Jerusalem’s Destruction

Synopsis     2Kings 23:32-24:5     10/23/2019 

The people made Jehoahaz king after Josiah, his father, died in battle.  However, Jehoahaz reigned for only three months. The scripture reports that, unlike his father, Jehoahaz did evil. 

His reign ended when Pharaoh Neco took him prisoner in the Judean town of Riblah. Of course, Neco’s forces were the same ones who had killed his father.  

So, Pharaoh Neco installed another one of Josiah’s sons as king. This man was named Eliakim. But, Pharaoh called him Jehoiakim. He was twenty-five when he became king. And he reigned for eleven years.  

During the time of Jehoiakim’s reign, Babylon became a major world power under the rule of their king Nebuchadnezzar. And so, Babylon attacked Jerusalem as part of its campaign to dominate the region. They besieged the city. And so, King Jehoiakim sought terms.  

Accordingly, Jehoiakim agreed to become a tribute paying vassal to Babylon. So, he served Nebuchadnezzar in this way for three years. But then, when Babylon’s principle army was far away, he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar’s rule. As a result, the Babylonians returned and sacked Jerusalem. 

Jerusalem’s Destruction 

Because Hezekiah was able to resist the Assyrian siege a century before, the Israelites living in Judah believed that Jerusalem was somehow magically  protected by God. In this way, they once again objectified God.  

People and Things 

But God’s agenda was not for a city. He cared about Jerusalem only to the extent that it contributed to His purposes. It was the people that mattered. And not just the people of Jerusalem, but all of creation.

God created for His own sake. And His intention is always for good. This is the beginning of God in context. 

And I think this is a key part of what it means to remember. Here, in this view of God, I find the possibility of keeping a right perspective on the circumstances of my own life.  

Otherwise, I seem to be easily ensnared by my own sense of what matters. All the stuff of life – it’s all His. He created it for His purpose. And that’s not just OK. It is ultimate and transcendent good. 

“Worthy are you, Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things; because of your will they came to be and were created.” Rev 4:11