2 Kings 24 – 25 part 15
In our final lesson on 2 Kings we will see God’s wrath on Judah take place as He uses the Babylonians to
destroy their kingdom and take them into captivity just as the Assyrians did to
the Northern kingdom.
2 Kings 24:1 In his
days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
came up, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned
and rebelled against him. 2
And the LORD sent against him raiding bands of Chaldeans, bands of
Syrians, bands of Moabites, and bands of the people of Ammon; He sent them
against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD which He had
spoken by His servants the prophets. 3
Surely at the commandment of the LORD this came upon Judah, to remove them
from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he
had done, 4 and also because
of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with
innocent blood, which the LORD would not pardon. 5 Now the rest of the acts of
Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Judah? 6 So Jehoiakim rested with his
fathers. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. 7 And the king of Egypt did not come out of his land anymore, for
the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged
to the king of Egypt from
the Brook of Egypt to the River Euphrates.
Before this time the Assyrians had been the reckoning force
over Palestine, but the Babylonians grew
stronger and the defeated the Assyrians and now they were in control of Palestine. They also ran
the Egyptians out of Palestine and took over
what they used to control including Judah. As we read after 3 years
Jehoiakim rebelled against the Babylonians, which didn’t do him any good
because Judah
fate was sealed. The only reason this came about was because it was God’s will
that it would happen. The limit of God’s mercy had been reached and because of
the multitude of sins that Judah
had committed and because of the evil things that Manasseh did during his
reign. It was time for Judah
to face the consequence of their sins and there would be no more pardons. As
Jeremiah said even if Moses or Samuel were alive to plead for Judah it was to late (Jer. 15). 2
Chr. account adds this:
2 Chronicles 36:15 And the
LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers,
rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His
people and on His dwelling place. 16
But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His
prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there
was no remedy. 17
Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans.
Since there was no remedy for them they would face the wrath
of God. This marks the first deportation of the Jews of Judah and begins their
70 years of captivity, which happened around 605 – 606 B.C. During this first
raid, young men like Daniel and royals
were taken.
Daniel 1:1 In the
third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem
and besieged it. 2 And the
Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of
the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his
god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god. 3 Then the king instructed
Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel
and some of the king's descendants and some of the nobles,
According to 2 Chr.
account King Nebuchadnezzar put Jehoiakim in bronze fetters and was going to
take him into captivity. However, it is believed
that Jehoiakim died or was killed before he was taken anywhere and his body was
cast to the side on the ground like a donkey outside of Jerusalem. This is believed because of what
Jeremiah said about him:
Jeremiah 22:18
Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
"They shall not lament for him, Saying, 'Alas, my brother!' or
'Alas, my sister!' They shall not lament for him, Saying, 'Alas,
master!' or 'Alas, his glory!' 19
He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey, Dragged and cast out beyond the
gates of Jerusalem.
Next we find out that his son Jehoiachin reins in his place.
2 Kings 24:8
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in
Jerusalem three
months. His mother's name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 And he did evil in the sight of
the LORD, according to all that his father had done.
2 Chr. account says he
was 8 years old in some versions, but this another one of those instances of a
textual variance with numbers. However, the textual evidence and external
evidence from historical witness show that he was 18 years old when he began
his reign. He is also called by the names Jeconiah and Coniah by Jeremiah and
Matthew (Jer. 22:24; Mat. 1:12) Even
though he only reigned for 3 months he was know for being evil.
2 Kings 24:10 At that
time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
came up against Jerusalem,
and the city was besieged. 11
And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
came against the city, as his servants were besieging it. 12 Then Jehoiachin king of Judah,
his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of
Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him
prisoner. 13 And he carried
out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of
the king's house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon
king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. 14 Also he carried into captivity
all Jerusalem:
all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and
all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the
land. 15 And he carried Jehoiachin
captive to Babylon.
The king's mother, the king's wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land
he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 All the valiant men, seven
thousand, and craftsmen and smiths, one thousand, all who were strong and
fit for war, these the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. 17 Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's
uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
From the best I can tell,
shortly after King Nebuchadnezzar had came and shackled Jehoiakim, he comes
again with his army and defeats Judah again. This siege happens around 597 B.C.
and this time we have a major deportation of the Jews in which he takes
thousands of captives. He basically takes everyone that could put up a fight
including Jehoiachin and his family. This time the King takes all the treasure
from the temple and the Kings house and cuts up the article of gold that
Solomon had made. Now, that Judah
has been humble once again, King Nebuchadnezzar made one of Josiah’s sons king.
His name was Mattaniah but Nebuchadnezzar renamed him to Zedekiah.
2 Kings 25:1 Now it
came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day
of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army
came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall
against it all around. 2 So
the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 By the ninth day of the fourth
month the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food
for the people of the land. 4
Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled at
night by way of the gate between two walls, which was by the king's garden,
even though the Chaldeans were still encamped all around against the
city. And the king went by way of the plain. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans
pursued the king, and they overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from
him. 6 So they took the king
and brought him up to the king of Babylon
at Riblah, and they pronounced judgment on him.
7 Then they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, put
out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon.
Apparently for 9 years
Zedekiah served Nebuchadnezzar, but then he rebelled according 2 Chron account.
He also would not listen to Jeremiah or Ezekiel. Both of these prophets tells
us what will happen to Judah
and to Zedekiah. Jeremiah tells us that Judah
and all the nations will serve Babylon
for 70 years (Jer. 25:11). One thing that might have confused Zedekiah is when
Jeremiah said,
Jeremiah 34:3 your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of
Babylon, he shall speak with you face to face, and you shall go to Babylon.' " '
Ezekiel 12:13 "I
will also spread My net over him, and he shall be caught in My snare. I will
bring him to Babylon,
to the land of the Chaldeans; yet he shall not see it, though he shall
die there.
See Jeremiah is saying
that he would see the king and be taken to Babylon,
but Ezekiel is saying he will be taken to Babylon
and he will not see it, but he will die there. While this may have been
confusing to Zedekiah, we have the privilege to see these prophecies fulfilled
because after the 2 year siege on Jerusalem
and the attempted escape of Zedekiah, he was brought before Nebuchadnezzar for
judgment in Riblah fulfilling Jeremiah’s prophecy. Then the King killed
Zedekiah’s sons in front of him and to make sure this would be last thing that
he would see he put out both his eyes and then took him to Babylon where he would die, which fulfills
Ezekiel’s prophecy.
Now both of these
prophets also predicted in these same chapters that Nebuchadnezzar would burn
and destroy Jerusalem
and we see that come to pass in our next verses.
2 Kings 25:8 And in
the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month (which was the
nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon),
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon,
came to Jerusalem. 9 He burned the house of the LORD
and the king's house; all the houses of Jerusalem,
that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire. 10 And all the army of the
Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls of
Jerusalem all
around. 11 Then Nebuzaradan
the captain of the guard carried away captive the rest of the people who remained
in the city and the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, with the
rest of the multitude. 12 But
the captain of the guard left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers
and farmers.
All this destruction and
mayhem happened around 586 B.C. and it marks the 3rd deportation of
the Jews and the last King of Judah. They burned down the kings house the
temple and tore down the walls that used to protect Jerusalem. They took more people into
captivity, but they still left some of the Jews behind.
2 Kings 25:13 The
bronze pillars that were in the house of the LORD, and the carts and the
bronze Sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in
pieces, and carried their bronze to Babylon.
14 They also took away the pots, the shovels, the trimmers,
the spoons, and all the bronze utensils with which the priests ministered. 15 The firepans and the basins,
the things of solid gold and solid silver, the captain of the guard took
away. 16 The two pillars, one
Sea, and the carts, which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, the
bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. 17 The height of one pillar was
eighteen cubits, and the capital on it was of bronze. The height of
the capital was three cubits, and the network and pomegranates all around the
capital were all of bronze. The second pillar was the same, with a network.
This is just giving us more details of the destruction of Jerusalem and how they
took away everything of value. Their destruction was so through that no one has
been able to find exactly where Solomon’s temple was.
2 Kings 25:18 And the
captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second
priest, and the three doorkeepers. 19
He also took out of the city an officer who had charge of the men of war, five
men of the king's close associates who were found in the city, the chief
recruiting officer of the army, who mustered the people of the land, and sixty
men of the people of the land who were found in the city. 20 So Nebuzaradan, captain of the
guard, took these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the
land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive from
its own land.
These people mentioned
here had been gathered up were taken to Riblah and executed. Not all the people
that were taken there were killed because Jer. 40 lets us know that Jeremiah
was taken there as well, but he was freed by Nebuzaradan and told he could go
where he pleased. He suggested that he might go back to Judah and live
there.
2 Kings 25:22 Then he
made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor over the people
who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left. 23 Now when all the captains of
the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made
Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah -- Ishmael the son of
Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Careah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the
Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men. 24 And Gedaliah took an oath
before them and their men, and said to them, "Do not be afraid of the
servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be
well with you." 25 But
it happened in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of
Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck and killed
Gedaliah, the Jews, as well as the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 And all the people, small and
great, and the captains of the armies, arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the
Chaldeans.
Gedaliah’s father and
grandfather had supported the reforms that King Josiah started under his reign
and Gedaliah was made governor over Judah. Ishmael had beef with him
and he kills him and some others that were associated with him. You can read
more about these events in Jer. 40 – 45. After he kills Gedaliah, many of the
Jews flee to Egypt
for their lives even though Jeremiah tells them not to go there. When they go,
they drag Jeremiah along with them (Jer. 43).
Jeremiah 52:30 also
records for us a 4th minor deportation of the Jews around 582 B.C.
that is not recorded in 2 Kings
2 Kings 25:27 Now it
came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the
twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, released Jehoiachin
king of Judah
from prison. 28 He spoke
kindly to him, and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were
with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin changed from his
prison garments, and he ate bread regularly before the king all the days of his
life. 30 And as for his
provisions, there was a regular ration given him by the king, a portion
for each day, all the days of his life.
For 37 years Jehoiachin survived as a prisoner and for
whatever reason when Evil-Merodach started reigning over Babylon he decides to let him go and treat
him well. He also allowed the other kings that had been captured go and gave
them seats of importance, but he put Jehoiachin in higher seat of honor and was
fed well. Historians tell us this lasted for about 2 years until Evil-Merodach’s
brother conspired against him and killed Him and it believed the Jehoiachin was
put to death at this time as well.
This brings us to a close of 2 Kings and the information it
provides for us. However, 2 Chronicles account goes beyond the Babylonian
captivity.
2 Chronicles 36:20 And
those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became
servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the LORD
by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as
she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. 22 Now in the first year of
Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might
be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that
he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in
writing, saying, 23 Thus says
Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has
given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem
which is in Judah.
Who is among you of all His people? May the LORD his God be with
him, and let him go up!
This briefly shows us that the Jews were in captivity for 70
years just as Jeremiah prophesied and the children of Israel would be allowed to return to Jerusalem when King Cyrus
defeated the Babylonians. Isaiah even names this king in Isaiah 45 almost 100
years before this happens, which once again shows how God’s prophecies that
were made through his prophets always came to pass. Of course you can read more
about the proclamation of King Cyrus to send the Jews back home in Ezra 1.
This brings us to the end of the Kings and hope you have
enjoyed these lessons as much as I have. These lessons have taught us a lot
about the nature of God and how He is in control. They have also shown us how
much God loves us and how merciful He is. They have also shown us that God’s
mercy has a limit and those who test His mercy will face His wrath. Knowing
this should motivate us to live holy lives before God so that we will be
prepared to stand before God on the Day of Judgment.