Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 25
After the defeat of Jerusalem, Babylon’s soldiers acted with great cruelty towards the people who were still alive there. Babylon’s soldiers did not care that these people were weak and hungry. They did not respect even the priests or the old people. Instead, Babylon’s soldiers robbed the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They forced the women to have sex with them. They killed many people. The Book of Lamentations records how terribly Jerusalem’s people suffered at this time.
However, for several weeks, Jerusalem itself still looked like a great city. The great temple, God’s house, still stood at the highest place in the city. Jerusalem had several palaces and many great houses – these, too, were still standing. Even the great wall, the city’s main defence which completely surrounded the city, had only one major hole in it. It would not be a difficult matter to repair the wall. If a future ruler of Jerusalem did that, then Jerusalem’s people might use their city to oppose Babylon’s army again. It had taken Babylon’s army almost two years to overcome Jerusalem’s defences. So of course they would not allow Jerusalem to be strong again.
The decision that Babylon’s officials made, was to destroy Jerusalem completely, by fire. King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Nebuzaradan, one of his most important officials, to organise this. Babylon’s soldiers burned the city’s gates (Nehemiah 2:17); they burned the wooden roofs, columns and inner walls in the important buildings (for example, 1 Kings 6:15 and 7:2-7). Of course, stone does not burn, so the soldiers had to pull down the stone walls. Psalms 74 and 79 seem to describe these terrible events.
Next part: Babylon's army forces Jerusalem's people to march to Babylon (2 Kings 25:11-12)
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