Monday 2021.08.16
In my OT reading today, I finished the remaining last two chapters of Second Kings. This portion of scripture records the account of the reigns of the last three kings of Judah leading to the fall of Jerusalem into the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia.
The following were the last three kings of Judah:
- Jehoiakim (Eliakim) ben Josiah, reigned 11 yrs
- Jehoiachin ben Jehoiakim, reigned 3 months
- Zedekiah (Mattaniah) ben Josiah, reigned 11 yrs
The invasion of Judah by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia took place in three stages:
The first stage of Babylonian invasion happened some time during the reign of King Jehoiakim ben Josiah. Nebuchadnezzar invaded the land of Judah and King Jehoiakim submitted to his rule for three years. 2 Kings 24:7 tells us that by the end of those years,
"the king of Babylonia now controlled all the territory that had belonged to Egypt, from the River Euphrates to the northern border of Egypt."
The second stage of Babylonian invasion took place during the short three-month reign of Jehoiachin ben Jehoiakim. It was the 8th year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. King Nebuchadnezzar himself came personally to Jerusalem and captured King Jehoiachin. He carried away the treasures of the Temple as well as took captives of the princes, leaders, and skilled workmen of Jerusalem.
2 Kings 24:12b - 16 GNB
In the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign he took Jehoiachin prisoner 13and carried off to Babylon all the treasures in the Temple and the palace. As the LORD had foretold, Nebuchadnezzar broke up all the gold utensils which King Solomon had made for use in the Temple. 14Nebuchadnezzar carried away as prisoners the people of Jerusalem, all the royal princes, and all the leading men, 10,000 in all. He also deported all the skilled workmen, including the blacksmiths, leaving only the poorest of the people behind in Judah. 15Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin to Babylon as a prisoner, together with Jehoiachin's mother, his wives, his officials, and the leading men of Judah. 16Nebuchadnezzar deported all the important men to Babylonia, 7,000 in all, and 1,000 skilled workers, including the blacksmiths, all of them able-bodied men fit for military duty.
The third stage of Babylonian invasion occurred when King Zedekiah (Mattaniah) ben Josiah, the puppet king set up by Nebuchadnezzar to rule over Judah, rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. In the 10th day 10th month 9th year of Zedekiah's reign (which was roughly in the 17th year of King Nebuchadnezzar's reign), Jerusalem was under siege by the Babylonian army again. Then, in the third year of siege, on the 9th day 4th month 11th year of Zedekiah (which was the 19th year of Nebuchadnezzar), the walls of Jerusalem were broken through. King Zedekiah was captured, his eyes taken out, and he was carried off to Babylon.
The third stage of invasion concluded on the 7th day 5th month 19th year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, when Commander Nebuzaradan entered the city of Jerusalem, burned down the Temple, demolished the city walls, and took captives of the remaining skilled workmen and priests, and looted whatever treasures remained in the Temple.
2 Kings 25:8 - 12 GNB
8On the seventh day of the fifth month of the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, Nebuzaradan, adviser to the king and commander of his army, entered Jerusalem. 9He burnt down the Temple, the palace, and the houses of all the important people in Jerusalem, 10and his soldiers tore down the city walls. 11Then Nebuzaradan took away to Babylonia the people who were left in the city, the remaining skilled workmen, and those who had deserted to the Babylonians. 12But he left in Judah some of the poorest people, who owned no property, and put them to work in the vineyards and fields.
Jerusalem had fallen. The Kingdom of Judah had come to an end.
