2 Chronicles 36:1-23

Memory Verse: 15

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Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim, Kings of Judah (36:1-8)

* See a map of Nebuchadnezzar Conquest of Jerusalem in 597 BC to the right. (NIV Study Bible)

>1. What did the common people do when King Josiah died? (1-2)

* 2 Chronicles 36:1-2 "And the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father. 2 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months."

* Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and perhaps Nahum were prophets during Jehoiachin's reign. Huldah was also the prophetess. (22:13)

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>Who was Jehoahaz?

* God had made a conditional covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai, after he led them out of Egypt. They continually broke the covenant. God did not. From God's point of view he was using the captivity to punish Israel and Judah.

* 2 Kings 23:31 thru 24:7 and 2 Chronicles 36:1-4 record the same events. The prophet Jeremiah also records much of what happened during these years. Jeremiah was one of four of the prophets whose words are still with us from this time. I will begin looking at the Lord's words thru him next. Daniel was taken into exile during Jehoiakim's reign.

The Kingdom of Judah experience much confusion, turmoil and suffering when king Josiah died after the battle against Egypt. The battle resulted due to his foolish prideful error of attacking Egypt. He did not seek the Lord's will, he died, and all of Judah and remnants of Israel suffered.

The people made Josiah eldest son, Jehoahaz king. Egypt had gone off to assist Assyria in their fight against Babylon when they did this. When Egypt came back after the season for wars ended they exercised their power over Judah and made Jehoahaz's brother ruler in his place. When Pharaoh did this he changed the name of Judah's new ruler to Jehoiakim and extracted taxes from Judah.

What was it like to live in such turmoil and change? What do God's believers do when so much happens around them that they have a hard time keeping track of all of it and little experience to help them deal with it?

The last few years for me have been an experience of more and more swings of extremes; moving from one state to another and then another. Selling a home, buying another, and then selling the one I just bought. Living in a hotel for 3 months, a friends apartment and then renting a house in between moves. Leaving one job, then another, then a temporary job, then starting a new one. Then there's living in a country experiencing the effects of the most political and social unrest that I have ever experienced in my life. And of course there is the pandemic with all the changes that go along with it. I've watch my children go through the stages of turning into adults. Giving away some of what I owned, selling and throughing away more of it, and then having a moving company misplace what little remained to this day. Finally, I went through a major eye surgery in July.

2 Kings and 2 Chronicles only records the facts. They give no insight as to how God's people dealt with such dramatic change and turmoil. I thank God that other Biblical books do give helpful direction. Yet more than that, I am so full of gratitude of the presence of the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, the Advocate. Jesus told his troubled disciples before his arrest, "If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you... But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John chapter 14.

>What was Neco, king of Egypt's response? (3; Jer. 46:2)

* 2 Chronicles 36:3 "The king of Egypt dethroned him in Jerusalem and imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold."

* Jeremiah 46:2 "Concerning Egypt: This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:"

* 2 Kings 23:33-35 "Pharaoh Neco put him in chains at Riblah in the land of Hamath so that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, and there he died. Jehoiakim paid Pharaoh Neco the silver and gold he demanded. In order to do so, he taxed the land and exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land according to their assessments."

* Israel was defeated by Egypt (south west of Israel) in 609 B.C. (2 Ki. 23:33,34) Egypt made Jehoiakim king of Judah. (2 Ki. 23:33,34).

* 2 Kings 23:27 records the Lord's judgment on Jerusalem even though Josiah conducted religion reforms and encouraged personal repentance. The prophet who brought the judgment is not listed in verse 27. Four main prophets are recorded in the Bible as living and preaching during Josiah's region; Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Jeremiah, and Nahum. Nahum declared Nineveh's fall. Habakkuk spoke of Babylon's invasion. Zephaniah predicted Judah's fall. Jeremiah predicted the fall of Jerusalem. Daniel and Ezekiel would be called by the Lord when Judah went into exile. Any of the four could have delivered word for word the judgment found in 23:27. The next few days I plan on looking at Habakkuk and Zephaniah.

Some history that sheds light these years.

Thebes was destroyed at the hands of Ashurbanipal''s Assyrian army in 663 B.C. Judah had lost much of its cities and fortresses at the hands of the Assyrians.

Assyrian king Ashurbanipal died in 627 B.C. leading to Assyrian's quick fall as the Middle East's power house. The brief freedom from their enemy may have made Judah believe the prophecies about their coming destruction were not true. The Lord through Zephaniah and Habakkuk would try to correct that view.

In the 620s B.C. the Scythians (outlandish barbarians) invaded Canaan. They came quickly on horses from land just north of then Assyria (modern southern Russia). They destroyed the Philistine cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod, going along the Mediterranean Sea and right past Judah. They went as far as the Egyptian boarder who paid them off to stop them from destroying them. The appearance of a new powerful force from seemingly nowhere provided the backdrop to Zephaniah's prophecy.

Nineveh fell in 612 B.C. in the middle of Josiah's reign at the hands of the Babylonians. Prophets like Micah generations earlier had predicted that Babylon would be God's hand of judgment against Judah.

In 609 B.C., three years after Nineveh fell Josiah, Judah's king was so confident of Judah's success he attacked Egypt whose army was moving northward to engage in war in the land of Assyria. Egypt didn't want to battle with Judah. But Judah's king didn't back off and engaged Egypt in battle. Judah lost and became subject to Egypt. Josiah died because of the battle. Jerusalem was spared again from invasion.

For several years at this time Egypt and Babylon battled each other hoping to gain control of the entire Middle East.

In 605 B.C. Babylon attacked and defeated Egypt at the battle of Carchemish (2 Kings 24:1-7) making Judah subject to Babylon. After the battle of Carchemish, Nebuchadnezzar, as crown prince of Babylon, advanced to Jerusalem and then quickly left for Babylon to be crowned king when his father died. Then he returned to Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar spared King Jehoiakim, who had rebelled against him when he left to be made king. However, Nebuchadnezzar carried off several of the princes of Judah, among them was Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

More interesting facts.

Zephaniah prophecies started during Josiah's reign. (1:1) Josiah reigned the Kingdom of Judah from 640-609 B.C. Zephaniah's prophecies probably continued through the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal''s death in 627 B.C. Though Zephaniah ministry continued probably into the exile, his written prophecies end at Jerusalem's fall.

After Ashurbanipal's death Assyrian's quick fall as the region's power house seemed like the beginning of a time of new peace and expansion for Judah. King Josiah was able to gain control over parts of Samaria. (2 Kings 23:15-20) When the remains of the Philistines were defeated by a formerly unknown people from a region north of Assyria, Judah gained control of former Philistine territory. (2:4-7; Isaiah 14:28-32; Jer. 47; Amos 1:6-8; Zech. 9:5-7) Few Judean believed that Babylon would defeat first Assyria, then the Egyptians, and finally Judah.

>2. Who did Neco, king of Egypt make king of Judah? (4-5)

* 2 Chronicles 36:4-5 "The king of Egypt made Eliakim, a brother of Jehoahaz, king over Judah and Jerusalem and changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Eliakim's brother Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt. 5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD his God."

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>What then happened to Neco? (6-8)

* 2 Chronicles 36:6-8 "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked him and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon articles from the temple of the LORD and put them in his temple there. 8 The other events of Jehoiakim's reign, the detestable things he did and all that was found against him, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son succeeded him as king."

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* See a map of Nebuchadnezzar Conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC to the right. (NIV Study Bible)

>What must have it been like to live in Judah at this time?

* 2 Kings 24:1-11 and 2 Chronicles 36:5-10 is the same event. Daniel 1:1-3 and Jeremiah 21-24 also records these events.

King Jehoiachin was king Jehoiakim's son. Jehoiachin's uncle was soon to be king Zedekiah, who was king Josiah's son. King Jehoiakim rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. Jehoiakim mysteriously died when Nebuchadnezzar's army arrived because he rebelled. Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king when his father died. He surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar after 3 months of being king, perhaps heedingto Jeremiah word.

King Jehoiachin's father had rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar had sent his generals and officials to invade Judah. They surrounded Jerusalem a second time.

Jehoiachin did evil in the sight of God. He reigned 3 months. The passage indicates that his mother was a bad influence during his short reign. Then he surrendered.

Nebuchadnezzar defeated Judah again. This is when Jehoiachin, Daniel, and Ezekiel were taken to Babylon along with much of the riches of Judah and the temple goods.

The average person in Judah suffered for their sinful ways as the Lord had warned. The righteousness suffered too. I cannot believe that harm won't come my way just because I believe in Jesus. Yet God is doing all things for the good of those who believe. I can trust him.

>What can we learn happens when people and nations depend on anything but the LORD?

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II. Jehoiachin, King of Judah (36:9-14)

>3. Who was the next king of Judah and did he repent? (9)

* 2 Chronicles 36:9 "Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king and reigned three months and 10 days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the LORD's sight."

* Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and perhaps Nahum were prophets during Jehoiachin's reign. Huldah was also the prophetess. (22:13)

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>How does this explain Nebuchadnezzar's return?

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>4. How did the Lord fulfill his word through a Gentile pagan? (9-10)

* 2 Chronicles 36:10 "In the spring Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon along with the valuable utensils of the LORD's temple. Then he made Jehoiachin's brother Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem."

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>Who did Nebuchadnezzar place in charge of Judah and what did he change his name to? (2 Kings 24:15-17)

* 2 Kings 24:15-17 "Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. He also took from Jerusalem to Babylon the king's mother, his wives, his officials and the leading men of the land. 16 The king of Babylon also deported to Babylon the entire force of seven thousand fighting men, strong and fit for war, and a thousand craftsmen and artisans. 17 He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah."

* Daniel 1:3-7 "Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility-- 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service. 6 Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego."

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* See a carving of Babylonian soldiers on horses to the right.

>5. What two things summarize king Zedekiah's life? (11-14)

* 2 Chronicles 36:11-13a "Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. 12 He did evil in the eyes of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the LORD. 13a He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath in God's name."

* 2 Kings 24:18-20 and 2 Chronicles 36:11-14 record the same thing.

* The summary of Zedekiah's reign in these verses mark the kind of person I don't want to be; stiff necked, hard heart, and refusing to turn to the Lord. 2 Chronicles states he, "did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord." These have something in common, they are decisions I can make every day, every moment.

Jesus told a parable about a farmer sowing seeds on 4 types of soil; hard, thorny, shallow, and rich. The first three are unproductive. The last produces crop. The soils represent my heart and mind. Zedekiah was like the first 3 at different times. I want to produce a crop. So I need to decide every day to let the Holy Spirit work his miracle with Jesus's word in my heart. And if I find I am like Zedekiah, then I need to change my attitude. Its my choice.

>What did the prophet Jeremiah tell him? (Jer. 21:3-7)

* Jeremiah 21:3-7 "But Jeremiah answered them, "Tell Zedekiah, 'This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are outside the wall besieging you. And I will gather them inside this city. I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in anger and fury and great wrath. I will strike down those who live in this city--both men and animals--and they will die of a terrible plague. After that, declares the LORD, I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague, sword and famine, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who seek their lives. He will put them to the sword; he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.'"

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>Why? (13b-14)

* 2 Chronicles 36:13b-14 "He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the LORD, the God of Israel. 14 Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the LORD, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem."

* 2 Chronicles 36:11-20, 2 Kings 25:1-21, and Jeremiah 39:1-14 and 52 record the fall of Jerusalem and Judah in 586 BC.

Looking at the history of Israel and Judah have parallels between now and then. I saw myself like the prophets who knew the truth of what was happening and about to happen. Few believed them, didn't want to hear them, told them not to speak, ridiculed them, and mocked them. I was sad for that generation and mine. Now I read about the horrible fall of Jerusalem.

Covid19 is like the Babylonians, an enemy that continues to raise havoc in everyone's lives. People hold onto hope that a mask, clean hands, and a vaccine will save them like the Judeans believed that Assyria and Egypt would save them from their enemy. Judah could not accept that the enemy was not the Babylonians as covid19 is not the enemy.

Judeans had a form of worship but did not love nor fear the one true God. The same as my generation. Believe it or not many of the Judeans religious practices are like my generations religious practices. If they attend, they go in but leave unchanged.

Like my generation, Judeans were selfish, greedy, self righteous, haughty, lairs, adulterous, and contemptuous. They had false humility. They were proud. They believed as God's people they would be ruptured from the tribulation. God loved them so they told themselves. So they believed he would not do that to them. The enemy would not touch them.

Babylon was not the enemy. Covid19 is not the enemy. The left is not the enemy. The right is not the enemy. Black and white are not the enemy. Rich and poor are not the enemy. My neighbors are not my enemy. My boss is not my enemy. Those who have harmed me are not the enemy. Who was and is the enemy?

The Lord told Judeans who was the enemy. They were the enemy. The enemy is me. The enemy is inside me. The enemy is my sinful nature. The enemy is my unclean thoughts. They enemy is unchecked emotions. The enemy is my selfishness, my greediness, my self righteousness, my haughtiness, my lies, my adulterous mind, and my contemptuous heart. My duplicity is my enemy.

Why did Jerusalem fall? Why do these terrible things happen? Who should I battle? Who should I subdue? Who should I conquer? Me, that's why and that's who.

Alas, I try. But I cannot win. However, I can do as the Lord told the Israelites and Judeans. I can have the Lord fight the battle for me. He can fight the enemy within. Holy Spirit search my heart. Give me the courage and strength to change my thoughts, ways, and will. Make me like you. Forgive me. I am a sinner. I am the cause of all these bad things. Have mercy on me. Cleanse me with the blood. Fill me with the Spirit. Show me your will and give me the power and will to accept it.

III. The End of the Kingdom of Judah, the Fall of Jerusalem (36:15-23)

>6. What did the Lord do? (15-17)

* 2 Chronicles 36:15-17 "The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked God's messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy. 17 He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and spared neither young man nor young woman, old man or aged. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar."

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* See an engraving on an eye stone of onyx with an inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II to the right.

>What can be learned about lot repenting?

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>7. How extensive was Babylons attack on Jerusalem? (18-21)

* 2 Chronicles 36:18-21 "He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the LORD's temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. 19 They set fire to God's temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there. 20 He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. 21 The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah."

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>What does it mean the land enjoyed its sabbath rests?

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* The painting to the right shows Judah's leaders being gathered together so they can be taken into captivity to Babylon. This was in Bibles and is now in public domain.

>8. Why was it important that Jerusalem be burned?

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>Will something similar happen again when the Antichrist sets up the abomination that causes desolation? (Dan. 9:26-27, 11:31-35, 12:11-12; Matt. 24:15-22)

* Daniel 9:26-27 "After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him"."

* Daniel 11:31-35 "His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time."

* Daniel 12:11-12 "From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days."

* Matthew 24:15-22 "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand-- then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."

* The painting to the right showing Judah being taken into captivity as Jerusalem burns was in Bibles and is now in public domain.

>9. Was there hope for Israel and Judah?

* 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 "In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing: 23 "This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: "'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you--may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.'"

* 2 Chronicles 36:11-17a and 2 Kings 24:20-25:2 with details of this time recorded in Jeremiah 34:1-7, 37:1-10, 34:8-22, 37:11-38:13 (chronological order listed). Ezekiel 24 is about this too.

These verses recall the beginning of the final siege of Jerusalem and Judah's other remaining 3 strongholds. Judah's fall and the complete destruction of Jerusalem and the temple is a little over 2 years away. The year is 583 BC.

I look at these verses trying to understand who king Zedekiah was. Recently I exchanged emails with a friend and brother in Christ. One of the subject matters, not the main one, was evil. He used evil to define a person. I cannot recall ever reading in the Bible someone being defined as an evil person. Instead, the Bible defines evil as the description of a life style against God's purpose as he defines and dictates. The Bible says of Zedekiah and others, "He DID evil in the eyes of the Lord," not that Zedekiah was evil.

Everyone is made in the image of God and everyone has distorted and made themselves impure by the choice of sin. Sin is an act that results from a heart and mindset that all is born with, our sin nature. Jesus said this is what makes me unclean, and I like everyone naturally chose to follow my sin nature. This is evil.

Zedekiah was like this, a person impulsively driven to defile the perfect image of God he was intended to be. What made him evil was not who he was. Rather, its what he chose to do. He chose to follow the wrong compulsions of the sin nature instead of God's will for his life. People today are saying others are evil people, when not even God says that of anyone. Jesus didn't say that of Judas, Pilate, and the high priest who betrayed him and had him crucified were evil.

So what are evil acts that I should avoid? The Bible records a lot about Zedekiah's evil actions. Through this I can learn some evil acts I should completely avoid.

2 Chron. 36 says he disobeyed the word of God. He refused to listen to Jeremiah whom the Lord sent. It also says, "Zedekiah was stubborn and refused to turn back to the Lord God of Israel." He broke a promise to Nebuchadnezzar that he made in the Lord's name. And 2 Chron. 36 says he allowed the priests to make "the Lord's holy temple unfit for worship." Have I made myself, the new temple of God unfit for worship?

Jer. 37:1-10 says Zedekiah did not pay any attention to the Lord his God. He refused to change his ways. Then when the Babylonians briefly left the city to fight Egypt, he believed he was vindicated, even though Jeremiah told him his future would end in Babylon. Being stubborn he futher blockaded his heart against God.

Jeremiah 34:8 to the end says he enslaved, released, and then enslaved others again. His actions were in directly violation of God's word.

Jeremiah 37:11 to its end says that he allowed Jeremiah to be beaten and imprisoned, released, but then relented and put him in a cistern as a prison as recorded in chapter 38.

Zedekiah's evil actions are ones that I should avoid. I should not had a cold hard heart like Zedekiah.