Jerusalem's Fall

November 9, 2025 Background Scripture: 2 Kings 23:1 - 25:21 Lesson Passage: 2 Kings 24:18 - 20; 25:1 - 9 The end of a sovereign nation at the hands of its enemies is a devastating situation for its leaders and citizens to endure. The ultimate consummation of its fall is the destruction of its capitol city and the capture of its head of state. In 2013, Millennium Films released a film entitled "Olympus Has Fallen". It was a political action film that featured lots of violence and an unrealistic plot. In the film, well organized and heavily armed terrorists launched a bold daytime attack on America's capitol. The president was taken captive, and the White House was destroyed. Of course, at the end of the movie all is well, but the amount of violence in the movie was heavily criticized. It was a stark reminder that war is not pretty, and it has a heavy toll of human lives. The use of the name, Olympus, is worth noting because in Greek mythology, Olympus is the home of the gods of the Greek pantheon. I was reminded of the movie as I studied today's lesson. Prior to the events of this lesson, Israel had existed as a sovereign nation for over four hundred years. Judah, the last vestige of Israel as a sovereign nation, fell to the Babylonians. The capitol city of Jerusalem was destroyed, and its king was taken into captivity. This was their punishment for worshipping idol gods, which provoked the Lord to anger. In a real sense, Jerusalem had become an Olympus. When Jerusalem was destroyed, many of Judah's dignitaries and leaders were either killed or carried away into captivity. The group of captives included craftsmen, civic leaders, the once wealthy, and all men who were fit to serve in the military. Only the poorest citizens were left to tend vineyards and farms that were left intact. Jerusalem had been under siege by Babylon for almost two years. The city was experiencing a famine, and the men of war breached the wall and fled the city by night. Others in the city were left to fend for themselves before the final collapse. King Zedekiah and his sons also attempted to escape. They were captured by the army of the Chaldeans who turned them over to the king of Babylon. They killed King Zedekiah's sons in his presence, and then they put his eyes out. The last thing King Zedekiah saw before they took his eyesight was the death of his sons. Then King Zedekiah was bound and carried into captivity in Babylon, knowing that the end of his family's reign in Jerusalem was final. All the major structures inside the city were burned down. The Lord's house, the king's house, and all other houses were reduced to ashes. Finally, the walls that surrounded the city were broken down all around. Jerusalem could no longer serve as a fortress for people to hide within and feel protected from their enemy. It was at that point that all the people in the city, except the very poor farmers and vinedressers, were taken captive. All vessels and structures made of, or overlaid with, precious metals, from gold to bronze, were dismantled or cut in pieces and carried to Babylon as spoils of war. The inhabitants of Judah were taken from the land God had promised to the descendants of their patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Judah consisted of the last two tribes of the twelve tribes of Israel. The other ten tribes to the north were defeated and taken into captivity by Assyria one hundred and thirty-six years earlier. All twelve tribes and their leaders had failed to live up to the covenant God made with them. They had openly provoked God by worshipping idols and leading the nation to do so. When God sent prophets to warn them, they either killed the prophets or labeled them as false prophets and ignored them. When God punished them to bring them to repentance, they fled to Gentile nations to avoid the punishment. Today's lesson was not a political action film, but it can be described as "Olympus Has Fallen". C. Hudson October 29, 2025