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2 Kings 22-25
Judah Exiled
To Babylon
Psalm 57:1-5 Refuge in the Exalted God
1.“Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me, for my soul takes refuge in You. Yes, in the shadow of Your wings, I will take refuge, until disaster has passed.2.I cry out to God Most High, to God who accomplishes my requests for me.3.He will send from heaven, and save me, He rebukes the one who is pursuing me. Selah. God will send out His hesed/loyal love and His faithfulness.4.My soul is among lions. I lie among those who are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.5.Be exalted, God, above the heavens! Let Your glory be above all the earth!...”Observations
57:1.David pens another poem exalting God for delivering him yet again when chased by Saul. The setting is probably 1 Samuel 22, although it could be 1 Samuel 24. In any event the tune is "Don't Destroy", which was David's frequent request.
57:2-3.
God hears, and answers, and in His hesed/loyal love and covenant faithfulness, saves David and rebukes his enemies (Same song, umpteenth verse).
57:5.
David wants God's glory to be seen by all, a refrain repeated at the end of the Psalm, and as you'll see at the end of Joshua 4, God's macro purpose in saving His people.
Application
While awaiting the fulfillment of God's promises, you might attract an undue share of opposition. Call out to God, take refuge in Him, and look for how He will be loyal to you.
Prayer
God above the heavens who intervenes on earth, protect me and prosper me in the midst of my adversaries so Your glory might be displayed throughout the earth. Amen.
Proverbs 15:13-15 Affairs of the Heart
13.“A glad heart makes a cheerful face; but a sorrowful/wounded heart breaks the spirit.14.The heart of one who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.15.All the days of the afflicted are wretched, but one who has a good heart enjoys a continual feast.“Observation
15:13-15.Our heart is powerful; it affects our face, and mind, and belly. A rejoicing heart is grateful for what God has allowed, because it values what God values. In contrast a sorrowful heart didn't have things go its way, and can't be happy unless it gets its way. A wise/understanding heart, seeks God's ways to train it in the right direction, but a foolish heart stuffs folly into itself. As a result, a foolish heart hates life, but a good heart is happy all the day, feeding on the goodness of God.
Application
Train your heart to value God's values, and you'll be happy.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, You are good, and the giver of good, so I can daily rejoice in Your goodness. Thanks. Amen.
2Kings 22-25 Judah Exiled To Babylon
These final chapters of Kings record the events leading up to the Babylonian captivity of Judah, from which they will return 70 years later. The one bright spot is the revival under Josiah after he discovers a copy of the Law. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late, God's wrath had already been kindled.
2 Kings 22 Josiah Finds and Follows the Law
1.Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath.2.He did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, and walked in all the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.3.It happened in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan, the scribe, to the house of Yahweh, saying,4."Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may add up the money which is brought into the house of Yahweh, which the door keepers have gathered from the people.5.Let them give it to the workmen who have the oversight of the house of Yahweh; and let them give it to the workmen who are in the house of Yahweh, to repair the breaches of the house,6.to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons, and for buying timber and cut stone to repair the house.7.However there was no accounting made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand; for they dealt faithfully."8.Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the book of the law in the house of Yahweh." Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan, and he read it.10.Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, "Hilkiah the priest has delivered a book to me." Shaphan read it before the king.11.When the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he tore his clothes.12.The king commanded Hilkiah the priest...13."Go inquire of Yahweh for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found; for great is the wrath of Yahweh that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that which is written concerning us."14.So Hilkiah the priest...went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the second quarter); and they talked with her.15.She said to them, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me,16."Thus says Yahweh, ‘Behold, I will bring evil on this place, and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read.17. Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and it shall not be quenched.’"18.But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of Yahweh, thus you shall tell him, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: ‘Concerning the words which you have heard,19. because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before Yahweh, when you heard what I spoke against this place, and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and have torn your clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard you,’ says Yahweh.20.‘Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, neither shall your eyes see all the evil which I will bring on this place.’"’" They brought back this message to the king."Observations
22:1-10.In the eighth year of his reign, at the age of 16 Josiah began to seek Yahweh (2Chron 34:3) and starts purging Judah and Jerusalem of the high places and idols. Ten years later he begins to repair the temple and finds the Book of the Law, which no one had been paying any attention to (that explains a lot).
22:11-13.
When reading it, he sees the cause and effect relationship that between Israel's behavior and God's blessing and cursing (an observation that eludes many modern theologians).
22:14-20.
Through a prophetess, Huldah, God confirms Josiah's observation as accurate both by word and deed. Because of Josiah's humble and tender heart, God will spare him the destruction He is planning for Judah because of their rebellion. They will eventually reap it.
Application
If you don't like your consequences, change your causes, and reap blessing.
Prayer
God, may I be attentive and tender to Your word, and may it never be lost or gather dust during my life. Amen.
2 Kings 23 Josiah Cleans House and Nation
1.The king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.2.The king went up to the house of Yahweh, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of Yahweh.3.The king stood by the pillar, and made a covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and all his soul, to confirm the words of this covenant that were written in this book: and all the people stood to the covenant.4.The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, to bring out of the temple of Yahweh all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the host of the sky, and he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel.5.He put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of the sky.6.He brought out the Asherah from the house of Yahweh, outside of Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it to dust, and cast its dust on the graves of the common people.7.He broke down the houses of the sodomites, that were in the house of Yahweh, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.8.He brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba; and he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man’s left hand at the gate of the city.9.Nevertheless the priests of the high places didn’t come up to the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.10.He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.11.He took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of Yahweh, by the room of Nathan Melech the officer, who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.12.The king broke down the altars that were on the roof of the upper room of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Yahweh, and beat them down from there, and cast their dust into the brook Kidron.13.The king defiled the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mountain of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon.14.He broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the Asherim, and filled their places with the bones of men.15.Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and beat it to dust, and burned the Asherah.16.As Josiah turned himself, he spied the tombs that were there in the mountain; and he sent, and took the bones out of the tombs, and burned them on the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of Yahweh which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.17.Then he said, "What monument is that which I see?" The men of the city told him, "It is the tomb of the man of God, who came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that you have done against the altar of Bethel."18.He said, "Let him be! Let no man move his bones." So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria.19.All the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke Yahweh to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel.20.He killed all the priests of the high places that were there, on the altars, and burned men’s bones on them; and he returned to Jerusalem.21.The king commanded all the people, saying, "Keep the Passover to Yahweh your God, as it is written in this book of the covenant."22.Surely there was not kept such a Passover from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah;23.but in the eighteenth year of king Josiah was this Passover kept to Yahweh in Jerusalem.24.Moreover Josiah removed those who had familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of Yahweh.25.Like him was there no king before him, who turned to Yahweh with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.26.Notwithstanding, Yahweh didn’t turn from the fierceness of his great wrath, with which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocation with which Manasseh had provoked him.27.Yahweh said, "I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city which I have chosen, even Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.’"28.Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?29.In his days Pharaoh Necoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and Pharaoh Necoh killed him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.30.His servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. The people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father’s place.31.Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.32.He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that his fathers had done.33.Pharaoh Necoh put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a tribute of one hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold.34.Pharaoh Necoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim: but he took Jehoahaz away; and he came to Egypt, and died there.35.Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh: he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of everyone according to his taxation, to give it to Pharaoh Necoh.36.Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.37.He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that his fathers had done."Observations
23:1-3.Josiah reads the law to the people and they make a covenant to follow Yahweh as He specified, with all their heart and soul.
23:4-14.
They clean house and city, purging the land of idol worship, even destroying the high places that Solomon had built (somehow Uzziah missed them).
23:15-24.
During Josiah's reign Assyria was losing ascendancy to Babylon, and as a result Judah regained both freedom and territory from Assyrian rule. Josiah was able to go to Bethel in Israel's old territory and destroy the idolatrous worship there, burning bones on the altar, fulfilling the prophecy of the unnamed prophet who denounced Jeroboam, and then healed his withered hand (1Kg 13). Josiah reinstates the Passover, and seeks to cause Israel to live by the Book.
23:25-28.
Despite winning the title of the king who most turned to Yahweh, Josiah doesn't cause God to turn away His kindled wrath upon Judah. It's just a matter of time before it bursts into flame and they are consumed. Like with Israel at Kadesh-Barnea (Numbers 13), God had concluded that the people were more inclined to follow the ways of Manasseh than Josiah, as the future chapters demonstrate.
23:29-30.
Even the best of kings have their soft spots, and Josiah's got hit by an Egyptian arrow. He was sensitive to God's law, but failed to inquire about God's purposes when Pharaoh Neco went up to join with Assyria in resisting Babylon.
2 Chronicles 35:20 “After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him. 21 But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, "What have I to do with you, you king of Judah? I come not against you this day, but against the house with which I have war. God has commanded me to make haste. Beware that it is God who is with me, that he not destroy you." 22 Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and didn’t listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo. 23 The archers shot at king Josiah...and he died.”
23:31-37.
After Josiah's death Judah falls under Egyptian and then Babylonian control, and his sons rule, but they and the people fail to follow Josiah's reforms. God is totally just in fanning the fire kindled during Manasseh's reign.
Application
Being sensitive to God's word and Spirit will prevent us from reaching the flashpoint of God's wrath.
Prayer
God, I want to seek You with all my heart and soul, according to Your word, and with a sensitivity to Your Spirit; show me what I need to do, and I will do it. Amen.
2 Kings 24 Deported and Despoiled
1.In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.2.Yahweh sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by his servants the prophets.3.Surely at the commandment of Yahweh came this on Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did,4.and also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood: and Yahweh would not pardon.5.Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?6.So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers; and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.7.The king of Egypt didn’t come again out of his land any more; for the king of Babylon had taken, from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt.8.Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign; and he reigned in Jerusalem three months9.He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that his father had done.10.At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.11.Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it;12.and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.13.He carried out there all the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of Yahweh, as Yahweh had said.14.He carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none remained, except the poorest sort of the people of the land.15.He carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon; and the king’s mother, and the king’s wives, and his officers, and the chief men of the land, carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.16.All the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths one thousand, all of them strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.17.The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s father’s brother, king is his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.18.Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.19.He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.20.For through the anger of Yahweh, it happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon."
Observations
24:1-9.God sends multiple enemies against Judah to give them the promised and prophesied consequences of their sin. The people didn't embrace the reforms of Josiah, but followed the sins of Manasseh.
24:10-20.
In the first of three deportations, Nebuchadnezzar stops by, besieges the city, and carries off the treasures and all the good people, including Daniel and friends. He deposes Jehoiachin, and leaves Zedekiah in charge, who does evil in God's sight, and eventually rebels, which will bring more problems.
2 Kings 25 Going, Going, Gone
1.It happened in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it around it.2.So the city was besieged to the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.3.On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was severe in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.4.Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden (now the Chaldeans were against the city around it); and the king went by the way of the Arabah.5.But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.6.Then they took the king, and carried him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment on him.7.They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon.8.Now in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, to Jerusalem.9.He burnt the house of Yahweh, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burnt he with fire.10.All the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem.11.Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive the residue of the people who were left in the city, and those who fell away, who fell to the king of Babylon, and the residue of the multitude.12.But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to work the vineyards and fields.13.The Chaldeans broke up the pillars of brass that were in the house of Yahweh and the bases and the bronze sea that were in the house of Yahweh, and carried the brass pieces to Babylon.14.They took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the spoons, and all the vessels of brass with which they ministered.15.The captain of the guard took away the fire pans, the basins, that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver.16.The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases, which Solomon had made for the house of Yahweh, the brass of all these vessels was without weight.17.The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a capital of brass was on it; and the height of the capital was three cubits, with network and pomegranates on the capital around it, all of brass: and like to these had the second pillar with network.18.The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three door keepers:19.and out of the city he took an officer who was set over the men of war; and five men of those who saw the king’s face, who were found in the city; and the scribe, the captain of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the city.20.Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.21.The king of Babylon struck them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.22.As for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor.23.Now when all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men.24.Gedaliah swore to them and to their men, and said to them, "Don’t be afraid because of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you."25.But it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed came, and ten men with him, and struck Gedaliah, so that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldeans that were with him at Mizpah.26.All the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces, arose, and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.27.It happened in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;28.and he spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon,29.and changed his prison garments. Jehoiachin ate bread before him continually all the days of his life:30.and for his allowance, there was a continual allowance given him of the king, every day a portion, all the days of his life."
Observations
25:1-7.Nebuchadnezzar returns nine years later and lays siege again for a couple of years. The famine causes everyone in the city to flee, but Zedekiah is captured, sees his sons executed, is blinded, bound and carried off to Babylon.
25:8-21.
The Babylonians loot the city, take anyone who's except the poorest captive, kill any leadership, and burn the city. Jerusalem is gone.
Jeremiah 21:10 "For I have set my face on this city for evil, and not for good, says Yahweh: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire."
25:22-26.
Gedaliah is appointed governor, not king, of the remaining riffraff and when he is assassinated, everyone clears out to Egypt. No one is left, just like God said.
25:27-27.
After 37 years of captivity, Jehoiachin gets a reprieve from new Babylonian king Evilmerodach and is shown favor.
Lamentations 1:1 "How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave. 2 Bitterly she weeps at night, tears are on her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies. 3 After affliction and harsh labor, Judah has gone into exile. She dwells among the nations; she finds no resting place. All who pursue her have overtaken her in the midst of her distress. 4 The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to her appointed festivals. All her gateways are desolate, her priests groan, her young women grieve, and she is in bitter anguish. 5 Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. The LORD has brought her grief because of her many sins. Her children have gone into exile, captive before the foe. 6 All the glory has departed."
Application
God will always keep His covenantal promises; we will be cursed or blessed depending on whether or not we keep our covenantal obligations.
Prayer
God, You are totally trustworthy and faithful, and always do what You promised; drawing on Your grace, I will strive to be faithful and worthy of being blessed rather than cursed. Amen.
Digging Deeper
God in a nutshell: God will always keep His covenantal promises, if He can not bless, He will curse, as promised. Once His wrath is kindled, it is inevitable that destruction will follow, it's just a matter of time. He uses both good and evil individuals to accomplish His purposes. He will let even really good people reap negative consequences if they ignore His word and His will. After afflicting and punishing His people's sin, He may show them favor if they repent. He is to be feared.Us in a nutshell: We can enjoy peace in the midst of difficulty if we seek God with all our heart and soul. Being God's blessed people, does not exempt us from obedience. Even those who serve God wholeheartedly can become insensitive to His voice, if not careful. If we don't serve God, we will serve evil overlords. There is no middle ground.