April 12, 2025, 2 Kings 25:1-21
April 12, 2025, 2 Kings 25:1-21
25 And in
the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the
month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against
Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around
it. 2 So the city was besieged till the eleventh
year of King Zedekiah. 3 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. 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, by the king's garden, and the Chaldeans were
around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah. 5 But
the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of
Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 6 Then
they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon
at Riblah, and they passed sentence on him. 7 They
slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of
Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon.
8 In the
fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—that was the nineteenth year
of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the
bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 And
he burned the house of the Lord and
the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned
down. 10 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who
were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around
Jerusalem. 11 And the rest of the people who were
left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon,
together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard
carried into exile. 12 But the captain of the guard
left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.
13 And the
pillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the
bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord,
the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 And
they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the dishes for
incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service, 15 the
fire pans also and the bowls. What was of gold the captain of the guard took
away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. 16 As
for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the
house of the Lord, the
bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. 17 The
height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and on it was a capital of
bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits. A latticework and
pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar
had the same, with the latticework.
18 And the
captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the
second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; 19 and
from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war,
and five men of the king's council who were found in the city; and the
secretary of the commander 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 And
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of
Babylon at Riblah. 21 And the king of Babylon
struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of
Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.
We see Babylon’s
reputation for cruelty at work here with the way they took over Jerusalem. Thinking about Babylon’s bad reputation
throughout the world and throughout all of history made me realize that a bad
reputation lasts forever in this world.
I’m so thankful that the sins I commit are washed by the blood of Jesus
and God doesn’t hold them against me.
But, the world doesn’t forget the things we do. Since we represent Christ in this world, we
need to be careful how we treat people and the reputation we carry as it is
attached to Jesus as well.
If you don’t have the
assurance that Jesus has washed away your sins, if you haven’t asked Jesus to
forgive you and to come and take over your life, please contact me at
918-344-5656 by calling or by text. I
would love to help you give your life to Jesus.
What better time to give your heart to Jesus than the week leading up to
His resurrection.
If you have friends or
family who don’t know Him, this is a great time to share Him with them.
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