

the guard took away as gold, and

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what was of silver as silver.

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As for the two pillars, the one sea,

and the stands that Solomon had made

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for the house of the Lord, the bronze

of all these vessels was beyond weight.

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the height of the one pillar was eighteen

cubits, and on it was a capital of bronze.

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The height of the

capital was three cubits.

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A lattice work and pomegranates

all of bronze were all around the

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capital, and the second pillar

had the same with the lattice work

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All of the directions

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and the thoughtful care and effort

that the Lord had instructed

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them to create the temple.

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It's all destroyed now

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Let's just sit for a moment and try

to think about how devastating this

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destruction would have been To anyone who

still had a sliver of hope in the Lord

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And we know the coming

redemptive work of Jesus.

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But if we didn't it would seem to

us as well that all hope was lost.

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I can't tell you how many times in my

life I've wished I had a rewind button

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where I could go back and have a do-over.

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And I'm wondering how many of the

citizens of Jerusalem were wishing

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that they could go back and change

their prideful, wicked decisions

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the Lord may have allowed His city

to be destroyed, but His plans for

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His people will not be thwarted.

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He is still a good shepherd

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and even when it seems he is bringing

about great evil, he knows that this

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discipline is exactly what the nation

needs to humble and purify their hearts

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2 Kings ends with a merciful story

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of an undeserving man Receiving favor

from a king And that's certainly

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something you and I can relate to.

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In twenty-five twenty-seven, and

in the seventh year of the exile

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of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the

twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh

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day of the month, Evil-Merodach,

king of Babylon, in the year that

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he began to reign, graciously freed

Jehoiachin, king of Judah, from prison.

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And he spoke kindly to him and gave

him a seat above the seats of the

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kings who were with him in Babylon.

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So Jehoiachin put off his prison

garments, and every day of his life he

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dined regularly at the king's table.

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And for his allowance, a regular allowance

was given him by the king, according

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to his daily needs as long as he lived

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Okay.

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I hesitate to even bring this up, but

the one receiving this mercy is the one

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who, threw the Word of God into the fire

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I'm astounded by the mercy

that God allows him to receive

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and I'm equally astounded at the things

the Lord has forgiven me for in my life

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and it's this understanding has truly

transformed the way that I discipline, the

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way that I love and discipline my kids.

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When I can keep it fresh in my mind

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how far I have strayed from the Lord

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The sinful things I've done and the

righteous things I've failed to do

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I can have so much more grace and

patience with my kids as they're

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figuring it out for themselves

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, I hope that Josiah's son responded

righteously to this mercy that he

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was shown And I hope that he became

a man much more like his father

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And I'm thankful for every day that

the Lord gives me an opportunity

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to respond to his radical

transformative grace in my life

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How about you?

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Let's turn to 2 Chronicles 36

and find out what the chronicler

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decided to reveal to us.

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remember, this book was written after

the exile in an effort to encourage

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the people to rebuild the temple and

to continue to be faithful to the

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Lord in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah.

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So his perspective will be powerful

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but first, let's see what he says about

Zedekiah in eleven through sixteen.

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Zedekiah was twenty-one years old

when he began to reign, and he

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reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.

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He did what was evil in the

sight of the Lord his God.

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He did not humble himself before

Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke

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from the mouth of the Lord.

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He also rebelled against

King Nebuchadnezzar, who

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had made him swear by God.

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He stiffened his neck and hardened

his heart against turning to

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the Lord, the God of Israel.

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All the officers of the priests and

the people likewise were exceedingly

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unfaithful, following all the

abominations of the nations, and

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they polluted the house of the Lord

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that he had made holy in Jerusalem.

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The Lord, the God of their fathers,

sent persistently to them by his

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messengers because he had compassion on

his people and on his dwelling place.

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But they kept mocking the messengers

of God, despising his words, and

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scoffing at his prophets until the

wrath of the Lord rose against his

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people until there was no remedy

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Therefore, he brought up against them the

king of the Chaldeans, who killed their

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young men with the sword in the house of

their sanctuary, and had no compassion

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on young man or virgin, old man or aged.

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He gave them all into his hand, and all

the vessels of the house of God, great and

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small, and the treasures of the house of

the Lord, and the treasures of the king

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and of his princes, all these he brought

to Babylon, and they burned the house of

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God, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem,

and burned all its palaces with fire,

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and destroyed all its precious vessels.

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He took into exile in Babylon those who

had escaped from the sword, and they

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became servants to him and to his sons

until the establishment of the kingdom

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of Persia, to fulfill the word of the

Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until

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the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths.

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All the days that it lay desolate, it

kept Sabbath to fulfill seventy years.

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I want to remind you what an incredible

mathematician and God of order we serve.

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It has been four hundred and ninety years

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that Israel and Judah have had

kings, and during that entire time,

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they have not honored God's command

to give the land Sabbath rest

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We have a lot of scientific evidence

now about the health benefits,

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about the benefits of crop rotation

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And giving rest to the land.

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But this was yet another

area the people did not obey

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And so he takes them out

of the land for 70 years

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So his purposes for the

Promised Land can be honored

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And at the end of Chronicles,

we read about another king

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who doesn't know the Lord

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but is also used to

accomplish his purposes.

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Now in the first year of Cyrus king of

Persia, that the word of the Lord by the

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mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the

Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king

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of Persia, so that he made a proclamation

throughout all his kingdom, and also put

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it in writing, " Thus says Cyrus king

of Persia, ' The Lord, the God of heaven,

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has given me all the kingdoms of the

earth, And he has charged me to build him

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a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

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Whoever is among you of all his people,

may the Lord his God be with him.

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Let him go up.'"

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it's miraculous and astounding and

speaks to the never-ceasing sovereignty

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and power of the Lord that He uses

Cyrus, to be the one who builds a

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new temple for him in Jerusalem.

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It won't be a permanent institution

either but it will be used to unify

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Israel when they come back to their land

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And something that I found incredible

from my research is that Chronicles

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is the last book in the Hebrew Bible

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So in the Hebrew Bible, the

last line says May the Lord his

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God be with him; let him go up

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And in the first book of the New

Testament, Matthew introduces us To

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Jesus, who is God with us, Emmanuel

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We saw it in the garden

We saw it in the garden.

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We've seen it in the wilderness,

in the tabernacle, in the temple

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And we know what's coming

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Over and over, the Lord has made his

dwelling place with us there is a

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reason I gave this podcast that title.

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it isn't just a sweet little name

that also relates to our home life.

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It is the reality that I desperately want

for each of us That wherever you are,

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whatever you do, you would embrace the

presence of the Lord And walk with him?

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And that that reality would

be so beautiful to your kids

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That their hearts would fully

desire to follow in your footsteps

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next to you and the Lord

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Heavenly Father, we are astounded

by your mercy and your grace upon us

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We pray that when we get

impatient with our families,

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that you would lovingly remind us

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that you took the payment for our sin

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And that you are the Lord our

righteousness, and we cannot

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take credit for the sanctifying

work you're doing in us

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And we praise you, God, that you are a God

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that seeks to walk with us.

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we thank you that we can call to

you and that you will answer us.

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We thank you that when we seek you

with all our hearts, we will find you

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when we read about your power and your

majesty and your sovereignty, . It's

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nearly unfathomable that you would

also want to draw so near to us

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And we ask

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That we would live in light of this

revelation, and that our kids would

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be equally drawn to your presence

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Thank you, Jesus, that you are

Emmanuel And that we can find

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our dwelling place with you.

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It's in your name we pray, amen