In The Word
Read: Jeremiah 51:59-52:34
59 The command that Jeremiah the prophet gave Seraiah the son of Neriah, the grandson of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. (And Seraiah was quartermaster.) 60 Jeremiah wrote on a single scroll all the disaster which would come against Babylon, that is, all these words which have been written concerning Babylon. 61 Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “As soon as you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud, 62 and say, ‘You, Lord, have promised concerning this place to cut it off, so that there will be nothing living in it, whether man or animal; but it will be a permanent desolation.’ 63 And as soon as you finish reading this scroll, you shall tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates, 64 and say, ‘Just so shall Babylon sink down and not rise again, because of the disaster that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become exhausted.’” To this point are the words of Jeremiah.
The Fall of Jerusalem
52 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 2 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with everything that Jehoiakim had done. 3 For because of the anger of the Lord thiscame about in Jerusalem and Judah, until He drove them out from His presence. And Zedekiah revolted against the king of Babylon. 4 Now it came about in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it, and built a bulwark all around it. 5 So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 7 Then the city was breached, and all the warriors fled and left the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls which was by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah. 8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the desert plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 9 Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him. 10 And the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all the commanders of Judah in Riblah. 11 Then he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him with bronze shackles and brought him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day of his death.
12 Now on the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who was in the service of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 And he burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every large house he burned with fire. 14 So the entire army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard tore down all the walls around Jerusalem.15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.
17 Now the bronze pillars which belonged to the house of the Lord and the stands and the bronze sea, which were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans smashed to pieces and carried all their bronze to Babylon. 18 They also took the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the pans, and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service. 19 The captain of the guard also took the bowls, the firepans, the basins, the pots, the lampstands, the pans, and the drink offering bowls, whatever was fine gold, and whatever was fine silver. 20 The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. 21 As for the pillars, the height of each pillar waseighteen cubits, and it was twelve cubits in circumference and four fingers in thickness, and hollow. 22 Also, a capital of bronze was on top of it; and the height of each capital was five cubits, with latticework and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, including pomegranates. 23 There were ninety-six exposed pomegranates; all the pomegranates numbered a hundred on the latticework all around.
24 Then the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest, with the three officers of the temple. 25 He also took from the city one official who was overseer of the warriors, seven of the king’s advisers who were found in the city, the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men from the people of the land who were found inside the city. 26 Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was led into exile from its land.
28 These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar took into exile: in the seventh year 3,023 Jews; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 persons from Jerusalem; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took into exile 745 Jewish people; there were 4,600 people in all.
31 Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, showed favor to Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32 Then he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and had his meals in the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life. 34 And as his allowance, a regular allowance was given to him by the king of Babylon, a portion for each day, all the days of his life until the day of his death.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
The Book of Jeremiah comes to an end with the account of Babylon’s final siege against Jerusalem. The city was plundered and the holy articles were taken from the temple. The best of the people were deported to Babylon and the poorer, unskilled people were left to work the land.
God had repeatedly warned the Israelites that their capital city and nation would be destroyed unless they turned from sin, yet they continued in their wickedness and rebellion. Thus, they opened the door to being routed by the enemy, meaning they chose the terrible consequences. Had they remained faithful to God’s commands, then they would have prospered and lived in safety.
Sin is ruthless and wants to destroy every part of your life, and it will not relent. How can you shut the door and protect yourself from sin’s temptations and destruction? Obedience to God’s Word closes every doorway of access to our lives and makes it difficult for the enemy to find an entry point. But even one area of disobedience can be the entry point the devil uses to wreak havoc. Sadly, “The devil is more committed to attack than most [Christians] are to withstand him.” (Quote from Rick Renner) Once the enemy enters a person’s life through sin, he can then attack from an inside location.
Have you given the enemy access through repeated, unrepentant sin? You can shut the door today by confessing your sin, turning away from it, and recommitting yourself to complete obedience to God’s Word.