What is the meaning of the statement that God “has brought down to the ground in dishonour the kingdom and its rulers”?
God deprived the land of its special sacral character. It seemed that the Lord broke the relationship between him and his covenant people (see Psalm 89:38–45). The kingdom includes the last king, along with the entire kingly line of David. The kingdom with its rulers is overthrown by God.1 The entire society is affected and has become powerless. God has desecrated his own property (see Psalm 89:39; Isaiah 47:6).2 The once honoured kingdom of God’s chosen people has been brought down in a humiliating defeat by God.3
2 Le Seigneur a détruit sans pitié toutes les demeures de Jacob; Il a, dans sa fureur, renversé les forteresses de la fille de Juda, Il les a fait rouler à terre; Il a profané le royaume et ses chefs.