2 Kings 24

CHAPTER 24

Nebuchadnezzar Invades Judah (24:1-7)

(2 Chronicles 36:6-8)

1-4 Judah remained subject to Neco king of Egypt for only a few years. Early in Jehoiakim’s reign, the Babylonians decisively defeated the Egyptians in the battle of Carchemish. Shortly thereafter, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded Judah and drove out the Egyptians.⁸⁹ Then Jehoiakim switched from being a vassal of Egypt to being a vassal of Babylon.

However, after three years he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar (verse 1). So NebuchadnezzarsentanarmytodestroyJudah in accordance with the word of the LORD (verse 2). Nebuchadnezzar was merely God’s instrument for carrying out clared through the prophet Isaiah (see the judgment that God’s prophets had proclaimed earlier⁹⁰ (2 Kings 21:10-15; 22:15-17). Rulers, even in our modern day, imagine that they themselves control the destinies of nations; but nothing could be further from the truth. It is God and God alone who controls the destinies of nations and of every individual as well.

5-7 Jerusalem itself was not destroyed during Jehoiakim’s reign; the city’s destruction was still twelve years away. Jehoiakim was succeeded by his son Jehoiachin.

Meanwhile, Neco never marched out of Egypt again (verse 7); after his defeat at Carchemish, the Babylonians took away all of his former territory in Israel and Syria. The power of Egypt had been broken.

Jehoiachin King of Judah (24:8-17)

(2 Chronicles 36:9-10)

8-17 It was Jehoiachin who ended up suffering because of his father’s rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar (verse 1). In the third month of his reign the Babylonian army laid siege to Jerusalem, and Jehoiachin was forced to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar.

Nebuchadnezzar then took Jehoiachin prisoner, along with his family and chief officials (verses 12,15). Nebuchadnezzar also took away all the treasures from the royal palace and the temple (verse 13); these were the treasures that Hezekiah had so proudly shown to the messengers from Babylon (2 Kings 20:12-13). Nebuchadnezzar removed these treasures according to the word the LORD had declared through the prophet Isaiah (see 2 Kings 20:16-17).

Nebuchadnezzar also deported to Babylon thousands of the most valuable citizens of Jerusalem: officials, soldiers, craftsmen and artisans;⁹¹ only the poorest people were left (verse 14). One of the citizens deported at that time was the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:2; 33:21).

Jehoiachin was taken captive to Babylon (verse 15), where he remained in prison for thirtyseven years (2 Kings 25:27-30); in this way the prophecy recorded in Jeremiah 22:24-30 was fulfilled. Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin’s uncle Mattaniah king in his place, changing his name to Zedekiah. Zedekiah was the third son of Josiah (1 Chronicles 3:15). Thus three of Josiah’s four sons sat on the throne of Judah, and all three did evil in the eyes of the LORD (verse 19). Once again we see that being a godly father does not automatically result in having godly children.⁹²

Zedekiah King of Judah (24:18-20)

(2 Chronicles 36:11-14; Jeremiah 52:1-3)

18-20 Zedekiah was Judah’s last king; he reigned eleven years. During the early years of his reign he remained the vassal of Nebuchadnezzar. Later on, however, he rebelled against Babylon in a misguided effort to gain independence (verse 20). He rebelled even though he had taken an oath in God’s name not to do so (2 Chronicles 36:13).

The prophet Jeremiah considered Zedekiah’s rebellion to be against God’s will and advised him to submit to Nebuchadnezzar’s rule (Jeremiah 27:12-15). But Zedekiah did not heed Jeremiah’s advice (2 Chronicles 36:12). According to 2 Chronpeople became more and more unfaithful icles 36:13-14, he became stiff-necked as they continued defiling the temple by and hardened and refused to turn to the their pagan practices.