The Ruin of Sin - 2 Kings 21-25

 2 Kings 25:8-12 (ESV)

In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. And he burned the house of the LORD and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile. But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

Psalms 79:1-4 (ESV)

How Long, O LORD?

A PSALM OF ASAPH.

O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;

they have defiled your holy temple;

they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.

They have given the bodies of your servants

to the birds of the heavens for food,

the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.

They have poured out their blood like water

all around Jerusalem,

and there was no one to bury them.

We have become a taunt to our neighbors,

mocked and derided by those around us.

Jerusalem was to be God’s shining light on a hill.  It was to be the beacon of hope to the nations.   The Temple was to hold the glory of God.   This holy city was to be the attraction of the world.    Yet, the people who lived in it defiled their relationship with God and now it will lay in ruins for that disobedience.   We can only imagine the devastation that was happening over this great city.  But, this is what sin does.  Walking in disobedience to God destroys what was supposed to be a glorious witness for Him.   Sin destroys lives and recks havoc on all it touches.   Families fall apart.   Churches are destroyed.  Eventually nations are ruined.   This is what happens when we walk in disobedience to God’s Word.   In Proverbs 7 we read about the naive one who wanders off and is taken captive by the folly of sin.  Here is the conclusion of this young life:

Proverbs 7:21-23 (ESV)

With much seductive speech she persuades him;

with her smooth talk she compels him.

All at once he follows her,

as an ox goes to the slaughter,

or as a stag is caught fast

till an arrow pierces its liver;

as a bird rushes into a snare;

he does not know that it will cost him his life.