2 Kings 25

Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. The offense of the king of Judah against the highest official in the Babylonian Empire is not what concerns us most. We look above all kings and empires to the Lord God Almighty. God's people had been rebelling against God for many centuries. The time had at last come for the Lord to use Nebuchadnezzar as His instrument to discipline Judah as He said He would.

The consequences of this discipline were devastating. The king was blinded after seeing the murder of his sons. The temple was destroyed. Jerusalem was burned and the wall of the city was broken down. Many people were taken away into exile. Anything of value was carried out of the land. Many lost their lives.

The king of Babylon appointed a governor over the region. No son of David would reign in Jerusalem ever again, at least not in the way that men like Hezekiah and Josiah had reigned. Even the governor put in place by the Babylonians, Gedeliah, was soon murdered by renegades who imagined that they would find safety from Babylon in Egypt.

We have come now to the end of this first telling of the history of Israel and Judah. In 1 and 2 Chronicles we hear the story again from another perspective. The series of books that we have been reading from 1 Samuel through 2 Kings ends in Babylon with the release of Josiah's grandson, Jehoiachin, from prison. He sat at the table of a later king of Babylon and was treated with some respect.

Even though Jehoiachin had a seat at the king's table and was given an allowance which met his needs, we must acknowledge that we were hoping for a far better conclusion to the story of the sons of David. There would be one more king to come, but the people of God would have to wait six centuries for Him to be revealed.

When the greatest Son of David came, He said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Yet when He came to His own people, they did not receive Him. But to all “... who would receive Him, who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12) “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)