Daily Devotional For Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Good morning Southside! Our daily devotional for today comes from Jeremiah 52:6-11:
“By July 18 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, the famine in the city had become very severe, and the last of the food was entirely gone. (7) Then a section of the city wall was broken down, and all the soldiers fled. Since the city was surrounded by the Babylonians, they waited for nightfall. Then they slipped through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden and headed toward the Jordan Valley. (8) But the Babylonian troops chased King Zedekiah and overtook him on the plains of Jericho, for his men had all deserted him and scattered. (9) They captured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There the king of Babylon pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah. (10) The king of Babylon made Zedekiah watch as he slaughtered his sons. He also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah. (11) Then he gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in bronze chains, and the king of Babylon led him away to Babylon. Zedekiah remained there in prison until the day of his death” (NLT).
You can also read about this in 2 Kings 25:3-7. I realize these passages are not ones people often read or even want to read in the Bible. We prefer the teachings of Jesus, Paul or the Psalms or Proverbs. Who really wants to read about God’s judgment and destruction of His people in the Old Testament? This is just as much God’s word to us as those passages in the New Testament as well those by David or Solomon.
Zedekiah was 21-years-old when he became king but he did evil in the sight of the Lord. He was the son of Josiah, a godly king. He was made king by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC. Babylon surrounded the city of Jerusalem and cut off anything going in and out. This text teaches us that the Lord allowed His people’s food supply to go down to nothing. If you starve your enemy, he is weakened and the citizens will rebel just to survive. King Zedekiah decided to flee the city but was pursued by the Babylonians.
Zedekiah decided to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar and he made a huge price for this. Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah watch as the king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons. This siege by Nebuchadnezzar lasted 11 years and during that time food and water were becoming scarce. The text says “in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign.” Why the difference? This was according to the Babylonian calendar, not the Jewish calendar. Jeremiah writes about how horrible things got in Jerusalem in the following verses:
- Lamentations 4:4, The parched tongues of their little infants stick to the roofs of their mouths in thirst. The children cry for bread, but no one has any to give them” (NLT).
- Lamentations 4:9-10, Those who died in the war were better off than those who died later, who starved slowly to death, with no food to keep them alive. (10) The disaster that came to my people brought horror; loving mothers boiled their own children for food” (GNT).
- Lamentations 5:4, “We must pay for the water we drink; we must buy the wood we need for fuel” (GNT).
- Lamentations 5:9-10, “Murderers roam through the countryside; we risk our lives when we look for food. (10) Hunger has made us burn with fever until our skin is as hot as an oven” (GNT).
So, why was Zedekiah spared his life by Nebuchadnezzar? To parade him through the streets of Jerusalem to prove Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon were more powerful and to humiliate Zedekiah and those few Jews still alive in Jerusalem. So, what does all of this have to do with us some 3,000 years later?
- First, it shows that God takes our personal sin seriously. Disobedience by God’s children will not go unpunished by the Lord (Pr. 3:11-12; Heb. 12:6).
- Second, God will not be mocked by anyone, especially His own children (Gal. 6:7).
- Third, God does not have any favorites, even among His own children (Rom. 2:11-29).
- Fourth, God never tolerates sin (Habak. 1:13; Pr. 6:16-19; Rom. 1:18).
We do reap what we sow. If we choose to sin against the Lord, we will reap the consequences of that sin, which sometimes is God’s painful discipline. Salvation is not a gift for us to abuse by intentionally sinning (Romans 6). One of the proofs of our salvation is our gratitude expressed through obedience to the Lord.
Reflection Assignment: What does this passage and devotional say to you personally about your sin, your gratitude to God for salvation and His discipline? When have you experienced God’s discipline in your own life and how did you respond to it?
Scripture to Meditate On: Ephesians 5:6, “Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey Him” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I do not want to break Your heart with You having to discipline me. I want to love You and obey You. I want to help others in the church and other Christians seriously take their walk and obedience to You. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly