2 Kings 25:18-21 – Let's be responsible and faithful

In 2 Kings 25:8-17, we saw how Jerusalem was plundered and looted. The temple, palace, and houses, both great and small were set on fire and destroyed. Solomon’s temple which was so magnificently built was dismantled. The Babylonians took away much bronze smelted from the pillars of the temple, the bronze stands of the sea and etc were taken back to Babylon. On top of that, they also took with them all the ecclesiastical accessories of bronze, silver, and gold.  

Second Kings 25:18-21 tell us that the captain of the guard Nebuchadnezzar’s army took with chief priest Seraiah, the deputy priest Zephaniah, three temple officers, and some key officials of the city and brought them to King Nebuchadnezzar. Besides the priests and the three temple officers, Nebuzaradan also took some of Jerusalem’s key personnel of to the king of Babylon. Verse 19 enumerated them as “one official who was overseer of the men of war, five of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the army who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city.” All these were brought to Nebuchadnezzar in Riblah and there had them struck down and killed. Fulfilling the word foretold o the nation, verse 21 said that Judah was brought into exile.

All that had happened to Jerusalem were not without a cause or reason. God had warned in Deuteronomy that if his people should break the covenant with Him, all these would overtake them. This was clearly stipulated in Deuteronomy 4:27. His warning was that "The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD drives you.” However, God did not do it for fun. He did it to straighten them. Their experience was to get them to repent. In their exile, if they return to him, He promised to restore them. Deuteronomy 4:29-31 reads, “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice. For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.”    

What a glorious, merciful, and faithful God! The tragedy that had happened to Jerusalem was due to neglect. If every generation had made sure to pass down the warning faithfully, the neglect could have been avoided.  Somewhere along the line, the communication broke. And that led the subsequent generation to  have a careless disregard for God. Had every generation played their part responsibly, the rot could be averted. Herein is also a warning for us parents. If we failed to emphasize the importance of being faithful to God, the guilt and blood of our children will be on our hands. We need to teach our children to live responsibly and to cultivate a life of faithfulness toward God.