Daily Devotional For Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Good morning Southside! Our daily devotional for today comes from 2 Kings 25:8-12:
“On August 14 of that year, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem. (9) He burned down the Temple of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings in the city. (10) Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side. (11) Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, took as exiles the rest of the people who remained in the city, the defectors who had declared their allegiance to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the population. (12) But the captain of the guard allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind to care for the vineyards and fields” (NLT).
There is nothing glamorous about war even though videogames make them appear that way. War brings death, destruction, disease, despair and disappointment. In our text, everything structurally important to Jerusalem, Judah and the Jews was destroyed by Babylon. Think about our country. What if we were invaded and our enemy destroyed the capital, the White House, the Supreme Court, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, etc. It would be devastating to us as Americans. Old Testament scholar Philip Ryken writes this:
“This is the essential plotline of Stars Wars: Episode III—The Revenge of the Sith, a 2005 film directed by George Lucas. By the end of the movie, things have gone very badly for the Galactic Republic. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine has been exposed as a Dark Lord, known as Darth Sidious. His protégé Anakin Skywalker has gone over to the dark side by betraying the other members of the Jedi Council and becoming Darth Vader. Their new and evil empire will bring death and destruction to the galaxy. But there is one small ray of hope—or perhaps two rays of hope. Anakin’s wife, Padme, has given birth to twins who are destined to become Jedi Masters. The film ends with Princess Leia and then Luke Skywalker being placed into the secret care of adoptive parents on two different planets. In the final scene, two suns rise on the horizon with the promise of a future victory. Light will triumph over darkness” (Source: Philip Ryken, Reformed Expository Commentary, “2 Kings,” pp. 413-414).
When we read the books of 1 & 2 Kings, Jeremiah, Daniel, Zechariah, and 2 Chronicles, they read like a page out of Star Wars. The dark side of the force of Babylon under Darth Vader Nebuchadnezzar, has totally destroyed Judah and Jerusalem. To Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar, this was their doing. Scripture says there was a greater force at work here: the force of Yahweh discipling His people for their sin, rebellion, idolatry and infanticide. God had warned His people this would happen in the Mosaic Law (Lev. 26:14-29).
By the time this was coming to an end, people were paying for food with their lives and they had turned to cannibalism of their dead children just to survive. The prophet Jeremiah had warned King Zedekiah, but he refused to listen. He was captured, brought before Nebuchadnezzar and watched his sons be slaughtered and they gouged out his eyes, thus making him blind. The Babylonians were brutal and ruthless. This means none of us should be blind to God’s justice and when it comes it is well deserved.
The Babylonians were operating as God’s instrument of justice and this means God will do that to us as well. Nearly every building in Jerusalem was burned to the ground. People lost everything and all the buildings that reminded them of God’s promise and covenant were burned down to ashes.
Some of the sacred artifacts since the days of Solomon were taken. Think if an enemy took our original Declaration of Independence and original Constitution from the Smithsonian back to their country to display our defeat and to brag of their victory. What if an enemy burned every church down and confiscated every Bible? For the Babylonians, they were very interested in all the bronze items in the Temple as prizes of conquest.
The pillaging of the Temple was the fulfillment of divine prophecy (1 Kgs. 9:6-8; Jer. 27:16-22). God fulfilled His warning to His people. This story calls for reflection and repentance.. So many people think they can sin with impunity. They do not believe their sins will not be noticed by God nor will we have to face the consequences of our sin (Num. 23:23). This was the third deportation of Jews into exile into Babylon going all the way back to Daniel as consequences for their sin (2 Kgs. 24:14-16; Dan. 1:1-6).
By the time King Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon were finished, there was nothing left of Jerusalem except the poorest of the poor starving. To strike fear into the people, Nebuchadnezzar rounded up all the leaders and had them killed (2 Kgs. 25:18-21).
Reflection Assignment: Do you take your own sin seriously or do you think that since you are saved, you can sin and God will understand? If you take your sin seriously, what is the proof of your repentance and remorse? If our enemies took all our elected and appointed leaders in Washington and killed them, what do you think that would do to us?
Scripture To Meditate On: Romans 2:4, “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, please forgive me if I do not take my sin seriously. I never want to appear as taking Your grace for granted nor do I ever want to seem to be taking advantage of Your mercy. I understand I will reap what I sow. I understand that You will not allow me to sin without any sense of repentance. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly