We saw King Josiah as a good king who conducted many reforms for the nation. However, King Josiah died at the hands of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt.
His son Jehoahaz (2 King 23) succeeded him but he lasted only for three months. He did evil before God. He was initially imprisoned by Pharaoh, then sent to Egypt where he died. Pharaoh took his brother Eliakim and made him king, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Egypt was subsequently defeated by Babylon, and king Jehoiakim became a vassal of Babylon. He also did evil in the sight of God and he rebelled against the king of Babylon. God sent marauding bands of Moabites, Ammonites and Chaldeans to attack Judah to destroy it because of the terrible sins of king Manasseh.
King Jehoiakim ruled for about eleven years but he ended up in chains at the hand of Babylon. During his reign, the prophet Jeremiah sent him a scroll from God, dictated to the prophet and written down by Baruch. However, king Jehoiakim not only rejected the Word of God, but he was downright arrogant and defiant, cutting the scroll bit by bit, and throwing it into the fire. The message in the scroll was to surrender to Babylon, for this was from God, but Jehoiakim refused and sought also to harm Jeremiah and Baruch. King Jehoiakim was so different from his father King Josiah who listened to God’s Word with a tender heart and humbled himself. King Jehoiakim not only refused to listen but also acted defiantly against God, His prophet and the written word of the Lord.
Following the death of Jehoiakim, his son Jehoiachin became king and did evil. He met the wrath of Babylon, and the city came under siege. King Jehoiachin also lasted three months. Then he, his mother and servants were taken captive into exile to Babylon. The king of Babylon carried all the treasures of the house of the Lord, the treasures of the house of the king of Judah and the gold in the temple, together with the mighty men, the craftsmen and the smiths, leaving behind only the poorest people.
Daniel was probably one of those carried into exile with his three friends.
Jehoiachin’s uncle, another son of king Josiah, was then made a puppet king by the king of Babylon and the name given to him was Zedekiah. King Zedekiah also did evil before the Lord and he rebelled against the king of Babylon. Although he sought counsel secretly from the prophet Jeremiah, he was not willing to listen to God’s Word through Jeremiah because of his fear of the officials. We are reminded of one who also feared the people and sinned against God – Aaron built the golden calf and declared it as the God of Israel when Moses was up in the mountain, receiving the ten commandments.
The king of Babylon put the city of Jerusalem under siege for almost two years. The famine was severe and the city was finally broken into. The king and his men fled but were overtaken by the Babylonians in the plane of Jericho. It is ironic that the first battle and victory for Joshua and Israel was at Jericho and the final king of Judah was captured at Jericho.
This time around, the whole city of Jerusalem was completely destroyed, including the temple of God. As for King Zedekiah, he was brought to Riblah. His sons were killed before him. Then he was blinded, bound with fetters and made into a eunuch.
The people of Judah and her king thought that the temple where God’s name dwelt could not be overcome by the enemy, but God had already left the temple. Just as in the time of Eli the priest when the army of Israel took the ark of God into battle against the Philistines and were confident of victory, God was no longer with His people because of their evil deeds and sins. It reminds us not to depend on external religiosity when our lives are lived unrighteously and we still cling to the idea that God is for us. When there is no loving relationship with God, resulting in a life of trust and obedience to God, we may not be truly born again.
Subsequent to this, Gedaliah was appointed governor by Babylon to take care of the land, but he was assasinated by Ishmael and his men. Johanan and his fellow soldiers drove the killers away. Nevertheless, those who remained were afraid of the Babylonians as the Babylonians who were with Gedaliah were also killed by Ishmael.
The remaining people turned to the prophet Jeremiah to pray for them and to ask God for guidance. They told Jeremiah that they would surely listen to the Word from the Lord, whatever it might be. However, when Jeremiah told them to remain in the land and not fear the Chaldeans, they accused Jeremiah of seeking to harm them. Against the advice from God through Jeremiah, they decided to retreat to Egypt. This was in spite of the fact that God had warned them that they would die in Egypt from war and famine. That spelled the end of the rest of the people of Judah in the land of Egypt. Again, we see the irony that the people of God who were rescued by God through Moses from Egypt in the great exodus returned to Egypt in disobedience to God’s Word and died in Egypt.
However, King Jehoiachin received favour from the king of Babylon; he was released from prison, had his meals in the presence of the Babylonian king regularly and was given a regular allowance. Herein lies a glimpse of hope for the people of God: the descendant of king David is still alive and God’s promise to David that his sons will continue to reign is not lost. We know that ultimately, it is theson of David, the Lord Jesus Himself who will reign forever as the King of kings.
We see God’s grace showered upon His people and their kings despite their rebellion and evil: He sent prophet after prophet, He rescued them again and again but they continued to rebel and disobey until finally the whole nation, northern Israel and southern Judah, was sent into exile. God still remained faithful to His promise and the promise is finally fulfilled in His Son, the final prophet, the final high priest, the final sacrifice, the lamb of God, the ultimate King!
It started in the time of Samuel the prophet when the people clamoured for a king like all the other nations. They were actually rejecting God as king and they followed the ways of the nations and sought to be like them. In fact, they wanted to be kings of their own lives. We see the sad end of a people who followed the ways of the gentile nations and wanted to be their own king.
This is a solemn reminder for us not to make the same mistake. God’s grace to us is undeserved, so we need to be humble; His sacrifice for us in His Son is costly, so we need to be holy; His love for us is unconditional in His Son, so we can be at peace and not seek to earn His approval by our merits and performance. He who started a work in us will perfect it at the second coming of His Son; His Spirit and enabling will enable us to persevere to the end. But let us not follow the ways of the disobedient people of Israel and take His grace and love for granted. God is a God of love and also a God of wrath: it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!