T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
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JUNE 18, 1922 THE DOWNFALL OF JUDAH «©Wen Text. Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Gal. 6:7. 2 Ki. 25:1-1 36:11-23; Jonah LESSON TEXT 2. (Read 2 Ki. 25:13-21; Deut. 28:15-19, 25. 36. 3 7 - 1:1, 2; Lu..19:41-44.) 2 Chron.
(1) And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month; in the tenth day o f the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king o f 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 o f king Zedekiah. (3) And on the ninth day o f the fourth month the fam ine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people o f 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 tw o walls, which is by the kings garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the k in g went the way toward the plain. (6) And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains o f Jer icho: and all his army were scat tered from him. (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 o f Zedekiah be- fore his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass and carried him to Babylon. (8) In the fifth month, on the seventh day o f the month, which is the nineteenth year of k in g Nebuchadnezzar king o f Baby lon, came Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, and servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem : (9) And he burnt the house o f the Lord, and the king’s house, and all the houses o r Jerusalem, and every- great man’s house burnt he with fire. (10) And all the army o f the Chaldeans that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls o f Jerusalem round about. (11) Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king o f Babylon, with the rem- o f the multitude, did Nebuzar- adan the captain o f the guard carry (12) But the captain of the guard left o f the poor o f the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen. ( 1) JERUSALEM BESIEGED, vs. 1-3.. Jerusalem was a well fortified, stra tegic stronghold. (2 Sam. 5:7.) The king of Babylon laid siege to it for eighteen months and we are told why it took so long to subdue it in Lamenta tions 2:20 to 4:10. The tongues of the children clave to the roofs of their mouths for thirst and there; was no bread. Those brought up ip scarlet embraced the dung hill. Mothers, ate their own children. The description of a modern „bloody battlefield refids like the description of a flower garden, compared to this de scription of the beloved city of God. Is the Bible true? Did God permit this? Is the wrath of God a terrible thing? TWill God punish sin? Did He pour out His wrath upon His only Son when He was bearing our sin? Is He angry with the wicked? Can the character of Gpd home to every heart. Jesus wept over Jerusalem, but He also predicted its downfall.
Outline: (1) Jerusalem Besieged, vs. 1-3. (2) Jerusalem Broken, vs. 4-8. (3) Jerusalem Burned and Be reaved, vsi 9-12. Introduction: “ Jerusalem, the holy city, hath fallen.” This is the story: David took the city from the Jebusites LESSON (2 Sam. 5:4-7), and EXPOSITION named it the “ City of T. C. Horton David” . God was with David, but'He was not with Zedekiah, for'Zedekiah did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. He had rebelled against the king of Babylon, but he had done worse than that— he had rebelled against Jehovah. God had been long-suffering toward Zedekiah, as He has been toward every rebel, but “He will not always chide, neither will He keep His anger forever. There is a limit to His forbearance, and this is a lesson that should be taken
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