The destruction of Jerusalem...

 The destruction of Jerusalem....

The final chapters of 2 Kings details the destruction of Jerusalem...the capture of the people...the burning of the temple, the city..., the pillaging of whatever is left...leaving the poorest people, taking the rest into captivity, including the king, whose eyes were put out after witnessing the death of his sons...

When I read earlier of the craftsmanship of the building of the temple, the city in King David and King Solomon’s time...the building of the people, their ups and downs, the kings following and not following the Lord, the intrigue...the whole heartedness, the half-heartedness and the no-heartedness for the Lord...seeing His patience, His slow the anger..with his people whom he brought out of captivity and finally His judgment of destruction, captivity...my heart is hurting ...

We are still doing the same thing over and over again...humankind has not learned the lessons of the past...

There is the building up of nations and the tearing down, there are wars and rumor of wars in every generation...there is the freeing of people and the captivity...

Visiting Israel two years ago brought a personal visual of civilizations building over and over again...using the building materials of the former to build new walls and buildings...and doing this multiple times...adding a new technique here and there, or new design...massive structures have been excavated, torn down, and rebuilt...Beautiful artwork, mosaic floors and walkways unearthed...history unfolded and found...

Real people lived through all of these time periods, families grew and lived day to day lives...just like now...they had dreams and jobs, fended for their families...went through the same motions we do now...life and death...laughter and tears...various personalities, various appearances...

They were given many of the same choices we have now...good or bad, who to follow or not...which faith to choose...

Joshua as he came into the promised land, stated...

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:15

Those people had that choice then and we still have that choice now, thousand of years later...civilization after civilization has had that choice...

The picture of Jesus knocking at our heart’s door comes to mind...

“20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”

Revelation 3:20 

He has knocked on a lot of doors over the centuries....some have been opened while others have remained closed to Him...

Reading of the destruction in the Old Testament is a sad commentary where people who refused to follow God and “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord”...

Thank YOU....help me to follow You, to settle into your Word...having it take residence in my heart...