The Fall of Jerusalem

Intro

Believe it or not I grew up on a farm until I was in elementary school. Just south of Saginaw.

When’s the worst time for something to break? During harvesting.

We had a way of doing things a little redneck.

Have you ever used a drill as a hammer?

There is a term for us by the people who make products and its the term “End user.”

The “end user” is the person who ultimately uses a product or technology, whether it’s a customer, client, employee, or someone interacting with software, hardware, or any type of service.

They’re often not deeply familiar with the inner workings of the product, and they sometimes encounter — or create — situations that push the boundaries of “intended use.”

Using a drill as a hammer is a mild way of doing this.

We probably know people who do this.

microwave as a clothes dryer

Something that is perfectly good for one thing becomes dangerous when misused.

That’s what’s happened in this study.

Israel took something that was good on its on and perverted it to become something so far removed from it was intended to be.

This is what we do as humans. This is our tendency.

A king isn’t an inherently evil thing. But the way we use it made it an evil thing.

What happens when we corrupt what is good, and is there a way back from it?

Fortunately the bible has an answer for us.

Turn with me to 2 Kings 25:1–12

“1 And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it. 2 So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king’s garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 6 Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they passed sentence on him. 7 They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him…”

Prayer.

Truth

Israel is conquered by their enemies

Their evil king tries to escape

Zedekiah is captured, and his punishment is severe: he is forced to witness the execution of his sons before being blinded and taken in chains to Babylon. This act symbolizes both the end of his dynasty and his loss of hope and future.

Nebuzaradan, the commander of the Babylonian guard, arrives in Jerusalem and sets fire to the temple, the king’s palace, and every significant building, thoroughly destroying the city.

The walls of Jerusalem are also torn down, symbolizing the complete dismantling of the city’s defenses and infrastructure, leaving it vulnerable and desolate.

The people remaining in Jerusalem are either killed or taken into exile. Only the poorest of the land are left behind to work the vineyards and fields, likely to provide some level of productivity to Babylon.

There is a desire to make sermons, or messages happy, or uplifting. This passage won’t let that happen.

This whole study & all of 1 Kings & 2 Kings is here to show us that our attempt to rule ourselves will only lead to human suffering.

Our attempt to have autonomy from God leads only to darkness

Look at the book of Genesis

Sin enters the world

Story after story we see humanity trying to define what is right and wrong.

Look a the book of Judges

There is no king and everyone did what was right in their own eyes.

Israel’s demand for a king was right in some sense, but they misused it

This goes back to our human nature. We are totally depraved as people.

But what does ‘total depravity’ mean? Total depravity means simply this: that sin affects every aspect of our human existence: our minds, our wills and our bodies are affected by sin. Every dimension of our personality suffers at some point from the weight of sin that has infected the human race.

R. C. Sproul

There is this lie that says if you leave people alone they will do the right thing.

Our desire is to do evil. The bible shows us over and over that we will choose to run away from God not toward him unless he changes our hearts.

And because of this…

No King could replace the true sovereign.

Israel’s problem wasn’t that they didn’t have a king it was that they wanted to be their own king.

God was their true king, and they didn’t want to listen to him.

This message is hard not to make political. Especially with an election 3 days away.

I’m prone to wanting to believe that if we just had the right people leading our country then everything will be better.

But this isn’t about America as a nation.

Please hear what I am saying, go and vote on Tuesday. It’s incredibly important and why wouldn’t we want to elect people who don’t flat out oppose Christianity?

But this is really talking about the church. We need as a church to follow our true leader… Christ.

Application

Our hope cannot be in man to save us.

We need a true king

Q: How does Christ execute the office of a king?

A: “Christ executes the office of a king, in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies.”

This is the opposite of what Israel’s kings did.

Subduing us to himself - Unifying his people. Israel divided the kingdom.

Ruling and defending us. Israel started human sacrifices.

Restraining and conquering all his and our enemies.

Israel brought them in and showed them what they had to offer.

The good news of this study is that Christ is the king, and he has unified us, he sovereignly rules over every atom of the universe, and he has conquered our greatest enemy sin and death.

Men know this that no matter what happens on Tuesday, Jesus is on the throne and his promise to us that the gates of hell will not prevail against his bride, against his people, against his church.

No King could replace the true sovereign.

So let us put our hope in him.

Let’s pray.