Friday, September 2, 2016

II Chronicles 36: Disappearing Kings

The decline of Judah leading up to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. was marked with increasing stress and turmoil as well as the forced removal of several kings.

Here's what happened to the kings after Josiah:

  • Jehoahaz (Josiah's son): Reigned three months before being deposed by Pharaoh Neco (who had killed his father) and taken away to Egypt in captivity.
  • Eliakim/Jehoiakim (Josiah's son): Reigned eleven years before being deposed by Nebuchadnezzar and carried away to Babylon in captivity.
  • Jehoiachin (Jehoiakim's son): Reigned about 100 days before being deposed by Nebuchadnezzar and  carried away to Babylon in captivity.
  • Zedekiah (Jehoiakim's son): Reigned eleven years before being deposed by Nebuchadnezzar, then had his sons slaughtered before his eyes, blinded, and taken to Babylon in chains.
Not looking good at all.  Then Jerusalem is destroyed.  The Bible details what happened: Nebuchadnezzar "killed their youths with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or young woman, the aged or the feeble; he gave them all into his hand.  All the vessels of the house of God, large and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his officials, all these he brought to Babylon.  They burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious vessels.  He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia" (vs. 17-20).




Why did all this tragedy befall the nation of Judah?  It wasn't without cause.  The author of II Chronicles describes the nation's fate as a judgment for their great sinfulness:  "The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place; but they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words, and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord against his people became so great that there was no remedy" (vs. 15 and 16).

This could easily have been the end of the story of the Jews - but there is much more to come!  Through the period of exile in Babylon, and the restoration, all leading up to the New Testament - the flame of God's covenant with His people flickered but did not go out.  Stay tuned for what happened next!

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