Immerse: Chronicles Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 114
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CHRONICLES
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Babylon at that time. And Nebuchadnezzar installed Jehoiachin’s uncle,
Zedekiah, as the next king in Judah and Jerusalem.
Zedekiah was t wenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned
in Jerusalem eleven years. But Zedekiah did what was evil in the sight of
the Lord his God, and he refused to humble himself when the prophet
Jeremiah spoke to him directly from the Lord. He also rebelled against
King Nebuchadnezzar, even though he had taken an oath of loyalty in
God’s name. Zedekiah was a hard and stubborn man, refusing to turn to
the Lord, the God of Israel.
Likewise, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and
more unfaithful. They followed all the pagan practices of the surrounding
nations, desecrating the Temple of the Lord that had been consecrated
in Jerusalem.
The Lord, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets
to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and his Temple. But
the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words.
They scoffed at the prophets until the Lord’s anger could no longer be
restrained and nothing could be done.
So the Lord brought the king of Babylon against them. The Babylonians
killed Judah’s young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They
had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women,
the old and the infirm. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnez
zar. The king took home to Babylon all the articles, large and small, used
in the Temple of God, and the treasures from both the Lord’s Temple and
from the palace of the king and his officials. Then his army burned the
Temple of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, burned all the palaces,
and completely destroyed everything of value. The few who survived were
taken as exiles to Babylon, and they became servants to the king and his
sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.
So the message of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The
land finally enjoyed its Sabbath rest, lying desolate until the seventy years
were fulfilled, just as the prophet had said.
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