Zedekiah… became king of Judah, and he… rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia… King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia made Gedaliah… governor of Judah, and placed him in charge… Ishmael, …a member of the royal family, went to Mizpah with ten men, attacked Gedaliah, and killed him. …Then all the Israelites, rich and poor alike, together with the army officers, left and went to Egypt, because they were afraid of the Babylonians.
A people who refused to submit to human authority (Jeremiah 43:1-7). Such a people is also incapable of submitting to God (1 John 4:20)..
While Zedekiah was looking on, his sons were put to death; then Nebuchadnezzar had Zedekiah’s eyes put out, placed him in chains, and took him to Babylon.
Well merited. If only he could have learned to trust (Jeremiah 38:17)…
…Nebuzaradan, adviser to the king and commander of his army, entered Jerusalem. He burned down the Temple, the palace, and the houses of all the important people in Jerusalem, and his soldiers tore down the city walls.
The end of an era. The temple accomplished its purpose however (1 Corinthiens 3:16).
The Babylonians broke in pieces the bronze columns and the carts that were in the Temple, together with the large bronze tank, and they took all the bronze to Babylon.
May what I build endure, Father (Psalm 90:17; 1 Corinthiens 3:9-14).
…Jehoiachin was permitted to change from his prison clothes and to dine at the king’s table for the rest of his life. Each day, for as long as he lived, he was given a regular allowance for his needs.
A slim hope – but hope none the less. How the country has fallen from the heights of 1 Kings 10:14-29! If people could only see the end from the beginning…