2 Kings 24:1 – 17 “During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded. So Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, until he turned and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.
And the LORD sent Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim in order to destroy Judah, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servants the prophets. Surely this happened to Judah at the LORD’s command, to remove them from His presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood he had shed. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was unwilling to forgive. As for the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
Jehoiachin Reigns in Judah (2 Chronicles 36:9–10)
And Jehoiakim rested with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin reigned in his place.
Now the king of Egypt did not march out of his land again, because the king of Babylon had taken all his territory, from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his father had done.
The Captivity of Jerusalem (Lamentations 1:1–22)
At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it. Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials all surrendered to the king of Babylon.
So in the eighth year of his reign, the king of Babylon took him captive. As the LORD had declared, Nebuchadnezzar also carried off all the treasures from the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he cut into pieces all the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD. He carried into exile all Jerusalem—all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths—ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained.
Nebuchadnezzar carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, as well as the king’s mother, his wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land. He took them into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. The king of Babylon also brought into exile to Babylon all seven thousand men of valor and a thousand craftsmen and metalsmiths—all strong and fit for battle.
Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.”
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.
And Zedekiah did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done. For because of the anger of the LORD, all this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He finally banished them from His presence. And Zedekiah also rebelled against the king of Babylon.”
This passage can be quite confusing with so many kings in such a short time. King Josiah picked an unnecessary fight with Pharaoh Neco, dying as a result. When Jehoahaz, one of Josiah’s sons succeeded him, Neco returned, capturing Jehoahaz and taking him off to Egypt. In Jehoahaz’s place, Pharaoh Neco made his brother king and named him Jehoiakim. At this point, Babylon was the super power dominating the entire Middle East. When Babylon invaded Judah, Jehoiakim became a Babylonian vassal for three years and then rebelled. This ridiculous action caused the Babylonians to eventually return and to squish the nation of Judah like a small loathsome bug.
Jehoiakim ruled for eleven years in total and was succeeded by his son Jehoiachin, age eighteen. By this point, Nebuchadnezzar had conquered all the Egyptian territory, so Egypt could not help Judah anymore. Jehoiachin reigned a total of eight years, much of that during a Babylonian siege. When the Babylonians finally took Jerusalem, they carried ten thousand captives back to Babylon, including the royal family, the commanders, soldiers, and craftsmen. To govern Judah, Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin’s twenty – one year old uncle king and changed his name to Zedekiah. Zedekiah was foolish enough to rebel against the Babylonians. It was Zedekiah’s rebellion that eventually led to Judah’s complete destruction.
APPLICATION: At one time, Hindu worship in parts of India involved massive chariots that would parade through the streets bearing images of various gods. These chariots were referred to as Jagannath, a Sanskrit word that was later changed to Juggernaut in English. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the meaning of Juggernaut is “a massive inexorable force, campaign, movement, or object that crushes whatever is in its path.” At this point in time, the Babylonians have become a juggernaut, an unstoppable force that will eventually even flatten Egypt. Rebelling against such might should seem lunacy; however, two of these weak kings in the tiny nation of Judah rebel anyway. The first rule of holes is that if you are at the bottom of one, STOP DIGGING!
Spiritually, Judah is plummeting into a morass. Josiah’s reforms have been abandoned, and his successors have whole – heartedly embraced idolatry. God is using these rebellions to attract Babylonian attention so that they will destroy Judah as a nation. Repeatedly God cites the sins of Manasseh, particularly the fact that he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood and God is unwilling to forgive.
Deuteronomy 19:10 tells us, “Lest innocent blood be shed in your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance, and so the guilt of bloodshed be upon you.” The shedding of innocent blood brings curses on a land. Not only did Manasseh murder the innocent, but all those who made child sacrifices did the same thing as well. Murdering the innocent in any form, including abortion, will bring curses on a country.
If not for Josiah, Judah’s destruction might have come even sooner. But after Josiah died, his successors worshiped demons and eventually the nation reaped the horrible result. Were there any righteous people left in Judah? Possibly. And God may well have protected the righteous; however, the persistent sins of Judah’s rulers and the bulk of the population could not be ignored.
What can we learn from the sad story of the decline of the nation of Judah? God wanted Judah to be a praise in all the earth, but its citizens insisted on worshiping demons and slaughtering the innocent. Judah was crushed by the Babylonian juggernaut and many of its citizens went into exile. No matter where we live in the world, we much pray and intercede for the nations! Only persistent and consistent intercessory prayer can prevent national disasters. The site Operation World has great prayer resources that will help you pray intelligently for all the nations of the world in a year.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we confess that we have not prayed as we should for our nation or for other nations. Lord, help us to pray as You want us to and not to give up! In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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