Based on Jeremiah 39 (New King James Version)
“In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem, and besieged it. In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the city was penetrated. Then all the princes of the king of Babylon came in and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer, Samgar-Nebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergal-Sarezer, Rabmag, with the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon. So it was, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, that they fled and went out of the city by night, by way of the king’s garden, by the gate between the two walls. And he went out by way of the plain. But the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had captured him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him. Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes in Riblah; the king of Babylon also killed all the nobles of Judah. Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon. And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the houses of the people with fire, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive to Babylon the remnant of the people who remained in the city and those who defected to him, with the rest of the people who remained. But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left in the land of Judah the poor people, who had nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time. Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying, ‘Take him and look after him, and do him no harm; but do to him just as he says to you.’ So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent Nebushasban, Rabsaris, Nergal-Sharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon’s chief officers; then they sent someone to take Jeremiah from the court of the prison, and committed him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should take him home. So he dwelt among the people. Meanwhile the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying, ‘Go and speak to Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring My words upon this city for adversity and not for good, and they shall be performed in that day before you. But I will deliver you in that day,’ says the Lord, ‘and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but your life shall be as a prize to you, because you have put your trust in Me,’ says the Lord.’ ”
There are times when God brings about His justice here on earth in very unexpected ways, using people or things that one would never think of. In reality, it's unpredictable, not because God is trying to confuse us, but because we simply don't have God's capacity, nor can we see the whole picture He sees. In the passage we read, we see that God used a being that many would think was despicable, cruel, and bloody. Some who don't know the whole story might think: “How could God use a cruel, pagan king to punish His people?” And they might also say: “I thought God is love and that He doesn't punish.”
To begin, we must understand that God is love, but just because He is love, He cannot ignore the other things that He is as well: that He is holy, that He is just, and that He is consuming fire. God within Himself has a balance, so to speak, and because He has that balance, there are also limits. The Word says that He is slow to anger and of great mercy. But does slow to anger and of great mercy mean that His wrath will never be manifested if a person or group of people persist in doing evil? Or does the fact that His mercy is great mean that it is unlimited, and that He will endure constant rebellion? No. This is the error that exists today, in which many conveniently think that God's wrath will never come and that His mercy is unlimited because He is love. This was the error that Israel made in the past, because for a long time they did not take the Lord seriously, nor the covenant He made with them. And they mistakenly thought that God would never do anything against them. But this same thing was prophesied before evil came upon the nation: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these.’ ‘For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. ‘Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,’ says the Lord. ‘But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. And now, because you have done all these works,’ says the Lord, ‘and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer, therefore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brethren—the whole posterity of Ephraim.” Jeremiah 7:3-15. God brought this about because they persisted in doing evil.
Many so-called believers today think they are a temple of the Lord because they prayed at some point, or because they do things that seem spiritual, or because they profess some kind of faith. But the point is that it is not a good idea for us to think we are right because of what we think or feel. It is written: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” Isaiah 5:20-21. And the Lord said this also: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21. God's promises are unshakeable, because God is unshakeable, but a person always has the freedom to seek His will or to do as he or she pleases, as well as to remain in the Lord or to stray away. Therefore, we must use our free will to seek God's true will and do it wholeheartedly, because the only thing that matters is how God will see us when we stand before His throne one day, as it is written: “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…” 2 Corinthians 5:9-11a. God’s justice will come, and it will be fulfilled in the great judgment. So then, will you be ready for when God’s judgment comes? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel!