The Temple of Solomon

Incense was no longer burned upon the Altar of Incense, and no more burnt offerings were brought upon the Altar of Burnt Offerings. (2 Chronicles 29:7, 8.) The King in Judah, Manasseh, who was a sorcerer and a murderer, had pagan altars built in both courts of the House of the Lord. He even had pagan idols placed within the Temple and led the people by his example in how they should serve such idols (2 Chronicles 29:7, 8, 9) so that they might also obtain the good fortune of those nations who worshiped them—which was usually the goal of such idolatry. Following the ways and customs of the Egyptians, all sorts of images—both of creeping things and of beasts—were set up in the chambers of the House of the Lord (Ezekiel 8:10). Thus, the Temple, which God had chosen for His dwelling and sanctuary, was very often desecrated and dishonored in a terrifying manner by the blinded Jewish people through shameful idolatry.

Since many other abominations were also in vogue alongside this—as the haughty people, floating in pure bliss, did everything their sinful hearts craved and their eyes desired—God finally began to intervene. He awoke to punish them and threw the glory of Israel from heaven down to earth. (Lamentations 2:1 original: "Thren." refers to Threni, the Latin title for the Lamentations of Jeremiah..) He made the roads to Zion desolate (ch. 1:4) and filled all the inhabitants with misery on the day of His fierce anger (ch. 1:12). The Lord caused both the festivals and the Sabbath to be forgotten (ch. 2:6), rejected His altar, and abandoned His sanctuary (v. 7). He kindled a fire which, through its heat, also consumed their very foundations. For the righteous God led the Chaldeans The Babylonians, led by King Nebuchadnezzar II. (ch. 4:11) against them—a cruel and fierce people who came into the Jewish land with a hostile army and devastated everything with fire and sword. God gave their weapons a complete victory everywhere. No one had the courage to fight against them. Everyone fled before them, yet very few could escape their cruelty. Before them, the land was like a paradise; after them, like a desolate wilderness. But Jerusalem and its conquest was the main objective of their campaign. They surrounded it with a great military force (2 Chronicles 25:1) The source citation refers to the siege narrative; traditionally this is found in 2 Kings 25 or 2 Chronicles 36.; for two whole years they besieged and distressed it. When they finally broke into the city by force, they committed terrible acts of hostility. Everything they encountered was cut down. King Zedekiah was captured, bound with chains, and—after seeing his children pitifully slaughtered, he was robbed of both his eyes.