The Results of Sin

MEMORY SELECTION: “They mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.” —II Chronicles 36:16

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: II Kings 24:18 – 25:1, 8-12

THE Scriptures teach that the taking of a vow is a solemn matter. Those who fail to keep such obligations indicate the disloyalty of their hearts.

This week’s lesson takes into account the vow that Zedekiah took when he became the last king to sit on the throne of David. Zedekiah was exalted to his high position by Nebuchadnezzar, and he took a solemn oath of faithfulness as a vassal of the king of Babylon.

The Lord, speaking through his Prophet Jeremiah, warned Zedekiah that Nebuchadnezzar would be permitted to punish him if he did not live up to the terms of the oath that he had taken, but self-will and carelessness led eventually to his overthrow as the king of Israel.

The selected scriptural reading provides some of the details of the manner in which Zedekiah provoked Nebuchadnezzar into crushing the monarchy, destroying the capital of Judah, and driving the mass of people into captivity.

The Lord allowed Zedekiah to suffer the consequences of his own wrongdoing. Those consequences were severe indeed. His sons were killed before his very eyes, and he was blinded and carried away to Babylon, where he remained a prisoner until his death. Perhaps these severe measures indicate that his heart was never in a repentant condition before the Lord. This is suggested by the fact that his father, Jehoiachim, the previous king, had also been taken prisoner to Babylon eleven years earlier but was later released and granted many favors at the hand of the king of Babylon.

God permitted certain bitter lessons to be learned by his people Israel. The ten tribes had been scattered because of idolatry; yet the two-tribe nation, which remained in God’s favor, had not fully learned the penalties of disobedience. He permitted them all to be scattered and to leave the land desolate for a period of seventy years. During that long period of time most of them either died or went into exile.

But God still had all matters pertaining to his people under control. At the close of the seventy years of desolation, we find that Cyrus had conquered the Babylonian empire and replaced it with the Medo-Persian empire. One of the first proclamations of the conquering king was to grant liberty to all the Jews who wished to return to their own land. This was a remarkable turn of events. However, there were few among the Israelites who desired to leave their Babylonian homes to return to the disadvantages of a desolate wilderness, which had once been the fertile Land of their fathers. It was a difficult decision to make, but those who did return from their Babylonian captivity apparently refrained from the worship of idols. Those few well-meaning souls had indeed learned from the experiences that God had permitted to come upon them.

Zedekiah and others living in his day did not have the guidance of the Holy Spirit that is available to the footstep followers of Jesus during the present time. They did, however, have guidance through the prophets who served as God’s spokesmen. The Lord expected obedience from those who were instructed by his prophets, and likewise he expects obedience from us, who have been instructed through the Holy Spirit. We read in Isa. 1:18-20: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” This statement of the Lord is applicable to all of his people both in this and in past ages.

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