2 Kings 25:1-21
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. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him. 6 So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they pronounced judgment on him. 7 Then they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, put out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon.
8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 He burned the house of the LORD and the king's house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire. 10 And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around.
11 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive the rest of the people who remained in the city and the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, with the rest of the multitude. 12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers. 13 The bronze pillars that were in the house of the LORD, and the carts and the bronze Sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried their bronze to Babylon. 14 They also took away the pots, the shovels, the trimmers, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils with which the priests ministered. 15 The firepans and the basins, the things of solid gold and solid silver, the captain of the guard took away. 16 The two pillars, one Sea, and the carts, which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. 17 The height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the capital on it was of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits, and the network and pomegranates all around the capital were all of bronze. The second pillar was the same, with a network.
18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers. 19 He also took out of the city an officer who had charge of the men of war, five men of the king's close associates who were found in the city, the chief recruiting officer 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 So Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, took these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive from its own land.
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, finally came against Jerusalem as God’s hand of judgment and recompense for the continued sins of idolatry and spiritual sedition as its leaders continued to lead the people of God away from their LORD. The enormous Babylonian force built a siege wall to trap the inhabitants and starve them out as they kept the assault going for well over a year. Starvation ensued and all hope was abandoned by the people and their leader until the attackers broke through. When the wall was breached, the king and his remaining fighters fled into the night. Zedekiah was caught and witnessed the killing of his sons before his eyes were put out so that would be his final visual memory of defeat before being carried away to Babylon. Then the house of the LORD, the king’s house, and all houses of the mighty men in Jerusalem were burned to the ground as adding finality to the defeat. The walls of the city were also leveled, leaving no stronghold to recover and resume the fight from. Only the poor were left behind. Of course, all the treasures of the temple and the king were taken out of the land as well, spoiled by war in judgment on those forsaking the LORD. The captivity was complete and many were killed, but a remnant was taken hostage as slaves to Babylon until the time was right for God’s restoration. We learn that the consequences of sin, of disobedience, disbelief, and the idolatry of putting other gods before the one God lead only to a final judgment. God desires all to repent and seek His face of grace and mercy in His deliverance, the Messiah-Christ who alone can pay sin’s price, trusting in His work and righteousness alone and following in willing and holy obedience after being enabled by His indwelling presence to do so. The alternative consequence is dire and certain, bit not just for a while in Babylon, but forever in eternity. Who would choose such a fate once their eyes and ears were opened? Trusting God’s work in Christ and receiving the reconciling grace is doing the work for deliverance as John 6:28-29 clearly reveals. Today is the acceptable time (Isaiah 49:8, 2 Corinthians 6:2) to avoid eternal captivity from the Fall.
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