380
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
October, 1935
INTERNATIONAL LESSON Commentary Outline and Exposition Blackboard Lesson Children’s Division Golden Text Illustration Object Lesson B y B. B. S utcliffe B y B essie B, B usch B y H elen G ailey B y A lan S. P earce B y E lmer L. W ilder Points and Problems B y A lva J. M c C lain , Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio
NOVEMBER 3, 1935 JUDAH TAKEN CAPTIVE 2 K ings 24:1 to 25:21; J eremiah 39:1-18
burnt the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the best o f the buildings in Jerusalem. The city was left in desolation for seventy years, until Ezra and Nehe- miah returned to rebuild it. The wall of the city, which had with stood so many sieges and had proved to be such, excellent protection against enemies, was broken down and left in ruins (v. 10 ). So long as it remained, unrepaired, that broken wall would speak continually of departed power and glory, and would be a constant witness to the fact that God’s people were in captivity because of their unfaithfulness and their sin. The remainder o f the people, except the Very poor, were carried away as captives, and the land was left desolate (vs. 11 , 12 ). In this sad condition there was an exact fulfillment of prophecies uttered by the Lord’s servants—prophecies that had been treated with indifference by the people. While God is longsuffering and of great mercy, yet when rebellion and indifference continue, the time comes when He must allow the judgments to fall. This principle underlies both individual and national life; there is a lesson here that all must learn. Points and Problems 1. Teachers should note the close con nection between chapters 24 and 25 of 2 Kings. In fact, the last statement o f 24:20 explains the occasion o f what happens in 25:1 and the verses following. Some authorities prefer to join this statement with 25:1 thus: “Zedekiah r e b e l l e d against the king o f Babylon. And it came to pass in the ninth year o f his reign,” etc. It was Zedekiah’s rebellion that led to the siege of Jerusalem. 2. Popular interpretation generally puts the entire Babylonian episode under one head, calling it “The Captivity.” As a mat ter of fact, there were three distinct phases which should be carefully distinguished. First, we have the beginning o f what should be called the Servitude (2 Ki. 24:1). Second, at a later time there begins what is properly termed the Captivity (2 Ki. 24:10-16). Third, still later, seventeen years after the Servitude, we come to an other phase which should be called the Desolations (2 Ki. 25:8-10). Failure to distinguish between these three things raises insoluble problems of chronology. 3. "The famine was sore in the city’’ (25:3, R .V .). The terrible conditions brought by the prolonged siege are describ ed in Lamentations 4 :4-10. “The young chil dren ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them . . . : they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills . . . : their skin cleaveth to their bones . . . They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger . . . [and here is the worst of all] The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children; they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people.” 4. There is an apparent contradition be tween 2 Kings 25:8 which specifies the “seventh day of the month,” and Jeremiah
immediately pursued Zedekiah and his bodyguard who were attempting to escape by “the way toward the plain” (v. 4). Soon Zedekiah was overtaken in the plains o f Jericho and “all his army were scatter ed from him” (v. 5). Looking at this event from the natural viewpoint, it appears to be the ordinary outcome of the meeting of a stronger army and a weaker one. But we must not overlook the fact that all the events were controlled by the providence of God, and that apart from God’s workings, Nebuchadnezzar and his army could never have overcome Judah and her king. Whatever might have been Judah’s weakness, she would have been impregnable, had she been in agreement with her God. Weakness is no disability when God is with the weak, and strength is of no avail when God is against the strong. As one reads this account and con siders it merely as human history, it is not extraordinary. But as one reads it with the understanding that it is divine history, the hand o f God is clearly seen, and there are personal lessons for us to learn from the passage. The Word of God repeatedly shows that the nation or the individual that is on God’s side is always victorious, however weak in out ward ability that nation or person may be. And the one that is against God is always defeated, however strong that one may appear to be. In fulfillment o f Jeremiah’s prophecy, Zedekiah was taken by his enemies. He saw his own sons slain. Finally, his eyes were put out, and he was taken captive to Baby lon (ys. 6 , 7). Jeremiah himself, whom Zedekiah had shut up in the prison, was liberated and given freedom to go where he desired (cf. Jer. 39:1-14; 40:1-4). But Zedekiah was judged by his enemy and deported to Babylon—in fulfillment of the word of the Lord. III. T he C ity D estroyed (8-12). About a month after the capture of Jerusalem and the judgment upon Zede kiah, Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, a servant o f Nebuchadnezzar, was sent to destroy the city (vs. 8 , 9). Nebuzar-adan
Lesson T ext: 2 Ki.:25:l-12. Golden T ext: “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Prov. 14:34). Outline and Exposition I. T he C ity B esieged (1-3). T he king of B abylon , Nebuchadnez zar, came against Jerusalem and be sieged it (vs. 1, 2). The details o f the events preceding this siege, as well as the events that followed, are given in Jere miah’s prophecy, chapters 39 to 52. The earlier attack o f Nebuchadnezzar upon Jerusalem had culminated in Zedekiah’s occupancy of the throne of Judah as a sort of vassal of the king o f Babylon (cf. ch. 24). But Zedekiah rebelled against the king o f Babylon, and this rebellion was the occasion o f the siege described in verses 1 and 2 . The siege lasted about one and a half years. At the end o f that time, the food supplies were exhausted, and famine con ditions prevailed. The city Was completely surrounded by enemies. There was no freedom for the occupants, .to go out or come ,in. Consequently, the time came wheri'only two courses o f action were open to the people; either they must surrender to their foes, or else die of starvation (v. 3). In the history of this people it will be seen that there was a threefold cause for the downfall o f Judah. First, she rejected God’s commands. Over and over, God had threatened Judah’s destruction if she would not listen to and obey His voicg, but His commands were treated with dis dain and indifference. Second, she rejected Gpd’s authority.- Her kings refused to recognize any,authority higher than their own. Third, she rejected God’s warnings. Once add again He had warned of the sure outcome of the people’s disobedience and rebellion, but they had turned deaf ears to all His words. Whatever may have appeared outwardly to have been the cause of Judah’s captivity, this threefold reason constituted the root o f the matter—the rejection of God’s commands, of His authority, and o f His warnings. T he K ing C aptured (4-7). At last the weakened defenders of the city came to the end o f their endurance, a breach was made in the wall of the city, and Judah’s “men o f wai; fled by night” (v. 4), leaving the common citizens to face the invaders alone. These “men of war” attempted to .flee secretly. In their predicament, there is an illustration of the fact that sin always overtakes the sinner (cf. Num. 32:23; Rom. 6 :23; Ezek. 18:20). The guards of the enemy quickly be came aware of the secret flight, and they IL
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