O. Addison Gethers
e-mail address [email protected] [email protected] twitter URL http//:twitter.com/OAddisonGethers Messenger contact window live/msn messenger: [email protected] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS rs ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donnie Parrett" <[email protected]> To: "Donnie Parrett" <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 11:15 PM Subject: Daily Bible Reading For Thursday August 27 > Day 239 > > Jeremiah 49-52 (The Message) > > Jeremiah 49 > You're a Broken-Down Has-Been > 1-6 God's Message on the Ammonites: "Doesn't Israel have any children, > no one to step into her inheritance? > So why is the god Milcom taking over Gad's land, > his followers moving into its towns? > But not for long! The time's coming" > -God's Decree- > "When I'll fill the ears of Rabbah, Ammon's big city, > with battle cries. > She'll end up a pile of rubble, > all her towns burned to the ground. > Then Israel will kick out the invaders. > I, God, say so, and it will be so. > Wail Heshbon, Ai is in ruins. > Villages of Rabbah, wring your hands! > Dress in mourning, weep buckets of tears. > Go into hysterics, run around in circles! > Your god Milcom will be hauled off to exile, > and all his priests and managers right with him. > Why do you brag of your once-famous strength? > You're a broken-down has-been, a castoff > Who fondles his trophies and dreams of glory days > and vainly thinks, 'No one can lay a hand on me.' > Well, think again. I'll face you with terror from all sides." > Word of the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies. > "You'll be stampeded headlong, > with no one to round up the runaways. > Still, the time will come > when I will make things right with Ammon." God's Decree. > Strutting Across the Stage of History > 7-11The Message of God-of-the-Angel-Armies on Edom: > "Is there nobody wise left in famous Teman? > no one with a sense of reality? > Has their wisdom gone wormy and rotten? > Run for your lives! Get out while you can! > Find a good place to hide, > you who live in Dedan! > I'm bringing doom to Esau. > It's time to settle accounts. > When harvesters work your fields, > don't they leave gleanings? > When burglars break into your house, > don't they take only what they want? > But I'll strip Esau clean. > I'll search out every nook and cranny. > I'll destroy everything connected with him, > children and relatives and neighbors. > There'll be no one left who will be able to say, > 'I'll take care of your orphans. > Your widows can depend on me.'" > > 12-13Indeed. God says, "I tell you, if there are people who have to drink > the cup of God's wrath > even though they don't deserve it, why would you think you'd get off? You > won't get off. You'll > drink it. Oh yes, you'll drink every drop. And as for Bozrah, your > capital, I swear by all that I > am"-God's Decree-"that that city will end up a pile of charred ruins, a > stinking garbage dump, an > obscenity-and all her daughter-cities with her." > > 14I've just heard the latest from God. > He's sent an envoy to the nations: > "Muster your troops and attack Edom. > Present arms! Go to war!" > > 15-16"Ah, Edom, I'm dropping you to last place among nations, > the bottom of the heap, kicked around. > You think you're so great- > strutting across the stage of history, > Living high in the impregnable rocks, > acting like king of the mountain. > You think you're above it all, don't you, > like an eagle in its aerie? > Well, you're headed for a fall. > I'll bring you crashing to the ground." God's Decree. > > 17-18"Edom will end up trash. Stinking, despicable trash. A wonder of the > world in reverse. She'll > join Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors in the sewers of history." God > says so. > > "No one will live there, > no mortal soul move in there. > > 19"Watch this: Like a lion coming up > from the thick jungle of the Jordan > Looking for prey in the mountain pastures, > I will come upon Edom and pounce. > I'll take my pick of the flock-and who's to stop me? > The shepherds of Edom are helpless before me." > > 20-22So, listen to this plan that God has worked out against Edom, the > blueprint of what he's > prepared for those who live in Teman: > > "Believe it or not, the young, the vulnerable- > mere lambs and kids-will be dragged off. > Believe it or not, the flock > in shock, helpless to help, will watch it happen. > The very earth will shudder because of their cries, > cries of anguish heard at the distant Red Sea. > Look! An eagle soars, swoops down, > spreads its wings over Bozrah. > Brave warriors will double up in pain, helpless to fight, > like a woman giving birth to a baby." > > The Blood Will Drain from the Face of Damascus > 23-27The Message on Damascus: > "Hamath and Arpad will be in shock > when they hear the bad news. > Their hearts will melt in fear > as they pace back and forth in worry. > The blood will drain from the face of Damascus > as she turns to flee. > Hysterical, she'll fall to pieces, > disabled, like a woman in childbirth. > And now how lonely-bereft, abandoned! > The once famous city, the once happy city. > Her bright young men dead in the streets, > her brave warriors silent as death. > On that day"-Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies- > "I'll start a fire at the wall of Damascus > that will burn down all of Ben-hadad's forts." > > Find a Safe Place to Hide > 28-33The Message on Kedar and the sheikdoms of Hazor who were attacked by > Nebuchadnezzar king of > Babylon. This is God's Message: > "On your feet! Attack Kedar! > Plunder the Bedouin nomads from the east. > Grab their blankets and pots and pans. > Steal their camels. > Traumatize them, shouting, 'Terror! Death! Doom! > Danger everywhere!' > Oh, run for your lives, > You nomads from Hazor." God's Decree. > "Find a safe place to hide. > Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon > has plans to wipe you out, > to go after you with a vengeance: > 'After them,' he says. 'Go after these relaxed nomads > who live free and easy in the desert, > Who live in the open with no doors to lock, > who live off by themselves.' > Their camels are there for the taking, > their herds and flocks, easy picking. > I'll scatter them to the four winds, > these defenseless nomads on the fringes of the desert. > I'll bring terror from every direction. > They won't know what hit them." God's Decree. > "Jackals will take over the camps of Hazor, > camps abandoned to wind and sand. > No one will live there, > no mortal soul move in there." > > The Winds Will Blow Away Elam > 34-39God's Message to the prophet Jeremiah on Elam at the outset of the > reign of Zedekiah king of > Judah. This is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies says: > "Watch this! I'll break Elam's bow, > her weapon of choice, across my knee. > Then I'll let four winds loose on Elam, > winds from the four corners of earth. > I'll blow them away in all directions, > landing homeless Elamites in every country on earth. > They'll live in constant fear and terror > among enemies who want to kill them. > I'll bring doom on them, > my anger-fueled doom. > I'll set murderous hounds on their heels > until there's nothing left of them. > And then I'll set up my throne in Elam, > having thrown out the king and his henchmen. > But the time will come when I make > everything right for Elam again." God's Decree. > > Jeremiah 50 > Get Out of Babylon as Fast as You Can > 1-3 The Message of God through the prophet Jeremiah on Babylon, land of > the Chaldeans: > "Get the word out to the nations! Preach it! > Go public with this, broadcast it far and wide: > Babylon taken, god-Bel hanging his head in shame, > god-Marduk exposed as a fraud. > All her god-idols shuffling in shame, > all her play-gods exposed as cheap frauds. > For a nation will come out of the north to attack her, > reduce her cities to rubble. > Empty of life-no animals, no people- > not a sound, not a movement, not a breath. > > 4-5"In those days, at that time"-God's Decree- > "the people of Israel will come, > And the people of Judah with them. > Walking and weeping, they'll seek me, their God. > They'll ask directions to Zion > and set their faces toward Zion. > They'll come and hold tight to God, > bound in a covenant eternal they'll never forget. > > 6-7"My people were lost sheep. > Their shepherds led them astray. > They abandoned them in the mountains > where they wandered aimless through the hills. > They lost track of home, > couldn't remember where they came from. > Everyone who met them took advantage of them. > Their enemies had no qualms: > 'Fair game,' they said. 'They walked out on God. > They abandoned the True Pasture, the hope of their parents.' > > 8-10"But now, get out of Babylon as fast as you can. > Be rid of that Babylonian country. > On your way. Good sheepdogs lead, but don't you be led. > Lead the way home! > Do you see what I'm doing? > I'm rallying a host of nations against Babylon. > They'll come out of the north, > attack and take her. > Oh, they know how to fight, these armies. > They never come home empty-handed. > Babylon is ripe for picking! > All her plunderers will fill their bellies!" God's Decree. > > 11-16"You Babylonians had a good time while it lasted, didn't you? > You lived it up, exploiting and using my people, > Frisky calves romping in lush pastures, > wild stallions out having a good time! > Well, your mother would hardly be proud of you. > The woman who bore you wouldn't be pleased. > Look at what's come of you! A nothing nation! > Rubble and garbage and weeds! > Emptied of life by my holy anger, > a desert of death and emptiness. > Travelers who pass by Babylon will gasp, appalled, > shaking their heads at such a comedown. > Gang up on Babylon! Pin her down! > Throw everything you have against her. > Hold nothing back. Knock her flat. > She's sinned-oh, how she's sinned, against me! > Shout battle cries from every direction. > All the fight has gone out of her. > Her defenses have been flattened, > her walls smashed. > 'Operation God's Vengeance.' > Pile on the vengeance! > Do to her as she has done. > Give her a good dose of her own medicine! > Destroy her farms and farmers, > ravage her fields, empty her barns. > And you captives, while the destruction rages, > get out while the getting's good, > get out fast and run for home. > > 17"Israel is a scattered flock, > hunted down by lions. > The king of Assyria started the carnage. > The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, > Has completed the job, > gnawing the bones clean." > > 18-20And now this is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies, > the God of Israel, has to say: > "Just watch! I'm bringing doom on the king of Babylon and his land, > the same doom I brought on the king of Assyria. > But Israel I'll bring home to good pastures. > He'll graze on the hills of Carmel and Bashan, > On the slopes of Ephraim and Gilead. > He will eat to his heart's content. > In those days and at that time"-God's Decree- > "they'll look high and low for a sign of Israel's guilt-nothing; > Search nook and cranny for a trace of Judah's sin-nothing. > These people that I've saved will start out with a clean slate. > > 21"Attack Merathaim, land of rebels! > Go after Pekod, country of doom! > Hunt them down. Make a clean sweep." God's Decree. > "These are my orders. Do what I tell you. > > 22-24"The thunderclap of battle > shakes the foundations! > The Hammer has been hammered, > smashed and splintered, > Babylon pummeled > beyond recognition. > I set out a trap and you were caught in it. > O Babylon, you never knew what hit you, > Caught and held in the steel grip of that trap! > That's what you get for taking on God. > > 25-28"I, God, opened my arsenal. > I brought out my weapons of wrath. > The Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, > has a job to do in Babylon. > Come at her from all sides! > Break into her granaries! > Shovel her into piles and burn her up. > Leave nothing! Leave no one! > Kill all her young turks. > Send them to their doom! > Doom to them! Yes, Doomsday! > The clock has finally run out on them. > And here's a surprise: > Runaways and escapees from Babylon > Show up in Zion reporting the news of God's vengeance, > taking vengeance for my own Temple. > > 29-30"Call in the troops against Babylon, > anyone who can shoot straight! > Tighten the noose! > Leave no loopholes! > Give her back as good as she gave, > a dose of her own medicine! > Her brazen insolence is an outrage > against God, The Holy of Israel. > And now she pays: her young strewn dead in the streets, > her soldiers dead, silent forever." God's Decree. > > 31-32"Do you get it, Mister Pride? I'm your enemy!" > Decree of the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies. > "Time's run out on you: > That's right: It's Doomsday. > Mister Pride will fall flat on his face. > No one will offer him a hand. > I'll set his towns on fire. > The fire will spread wild through the country." > > 33-34And here's more from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: > > "The people of Israel are beaten down, > the people of Judah along with them. > Their oppressors have them in a grip of steel. > They won't let go. > But the Rescuer is strong: > God-of-the-Angel-Armies. > Yes, I will take their side, > I'll come to their rescue. > I'll soothe their land, > but rough up the people of Babylon. > > 35-40"It's all-out war in Babylon"-God's Decree- > "total war against people, leaders, and the wise! > War to the death on her boasting pretenders, fools one and all! > War to the death on her soldiers, cowards to a man! > War to the death on her hired killers, gutless wonders! > War to the death on her banks-looted! > War to the death on her water supply-drained dry! > A land of make-believe gods gone crazy-hobgoblins! > The place will be haunted with jackals and scorpions, > night-owls and vampire bats. > No one will ever live there again. > The land will reek with the stench of death. > It will join Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors, > the cities I did away with." God's Decree. > "No one will live there again. > No one will again draw breath in that land, ever. > > 41-43"And now, watch this! People pouring > out of the north, hordes of people, > A mob of kings stirred up > from far-off places. > Flourishing deadly weapons, > barbarians they are, cruel and pitiless. > Roaring and relentless, like ocean breakers, > they come riding fierce stallions, > In battle formation, ready to fight > you, Daughter Babylon! > Babylon's king hears them coming. > He goes white as a ghost, limp as a dishrag. > Terror-stricken, he doubles up in pain, helpless to fight, > like a woman giving birth to a baby. > > 44"And now watch this: Like a lion coming up > from the thick jungle of the Jordan, > Looking for prey in the mountain pastures, > I'll take over and pounce. > I'll take my pick of the flock-and who's to stop me? > All the so-called shepherds are helpless before me." > > 45-46So, listen to this plan that God has worked out against Babylon, the > blueprint of what he's > prepared for dealing with Chaldea: > > Believe it or not, the young, > the vulnerable-mere lambs and kids-will be dragged off. > Believe it or not, the flock > in shock, helpless to help, watches it happen. > When the shout goes up, "Babylon's down!" > the very earth will shudder at the sound. > The news will be heard all over the world. > > Jeremiah 51 > Hurricane Persia > 1-5There's more. God says more: "Watch this: > I'm whipping up > A death-dealing hurricane against Babylon-'Hurricane Persia'- > against all who live in that perverse land. > I'm sending a cleanup crew into Babylon. > They'll clean the place out from top to bottom. > When they get through there'll be nothing left of her > worth taking or talking about. > They won't miss a thing. > A total and final Doomsday! > Fighters will fight with everything they've got. > It's no-holds-barred. > They will spare nothing and no one. > It's final and wholesale destruction-the end! > Babylon littered with the wounded, > streets piled with corpses. > It turns out that Israel and Judah > are not widowed after all. > As their God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, I am still alive and well, > committed to them even though > They filled their land with sin > against Israel's most Holy God. > 6-8"Get out of Babylon as fast as you can. > Run for your lives! Save your necks! > Don't linger and lose your lives to my vengeance on her > as I pay her back for her sins. > Babylon was a fancy gold chalice > held in my hand, > Filled with the wine of my anger > to make the whole world drunk. > The nations drank the wine > and they've all gone crazy. > Babylon herself will stagger and crash, > senseless in a drunken stupor-tragic! > Get anointing balm for her wound. > Maybe she can be cured." > > 9"We did our best, but she can't be helped. > Babylon is past fixing. > Give her up to her fate. > Go home. > The judgment on her will be vast, > a skyscraper-memorial of vengeance. > > Your Lifeline Is Cut > 10"God has set everything right for us. > Come! Let's tell the good news > Back home in Zion. > Let's tell what our God did to set things right. > 11-13"Sharpen the arrows! > Fill the quivers! > God has stirred up the kings of the Medes, > infecting them with war fever: 'Destroy Babylon!' > God's on the warpath. > He's out to avenge his Temple. > Give the signal to attack Babylon's walls. > Station guards around the clock. > Bring in reinforcements. > Set men in ambush. > God will do what he planned, > what he said he'd do to the people of Babylon. > You have more water than you need, > you have more money than you need- > But your life is over, > your lifeline cut." > > 14God-of-the-Angel-Armies has solemnly sworn: > "I'll fill this place with soldiers. > They'll swarm through here like locusts > chanting victory songs over you." > > 15-19By his power he made earth. > His wisdom gave shape to the world. > He crafted the cosmos. > He thunders and rain pours down. > He sends the clouds soaring. > He embellishes the storm with lightnings, > launches the wind from his warehouse. > Stick-god worshipers look mighty foolish! > god-makers embarrassed by their handmade gods! > Their gods are frauds, dead sticks- > deadwood gods, tasteless jokes. > They're nothing but stale smoke. > When the smoke clears, they're gone. > But the Portion-of-Jacob is the real thing; > he put the whole universe together, > With special attention to Israel. > His name? God-of-the-Angel-Armies! > > They'll Sleep and Never Wake Up > 20-23God says, "You, Babylon, are my hammer, > my weapon of war. > I'll use you to smash godless nations, > use you to knock kingdoms to bits. > I'll use you to smash horse and rider, > use you to smash chariot and driver. > I'll use you to smash man and woman, > use you to smash the old man and the boy. > I'll use you to smash the young man and young woman, > use you to smash shepherd and sheep. > I'll use you to smash farmer and yoked oxen, > use you to smash governors and senators. > 24"Judeans, you'll see it with your own eyes. I'll pay Babylon and all the > Chaldeans back for all > the evil they did in Zion." God's Decree. > > 25-26"I'm your enemy, Babylon, Mount Destroyer, > you ravager of the whole earth. > I'll reach out, I'll take you in my hand, > and I'll crush you till there's no mountain left. > I'll turn you into a gravel pit- > no more cornerstones cut from you, > No more foundation stones quarried from you! > Nothing left of you but gravel." God's Decree. > > 27-28"Raise the signal in the land, > blow the shofar-trumpet for the nations. > Consecrate the nations for holy work against her. > Call kingdoms into service against her. > Enlist Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. > Appoint a field marshal against her, > and round up horses, locust hordes of horses! > Consecrate the nations for holy work against her- > the king of the Medes, his leaders and people. > > 29-33"The very land trembles in terror, writhes in pain, > terrorized by my plans against Babylon, > Plans to turn the country of Babylon > into a lifeless moonscape-a wasteland. > Babylon's soldiers have quit fighting. > They hide out in ruins and caves- > Cowards who've given up without a fight, > exposed as cowering milksops. > Babylon's houses are going up in flames, > the city gates torn off their hinges. > Runner after runner comes racing in, > each on the heels of the last, > Bringing reports to the king of Babylon > that his city is a lost cause. > The fords of the rivers are all taken. > Wildfire rages through the swamp grass. > Soldiers desert left and right. > I, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, said it would happen: > 'Daughter Babylon is a threshing floor > at threshing time. > Soon, oh very soon, her harvest will come > and then the chaff will fly!' > > 34-37"Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon > chewed up my people and spit out the bones. > He wiped his dish clean, pushed back his chair, > and belched-a huge gluttonous belch. > Lady Zion says, > 'The brutality done to me be done to Babylon!' > And Jerusalem says, > 'The blood spilled from me be charged to the Chaldeans!' > Then I, God, step in and say, > 'I'm on your side, taking up your cause. > I'm your Avenger. You'll get your revenge. > I'll dry up her rivers, plug up her springs. > Babylon will be a pile of rubble, > scavenged by stray dogs and cats, > A dumping ground for garbage, > a godforsaken ghost town.' > > 38-40"The Babylonians will be like lions and their cubs, > ravenous, roaring for food. > I'll fix them a meal, all right-a banquet, in fact. > They'll drink themselves falling-down drunk. > Dead drunk, they'll sleep-and sleep, and sleep... > and they'll never wake up." God's Decree. > "I'll haul these 'lions' off to the slaughterhouse > like the lambs, rams, and goats, > never to be heard of again. > > 41-48"Babylon is finished- > the pride of the whole earth is flat on her face. > What a comedown for Babylon, > to end up inglorious in the sewer! > Babylon drowned in chaos, > battered by waves of enemy soldiers. > Her towns stink with decay and rot, > the land empty and bare and sterile. > No one lives in these towns anymore. > Travelers give them a wide berth. > I'll bring doom on the glutton god-Bel in Babylon. > I'll make him vomit up all he gulped down. > No more visitors stream into this place, > admiring and gawking at the wonders of Babylon. > The wonders of Babylon are no more. > Run for your lives, my dear people! > Run, and don't look back! > Get out of this place while you can, > this place torched by God's raging anger. > Don't lose hope. Don't ever give up > when the rumors pour in hot and heavy. > One year it's this, the next year it's that- > rumors of violence, rumors of war. > Trust me, the time is coming > when I'll put the no-gods of Babylon in their place. > I'll show up the whole country as a sickening fraud, > with dead bodies strewn all over the place. > Heaven and earth, angels and people, > will throw a victory party over Babylon > When the avenging armies from the north > descend on her." God's Decree! > > Remember God in Your Long and Distant Exile > 49-50"Babylon must fall- > compensation for the war dead in Israel. > Babylonians will be killed > because of all that Babylonian killing. > But you exiles who have escaped a Babylonian death, > get out! And fast! > Remember God in your long and distant exile. > Keep Jerusalem alive in your memory." > 51How we've been humiliated, taunted and abused, > kicked around for so long that we hardly know who we are! > And we hardly know what to think- > our old Sanctuary, God's house, desecrated by strangers. > > 52-53"I know, but trust me: The time is coming" > -God's Decree- > "When I will bring doom on her no-god idols, > and all over this land her wounded will groan. > Even if Babylon climbed a ladder to the moon > and pulled up the ladder so that no one could get to her, > That wouldn't stop me. > I'd make sure my avengers would reach her." > God's Decree. > > 54-56"But now listen! Do you hear it? A cry out of Babylon! > An unearthly wail out of Chaldea! > God is taking his wrecking bar to Babylon. > We'll be hearing the last of her noise- > Death throes like the crashing of waves, > death rattles like the roar of cataracts. > The avenging destroyer is about to enter Babylon: > Her soldiers are taken, her weapons are trashed. > Indeed, God is a God who evens things out. > All end up with their just deserts. > > 57"I'll get them drunk, the whole lot of them- > princes, sages, governors, soldiers. > Dead drunk, they'll sleep-and sleep and sleep... > and never wake up." The King's Decree. > His name? God-of-the-Angel-Armies! > > 58God-of-the-Angel-Armies speaks: > > "The city walls of Babylon-those massive walls!- > will be flattened. > And those city gates-huge gates!- > will be set on fire. > The harder you work at this empty life, > the less you are. > Nothing comes of ambition like this > but ashes." > > 59Jeremiah the prophet gave a job to Seraiah son of Neriah, son of > Mahseiah, when Seraiah went with > Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon. It was in the fourth year of Zedekiah's > reign. Seraiah was in > charge of travel arrangements. > > 60-62Jeremiah had written down in a little booklet all the bad things that > would come down on > Babylon. He told Seraiah, "When you get to Babylon, read this out in > public. Read, 'You, O God, said > that you would destroy this place so that nothing could live here, neither > human nor animal-a > wasteland to top all wastelands, an eternal nothing.' > > 63-64"When you've finished reading the page, tie a stone to it, throw it > into the River Euphrates, > and watch it sink. Then say, 'That's how Babylon will sink to the bottom > and stay there after the > disaster I'm going to bring upon her.'" > > Jeremiah 52 > The Destruction of Jerusalem and Exile of Judah > 1 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he started out as king. He was > king in Jerusalem for > eleven years. His mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah. Her > hometown was Libnah. > 2As far as God was concerned, Zedekiah was just one more evil king, a > carbon copy of Jehoiakim. > > 3-5The source of all this doom to Jerusalem and Judah was God's anger. God > turned his back on them > as an act of judgment. > > Zedekiah revolted against the king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar set out > for Jerusalem with a full > army. He set up camp and sealed off the city by building siege mounds > around it. He arrived on the > ninth year and tenth month of Zedekiah's reign. The city was under siege > for nineteen months (until > the eleventh year of Zedekiah). > > 6-8By the fourth month of Zedekiah's eleventh year, on the ninth day of > the month, the famine was > so bad that there wasn't so much as a crumb of bread for anyone. Then the > Babylonians broke through > the city walls. Under cover of the night darkness, the entire Judean army > fled through an opening in > the wall (it was the gate between the two walls above the King's Garden). > They slipped through the > lines of the Babylonians who surrounded the city and headed for the Jordan > into the Arabah Valley, > but the Babylonians were in full pursuit. They caught up with them in the > Plains of Jericho. But by > then Zedekiah's army had deserted and was scattered. > > 9-11The Babylonians captured Zedekiah and marched him off to the king of > Babylon at Riblah in > Hamath, who tried and sentenced him on the spot. The king of Babylon then > killed Zedekiah's sons > right before his eyes. The summary murder of his sons was the last thing > Zedekiah saw, for they then > blinded him. The king of Babylon followed that up by killing all the > officials of Judah. Securely > handcuffed, Zedekiah was hauled off to Babylon. The king of Babylon threw > him in prison, where he > stayed until the day he died. > > 12-16In the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon on the > seventh day of the fifth > month, Nebuzaradan, the king of Babylon's chief deputy, arrived in > Jerusalem. He burned the Temple > of God to the ground, went on to the royal palace, and then finished off > the city. He burned the > whole place down. He put the Babylonian troops he had with him to work > knocking down the city walls. > Finally, he rounded up everyone left in the city, including those who had > earlier deserted to the > king of Babylon, and took them off into exile. He left a few poor dirt > farmers behind to tend the > vineyards and what was left of the fields. > > 17-19The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the bronze washstands, > and the huge bronze basin > (the Sea) that were in the Temple of God, and hauled the bronze off to > Babylon. They also took the > various bronze-crafted liturgical accessories, as well as the gold and > silver censers and sprinkling > bowls, used in the services of Temple worship. The king's deputy didn't > miss a thing. He took every > scrap of precious metal he could find. > > 20-23The amount of bronze they got from the two pillars, the Sea, the > twelve bronze bulls that > supported the Sea, and the ten washstands that Solomon had made for the > Temple of God was enormous. > They couldn't weigh it all! Each pillar stood twenty-seven feet high with > a circumference of > eighteen feet. The pillars were hollow, the bronze a little less than an > inch thick. Each pillar was > topped with an ornate capital of bronze pomegranates and filigree, which > added another seven and a > half feet to its height. There were ninety-six pomegranates evenly > spaced-in all, a hundred > pomegranates worked into the filigree. > > 24-27The king's deputy took a number of special prisoners: Seraiah the > chief priest, Zephaniah the > associate priest, three wardens, the chief remaining army officer, seven > of the king's counselors > who happened to be in the city, the chief recruiting officer for the army, > and sixty men of standing > from among the people who were still there. Nebuzaradan the king's deputy > marched them all off to > the king of Babylon at Riblah. And there at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, > the king of Babylon > killed the lot of them in cold blood. > > Judah went into exile, orphaned from her land. > > 283,023 men of Judah were taken into exile by Nebuchadnezzar in the > seventh year of his reign. > > 29832 from Jerusalem were taken in the eighteenth year of his reign. > > 30745 men from Judah were taken off by Nebuzaradan, the king's chief > deputy, in Nebuchadnezzar's > twenty-third year. > > The total number of exiles was 4,600. > > 31-34When Jehoiachin king of Judah had been in exile for thirty-seven > years, Evil-Merodach became > king in Babylon and let Jehoiachin out of prison. This release took place > on the twenty-fifth day of > the twelfth month. The king treated him most courteously and gave him > preferential treatment beyond > anything experienced by the political prisoners held in Babylon. > Jehoiachin took off his prison garb > and from then on ate his meals in company with the king. The king provided > everything he needed to > live comfortably for the rest of his life. > > > > > > > ~~~~~ > Please join us on Skype Monday thru Friday at 8:00 EST for our Morning > Skype Prayer Time. > Also, follow my tweets on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/Donnie1261 > > > Contact Me At: > Donnie Parrett > 1956 Asa Flat Road > Annville, Kentucky 40402 > Home Phone: 606-364-3321 > Church Phone: 606-364-PRAY > Skype Name: Donnie1261 > Email: [email protected] > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/dbilg?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
