1 Chronicles 9:1-3

 

February 17, 2023

 

A Genealogy of the Returned Exiles

So all Israel was recorded in genealogies, and these are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. And Judah was taken into exile in Babylon because of their breach of faith.  Now the first to dwell again in their possessions in their cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the temple servants.  And some of the people of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh lived in Jerusalem: 

Who did they have a breach of faith with?  I did my research and once more found it well stated in Got Question.

God used Babylon as His agent of judgment against Israel for their sins of idolatry and rebellion against Him. There were actually several different times during this period (607-586 B.C.) when the Jews were taken captive by Babylon. With each successive rebellion against Babylonian rule, Nebuchadnezzar would lead his armies against Judah until they laid siege to Jerusalem for over a year, killing many people and destroying the Jewish temple, taking captive many thousands of Jews, and leaving Jerusalem in ruins.

As prophesied in Scripture, the Jewish people would be allowed to return to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile. That prophecy was fulfilled in 537 B.C., and the Jews were allowed by King Cyrus of Persia to return to Israel and begin rebuilding the city and temple. The return under the direction of Ezra led to a revival among the Jewish people and the rebuilding of the temple.

Under the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II, the Babylonian Empire spread throughout the Middle East, and around 607 B.C., King Jehoiakim of Judah was forced into submission, becoming a vassal to Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:1). It was during this time that Nebuchadnezzar took many of the finest and brightest young men from each city in Judah captive, including Daniel, Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach) and Azariah (Abednego). After three years of serving Nebuchadnezzar, Jehoiakim of Judah rebelled against Babylonian rule and once again turned to Egypt for support. After sending his army to deal with Judah’s revolt, Nebuchadnezzar himself left Babylon in 598 B.C. to deal with the problem. Arriving in Jerusalem around March of 597 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem, taking control of the area, looting it, and taking captive with him Jehoiakim’s son, Jehoiachin, his family, and almost all of the population of Judah, leaving only the poorest people of the land (2 Kings 24:8-16).

At that time Nebuchadnezzar appointed King Zedekiah to rule as his representative over Judah, but after nine years and still not having learned their lesson, Zedekiah led Judah in rebellion against Babylon one final time (2 Kings 24–25). Influenced by false prophets and ignoring Jeremiah’s warnings, Zedekiah decided to join a coalition that was being formed by Edom, Moab, Ammon, and Phoenicia in rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 27:1-3). This resulted in Nebuchadnezzar again laying siege to Jerusalem. Jerusalem fell in July 587 or 586 BC, and Zedekiah was taken captive to Babylon after seeing his sons killed before him and then having his eyes plucked out (2 Kings 25). At this time Jerusalem was laid to waste, the temple destroyed and all the houses burned. The majority of the Jewish people were taken captive, but, again, Nebuchadnezzar left a remnant of poor people to serve as farmers and vinedressers (2 Kings 25:12).

 

Are you wondering who God will use as His agent of judgment against the United States of America?   Was Israel's sins greater than ours, sins of idolatry and rebellion against Him?  Did Israel kill for convenience 62 million babies, did Israel tell God he was not allowed in their schools, did Israel teach little children that the God of Creation made a mistake and they were supposed to be the opposite sex.  And the reason for all of this was the little god they worship, money.  And a lack of fear of God, so they sold the concept of you have a right to do as you please, with a few exceptions.  But those who promoted the taking of life also sold this lie that it was not a life, just a cob of cells.  Why did they do so, so they could sell the babies part, once again we see the little god of money coming into being worshipped.  And like Israel we the USA  will experience judgment in that you and I have not been light, often we have followed the culture and sacrificed our family for the same little god, called money.

 

Choose right, seek the Lord, seek His forgiveness, and put on the armor that God has designed for doing spiritual battle on planet earth, for our battle is not against man, but schemes of the devil.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice