2 Kings 24 Study Notes: Babylon Takes Jehoiachin Captive
After Jehoiakim rebels against Nebuchadnezzar, the LORD sends raiding bands against Judah because of Manasseh’s sins and bloodshed. Jehoiachin surrenders to Babylon, which strips the temple and deports the king, nobles and craftsmen, and Zedekiah is installed and later rebels.
General
How does the narrator explain everything that happened to Jerusalem and Judah in Zedekiah’s day (2 Kings 24:19-20)?
Answer: Because of the LORD’s anger, until He cast them out
Zedekiah, like Jehoiakim, did what the LORD saw as evil (24:19). The narrator explains that everything that came on Jerusalem and Judah was the outworking of the LORD’s anger, until He finally sent them away from before Him, and he adds that Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon (24:20). This is the same thing that had happened to the northern kingdom of Israel: the LORD put Israel away from before Him, and Judah had followed Israel’s sinful ways (17:18-20). The LORD had already announced the removal of Judah too (23:27). Zedekiah’s revolt, which Ezekiel describes as breaking his oath by seeking help from Egypt (Ezekiel 17:15), was the human event through which God’s judgment fell.
- 2 Kings 24:19-20 (BSB)“And Zedekiah did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done. For because of the anger of the LORD, all this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He finally banished them from His presence. And Zedekiah also rebelled against the king of Babylon.”Zedekiah does evil like Jehoiakim, and the narrator explains all that happened as the LORD’s anger at work.
- 2 Kings 17:18-20 (BSB)“So the LORD was very angry with Israel, and He removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained, and even Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but lived according to the customs Israel had introduced. So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel. He afflicted them and delivered them into the hands of plunderers, until He had banished them from His presence.”The LORD had already removed Israel from His presence, and Judah had followed Israel’s ways.
- 2 Kings 23:27 (BSB)“For the LORD had said, “I will remove Judah from My sight, just as I removed Israel. I will reject this city Jerusalem, which I chose, and the temple of which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.’””The LORD had said He would remove Judah as He removed Israel.
- Ezekiel 17:15 (BSB)“But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and yet escape?’”Ezekiel describes the king Babylon enthroned breaking faith by seeking Egypt’s help.
Theological
What explanation does 2 Kings 24:20 give for all that befell Jerusalem and Judah?
Answer: Because of the LORD’s anger, until He cast them out
Zedekiah repeated Jehoiakim’s evil (24:19), and the narrator traces everything that happened to the LORD’s anger, which continued until He cast Judah out of His presence; meanwhile Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon (24:20). Judah’s end parallels Israel’s: the LORD had put the north away from before Him, and Judah walked in the same customs (17:18-20), so He had decreed Judah’s removal as well (23:27). Zedekiah’s rebellion, a breach of his sworn covenant through an appeal to Egypt (Ezekiel 17:15), was his own culpable act, yet it served as the occasion of the judgment God had determined.
- 2 Kings 24:19-20 (BSB)“And Zedekiah did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done. For because of the anger of the LORD, all this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, until He finally banished them from His presence. And Zedekiah also rebelled against the king of Babylon.”Zedekiah does evil like Jehoiakim, and the narrator explains all that happened as the LORD’s anger at work.
- 2 Kings 17:18-20 (BSB)“So the LORD was very angry with Israel, and He removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained, and even Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but lived according to the customs Israel had introduced. So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel. He afflicted them and delivered them into the hands of plunderers, until He had banished them from His presence.”The LORD had already removed Israel from His presence, and Judah had followed Israel’s ways.
- 2 Kings 23:27 (BSB)“For the LORD had said, “I will remove Judah from My sight, just as I removed Israel. I will reject this city Jerusalem, which I chose, and the temple of which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.’””The LORD had said He would remove Judah as He removed Israel.
- Ezekiel 17:15 (BSB)“But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and yet escape?’”Ezekiel describes the king Babylon enthroned breaking faith by seeking Egypt’s help.
General
What reason does 2 Kings 24:3-4 give for why the LORD Himself brought this disaster on Judah?
Answer: Manasseh’s sins, along with his killing of innocent people
The narrator says the LORD Himself ordered this disaster, to put Judah out of His sight on account of what Manasseh, an earlier king of Judah, had done (24:3). Manasseh had led Judah into idolatry and had killed so many innocent people that Jerusalem was full of their blood (21:16). The text adds that the LORD would not pardon this (24:4). Even Josiah’s great reform had not turned away the LORD’s anger over what Manasseh had done (23:26). Shedding innocent blood, including sacrificing children to idols, defiled the land (Psalm 106:38). Judah’s fall was not an accident of politics; it was God’s just judgment on long-standing sin.
- 2 Kings 24:3-4 (BSB)“Surely this happened to Judah at the LORD’s command, to remove them from His presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood he had shed. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was unwilling to forgive.”The narrator gives the reason the LORD sent this judgment on Judah.
- 2 Kings 21:16 (BSB)“Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end, in addition to the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, doing evil in the sight of the LORD.”Manasseh had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, adding to the sin he led Judah into.
- 2 Kings 23:26 (BSB)“Nevertheless, the LORD did not turn away from the fury of His burning anger, which was kindled against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done to provoke Him to anger.”Even after Josiah’s reform, the LORD did not turn from His anger over Manasseh’s provocations.
- Psalm 106:38 (BSB)“They shed innocent blood—the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.”Shedding innocent blood, including child sacrifice to idols, polluted the land.
Theological
According to 2 Kings 24:3-4, what lay behind the judgment that came on Judah by the LORD’s command?
Answer: Manasseh’s sins, along with his killing of innocent people
The narrator states that the judgment came by the LORD’s own order, to put Judah out of His sight on account of Manasseh’s sins and bloodshed, and that the LORD would not pardon (24:3-4). This picks up the earlier record that Manasseh made Jerusalem full of the blood of the innocent besides leading Judah into sin (21:16), and the verdict after Josiah’s reform that the LORD’s burning anger was not turned back over Manasseh’s provocations (23:26). Bloodshed, including child sacrifice, polluted the land (Psalm 106:38). The text presents the fall of Judah as God’s righteous judicial act, decreed and carried out by Him, with the guilt resting on the people and kings who sinned.
- 2 Kings 24:3-4 (BSB)“Surely this happened to Judah at the LORD’s command, to remove them from His presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood he had shed. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD was unwilling to forgive.”The narrator gives the reason the LORD sent this judgment on Judah.
- 2 Kings 21:16 (BSB)“Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end, in addition to the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, doing evil in the sight of the LORD.”Manasseh had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, adding to the sin he led Judah into.
- 2 Kings 23:26 (BSB)“Nevertheless, the LORD did not turn away from the fury of His burning anger, which was kindled against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done to provoke Him to anger.”Even after Josiah’s reform, the LORD did not turn from His anger over Manasseh’s provocations.
- Psalm 106:38 (BSB)“They shed innocent blood—the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.”Shedding innocent blood, including child sacrifice to idols, polluted the land.
General
True or False: According to 2 Kings 24:7, Egypt’s king stayed inside his own country because Babylon now held all the territory he had controlled.
Answer: True
This is true. The verse says that Egypt’s king did not come out of his own country again, and it gives the reason: Babylon’s king had taken every region Egypt had controlled, everything between the Brook of Egypt (a stream on Egypt’s border) and the Euphrates River (24:7). Only a few years before, Pharaoh Neco had made Jehoiakim king and forced him to pay tribute (23:34-35), but Nebuchadnezzar had defeated Neco’s army at Carchemish (Jeremiah 46:2). Egypt could no longer hold the region, and Judah now lay under Babylon’s power. The prophets had long warned Judah not to rely on Egypt instead of the LORD (Isaiah 31:1).
- 2 Kings 24:7 (BSB)“Now the king of Egypt did not march out of his land again, because the king of Babylon had taken all his territory, from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.”Babylon now holds all the land once controlled by Egypt, from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates.
- Jeremiah 46:2 (BSB)“concerning Egypt and 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 the son of Josiah king of Judah:”Nebuchadnezzar had defeated the army of Pharaoh Neco at Carchemish on the Euphrates.
- 2 Kings 23:34-35 (BSB)“Then Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, where he died. So Jehoiakim paid the silver and gold to Pharaoh Neco, but to meet Pharaoh’s demand he taxed the land and exacted the silver and the gold from the people, each according to his wealth.”A few years earlier Egypt had controlled Judah, placing Jehoiakim on the throne and taking tribute.
- Isaiah 31:1 (BSB)“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.”The prophets warned Judah against looking to Egypt for help instead of to the LORD.
Theological
True or False: 2 Kings 24:7 explains that Egypt’s king no longer led his forces beyond his borders, since Babylon had seized every region he once controlled.
Answer: True
This is true. The verse states that Egypt’s king did not again go out beyond his own land, and it ties this to Babylon’s conquest: Babylon’s king had taken all the territory Egypt had held, everything between the Brook of Egypt and the Euphrates (24:7). Neco, who had enthroned Jehoiakim and exacted tribute (23:34-35), had already been defeated by Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish (Jeremiah 46:2), and Egypt’s hold on the region was broken. Judah was left under Babylon’s hand, with the prophetic warning against seeking help from Egypt rather than from the LORD (Isaiah 31:1) in the background.
- 2 Kings 24:7 (BSB)“Now the king of Egypt did not march out of his land again, because the king of Babylon had taken all his territory, from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.”Babylon now holds all the land once controlled by Egypt, from the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates.
- Jeremiah 46:2 (BSB)“concerning Egypt and 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 the son of Josiah king of Judah:”Nebuchadnezzar had defeated the army of Pharaoh Neco at Carchemish on the Euphrates.
- 2 Kings 23:34-35 (BSB)“Then Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, where he died. So Jehoiakim paid the silver and gold to Pharaoh Neco, but to meet Pharaoh’s demand he taxed the land and exacted the silver and the gold from the people, each according to his wealth.”A few years earlier Egypt had controlled Judah, placing Jehoiakim on the throne and taking tribute.
- Isaiah 31:1 (BSB)“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.”The prophets warned Judah against looking to Egypt for help instead of to the LORD.
General
When Nebuchadnezzar came to besieged Jerusalem, what did King Jehoiachin do (2 Kings 24:10-12)?
Answer: He surrendered with his mother, servants and officials
Jehoiachin, Jehoiakim’s son, followed his father in doing what was evil before the LORD (24:9). Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem, and when Nebuchadnezzar himself arrived, Jehoiachin gave himself up to Babylon’s king together with his mother and his whole court of servants, commanders and officials, and he was taken captive (24:10-12). Jeremiah had announced that the LORD would hand this king, also called Coniah, over to Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 22:24-25). Centuries before, Moses had warned that if Israel turned away from the LORD, the people and their king would be led off to a nation they had never known (Deuteronomy 28:36).
- 2 Kings 24:9-12 (BSB)“And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his father had done. At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it. Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials all surrendered to the king of Babylon. So in the eighth year of his reign, the king of Babylon took him captive.”Jehoiachin does evil like his father, and when Nebuchadnezzar comes to the besieged city, the king and his household give themselves up.
- Jeremiah 22:24-25 (BSB)““As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would pull you off. In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread, who want to take your life—to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Chaldeans.”The LORD had declared He would hand Coniah son of Jehoiakim over to Nebuchadnezzar.
- Deuteronomy 28:36 (BSB)“The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone.”The covenant warnings said the LORD would take the people and their king to a foreign nation.
Theological
How did Jehoiachin respond when Nebuchadnezzar arrived during the siege of Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:10-12)?
Answer: He surrendered with his mother, servants and officials
Jehoiachin continued in his father’s evil (24:9). When Nebuchadnezzar came in person while his army held the city under siege, Jehoiachin, with the queen mother, his servants, commanders and officials, surrendered and was taken captive (24:10-12). The LORD had decreed through Jeremiah that He would give Coniah, Jehoiakim’s son, into Nebuchadnezzar’s hand (Jeremiah 22:24-25). The episode carries out the covenant curse that the LORD would bring the people and their king to a nation they had not known (Deuteronomy 28:36).
- 2 Kings 24:9-12 (BSB)“And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his father had done. At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it. Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials all surrendered to the king of Babylon. So in the eighth year of his reign, the king of Babylon took him captive.”Jehoiachin does evil like his father, and when Nebuchadnezzar comes to the besieged city, the king and his household give themselves up.
- Jeremiah 22:24-25 (BSB)““As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would pull you off. In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread, who want to take your life—to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Chaldeans.”The LORD had declared He would hand Coniah son of Jehoiakim over to Nebuchadnezzar.
- Deuteronomy 28:36 (BSB)“The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone.”The covenant warnings said the LORD would take the people and their king to a foreign nation.
General
True or False: In this first deportation, Nebuchadnezzar took only the poor to Babylon and left the leaders and craftsmen in Jerusalem.
Answer: False
This is false. It was the other way around. Nebuchadnezzar carried off Jehoiachin and his household, the officials, the military leaders and warriors, and the skilled craftsmen, and only the poor were left behind (24:14-16). Jeremiah’s vision of the good and bad figs came after this very deportation (Jeremiah 24:1), and in it the LORD says He will keep watch over these exiles for their good and bring them back to the land (Jeremiah 24:5-7). Judgment was not the end of the LORD’s purposes for His people.
- 2 Kings 24:14-16 (BSB)“He carried into exile all Jerusalem—all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths—ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained. Nebuchadnezzar carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, as well as the king’s mother, his wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land. He took them into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. The king of Babylon also brought into exile to Babylon all seven thousand men of valor and a thousand craftsmen and metalsmiths—all strong and fit for battle.”Nebuchadnezzar deports the king, officials, soldiers and craftsmen, leaving only the poorest.
- Jeremiah 24:1 (BSB)“After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, as well as the officials of Judah and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD.”Jeremiah’s vision of the two baskets of figs came after Jeconiah, the officials and the craftsmen were taken to Babylon.
- Jeremiah 24:5-7 (BSB)““This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, so I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. I will keep My eyes on them for good and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their heart.”The LORD says He will watch over these exiles for good and bring them back.
Theological
True or False: Nebuchadnezzar’s first deportation removed only the poor, leaving Jerusalem’s leaders and skilled workers behind.
Answer: False
This is false. Nebuchadnezzar deported Jehoiachin and the royal household, the nobles, the fighting men and the skilled workers, leaving behind only the poor (24:14-16). Jeremiah’s vision of the good and bad figs came after this deportation (Jeremiah 24:1), and in it the LORD declares that He regards these exiles as good, will watch over them and will bring them home (Jeremiah 24:5-7). Even within judgment, the LORD was preserving a people for Himself.
- 2 Kings 24:14-16 (BSB)“He carried into exile all Jerusalem—all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths—ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained. Nebuchadnezzar carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, as well as the king’s mother, his wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land. He took them into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. The king of Babylon also brought into exile to Babylon all seven thousand men of valor and a thousand craftsmen and metalsmiths—all strong and fit for battle.”Nebuchadnezzar deports the king, officials, soldiers and craftsmen, leaving only the poorest.
- Jeremiah 24:1 (BSB)“After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, as well as the officials of Judah and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD.”Jeremiah’s vision of the two baskets of figs came after Jeconiah, the officials and the craftsmen were taken to Babylon.
- Jeremiah 24:5-7 (BSB)““This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, so I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. I will keep My eyes on them for good and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their heart.”The LORD says He will watch over these exiles for good and bring them back.
General
Who became king in Jerusalem after Jehoiachin was taken away, and who put him there (2 Kings 24:17)?
Answer: Babylon’s king set up Jehoiachin’s uncle as king
After taking Jehoiachin, Babylon’s king put Jehoiachin’s uncle Mattaniah on the throne instead and gave him the new name Zedekiah (24:17). In the same way, Pharaoh Neco had earlier set up Eliakim as king and renamed him Jehoiakim (23:34). Judah’s kings were now placed on the throne by foreign rulers. Ezekiel describes this arrangement: Babylon’s king chose someone of royal blood, made him swear an oath of loyalty, and left the kingdom weak and dependent on keeping that agreement (Ezekiel 17:12-14).
- 2 Kings 24:17 (BSB)“Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.”The king of Babylon sets up a new king in Jerusalem and gives him a new name.
- 2 Kings 23:34 (BSB)“Then Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, where he died.”Pharaoh Neco had earlier set up Eliakim as king and renamed him Jehoiakim.
- Ezekiel 17:12-14 (BSB)““Now say to this rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, carried off its king and officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon. He took a member of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. Then he carried away the leading men of the land, so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to lift itself up, surviving only by keeping his covenant.”Babylon’s king took a member of the royal family, bound him by oath and left the kingdom brought low.
Theological
According to 2 Kings 24:17, how did Zedekiah come to the throne?
Answer: Babylon’s king set up Jehoiachin’s uncle as king
The king of Babylon installed Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, as his replacement and renamed him Zedekiah (24:17). The act mirrors Neco’s installation of Eliakim as Jehoiakim (23:34). The Davidic throne now stood at the disposal of foreign powers. Ezekiel interprets the arrangement: Babylon’s king took one of the royal line, bound him by covenant oath, and deported the leading men to keep the kingdom low and survive only by keeping faith with Babylon (Ezekiel 17:12-14).
- 2 Kings 24:17 (BSB)“Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.”The king of Babylon sets up a new king in Jerusalem and gives him a new name.
- 2 Kings 23:34 (BSB)“Then Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, where he died.”Pharaoh Neco had earlier set up Eliakim as king and renamed him Jehoiakim.
- Ezekiel 17:12-14 (BSB)““Now say to this rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, carried off its king and officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon. He took a member of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. Then he carried away the leading men of the land, so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to lift itself up, surviving only by keeping his covenant.”Babylon’s king took a member of the royal family, bound him by oath and left the kingdom brought low.
General
After Jehoiakim rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, who does 2 Kings 24:2 say sent the raiding bands against Judah?
Answer: The LORD, in keeping with what His prophets had announced
Jehoiakim served Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon’s king, for three years and then turned against him (24:1). Bands of Chaldeans (Babylonians), Arameans, Moabites and Ammonites then attacked Judah, and the text says plainly that the LORD sent them to destroy Judah, just as He had said through the prophets who served Him (24:2). Long before, during Manasseh’s reign, the LORD had warned through His prophets that disaster was coming on Jerusalem and Judah (21:10-12). God tells His prophets ahead of time what He will do (Amos 3:7). The raiders were responsible for their own hostility, yet God ruled over their attacks and used them to carry out His judgment, as He had once used Assyria (Isaiah 10:5-7).
- 2 Kings 24:1-2 (BSB)“During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded. So Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, until he turned and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. And the LORD sent Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim in order to destroy Judah, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servants the prophets.”Jehoiakim serves Nebuchadnezzar three years, rebels, and raiding bands come against Judah.
- 2 Kings 21:10-12 (BSB)“And the LORD spoke through His servants the prophets, saying, “Since Manasseh king of Judah has committed all these abominations, acting more wickedly than the Amorites who preceded him, and with his idols has caused Judah to sin, this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah that the news will reverberate in the ears of all who hear it.”Years earlier the LORD had announced calamity on Jerusalem and Judah through His prophets.
- Amos 3:7 (BSB)“Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.”The LORD makes His plans known to the prophets before He acts.
- Isaiah 10:5-7 (BSB)“Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath. I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets. But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.”God sends a nation as the instrument of His anger, while that nation acts from its own proud intent.
Theological
Whom does 2 Kings 24:2 name as the one who sent the raiders against Judah after Jehoiakim’s revolt?
Answer: The LORD, in keeping with what His prophets had announced
After three years as Nebuchadnezzar’s vassal, Jehoiakim revolted (24:1). The narrator then attributes the raids by Chaldeans, Arameans, Moabites and Ammonites directly to the LORD, who sent them to destroy Judah in keeping with the word spoken through His prophets (24:2), the same calamity announced in Manasseh’s day (21:10-12). The LORD reveals His purpose to the prophets before He acts (Amos 3:7). The raiders remain accountable for their own hostility, yet the LORD ruled over their movements as the agents of His judgment, just as He sent Assyria as the rod of His anger while Assyria intended only conquest (Isaiah 10:5-7). God is sovereign over the nations without being the author of their sin.
- 2 Kings 24:1-2 (BSB)“During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded. So Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, until he turned and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. And the LORD sent Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim in order to destroy Judah, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servants the prophets.”Jehoiakim serves Nebuchadnezzar three years, rebels, and raiding bands come against Judah.
- 2 Kings 21:10-12 (BSB)“And the LORD spoke through His servants the prophets, saying, “Since Manasseh king of Judah has committed all these abominations, acting more wickedly than the Amorites who preceded him, and with his idols has caused Judah to sin, this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah that the news will reverberate in the ears of all who hear it.”Years earlier the LORD had announced calamity on Jerusalem and Judah through His prophets.
- Amos 3:7 (BSB)“Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.”The LORD makes His plans known to the prophets before He acts.
- Isaiah 10:5-7 (BSB)“Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath. I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets. But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.”God sends a nation as the instrument of His anger, while that nation acts from its own proud intent.
General
When Nebuchadnezzar carried off the treasures of the temple and palace, which earlier word of the LORD was being fulfilled (2 Kings 24:13)?
Answer: Isaiah’s word to Hezekiah that his treasures would go to Babylon
The text says that Nebuchadnezzar took all the treasures of the LORD’s house (the temple) and of the king’s palace, and cut up the gold articles Solomon had made, in keeping with the LORD’s word (24:13). After Hezekiah showed his storehouses to envoys from Babylon, the prophet Isaiah told him that everything in his palace would one day be taken to Babylon, with nothing left behind (20:17-18). Generations later, that word came true. God’s warnings do not fail. Yet the story did not end there: when the exile was over, the Persian king Cyrus brought out the temple articles Nebuchadnezzar had taken (Ezra 1:7).
- 2 Kings 24:13 (BSB)“As the LORD had declared, Nebuchadnezzar also carried off all the treasures from the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he cut into pieces all the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD.”Nebuchadnezzar strips the temple and palace treasures and cuts up Solomon’s gold articles.
- 2 Kings 20:17-18 (BSB)“The time will surely come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, will be taken away to be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.””Isaiah had told Hezekiah that everything stored in his palace would one day go to Babylon.
- Ezra 1:7 (BSB)“King Cyrus also brought out the articles belonging to the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the temple of his gods.”Later, Cyrus brought out the temple articles Nebuchadnezzar had carried off.
Theological
The plunder of the temple and palace in 2 Kings 24:13 is said to fulfill a word of the LORD. Which earlier word?
Answer: Isaiah’s word to Hezekiah that his treasures would go to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar stripped the temple and the palace of their treasures and cut up Solomon’s gold articles, and the narrator notes that this happened in keeping with the LORD’s word (24:13). The reference is to Isaiah’s oracle after Hezekiah displayed his treasures to the Babylonian envoys: all that his fathers had stored up would be carried to Babylon, nothing left (20:17-18). The fulfillment, generations later, displays the reliability of the prophetic word, and the later release of the temple articles under Cyrus (Ezra 1:7) shows that God’s purposes for His people continued beyond the judgment.
- 2 Kings 24:13 (BSB)“As the LORD had declared, Nebuchadnezzar also carried off all the treasures from the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he cut into pieces all the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD.”Nebuchadnezzar strips the temple and palace treasures and cuts up Solomon’s gold articles.
- 2 Kings 20:17-18 (BSB)“The time will surely come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, will be taken away to be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.””Isaiah had told Hezekiah that everything stored in his palace would one day go to Babylon.
- Ezra 1:7 (BSB)“King Cyrus also brought out the articles belonging to the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the temple of his gods.”Later, Cyrus brought out the temple articles Nebuchadnezzar had carried off.