2 Kings 24-25
What I Noticed Today (2 Kings 24-25)
2 Kings 24-25 conclude the recounting of the kings of Judah.
2 Kings 24
In verses 1-7, Nebuchadnezzar came up against Judah during Jehoiakim’s reign and enslaved them for three years.
Note: Nebuchadnezzar was the son of Nabopolassar. He became king of Babylon in 605 B.C. and attacked Judah later in the same year. He also took captives back to Babylon including Daniel and his friends (Daniel 1:1-3).
- After three years Jehoiakim rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.
Note: We know from 2 Chronicles 36:6 that Jehoiakim was taken to Babylon as a prisoner.
- The Lord sent Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim to destroy Judah because of the sins of Manasseh.
- Jehoiakim died, and his son Jehoiachin reigned in his place.
In verse 7, Pharaoh (Neco) did not march into Judah again. He lost all the territory from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River to Nebuchadnezzar (this included all of Palestine).
In verses 8-9, Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for only three months. He was a bad king doing evil in the eyes of the Lord.
In verses 10-17, Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, and Jehoiachin surrendered.
- Nebuchadnezzar carried away to Babylon the king and his household along with all the remaining treasures in the house of the Lord and the king’s house. Only the poorest people were left in Jerusalem.
- Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin’s son, Mattaniah, king of Judah and changed his name to Zedekiah.
In verses 18-21, Zedekiah was 21-years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem (597-586 B.C.).
- He was a bad king doing evil in the eyes of the Lord.
- After some time, Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.
Note: We know from Jeremiah 37-38 that Zedekiah made an alliance with Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt.
2 Kings 25
In verses 1-7, to put down the rebellion of Zedekiah, Nebuchadnezzar came up and besieged Jerusalem in the 10th month of Zedekiah’s ninth year (588 B.C.).
- The Babylonians breached the city walls (July 16, 586 B.C.).
- Zedekiah had escaped from the city and was pursued by the Chaldeans. They captured him and brought him to Nebuchadnezzar.
- Nebuchadnezzar had all his sons killed in front of him, then gouged out his eyes, shackled him, and took him to Babylon in chains.
In verses 8-21, on the seventh day of the fifth month of the 19th year of Nebuchadnezzar (August 16, 586 B.C.) Nebuchadnezzar sent his commander Nebuzaradan to burn Jerusalem.
- Nebuzaradan burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the other large homes in Jerusalem, broke down sections of the city walls, and broke up all the bronze, fire pans, and bowls and took them to Babylon.
- Nebuzaradan took most of the population captive back to Babylon, leaving only the poorest farmers to tend the fields.
- Nebuzaradan also captured Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest, court officials, and 60 men from the city back to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah where all 72 men were executed.
In verses 22-26, of the few poor people left, Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah to be governor over the city.
- Gedaliah told the commanders of the armies to serve the king of Babylon and live in the land.
- Because of his support of Babylon, Ishmael, a member of the royal family, came with ten men and killed Gedaliah and his followers. Then they fled and went to Egypt because they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
Note: We know from Jeremiah 41:1-43:7 that Jeremiah was forced to go with them to Egypt.
In verses 27-30, in the thirty-seventh year of his exile (560 B.C.), Jehoiachin was released from prison by King Evil-Merdoch of Babylon, and for the rest of his life, he ate at the king’s table.
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- Judah had been moving farther and farther away from God. Despite the attempts of a couple of kings to bring the people back to God, the people reverted to their old ways of following the foreign gods. Ultimately, God allowed the complete destruction of the city and the exile of the majority of the population. Suddenly they went from living in a country that had been blessed by God, to living in a pagan country of idolaters.
- The self-destructive path of the people of Judah may be painfully obvious to us looking back at this history I wonder why the people didn’t realize what a dangerous road they were on, return to God, and beg his forgiveness? The answer seems to be they were stubborn and persisted in their sin.
- As I look around our country today, I wonder if people have the sense that I do, that we are moving further and further away from God just like the people of Judah did? And I wonder too if people think God will not judge us as he did the people of Judah?
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.