November 9th, 2025: Jerusalem's Fall | 2 Kings 24:18-20, 2 Kings 25:1-9

2 Kings 24:18-20

During the final days of the nation of Judah, before it was crushed and burned by the armies of Babylon, King Mattaniah, who was renamed by Nebuchadnezzar Zedekiah, sat on the throne in Jerusalem.  Long gone was the abundance of a land flowing with milk and honey; compromise and looting had cheapened and sullied Solomon’s temple, and the great armies created by King David were a distant memory.  Long-time enemies, the Syrians, the Moabites, and the Amorites, had joined with the Babylonians during the first incursion, taking advantage of the opportunity to humble and hurt their longtime rivals.  The nation of Judah was hungry, their enemies had surrounded them, and attempts by previous kings to side with Egypt against the rising empire of Babylon had brought punishing restrictions and humiliations.  Only Jahoichin, and all the ones who had already willingly surrendered and entered into captivity as Jeremiah had advised, were doing reasonably well.  

God had not changed; He had kept every word of His covenant.  He had shown mercy countless times.  He had forgiven, warned, and rescued the nation every time they had repented.  However, the people had not changed either, temporary revivals had historically brought them miraculous deliverance, but the overall trajectory historically had been for them to reject God over and over again and to worship the idols that suited their own wicked desires and condoned their most blasphemous actions.  God’s line in the sand had been drawn.

Psalm 9:17

The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

18 Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

Hamutal was married to King Josiah, and two of her sons had been King for just a short time. In one woman’s lifetime, the nation had experienced peace and revival while her husband lived, and then defeat and destruction after he was killed in battle. God’s timeline doesn’t move along according to our understanding, there are long periods of waiting requiring great faith, and also rapid, world-altering change that can happen in an instant.  Much of the scripture advises believers to keep themselves ready, and in good relationship with their Creator, because God alone is eternally trustworthy, and we can draw courage and protection from Him in times of great upheaval.

19 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

20 For through the anger of the Lord it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Jehoiakim and Zedekiah were nationalistic, putting on a brave front and rebelling against Nebuchadnezzar, but they had forgotten where their nation’s strength had come from.  Instead of calling out to God in repentance, they lead their people further into sinning against God.  They ignored the warnings of God’s prophets and leaned on their own understanding with horrible results.  

If you are a Christian, please recognize that your first citizenship and your greatest loyalty are to Christ the King, and to your home in Heaven.  While patriotism is honorable, following political leaders blindly is sinful.  Peter and John were commanded to stop preaching in the name of Jesus by the political powers in their city, and this was Peter’s response:

Acts 5:29

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

2 Kings 25: 1-9

1 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.

2 And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.

For the greater part of three years the city of Jerusalem was surrounded.  None of the false gods that they had turned to, or the nations that they had made alliances with against the commandment of God came to their rescue.  Their enemies were the strongest army on the face of the earth, and they did not turn to God for help.  They had rejected the Lord of Hosts, who loved them, and they were no match for those who hated them.  

3 And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.

4 And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain.

5 And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.

Starvation had caused the soldiers of Judah to desert and try to escape by night, but they were followed and all were killed or captured.  The walls were breached by the Babylonians, the terrified citizens of Jerusalem experienced all the horrors that the prophets had predicted.  

6 So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him.

7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

Ezekiel had predicted the fate of Zedekiah and his sons.  Charged with rebellion, Zedekiah’s eyes were gouged out after he had to watch his sons brutally murdered.  He was led away in chains to a foreign land, powerless, sightless, and broken-hearted.  

God had promised that he would build King David’s house, and now, on the surface, it looked like the line to the Messiah was broken and the promise of God would not be fulfilled.  However, King Zedekiah was an uncle of the last king and not his son.  God preserved the line of David even during the seventy years that the nation was in ruins. 

The genealogies of Matthew and of Luke are a testament to the faithful provision of God.  Despite our sin, despite our self-destructive behavior, and despite our lack of gratitude, God’s will is still accomplished; His love for the whole nation of Israel continues, and His hand is seen throughout the captivity and afterward, and for all of eternity.  

8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:

9 And he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire.

Can you imagine the horror of watching the temple burn? They had been told by false prophets that they would be safe because the temple was there, and now all their hope in those lying promises was rising in a cloud of smoke.  All their houses were burned, the king was gone, and the people were being slaughtered.  Yet, the God who met with them in the temple went ahead of them into Babylon. “The Earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.”  They would find God when they repented, even in a strange land. God would speak to them through Daniel and Esther, keeping them for generations until it was time to bring them home and restore their land.  When there seemed to be no way, God was the way.  

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” At the cross of Calvary, I’m sure those who were witnesses were filled with the same sense of horror and hopelessness that they had felt at the burning of the temple.  But three days later… They found that God was ahead of them again, rising from an empty tomb, their champion proved that in the darkest defeat, God is our Champion, our Salvation, and He always keeps His promises. 

Despite our sin, despite our ingratitude, and despite our self-destructive decisions, God loves us and has extended His grace and mercy towards us.  If you’re distressed today, remember that you are not out of His reach.  Call out to God, Trust in His Promises, and rest in the fact that He has gone before you into whatever situation you are facing.  

Acts 7:48-49

Howbeit, the most high dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet. Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool: what house will you build me? Saith the lord: or what is the place of my rest?  Hath not my hands made all these things?

Thank you for studying with us! God bless!