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Chapter 52:12-23 (ESV) - In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. And he burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poorest of the people and the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the artisans. But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.
And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the LORD, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried all the bronze to Babylon. And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the basins and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service; also the small bowls and the fire pans and the basins and the pots and the lampstands and the dishes for incense and the bowls for drink offerings. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. As for the two pillars, the one sea, the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea, and the stands, which Solomon the king had made for the house of the LORD, the bronze of all these things was beyond weight. As for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, its circumference was twelve cubits, and its thickness was four fingers, and it was hollow. On it was a capital of bronze. The height of the one capital was five cubits. A network and pomegranates, all of bronze, were around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with pomegranates. There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network all around.
Question to consider: In what way did Nebuzaradan overstep his role as the LORD’s sword against Jerusalem?
The epilogue continued with a detailed description of the destruction of Jerusalem. If ever there was a shocking confirmation of Jeremiah as the true prophet among many false ones, this event was it. The glory of Solomon was burned with fire, and his treasures taken by Nebuchadnezzar.
In 2 Kings 25:8, the event was described as having taken place on the seventh day of the month rather than the tenth. Traditionally, it has been thought that Nebuzaradan arrived in Jerusalem on the seventh day of the month and held a three day feast before setting the fires and destroying the city.
We know from the prophet, Ezekiel, that the glory of the LORD had left the temple before any of this took place so in reality, Nebuzaradan’s party didn’t defile anything that hadn’t already been made desolate. However, it was the LORD’s intention to restore the land and city after the exile so Nebuzaradan overstepped in burning down the city and defiling its temple.
This sort of behavior was the norm for invading armies. At that point in history, the conquering nation saw their success as a victory for their gods so desecrating temples and worship instruments of other gods was a way of proving their subjugation.
The Romans were experts at this. They scourged Jesus, dressed Him up as a wounded king with a crown of thorns and mocked Him to emphasize His defeat. Crucifying Him with a placard that announced He was “King of the Jews” sent the message to any potential insurrectionists that anyone who rose up against Rome would be crushed.
In the first part of the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar took gold treasure he had accumulated from the nations and had a ninety foot statue made in his likeness for people to worship. I find it interesting that he never used the vessels captured from Jerusalem for this purpose. Just before the golden image was made, Daniel was brought in to reveal and interpret a troubling dream of Nebuchadnezzar's which resulted in him recognizing the greatness of the LORD and promoting Daniel to chief of the Magi. The Jerusalem vessels were stored away until Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson, Belshazzar, brought them out and defiled them.
Dear heavenly Father, may we be Your golden vessels and pour out Your grace and mercy to the nations. Help keep us from being defiled by the world and continue to renew in us the joy of Your salvation in Christ Jesus. Amen.