Jehoiachin-Jeconiah was a king of Judah. He was the son of Jehoiakim with Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz, reigned next at the age of 23. His reign lasted for three months, when “the king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.” Neco then made his brother, Eliakim, king and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Then he carried Jehoahaz off to Egypt.
Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he began his reign, and he reigned eleven years. The scripture simply says that he did evil in the sight of the Lord. Whatever that means, you can be sure that idolatry was involved somewhere. Then Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, bound him in chains and took him to Babylon. he also took some vessels from the house of the Lord, and brought them to his palace.
Then Jehoiachin, Jehoiakim’s son, began his reign, which lasted just over three months. Then Nebuchadnezzar also sent for him, and brought him to Babylon, making his brother, Zedekiah, king. He was twenty-one when he began his reign, and he also reigned for eleven years. He also did evil in God’s eyes. It was a ruinous time. Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, and he turned away from God, so there was no help for him. Next comes the capture and burning of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans.
The Books of Chronicles ends with the Proclamation of Cyrus, in which he says that God has charged him with building a house in Jerusalem. Thus ends the Book of Chronicles, which was written to give the remnant of the southern kingdom, who had returned from captivity, hope for the future and an understanding of the past. It shows that the line of David remained intact and kept the necessary records of their heritage and lineages, so that God’s people could begin to rebuild the land, the temple, and their lives.
(This year’s reading plan for Luke, Acts, and 1 and 2 Chronicles averages just 15 verses per day – 5 days per week!)
Schedule for this week
/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers
Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.
All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.
Filed under: OT Book 14 - 2 Chronicles Tagged: Babylonian captivity, Bible, Books of Chronicles, Chaldeans, Christianity, Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar
