Jeremiah
52 reminds me of something every true sports fan knows and
understands; the Box Score. This is the short summary of a sporting
event that contains the player’s names, and statistics and the
totals. Betters and prognosticators use it to support their
predictions and check the final score. To the casual observer, it
has little importance, but it represents the drama, sweat and
conflict of the athletes and fans. At the end of the game, the box
score is set and will not be changed. Today’s chapter is the last
in a long and painful book about a nation ignoring warnings from her
prophet and it too gives us the stats and summaries of all the
players. The rookie had a bad outing, “Zedekiah
was twenty-one years old when he became king… he reigned…
eleven years… He did evil in
the eyes of the Lord“. And he
made a decisive error, “Zedekiah
rebelled against the king of Babylon“.
The visiting team was formidable, led by their all-star, “in
the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign… Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon marched against Jerusalem“.
It was a game of attrition, “The
city was kept
under siege until the eleventh year“.
The home team defense eventually caved, “By
the ninth… famine
in the city… no food for the people to eat… the city wall was
broken through, and the whole army fled“.
The rookie was forced to scramble for his life “the
Babylonian
army pursued King
Zedekiah and overtook him“.
It was a humiliating loss, “king
of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes… put out
Zedekiah’s eyes… put him in prison till the day of his death“.
He did not see that one coming.
The
dynasty continued and the champs took advantage of their opponent
trying to put the final nail in their coffin, “commander
of the imperial guard… came to Jerusalem… set fire to the temple
of the Lord… Every important building he burned down… broke down
all the walls around Jerusalem“.
They sacked the city and looted everything in an attempt to destroy
the storied program of the Jews. The home team was devastated, “they
carried all the bronze to
Babylon… all the bronze articles used in the temple service… all
that were made of pure gold or silver… which King Solomon had made
for the temple of the Lord“.
The glory years were gone.
They
even hijacked the key personnel, “The
commander of the guard took as prisoners… the chief priest… the
officer in charge of the fighting men… and brought them to the king
of Babylon… had them executed“.
The chapter ends with the champions savoring every minute of the
clock, even scoring again at the end, “So
Judah went into captivity, away from her land“.
The sports writers were busy tallying the final numbers. The game
was over, but God would rebuild. The chapter ends with a gut feeling
that the program of the Jews would return. Jehoiachin, the last
legitimate descendant of King David had been kept safe in prison for
37 years. The old veteran put his game jersey back on, “Jehoiachin
put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate
regularly at the king’s table“.
He is named in the genealogy of the Messiah. It was the sudden
death of Jesus that paid the debt to purchase us out of slavery to
sin. By faith, we are resurrected to breathe life into our
desperation. I checked the Box Score, the Savior has already won the
victory and you can join His team. The ball is in your court. Do
you believe in Miracles?