May 14, 2023
We will finish Chapter 23 and the evil reign of Jehoahaz, and cover Chapter 24 four bad kings and the fall of Judah.
2 Kings Lesson 25 Study Questions
1. He did evil in the sight of the LORD: The reforms of King
Josiah were wonderful, but they were not a long-lasting
revival. His own son Jehoahaz did not follow in his godly
ways.
2. “His name is omitted from among those of our Lord’s
ancestors in Matthew 1... which may imply that God did not
recognize Jehoahaz, the people’s choice, as being in a true
sense the successor.”
3. He did evil in the sight of the LORD: Jehoiakim, like his
brother Jehoahaz, did not follow the godly example of his
father Josiah.
4. Jeremiah 36:22-24 describes the great ungodliness of
Jehoiakim – how he even burned a scroll of God’s word. In
response to this, Jeremiah received this message from
God: And you shall say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, “Thus
says the LORD: ‘You have burned this scroll, saying, “Why
have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly
come and destroy this land, and cause man and beast to
cease from here?”’ Therefore thus says the LORD concerning
Jehoiakim king of Judah: ‘He shall have no one to sit on the
throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the
heat of the day and the frost of the night.’” (Jeremiah
36:29-30)
5. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up: This
campaign of Nebuchadnezzar was interrupted suddenly
when he heard of his father’s death and raced back to
Babylon to secure his succession to the throne. He traveled
about 500 miles in two weeks – remarkable speed for travel
in that day. Nebuchadnezzar only had the time to take a few
choice captives (such as Daniel), a few treasures and a
promise of submission from Jehoiakim.
6. The LORD sent against him: We might think that God
would honor the Judean independence movement of
Jehoiakim, but He did not bless it. God sent against
him many adversaries because Jehoiakim was a patriot of
the kingdom of Judah, but not a man submitted to God.
7. Surely at the commandment of the LORD this came
upon Judah: Many in the days of Jehoiakim believed that
God’s will was to deliver them from their enemies and to
preserve an independent Judah. Yet that was not God’s will;
it was His will to bring Judah into judgment (knowing they
had not genuinely repented and would not). The best thing
for Judah to do was to submit to this will of God, as
Jeremiah told them to do – despite great opposition.
8. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim: 2 Chronicles
36:6 tells us that Nebuchadnezzar intended to take
Jehoiakim to Babylon, bound in bronze fetters. Yet Jeremiah
22:19 tells us that he would be disgracefully buried outside
of Jerusalem.
9. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD: He carried on
in the tradition of the wicked kings of Judah. “That he was a
grievous offender against God, we learn from Jeremiah
22:24, which the reader may consult; and in the man’s
punishment, see his crimes.”
10. Took him prisoner: Like his rebellious father, God
allowed Jehoiachin to be taken as a bound captive back to
Babylon.
11. He cut in pieces all the articles of gold which
Solomon king of Israel had made: This tells us what
happened to the furniture and precious things of Solomon’s
temple. Some ancient traditions tell us that Jeremiah hid the
ark of the covenant before this, so that it was not among the
things that were cut up and carried back to Babylon.