Deeper Commentary
2Ki 24:1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and
Jehoiakim became his servant three years, then rebelled against him-
2 Chron. 36:6 adds: "Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him
in fetters, to carry him to Babylon". It may not have been Nebuchadnezzar in person. "To carry him to
Babylon" means that was the intention, but it may not have happened. Jer.
22:18,19 says he was to be thrown out onto the garbage tip outside
Jerusalem like a dead donkey. 2 Kings says that bands of the Babylonians
attacked him at this time, and he may have been slain at this time.
2Ki 24:2 Yahweh sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, the Syrians,
Moabites and of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to
destroy it, according to the word of Yahweh, which He spoke by His servants
the prophets-
Dt. 11:17 had said that God's people would "perish [s.w. "destroy"]
quickly from off the good land". But by grace, that didn't happen "quickly"
at all. They were finally destroyed from off it (2 Kings 24:2 and often),
but God did not bring that about quickly but after much patient pleading
through the prophets. This is one of so many examples of where God simply
did not punish His people to the extent He said He would; simply because of
His grace and love toward them.
2Ki 24:3 Surely at the commandment of Yahweh came this on Judah, to remove
them out of His sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he
did-
We
can't be brethren in Christ who have no effect on the rest of the body. We
all have an influence on others. Our behaviour, however passive, has a
powerful effect on our brethren. We are all members of one body. Job pointed
out that the words of another can assuage grief in a way that ones’ own
self-talk simply cannot (Job 16:5,6). On the contrary, a whole community can
be cursed for the sake of one man’s sin, even if he later repents (2 Kings
24:3,4). The fact we can be guilty of causing others to stumble means that
we can limit God's gracious plan for them. However, it is also true that God
would not punish innocent people on the basis of guilt by association with
a sinner. So we conclude that the "sins of Manasseh" were practiced from
the heart by the people, and that was the basis of their condemnation.
2Ki 24:4 and also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled
Jerusalem with innocent blood, which Yahweh would not pardon-
"Would not pardon" quotes from Dt. 29:20, about the false teacher who
is a root that bears gall, influencing others to idolatry: "Whose heart
turns away this day from Yahweh our God, to go to serve the gods of those
nations; lest there should be among you a root that bears gall and
wormwood, who, when he hears the words of this curse blesses himself in
his heart saying I shall have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of
my heart, to destroy the moist with the dry.
Yahweh will not pardon him, but then the anger of Yahweh and His jealousy
will smoke against that man, and all the curse that is written in this
book shall lie on him, and Yahweh will blot out his name from under the
sky" (Dt. 29:18-20). To presumptuously think that promised judgment
will not come, to have a stubborn heart, is what God will not pardon. And
this was the case with Jehoiakim.
2Ki 24:5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did,
aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?-
Not necessarily the same as the books of Chronicles we have in our
Bibles.
2Ki 24:6 So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers; and Jehoiachin his son
reigned in his place-
The description of death as sleeping with fathers is clear evidence
that death is seen as a sleep, unconsciousness, and not as the start of an
immortal soul going to heaven or 'hell'. Good and bad, David and Solomon,
are gathered together in death. The division between them will only
therefore come at the resurrection of the dead, and the granting of
immortality at the judgment seat of the Lord Jesus.
2Ki 24:7 The king of Egypt didn’t come again out of his land any more; for
the king of Babylon had taken, from the brook of Egypt to the river
Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt-
This is mentioned to demonstrate the utter folly of later trusting in
Egypt and breaking oaths to Babylon through alliances with Egypt. Egypt
was weak, the world is weak, the arm of flesh is weak- and yet God's
people always are tempted to trust in it.
2Ki 24:8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign; and he
reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta the
daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem-
Three months and ten days (2 Chron. 36:9) becomes "three months" (2
Kings 24:8). Sometimes the Biblical record is vague, other times exact. This
reflects how God is not seeking to cover His back against critics. He is
of an altogether higher nature than that. There are times when the Spirit
uses very approximate numbers rather than exact ("about the space of four
hundred and fifty years", Acts 13:20 cp. 1 Kings 6:1). The reference to
"seventy" in Judges 9:56 also doesn't seem exact. Seven and a half years
(2 Sam. 2:11) becomes "seven years" (1 Kings 2:11). And 1 Kings
7:23 gives the circumference of the laver as “thirty cubits”, although it
was ten cubits broad. Taking ‘pi’ to be 3.14, it is apparent that the
circumference would have been 31.4 cubits; but the Spirit says, summing
up, “thirty”.
"Nehushta" is a form of Nehushtan, 'the copper thing', a hint that his mother was an idolater.
We note that he was judged as a sinner at eighteen years old, for what he did over a 70 day period. We sometimes tend to excuse ourselves on the basis of only being products of our background. But eighteen year old Jehoiachin reigned a mere three months and ten days: and God's comment was that "he did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh". We could, of course, make the excuse that his surroundings, his immediate family, his peers... were all idolatrous. But Yahweh evidently didn't see this as any real excuse: he, at sweet eight years old, "did that which was evil" and was punished accordingly. Not only does this give an unusual insight into God's view of responsibility; but it shows that God expects even a young person to break away from background influences when they are evil. Chronicles says he was eight when he became king, not 18. Kings also gives "three months" rather than "three months and ten days", and it has been suggested that the "ten" has been misplaced by a copyist, explaining why 18 has been miscopied as 8.
2Ki 24:9 He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, according to
all that his father had done-
See on :8. Jehoiachin is Jeconiah of 1 Chron. 3:16 who is Coniah in
Jer. 22:14, and Jehoiachin in 2 Chron. 36:8,9. A reminder that people
carried multiple names, explaining some of the apparent contradictions in
the genealogies. Ez. 19 says that he was effectively made king by his
ambitious mother, whose hope was to be the glorious queen mother, teaching
her sons to be ambitious, aggressive lions to that end.
2Ki 24:10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came
up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged-
These servants were his senior military officers with their armies,
as opposed to the marauding bands of :2.
2Ki 24:11 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his
servants were besieging it-
This recalls how David came to Rabbah after it had been besieged for
some time, so that he would have the honour of witnessing the surrender
and taking the glory for the victory.
2Ki 24:12 and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of
Babylon, he, his mother, his servants, his princes and his officers; and
the king of Babylon took him prisoner-
His mother is mentioned because according to Ez. 19, she was the one
driving him to independence from Babylon because she was so bent on having
the glory of being queen mother for herself.
In the eighth year of his reign-
That is, of Nebuchadnezzar.
2Ki 24:13 He carried out from there all the treasures of the house of
Yahweh and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the
vessels of gold, which Solomon king of Israel had made in Yahweh’s temple-
Some had already been taken at the time of Jehoiakim (2 Chron. 36:7).
The various stages of the exiles and taking away of the vessels were
surely because God was desperately hoping that there would be repentance
in response to each stage. But there was not.
As Yahweh had said-
Thus fulfilling 2 Kings 20:17; Jer. 15:13; 17:3.
2Ki 24:14 He carried away all Jerusalem, all the princes and all the
mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen
and the smiths; none remained, except the poorest sort of the people of
the land-
It was to these captives that Jeremiah wrote his letter of Jer.
29:1-23. Jeremiah explained that actually these who went into captivity in
Babylon could become "good figs" if they repented there (Jer. 24).
2Ki 24:15 He carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon; and the king’s mother,
the king’s wives, his officers and the chief men of the land, he carried
into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon-
Ezekiel went into captivity at this time (Ez. 1:2,3), so it seems he
was a priest of some standing, or from a senior family.
2Ki 24:16 All the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and
the smiths one thousand, all of them strong and apt for war, even them the
king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon-
Although it was the wealthier who were taken into captivity and those
who "had nothing" and posed no threat who were left (Jer. 39:10), it seems
from Jer. 24:1-10 that these were the "good figs", the spiritually
stronger than the "bad figs" who remained. So we see that spirituality and
poverty do not always go together, for poverty so easily distracts from
spiritual focus. And although it is hard for a rich man to enter the
Kingdom, some do.
2Ki 24:17 The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s father’s
brother, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah-
Nebuchadnezzar changed the name Mattaniah, 'gift of Yah', to
"Zedekiah", 'Yah is right / just'. Perhaps even Nebuchadnezzar perceived
that Yahweh was judging Judah justly. But "Zedekiah" is also "Yahweh our righteousness", but his birth name was
Mattaniah (2 Kings 24:17). We wonder if this was a pre existing name given
him by Josiah, and that Josiah named him this in keeping
with his vision of reestablishing the Kingdom of God, based around a
united Israel and Judah centered around worshipping Yahweh. For this is
the term associated with king of the restored kingdom in Jer. 23:6; 33:16;
51:10. But he again was a case of wasted potential.
2Ki 24:18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; and he
reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the
daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah-
Hamutal his mother is severely criticized in Ez. 19
as an ambitious, aggressive and scheming mother lion who set up her young
lion sons for destruction by wanting them to be kings. Instead they needed
to heed Jeremiah's message and humble themselves before Babylon, realizing
they had sinned, rather than trying to break away from Babylon to achieve
the independent kingship their mother was so obsessed with.
2Ki 24:19 He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, according to
all that Jehoiakim had done-
2 Chron. 36:12 explains more: "He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh his God; he
didn’t humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking the words of
Yahweh". The prophets "spoke from the mouth of Yahweh"
Himself; and yet the people scoffed at them (2 Chron. 36:12,16 RV). The
power of inspiration was and is so great; and to not heed God's word is
therefore a personal affront to Him.
2Ki 24:20 For through the anger of Yahweh, it happened in Jerusalem and
Judah, until He had cast them out from His presence-
That Zedekiah
rebelled against the king of Babylon-
2 Chron. 36:13 adds that "He also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar,
who had made him swear by God; but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his
heart against turning to Yahweh". Turning to Yahweh with a soft heart therefore involved his accepting
that Judah had sinned, and therefore their servitude to Babylon was the
appropriate punishment. But egged on by his mother (see on 2 Chron. 36:11), Zedekiah
broke his oath to Nebuchadnezzar, which he had made in the name of Yahweh.
He thus despised the Name. The parable of Ez. 17:12-20 clearly condemns
him for doing this (also Ez. 21:25). Ez. 17:14 explains the intention of
God in all this: "That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift
itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand". The idea may
be that it was God's plan that through keeping the covenant, the royal
family and leadership would be humbled, and this would bring about God's
favourite paradox- the brought down could then be exalted, "that... it
might stand". See on Ez. 17:24. But they refused to repent, to be humbled,
to be ashamed, and instead sought to wriggle out of the covenant by making
agreements with Egypt to attack the Babylonian forces, liberate Jerusalem
and perhaps later themselves from Babylon itself. Yet all these things had
been explicitly promised to Judah; God would do all these things, if they
repented. But instead of doing so, they sought by all manner of desperate
means to bring about this liberation in the strength of Egypt. This is so
typical of human behaviour. It is for us to learn the lesson.
Ez. 17:15 commented: "Shall he who does such things escape? Shall he break the covenant, and yet escape?". This is the language of Judah breaking covenant with God, just used in Ez. 16:59. God had designed the covenant between Zedekiah and the Babylonians, for the spiritual growth and repentance of the Jews. To break it was therefore to effectively break covenant with God. Or we could instead perceive that covenant breaking with God is reflected in covenant breaking with men. Our attitude to God becomes our attitude to men. Hence Ez. 17:19 specifically states: "Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: As I live, surely My oath that he has despised, and My covenant that he has broken, I will even bring it on his own head". Judah were light hearted in their attitude to everything; they "gave the hand" in covenant (Ez. 17:18) in order just to get "bread" (Lam. 5:6). They were in need, and instead of turning to God in repentance, they madly made promises of total loyalty to various peoples and their gods. It is this light hearted, not serious attitude, seeking for the immediate for the total sacrifice of principle, which dominates our age today.
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