What parallels exist between Psalm 79:3 and the destruction of Jerusalem in 2 Kings? Setting the Scene • Psalm 79 is Asaph’s lament over a devastated Jerusalem. • 2 Kings 21–25 records how Judah’s sin and Babylon’s invasion produced that devastation. • Psalm 79:3 describes two horrors: (1) blood poured out “like water,” and (2) no one left to bury the slain. 2 Kings supplies the historical details that match both images. Key Passages “They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead.” “…for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was unwilling to forgive.” 2 Kings 25:18-21 (BSB, abridged) “Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest… and sixty men… and brought them to the king of Babylon… The king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah. So Judah went into exile from its land.” “In the seventh month, Ishmael… struck down Gedaliah… and the men of Judah and the Chaldeans… Then all the people… departed and went to Egypt…” Line-by-Line Parallels 1. Blood “poured out like water” • 2 Kings 21:16; 24:4—Manasseh and later Babylon “filled Jerusalem with innocent blood.” • 2 Kings 25:18-21—executions of priests and officials add to the carnage. • The simile “like water” points to sheer volume and worthlessness; 2 Kings repeatedly stresses how commonplace death became. 2. “All around Jerusalem” • 2 Kings 25:1-2—Babylon’s siege encircles the city. • 2 Kings 25:9-10—Nebuzaradan burns every important building “all the houses of Jerusalem,” extending destruction in every direction. 3. “No one to bury the dead” • 2 Kings 25:11-12—most survivors are deported, leaving too few to tend corpses. • 2 Kings 25:25-26—after Gedaliah’s murder, the remnant flees to Egypt, abandoning the slain. • This fulfills Deuteronomy 28:26 and Jeremiah 14:16, where unburied bodies are a covenant curse. 4. Desecration of holy ground • Psalm 79 laments that Jerusalem is defiled by blood. • 2 Kings 25:9—Babylonians burn the temple, an act of defilement matching Asaph’s grief. Shared Themes • Covenant judgment—both passages portray God’s promised discipline for persistent sin (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28). • Public disgrace—unburied bodies publicly shame the nation (Jeremiah 16:4). • Cry for justice—Psalm 79 pleads for divine vengeance; 2 Kings shows that the Lord already acted through Babylon (Habakkuk 1:6-11). Why It Matters Today • Scripture’s historical books (2 Kings) and poetic laments (Psalm 79) corroborate each other, underscoring the reliability of God’s Word. • The vivid parallels warn that sin’s consequences are real and severe, yet they also prepare the way for the hope proclaimed later in Scripture (Jeremiah 31:31-34). • Remembering these events fuels gratitude for Christ, who bore covenant curses on the cross so that those who trust Him might be spared the judgment Jerusalem endured. |
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