The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-06-01
TOday's Bible Talk
By GEORGE LEWIS BALES

Judah's king, Jehoiachin, and many of his subjects away to Babylon about J0O years B. C., he decided to place Zedekiah a native prince of Judah in power in Jerusalem.
 A treaty-agreement was accordingly drawn and solemnly signed, sealed and delivered. Under its terms Zedekiah had taken an oath not to lead, assist in, nor encourage any organized et- for to dispute or defeat the authority or over-lordship of the sovereign power of Babylon touching the subject state and subjugated people of Judah.
 "The Day
 Time came when Zedekiah and his advisers must have resolved themselves into a sort of German general staff. They had their military. program laid schemes of collusion with unscruplous allies; they were ready to strike ''in defense of the fatherland."
 But there was the treaty Would Babylon go to war over a scrap of paper. Especially, would she go to war when it meant fighting Egypt and two or three other lesser kingdoms who were going to help Judah?
 
 little militarists about him were busy holling staff meetings. They must have drunk their toasts, which on the one hand ridiculed the Pacific admonitions of Jeremiah. and on the other boasted of Der Tag g'-the day when the super men of Judah would let loose the dogs of war with such welding that in few brief days Babylon and the nations of the world would be on their knees beg ging for mercy.
 They would teach the world a real lesson in frightfulness.
 ''The Day came. Judah struck. The world was smaller then; the affairs of men and nations were not very complex. It didn't take three years to become fully aroused and to gather the powers of triumphant resistence.
 RetributiOn
 The first ching Judah knew Nebu- chadnezzar and the expeditionary forces of Babylon were at the gates of Jeru- salem. and Judah was put on the de- fensive. Defensive warefare never wins battles. The people prepared for a brave resistance.
 Judah's Egyptian ally manuvered to engage Nebuchadnezzar on the eastern front. The seize of Jerusalem was temporarily lifted. Egypt was defeated. and the seize recommended, and this time prosecuted to the death.
 Zedekiah with a small force at- tempted to escape. They got as far as Jerico where the Babylonian forces in the rear captured the king and the entire royal guard. Zedekiah was taken to the Babylonian c. H. c. at Riblah where his sons were put to death in his presence; he himself was, blinded bound in chains and carried to Baby lon.
 The seize lasted nearly two years With Jerusalem completely surrounded the enemy had little to do but hold still and let hunger, disease and resultant misery and death complete the destruc. tion. A few weeks later when the few remaining inhabitants and all the spells had been carried away the enemy pro. ceeded to burn the temple, the king $ palaces, all government and public buildings, together with all the more magnificent dwellings in Jerusalem They then leisurely set about batterine down and utterly destroying the ancient walls which had so long enclosed the city. The kingdom of Judah was at an end.
 Dr. Alexander Maclaren studied tht | passage at the head of this column and then wrote:
 The iron band that binds sin ant suffering is disclosed in Judah's fall It is still true that righteousness ex alteth q nation,' and that by the sou only are nations great in the true sense of the word. To depart from Coo is always bitter and an evil thing for communities and individuals, how. ever, sweet draughts of outward pros perity / may for q time mask the bit terness. Not armies nor fleets, not ships. colonies, and commerce, not mil lionaires and trusts, not politicians and diploma tists, but the fear of the Lord and the keeping of his commandments are the true life of a nation. If Chris tian men lived up to the ideal sci them by Jesus 'Ye are the salt of the land,' and sought more earnestly and wisely to leaven their nation, they would be doing more than any others to guarantee its perfect prosperity"