September 06, 2024 | Be God's Light
Nebuchadnezzar Attacks & Jehoiachin Is Exiled
Scripture: 2 Kings 24(NIV)
1 During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded the land, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. But then he turned against Nebuchadnezzar and rebelled. 2 The Lord sent Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite and Ammonite raiders against him to destroy Judah, in accordance with the word of the Lord proclaimed by his servants the prophets. 3 Surely these things happened to Judah according to the Lord’s command, in order to remove them from his presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, 4 including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive.
5 As for the other events of Jehoiakim’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 6 Jehoiakim rested with his ancestors. And Jehoiachin his son succeeded him as king.
7 The king of Egypt did not march out from his own country again, because the king of Babylon had taken all his territory, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River.
8 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. 9 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father had done.
10 At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem and laid siege to it, 11 and Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city while his officers were besieging it. 12 Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his attendants, his nobles and his officials all surrendered to him.
In the eighth year of the reign of the king of Babylon, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. 13 As the Lord had declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace, and cut up the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the Lord. 14 He carried all Jerusalem into exile: all the officers and fighting men, and all the skilled workers and artisans—a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest people of the land were left.
15 Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. He also took from Jerusalem to Babylon the king’s mother, his wives, his officials and the prominent people of the land. 16 The king of Babylon also deported to Babylon the entire force of seven thousand fighting men, strong and fit for war, and a thousand skilled workers and artisans. 17 He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.
18 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. 19 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done. 20 It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence.
Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
Devotional
After the death of King Josiah, things unraveled for the nation of Judah.
Josiah’s son Jehoahaz lasted only three months, before being dethroned and carried off to Egypt by Necho.
Another son Jehoiakim then took over the throne for his brother, but eleven years later he was bound in shackles and taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.
Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin then became king at the age of eighteen, ruling for only three months until he too was carted off to Babylon.
Jehoiachin’s uncle Zedekiah became the new king. His plan was to rebel against the superpower of Babylon. He lasted eleven years, until Babylon came and finished off Jerusalem. The took him to Babylon, where the last thing he saw before putting out his eyes was the killing of his sons. Zedekiah was the last king of Judah, as the Babylonians completely conquered the nation.
During the reigns of all these evil kings, the prophets Habakkuk and Jeremiah were calling the people to repent and change their ways. But they would not listen. Jeremiah became known as the weeping prophet because of the grievous nature of his message to deaf ears and calloused hearts. He even wrote a book called Lamentations if that doesn’t tell you how he felt.
These kings had prophetic voices calling them and the people to return to God. They also had role models in previous godly kings like Josiah and Hezekiah. But they chose to shut them out and go with the worldly ways of the ungodly voices and bad role models that were also present.
Ephesians 5:1-3 says, “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.”
Every culture has God’s example and the world’s example for us to choose from. In what ways are you following God as your true leader? How are you wandering off in the ways of your worldly culture? Are you willing to make a course adjustment? Who will you ask to help you and walk with you?
Poem
Evil, Evil
Evil, evil
Evil kings
Evil, evil
Death now brings
Evil, evil
Deadly stain
Evil, evil
Sin, full reign
Evil, evil
Stubborn heart
Evil, evil
Humans marked
Evil, evil
Not unseen
Evil, evil
Must be cleaned
Evil, evil
Exiled band
Evil, evil
Foreign land
