In The Word
Read: 2 Kings 24-25
Babylon Controls Jehoiakim
24 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and revolted against him. 2 And the Lord sent against him bands of Chaldeans, bands of Arameans, bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had spoken through His servants the prophets. 3 It indeed came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them from His sight due to the sins of Manasseh, in accordance with everything that he had done, 4 and also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the Lord was unwilling to forgive.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?
Jehoiachin Reigns
6 So Jehoiakim lay down with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place. 7 Now the king of Egypt did not come out of his land again, because the king of Babylon had taken everything that belonged to the king of Egypt from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.
8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with all that his father had done.
Deportation to Babylon
10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. 12 Then Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials. And the king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign. 13 He also brought out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and he smashed all the articles of gold that Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, just as the Lord had said. 14 Then he led into exile all the people of Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the valiant warriors, ten thousand exiles, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None were left except the poorest people of the land.
15 So he led Jehoiachin into exile to Babylon; also the king’s mother, the king’s wives, and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 And all the valiant men, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, a thousand, all strong and fit for war, these too the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon.
Zedekiah Made King
17 Then the king of Babylon made his uncle Mattaniah king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with everything that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For it was due to the anger of the Lordthat this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He cast them out of His presence. And Zedekiah revolted against the king of Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar Besieges Jerusalem
25 Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it, and built a siege wall all around it. 2 So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls that were beside the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 6 Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and he passed sentence on him. 7 And they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles, and brought him to Babylon.
Jerusalem Burned and Plundered
8 Now on the seventh day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 And he burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire. 10 So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the bodyguards tore down the walls around Jerusalem.11 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguards, led into exile the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the people. 12 But the captain of the bodyguards left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.
13 Now the Chaldeans smashed to pieces the bronze pillars which were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the bronze Sea which were in the house of the Lord, and carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 And they took away the pots, the shovels, the shears, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils which were used in temple service. 15 The captain of the bodyguards also took away the firepans and the basins, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. 16 The two pillars, the one Sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—the bronze of all these articles was too heavy to weigh. 17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a bronze capital was on it; the height of the capital was three cubits, with latticework and pomegranates on the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, same features with latticework.
18 Then the captain of the bodyguards took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest, with the three doorkeepers. 19 And from the city he took one official who was overseer of the men of war, and five of the king’s advisers who were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain 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 Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguards took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile from its land.
Gedaliah Made Governor
22 Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan over them. 23 When all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. 24 And Gedaliah swore to them and their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans; live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for 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 Gedaliah down so that he died along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 Then all the people, from the small to the great, and the captains of the forces set out and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
27 Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile 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 became king, released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; 28 and he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and had his meals in the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life; 30 and as his allowance, a regular allowance was given to him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
During the course of today’s reading, Judah was invaded by the Babylonians three times. Each instance of invasion was God’s judgment against Judah for the sins of their former king, Manasseh. Manasseh’s sins were so heinous and evil, that God’s judgment upon the land of Judah had been prophesied many times and was now coming to pass. The Lord sought to punish Judah for the sins of the former king, but because He is merciful, He gave His people multiple chances to redeem themselves through the new kings. With each new king, the bible says that they, “did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord,” according to what their fathers had done. This means, that even though God had given each king an opportunity to do better than what their fathers had done, they chose to remain in sin.
The Lord gives us similar opportunities in our lives each and every day. It is true that the wages of sin is death, but because of God’s mercy, he gives us chances to do better. These chances may come in the form of repentance, new possibilities, or even through raising our children. It is up to us to recognize His grace and turn away from sin. Those who choose to stay on the path to destruction, rather than accept His grace, run the risk of ending up like Judah where they were destroyed and stripped of anything that had value to them. Be encouraged today that no matter what sins stain your past, the Lord has given you this day as your opportunity to get it right.