by Wesley Blackburn
Well, kids, it's time to turn out the lights because the party's over.
Jerusalem would now go through it's darkest moment up to this point in its history. The Babylonians have come in and absolutely destroyed the city of Jerusalem and really the entire country of Judea. They killed leaders, servants, just about anyone they could get their hands on, with only a few spared. Truly, Jerusalem was now in utter ruin and things were bad. "National tragedy" barely begins to explain what had just happened here.
And beyond this, the name of God was put to shame as well. It was kind of common for people to see wars on earth as a statement about the power of the gods of their nation. When an empire would grow in strength and power, it was because their gods were the strongest and the greatest. But on the flip side, when an empire would crumble, it was viewed as crumbling because their gods were not strong enough to save or fight off the opposing gods of other nations. Surely, to the entire known world, it seemed like Yahweh, the God of Israel and Judah, was gone. His name was, at the very least, put to shame.
But the fact is that long before, God's name had already been put to shame. In fact, over pretty much the entire existence of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, God's name had been continually put to shame. That was of no fault on God's part. That was the fault of His people. God is a God of grace, compassion, and mercy. He is a God who is full of justice. He is a God who cares about the rights and well being of the poorest and the least. That is God's identity, and that is the identity He wants for His people as well.
Yet, over the course of their history, God's people Israel had continually rejected this. They had oppressed the poor. Their government and nation was full of political and moral corruption. There was absolutely nothing about the nation of Israel that distinguished them as God's chosen and holy people at all. Yes, God's name was put to shame with the fall of Jerusalem for sure, but it was nothing different from what God's own people had been doing for centuries beforehand.
Remember the promise we talked about earlier this week with Solomon's temple? The promise was that if God's people would turn to Him and submit to Him that He would continue to bless them. But if they would turn away, destruction would surely come. This is exactly the case here. Chances are this probably isn't anything new to you, because maybe you've seen it in your own life. You flirted with sin for a long time, and then eventually the bottom fell out. I've seen it happen in my life time and time again when I turn from God's vision for me and for my life.
But even in the midst of this wreckage, there is still hope. God's people would be in exile for a while, but then they would get to come back to their homeland. God would restore them. God would eventually even send a Savior, Christ the Lord, to them. Let that be a lesson to us all; that even in the utter wreckage of our sin and the consequences that it brings, there is still hope. We only need to turn to God and do our best to serve Him wholeheartedly.
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