084. I. The Long-Expected Catastrophe

I THE LONG-EXPECTED CATASTROPHE The destruction of Jerusalem was an event of signal importance in Hebrew history. As a catastrophe it was appalling, for it marked the end, not only of a reign and a dynasty, but also of a nation. It was even more notable as a turning point in history. It closed one era and opened another. It inaugurated more than a period of exile, since it furnished convincing proof that the new national life, should that ever be renewed, must be wholly reorganized. The historical narrative preserved in 2 Kings throws but little light upon the political, social and religious conditions which hastened the disaster. It is rather concerned with the event itself. From the impassioned predictions of Jeremiah, however, and from the impressive visions and symbols of Ezekiel, may be discovered the various factors which co-operated in bringing about the downfall of the old national life. These were a well-meaning, but inefficient king (Jeremiah 37:15-21; Jeremiah 38:5), under strong obligation to maintain his political fealty (Ezekiel 17) to Nebuchadrezzar; turbulent and reactionary advisers, who had great confidence in themselves (Ezekiel 11:1-3) and were hostile to Jeremiah and his party; a number of false prophets who encouraged their schemes (Ezekiel 13:1-16; Ezekiel 22:28); and a people blindly confident that Jehovah, their God, would put forth his power, so grandly manifested in the past (Isaiah 37), to save his city and temple; a nation restless under the heavy Babylonian yoke and willing to try the experiment of revolt, if opportunity offered. Thus disposed, the Jews were easily stirred by quiet proffers of aid from Egypt. The spirit of rebellion spread like a forest fire. Even the lofty cedar, as Ezekiel, perhaps with a touch of irony, calls King Zedekiah, yielded to its fury. About 588 B. C., Judah, in coalition with one or two petty principalities of Palestine, renounced allegiance to Babylonia.

Nebuchadrezzar did not, apparently, hasten to crush this revolt, yet his policy in regard to it could have been anticipated. Upon the tranquillization of the territory bordering the Great Sea depended both the continuance, unharassed, of the overland trade, which vitally affected the prosperity of great sections of his empire, and the achievement of his future schemes of Egyptian conquest. Judah’s restless and ambitious population, protected by a fortress of unusual strength, constituted a never ending source of uneasiness to the overlord. According to the standards of the day, he had acted, ten years before, with reasonableness and moderation, when he had merely deported the politically dangerous elements of the population to Babylonia and left the state intact with a member of the royal family on the throne. According to the same standards there remained no option to him except to put an end to the existence of the Hebrew people. A prompt submission on their part might possibly have been accepted, but an organized resistance could have but one termination. In due time Nebuchadrezzar assembled an army for the Palestinian campaign. The prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 21:18-22) vividly pictures the king as consulting the omens, on reaching the borders of Gilead, to determine whether he should first attack Rabbah of Ammon or Jerusalem. Deciding to besiege Jerusalem, he crossed the Jordan, invested the city, and ravaged the territory far and near (Jeremiah 34:7). Too late King Zedekiah and his counsellors realized the gravity of the situation. They inquired of Jeremiah what the outcome would be (Jeremiah 21:1-10; Jeremiah 34:1-7), and attempted spasmodic reforms (Jeremiah 34:8-10). True for once to his pledge, the Pharaoh sent an army against Nebuchadrezzar, who raised the siege of Jerusalem for a while, and marched to meet his foe. Supposing they were saved, the godless nobles of Jerusalem revealed their consummate hypocrisy by promptly annulling the reforms they had just proclaimed. To their dismay the great Egyptian army was soon put to flight, and the victors encamped again around the doomed city. Its miserable inhabitants resisted with all the stoicism of despair. Soon, however, the horrors of famine and pestilence were added to the usual dangers of the siege. The condition of the populace during the six months before the capture was pitiable in the extreme (Lamentations 2:19-22). At last, in July 586 B. C., the besiegers affected a breach in the northern wall and poured into the city. Zedekiah and a handful of warriors escaped by way of an unwatched private gate and fled toward the Jordan, but were overtaken at Jericho and carried before the great king, where he was forced to witness the slaughter of his sons and of his chief men, and then condemned to blindness and captivity.

After a month’s delay, during which the ill-fated city was freely plundered by the brutal soldiery, Nabuzaradan, a royal officer of high rank, was deputed to complete the work of destruction. He took away all the valuable booty that was left, set on fire the temple, the palace, and the mansions of the wealthy nobles, and broke down the city walls. Soon nothing was left of the once splendid city but uninhabitable ruins.