2 Kings 23:31 – 37 “Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his fathers had done.
And Pharaoh Neco imprisoned Jehoahaz at Riblah in the land of Hamath so that he could not reign in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. Then Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, where he died. (100 talents is approximately 3.77 tons or 3.42 metric tons of silver. A talent is approximately 75.4 pounds or 34.2 kilograms of gold.)
So Jehoiakim paid the silver and gold to Pharaoh Neco, but to meet Pharaoh’s demand he taxed the land and exacted the silver and the gold from the people, each according to his wealth.
Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah (2 Chronicles 36:5–8)
Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his fathers had done.”
When King Josiah took off to fight Pharaoh Neco despite Neco’s warnings, he really left Judah in a mess! Josiah was only 39 when he died, meaning that he must have fathered Jehoahaz when he was 16 years old. There are very few 16 year – olds who are qualified to be fathers, and in addition, Josiah’s father was Amon, a man so evil that his own servants murdered him. Josiah had no idea of the role of a father and undoubtedly left his son to the care of his mother.
Jehoahaz’s mother was a girl from Libnah, a city near the western seaboard of Israel. Libnah was a wealthy city that rebelled against King Jehoram of Judah; the citizens of Libnah most likely did not worship the God of Israel. Sixteen year – old Josiah probably fell in love with a physically beautiful girl without regard for her spiritual status. It is notable that some authorities claim that Josiah began to actively worship God when he was sixteen. Perhaps this young woman was Satan’s way of trying to dissuade Josiah from worshiping God. Once more, we see the horrible results when a believer becomes involved with a handsome non – believer. In this particular case, Josiah wound up as a sanctified sperm donor!
If Josiah had simply stayed home, things might have been far different for the land of Judah. Pharaoh Neco had no quarrel with Judah until Josiah insisted on attacking him, and it’s likely that Neco would have left Judah alone. But after Josiah’s death, Jehoahaz took over and reigned in Jerusalem for three months. Three months was long enough for everyone to realize that Jehoahaz was just as evil as his grandfather Amon had been. Neco was returning from Assyria and stopped in to deal with this small upstart nation that had so foolishly attacked him. Imprisoning Jehoahaz in Riblah, a town near Jericho, Neco imposed a huge levy on Judah, crowned Eliakim, a second son of Josiah, as king of Judah, and changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. “Eliakim” means “God will establish,” or “God rises.” “Jehoiakim” means “established by God.” This name change might indicate Pharaoh’s view of himself as a god with god – like powers to establish kings. Neco then carried Jehoahaz off to Egypt, where he died.
Unfortunately, Jehoiakim proved to be just as bad as his brother. Jehoiakim’s mother was from a town close to Israel and was probably another idol worshiper. Once more, Josiah failed to teach a son the ways of the Lord and once more the nation paid dearly as a result. Jehoiakim continued the idol worship his brother had reinstituted.
APPLICATION: Absent/occupied/over – committed fatherhood! It’s been a problem ever since the human race began, and the sad story of Josiah’s sons amply illustrates the bad results. Josiah ran around the countryside destroying high places, Asherah poles, and idols of every sort. But while Josiah was busy bringing in revival, he took no thought for those little boys back at the palace. The mothers of these boys were idolaters, not believers, and so they taught their sons the ways of their religion, not of Josiah’s. It’s even possible that these women were secretly rebelling against Josiah, undermining him at the palace while he was traveling around Judah and Israel bringing in reforms.
Obviously, not everyone in Judah was happy about these reforms, even if the leaders did turn up at the temple swearing oaths. Idolatry has always been big business! In St. Paul’s day, silversmiths and others in Ephesus rioted because Paul was preaching the Gospel, undermining the business generated by the huge temple of Diana in Ephesus. It’s quite likely that in Josiah’s day, there were those who had been making lots of money from statues, veils, offerings of various kinds, etc. Evil never totally goes away; it merely goes underground for a while. Today, those worshiping various athletic teams, movie stars, etc., can purchase all kinds of fan paraphernalia to satisfy their desire for worship. It’s likely that those business people depending on idolatry simply withdrew a little, trusting that the next ruler would prove far more malleable. And they were right!
Harry Chapin brought out his song “Cat’s in the Cradle” in 1974 depicting the sadness of a father preoccupied with everything apart from his son. The words continue to haunt as they accurately depict the tragedy of a father who never has time for his son, only to realize that now his son has no time for him. May God help us, that as we read these words, we resolve to reach out to the children around us while we can and teach them the ways of God!
“My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talking ‘fore I knew it, and as he grew
He’d say “I’m gonna be like you, dad”
“You know I’m gonna be like you”
Chorus: And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
“When you coming home, dad?” “I don’t know when”
But we’ll get together then
You know we’ll have a good time then
My son turned ten just the other day
He said, thanks for the ball, dad, come on let’s play
Can you teach me to throw, I said-a, not today
I got a lot to do, he said, that’s okay
And he, he walked away, but his smile never dimmed
It said, I’m gonna be like him, yeah
You know I’m gonna be like him
Well, he came from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
Son, I’m proud of you, can you sit for a while?
He shook his head, and they said with a smile
What I’d really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?
And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
“When you coming home, son?” “I don’t know when”
But we’ll get together then, dad
You know we’ll have a good time then
I’ve long since retired, my son’s moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, I’d like to see you if you don’t mind
He said, I’d love to, dad, if I can find the time
You see, my new job’s a hassle, and the kids have the flu
But it’s sure nice talking to you, dad
It’s been sure nice talking to you
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me
He’d grown up just like me
My boy was just like me
PRAYER: Father God, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives and to teach our children to do so as well. Help us to realize that as parents, our first responsibility is not to a job or to our community, but to our families, to encourage them to worship You. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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