Judah’s Last Days

JEREMIAH 36:2, 3, 20-31; II KINGS 24:1-4

GOLDEN TEXT: “The fear of the Lord prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.”—Proverbs 10:27

JOSIAH proved to be the last king of Judah who made an earnest effort to obey the laws of the Lord. He was succeeded on the throne by his son Jehoahaz. But Jehoahaz’s reign was short-lived—only three months. “He did evil in the sight of the Lord,” the record states. (II Kings 23:31,32) This king was removed from the throne by Nechoh, a Pharaoh of Egypt, and in his place Pharaoh of made Eliakim king, changing his name to Jehoiakim. It is with the wickedness of this king that our present lesson is chiefly concerned.—II Kings 23:33,34

King Jehoiakim was contemporary with the Prophet Jeremiah. It was partly the wickedness of Jehoiakim, bringing upon Judah the displeasure of the Lord voiced by Jeremiah which caused him to be cataloged the prophet of, doom. And indeed he did pronounce doom upon the nation, although the people were given every possible opportunity to repent and mend their ways.

Acting under instructions from the Lord, Jeremiah dictated a message which was written by Baruch, the scribe, and sent to King Jehoiakim. The princes of Judah were assembled in the king’s presence to hear this message read. The wickedness of Jehoiakim shows up in bold relief against the righteousness of King Josiah when hearing the Word of the Lord read. Josiah rent his clothes and straightway began to right the wrongs of Judah; but Jehoiakim, sitting before an open fire as he listened, took the pages of the book as they were read and cast them into the fire, thus emphasizing his contempt for the message which had been sent to him by the Lord.

Even at this late period in the almost continuous rebellious course of Judah the Lord indicated to Jeremiah that in the event of a genuine repentance the people would be forgiven. But they did not repent. The first message being burned by the king, Jeremiah was instructed to dictate it over again, which he did, and added to it.

Jehoiakim apparently considered himself secure against attack by the king of Babylon, for he seemed to have particularly resented the warning of Jeremiah that such would occur if he continued his evil ways. Between the time he had been placed on the throne of Judah by an Egyptian Pharaoh, and the delivering to him of Jeremiah’s message, Egypt had fallen as an independent state and had come under the expanding dominion of Babylon. Perhaps Jehoiakim reasoned that the King of Babylon would have enough to claim his attention for a while and would allow him to continue on undisturbed.

But he was mistaken. Nebuchadnezzar was ambitious, and apparently was determined to establish a world empire, which he finally did, although not completely so during Jehoiakim’s reign. He subjected Jehoiakim to Babylon and he served as a puppet king for three years, and then rebelled. Apparently his rebellion was not very successful, for Judah never recovered its freedom from the yoke of Babylon, and about nineteen years later became a captive nation entirely.

In the accounts pertaining to the overthrow of Judah by Babylon we have a key which should help us to unlock many of the prophecies of the Bible, particularly those which are being fulfilled upon the nations at this end of the age. We read concerning Jehoiakim, “And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants the prophets.”—II Kings 24:2

These bands of marauders did not know that they were acting as instruments of Jehovah in their attacks against Judah, but the Lord makes it plain that they were, that he sent them to fulfill his foretold wrath against the nation. For a further expression of this principle see Isaiah 10:5-7.

It becomes apparent, therefore, that the Lord uses the selfish designs of nations to accomplish his purposes in destroying other nations. So it is at the present time. There are many prophecies which reveal the Lord’s intentions to destroy completely this present evil order of things. He is doing this, not by raining fire and brimstone from the skies, but by pitting one selfish nation against another, and groups against groups, that’ thus they might weaken and destroy each other.

However, the “kingdoms of this world” are not aware that they are thus being used of the Lord. They forth their alliances for war, but do not realize that they are being gathered by the Lord in order that he might pour upon them his indignation, so that the whole earth might be devoured by the fire of his jealousy. But this is actually what is occurring in the earth today. We are thankful, however, that while God is using man’s inhumanity to man to destroy the present social order, there is to be a new order in which all will have an opportunity to know God and to serve him.—Zeph. 3:8,9

QUESTIONS:

In what manner did Jehoiakim come to the throne of Judah?

Contrast his attitude toward the Word of the Lord with that of King Josiah.

Do wicked nations necessarily know when God is using them to fulfill his will?

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