Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
2 Kings 24:1

Clarke's Commentary

CHAPTER XXIV

Nebuchadnezzar brings Jehoiakim under subjection; who, after

three years, rebels, 1.

Bands of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites, invade

the land, 2-4.

Jehoiakim dies, and Jehoiachin his son reigns in his stead,

5, 6.

The Babylonians overcome the Egyptians, 7.

Nebuchadnezzar takes Jehoiachin and his family, and all his

treasures, and those of the temple, and all the chief people

and artificers, and carries them to Babylon, 8-16;

and makes Mattaniah, brother of Jehoiakim, king, who reigns

wickedly, and rebels against the king of Babylon, 17-20.

NOTES ON CHAP. XXIV

Verse 2 Kings 24:1. Nebuchadnezzar — This man, so famous in the writings of the prophets, was son of Nabopolassar. He was sent by his father against the rulers of several provinces that had revolted; and he took Carchemish, and all that belonged to the Egyptians, from the Euphrates to the Nile. Jehoiakim, who was tributary to Nechoh king of Egypt, he attacked and reduced; and obliged to become tributary to Babylon. At the end of three years he revolted; and then a mixed army, of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites, was sent against him, who ravaged the country, and took three thousand and twenty-three prisoners, whom they brought to Babylon, Jeremiah 52:28.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Conquest by Babylon and captivity (24:1-17)

In 605 BC the armies of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar conquered Egypt in the famous Battle of Carchemish (Jeremiah 46:2). This meant that Judah now came under the control of, and paid tribute to, Babylon. When the conquerors returned to Babylon, they took with them captives from the conquered countries, including some of the most capable and well educated young men they could find among the leading families of Jerusalem. One of these was the youth Daniel (Daniel 1:1-6).

After three years Jehoiakim stopped paying tribute, thinking that Nebuchadnezzar was too busy with wars elsewhere to deal with Judah. Jehoiakim depended on Egypt to support his rebellion, a policy that Jeremiah consistently opposed (Jeremiah 2:18,Jeremiah 2:36). Nebuchadnezzar did not immediately return and attack Jerusalem, but he weakened its power by allowing other countries within his Empire to raid across Judah’s borders (24:1-4).

When he had put down rebellions elsewhere, Nebuchadnezzar sent his army to besiege Jerusalem. Jehoiakim the king was taken prisoner and chained ready to be sent to Babylon, but he died before the journey began. No one mourned his death, and his body was thrown on the garbage dump outside Jerusalem as if it were the carcass of an unclean animal (5-7; 2 Chronicles 36:6; Jeremiah 22:18-19; Jeremiah 36:30).

The eighteen year old Jehoiachin (also known as Jeconiah, or Coniah) then became king. After three months he saw that further resistance was useless and surrendered (597 BC). Most of the nation’s treasures, along with the king, the royal family, the palace officials and all Judah’s best people, were carried off to Babylon. Among these captives was the young man Ezekiel. Only those of no use to Babylon were left in Jerusalem. Babylon then appointed Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, as king (8-17; see Ezekiel 1:1-3).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE BEGINNING OF THE SEVENTY YEARS OF CAPTIVITY

"In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him. And Jehovah sent against him bands of Chaldeans, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spake by his servants the prophets. Surely at the commandment of Jehovah came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did, and also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood: and Jehovah would not pardon. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers; and Jehoiakin his son reigned in his stead. And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land; for the king of Babylon had taken, from the brook of Egypt unto the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt."

Right here in 2 Kings 24:1 is the beginning of the seventy years of captivity for the children of Israel, as Jeremiah had prophesied:

"And this whole land (Palestine) shall be a desolation and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years." (Jeremiah 25:11).

It should be noted that the `seventy years' of Jeremiah's prophecy should be applied to the sovereignty of the king of Babylon and not uniquely to the actual period that the people of God would be in captivity, although that too was approximately seventy years.

"In his days Nebuchadnezzar… came up" This is a reference to the days of Jehoiakim.

"And he became his servant" From this day, Judah was no longer an independent nation. The exact date when Jehoiakim became the servant of Nebuchadnezzar is not exactly clear. Josephus thought that it was in the years 603-601 B.C., but we agree with LaSor that it was, "Soon after Pharaoh-necoh withdrew to Egypt in 608 B.C.,"The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 367. which would have been very near the year 606 B.C., the year prior to the battle of Carchemish. This would mean that Jehoiakim's revolt would have been in the year 605.

We have written extensive comments on all of these events in Jeremiah 20-39. Helpful facts that help in understanding the complicated history of this period include the following:

(1)    There are four separate Biblical accounts of the fall of Jerusalem: (1) Jeremiah 39; (2) Jeremiah 52; (2) 2 Kings 24, and (4) 2 Chronicles 36. Additionally, there is the account of it in the works of Flavius Josephus. There are variations in these reports, of course; and the exploration of these differences is an absolutely worthless endeavor! (See my full comment on this in Vol. 2 (Jeremiah) of the major prophets, p. 429.)

(2)    There were no less than three deportations of the Israelites from, Jerusalem and Judah. "These were in 597 B.C., 587 B.C. and 582 B.C."Broadman Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, Jeremiah, (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1971), p. 202. Cawley, however, gave the dates as 597 B.C., 586 B.C., and 581 B.C. respectively.F. Cawley in The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 658. Daniel and his friends were among the first deportees; Ezekiel was in the second group; and the conceited residue of Judah which still remained in Jerusalem, who supposed that they alone were the terminal heirs of all the promises to the patriarchs, were removed in the last one.

Scholars disagree about the exact date when the bands of Chaldeans, Moabites, Ammonites, and Syrians raided Jerusalem and Judah. Some think it was in the interval when Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon to receive the throne after his father died, and others place it somewhat later. "During the interval (whenever it was), Nebuchadnezzar sent raiding bands to harass Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:2) as a judgment from Jehovah."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 473.

"And Jehovah sent against him bands of the Chaldeans" Of course, it was the king of Babylon who commanded those raiding bands; "But after the Lord had given Judah into the hands of the Chaldeans as a punishment of their apostasy, all revolt against them was rebellion against the Lord."C. F. Keil, Keil and Delitzsch's Old Testament Commentaries, Vol. 3a, p. 504.

"And Jehovah would not pardon" Jeremiah 15:1 ff explains why this was true. "It was because the measure of their sins was full, and in justice God had no choice except to punish them. Even if the greatest intercessors such as Moses and Samuel had come before the Lord (pleading for Judah), it would have done no good."C. F. Keil, Keil and Delitzsch's Old Testament Commentaries, op. cit., p. 505.

"So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers; and Jehoiakin his son reigned in his stead" "This does not contradict Jeremiah's prophecy (Jeremiah 22:19) that Jehoiakim would receive the burial of an ass, i.e., carried off and cast away beyond the gates of Jerusalem."Ibid. (See our comment on this under that reference in Jeremiah.) LaSor explained what probably happened. "Jehoiakim had revolted again; and 2 Chronicles 36:6 states that, `Nebuchadnezzar bound him with fetters to take him to Babylon,' but he had been wounded and died on the way; and his body was cast away."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 367.

Jeremiah gave another prophecy regarding Jehoiakim that, "He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David" (Jeremiah 36:30). Yes, our text says that, "His son Jehoiakin reigned in his stead," but it was no longer "the throne of David," nor had it been since Nebuchadnezzar had become Lord of the entire world of that era. Also, as Keil stated in this connection, "Even though Jeconiah ascended the throne, his brief three-months reign, quickly followed by his capture and removal to Babylon, was quite properly described by the prophet as not sitting upon the throne of David."Footnote is not available

"The king of Babylon had taken… all that pertained to the king of Egypt" At this point in history, Nebuchadnezzar was supreme from the border of Egypt to the Euphrates, and for seventy years Judah would lie under the heel of the Chaldeans. In no real sense did the `throne of David' actually exist during this period, nor would it ever on earth exist any more. God had completely and forever removed the "sinful kingdom" (Amos 9:8) out of his sight.

THE THREE-MONTH REIGN OF KING JEHOIAKIN

This king was also known as Jeconiah (or Coniah). See Matthew 1:11 and Jeremiah 22:24. He was just as wicked as any of his fathers.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

In his days - i. e., 605 B.C., which was the third completed Daniel 1:1, and fourth commencing Jeremiah 25:1, year of Jehoiakim.

Nebuchadnezzar - or Nebuchadrezzar, which is closer to the original, Nabu-kudurri-uzur. This name, like most Babylonian names, is made up of three elements, Nebo, the well-known god Isaiah 46:1, kudur, of doubtful signification (perhaps “crown” perhaps “landmark”), and uzur “protects.” Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar, and second monarch of the Babylonian empire, ascended the throne, 604 B.C., and reigned 43 years, dying 561 B.C. He married Amuhia (or Amyitis), daughter of Cyaxares, king of the Medes, and was the most celebrated of all the Babylonian sovereigns. No other pagan king occupies so much space in Scripture. He was not actual king at this time, but only Crown Prince and leader of the army under his father. As he would be surrounded with all the state and magnficence of a monarch, the Jews would naturally look upon him as actual king.

Came up - Nebuchadnezzar began his campaign by attacking and defeating Neco’s Egyptians at Carchemish Jeremiah 46:2. He then pressed forward toward the south, overran Syria, Phoenicia, and Judaea, took Jerusalem, and carried off a portion of the inhabitants as prisoners Daniel 1:1-4 : after which he proceeded southward, and had reached the borders of Egypt when he was suddenly recalled to Babylon by the death of his father.

Three years - Probably from 605 B.C. to 602 B.C. Jehoiakim rebelled because he knew Nebuchadnezzar to be engaged in important wars in some other part of Asia.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 24

And the LORD sent the bands of the Babylonians, and of the Syrians, and of the Moabites ( 2 Kings 24:2 ),

And again now, the same kind of thing that happened to Israel; when the weakness of the nation was displayed, then all of the nations began to attack. It's dangerous for a nation to display weakness, because it gives courage to all of the other nations to attack. So Jehoiakim died and his son Jehoiachin... and of course, this is difficult: you have Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and it gets a little difficult to follow.

Jehoiachin reigned in his stead, and during his reign, Nebuchadnezzar came, conquered Jerusalem, and took ten thousand captives back to Babylon. And this is where you might read the book of Daniel. For Daniel was one of the ten thousand that was taken in this first captivity back to Babylon, and Daniel was one of the princes. He was actually related to David. He was of the family of David, the royal family of David. He was taken as a captive to Babylon and was groomed in the Babylonian schools in order that he might serve in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. He became a great statesman in the Babylonian kingdom. He became a great statesman and leader in the subsequent Medo-Persian Empire.

And so, this brings us now into Daniel. So we're beginning to work the prophets into this particular period of history. The Babylonians made Zedekiah the king, and he was twenty-one years old when he began to reign. He reigned for eleven years. And he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. And so Nebuchadnezzar made his second invasion in which he besieged Jerusalem, and he then broke down the walls of the city. He broke down and set on fire the temple of God and all of the houses within Jerusalem, the king's palace.

The king, of course, himself just before the Babylonians had encircled Jerusalem, and the king and a company of men sought to escape during the night. And they went out one of the gates, and they fled towards the wilderness, but the Babylonians pursued after them, caught them near Jericho, and there Zedekiah's sons were killed before him. And as soon as they, he watched them kill his sons, then they poked out his eyes and they carried him captive to Babylon. And Zedekiah died in Babylon. And it was, there was an interesting prophecy in Jeremiah, chapter thirty-two concerning Zedekiah, how that he would be led, indicating blindness, unto. It said he would see his sons die and he would be led captive to Babylon. And so that prophecy of Jeremiah was fulfilled.

Now, they left only the very poorest people in the land to keep the vineyards and so forth. The rest were all taken captive or killed. They put a fellow Gedaliah in charge, sort of the governor over the land, but some of the people after a while conspired against Gedaliah. They assassinated them. They assassinated Gedaliah, and so then they became frightened. They realized that when Nebuchadnezzar hears about this, he's going to send and wipe all of us out. And so the remnant of the people that were left fled on down into Egypt, and thus, you have the death of Judah.

Another nation that have been a mighty nation. Another nation that had known the power of God. Another nation that was created by God. And as long as God was at the center of the nation, they were strong and victorious. But when they failed and turned from God, they became destroyed by their enemies and the nations ceased to exist as such. Now for seventy years Jeremiah prophesied they would be in Babylon in captivity. And again, you really need Jeremiah as a background to this particular period of history. Also, of course, now as you get into Babylonian captivity, you need the prophecies of Ezekiel and Daniel and so forth. And so these all are good background for this particular point of history.

As we start into the books of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah, you remember that all the way through from First Samuel till now, we have been reading, "And the rest of the acts are they not recorded in the chronicles of the kings of Judah." So you're going to get further details on a lot of the kings of Judah. Not in the kings of Israel. We do not have the chronicles of the kings of Israel. But these are more or less the official court records, the court documents that record the reigns of the kings, their accomplishments and all, as we get into Chronicles. So in a sense, it is going to be going over the same period of history from Saul to Zedekiah as we deal with the kings of Judah. But yet, we will get further insight and details on many of the kings. Much of the insight in detail is very valuable and very interesting. And I think you'll enjoy the books of First and Second Chronicles as we deal now with the Chronicles of the kings of Judah.

And so your assignment, of course, is to go ahead and start reading First Chronicles, along with Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and Jeremiah. Might as well be smart, no premium on being dumb.

May the Lord give you an especially good week this week. Oh, may God deliver you from the power, the strong power of your own fleshly desires that would drag you down and cause you to live like other men in the world around you. And may you live a life that is pleasing unto the Lord. May you stand with Josiah before the law of the Lord and make a covenant to obey God and to follow after God and to serve Him with your whole heart and soul. May God anoint you and give you that strength that you need to fulfill the commitment that you made. In Jesus' name. "

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up,.... Against Jerusalem; this was in the latter end of the third, or the beginning of the fourth of Jehoiakim's reign, and the first of Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah 25:1, when Jehoiakim was taken, but restored upon promise of subjection and obedience, and hostages given, at which time Daniel and his companions were carried captive, with some of the vessels of the temple; Jeremiah 25:1- : Jeremiah 25:1- :

and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: which were the fifth, sixth, and seventh years of his reign:

then he turned and rebelled against him; being encouraged by the king of Egypt, who promised to assist him against the king of Babylon; Nebuchadnezzar is the Nabocolasser in Ptolemy's canon; and Berosus n testifies, that seventy years before the Persian monarchy he made war against the Phoenicians and Jews, and it is from this time the seventy years' captivity is to be dated.

n Apud Clement. Alex. Stromat. 1. p. 329.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.   2 And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servants the prophets.   3 Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;   4 And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon.   5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?   6 So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.   7 And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt.

      We have here the first mention of a name which makes a great figure both in the histories and in the prophecies of the Old Testament; it is that of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (2 Kings 24:1; 2 Kings 24:1), that head of gold. He was a potent prince, and one that was the terror of the mighty in the land of the living; and yet his name would not have been known in sacred writ if he had not been employed in the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the Jews.

      I. He made Jehoiakim his tributary and kept him in subjection three years, 2 Kings 24:1; 2 Kings 24:1. Nebuchadnezzar began his reign in the fourth year of Jehoiakim. In his eighth year he made him his prisoner, but restored him upon his promise of faithfulness to him. That promise he kept about three years, but then rebelled, probably in hopes of assistance from the king of Egypt. If Jehoiakim had served his God as he should have done, he would not have been servant to the king of Babylon; but God would thus make him know the difference between his service and the service of the kings of the countries,2 Chronicles 12:8. If he had been content with his servitude, and true to his word, his condition would have been no worse; but, rebelling against the king of Babylon, he plunged himself into more trouble.

      II. When he rebelled Nebuchadnezzar sent his forces against him to destroy his country, bands of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, Ammonites, who were all now in the service and pay of the king of Babylon (2 Kings 24:2; 2 Kings 24:2), and withal retained, and now showed, their ancient enmity to the Israel of God. Yet no mention is here made of their commission from the king of Babylon, but only of that from the King of kings: The Lord sent against him all these bands; and again (2 Kings 24:3; 2 Kings 24:3), Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, else the commandment of Nebuchadnezzar could not have brought it. Many are serving God's purposes who are not aware of it. Two things God intended in suffering Judah to be thus harassed:-- 1. The punishment of the sins of Manasseh, which God now visited upon the third and fourth generation. So long he waited before he visited them, to see if the nation would repent; but they continued impenitent, notwithstanding Josiah's endeavours to reform them, and ready to relapse, upon the first turn, into their former idolatries. Now that the old bond was put in suit they were called up upon the former judgment; that was revived which God had laid up in store, and sealed among his treasures (Deuteronomy 32:34; Job 14:17), and in remembrance of that he removed Judah out of his sight, and let the world know that time will not wear out the guilt of sin and that reprieves are not pardons. All that Manasseh did was called to mind, but especially the innocent blood that he shed, much of which, we may suppose, was the blood of God's witnesses and worshippers, which the Lord would not pardon. Is there then any unpardonable sin but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost? This is meant of the remitting of the temporal punishment. Though Manasseh repented, and we have reason to think even the persecutions and murders he was guilty of were pardoned, so that he was delivered from the wrath to come; yet, as they were national sins, they lay still charged upon the land, crying for national judgments. Perhaps some were now living who were aiding and abetting; and the present king was guilty of innocent blood, as appears Jeremiah 22:17. See what a provoking sin murder is, how loud it cries, and how long. See what need nations have to lament the sins of their fathers, lest they smart for them. God intended hereby the accomplishment of the prophecies; it was according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servants the prophets. Rather shall Judah be removed out of his sight, nay, rather shall heaven and earth pass away, than any word of God fall to the ground. Threatenings will be fulfilled as certainly as promises, if the sinner's repentance prevent not.

      III. The king of Egypt was likewise subdued by the king of Babylon, and a great part of his country taken from him, 2 Kings 24:7; 2 Kings 24:7. It was but lately that he had oppressed Israel, 2 Kings 23:33; 2 Kings 23:33. Now he is himself brought down and disabled to attempt any thing for the recovery of his losses or the assistance of his allies. He dares not come any more out of his land. Afterwards he attempted to give Zedekiah some relief, but was obliged to retire, Jeremiah 37:7.

      IV. Jehoiakim, seeing his country laid waste and himself ready to fall into the enemy's hand, as it should seem, died of a broken heart, in the midst of his days (2 Kings 24:6; 2 Kings 24:6). So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers; but it is not said that he was buried with them, for no doubt the prophecy of Jeremiah was fulfilled, that he should not be lamented, as his father was, but buried with the burial of an ass (Jeremiah 22:18; Jeremiah 22:19), and his dead body cast out, Jeremiah 36:30.

Kelly Commentary on Books of the Bible

Well, then, in the next portion of our book (2 Kings 21:1-26) we see how truly a pious father may be followed by an impious son. Manasseh, young as he was, did not only begin to reign, but "did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah after the abominations of the heathen, whom Jehovah cast out before the children of Israel. For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. And he built altars in the house of Jehovah, which Jehovah said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of Jehovah. And he made his son pass through the fire." Burnt them to Moloch. Cruel king! "And observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of Jehovah to provoke him to anger. And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which Jehovah said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them. But they hearkened not."

The consequence was that Manasseh not only did evil, but "seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom Jehovah destroyed." How was it possible then for Judah to abide in the land of Jehovah? It became a moral impossibility. Hence therefore the message which Jehovah sends by His servants the prophets. After Manasseh, reigned Amon; and Amon follows in the steps of his wicked father, not of his pious grandfather. "He walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshipped them, and he forsook the Jehovah God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of Jehovah."

But after him comes a truly godly prince Josiah younger, too, than either (2 Kings 22:1-20). He was not too young to serve the Lord. "He was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath. And he did that which was right in the sight of Jehovah, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left. And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of Jehovah, saying, Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of Jehovah, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people: and let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work, that have the oversight of the house of Jehovah: and let them give it to the doers of the work;" and so on. But when we are in the path of duty we are in the place of blessing. And Hilkiah gives the glad message to Shaphan, "I have found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah." How strange! found the book of the law of Jehovah. So it was, and people wonder how that in Christendom men have so long departed, and so long forgotten the word of God.

According to the analogy of Israel, we ought rather to expect it. Here was a people still more bound by letter than we, still more dependent therefore upon a law, if possible, than we could be upon any outward observances. For the law was essentially outward, and the law was a thing that was not so dependent upon inner life and the Spirit of God as outward statutes and observances and ordinances of every kind. Yet even here the law had been lost all this time, and it was a great discovery to find it. God was faithful, and he that had a heart to observe the word of Jehovah found the law through His servant Hilkiah, the high priest. "And it came to pass when the king had heard the words, of the book of the law, he rent his clothes." He had a tender conscience. There is nothing more important in its place; for what is the good of knowledge if there is not a conscience? It appears to me that to grow in knowledge of the truth, if there be not simplicity in following it out, turns the knowledge into a curse, not a blessing. The one value of the truth of God of the word of God being better known is that we may be more faithful towards the Lord, and also in our relationships one with another in doing His will in this poor world. But the moment that you divorce the truth from conscience, it appears to me that the state of the soul is even worse. Far better to be simple in using aright the little that we know than to grow in knowledge where there is no corresponding fidelity. The king, however, was very different. When he heard the words, he rent his clothes, and the consequence was that there was a mighty work of real revival, in the true sense of the word; because I need not tell you that it is a great misapplication of the term "revival" to use it for the conversion of souls. Revival is rather a process of raising up the people of God to a better state or condition, so as most truly to follow what the Lord looks for among them where they have slipped into a lower, slumbering, condition. This is the true sense of it, and this is exactly the meaning of it here, So the king gave an impulse to the people and they gathered to him, as we are told in the next chapter.

"The king went up into the house of Jehovah, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of Jehovah. And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant" (2 Kings 23:1-37). And we find, accordingly, the practical fruits at once, public and private, national and personal, for at this time you must remember it was not the church: it was a nation, and it is the greatest confusion of things that differ to confound an elect nation with the church of God. The church is a gathering out of all nations. The congregation of Israel was merely an assemblage of that nation. To talk, therefore, about the Jewish church is really nonsense. It is a common phrase, but there is no truth in it. It is only allowing ourselves phraseology that is altogether foreign to the word of God.

The account then of the great reformation that was wrought is fully gone into in the rest of the chapter, but I shall only add that although the king had been thus faithful, he slips out of the path of the Lord in opposing Pharaoh-nechoh. God had not called him to it, and if the Lord always blesses fidelity, and loves to bless wherever He can, on the other hand the Lord is righteous in His government; and if therefore the righteous man slips out of the path of fidelity he bears the consequences. What we sow to the flesh, we must reap in corruption. It matters not who. Converted or unconverted, it is always true. So with Josiah. There might be grace on the Lord's part to take him away from the evil to come, but I do not doubt it was a chastening upon his eagerness of spirit in opposing the king of Egypt without a word from the Lord.

However, the king of Egypt put Jehoahaz in bands. The people had made him king in Jerusalem in the stead of Josiah, and he made Eliakim his brother king, changing his name to Jehoiakim. And Jehoiakim, we are told, was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. But all this was only one sorrowful event after another.

In the next chapter (2 Kings 24:1-20) we have the mighty king of Babylon, who first comes before us Nebuchadnezzar, the destined beginner of the great imperial system with which we have not done yet; for the world is yet to see the last phase of the imperial power that began at this very time, or shortly after. This gives deep interest to what we are now looking at. I am aware that men are not expecting it. This does not at all hinder its truth as the word of God, and His word alone can decide such questions. The first then who acquires the empire of the world Nebuchadnezzar comes up, and Jehoiakim, became his servant three years. Afterwards he rebels. The Lord puts him down, and Jehoiachin his son reigns in his stead, and the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land, because he was put down by Nebuchadnezzar. These are the steps by which he arrives at the throne of the world, according to the sovereign gift of Jehovah. And Jehoiachin does evil; and at that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar came up when he rebelled, and Nebuchadnezzar himself too besieges the city and carries away the treasures of the house as well as the princes and mighty men. Not only the king, but as we know also a man afterwards most distinguished, and of such deep interest to us Daniel, the prophet. Then follows another sorrowful state. Zedekiah having been made king provisionally in the land over a small remnant, he too is guilty of breaking the oath of Jehovah, and Nebuchadnezzar comes against him. Here we find the last phase of Jerusalem's sorrowful history of the last batch of the Jews that was carried down into captivity. And this is pursued to the end of the twenty-fifth chapter, and this closes the book.

Thus we have completed these two Books of the Kings cursorily, I admit, but still I trust so as to give at any rate a general picture of this wonderful history of the Old Testament; the end being the great imperial power under which will take place the return of a little remnant of the Jews to find themselves in Jerusalem once more to set up a king who will be Satan's great instrument for deceiving men under the shelter of the last holder of the power that began with Babylon. But I enter no farther. This would take me out of history into prophecy.