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Speaker 1: I'm John Stanghy, and today we're in Second King's Chapter
Speaker 1: twenty five and we'll be reading from the New Living Translation.
Speaker 1: So on January fifteenth, during the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign,
Speaker 1: King Nebeconezer of Babylon led his entire army against Jerusalem.
Speaker 1: They surrounded the city and built siege ramps against its walls.
Speaker 1: Jerusalem was kept under siege until the eleventh year of
Speaker 1: King Zedekiah's reign. By July eighteenth, in the eleventh year
Speaker 1: of Zedekiah's reign, the famine in the city had become
Speaker 1: very severe and the last of the food was entirely gone.
Speaker 1: Then a second of the city wall was broken down.
Speaker 1: Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians, the soldiers
Speaker 1: waited for nightfall and escaped through the gate between the
Speaker 1: two walls behind the King's garden. Then they headed toward
Speaker 1: the Jordan Valley, but the Babylonian troops chased the king
Speaker 1: and overtook him on the plains of Jericho, for his
Speaker 1: men had all deserted him and scattered. They captured the
Speaker 1: king and took him to the King of Babylon at Ribla,
Speaker 1: where they pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah. They made Zedekiah watch
Speaker 1: as they slaughtered his sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah's eyes,
Speaker 1: bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.
Speaker 1: On August fourteenth of that year, which was the nineteenth
Speaker 1: year of King Nebeconezer's reign, nebu Zardan, the captain of
Speaker 1: the Guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived
Speaker 1: in Jerusalem. He burned down the Temple of the Lord,
Speaker 1: the royal Palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He
Speaker 1: destroyed all the important buildings in the city. Then he
Speaker 1: supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the
Speaker 1: walls of Jerusalem on every side. Then nebu Zardan, the
Speaker 1: Captain of the Guard, took as exiles the rest of
Speaker 1: the people who remained in the city, the defectors who
Speaker 1: had declared their allegiance to the King of Babylon, and
Speaker 1: the rest of the population. But the Captain of the
Speaker 1: Guard allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind
Speaker 1: to care for the vineyards and fields. The Babylonians broke
Speaker 1: up the bronze pillars in front of the Lord's temple,
Speaker 1: the bronze water carts, and the great bronze basin called
Speaker 1: the sea, and they carried all the bronze away to Babylon.
Speaker 1: They also took all all the ash buckets, shovels, lamp snuffers, ladles,
Speaker 1: and all the other bronze articles used for making sacrifices
Speaker 1: at the temple. The captain of the Guard also took
Speaker 1: the incense burners and basins, and all the other articles
Speaker 1: made of pure gold or silver. The weight of the
Speaker 1: bronze from the two pillars, the sea, and the water
Speaker 1: carts was too great to be measured. These things had
Speaker 1: been made for the Lord's temple in the days of Solomon.
Speaker 1: Each of the pillars was twenty seven feet tall. The
Speaker 1: bronze capital on top of each pillar was seven and
Speaker 1: a half feet high and was decorated with a network
Speaker 1: of bronze pomegranates all the way around Nebuzaradan. The captain
Speaker 1: of the Guard took with him as prisoners Soriyah, the
Speaker 1: high priest Zephaniah, the priest of the second rank, and
Speaker 1: the three chief gate keepers, and from among the people
Speaker 1: still hiding in the city. He took an officer who
Speaker 1: had been in charge of the Judaean army, five of
Speaker 1: the king's personal advisers, the army commander's chief secretary who
Speaker 1: was in charge of recruitment, and sixty other citizens. Nebu Zaradan,
Speaker 1: the captain of the guard, took them all to the
Speaker 1: King of Babylon at Ribla, and there at Riblah in
Speaker 1: the land of Hamath, the King of Babylon had them
Speaker 1: all put to death, so the people of Judah were
Speaker 1: sent into exile from their land. Then King Nebekinezer appointed Ghedalayah,
Speaker 1: son of Ahikam and grandson of Saifan, as governor over
Speaker 1: the people he had left in Judah. When all the
Speaker 1: army commanders and their men learned that the King of
Speaker 1: Babylon had appointed Ghedalaiya as governor, they went to see
Speaker 1: him at Mizpah. These included Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johannan,
Speaker 1: son of Karea, Sayah, son of Tanhumeth, the Aetophithite, Jesseniah,
Speaker 1: son of the Macathite and all their men. Get Eliah
Speaker 1: vowed to them that the Babylonian officials meant them no harm.
Speaker 1: Don't be afraid of them. Live in the land and
Speaker 1: serve the King of Babylon, and all will go well
Speaker 1: for you, he promised. But in mid autumn of that year, Ishmael,
Speaker 1: son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishima, who was a
Speaker 1: member of the royal family, went to Mizpah with ten
Speaker 1: men and killed Gheed Alayah. He also killed all the
Speaker 1: Judaeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah. Then
Speaker 1: all the people of Judah from the least to the greatest,
Speaker 1: as well as the army commanders, fled in panic to Egypt,
Speaker 1: for they were afraid of what the Babylonians would do
Speaker 1: to them. In the thirty seventh year of the exile
Speaker 1: of King Jehoiachin of Judah, Evil Merodak ascended to the
Speaker 1: Babylonian throne. He was kind to Jehoiachin and released him
Speaker 1: from prison on April second of that year. He spoke
Speaker 1: kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a higher place than
Speaker 1: all the other exiled kings in Babylon. He supplied Jehoiachin
Speaker 1: with new clothes to replace his prison garb, and allowed
Speaker 1: him to dine in the king's presence for the rest
Speaker 1: of his life. So the king gave him a regular
Speaker 1: food allowance as long as he lived. Let's pray, Lord,
Speaker 1: we thank you for your word, and we thank you
Speaker 1: for the privilege of being able to look at it today.
Speaker 1: And Lord, as we look at this portion of scripture,
Speaker 1: we can see that the judgment that you had pronounced
Speaker 1: on the people of Judah was coming to pass, and
Speaker 1: they were judged severely, but they weren't judged without hope.
Speaker 1: There was still hope for the future of the people.
Speaker 1: And we know Lord that just as you had promised
Speaker 1: back in the Book of Genesis that you were going
Speaker 1: to send one who would be the old king who
Speaker 1: would reign on the throne of David, the one who
Speaker 1: would come is the seed of the woman who would
Speaker 1: reverse the curse that had come upon mankind because of
Speaker 1: our sin, your son Jesus Christ. So we're grateful, Lord
Speaker 1: that when we look through portions of scripture like this,
Speaker 1: we can do so knowing that ultimately, even when we're
Speaker 1: reading things that are dark and discouraging. We have the
Speaker 1: encouragement of knowing that this will all be made right
Speaker 1: in Christ. We're grateful Lord that that's the perspective that
Speaker 1: you have granted us, and we pray that every single
Speaker 1: day that we live would be a day that our
Speaker 1: hearts would be flooded with hope because of our relationship
Speaker 1: with your son and because of the knowledge of what
Speaker 1: he has done and what he has promised that he
Speaker 1: will yet do. Lord, we love you, and we're grateful
Speaker 1: for your presence with us today, and we commit this
Speaker 1: day to your care and pray this all in Jesus's name. Amen.