(a) Describe king Nebuchadnezzar's attack on Judah. [11 marks] (b) List four effects of war on a nation.[4 marks]

Answer Details

(a) King Nebuchadnezzar's attack on Judah (2 Kings 24-25; 2 Chronicles 36)

• Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Judah during the reign of Jehoiakim, who became his servant for three years and then rebelled.
• When Jehoiachin (Jehoiakim's son) reigned, Nebuchadnezzar's servants besieged Jerusalem, and the king himself came against the city. Jehoiachin surrendered, and Nebuchadnezzar carried him captive to Babylon along with his mother, officials and mighty men.
• Nebuchadnezzar looted the treasures of the temple of the Lord and of the royal palace, and cut in pieces the gold vessels which Solomon had made. He carried away into exile all Jerusalem, the princes, the mighty men of valour, the craftsmen and the smiths, about ten thousand captives, leaving only the poorest people of the land.
• He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah. But Zedekiah also rebelled against Babylon.
• In Zedekiah's ninth year Nebuchadnezzar returned with all his army and besieged Jerusalem, building siegeworks around it. The famine grew so severe that there was no food for the people.
• The city wall was broken through; Zedekiah fled but was captured near Jericho. His sons were slain before his eyes, then his eyes were put out, and he was bound and taken to Babylon.
• Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, burned the temple, the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem, broke down the walls, and carried the rest of the people into exile, leaving only some of the poor to be vinedressers and farmers.

(b) Four effects of war on a nation

1. Loss of many lives and destruction of families through killing and captivity.
2. Destruction of property, homes, cities and places of worship.
3. Famine, poverty and economic collapse as farms, trade and industry are ruined.
4. Displacement of people, exile and refugees, with loss of freedom and national dignity.