When God pronounces a judgment, the verdict has already been determined, and He then declares what will happen in that person’s life. Divine judgment may also fall upon a city where sin is practiced openly. Those who ignore the Lord’s warnings will suffer for choosing the worst side, that of the devil (Luke 10:12–15). Therefore, before it is too late, the inhabitants of such places must repent in order to escape condemnation!

The Israelites who made up the kingdom of Judah were behaving like Ephraim, the northern kingdom that was invaded by the Assyrians. The rulers of Samaria ignored heavenly warnings, choosing to seek Baal instead of turning to the Creator of heaven and earth. Because of this choice, God warned them that their kingdom would be destroyed and that they would be scattered among the nations; yet even then, they did not repent (2 Kings 17).

Wickedness took hold of the descendants of Jacob who had separated themselves from the house of David, to the point that the warnings from Heaven were completely ignored. When defeat became inevitable, they surrendered and were scattered among the nations. For nearly a century, the kingdom of Judah lived under the influence of evil powers; but when the time of accountability arrived, they realized the terrible cost of their rebellion.

The authorities of the kingdom of Judah acted in ways that led to the same fate as that of Samaria. As often happens even today, they only believed God’s warnings when they were already being taken into captivity toward Babylon. Jerusalem was burned, its walls, once the city’s pride, were torn down, and its people, including those few who had not practiced evil, were led away in chains for more than a thousand kilometers. Tragedy!

They had strayed so far that they burned incense to foreign gods, honoring the prince of darkness, who led them into the most degrading practices. Human nature, corrupted by sin, caused those people to repeat the destructive behaviors they had learned, until repentance disappeared entirely. It was a dreadful scene, as people openly celebrated and claimed that Baal satisfied their desires!

All the trees of that land served as a brothel (Ezekiel 20:27-31). When a man sinned, he sought out the priest of Baal and told him what had happened. Then that “authority” prescribed the remedy to cleanse him of his error: he should take a woman, married or virgin, with or without consent, and take her under a tree to have carnal relations.

What dark days those were! However, when they were taken to Babylon, where they spent 70 years in captivity, they saw the result of their sins. Jesus will return to take us and send the lost to eternal damnation!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares