<\/p>\n
In 588 bc, a massive Babylonian army marched across the sand-swept plains and surrounded Jerusalem. The besieged city, cut off from trade with other nations, eventually ran low on food. The people became weak. Many were stricken with disease and died. The rest were undernourished, desperate, starving. Lacking sustenance, their army was no match for the strong, well-trained Babylonian military. More than a year went by before the enemy smashed through Jerusalem\u2019s north gate with their battering rams and stormed the city.<\/p>\n
When the ruthless Babylonian army finished its invasion of Jerusalem in 586 bc, it left cataclysmic destruction in its wake. Residents who failed to escape were either massacred, left for dead, or forced to march to Babylon, and their beloved city was looted, ransacked, and set afire. Even the sacred temple was destroyed.<\/p>\n
Recently, archaeologists in Jerusalem discovered burnt wooden beams from the time of this invasion 2,600 years ago. A layer of ashes from the invasion had been identified in the past, but this find is considered significant because of its level of preservation. Wooden beams naturally disintegrate over time, but it is believed that these were preserved due to being covered with plaster that melted from the intense heat. Because of growth rings that are still visible to experts, the beams can be dated accurately. These beams provide further evidence of the Bible\u2019s historical accuracy, along with a reminder of an unspeakable tragedy that could easily have been avoided.<\/p>\n
The residents of Jerusalem, the capital city of Judah, had been among God\u2019s favored people. Hundreds of years earlier, He had called leaders, including Moses, and miraculously delivered them from Egyptian slavery. So why would He have allowed such a horrendous attack?<\/p>\n
Ignored Warnings<\/strong><\/p>\n The simple fact is that the invasion didn\u2019t happen out of the blue. It occurred only after many decades of warnings. Sadly, years of compromising their beliefs had led the Israelites into deep rebellion against God. Most of them had succumbed to the example of evil leaders and turned away from truth. They no longer worshipped the Creator or kept His commandments, choosing instead to worship false gods made of metal, wood, or stone. These were idols made with human hands, worthless gods who could never hear or help them.<\/p>\n The Lord had sent prophets to warn His people, to plead with them to return to the one true God, the only Source of salvation. Jeremiah, one of these prophets, spent many years trying to get through to the Israelites, to get them to listen to reason and understand the danger they were placing themselves in. He wasn\u2019t warning about a slap on the wrist but sounding the alarm about an impending national collapse.<\/p>\n In Jeremiah 25:8, 9, he quoted God as saying, \u201cBecause you have not heard My words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, \u2026 and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.\u201d Time and again, the prophet pleaded with them to return to God, to obey His commandments. He begged them to forsake their evil ways and do what was right so they could again receive God\u2019s blessing.<\/p>\n But they stubbornly refused. Feeling secure and prosperous, they ignored the messages, mocked the warnings, and continued doing as they pleased. No wonder Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet. The vast majority of Israelites remained unconcerned about the wicked choices they were making. Entranced by sin, they continued down their slippery slope.<\/p>\n Then reality struck in all its brutality. The prophecies about what would happen if they continued the same downward spiral came to pass. Most people were unprepared. Many screamed to their false gods to save them, but they could not.<\/p>\n However, there were some who had never bowed to idols despite the downfall of those around them. Daniel and his three friends were in this group. After being captured and marched to Babylon, their faithfulness continued. There, they became lights to the nations as they powerfully witnessed for God. Yet, these were the exception.<\/p>\n A Repeating Pattern<\/strong><\/p>\n The Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem stands as a sobering historical reminder of what happens when God\u2019s calls to repentance go unheeded. But are His people today following the same pattern as the ancient Israelites? We may not bow down to carved figures, but have we made idols of other things\u2014money, entertainment, technology, politics, pleasure, or even ourselves? Do we feel secure in our unrepentant lives?<\/p>\n Scripture tells us that \u201cin the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God\u201d (2 Timothy 3:1\u20134).<\/p>\n In case you think this is only talking about unbelievers, verse 5 goes on to include those \u201chaving a form of godliness but denying its power.\u201d These are people who claim to be Christians, yet their behavior is anything but godly.<\/p>\n The good news is that God\u2019s warnings are always an invitation to repent.<\/p>\n Turning away from God leads to extreme spiritual danger and, ultimately, to destruction. The good news is that God\u2019s warnings are always an invitation to repent, to turn away from wrongdoing, to seek God with all our heart.<\/p>\n Christ says, \u201cI stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me\u201d (Revelation 3:20). Have you accepted this invitation? He is ready to forgive and fill you with His love and transforming power right now.<\/p>\n Want to learn more about how to have a right relationship with Christ? Click here to read our free book Assurance: Justification Made Simple.<\/em><\/p>\n Your Next Read<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t7 Reasons the Secret Rapture Isn\u2019t Biblical<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In 588 bc, a massive Babylonian army marched across the sand-swept plains and surrounded Jerusalem. The besieged city, cut off from trade with other nations, eventually ran low on food. The people became weak. Many were stricken with disease and died. The rest were undernourished, desperate, starving. Lacking sustenance, their army was no match for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31482,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[1791,7153,47,2394,654],"class_list":["post-31481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bible-trivia","tag-amazing","tag-burned","tag-day","tag-facts","tag-jerusalem"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}