The Fast of Tisha BAv and the return of Adonai Tzidkenu=2

Jerusalem 

Israel's Last King

In about 600 BC, when Jehoiakim stopped paying tribute to Nebuchadnezzar in the hopes of forming an alliance with Egypt, Babylon once again laid siege to Jerusalem. Just two years later, Jehoiakim died.  In fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy, Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) sat on the throne for just over three months before Nebuchadnezzar deposed him, ending the reign of Jehoiakim's descendants (2 Chronicles 36:8–9; 2 Kings 24:8). Nebuchadnezzar then plundered the Temple, exacting an oath of loyalty from Zedekiah, whom he placed on the throne. He returned to Babylon with Jeconiah as prisoner, along with the elite of the people, including the Prophet Ezekiel.

Jewish women worship at the Western (Wailing Wall).

During this time, Jeremiah worked to help the people understand that their exile was God’s judgment for having turned away from Him and His laws.  He continuously implored them to repent wholeheartedly. Jeremiah prophesied to the exiles that God would return them to Jerusalem in 70 years.  In the meantime, he instructed them to rebuild their lives and be good citizens of Babylon. He sent them the following message: “Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce.  ‘Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease.  ‘Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’  …  For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfil My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.’”  (Jeremiah 29:5–10)

The Destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem.

Though Zedekiah pledged loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar, he revolted against Babylon (against Jeremiah’s advising).  Nebuchadnezzar again laid siege to Jerusalem for two and a half years. Hoping to reverse the consequences of his actions, Zedekiah asked Jeremiah to pray that God would deliver them from the invading forces.  The prophet told Zedekiah to surrender for his children’s sake and the people of the city, but he refused, throwing Jeremiah instead into a dungeon. When Nebuchadnezzar suddenly withdrew because he heard that Egyptian forces were marching against him, Jeremiah prophesied that he would return. He continued to warn about the upcoming destruction, which apparently lowered morale among the soldiers.  Following Jeremiah’s instructions would have relieved the impending doom; instead, Zedekiah allowed officials to throw him into a waterless cistern where he sank in the mud. Yet, God saved Jeremiah’s life when a Cushite pleaded on his behalf before the king and attained his release.

 

On Tisha B'Av, Jewish men pray and read, kneeling

and seated on the ground at the Western (Wailing)

Wall, which is just below the Temple Mount in the

Old City of Jerusalem.

  

Though Zedekiah did not listen to any warning Jeremiah gave him before, he brought Jeremiah into a private room and asked him for the truth.  Jeremiah gave the king hope, telling him how to save his own life and those of his family and nation. “This is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be sparedand this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live.  But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians and they will burn it down; you yourself will not escape from them.’”  (Jeremiah 38:17–18) Like many people, Zedekiah’s great downfall was his fear of man over God.  He told Jeremiah,  “I am afraid of the Jews who have gone over to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me.”  (Jeremiah 38:19) Fearing the people more than the God of Israel, Zedekiah did not surrender to Babylon.

A model of the Second Temple on Jerusalem's Temple Mount

Consequently, in the 11th year of Zedekiah’s reign, the city wall was breached.  By this time, many had died from starvation and sickness.  Zedekiah fled through a tunnel but was captured on the plains of Jericho. In fulfilment of Jeremiah’s final, unheeded warning, Zedekiah was taken captive and forced to witness the death of his own sons before the Babylonians gouged out his eyes and led him in bronze chains to Babylon. The walls of Jerusalem were torn down and the city was set on fire, including the royal palace. The destruction of the Temple came toward evening on the 9th of Av after all of its treasures had been removed and taken as booty to Babylon. Many were killed and thousands were taken into captivity.  Only the poorest of the poor were allowed to remain and they were given vineyards and fields (Jeremiah 39:10). As a consequence of sin, Zedekiah became the last king of Judah, and all that Jeremiah prophesied was fulfilled and continues to be fulfilled.

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