Jeremiah 52:12-23 Temple Burned
As we recount the fall of Jerusalem, we also revisit the time the Temple burned. Not before it was looted of all its precious metals.
Before we get into the destruction of the Temple, I want to point out something that always made it a little harder for me to follow the timeline in Kings and Chronicles. It has to do with the dates. In this chapter of Jeremiah alone it stands out. In verse 6 we see the Chaldeans enter into Jerusalem. This entry is recorded in terms of King Zedekiah’s length of rule. It happened in the 11th year, in the 4th month, on the 9th day. That is extremely precise. But in verse 12 we see the events recorded from the perspective of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. This same event happened in the 19th year, in the 5th month, on the 10th day. Not even the day of the month are in agreement!
This is what we contend with, especially in the books of 1st and 2nd Kings. Events are recorded, not on a specific calendar date, but according to the day each king took the throne. When recording from the two halves of Israel, each king from each half would start the count over when he took the throne. So, overlap and understanding of exactly how long was a struggle and not precise. Another issue that made tracking imprecise was that sometimes the time was rounded off. A month may not have been exactly 30 days when represented. The last confounding issue to me is how when the Hebrew day began. Which may account for the difference in a day in our current chapter.
Let me just say that I am grateful beyond words for whoever took the time to piece together the timeline of the kings that I refer too quite often for dates and sequences. I tried doing it using an Excel spreadsheet but got totally bogged down and lost before the task was complete.
As a final example, I want to provide the date of this day in both the Hebrew/Jewish calendar and the Gregorian calendar. Jewish date today is: 26th day, of the 9th month, of the year 5784; 26 Kislev 5784. Gregorian date today is: 9th day, of the 12th month, 2023; December 9, 2023. I’m was curious as to which day they started counting so I looked it up. They claim to have started counting at the first day of creation. The Gregorian calendar records that date as 3761 BC. Adding the BC and AD dates together brings the same number of years as the Jewish accounting. I would surmise that with the addition or omission of a 13th month in the Jewish calendar and the addition or omission of an extra day in the Gregorian calendar, they balance out. I wonder if it balances out exactly.
Ok. I think that ‘rabbit trail’ is completely exhausted. Let’s get on into our reading for today. (Sometimes it’s a wonder that I get anywhere with all the ‘rabbit trails’ that my mind runs down.)
Jeremiah lists for us all that was burned when the Chaldeans entered Jerusalem. I don’t think the list is in chronological order but in order of importance or significance. Notice that the House of the Lord is listed first. Second is the king’s house. Then “ALL the houses of Jerusalem; every great house” (verse 13b, emphasis added) were burned down.
Next, we are told that ALL the army of the Chaldeans broke down ALL the walls around Jerusalem. We KNOW that this didn’t happen in one day. I say this because Zedekiah, his household, the elders, and the fighting men snuck out between a gap in the wall near the king’s gate. If all the walls were broken down immediately, they could have all ran any which direction they wanted to for escape. Is it possible that the walls were left standing until all the people were rounded up, just for this reason?
The last thing that this section of reading focuses on is what was taken from the Temple before it was burned. There were instruments used in the temple of bronze, silver and gold. We are not given a count or listing of what was made of what. But we do see that the Bronze Sea, the stands of bronze and the two HUGE pillars of bronze were taken and cut into pieces for removal. They were too large to take out ‘as is’. Something to note is that the stands were not in their original condition. King Ahaz cut them in half. Ahaz also took the bronze sea off the backs of the bronze oxen holding it and replaced the bronze altar with an altar of his own. I don’t remember seeing these things corrected anywhere. It is possible that, when Josiah cleaned the Temple, he put things back the way they were supposed to be.
I know that the Temple was pilfered several times over the years so there is probably no accurate count of what was left for the Chaldeans to carry away. The gold was already stripped off the doors and door posts. I don’t know if the walls and floors were still covered in gold. As the Ark in not mentioned in what was taken, it is probable that it was already removed. Jewish literature suggests that Jeremiah hid the Ark before the Temple was sacked. Its location has been lost over the years. No matter how much was missing, there was still a SIGNIFICANT amount of wealth taken by the Chaldeans. The bronze pillars and bronze sea (with the oxen) alone were enormous. There were silver and gold items too. And what was taken was not melted down before being brought to Babylon.
I’m wondering how long it took to loot the Temple, destroy the walls, round up all the people, and burn the city. It seems to me it would have taken some time to do all this. I would expect that they torched the city on the way out or maybe burned it in sections as they cleared the sections. It took deliberate action to create all the damage done. And I would almost bet the farm that they made the people watch as they destroyed their homes.
THIS TOO was part of their punishment from God. It’s one thing to see destruction from a distance but it’s something all together different to have it happen to your own property and right before your eyes. It instills a feeling of helplessness and defeat. It can also give rise to fear. Fear that the same thing will happen again. This was a needed lesson for Judah and Israel. They were putting their trust in foreign gods. God showed them how vulnerable they were without Him. It would be a lesson that would last a LONG time.
We have to be mindful of what we are putting our trust in. Are we trusting in the finances we have? Are we feeling safe and secure because we have a house and car? Are we looking to our pantry for our survival? Or are we putting our trust in the Lord? He can supply ALL these things for us but He will NOT be replaced by them. Put your trust in material things and they WILL fail you. Put your trust in Him and they won’t matter because He can replace them if need be.
Father God, thank You for all You have blessed me with. But most of all, THANK YOU for being my Provider. My Salvation. My Redeemer. My Comforter. My EVERYTHING. Nothing this earth has to offer even comes close. Help me always remember that, especially in the times when blessings are pouring forth. It is too easy to get my eyes diverted. I NEVER want to let ANYTHING else on the throne of my heart. And I PRAY I am never in need of a lesson such as the one Judah received that day.
