And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the Lord, and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the Lord, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon.
This record of the removal of the temple structures comes at the end of Jeremiahs somewhat depressing book. Just for a moment he stops sorrowing, though of course he was right to do so. Times were bad. But the record here is intruiging. Why the detail of these structures? Jeremiah doesn’t need to tell us about the dimensions and scale of these things, we know already. Just tells us what’s happening Jeremiah, the detail is superfluous. Jeremiah under the hand of The Holy Spirit begs to differ.
Perhaps if we imagine for a moment the sorrow that fills this mans heart. And as if Nebuzaradan is dealing the final blow to the Jewish nation, he takes down, piece by piece, the very thing that stood for all they held dear. These were great structures but they were not beyond being dissasembled by the powerful invader. In fact these structures were simply that – structures – they may have filled the Jew with awe and passion but it was just metal and timber and they were useful materials that would benefit the Babylon economy. It didn’t matter that they were so colossal. Big they might be, as long as Jewish religion was tied up in physical things it was hopelessly fragile and dispensable.
How wonderful that our blessings are in heaven and our security is in Christ. Our faith cannot be disassembled. Our salvation cannot be pulled down. What a wonderful Saviour, what a Great Salvation!
