The Babylonian Captivity

Transcript

GRS 2-116
6/22/2008
The Babylonian Captivity
2 Kings 24-25
Gil Rugh

We are coming to the end of Israel’s history as a kingdom. Not their end as a nation, but their end as a kingdom being ruled by a king, as an independent realm if you will. We are coming to the end of those who sit on the throne of David, so we are in Second Kings Chapter 24. Second Kings Chapter 24; situation – a little bit of a reminder, in 605 BC Pharaoh Neco, Pharaoh of Egypt moved his armies up from Egypt up through region of Israel up to the north all the way up to Carchemish and did battle there with the Babylonians.

The king of the Babylonians is a man named Nabopolassar. He is ill and has remained home at Babylon. His son Nebuchadnezzar is leading the Babylonian armies at this time and he led them to a victory over the Egyptians at Carchemish. The Babylonians then swept down into Palestine, as we know it and drove the Egyptians back into Egypt. At this time they conquered Jerusalem. Remember the northern kingdom had already been subjugated is 722 BC by the Assyrians. So they have not functioned as an independent kingdom with a king since that time.

Now in 605 the Babylonians not only succeed in defeating the Egyptians and driving them back into Egypt; although they don’t sweep down into at this time, they do come down to the borders of Egypt thus contained the Egyptians and they conquered Jerusalem, they bind the king of Israel and prepared to take him to Babylon. Then word comes to Nebuchadnezzar, his father has died at Babylon. So the parallel account we are picking in Chapter 24 verse 1; in his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then he’d returned and rebelled against him.

Jehoiakim is prepared to be transported to Babylon. But when the news that Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar’s father has died he has to change his plans. So what he does is have Jehoiakim pledge his loyalty enter into a covenant with Nebuchadnezzar that he will be faithful to him. That accounts for why verse 1 tells us that after three years Jehoiakim became Nebuchadnezzar servant, but he is going to reign for significant longer.

If you have your list of Judah’s kings’ number 18 is Jehoiakim and he reigns for 11 years, because he is left on the throne. So when you read in Second Chronicles Chapter 36 verse 6, then Nebuchadnezzar bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon. The biblical account never fills in the details. But what has happened is with the death of Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar makes a change of plans. When you invade Israel from the east they always come across the Fertile Crescent you are familiar with that history, because everything down through below that is desert, and you don’t want to march your armies across the desert.

But when Nebuchadnezzar wants to get back home very quickly to solidify his hold on the throne with the death of his father, he takes core of his army and go straight across the desert to get back to Babylon as quickly as possible. So that no usurper has the opportunity to take advantage of the vacuum that is present in Babylon. So Nebuchadnezzar returned home that way. He does send some prisoners captives back. So this is the first Babylonian captivity 605 BC, and Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as we know them were sent to Babylon in this first phase 605.

So they are returned around the Fertile Crescent with some of Nebuchadnezzar’s army, as he transports prisoners and booty that he has taken back to Babylon the long way; while he and contingent of his soldiers go quickly to restore his throne. It took him some time to get thing solidified and get the empire, and the kingdom under his control. In 601 BC, four years later he comes and again engages the Egyptians in battle, because remember he didn’t crush the Egyptians.

He just drove them back to Egypt. Well now they are asserting a challenge again. And so Nebuchadnezzar returns and engages the Egyptians in battle. But again he has to return home, supplies and so on ran too thin for him to continue. So again he doesn’t totally crush the Egyptians, rather he has to retreat and go back home to re-supply and re-strengthen and reequip his army. This may have caused Jehoiakim to think that the Egyptians were a greater power and thus a greater hope for Judah than they really were, because just from appearance it looks like well the Babylonians couldn’t beat the Egyptians. They drove them back to first time they were here in 605, but they didn’t crush them. And now they weren’t able to defeat them and they retreated home; that maybe have been why you find Jehoiakim rebelling against the king of Babylon.

So verse 2, the Lord sent against him. This is against Jehoiakim, because the fall of Judah has been determined by God, and these little breathers change nothing. So Jehoiakim rebels against the king of Babylon. Then the Lord send against him bands of Chaldeans, band of Arameans, bands of Moabites, band of Ammonites. So he sent them against Judah to destroy it according to the word of the Lord, which he had spoken through his servants, the prophets. Surely at the command of the Lord it came upon Judah.

You note this stress; that it is the sovereign act of God that is bringing the downfall of Judah. And lust anything that this might be a sign of the weakness of the God of Judah, this is a demonstration of his sovereign power. He has determined to chasten his people and he has sovereign power and authority overall nations, overall kingdoms. He brings the Egyptians at his bidding. He brings the Babylonians at his bidding. He brings the smaller nations like the Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Arameans and so on against Judah. It's unraveling; everybody is asserting as themselves against Judah.

Verse 3, surely at the command of the Lord it came upon Judah, to remove them from his sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; the Lord would not forgive. The prophets had prophesied, warned of coming judgment. Again the verse 2, he spoke through his servant, the prophet; the rebellion of Judah, remember culminated in the horrible evilness took place during the 55 year reign of Manasseh; who was the 14th king of the southern kingdom.

So it's not that well we just had that one bad king, but you have the sins of Judah coming to ahead, if you will, with the evil wild reign of Manasseh and the willing involvement of the people of Judah in the sins of Manasseh. We are told about his servants the prophets who had warned. Earlier Isaiah and Micah, now Jeremiah is carrying on his ministry and you have Habakkuk others that also have prophesied of coming judgment.

Jehoiakim; we are told in verse 5, the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers and Jehoiachin his son became king in his place. We are not told what happened to Jehoiakim. He dies about December 598 BC. We are not told about the details of his death, but we do get some insights from Jeremiah. Jump over to Jeremiah 22, and you might leave a marker in Jeremiah 22; and we will come back here.

Jeremiah 22, Jeremiah is prophesying about Jehoiakim the king we are talking about. Verse 18, therefore thus says the Lord in regard to Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, they will not lament for him; Alas, my brother Alas, sister. They will not lament for him: Alas, for the master or Alas for his splendor; there will be no mourning over Jehoiakim when he dies. He will be buried with a donkey’s burial dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem, discarded like you would with the carcass of a donkey, discarded in the wilderness region outside Jerusalem.

Turn over to Jeremiah Chapter 36; you can leave the marker in Chapter 22. But Jeremiah Chapter 36, verse 30; and the account here tells you something of the character of Jehoiakim. Here we are at this late stage in the kingdom of Judah, God has sent his word Chapter 36, verse 1; in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, take a scroll and write on it all the words which I have spoken to you concerning Israel, concerning Judah, concerning all the nations; from the day I first spoke to you; from the days of Josiah, even unto this day. Perhaps the house of Judah will hear all the calamity which I plan to bring on them, in order that every man will turn from his evil way. Then I will forgive their inequity and their sin.

What a gracious God, another opportunity Jeremiah you write down everything I tell you, and perhaps this word from me will make such an impact on Judah. They will repent and when they repent I can forgive them. Then I won’t have to bring all this calamity on them. So Jeremiah dictates it to his scribe Baruch and it is read different times. We don’t have time to go through the setting here. Finally some officials from the king’s household sit and hear this scroll being read.

Verse 19 of Chapter 36; the official said to Baruch go hide yourself you and Jeremiah, do not let anyone know where you are, because they know they are at a crucial point here. In other words Jeremiah and his scribe had to go and hide, so that the king can't kill them if he doesn’t like what he hears in this scroll. But they are going to have it read to the king with the hope that he will respond and repent. But they also realize the possibility will go other way.

So what happens they go went to the king, they deposit the scroll in the chamber of the scribe and the king gets this sends for the scroll. Verse 20 and following and then when Jehudi read three or four column verse 23; the king cut it with the scribe’s knife and threw it into the fire. So you unroll the scroll as its being read and read so far this unrolled then he slices it off with a knife and throws it into fire. They roll read a little more if it's unrolled then he slice it off and throws it into the fire, until it was all consumed with the fire.

Yet verse 24, the king and all of his servants who heard all these words were not afraid nor did they rent their garments; even though Elnathan, Delaiah, Gemariah pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. The king commanded, Jerahmeel the king son and so on to seize Baruch and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord had hit them. So the Lord had made probation for them to be spared.

You see the hardness of heart here; a few of these officials from the kings court had been so impressed with the word of the Lord through Jeremiah in this scroll that they wanted the king to hear it, the king hears it doesn’t make any impact, he has it burned. And then he wants to seize the men who are responsible for it. So you see there is no turning the hearts of this king and the people back.

Verse 27, then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after this king had burned the scroll, and he tells Jeremiah and Baruch, who is Jeremiah’s secretary his scribe; you rewrite the scroll, because the words are going to come true. Jehoiakim couldn’t cancel the word of God out by burning it in the fire. And concerning verse 29, Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, thus says the Lord; you have burned this scroll, saying, why have you written on it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and will make man and beast to seize from it. Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah; he shall have no one to sit on the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of day and frost of the night.

So you see his death. From the description it seems that he was murdered and his body was just discarded out like an animals body, a donkeys body it's not even buried that’s what it means; the heat of the day and the frost of the night. They just drag that out of the city and threw it out in the wilderness region there, like you would donkey carcass of just let it rock there, expose to the sun during the day and the frost at night. So God’s judgment comes on him. But we are not filled in the details. So his servants rose against him or this happened or that, but from the description obviously he was murdered and an action here that’s his end.

Come back to Kings, Second Kings 24, it's almost frightening as you read in account like this. They are on the verge of the horrors of the judgment God has prophesied and promised, and there is a hardness that; even though the Babylonians have been into the area. There is no softness, so the word of God. Now we pick up in Second Kings 24, with Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim on the throne. And we are told in verse 7, the king of Egypt did not come out of his land again for the king of Babylon and taken all the belonged to the king of Egypt from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king. He is going to reign three months. That’s long enough to reveal his character. We are told he reigns was 18 years old when he became king. He reigns three months in Jerusalem. Verse 9, he did evil in the sight of the Lord according to all his father had done. Just to note the parallel account in Second Chronicles Chapter 36, verse 9 says Jehoiachin was eight years old, but 18 years old is the correct age. And we are told in verse 7, the king of Egypt did not come out of his land again for the king of Babylon and taken all the belong to the king of Egypt from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.

You will see down in Chapter 24 of Second Kings verse 158, Jehoiachin after three months is led away into exile in Babylon along with his wives. Obviously he didn’t have wives at eight years of age, but he would have had 18 years of age. So just if you read the parallel account, wonder why one says eight and that would be a miss representation in Chronicles miss recording of a number.

Now Jehoiachin; it gets difficult to keep these names. His father was Jehoiakim, he is Jehoiachin. And Jeremiah calls him by two different names; Jeconiah or the shortened form Coniah. So when you are reading the prophecies of Jeremiah regarding Jehoiachin, you will read about Jeconiah or Coniah. So if I had room on the page of the list of kings I could have helped by putting their alternative names in parentheses, but then I would have had to make the page wider, so practicality overruled helpfulness on that occasion.

Jeremiah; we will see this in a moment makes clear that Jehoiachin is the last legitimate king over Judah. There is one more to follow, but Jehoiachin is the last legitimate king. In fact come over to Jeremiah 22; I told you to keep a marker there, if you did you can jump back there, if not you can get the Jeremiah easily. Verse 24, as I live, declares the Lord, even though Coniah and Coniah is the shortened form of Jeconiah, which is another name for Jehoiachin. Now the king we are talking about.

Even though it were a signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off, I will give you into the hand of those who are seeking your life, yes into the hand of those whom you dread, even the hand of the Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon into the hand of the Chaldeans, I will hurl you and your mother who bore you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die. But as for the land to which they desire to return, they will not return to it.

You see even though there is the dread of the Babylonians on king like Jehoiachin, he doesn’t turn to the Lord, is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar, is he an undesirable vessel, why have he and his descendants been hurled out and cast into a land that they have not known, land, land, land, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord, write this man down childless, a man who will not prosper in his days; for no man of his descendants will prosper sitting on the throne of David or ruling again in Judah. That’s an important prophecy. No man of his descendants will prosper sitting on the throne of David.

Come over to Matthew Chapter 1, here we have the lineage of Jesus Christ; Messiah of Israel the one to sit on the throne of David. And you read verse 11, Josiah became the father of Jeconiah, and his brothers at the time to the deportation to Babylon after the deportation to Babylon Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel became the father of Zerubbabel, wait a minute, Jesus Christ is in the line of Jeconiah; and no man of his descendants will prosper sitting on the throne of David, and yet if you still have a marker in Jeremiah 22, turn over and Jeremiah 23, verse 5, behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous branch; and he will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, Israel will dwell securely; and this is his name by which he will be called, Jehovah Tsidkenu, as we know the name, and the Lord our righteousness.

Say now how can no man prosper in the descendant of Jeconiah, and yet we are told that there is going to be a righteous branch come up and he has to be in the line of Jeconiah. And as you are aware the answer is Matthew contains the lineage of Joseph, Jesus physical human father, not his actual physical father. But it's true his legal father, as you put it that way instead of physical father; his legal father physically speaking.

Jesus didn’t have a human father. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. So he gets his legal right to the throne of David through his father Joseph. He is the legal descendant, but he is not a physical descendant. So he does not come under the curse of Jeconiah. He gets his physical connection to the line of David through his mother Mary whose lineage is set forth in Luke’s gospel. And he comes from the line of David; Joseph comes from David through Solomon through Jeconiah. Mary comes from David through Nathan, not Solomon. And so is not in the physical line of Jeconiah.

So the virgin birth becomes crucial. When you think of how many years go by and anybody reading and wondering now, how can the Messiah be of the line of David through Solomon and not be excluded by the curse of Jeconiah. Well God is going to sovereignly bring about the virgin birth, and Isaiah 714 we will be applied to that by Matthew. So Jeconiah only reigns for three months long enough to get a curse on him that requires the virgin birth for the fulfillment of God’s promises; no problems God’s promises are fulfilled exactly as he gave them in the Davidic Covenant of First Samuel 7, will be carried out.

Alright back to Second Kings 24, Nebuchadnezzar came back to Jerusalem with his armies, because Jehoiakim had violated the covenant that he had with Nebuchadnezzar. Remember when Nebuchadnezzar left Jehoiakim on the throne after he had bound him chains, but he had returned to Babylon in 605 BC. Well when Jehoiakim rebels Nebuchadnezzar returns, he solidified the empire under his control around 601. He is, you know been back in the area, but now he returns to deal with the rebellion. But when he returns Jehoiakim is dead. Jehoiachin is on the throne recently put on the throne, because he only last three months still Nebuchadnezzar deposes him and replaces him.

When Nebuchadnezzar arrives at Jerusalem, Jehoiachin knows there is no opportunity to rebel. Down in verse 11, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it. Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon he, his mother, his servants his captains his officials, the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. We are talking about the eighth year of the king of Babylon’s reign here. So the king all his family, 10,000 of the leading citizens of Jerusalem are deported to Babylon.

Down in verse 14, and we are told he took all the treasures of the house of the Lord, the king’s house everything of value. Verse 13, is cut up in transportable sizes. So it can be transported, all the metals of value and so on. Verse 14, then he led away into exile all Jerusalem; all the captains all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, all the craftsman all the smith, none remained except the poorest people of the land. So this is the second deportation to Babylon. This is not the final one yet. We are in 597 BC. So we had the first deportation under the Babylonians 605 BC there Daniel and his friends were carried to Babylon.

Now in 597 BC you have a larger deportation. In this deportation Ezekiel the prophet is deported, and he will begin his prophetic ministry after five years in Babylon. He will begin his prophetic ministry at 30 years of age, five years after being deported, ministering to the captives in Babylon. Jeremiah has been carrying on a ministry and will continue to carry on a ministry, but he doesn’t go to Babylon. He remains even after the final deportation that we will mention in a moment.

So we have two deportations 605, 597. We are at 597 with this deportation Jehoiachin or Jeconiah or Coniah; all are the same names for the same man, is carried to Babylon. He will never be back in Judah. He will die in Babylon. So we are told, he led Jehoiachin away into exile into Babylon, the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, the leading men of the land were led into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. All the men of valor 7,000 the craftsmen, the smiths 1000 everyone fit for work.

In other words you take everyone except the poorest, and you don’t want to deport the poorest those who have nothing to Babylon. But those who are craftsmen you can put them to work as your slaves in Babylon, mighty men of valor you are not going to leave them to perhaps have another uprising. So this is a serious deportation. Then the king of Babylon made his uncle Mattaniah king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king. He reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the Lord according to all that Jehoiakim had done or through the anger of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until he cast them out from his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

So we come to the last king. But if you know, for example when you, if you begin reading Ezekiel’s prophecy; you will note he dates his prophecy from the time of Jehoiachin’s exile in Babylon or in that sense this way they Jeremiah and Ezekiel both for that matter. Look at Jehoiachin as the last legitimate, here you have another king and he is the king. But the line is really come to an end.

He is another godless king. You have all oaths of loyalty that have been taken. This is the third son of Josiah. Remember the last four kings are sons of Josiah; the last godly king over Judah. So he had three sons and a grandson. The grandson didn’t last long he has been carried away to exile. His name is Zedekiah. At this time he swears to be loyal to Nebuchadnezzar. But he breaks that vow and God holds this against him, because he enters into a covenant with the Babylonians part of being a godly person.

At this stage in Israel’s history is recognizing God’s discipline, and the place that the Babylonians play in the discipline of God upon Judah, and willingly submitting to that discipline. You know how sometimes when you discipline your children and they react against that discipline and you tell them, it will only get worse if you continue. So they don’t lesson the discipline by fighting against it. And so part of God’s plan for Israel is to recognize his sovereignty submit to it, accept the discipline from his hand and move on, but they are unwilling to do it.

So turn over to Ezekiel. We haven’t gone to Ezekiel. So look in Ezekiel, Messiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and we will go to Ezekiel 17. We close Second Kings 24 by the statement Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. Now Ezekiel is ministering to the captives in Babylon by this time and Ezekiel Chapter 17, we will pick up with verse 11, the word of the Lord came to me saying. Now say to the rebellious house do you not know what these things mean say, behold the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and princes and brought them to him in Babylon. He deported them to Babylon that was Jehoiachin, Jeconiah only reign three months. He was deported to Babylon.

He took one of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. So there we are told what happened when Nebuchadnezzar set Zedekiah on the throne he made him swear an oath and enter into a covenant that he would be faithful to Nebuchadnezzar. He also took away the mighty of the land that the kingdom might be in subjection not exulting itself, but keeping his covenant that it might continue. in other words if Zedekiah had been willing to live under the authority of the Babylonians, the Babylonians wouldn’t be back, they have one more time they are coming back and when they come back this time the Judah will be totally crushed.

But he rebelled against him by sending his own voice to Egypt that they might give him horses and many troops will he succeed, will he who does such things escape, can he indeed break the covenant and escape, as I live, declares the Lord God surely in the country of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised, whose covenant he broke in Babylon he shall die. Pharaoh with his mighty army, great company will not help him in the war.

Verse 18, now he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, behold, he pledged his allegiance, yet and all these things; he shall not escape. And verse 19, therefore, thus says the Lord God, as I live, surely my oath which he despised, my covenant which he broke, I will inflict on his head. Zedekiah is a godless man. Second Chronicles the parallel account, in Second Chronicles 36 verse 13, also referred to this covenant which Zedekiah broke with Nebuchadnezzar. God holds Zedekiah responsible to honor that covenant, because the Babylonians and to keep in mind Nebuchadnezzar is a godless man at this point. But he is God’s instrument to chasten his people, and must be recognized and submitted to.

Zedekiah is another godless king. He is admonished. He is rebuked. But nothing works. Jeremiah repeatedly admonished Zedekiah. But you get no response. Now we don’t have time to look in lot of Jeremiah. I am looking at some of the reference just to citing, which we can. But jump to Jeremiah 37, just to see the opportunity given to Zedekiah. We saw previously when the word of the Lord was read to the king who just cut it up with the previous king, Jehoiakim with total disregard.

Now verse Chapter 37 of Jeremiah. Now Zedekiah the son of Josiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made King in the land Judah, reined his king in place of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. But neither nor his servants nor the people of the land listen to the words of the Lord which he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet. Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal, the son of so and so to Jeremiah the prophet saying, please pray to the Lord our God in our behalf. I think well maybe there is a softening here.

Jeremiah was still coming in and going out among the people they have not yet put him in prison. Meanwhile Pharaoh's army had set out from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who had been besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they lifted the siege from Jerusalem.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, thus says the Lord the God of Israel, thus you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me; behold, Pharaoh's army which has come about for your assistance is going to return to its own land of Egypt. The Chaldeans will also return and fight against this city, and will capture it and burn it with fire. Thus says the Lord, do not deceive yourselves, saying, the Chaldeans will surely go away from us, they will not go.

If you had, even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city. There is no way you can escape the judgments that I am going to bring upon you with the Chaldeans. If they only had wounded soldiers left laying in their tents they would rise up over throw you and burn the city, because you see pressure is on Zedekiah sends to Jeremiah, pray for us.

The Egyptians come out to try to challenge the Babylonians. The Babylonians withdraw from Jerusalem; looks like you know the Babylonians maybe going to get push back after all, though you know we are just trying to play both sides it’s like fox hole conversions as we talk about that people once they think they are home free forget about. When the army had lifted the siege, because the Pharaoh's army Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem on his way out, he is arrested, he is falsely accused of going to go over to the Babylonians, become a traitor, and go over to the Babylonian side.

So he is put in the dungeon. Zedekiah secretly sends has him brought out of the dungeon once to hear from him. He says, in verse 17, is there a word from the Lord. Jeremiah says, there is; and the word is you will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon. Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, in what way have I sinned against you, you put me in prison, where are all the prophets who said that Babylonians wouldn’t come back they were the liars I told you the truth. So please don’t send me back to the prison.

Jeremiah is in a serious state. He knows he goes back to dungeon, he will die there. Zedekiah gave commandment; they give him a ration of bread. And then you come into Chapter 8, and it goes from bad to worse. Jeremiah is thrown into the cistern, you sink down in there at the water pit some of you have been overseas and been in these kind of places, a huge water vats underground and with the water is drained out, they could use them for prison, because you had to be lowered down into it by the rope, and there is no windows, there is no way out and there is mud and muck at the bottom, and you sink down in that, and at the intervention of an Ethiopian the king says that Jeremiah can be pulled out. So they get ropes. Then they have to put rags that Jeremiah can put under his arms. So that the ropes don’t injure him, and they raise him out of the cistern.

And then Zedekiah sends for Jeremiah again; and he tells to Jeremiah tell me what the Lord has to say, don’t hide anything from me I want to know the truth. So Jeremiah tells him verse 15, if I tell you will you not certainly put me to death, besides if I give you advice you won’t listen to me. King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in secret saying, as the Lord lives, who made this life for us, surely I will not put you to death nor will I give you over into the hand of these men who are seeking your life.


Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, if you will indeed go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will survive. There is still opportunity. You can surrender. If you do you will get your life and you will spare the city, the destruction will come then if you don’t surrender. If you will not go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given over to the hand of the Chaldeans; they will burn it with fire, you yourself will not escape from their hand.

Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, I dread the Jews who have gone over to the Chaldeans, they will give me over to their hand and they will abuse me. Jeremiah said they will not give you over. Please obey the Lord in what I am saying to you, that it may go well with you and you may live. But if you keep refusing to go out, this is the word which the Lord has shown me; behold, all of the women who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon; these women will say, your close friends have misled you overpowered you; while your feet were sunk in the mire, they turned back. They will also bring out your wives, your sons to the Chaldeans, you yourself will not escape from their hand, be seized by the king of Babylon, this city will be burned with fire. Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, don’t tell anyone what you have told me. If they ask why what you talked to the king about you just say, I asked the king not to put me back in the dungeon. Zedekiah doesn’t listen to the word of the Lord.

Come back to Second Kings. In Chapter 25 the Second Kings then the ninth year of his reign on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came all his army. They lay siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. So this siege goes on at least 18 months, maybe longer; on the ninth day of the fourth month verse 3, the famine was severe in the city, there was no food for the people of the land.

Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls beside the king’s garden, the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king over took him in the plains Jericho all his army was scattered. They captured the king, brought him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, he passed sentence on him. They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. They put out the king the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.

586, so the first deportation under the Babylonian 605; the second deportation took place in 597, but the final crushing end of the kingdom of Judah comes in 586 BC. And here the city is destroyed, burned with fire, terrible destruction on Zedekiah. You know we don’t have time to go to these prophecies, but in Jeremiah 32:4 and Jeremiah 34:3 Jeremiah had prophesied that Zedekiah would see Nebuchadnezzar.

Interestingly in Ezekiel Chapter 12, verse 13 Ezekiel said, Zedekiah would not see Babylon. You know why, by the time he goes to Babylon, he is blind. He will go to Babylon, but he will not see Babylon. How precise God is with his word. You will see Jeremiah says, you will see Nebuchadnezzar, but Ezekiel says you will not see Babylon. But he is going to Babylon to die, but he go there as a blind man. Nebuchadnezzar’s judgment is terribly harsh when you think of it.

Look at verse 7, what they do is bring all the sons of Zedekiah out and execute them while Zedekiah watches, slaughter them before his eyes. Then they blind Zedekiah. The point being the last thing he sees is his sons being slaughtered and you can imagine what the man of Nebuchadnezzar’s character that their death was not a pleasant one. And now Zedekiah is blinded. Well that is the last thing he sees on this earth, and then he is deported to Babylon.

You have the final destruction unfolded the temples burned down, the city walls torn down in verses 8 to 10, all but the absolute poorest people in the land in verses 11 and 12 are carried to Babylon. Verses 13 to 17 anything of value from the temples carried to Babylon. Remember when you get to Belshazzar, a later king of Babylon he will pull out some of these treasures from the temple. They are carried to Babylon. In verses 18 to 21 the remaining leaders in Jerusalem are publicly executed by Nebuchadnezzar.

Remember Nebuchadnezzar is not what you call a nice man. Remember him casting Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the furnace of fire. And he heated it up so hot that his own soldiers died taking those men up to the furnace, a man of extreme brutality, a man who is going to get saved as the book of Daniel unfolds remarkably. You have the kings of Judah despising the word of the Lord, and you are going to have Nebuchadnezzar God’s arm of judgment against the Jews ultimately turning to the God of Israel for his salvation.

Verses 22 and following verses 22 to 26 what Nebuchadnezzar does now is appoint a governor, where the kingship is over. So he appoints a governor for the land Gedaliah to be governor of Jerusalem. He is a friend of Jeremiah’s and he listen to the prophet Jeremiah, was opened to his council. And his instruction was, cooperate with the Babylonians, even to this point, now when you can't fight against. We are under the discipline of the Lord. We are under the judgment of the Babylonians by the hand of God, cooperate with the Babylonians, go along with them. So Jeremiah 39:14 gives that council.

Within 2 months he slain by Ishmael, because you can understand certain people were unhappy going along with the Babylonian captivity, isn’t that right. So the fact that Gedaliah was if you will viewed as pro Babylonian at counseling people submit to the Babylonians, don’t resist it function under their authority all will go well. Ishmael comes and kills Gedaliah in fear of retaliation from the Babylonians, because you know what happens you have killed the Babylonian governor and soldiers that he had left with this governor. You know the Babylonians will be back. So they flee to Egypt and they take Jeremiah with them.

Jeremiah 43 Jeremiah Chapter 40 to 43 we don’t have time to go there. But you have the whole account there and end result they do it; end result Nebuchadnezzar will come and set up his throne at the very place where they have part in Egypt. We will say more about that as we wrap this up next week I want to say some things about these closing events, and then what unfolds from here in Israel’s history.

Sever judgment, tragic events the kingdom is over. You understand now no one will sit on the throne of David until the Messiah of Israel return and sits on the throne of David. This is a momentous event the kingdom is over. We come to the New Testament and Herad is sitting as king of the Jews. But he is not a legitimate king. He is not even a Jew. He had been appointed because the friendship with the Romans. So for all intends and purposes the kingdom is over, no one will sit on the throne of David. This is a devastating judgment.

586 BC or 2500 plus years, the judgment is in place. True there will be restoration back, but the Davidic Covenant is held in advance, awaiting the return of the Messiah devastating judgment; that Israel grasps how serious it would be to disobey the Lord. I mean that, you know we are for 2500 years be paying the price, and their sin will continue when there Messiah does come, they reject him. So when the hope comes they are not spiritually ready. And so here we are today anticipating. And we see all in the plan of God nothing out of line with his plan every detail just as God said, and we will say more about that.

Let’s pray together. Lord we are in awe at your greatness, your sovereignty, your power; can control the mightiest nations of this earth. They do your bidding. They accomplish your work; Amen the most awful devastating occurrences. You were using them, even their sinful activity, the accomplishing of your purposes. Lord you not only control and move the great nations, you move down in the smallest details of the individuals within the nations. Our minds cannot grasp the greatness of our God and yet personally and individually you love us, you care for us, you watch over us, you have plan for us, for time and eternity.

Lord we give you praise, honor, and glory for who you are and we are humbled to think of our salvation that we should be the recipients of your love, your grace, and your mercy. So even as we consider the history of Israel we are glad that what we have read so far is not the last Chapter. But all your promises for blessing will be realized. Lord we thank you for your love for us, your provision for us as your people even as you provided for Israel as your people. May we walk with you in faithfulness this week, and if you give us the days of this week may we be faithful, may we be diligent, may we be instruments that you use in accomplishing your purposes, and ultimately in bringing glory to yourself. We pray in Christ’s name, amen.