Page 98 - Satan in the Sanctuary

100 Satan in the Sanctuary

On this occasion Nebuchadnezzar did not have Jerus-
alem burned, but thought that a mass deportation of the
Jews would take care of the Jewish nation once and for all.
The book of Kings tells the cruel story of the ravaging
of a once great nation:

And he [Nebuchadnezzar] carried out thence all the
treasures of the house of the LORD . . . and cut in pieces
all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had
made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said.
And he carried away [back to Babylon in chains] all
Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of
valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen
and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of peo-
ple of the land (2 Ki 24:13-14).
What a terrible vengeance! The Babylonian king took
the lifeblood of Israel as slaves. He purposely chose, not
just soldiers and government leaders, but the talented work-
men of the little country. Israel could not possibly bounce
back. He left them only their poor and indigent.
The passage also relates that Nebuchadnezzar took the
young king and his family as slaves. He then placed Jehoia-
chin's uncle, Zedekiah, on the throne in Jerusalem.
With all of this the indomitable Jews were not subdued.
Eleven years passed as Israel reorganized, and then the
puppet king rebelled against Babylon.
It was hopeless.
This time Nebuchadnezzar knew no leniency. He sur-
rounded Jerusalem in a heartless siege that cut off the food
supply of the populous capital. The Jewish army deserted,
slipping out of the city by night. The king tried the same
thing but was apprehended by a detachment of the army
of the Chaldees. They brought him to his former mentor.