Posted by Chester Morton / Wednesday, 13 July 2016 / No comments
The fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzer
King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came against Jehoiakim,
king of Judah and turned Judah into a vassal state for three years. Then
Jehoiakim rebelled against him. As a result, God sent some
forces from among the Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites and the Ammonites to destroy
Judah because of the sins of Manasseh and the shedding of innocent blood.
Later, Jehoiakim died and his son Jehoiachin ruled in his
place. He was eighteen years old when he became king. He also did what was
evil before the Lord. Consequently, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar besieged
Jerusalem. When King the king of Babylon visited his troops in Jerusalem, the
king of Judah, king Jehoiachin surrendered to king Nebuchadnezzar. He surrendered
together with mother, the Queen Mother, his servants, his Princes, and his
palace officials.
King Nebuchadnezzar took them away to Babylon and this was in
the eighth year of his reign. He took away ten thousand citizens of the land.
This included men of valour, all the craftsmen, and the smiths. The only people
he left were the poor. In short, he took away the cream of society and carried away treasures from the temple of the Lord.
The king of Babylon appointed an uncle of Jehoiachin, called
Mattaniah as king. He gave him the stool name Zedekiah. Zedekiah was twenty-one
years old when he was made the king and he reigned for eleven years in
Jerusalem. He also did what was evil in the site of the Lord and incurred His
anger.
King Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem in the ninth year of
the reign of Jehoiachin. This continued for two years. No supplies were coming
in and nothing was leaving the city. There was famine in the land as a result
of Nebuchadnezzar's action.
One day, at night, the king of Judah and some of his
soldiers fled in the night through a gate near the king’s garden. They were
chased and the king of Judah was arrested in plain of Jericho. All his soldiers
deserted him. They brought Zedekiah to Nebuchadnezzar in Riblah, where he was
sentenced. His children were killed right in front of his eyes. They removed
his eyes so he could see nothing, then they put him in chains and took him away
to Babylon.
Some months later, the captain of the army of Nebuchadnezzar,
called Nebuzaradan, came down to Jerusalem and burned the temple of the Lord,
the king’s palace and every great house in Jerusalem. They also broke down the
walls of Jerusalem. Then they carried the rest of the people who remained in
the land into exile. They, however, left some of the poorest of the land to till
the land and dress the vines.
They also ransacked the temple of the Lord and took all the
things they found there away to Babylon.
SAMPLE QUESTION(S)
1. a. Give an account of the destruction of Jerusalem by the
Babylonians during the reign of Zedekiah.
b. Identify four
causes of social arrest in Africa today.
Causes of social unrest
i.
Political
instability
ii.
Economic
stagnation
iii.
Social
injustice
iv.
Suppression
of the truth
v.
Desire
of a group to dominate another group politically.
vi.
Widening
the gap between the poor and the rich.
vii.
Religious
fanaticism.
viii.
Corruption
and dishonesty
2. a. Describe king Nebuchadnezzar’s attack on Judah.
b. List four effects
of war on a nation.
Effects of war on a nation
i.
Famine
ii.
Distrust
iii.
Enmity
iv.
Suspicion
v.
Loss
of life and property
vi.
Underdevelopment
