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2 Kings Chapter 25
Fall and Captivity of Judah
- 2Kings 25:1 And it
came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month,
in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and
pitched against it; and they built forts against it round
about.
- 2 And the city was
besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
- 3 And on the ninth
day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and
there was no bread for the people of the land.
- 4 And the city was
broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of
the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden: (now
the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king
went the way toward the plain.
- 5 And the army of
the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the
plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.
- 6 So they took the
king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and
they gave judgment upon him.
- 7 And they slew the
sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of
Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him
to Babylon.
How cruel people can be when they do
not follow the ways of God. The kings of Judah and Israel departed
from God also which opened the door for this to happen. Except for
just a few righteous kings of Judah like Josiah, most were evil and
allowed their children to pass through the fire in honor and worship
of idols and false gods.
When we refuse to follow God and His
word, He Holy Spirit leaves and we have no protection against evil.
True religion is never forced on any. We are given a choice to
receive or reject the gospel of Jesus. In the days before Jesus came
to die for sins and be resurrected from the dead, God never forced
them to follow Him. They were given a choice but bad choices have
terrible consequences. God gives eternal life with a new body that
cannot die to those that faithfully live for Him.
God doesn't want puppets. He wants us to love
Him and serve Him willingly. His ways are good and perfect and
we can choose to follow Him or reject Him. Once we come to Him by
faith, we can get to the place where we want to live for Him and do
not want to go back to living a life of sin against God. In the
world we may be rejected and hated but when we receive the Holy
Spirit into our lives, we can have joy, peace, love and the hope of
living with God for eternity. We can get to the place in our walk
with God that we do not want anything to do with our old life
without Him. God is good.
- 2Kings 25:8 And in
the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the
nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came
Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of
Babylon, unto Jerusalem:
- 9 And he burnt the
house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all the houses of
Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire.
- 10 And all the army
of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake
down the walls of Jerusalem round about.
- 11 Now the rest of
the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that
fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the
multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away.
- 12 But the captain
of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and
husbandmen.
- 13 And the pillars
of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and
the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD, did the
Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to
Babylon.
- 14 And the pots, and
the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the
vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away.
- 15 And the firepans,
and the bowls, and such things as were of gold, in gold, and of
silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.
- 16 The two pillars,
one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of
the LORD; the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
- 17 The height of the
one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the chapiter upon it was
brass: and the height of the chapiter three cubits; and the
wreathen work, and pomegranates upon the chapiter round about,
all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar with
wreathen work.
All the things Hezekiah showed the
people who came to offer sympathy when he was sick, was now taken
away and broken. All gone. The prophets warned that this day was
coming but many among the kings still kept returning to idols. Religion that allows
people to do what is right in their own eyes and live according to
their fleshly desires will eventually steal, kill and destroy them.
I've cried many tears over the United States of America because of
the sin of abortion and now we have those that desire gender
changing surgery that ruins a child's life with drugs and hormones
all because someone had filled their head with nonsense and made the
think they will be happier if they change their gender. Of course it
doesn't really change anything, it destroys their health. They
certainly are not happier.
- 2Kings 25:18 And the
captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and
Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:
- 19 And out of the
city he took an officer that was set over the men of war, and
five men of them that were in the king's presence, which were
found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, which
mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the
people of the land that were found in the city:
- 20 And Nebuzaradan
captain of the guard took these, and brought them to the king of
Babylon to Riblah:
- 21 And the king of
Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of
Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land.
I don't enjoy reading these things but
I share them because I want to warn us that if we do as they did, we
will end up with no nation just like they did. Without our Holy,
wonderful God's hand of protection, we are vulnerable to anything
that happens. Yet there is hope because Jesus will return, Israel
will be saved and God will rule the land. It's hard to wait for that
day to come but
that day is coming when God will make all things right again. Even so
come Lord Jesus.
Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah
- 2Kings 25:22 And as
for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made
Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler.
- 23 And when all the
captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king
of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to
Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son
of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite,
and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
- 24 And Gedaliah
sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to
be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve
the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you.
Gedaliah was a friend of Jeremiah and
knew that this invasion was from the Lord so he advised the people
to stay put and serve the king of Babylon. This was the best way for
now to live in peace.
- 2Kings 25:25 But it
came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of
Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten
men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and
the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah.
- 26 And all the
people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies,
arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees.
Ishmael was one who would have
inherited the throne of Judah and perhaps he was jealous or thought
Gedaliah should fight back and not submit to the Chaldees. He kills
Gedaliah. Jeremiah chapter 40 and 41 tells more of this story. A man
named Johanan warned Gedaliah about Ishmael but Gedaliah wouldn't
believe them.
Jehoiachin Released from Prison
- 2Kings 25:27 And it
came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of
Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and
twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in
the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of
Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;
- 28 And he spake
kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings
that were with him in Babylon;
- 29 And changed his
prison garments: and he did eat bread continually before him all
the days of his life.
- 30 And his allowance
was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate
for every day, all the days of his life.
For some reason this former king of
Judah was released from prison and given provisions the rest of his
life. In chapter 24 we read that he willingly submitted to the
takeover of Babylon and didn't resist. So perhaps this had something
to do with it. Then again maybe it was just the mercy and grace of
God that caused Evilmerodach the king of Babylon to have compassion
on him.
In chapter 38 of the book of Jeremiah we can
read of Jeremiah's warning to Zedekiah that he should not rebel against the king of
Babylon but Zedekiah rebelled anyway. This caused Nebuchadnezzar to
judge Zedekiah and put out his eyes after killing his sons.
Jehoiachin was taken captive but didn't resist so perhaps that had
something to do with this ending for him after over 30 years in
prison.
Ordianarily we would want people to resist
and fight back but when it is a judgment from God and the prophets
warns against rebellion, we have to recognize the will of God in
some matters. This is where seeking God ourselves come into play so
that we know what is true and what is false or just wishful
thinking. Some people are positive and say what they think will make
people happy but others are more negative and think the worst as
they see the sins of the people. So to seek to know the mind of God
is a better way to react to what we hear. Sometimes though as we see
in the book of Jonah, God will delay or stop judgment if a nation or
city genuinely repents and makes things right with God. There is
always a way out when we turn to God. -DC
End of the books of the Kings
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