Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / The Destruction of Judah

Transcript

The Destruction of Judah · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: of heaven given me, and he hath charged me to
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judea.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: 2 Chronicles 36.23 Heavenly Father, in the midst of my
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: most trying circumstances, and in the moments where I feel
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: like I am being held captive to my past mistakes,
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: my heart will rejoice. in the words you've spoken over
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: me today through the prophet Jeremiah. In spite of what
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: I see, I choose to declare that you know every
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: plan and purpose for my life. I rejoice that in
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: your great plan, you desire to give me hope and
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: a future, life and not death. Therefore, like the words
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: in today's reading, I will change the environment I am
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: in and hold steadfast to your ways until the time
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: of my deliverance. Because you've promised to bring me out
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: and set my feet on fertile soil, soil ready to
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: receive my seed of faith, to unlock the harvest of
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: abundance that you have for me. In Jesus' name.
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: Amen.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with us today. Continue your time
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: with God by listening to today's Bible story. Brought to
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: you by BibleInAYear.com.
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: The Destruction of Judah In our last story, we learned
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: of God speaking through the prophet Jeremiah. His words of comfort, justice,
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: and repentance began to truly affect the hearts of Judah. However,
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: the king planted seeds of doubt and burned his words
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: in the fire. Now we learn about the destruction of
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: Judah at the hands of Babylon. The enormous nation rises
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: up like a great beast to completely destroy Judah and
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: all its inhabitants. Captives are taken like cattle back to Babylon,
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: but not without a glimmer of hope for the future.
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: Inspired by the books of 2 Chronicles, 2 Kings, and Jeremiah.
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: in a Year podcast. But before we begin, I want
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: to let you know about a unique e-book that's yours
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking Free from Stress.
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: And my prayer is that it will help you conquer
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: the daily tasks and pressures and burdens that bring stress
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: in your life. Download your free copy of Breaking Free
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: from Stress today by visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: slash stress. In our last episode, we heard how Jeremiah's
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: words often fell on deaf ears and how the priests
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: of Judah were some of the biggest opponents, even trying
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: to put him, the prophet, to death. But Jeremiah was
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: not afraid. And along with his scribe Baruch, Jeremiah recorded
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: God's warnings on a scroll to speak truth to his
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: generation and generations to come. Sparks of revival flickered in
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: the land, but the harshness and hard-hearted nature of King
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: Jehoiakim kept the people from truly turning back to God. Today,
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: we'll hear how the enemy from the north, the great
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: nation of Babylon, finally descends upon Judah to enact God's
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: judgment on his people. God's people are led away as slaves.
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: amid destruction and devastation of their home. But this is
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: not a story without hope, because we know that God
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: always has a plan and a purpose for His own,
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: and that God is faithful. Let's listen now to God's Word.
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: Josiah's time as king was over. The battlefield claimed him,
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: and the reforming king was sent to the dust. His
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: son Jehoahaz took his place as king. He was a
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: young man, only 23 years old. Although he possessed similar
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: traits as his father, he would be unable to rule
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: rightly in Judah, for a rising threat emerged from the south.
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: Egypt had risen up against Judah with chariots of iron.
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: The king of Egypt, Necho, met Jehoahaz on the battlefield
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: and claimed him. He captured the king and drug him
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: back to Egypt as captive. The king desired to dominate Judah,
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: but not rule it. So he appointed Jehoahaz's younger brother
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: as king in his place. Eliakim was also the son
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: of Josiah, but possessed none of his noble qualities. He
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: was a quiet and brooding man. He was a wicked
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: and self-serving king. Pharaoh changed his name to Jehoakim. Egypt
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: was cruel and dominant. However, it was but a fish
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: compared to the shark that lurked in the distance. The
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: great beast Babylon was growing in the north. Its mighty
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: army was vast, unlike any in history. Babylon was the
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: great boiling point from the north that Jeremiah had once seen.
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: And like a shark that senses blood, Babylon approached when
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: Judah was at its most vulnerable. King Jehoiakim woke in
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: the middle of the night to screaming. He looked out
• 5:35
  Speaker 3: his window to see pillars of fire lighting up the horizon.
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: The city of Jerusalem was burning hot. Women and children
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: rushed out of burning buildings as men lifted their swords
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: to attack the incoming Babylonians. Jehoakim watched as every man
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: was slaughtered in the streets. Panicked, Jehoakim gathered his things
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: to escape out the back of the palace. As he
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: went to open his door, it burst open with force.
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: Jehoakim fell flat on his back and looked up to
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: see him. He was tall and dripping with power. His
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: armored chest was broad and puffed outward. His salt and
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: pepper beard was dirtied from ash and blood. His eyes
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: were dark and glaring. Jehoakim looked up in terror at
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: the infamous King Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonian king said nothing. He
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: sauntered towards the half-naked king of Judah and leaned down.
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: He picked him up with ease, as if he was
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: lifting a cat by its neck fur. Jehoakim trembled and
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: begged for mercy. Nebuchadnezzar gave an impassive stare. His eyes
• 6:38
  Speaker 3: were pits of unrepentant evil. There would be no mercy
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: dispensed from him. He threw the small king onto the
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: ground and had his men bind him in chains. Jehoiakim
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: said nothing. He knew that this would be the end
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: of his life. It would be the end of Judah itself.
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: King Nebuchadnezzar and his army scoured the city of Jerusalem
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: for wealth. They went from house to house, seizing any
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: and all gold and silver They opened up the house
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: of the Lord and carried away all its vessels and
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: precious items. After stripping Judah naked, Nebuchadnezzar left. He allowed
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: for Jehoakim's son, Jehoakim, to reign in his father's place.
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: Nebuchadnezzar needed Judah to remain a nation as a strategic
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: edge over Egypt and Assyria. Jehoakim was evil like his
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: brother and a willing servant of Nebuchadnezzar. However, his rule
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: was short-lived. After only three months and ten days, he
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: was summoned to Babylon and kept there for the rest
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: of his days. After Jehoiakim was taken away, Nebuchadnezzar appointed
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: his uncle, Zedekiah, as king. Zedekiah was a young man,
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: only twenty-one years old. He was filled with pride and patriotism.
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: He ignored the calls of Jeremiah to repent, and instead
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: warred against God and the kingdom of Babylon. Vainly he
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, He provoked him to anger. This
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: would prove to be more fuel for the king of
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: Babylon to tighten his grip on Judah. The priests and
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: leaders of Judah followed in Zedekiah's footsteps. They rebelled against
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: God and turned to the idols of ancient cultures. They
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: defiled the house of the Lord and sent Judah's leaders
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: into madness. Yet the Lord continued to send his message
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: of compassion. He used his prophets to warn them of
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: their ways. He wanted them to turn to him and
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: cry out to him. as the slaves in Egypt once did.
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: If they had just humbled themselves and asked, he would
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: have answered. Instead, they dug their own graves by warring
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: against Babylon and turning from God. The image of the
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: potter burned in Jeremiah's mind as he watched his nation break.
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: There would be hope soon, but now was the time
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: for destruction. The Chaldeans were the next nation to rise
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: up against Judah. Under the banner of Babylon, the great
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: army stormed Jerusalem like a great beast. The walls of
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: Jerusalem began to crack under the force of Chaldean battering rams.
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: Balls of fire were sent flying through the air, crashing
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: into homes. The Chaldeans broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
• 9:17
  Speaker 3: The crumbling stone shook the earth and signaled for the
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: entire city to run. Panic filled the streets. Chaldean soldiers
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: showed no mercy. Women were pinned to the floor and raped.
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: Men's heads were thrown onto pikes. Children were chained up
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: and sent into slavery. The city charred as the screams
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: of men and women rose up with the smoke. There
• 9:40
  Speaker 3: in the middle of the city was the Temple of God.
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: The cedar beams and golden walls were turning to black
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: as the fire consumed it. All its altars turned to
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: ash and all hope faded into oblivion. The surviving Judeans
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: were captured and chained. With the burning city of Jerusalem
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: at their backs, they marched forward to Babylon. God's people
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: were carted off like cattle. Once again, slaves. The heart
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: of God ached for his people to cry out to him.
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: He had Jeremiah send a word to them, a word
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: of hope and clarity. My children, God said, you will
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: be taken captive by Babylon and But this is not
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: the end of you. Go there and thrive. Plant gardens,
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: build homes, and start families. Be there and affect the
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: culture for good. When seventy years are completed, I will
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: come to you. I will free you and bring you back.
• 10:35
  Speaker 3: The words filled the captive's hearts with both joy and sorrow.
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: I have great plans for you. Plans for good and
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: not evil. I will give you a future and a hope.
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: When you call upon me, I will be there. When
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: you seek me, I will restore your soul. I will
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: set you free. So the people of Judah were brought
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: to Babylon, where they would be captives for 70 years.
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: As we begin today's reading, Judah has fallen into the
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: hands of Egypt. But rather than take Judah into captivity,
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: Egypt only controls the nation, appointing one of Josiah's son, Eliakim,
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: as king, though he was a king with no real
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: power and lacking the integrity of his father. The king
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: of Egypt even made him change his name to Jehoiakim.
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: Judah was experiencing hardship and suffering, but nothing like what
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: was coming. The Lord had shown Jeremiah the prophet the
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: vision of a pot boiling with water facing north. It
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: represented Babylon, the giant nation, who had risen to greater
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: power than any other before. Josiah had foolishly allowed the
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: Babylonians into Judah to show off the prosperity of a
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: small nation and thus set in motion a conquest that
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: would bring about God's punishment for the disobedience and unfaithfulness
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: of his people. The destruction of Judah did not happen
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: all at once. It began with a Babylonian invasion of
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: Jerusalem while Jehoiakim was ruler. King Nebuchadnezzar easily overtook the
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: city and sent Jehoiakim into captivity to Babylon. The Babylonians
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: began to pillage everything of value from Judah. The treasures
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: Josiah had so willingly shown them were taken and sent
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: back to Babylon. And so began a cycle of oppression
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: as Nebuchadnezzar and his armies picked Jerusalem apart, taking wealth
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: of any kind even from the house of God. The
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: Babylonians would appoint a Jewish king who did not believe
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: in God. And yet, even as Judah was being conquered
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: and ruled by a pagan nation, God continued calling his
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: people back to himself through prophets like Jeremiah. It was
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: not God's desire to punish his people permanently, but to
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: cause them and to call them back to him, that
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: they would cry out for forgiveness, deliverance, and salvation. The
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: Babylonians were God's rod of iron to chastise his people. Sadly,
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: they turned the other way. falling back again into idol worship,
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: forgetting their only hope for rescue was God Almighty. Next
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: came the Chaldeans who served Babylon. They invaded Jerusalem and
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: tore down her walls. Death, destruction, violation, everything imaginable you
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: can think of happened to the people of Judah. It
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: was a terrible and tragic time for the people who
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: refused to call out to God. However, when all seemed lost,
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: God sent a word of hope and a promise and
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: a letter from Jeremiah. He had not abandoned his plan
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: to bless these people and use them to bless the world.
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: God made a promise to Israel and he would keep it.
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: Even in the midst of captivity, Israel was to be
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: a force for good. In Jeremiah 29, 7, God says,
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: but seek the welfare of the city where I have
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: its behalf for in its welfare, you also will find welfare.
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: This is such a powerful and important lesson. You may
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: actually find yourself far from God right now, or God
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: may seem far away. You may be under the hand
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: of judgment or discipline in your life. Maybe some of
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: the dreams that you had for your life and your
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: future have fallen apart, but God will not give up
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: on you. God still loves you and has a plan
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: for your life. And that plan is to be a
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: light even in the darkness. Jesus would one day give
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: a command which said, bless those who curse you and
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: pray for those who abuse you. Even in the toughest
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: and the most terrible of circumstances, God is faithful to
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: his people. For 70 years, Judah was held captive in Babylon.
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: But God's plan to rescue them remained as did his
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: faithfulness to all of his people. Dear God, we pray.
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: are reminded in the reading today that no matter our circumstances,
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: where we find ourselves, that you are always seeking us.
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: Give us hearing ears and hearing hearts to receive and
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: respond to your correction, turning to you in repentance and faith.
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: Thank you for the forgiveness that we have in Christ,
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: for the cross and the resurrection, the good news that
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: saves us all who trust in him. Thank you for
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. Before we go,
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: I want to let you know about a unique e-book
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: that's yours to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: Free from Stress. And my prayer is that it will
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: help you conquer the daily task and pressures and burdens
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: that bring stress into your life. Download your free copy
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: of Breaking Free from Stress today by visiting jackgram.org slash stress.
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: That's jackgram.org dot org slash stress.