Jeremiah 52:12-23
12 Now in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 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. 14 And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls of Jerusalem all around. 15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poor people, the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors 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 poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers.
17 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 all their bronze to Babylon. 18 They also took away the pots, the shovels, the trimmers, the bowls, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils with which the priests ministered. 19 The basins, the firepans, the bowls, the pots, the lampstands, the spoons, and the cups, whatever was solid gold and whatever was solid silver, the captain of the guard took away. 20 The two pillars, one Sea, the twelve bronze bulls which were under it, and the carts, which King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD—the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. 21 Now concerning the pillars: the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, a measuring line of twelve cubits could measure its circumference, and its thickness was four fingers; it was hollow. 22 A capital of bronze was on it; and the height of one capital was five cubits, with a network and pomegranates all around the capital, all of bronze. The second pillar, with pomegranates was the same. 23 There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates, all around on the network, were one hundred.
Jerusalem and the house supposed to be God’s were plundered and burned by the invaders brought by the LORD in judgment on God’s people for misusing the temple with idols and divided hearts of worship. The captain of the Babylonian guard, Nebuzaradan, came as the arm of the king of Babylon who was in the hand of God’s vengeance. He burned the house of the LORD and all the others built by Solomon for the worship and glory of God’s grace in holiness, but which had become abominable by the idolatry and immortality of the people who misused their calling and stopped serving their God in the beauty of holiness (1 Chronicles 16:29, Psalm 96:9). God took it all away to Babylon. All the hard work of the gifted artisans who built the elaborate temple according to the heavenly plan given to king David and followed by his son Solomon was deconstructed and carried off for the value of the metals alone. The true value of spiritual service of worship was lost. All was taken apart, cut into pieces, and hauled off as material treasure to a godless land of idolatry to point out what the people of God had done themselves. Only a few poor people of the LORD were left around the ruins of what once was the center of worship and glory by His chosen people. This is a stark warning of the damage continued and unrepentant sin can do to a people and their place of worship. Our true place of worship is the temple of our bodies in which the Lord now lives (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, 3:16-17, 2 Corinthians 6:16, 7:1); dare we desecrate these with immortality and idolatry? Do we live in and excuse damaging sin which turns our hearts away from Him? May we read and take heed accordingly that our temples are not misused and plundered by God’s hand. Amen.
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