3164 AM (596 BCE) – SHIVA ASSAR B’TAMMUZ – 17TH OF TAMMUZ
The pounding was incessant. It was a slow thud, like a palm to the forehead every few seconds. In one sense, it was an annoyance easily ignored; in another, it was the constant reminder that the bloodthirsty Babylonians were just outside.
And while this was the foremost concern of most of the inhabitants of the fortified city of Jerusalem, the priests had other concerns. The priests had gathered around Jehozadak in despair and disbelief. A crisis of another sort was unfolding. They looked upon the daily Tamid in irreconcilable astonishment. The flames of the Tamid were getting lower and lower and lower, and then, finally, they altogether went out. Then there was just smoke.
Jehozadak and the other priests tore their clothes and wailed loudly to Adonai. This was the first time since King Solomon anointed the Temple with the first sacrifices that the daily Tamid had ever gone out. But nothing remained in the city that could be permitted to burn on the altar. The Babylonian siege had cut off any resupplies from the outside, and the light of the city on the hill had gone out.
But then they heard it … everyone heard it. The walls. Like a herd of elephants or a small earthquake, the walls, or at least a portion of them, had fallen. The Babylonians were invading. It was surreal. Many were in disbelief. King Jehoiakim had assured everyone that the walls would hold, just as the gates had held. But somehow, the Babylonians had found a flaw, a weakness they could exploit.
Like the priests, the people wailed and tore their clothes at the breach of their city. Shouts could be heard, “How could Adonai abandon us!”
But the truth was far more painful than even that. All of Judah had been given an opportunity to surrender to the Babylonians, who were, in fact, not bloodthirsty. If you asked King Nebuchadnezzar, he likely would have said simply, “Adonai has sent us to take you into captivity, as he did with King Manasseh.”
But instead of surrendering and willingly being taken to Babylon—which would also be an admission of their disobedience to Adonai and an admission of their willful idolatry—they chose to stay in the city in defiance of Adonai and Babylon. But Adonai had spoken to many prophets, including Micah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah, along with many others. The message was simple: “Go to Babylon. Learn your lesson. Live well, and then you can come home. Or stay in Jerusalem, watch its destruction, live under siege, and possibly even eat your young. And the survivors will still be taken to Babylon.”
But those remaining in Jerusalem had refused the warnings. Maybe they were afraid to put themselves in the hands of Adonai. Maybe they needed a Moses figure to intercede for them, like at the first Shavuot, when Moses was forced by the people to face Adonai alone to receive the Torah.
But the best approach, when dealing with Adonai, is, and always has been, not to struggle, O Israel. Face Adonai in repentance, and he will bestow favor and forgiveness. As Jeremiah promised, if they would stop doing evil and start doing good, then the evil they had done would be forgotten. But, as Jeremiah also warned, if they stop doing good and go back to doing evil, then even the good they had done will be forgotten.
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The Babylonian General came to the very shaken King Jehoiakim, who was surprised that not only was he still alive but that very few had actually died. Only those who had resisted the Babylonians in armed conflict were put down.
As King Jehoiakim approached, the General turned to him, “Many Jews could have died today. But we were told to bring Judah to Babylon, not slaughter you. This time. I will select ten thousand to be taken to Babylon. They will be noblemen, leadership, entrepreneurs, artists, priests, wise men, and academics.”
“But why?” the King pleaded in genuine sincerity.
“Unlike you, O great king, I don’t question my orders or commands; I fulfill them. I choose obedience because obedience brings life. Nobody else need die today if you also choose life and allow me to fulfill my obligation.”
“Uh,” the King stammered, “I mean, of course. I … ”
“Tell your army to stand down and have everyone assemble. I will take whom I take.”
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The King complied with the General, who was quick in his selection. Within just a few hours, columns of prisoners were on their way to Babylon. The General once again approached the King, “We will be back in less than a decade. Prepare yourselves. I will be coming for everyone else.”
“And after that, we will send Nebuzaradan, the destroyer of cities. Unlike me, he shows no restraint. He has no compassion. He carries out his task, for he has only the one, with cold efficiency. There is no discussion, no pleading, no parley. The next time I come is the last chance anyone has to live. When he comes, it is for everyone else to die.”
The blood rushed out of Jehoiakim’s face. He was as pale as the few corpses scattered around. Fear and panic seized him, but the General was not done yet, “You will stay here and prepare the people. You do this, and you will also live. You defy me, and we will kill your family before you and gouge out your eyes, so that it will be the last thing you see. If you cannot trust the words of your Adonai, I assure you that you can trust my words; they will happen exactly as I have said.”
The armies of Babylon quickly withdrew, and suddenly Jehoiakim was left alone with his ruined city and his ruined thoughts.
Used with permission by the author. Find the author’s complete works online: Complete Works of Mack Samuels
