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2 Kings Chapter
Twenty-five
2 Kings 25
Chapter Contents
Jerusalem besieged
Zedekiah taken. (1-7) The temple
burnt
The people carried into captivity. (8-21) The rest of the Jews flee into
Egypt
Evil-merodach relieves the captivity of Jehoiachin. (22-30)
Commentary on 2 Kings 25:1-7
(Read 2 Kings 25:1-7)
Jerusalem was so fortified
that it could not be taken
till famine rendered the besieged unable to resist. In the prophecy and
Lamentations of Jeremiah
we find more of this event; here it suffices to say
that the impiety and misery of the besieged were very great. At length the city
was taken by storm. The king
his family
and his great men escaped in the
night
by secret passages. But those deceive themselves who think to escape
God's judgments
as much as those who think to brave them. By what befell
Zedekiah
two prophecies
which seemed to contradict each other
were both
fulfilled. Jeremiah prophesied that Zedekiah should be brought to Babylon
Jeremiah 32:5; 34:3; Ezekiel
that he should not
see Babylon
Ezekiel 12:13. He was brought thither
but his
eyes being put out
he did not see it.
Commentary on 2 Kings 25:8-21
(Read 2 Kings 25:8-21)
The city and temple were burnt
and
it is probable
the
ark in it. By this
God showed how little he cares for the outward pomp of his
worship
when the life and power of religion are neglected. The walls of
Jerusalem were thrown down
and the people carried captive to Babylon. The
vessels of the temple were carried away. When the things signified were sinned
away
what should the signs stand there for? It was righteous with God to deprive
those of the benefit of his worship
who had preferred false worships before
it; those that would have many altars
now shall have none. As the Lord spared
not the angels that sinned
as he doomed the whole race of fallen men to the
grave
and all unbelievers to hell
and as he spared not his own Son
but
delivered him up for us all
we need not wonder at any miseries he may bring
upon guilty nations
churches
or persons.
Commentary on 2 Kings 25:22-30
(Read 2 Kings 25:22-30)
The king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah to be the governor
and protector of the Jews left their land. But the things of their peace were
so hidden from their eyes
that they knew not when they were well off. Ishmael
basely slew him and all his friends
and
against the counsel of Jeremiah
the
rest went to Egypt. Thus was a full end made of them by their own folly and
disobedience; see Jeremiah chap. 40 to 45. Jehoiachin was released out of
prison
where he had been kept 37 years. Let none say that they shall never see
good again
because they have long seen little but evil: the most miserable
know not what turn Providence may yet give to their affairs
nor what comforts
they are reserved for
according to the days wherein they have been afflicted.
Even in this world the Saviour brings a release from bondage to the distressed
sinner who seeks him
bestowing foretastes of the pleasures which are at his
right hand for evermore. Sin alone can hurt us; Jesus alone can do good to
sinners.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 2 Kings》
2 Kings 25
Verse 1
[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.
Came — To
chastise Zedekiah for his rebellion and perjury.
Built — To
keep all supplies of men or provisions from entering into the city: and that
from thence they might shoot darts
or arrows
or stones.
Verse 3
[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.
The people —
For the common people
but only for the great men. Now they eat their own
children for want of food
Lamentations 4:3
etc. Jeremiah in this
extremity
earnestly persuaded the king to surrender; but his heart was
hardened to his destruction.
Verse 6
[6] So
they took the king
and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and
they gave judgment upon him.
Riblah —
Where Nebuchadnezzar staid
that he might both supply the besiegers with men
and military provisions
as their occasions required; and have an eye to
Chaldea
to prevent or suppress any commotions which might happen there in his
absence.
They —
The king's officers appointed thereunto
examined his cause
and passed the
following sentence against him.
Verse 7
[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.
Slew
… —
Tho' they were but children
that this spectacle
the last he was to behold
might leave a remaining impression of grief and horror upon his spirit. And in
slaying his sons they in effect declared
that the kingdom was no more
and
that he nor any of his breed were fit to be trusted: therefore not fit to live.
Babylon —
Thus two prophecies were fulfilled
which seemed contrary one to the other
that he should go to Babylon
Jeremiah 32:5; 34:3
and that he should never see Babylon:
which seeming contradiction
because Zedekiah the false prophet could not
reconcile
he concluded both were false
and it seems Zedekiah the king might
stumble at this difficulty.
Verse 8
[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:
Months
… — So
the Chaldeans did not put all to fire and sword
as soon as they had taken the
city: but about a month after
orders were sent
to compleat the destruction of
it. This space God gave them to repent after all the foregoing days of his
patience. But in vain; they still hardened their hearts: and therefore
execution is awarded to the utmost.
Verse 9
[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.
Burnt the house of the Lord — One of the apocryphal writers tells us
that Jeremiah got the ark out of
the temple
and conveyed it to a cave in mount Nebo
2Macc 2:4
5. But this is
like the other tales of that author
who has no regard either to truth or
probability. For Jeremiah was at this time a close prisoner. By the burning of
the temple God would shew
how little he cares for the outward pomp of his
worship
when the life and power of religion are gone. About four hundred and
thirty years the temple of Solomon had stood. And it is observed by Josephus
that the second temple was burnt by the Romans
the same month
and the same
day of the month
that the first temple was burnt by the Chaldeans.
Verse 11
[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.
People —
Whom neither the sword nor famine had destroyed
who were eight hundred and
thirty two persons
Jeremiah 52:29
being members and traders of
that city: for it is likely
there were very many more of the country people
fled thither
who were left with others of their brethren to manure the land.
Multitude — Of
the inhabitants of the country.
Verse 12
[12] But
the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and
husbandmen.
Left of the poor — So
while the rich were prisoners in a strange land
the poor had liberty and peace
in their own country! Thus providence sometimes humbles the proud
and favours
them of low degree.
Verse 21
[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.
Out of the land —
This compleated their calamity
about eight hundred and sixty years after they
were put in possession of it by Joshua.
Verse 22
[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.
Gedaliah — A
righteous and good man
and a friend to the prophet Jeremiah.
Verse 24
[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.
Sware —
Assured them by his promise and oath
that they should be kept from the evils
which they feared. This he might safely swear
because he had not only the king
of Babylon's promise but also God's promise deliver'd by Jeremiah. And it might
seem
a fair prospect was opening again. But how soon was the scene changed!
This hopeful settlement is quickly dashed in pieces
not by the Chaldeans
but
by some of themselves.
Verse 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.
Came —
Moved with envy to see so mean a person advanced into their place.
Ten men —
Ten captains or officers
and under each of them many soldiers.
Verse 26
[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.
Egypt —
And here they probably mixt with the Egyptians by degrees
and were heard of no
more as Israelites.
Verse 27
[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;
Seven and twentieth —
Or
on the twenty fifth day
as it is
Jeremiah 52:31. For then the decree was made
which was executed upon the twenty seventh day.
Verse 30
[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.
All the days of his life — Let none say
they shall never see good again
because they have long
seen little but evil. The most afflicted know not what blessed turn providence
may yet give to their affairs.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 2 Kings》
25 Chapter 25
Verses 1-7
Verses 1-21
And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign.
Captivity of Judah
We have two prominent characters in this lesson--Zedekiah King of
Judah
and Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon. The latter was one of the remarkable
men of the world
not only as a military conqueror
but as a ruler of great
genius and executive power. Zedekiah was the youngest son of Josiah
and was
placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar at the age of twenty-one. He reigned
eleven years in Jerusalem
and “did that which was evil in the sight of the
Lord” (2 Kings 24:19). At length he
revolted against the King of Babylon
and this revolt was the beginning of the
end
which was the captivity of Judah. It was in the year 589 b.c.
in the
month of January
that the siege of Jerusalem commenced
and it lasted one year
five months and twenty-seven days. During this time the besieging army
or a part of it
marched
to meet the Egyptians
who were coming to the help of the Jews
and with the
retreat of the Egyptians the siege was continued even more rigorously. As the
Jews were accustomed to observe the anniversary of national disasters with
lastings
the dates of such disasters were preserved accurately. (See Zechariah 7:3-5; Zechariah 8:19.) By turning to Jeremiah 34:7 we learn that the army of
Nebuchadnezzar also besieged the cities of Lachish and Azekah
which were the
only strongholds remaining to the Jews
so that with their capture the victory
was complete and the humiliation of God’s people perfected (verses 1-3). It is
interesting to study the life of Jeremiah in connection with the events of this
lesson (Jeremiah chaps
37.
38.)
for it was he who prevented for some time
the revolt of the king against the yoke of Babylon by counselling submission
and patience
and after the siege he urged Zedekiah to surrender to the enemy
assuring him
by the word of the Lord
that there was nothing to be gained by
resistance
and that the end would be the burning of the city and the king’s
capture and death. And now commenced the afflictions of Zedekiah--afflictions
which were the fulfilment of Divine prophecy
in which fulfilment the King of
Babylon was unconsciously the instrument in God’s hand in the punishment of
this wicked monarch of Judah. And notice how terrible the punishment was. In
the first place
his sons were put to death before his eyes
the purpose being
to put an end to the dynasty. Then we learn from Jeremiah 12:10 that his daughters were
carried into captivity. In addition to this
Zedekiah himself was bound in
chains
“fetters of brass
” and double fetters too
so that he was bound hand
and foot
making escape impossible. His trial took place in the royal camp at
Riblah
but we may suppose that it was a mere form
since the guilt of Zedekiah
in breaking his oath of allegiance to the King of Babylon was known to all. Now
let us consider what sins Zedekiah had committed
which brought down upon him
and his family and the people of God this terrible punishment.
1. We know from 2 Kings 24:19 that he did not seek
the glory of God in his reign. “He did that which was evil in the sight of the
Lord
according to all which Jehoiakim had done.” By studying the history of
the reign of his brother Jehoiakim we know that this “evil” consisted in the
fact that he did not oppose and overthrow idolatry in the kingdom. We have no
evidence that Zedekiah was himself an idolater
but we are responsible to God
not only for what we say and do
but for our influence over others.
2. Another sin of Zedekiah’s was his revolt from the King of Babylon
and we learn from the punishment visited upon Judah’s king the sacredness of an
oath in God’s sight.
3. Zedekiah broke a solemn covenant which he had made with the
people
that all Jews held in bondage should be set free. In accordance with
the king’s command
this degree of emancipation was carried out
and no Jew
throughout Judah was a slave. But when it was known that the Egyptian army was
coming to help them
then Zedekiah thought that he would not need the
assistance of these freedmen in the battle with the enemy
and so the order of
emancipation was revoked
and slavery was re-established in the land (Jeremiah 34:16-17).
4. Zedekiah’s treatment of the prophet was another cause which led to
his overthrow. Although in the beginning of the national peril he had sent to
Jeremiah with the urgent message
“Pray now unto the Lord our God for us
” yet
we read (Jeremiah 37:2)
“Neither he
nor his
servants
nor the people of the land
did hearken unto the words of the Lord
which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah.” And not only did he refuse to follow
the prophet’s advice
but he yielded to the enemies of this fearless man of
God
and suffered them to imprison and maltreat him. There are some very solemn
lessons which we learn from the sad life and tragic end of this last king of
Judah.
They are--
1. The first and indispensable requisite to success is for one to
gain the victory over his own lower nature. So long as we are slaves to sin
we
cannot be great in any path of life
but he who keeps self under
who has
conquered passions and appetites for the sake of God and His cause
is sure to
live a royal life
though he may never sit on a throne.
2. The fact that any one is our enemy does not relieve us from the
obligation to keep faith with him (Joshua 9:19). Perjury is always a
terrible sin.
3. If our trust is in God
we need never fear what our enemies may
do
for with God on our side all must be well. Zedekiah feared his nobles
because he had no faith in God.
4. The Christian is the only one who can be absolutely fearless of the
future
for around him are the everlasting arms. Zedekiah put his trust in the
fortifications around Jerusalem; if he had trusted in Jehovah and believed the
words of Jeremiah
his life would have been safe and his kingdom would have
been preserved. David sang: “In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of
my strength and my refuge is in God.”
5. We never gain by doing wrong. When we do evil that good may come
we are always disappointed.
6. God is not mocked. If He determines to punish
no walls or weapons
can defeat His purpose. When He says to us that all other paths but the one
which he has marked out lead to destruction
we may be sure that our
disobedience will in the end prove His words to be true (Jeremiah 2:17; Hosea 13:9). (A. E. Kitteridge
D.
D.)
The captivity of Judah
The destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar
and the removal of
the Jews into the Babylonish captivity
were a Divine judgment. Nebuchadnezzar
was an unconscious agent of God in destroying
as Cyrus was in rebuilding and
restoring. This judgment was not final Terrible as it was
it was a
chastisement rather than a punishment. As such it illustrates some features of
the Divine method in disciplinary judgment.
I. It is a Divine
method to delay judgment
not only final
but also partial judgment. The
instructions of Moses had been clear. His warnings had been full and explicit.
He had gathered in the Book of Deuteronomy a complete presentation of the
conditions upon which his people would alone be blessed; failing to comply with
which they would be afflicted and cursed. When the people began to transgress
God began to afflict them; first
however
reviewing the warning of Moses by
His prophetic messengers. He was prompt to chide them. As a father He chastised
them.
II. The Divine
judgments are certain. We do not know the time of them
but God does. It is
delayed
but it is not indefinite. It is fixed. There are many hints in the
Scripture at the exact timing of events in God’s government. The Saviour began
early to speak of His hour. At times He said it was not yet come. The night was
coming
but it had not come. Then the fateful announcement fell from His lips
in a prayer: “Father
the hour is come!” One chapter in Ezekiel
pointing to
the culmination of judgment upon Judah
has for its awful refrain
It is come.
The notes of time in the history grow definite. Nebuchadnezzar came in the
ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign
in the tenth month
in the tenth day of the
month. In the eleventh year
the fourth month
the ninth day
the supply of
food gave out
and famine prevailed. In the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s
reign
in the fifth month
in the seventh day of the month
the city was
destroyed. The very hour when the Chaldeans broke into the city is recorded. So
certain are the delayed judgments of God
if men do not repent. They impend.
They are withheld. They may be withdrawn. God would withdraw them. It grieves
Him to inflict them. But when a certain definite hour is reached
and His
people is still incorrigible
they must fall. A thousand years may pass. Men
may grow bold
and say
“Since the fathers fell asleep
all things remain as
they were from the beginning.” But not when the hour strikes. Then
punctually
the fire falls upon the cities of the plain
and the floods of the deluge are
poured out
and Shiloh falls
and Samaria falls
and Jerusalem falls. Here is a
lesson for all nations
all families
all individuals
under the Divine
government. To remain unsubmissive under the government of God is to expose
ourselves to His judgments. These may be delayed. Not so
they will be delayed. But their time is not
indefinite: it is fixed. When the hour is reached the blow will fall. It may be
a trial; it may be an affliction! it may be a tragedy. It may be all these
three
for disciplinary judgments are cumulative.
III. The judgments
of God are thorough. It is true of those that are final
it is true also of
those that are partial. When Nebuchadnezzar came
he had a force equal to his
needs. He came in person with “all his host.” Jeremiah says more explicitly
“All his army
and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion
and all the people.”
This immense host was the Lord’s messenger. “It seemed
” says Stanley
“to
those who witnessed it
like the rising of a mighty eagle
spreading out its
vast wings
feathering with the innumerable colours of the variegated masses
which composed the Chaldean host
sweeping over the different countries
and
striking fear in his rapid flight.” If this array had not been sufficient for
the conquest
God would have brought new levies; for the day was come. The
siege was thorough. The city was surrounded. It was assailed from huge mounds
and towers built up for the purpose. For a year and a half it held out. Then
its store of provisions failed. Fathers devoured the flesh of their own sons
and daughters. The hands even of pitiful mothers have sodden their own
children
the mere infants just born. When the city still stubbornly held out
the siege was pressed more fiercely. At last the wall was pierced. At midnight
the breach was made. The Chaldeans swarmed in. The destruction was complete.
The
ark now disappeared
to be seen no more. Tradition says that Jeremiah
buried it. Probably the fire destroyed it. It could not have been taken to
Babylon with the spoil of the temple
the pillars of Solomon
and the molten
sea
whose loss Jeremiah so bitterly bewailed; for otherwise it would have been
returned with the other temple furniture by Cyrus. It was not needed longer.
Religion had not disappeared from the nation. It is of much consequence to
observe
in the light of this history
that a certain proportion of religious
life is necessary to save a nation or an individual. There were individuals
like Jeremiah and Baruch and their friends. There were youths like Daniel and
his companions. There were others
perhaps even numerous
who cherished the law
so recently discovered by Josiah
and whose recovery was so joyfully regarded
as an event of national importance. But it was not enough to save the nation
that there were good men and women in it
or that it had the Bible.
IV. The purpose of
a disciplinary judgment is kept ever in view. Though the judgment of Judah was
terribly thorough it was not final. Its aim was to save the nation
if
possible
and as many of its individual citizens as possible. A considerable
remnant of the poorer classes was left on the land to keep it in tillage. Those
taken into captivity were told that it should only be of limited duration.
After seventy years they should return. They were permitted to have prophets
and religious teachers with them in Babylon and in Judah. (Monday Club
Sermons.)
Captivity of Judah
If we come to the fall of Jerusalem with the desire to see not
merely a special judgment of God
but to gain lessons from the operation of
what are commonly called natural causes
we shall discover three facts to which
it was largely due.
1. Bad economic conditions. Judah fell into the hands of the
Babylonians because her kings had wasted bet resources. David gave a united
nation to Solomon
who in turn passed it
still entire
to Rehoboam. Under this
its fourth king the nation was broken into two hostile kingdoms. The narrative
gives the cause explicitly
--unendurable taxation. The glory of Solomon
his
navy and palaces and harem and chariots
had been purchased at the price of
great suffering on the part of the people. Had Rehoboam followed the advice of
his older counsellors and lightened taxation
Jeroboam would never have become
his rival
and the confederation of the twelve tribes
none too strong at best
would not have wasted its strength in civil war.
2. Moral degeneracy. But back of the bad financial policy of the
nation lay its moral weakness. For a nation whose God was Jehovah
the Jews
were wonderfully prone to idolatry. If we except a few years of David’s reign
there was not a moment
from the Call to the Return
when Israel was not
itching to run after strange gods. Solomon was a typical eclectic in religion
permitting heathen divinities to be worshipped by the side of his great temple.
The reforms of such kings as Hezekiah and Josiah were short-lived
and served
but to set in strange contrast the popular worship in the high places and the
groves.
3. Disregard of religious teachers. Nothing is more dramatic than the
struggle between the prophets and the kings of Israel. Samuel with the gigantic
Saul cowering at his feet; Elijah defying Ahab
slaying the prophets of Baal
and running from Jezebel; Elisha travelling up and down a half-converted land;
Isaiah outspoken and dying a martyr’s death; Jeremiah deep in the filth of his
prison
--are but leaders in the noble army of prophets whom God sent to guide
Israel through the paths of national success
in the face of the bitterest
opposition. Each of them was faithful and spoke his message; but his words
passed unheeded
or only excited anger and persecution. Neither people nor king
cared to follow the stern words of their religious teachers except as they were
threatened by some overwhelming disaster. Then perhaps
for a few days or
months
the worship of Jehovah was reinstated in its proper place
and the
prophetical office was again honoured. Judah is the type of the world. Had its
king listened to God’s servants
the nation would have weathered its financial
distress and been cured of its wickedness. In their words lay the only hope;
and Judah laughed at them and stoned them. Jerusalem
the Zion of David
became
the execution city of the prophets. Judah fell
just as any nation will fall
that fails to apply religion to national problems. The one great lesson of the
captivity of Judah is this: the fearless application of Christianity to living
questions is the duty of both clergy and laymen
and the hope of the state. (S.
Matthews.)
Verses 1-21
And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign.
Captivity of Judah
We have two prominent characters in this lesson--Zedekiah King of
Judah
and Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon. The latter was one of the remarkable
men of the world
not only as a military conqueror
but as a ruler of great
genius and executive power. Zedekiah was the youngest son of Josiah
and was
placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar at the age of twenty-one. He reigned
eleven years in Jerusalem
and “did that which was evil in the sight of the
Lord” (2 Kings 24:19). At length he
revolted against the King of Babylon
and this revolt was the beginning of the
end
which was the captivity of Judah. It was in the year 589 b.c.
in the
month of January
that the siege of Jerusalem commenced
and it lasted one year
five months and twenty-seven days. During this time the besieging army
or a part of it
marched
to meet the Egyptians
who were coming to the help of the Jews
and with the
retreat of the Egyptians the siege was continued even more rigorously. As the
Jews were accustomed to observe the anniversary of national disasters with
lastings
the dates of such disasters were preserved accurately. (See Zechariah 7:3-5; Zechariah 8:19.) By turning to Jeremiah 34:7 we learn that the army of
Nebuchadnezzar also besieged the cities of Lachish and Azekah
which were the
only strongholds remaining to the Jews
so that with their capture the victory
was complete and the humiliation of God’s people perfected (verses 1-3). It is
interesting to study the life of Jeremiah in connection with the events of this
lesson (Jeremiah chaps
37.
38.)
for it was he who prevented for some time
the revolt of the king against the yoke of Babylon by counselling submission
and patience
and after the siege he urged Zedekiah to surrender to the enemy
assuring him
by the word of the Lord
that there was nothing to be gained by
resistance
and that the end would be the burning of the city and the king’s
capture and death. And now commenced the afflictions of Zedekiah--afflictions which
were the fulfilment of Divine prophecy
in which fulfilment the King of Babylon
was unconsciously the instrument in God’s hand in the punishment of this wicked
monarch of Judah. And notice how terrible the punishment was. In the first
place
his sons were put to death before his eyes
the purpose being to put an
end to the dynasty. Then we learn from Jeremiah 12:10 that his daughters were
carried into captivity. In addition to this
Zedekiah himself was bound in
chains
“fetters of brass
” and double fetters too
so that he was bound hand
and foot
making escape impossible. His trial took place in the royal camp at
Riblah
but we may suppose that it was a mere form
since the guilt of Zedekiah
in breaking his oath of allegiance to the King of Babylon was known to all. Now
let us consider what sins Zedekiah had committed
which brought down upon him
and his family and the people of God this terrible punishment.
1. We know from 2 Kings 24:19 that he did not seek
the glory of God in his reign. “He did that which was evil in the sight of the
Lord
according to all which Jehoiakim had done.” By studying the history of
the reign of his brother Jehoiakim we know that this “evil” consisted in the
fact that he did not oppose and overthrow idolatry in the kingdom. We have no
evidence that Zedekiah was himself an idolater
but we are responsible to God
not only for what we say and do
but for our influence over others.
2. Another sin of Zedekiah’s was his revolt from the King of Babylon
and we learn from the punishment visited upon Judah’s king the sacredness of an
oath in God’s sight.
3. Zedekiah broke a solemn covenant which he had made with the
people
that all Jews held in bondage should be set free. In accordance with
the king’s command
this degree of emancipation was carried out
and no Jew
throughout Judah was a slave. But when it was known that the Egyptian army was
coming to help them
then Zedekiah thought that he would not need the
assistance of these freedmen in the battle with the enemy
and so the order of
emancipation was revoked
and slavery was re-established in the land (Jeremiah 34:16-17).
4. Zedekiah’s treatment of the prophet was another cause which led to
his overthrow. Although in the beginning of the national peril he had sent to
Jeremiah with the urgent message
“Pray now unto the Lord our God for us
” yet
we read (Jeremiah 37:2)
“Neither he
nor his
servants
nor the people of the land
did hearken unto the words of the Lord
which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah.” And not only did he refuse to follow
the prophet’s advice
but he yielded to the enemies of this fearless man of
God
and suffered them to imprison and maltreat him. There are some very solemn
lessons which we learn from the sad life and tragic end of this last king of
Judah.
They are--
1. The first and indispensable requisite to success is for one to
gain the victory over his own lower nature. So long as we are slaves to sin
we
cannot be great in any path of life
but he who keeps self under
who has
conquered passions and appetites for the sake of God and His cause
is sure to
live a royal life
though he may never sit on a throne.
2. The fact that any one is our enemy does not relieve us from the
obligation to keep faith with him (Joshua 9:19). Perjury is always a
terrible sin.
3. If our trust is in God
we need never fear what our enemies may
do
for with God on our side all must be well. Zedekiah feared his nobles because
he had no faith in God.
4. The Christian is the only one who can be absolutely fearless of the
future
for around him are the everlasting arms. Zedekiah put his trust in the
fortifications around Jerusalem; if he had trusted in Jehovah and believed the
words of Jeremiah
his life would have been safe and his kingdom would have
been preserved. David sang: “In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of
my strength and my refuge is in God.”
5. We never gain by doing wrong. When we do evil that good may come
we are always disappointed.
6. God is not mocked. If He determines to punish
no walls or weapons
can defeat His purpose. When He says to us that all other paths but the one
which he has marked out lead to destruction
we may be sure that our disobedience
will in the end prove His words to be true (Jeremiah 2:17; Hosea 13:9). (A. E. Kitteridge
D.
D.)
The captivity of Judah
The destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar
and the removal of
the Jews into the Babylonish captivity
were a Divine judgment. Nebuchadnezzar
was an unconscious agent of God in destroying
as Cyrus was in rebuilding and
restoring. This judgment was not final Terrible as it was
it was a
chastisement rather than a punishment. As such it illustrates some features of
the Divine method in disciplinary judgment.
I. It is a Divine
method to delay judgment
not only final
but also partial judgment. The
instructions of Moses had been clear. His warnings had been full and explicit.
He had gathered in the Book of Deuteronomy a complete presentation of the
conditions upon which his people would alone be blessed; failing to comply with
which they would be afflicted and cursed. When the people began to transgress
God began to afflict them; first
however
reviewing the warning of Moses by
His prophetic messengers. He was prompt to chide them. As a father He chastised
them.
II. The Divine
judgments are certain. We do not know the time of them
but God does. It is
delayed
but it is not indefinite. It is fixed. There are many hints in the
Scripture at the exact timing of events in God’s government. The Saviour began
early to speak of His hour. At times He said it was not yet come. The night was
coming
but it had not come. Then the fateful announcement fell from His lips
in a prayer: “Father
the hour is come!” One chapter in Ezekiel
pointing to
the culmination of judgment upon Judah
has for its awful refrain
It is come.
The notes of time in the history grow definite. Nebuchadnezzar came in the
ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign
in the tenth month
in the tenth day of the
month. In the eleventh year
the fourth month
the ninth day
the supply of
food gave out
and famine prevailed. In the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s
reign
in the fifth month
in the seventh day of the month
the city was
destroyed. The very hour when the Chaldeans broke into the city is recorded. So
certain are the delayed judgments of God
if men do not repent. They impend.
They are withheld. They may be withdrawn. God would withdraw them. It grieves
Him to inflict them. But when a certain definite hour is reached
and His
people is still incorrigible
they must fall. A thousand years may pass. Men
may grow bold
and say
“Since the fathers fell asleep
all things remain as
they were from the beginning.” But not when the hour strikes. Then
punctually
the fire falls upon the cities of the plain
and the floods of the deluge are poured
out
and Shiloh falls
and Samaria falls
and Jerusalem falls. Here is a lesson
for all nations
all families
all individuals
under the Divine government. To
remain unsubmissive under the government of God is to expose ourselves to His
judgments. These may be delayed. Not so
they will be delayed. But their time is not
indefinite: it is fixed. When the hour is reached the blow will fall. It may be
a trial; it may be an affliction! it may be a tragedy. It may be all these
three
for disciplinary judgments are cumulative.
III. The judgments
of God are thorough. It is true of those that are final
it is true also of
those that are partial. When Nebuchadnezzar came
he had a force equal to his
needs. He came in person with “all his host.” Jeremiah says more explicitly
“All his army
and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion
and all the
people.” This immense host was the Lord’s messenger. “It seemed
” says Stanley
“to those who witnessed it
like the rising of a mighty eagle
spreading out its
vast wings
feathering with the innumerable colours of the variegated masses
which composed the Chaldean host
sweeping over the different countries
and
striking fear in his rapid flight.” If this array had not been sufficient for
the conquest
God would have brought new levies; for the day was come. The
siege was thorough. The city was surrounded. It was assailed from huge mounds
and towers built up for the purpose. For a year and a half it held out. Then
its store of provisions failed. Fathers devoured the flesh of their own sons
and daughters. The hands even of pitiful mothers have sodden their own
children
the mere infants just born. When the city still stubbornly held out
the siege was pressed more fiercely. At last the wall was pierced. At midnight the
breach was made. The Chaldeans swarmed in. The destruction was complete. The
ark now disappeared
to be seen no more. Tradition says that Jeremiah buried
it. Probably the fire destroyed it. It could not have been taken to Babylon
with the spoil of the temple
the pillars of Solomon
and the molten sea
whose
loss Jeremiah so bitterly bewailed; for otherwise it would have been returned
with the other temple furniture by Cyrus. It was not needed longer. Religion
had not disappeared from the nation. It is of much consequence to observe
in
the light of this history
that a certain proportion of religious life is
necessary to save a nation or an individual. There were individuals like
Jeremiah and Baruch and their friends. There were youths like Daniel and his
companions. There were others
perhaps even numerous
who cherished the law so
recently discovered by Josiah
and whose recovery was so joyfully regarded as
an event of national importance. But it was not enough to save the nation that
there were good men and women in it
or that it had the Bible.
IV. The purpose of
a disciplinary judgment is kept ever in view. Though the judgment of Judah was
terribly thorough it was not final. Its aim was to save the nation
if
possible
and as many of its individual citizens as possible. A considerable
remnant of the poorer classes was left on the land to keep it in tillage. Those
taken into captivity were told that it should only be of limited duration.
After seventy years they should return. They were permitted to have prophets
and religious teachers with them in Babylon and in Judah. (Monday Club
Sermons.)
Captivity of Judah
If we come to the fall of Jerusalem with the desire to see not
merely a special judgment of God
but to gain lessons from the operation of
what are commonly called natural causes
we shall discover three facts to which
it was largely due.
1. Bad economic conditions. Judah fell into the hands of the
Babylonians because her kings had wasted bet resources. David gave a united
nation to Solomon
who in turn passed it
still entire
to Rehoboam. Under this
its fourth king the nation was broken into two hostile kingdoms. The narrative
gives the cause explicitly
--unendurable taxation. The glory of Solomon
his
navy and palaces and harem and chariots
had been purchased at the price of
great suffering on the part of the people. Had Rehoboam followed the advice of
his older counsellors and lightened taxation
Jeroboam would never have become
his rival
and the confederation of the twelve tribes
none too strong at best
would not have wasted its strength in civil war.
2. Moral degeneracy. But back of the bad financial policy of the
nation lay its moral weakness. For a nation whose God was Jehovah
the Jews
were wonderfully prone to idolatry. If we except a few years of David’s reign
there was not a moment
from the Call to the Return
when Israel was not
itching to run after strange gods. Solomon was a typical eclectic in religion
permitting heathen divinities to be worshipped by the side of his great temple.
The reforms of such kings as Hezekiah and Josiah were short-lived
and served
but to set in strange contrast the popular worship in the high places and the
groves.
3. Disregard of religious teachers. Nothing is more dramatic than the
struggle between the prophets and the kings of Israel. Samuel with the gigantic
Saul cowering at his feet; Elijah defying Ahab
slaying the prophets of Baal
and running from Jezebel; Elisha travelling up and down a half-converted land;
Isaiah outspoken and dying a martyr’s death; Jeremiah deep in the filth of his
prison
--are but leaders in the noble army of prophets whom God sent to guide
Israel through the paths of national success
in the face of the bitterest
opposition. Each of them was faithful and spoke his message; but his words
passed unheeded
or only excited anger and persecution. Neither people nor king
cared to follow the stern words of their religious teachers except as they were
threatened by some overwhelming disaster. Then perhaps
for a few days or
months
the worship of Jehovah was reinstated in its proper place
and the
prophetical office was again honoured. Judah is the type of the world. Had its
king listened to God’s servants
the nation would have weathered its financial
distress and been cured of its wickedness. In their words lay the only hope;
and Judah laughed at them and stoned them. Jerusalem
the Zion of David
became
the execution city of the prophets. Judah fell
just as any nation will fall
that fails to apply religion to national problems. The one great lesson of the
captivity of Judah is this: the fearless application of Christianity to living
questions is the duty of both clergy and laymen
and the hope of the state. (S.
Matthews.)
Verse 18
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest.
Unconscious heroism
1. Most of us
I daresay
are familiar with the story of the faithful
sentinel at Pompeii. It is told for us by Miss Yonge
in her little book of
golden deeds. The man was an ordinary soldier
set to guard the city gate. It
was the time of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius
and from the position assigned
to him he was able to watch the stream of molten lava
like a cruel crawling
hungry tide
setting in the direction of Pompeii: on and on it came: nearer and
nearer with its blinding light and burning flame it advanced towards him: but
the sentinel never stirred from his post; he stood where he had been ordered to
stand: and when after more than a thousand years the buried city was
as it
were
disentombed from her sepulchre
the good soldier’s bones
still girt
about with breast-plate and helmet
and with the hand still raised to keep the
dust from his mouth
remained to tell all future generations how a Roman
soldier
rather than leave the post of duty
was not unwilling to die. The
story is not without modern parallels. Lord Wolseley pays a tribute of
respectful admiration to the chivalrous faithfulness which was shown by one of
the English sentinels at the battle of Inkermann. In the blinding mist of the
November morning
the Russian soldiers crept within our lines. Through what
some call chance
but what we would rather call the providence of God
the
enemy in their progress failed to come across one of our sentries: all day
long
with enemies before him and enemies behind him
that man remained where
he had been placed; and when
in the evening of the day
the thin red line of
our troops drove back their opponents into their entrenchments
Lord Wolseley found this
sentinel
still holding his ground
at his post
doing his duty. I have
referred to these two incidents
not merely because they are golden deeds
but
because they help
I think
to illustrate the act of unconscious heroism which
our text describes. In this last chapter of the Second Book of Kings we read
the story of the abolition of the Jewish monarchy and of the leading away into
captivity of the Jewish people. From the throne on which had once reigned David
and Solomon and Hezekiah
the last occupant passed forth a blind and childless
man
to the ignominy of a Babylonish prison: by command of King Nebuchadnezzar
the wall and the palaces of the city
once the joy of the whole earth
were
levelled to the ground: and the holy and beautiful temple
fragrant with cedar
wood and bright with gold
where in happier days the shining cloud of God’s
presence had rested upon the mercy seat
was turned into a charred and
dilapidated ruin. Verily the weeping captives as they went forth to their exile
in the land of the enemy must have learned at last the lesson which is taught
so plainly on every page of history
and by the experience of every life
“be
sure your sin will find you out.” But just as some gleams of pleasant sunshine
will often come to cheer us at the end of a cloudy and dark day
so this dark
and terrible national catastrophe seems to have been lit up by at least one
deed of noble unconscious heroism. When the armies of King Nebuchadnezzar
forced themselves at last into the very precincts of the temple
the great
crowd of worshippers
who habitually were present there
had gone; the many
attendant priests and Levites
who habitually assisted at the services
had
also gone; but Seraiah the chief priest was there; and Zephaniah the second
priest was there: and there were also present three men whose names are not so
much as told us
three men of whom the historian apparently knows nothing
three men who were faithful but not famous; they were only keepers of the door
but faithful among the faithless
they were ready to sacrifice their lives
rather than desert their posts. “The captain of the guard took Seraiah the
chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the door
and the king of Babylon smote them and slew them at Riblah in the land of
Hamath.” What epitaph shall we write on the grave of these unconscious heroes?
“Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life.” It is the
peculiar glory of the Christian religion that it has sowed the world broadcast
with unconscious heroes. By their love of God
by their devotion to duty
by
the unselfishness of their lives
by their repression of themselves
by their
enthusiasm for humanity you may know them; they are to be met with almost
everywhere; in cottages
in palaces; in towns and villages; in busy workshops
in great seats of learning; in the silence of the sick-room
among those who go
down to the sea in ships
in the darkness of the underground mine. They are of
all ages; some are schoolboys and schoolgirls; some are young men and maidens;
some are old and grey-headed
weary with the burden of three score years and
ten
holding the staff in the hand for very age. Yes
“who can count the dust
of Jacob or the number of the fourth part of Israel?” Thanks to the example
which our Lord set
thanks to the teaching which our Lord gave
thanks to the
Holy Spirit which our Lord sends
unconscious Christian heroes have been as the
stars in heaven for multitude and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable.
Quite impossible is it for human mind to measure the widespreading fruitfulness
of any single life
however humble
thus given unreservedly to the service of
God. As God’s word expressly teaches us
as Church History continually reminds
us
as our own experience of life shows us
it is
as a rule
Almighty God’s
way to work great results by apparently insufficient means. By little grains of
sand the proud waters of the sea are held within their limits; by little drops
of rain the earth is made to give seed to the sower and bread to the eater.
When our Lord Jesus Christ came to save the world He chose the humiliations of
poverty and the ignominy of a death upon a cross. Not so much by the pre-eminent holiness of great
saints as by the unconscious heroism of numberless Christian lives has the
faith
which was once committed to the saints
won its way throughout the
world. Sometimes it is given to us to know bow fruitful a humble Christian life
can be. In our own time a single Christian nobleman has been allowed to lift
hundreds and thousands of his fellow-countrymen out of abysses of ignorance
‘and oppression
and in many cases to guide their feet into the way of peace.
But whence did Lord Shaftesbury acquire his enthusiasm for humanity and his
desire to serve God? He did not learn it from his father or mother; he did not
learn it from his schoolmasters at Harrow or elsewhere; but he learned it
as
he tells us
from that unlettered
faithful nurse who had the courage to lift
up her voice for God
who spoke to him about our Lord Jesus Christ
and taught
him to pray
who prayed with him and prayed for him
and who unconsciously
sowed a seed in a kindly soil
which brought forth fruit thirtyfold
sixty-fold
hundredfold.
3. And here we stop and ask how is it possible to attain to that
state of grace which produces as its natural fruit a life of unconscious
Christian heroism? I answer you by referring you to a text of Scripture. We
read that when Moses after forty days came down from the clouds and darkness
that wreathed and settled on the top of Sinai
“he wist not
” so the Revised
Version has it
“that the skin of his face shone by reason of his speaking with
God.” For forty days without weariness and without cessation he had lived in
the light of the presence of God; during that time there had been revealed to
him
as before time to no other
thoughts from the mind of God; and when at
last he turned to go back to the camp of Israel
lo
just as the moon with its
surface of extinct volcanoes gets illuminated by the beams of the sun
till it
is beautiful with silver light
so the earthly features of the countenance of
Moses were radiant with more than human brightness
and the Israelites could
not bear to look upon him because he reflected the glory of God. Yet Moses wist
not that his countenance did shine because of his speaking with God. Surely it
is not difficult to guess the secret of the faithfulness to duty of those three
keepers of the door in the house of the Lord. Do you ask how it was that when
they heard the tramp of the army of the enemy they did not make haste to
escape? How it was that when priest and Levite
and chorister
and worshipper
were seeking safety they choose to remain at their post? Was it not because
they were men worthy of their office? They preferred to be doorkeepers in the
house of the Lord rather than dwell in the tents of ungodliness; their hearts
rejoiced within them when they said one to another
day by day
“Let us go into
the house of the Lord.” They loved worship; they loved duty; they loved God;
and so when the hour of their trial came they east in their lot with Seraiah
the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest
being all the time as
unconscious of their heroism as Moses was of his glory
when he wist not that
the skin of his face shone by reason of his speaking with God. And not
otherwise has it been with all the bright and shining lives which have made the
pages of Church history
and the homes of pious Christians flash and glitter
like a milky way. They were by nature men of like passions with ourselves
they
were compassed like us with manifold infirmities; they found
as we do
a law
in their members warring against the law of their minds; but over and over
again
morning
noon
and night
they prayed God that for Jesus Christ’s sake
Satan might not have dominion over them
and so
out of weakness they were made
strong
“and in the darkness o’er their fallen heads perceived the waving of
the hands that bless.” (W. T. Harrison
D. D.)
Heroism instructive
Heroism is not heroism until it is ingrained in the character. No
one can become an hero in an instant. Like the flower of the century plant
heroism is the sudden blossoming of what has been years in preparation. It is
not premeditated
it is instinctive
because nobility has grown into a habit
and grandeur has become the fife-blood
and self-sacrifice the very fibre of
the nerves. So we may parody Milton’s famous saying
“If you would write an
epic
your whole life must he an heroic poem
” and assert
“If you would do a deed
of heroism at any time in the future
you must begin to be a hero now.” (Amos
R. Wells.)
Verses 22-30
Verses 27-30
And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the
captivity of Jehoiachin.
Jehoiachin as a victim of tyrannic despotism and as an object of
delivering mercy
The incident here recorded presents Jehoiachin--
I. As a victim of
tyrannic despotism. He had been in prison for thirty-seven years and was
fifty-five years of age. It was Nebuchadnezzar
the tyrannic King of Babylon
who stripped this man of liberty and freedom
and shut him up in a dungeon for
this very long period of time. Such despotism has prevailed in all ages and
lands. To the eternal dishonour of England
it has existed here for centuries
and is rampant even now. Look at this man--
II. As an object of
delivering mercy. We are told that as soon as “Evil-Morodach” came to the
throne on the death of his father Nebuchadnezzar
mercy stirred his heart and
he relieved this poor victim of tyranny. Corrupt as this world is
the element
of mercy is not entirely extinct. This mercy gave honour and liberty to the men
who had been so long in confinement and disgrace. Let not the victims of
tyranny--and they abound everywhere--despair. Mercy will ere long sound the
trump of jubilee over all the land. “The spirit of the Lord
” said the great
Redeemer of the race
“is upon Me
because He hath anointed Me to preach the
gospel to the poor
He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted
to preach
deliverance to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind
to set at
liberty them that are bruised.” (D. Thomas
D. D.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》