To Fall

 

    We all fall as we are learning to walk.  We fall when we are learning new things that require balance.  Falling is part of the process of gaining strength and balance.  We all fail in things in life and that is a kind of fall.  The point is to get back up.  It is to learn from your mistakes and move forward.  Don't let life's falls cause fear or discouragement that keeps you down.

    King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon laid siege on Jerusalem with all that he had.  It took a year and a half to be captured.  King Zedekiah and his officials fled with their soldiers.  They did not resist when they were captured about 20 miles out of Jerusalem, so he had listened to Jeremiah after all.  It may have been out of fear or maybe he remembered Jeremiah's warning for the future.

    The Babylonians pursued the king and royals.  They they caught up to them they were captured and taken to sentencing about 65 miles away.  The kings sons and the nobles were slaughtered before taking Zedekiah's eyes.  He was put into shackles and stumbled to Babylon where he would live out his excile.  Jerusalem burned and anyone deemed as a possible threat was exiled.   The poor and sickly remained.  They were given the vineyards and fields.  They were given an opportunity in life if they could make it work.

    King Nebuchadnezzar gave him respect. The enemy treated him better than his own people.  Jeremiah was one of the few that got to return home.   God also rescued Ebed-Melech who had risked his life to save Jeremiah.  He was rescued for trusting in God.  

    The fall of Jerusalem is recorded in the Bible four times.  It has a great impact on the history of God's people.  It was a time of great loss.  The tragedy is that it could have been avoided.

Jeremiah 39