November 3
Captivity begins as Jerusalem Falls
Read 2 Chronicles 36; 2 Kings 24:8-25; 26
Key Verse: 2
Chronicles 36:15, 16
Captives
now in
But it was
too late.
King
Nebuchadnezzar’s army had virtually destroyed the sacred city. All the sacred
vessels of the temple, and the treasures of the palace, had been confiscated
and taken to
Why had
this destruction and captivity come about? Because the people of
The people
had not met one day and decided to ignore God. They simply drifted farther and
farther away from the covenant God had made with them. They became selfish,
mistreated the poor, disregarded the commandments of God, and lived for their
own pleasure.
Simply put,
they ignored God. They acted as though God did not exist. They went their own
way instead of the way of the Lord. They were content to eat, drink, and be
merry. What of the priests, those whom God expected to lead the people
spiritually? We are told that they were no better than the heathen! One scholar
says the priests were devoted to “freedom of religion.” They did not object if
some of the people preferred to worship Baal or other pagan gods.
Ignoring
God like everyone else, these priests conducted whatever pagan ceremonies
people wanted. No wonder it was written of them that they “polluted the house
of the Lord”!
Such
conduct cannot help but remind us of what is going on in
Some
priests of our day are more concerned about being “politically correct” than
about honoring God. Little wonder that some of our churches are withering and
dying.
We had
better wake up. We had better remind ourselves and our people that a society
that ignores God will bring disaster upon itself. We had better get on our
knees and ask God to give us the courage to honor Him regardless of the cost.
We had better get busy proclaiming the gospel and inviting people to turn to
Jesus.