He carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, except the poorest people of the land. (2 Kings 24:14 ESV)
The recounting of the disastrous reigns of Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Mattaniah in the twenty-fourth chapter of 2 Kings does not make for pleasant reading. God’s judgment against Judah was already hinted at with Egypt’s dominance over Judah, but now even Egypt had to submit to the growing Babylonian empire.
As Nebuchadnezzar imposed his power, the kings of Judah did not take the hint. First there was an attempted rebellion that was quashed and then Jerusalem itself was placed under siege and eventually the majority of the notables of the city were taken captive as well as another change of kings. You would have thought the puppet king who replaced the deposed predecessor would have learnt from this, yet this chapter ends with yet another futile effort at rebelling against the dominant force of the day.
The ransacked temple of the Lord and the deportation of the people – God thrusting away His own people from the land He had promised to their ancestors is a tragedy. It remains a stirring warning to us of how highly God regards His covenant with His people. Unlike other peoples whose defeat would be seen as the defeat of their god, this crushing defeat was a vindication of the righteousness and purity of the God of Judah.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
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