The Fall And Captivity of Judah

The Fall And Captivity Of Judah 

II Kings 25:1-4 NKJV

[1] Now it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. [2] So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. [3] By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. [4] Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled at night by way of the gate between two walls, which was by the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were still encamped all around against the city. And the king went by way of the plain. 

The Prophet Ezekiel in Ezek.12:13 had prophesied the end of Judah. Of course no one took him seriously. Now the drama unfolds exactly as it was prophesied. For almost two years, Judah held ground against the Babylonians. David Guzik reports that " Nebuchadnezzar used the common method of attack in those days of securely walled cities – a siege wall. A siege was intended to surround a city, prevent all business and trade from entering or leaving the city, and to eventually starve the population into surrender". Albert Barnes adds that, " Its calamities - famine, pestilence, and intense suffering - are best understood from the Lamentations of Jeremiah, written probably almost immediately after the capture". Don't let the enemy lay siege and starve you out of God's protection. Cry out to out for help. 

    The planned secret break by Zedekiah ended in a fiasco and the King was captured in the plains of Jericho. Would his capture at the plains suggest that their cup had come full circle? It was from Jericho that Israel began to occupy the land of promise. Dilday says, " Here, where Israel experienced her first victory as the walls of Jericho fell before unarmed men who trusted God, was the scene of her last defeat.” 

    Before they put out Zedekiah's eyes, his children were executed. What a picture to live with for refusing God's help. Ezekiel had prophesied this. Ezek.12:13. Wiseman concludes this gory tale, " If Zedekiah had heeded the prophet’s word, he would have saved both Jerusalem and himself (Jer 38:14-28), for he was to die in Babylon (Ezk 12:14).” There's a time to head the warnings. The time is now. Don't wait till its too late. Good morning.