Sunday Morning Service (II Kings 23:31-II Kings 25:30)

II Kings 23:31-II Kings 25:30

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“The Bell Tolls” • 11.5.17 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service

Intro

- Last week, we watched as King Josiah took extreme measures to act upon the Word of God that had been recently discovered. His campaign to rid Judah of it's wickedness was extensive.

- And for their part, the people complied with their King, standing for the covenant when he called to them. With merely the eye, one might believe that Judah was on a path to revival.

- Jeremiah, whose book serves as a commentary on this period of history, gives God's assessment of what has taken place.

• Jeremiah 3:10b (NLT) : "Judah has never sincerely returned to me. She has only pretended to be sorry. I, the Lord, have spoken!"

- God has seen that all of their movement has been external, to satisy the zealous King of Judah. None of that action prompted any true repentance which signals their final demise. Verse 31.

Text

• II Kings 23:31-34 : "Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. Now Pharaoh Necho put him in prison at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. Then Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Pharaoh took Jehoahaz and went to Egypt, and he died there." : Jehoahaz wasn't Josiah's natural successor. The oldest would traditionally assume the throne.

- According to I Chronicles 3:15, Jehoahaz, also called "Shallum," was Josiah's fourth son.

- II Kings 23:30 notes that he was "the people's choice." They annointed him and made him King. What kind of man did they choose? Was it a man of Josiah's righteous character?

- Given the short three month sample size, you can see that they chose a man that would not uphold the standards of his godly Father! He did evil in God's sight.

- One of the worst things that God can allow is for us to have what we want! The people wanted a King that would conform to their desire for idolatry.

- It's sad when even the Pharaoh won't accept your choice! Remember that Egypt had defeated Josiah's forces at Meggido. He was not in the position to exert control over Judah.

  - He wasn't impressed with Jehoahaz and quickly deposed him and imposed a fine upon the people of Judah, exerting control over Judah's economy and government.

- He appoints their new ruler Eliakim, who he renames Jehoiakim and take Jehoahaz to Egypt, where he died apart from his people, but near to where his rebellious heart lived. Verse 35.

• II Kings 23:35-37 : "So Jehoiakim gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give money according to the command of Pharaoh; he exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, from every one according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Necho. Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebudah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done." : Jehoiakim inherited his brother's fee and promptly assessed it to the people. This was the beginning of eleven wicked years.

- In the background, Egypt has been fighting a losing battle against the rising Babylonian Empire. The definitive battle of Carchemish, the subject of Jeremiah 46, has just ended.

- Egypt and Assyria have been soundly defeated, which leaves Judah in the sights of the nation of Babylon. Chapter 24.

• II Kings 24:1-7 : "In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. And the Lord sent against him raiding bands of Chaldeans, bands of Syrians, bands of Moabites, and bands of the people of Ammon; He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken by His servants the prophets. Surely at the commandment of the Lord this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the Lord would not pardon. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? So Jehoiakim rested with his fathers. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. And the king of Egypt did not come out of his land anymore, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the River Euphrates." : Jehoiakim doesn't seem to understand the times that he is living in. The King was willing to submit to Babylonian rule for three years, but then decided to rebel against him.

- This seems to coincide with the death of Nebuchadnezzar's Father. In that time, Nebuchadnezzar was made King and Jehoiakim, testing potential weakness, rebelled.

- In Jeremiah 36, the Prophet sends the King a scroll which essentially warns him to cooperate with the King of Babylon.

- At the same time, false prophets are assuring the nation of it's success in warding off the Babylonians. Jehoiakim's belief is clearly seen when he tears Jeremiah's scroll and has it burned.

- Jehoiakim thought it would be wise to ignore God's clear, yet highly unpopular wisdom. Maybe he would withstand the Babylonians, despite what God was saying through Jeremiah.

- But the Lord would not allow him to revel in that belief. In the absense of the Babylonians God sent these raiding bands, members of nations in league with the Babylonians.

- They were allowed to plunder Judah as God's prophets had spoken. There was no escaping. These nations were carrying out God's discipline against this nation.

- Manasseh's sins are to blame. This is not to say that Judah was being punished for his sins, but they were perpetuating Manasseh's sins themselves! The finished what the King started!

- As for Jehoiakim, he died and his son Jehoichin took over his position. At this point in history, nobody is a match for Babylon. Even the mighty Egypt is limited to a portion of their land. Verse 8.

• II Kings 24:8-12 : "Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done. At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, as his servants were besieging it. Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner." : Like Jehoahaz, Jehoichin, known also as Jeconiah or Coniah, reigned for only three months.

- His reign saw the first wave of the Babylonian empire lay siege to the city of Jerusalem, which resulted in the displacement of many within the King's household!

- Some of the people that are included in that first wave of captives are Daniel, Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego. That was not all that Nebuchadnezzar left with. Verse 13.

• II Kings 24:13-16 : "And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said. Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land. And he carried Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. The king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carried into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. All the valiant men, seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths, one thousand, all who were strong and fit for war, these the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon." : Verse 13 is a promise fulfilled. Hezekiah had shown the delegation from Babylon all of his treasures. God promised through Isaiah that they would one day possess them.

- At the time, nearly a century earlier, it might have been hard to believe. Babylon was struggling for it's survival against Assyria, which looked as though it would never fall.

- And even if it did, they would still have to go through Egypt. They had been a consistent  and dominant empire in the region. God will move heaven and earth to fulfill His Word!

- Think about that in relation to future judgments and what might need to occur for them to be fulfilled. God has already found ways in history and He will do so again!

- The day that Isaiah prophecied would come, had come, physically and literally!

- Everything that Solomon had laid up in and for the Temple, was carried away to Babylon, as were the future leaders of Judah.

- The Captains, the most brave soldieers, the tradesmen and the royal household all went into captivity, a number of people totaling nearly 20,000.

- Jerusalem was left in the hands of the most poor people and it's final puppet King. Verse 17.

• II Kings 24:17-20 : "Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.  Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. He also did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For because of the anger of the Lord this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, that He finally cast them out from His presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon." : Zedekiah was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar to reign in Jehoiachin's place. All of the King's names are interesting.

- We've had Jehoahaz, whose name means "Jehovah has seized." Judah was seized by Egypt in his days, surrendering her sovereignty. Jehoiakim meant, "Jehovah raises up."

- In his day, the Babylonians began to raise their heads above their peers. Jehoiachin means "Jehovah establishes." In his day, Babylon established a firm foothold over Judah.

- Now, we come to Zedekiah, whose original name, Mattaniah, meant "Gift of God." Nebuchadnezzar thought Zedekiah, "Jehovah is righteous," was a better name!

- It seems that the Gentile King knew more about God's justice than Judah's King did. Zedekiah's eleven year reign was predictably evil, just like Jehoiakim.

- This speaks to Zedekiah's unwillingness to bend his neck under the yoke of Babylon. Like Jehoiakim, Zedekiah refused the direct word of God from Jeremiah's mouth. (Jeremiah 38)

- And right on cue, the Bible records that Zedekiah foolishly rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar too! Chapter 25.

• II Kings 25:1-4a : "Now it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled at night by way of the gate between two walls, which was by the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were still encamped all around against the city." : Nebuchadnezzar's siege upon Jerusalem lasted two years until they broke through.

- They surrounded the city and the people slowly ate away all of their stores. When the walls were breached, the people were then left defenseless as the men of war fled.

- It was an irrational move because the Babylonians or Chaldeans still maintained a perimeter around the city. There was no escape. Verse 4.

• II Kings 25:4b-7 : "And the king went by way of the plain. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him. So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they pronounced judgment on him. Then they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, put out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon." : Jeremiah told Zedekiah explicitly that cooperation was the only way out of the mess that he was in.

- Foolishly, he sought to escape, but ran right into the waiting net of the Babylonians, who caught him in the plains of Jericho. Think about that for a moment.

- It hasn't even been 1,000 years since Joshua and the nation came upon Jericho. They had watched God miraculously pull down the city's wall.

- Now, the final King of Judah endures the same inevitable judgment that the enemies of God once faced! God told him to cooperate and surrender. He chose to run. It was his undoing!

- The King was set up in a Babylonian Kangaroo court. They took his sons and killed them while he was watching and then made sure that that was the last thing he ever saw!

- This fulfilled two very seemingly contradictory prophecies regarding the King. Jeremiah 32:4,5 tells us that the King would see Nebuchadnezzar eye to eye.

- Meanwhile, in Babylon, Ezekiel the prophet prophecied in Ezekiel 12:13-16 that the King would go to Babylon and not see it though he die there! Once again, God's Word is fulfilled perfectly.

- Zedekiah, the blind King was taken prisoner and brought to Babylon. Verse 8.

• II Kings 25:8-21 : "And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the Lord and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire. And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around. Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive the rest of the people who remained in the city and the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, with the rest of the multitude. But the captain of the guard left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers. The bronze pillars that were in the house of the Lord, and the carts and the bronze Sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried their bronze to Babylon. They also took away the pots, the shovels, the trimmers, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils with which the priests ministered. The firepans and the basins, the things of solid gold and solid silver, the captain of the guard took away. The two pillars, one Sea, and the carts, which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. The height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the capital on it was of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits, and the network and pomegranates all around the capital were all of bronze. The second pillar was the same, with a network. And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers. He also took out of the city an officer who had charge of the men of war, five men of the king’s close associates who were found in the city, the chief recruiting officer of the army, who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city. So Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, took these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive from its own land." : There isn't much that needs to be said. Consider though what this place meant just 400 years earlier. Think about the dedication of the Temple.

- Think about Joab's run to defeat the Jebusites. Think back just a few chapters and recall the slaying of 185,000 Assyrians. All of that because God was with the people of Judah.

- Now, God has removed His hand of protection and what do we see? A city that is ransacked from the palace to the streets. The smell of fire burning out of control.

- We hear the sound of mass panic and the discovery of the final vestiges of a once proud fighting force, being led to their executions. The city of Jerusalem is lost.

- Nebuchadnezzar didn't want to do this, but Judah's Kings left him no choice but to leave the city in ruins. Notice the author says this all with clinical detachment.

- To get the emotional picture, I'd encourage you to read Lamentations. Suffice it to say, we would be hard pressed to offer a comparitive national trauma. Verse 22.

• II Kings 25:22-26 : "Then he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left. Now when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Careah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men. And Gedaliah took an oath before them and their men, and said to them, 'Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.' But it happened in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck and killed Gedaliah, the Jews, as well as the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. And all the people, small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans." : When the Babylonians left, they left the poorest, most unqualified, to lead. The best of the least was Gedaliah.

- He's the Babylonian provisional governor, who is earnest in dispatching his duties. He is following the party line precisely: "Cooperate with and submit to the Babylonians!"

- He has the right message but is naively believes that his constituency will follow!

- In Jeremiah 40:14, a man comes to warn Gedaliah about a pending assassination attempt by Ishmael, which he immediately rebuffs in verse 16. In the very next verse, Gedaliah is murdered.

- That led to the majority of the people carrying Jeremiah away to the land of Egypt.

- Once again, the picture at hand is poignant. The people can still turn to the Lord and repent.

- They can, even in their miserable condition, trust the Lord for the future of Israel that He has promised everywhere in the prophets. Instead, where do they turn? To Egypt!

- What a sad commentary! Even at the end of their nation's history, the people of God refused to turn themselves over to the God of their history!

- It's at this moment that you would expect God to shut the door forever on the people that He once rescued. That is not what happens! Verse 27.

• II Kings 25:27-30 : "Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, released Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. He spoke kindly to him, and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments, and he ate bread regularly before the king all the days of his life. And as for his provisions, there was a regular ration given him by the king, a portion for each day, all the days of his life." : Nearly a full 18 years have passed since the final days of Babylon's siege. That is where we find the final link to the Davidic line.

- Nebuchadnezzar's third son reigned upon the throne and he looked upon Jehoiachin with some amount of favor. He released the King from confinement and allowed him a place of privilege.

- He allowed him to get out of his prison clothes and had him as a guest at his table for the rest of his life. We find him eating and drinking, sitting at the King's table all the days of his life.

- Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 1. Remember Jehoiachin's other names? Jeconiah? Coniah? Have a look at verse 11.

• Matthew 1:11-16 : "Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon. And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ." : Life went on. Jeconiah's son had a son who had a son. Even in Babylon, God allowed His promise to Israel and David to continue.

- He would do so right up until the true and final Son of David emerged from Mary's womb!

- As much as God moved heaven and earth to fulfill His Word of judgment against the people of Judah, so also He would find His people at their lowest point fulfill His promise of their hope!

Conclusion
- That is the message that the author of the Kings leave us with. The people lived lives of forfeit when they turned away from God. But God was never unfaithful to them.

- He gave them chance upon chance to repent and even when they did not, even when He had to judge them, He made a choice not to leave them without hope. That hope isn't theirs alone.

- Their future hope is our present hope, Jesus Christ, the True King of the True people of God!