Defiance of God continued to the end.
V.1-3 King Zedekiah stayed in Jerusalem, rebelling against the king of Babylon.
V.4 Nine years later, the enemy came with all his army and surrounded the city for 2 years.
V.6, 7 Famine now breaks out, the men of war try to escape, but fail.
V.8-11 The awful judgment of God fell on Zedekiah, his eyes are put out, and he is carried away to Babylon.
V.12, 13 The Lord’s great temple burned, and the wall of the city.
V.15 What an ending even for the poor people.
V.17-23 The vessels of the Lord’s house all taken to Babylon.
Why all this destruction? Simply because the kingdom of Judah, from the king down to the poor people had given up their faith in the God Who loved them, but His holiness demanded this punishment. May the reading of this Book have a sobering effect on each of us. Summary: Israel, in spite of all God’s kindness, forsook Him and turned to idolatry. God therefore turned over the government of the world to the Gentiles. It has remained so till today. But we know that God has found a way to bless Israel and the world in the future, and that is of giving His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be a sacrifice on the cross! So God can be righteous and fair and forgive the sins of any one, yes, everyone who will put their trust in Christ.