IV. THE REIGN OF ZEDEKIAH
Second Kings 24:17—25:21 tells us of the reign of Zedekiah.
A. Made King by the King of Babylon
Zedekiah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, was made king by the king of Babylon to replace Jehoiachin, changing his name from Mattaniah to Zedekiah (24:17).
B. Reigning for Eleven Years
Zedekiah began to reign in Jerusalem at the age of twenty-one and reigned for eleven years (v. 18).
C. Doing What Was Evil in the Sight of Jehovah
Zedekiah did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that Jehoiakim had done, and he rebelled against the king of Babylon (vv. 19-20).
D. Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon
Coming to Jerusalem
and Building a Siege Wall against It
In the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and built a siege wall against it all around until the city was breached in the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. The army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, captured him, brought him up to the king of Babylon, and pronounced judgment upon him. They slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze fetters, and brought him to Babylon (25:1-7).
E. Nebuzaradan Coming to Jerusalem
to Burn the House of Jehovah
In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, captain of the bodyguard and servant of Nebuchadnezzar, came to Jerusalem to burn the house of Jehovah, the king’s house, every great house, and all the houses of Jerusalem. All the army of the Chaldeans broke down the walls around Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan carried away into exile the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the multitude, but left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and field workers. The Chaldeans broke in pieces the bronze pillars and the bronze sea in the temple of God and carried the bronze to Babylon with the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the spoons, all the bronze vessels, and censers and bowls of fine gold and fine silver. The captain of the bodyguard took the chief priest, the second priest, the three doorkeepers, one eunuch, five men from the king’s inner circle, the scribe of the captain of the army, and sixty men of the people of the land and brought them to the king of Babylon, and the king of Babylon struck them down and killed them. Thus was Judah carried away into exile out of their land (vv. 8-21).
(Life-Study of 1 & 2 Kings, Chapter 22, by Witness Lee)
