2 Kings 25:1-4 - So
in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the
tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against
Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege
works all around it. The
city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. By the ninth day of the [fourth]
month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was
no food for the people to eat. Then the
city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled at night
through the gate between the two walls near the king's garden, though the
Babylonians were surrounding the city. They fled
toward the Arabah….
Nebuchadnezzar had surrounded the city…trapped them…the city
of Jerusalem was so strong he could not just tear down the walls and take them
away. The people survived for a while…on
the food they had gathered and stored.
But the day came when the enemy broke through the fortified walls …and
began to take the city.
The king …the army that swore to protect him…and many of the
public officials fled through secret passageways…but their escape was not kept confidential.
So the Babylonia army chased them…finally catching up with them and taking them
away to Babylon…with all but the poorest of Judeans…who were left to farm the
land. God had said he would punish them
for not following his ways…they huddled in fright for a time…then tried to run…but
as Matthew Henry’s commentary put it.... “ those deceive themselves who think
to escape God's judgments.”
It is an ominous reminder to me…on the exact day that
American declared her independence and freedom to build a nation ‘under God’….that
God’s punishment will not escape us…if we continue to break his laws and live
any way we please. If we have any chance
of maintaining the freedom God gave us on the 4th so long ago…we
must heed the great words of God…given to Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:14-15… “if
my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek
my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I
will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive
to the prayers offered in this place.”
God was speaking of the prayers offered in the temple
Solomon had built…but the temple of God is now the heart of every one who had
accepted his love into their heart. WE MUST BEGIN TO SEARCH THE HEART WE INVITED HIM
TO LIVE…AND RECOGNIZE THE SIN THAT HAS TAKEN RESIDENCE THERE….AND HUMBLE
OURSELVES…AND PRAY THAT GOD REMOVE IT…BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE! I can’t think of a better way to celebrate
our freedom in America…than by humbling our hearts…and rededicating our lives
to God’s service.
Father…I thank you for the great men and women who birthed the
idea of a nation based on your love and mercy.
I thank you that you blessed them with the vision…and gave them the
wisdom and resources they needed to make it a reality. Thank you for the many people who have shed
their precious blood over the years to maintain that freedom for me. But mostly…I thank you for the reminder this
morning that my freedom is based on the condition of my heart. Show me how to truly humble myself and pray…and
seek your face above all that I do. Help me to search my heart and seek out the
sin in my life…and remove it completely from my existence….so that you can
continue to bless me and teach me how to be even closer to you…and model for
others just how amazing your endless love can be. Amen.
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