Jeremiah 39&40:

• This is one of the cruelest events in the Bible. Though Zedekiah was a proud and wicked king of Jerusalem, he suffers on many levels here. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has Zedekiah’s sons “slaughtered…before his eyes,” (39:6) then puts out his eyes (39:7). This is the last thing Zedekiah sees as he lives his remaining days blind and in captivity.
• There is an ironic turn of justice that I had not noticed before. Only the poor and powerless are left in Jerusalem as the desirable and powerful are carried off to Babylon. 39:10 says that these poor people were given vineyards and fields. Within this terrifying and violent event, the year of jubilee (Leviticus 25) is effectually applied toward the poor…possibly for the only time in history.
• • LORD, You do not delight in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11) and neither should I. Nor should I take pleasure in their suffering, even if it is God’s will for a season. There must be a part of God’s sovereign will that I should rejoice in and participate with. And there must be a part of God’s sovereign will that I should mourn and seek mercy within. LORD, give me the wisdom to see my part in Your plan. (James 1:5)