100 lines
29 KiB
HTML
100 lines
29 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
|
|
<html><head>
|
|
<title>Blue Letter Bible: Text Commentaries</title>
|
|
<script src="../../../js/basepath.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
|
|
<script src="./js/nav.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
|
|
<script src="./js/MainHeader.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
|
|
<script>
|
|
currentBook = '2Ki';
|
|
currentChapter = 23;
|
|
PriorBook = '1 Kings';
|
|
PriorBookURL = './Comm/david_guzik/sg/1Ki_1.html';
|
|
PriorChapter = '2 Kings 22';
|
|
PriorChapterURL = './Comm/david_guzik/sg/2Ki_22.html';
|
|
NextBook = '1 Chronicles';
|
|
NextBookURL = './Comm/david_guzik/sg/1Ch_1.html';
|
|
NextChapter = '2 Kings 24';
|
|
NextChapterURL = './Comm/david_guzik/sg/2Ki_24.html';
|
|
Title = 'Study Guide for 2 Kings 23';
|
|
</script>
|
|
<script src="./js/Comms/DG.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
|
|
|
|
<h2><a onclick="return mV('2Ki',23,'all');">2Ki 23</a> - The Reforms of Josiah</h2>
|
|
<p><span>A. The covenant and the reforms of King Josiah.</span></p>
|
|
<p class="c1"><span>1. (<a onclick="return mV('2Ki',23,'1-3');">1-3</a>) The covenant is renewed.</span></p>
|
|
<p class="c2">Now the king sent them to gather all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to him. The king went up to the house of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> with all the men of Judah, and with him all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, to follow the <span class="c6">Lord</span> and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all <i>his </i>heart and all <i>his </i>soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4"><span>a. <b><span class="c3">The king sent them to gather all the elders of Judah</span></b></span>: Josiah heard the promise of both eventual judgment and the immediate delay of judgment. He did not respond with indifference or simple contentment that he would not see the judgment in his day. He wanted to get the kingdom right with God, and he knew that he could not do it all by himself – he needed <b><span class="c3">all the elders of Judah</span></b> to join in broken repentance with him.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4"><span>b. <b><span class="c3">And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book</span></b></span>: The king did this himself. He was so concerned that the nation would hear the word of God that <b><span class="c3">he read</span></b> it to them himself.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">The king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, to follow the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>: King Josiah stood before the people and publicly declared his commitment to obey the word of God to the very best of his ability (<b><span class="c3">with all his heart and all his soul</span></b>). </p>
|
|
<p class="c5">i. "<i>[He] made a covenant</i> is literally '[he] cut a covenant,' which goes back to the practice of cutting the carcass of an animal and separating the parts so the contracting parties could seal their agreement by walking between them (cf. <a onclick="return mV('Gen',15,17);">Gen 15:17</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Jer',34,18);">Jer 34:18</a>)." (Dilday)</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">And all the people took a stand for the covenant</span></b>: They did this in response to the example and leadership of King Josiah. We do not read of any <i>command</i> for the people to do this; they did it spontaneously as they followed the king's example and leadership.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5"><span>i. This kind of mass response and commitment to the <span class="c6">Lord</span> cannot be commanded, but that does not mean that there is no part for man to play. It was clearly the work of God among the people, but God worked through the example and leadership of King Josiah.</span></p>
|
|
<p class="c5"><span>ii. The fact that this happened among <b><span class="c3">all the people</span></b></span> means that this was a special work of the Holy Spirit. <span>The Bible tells us that there are times when the Holy Spirit comes upon people as a <i>group</i></span>, which is a different work than the individual filling of the Spirit. There are times when the Holy Spirit seems to work on a group, and we should pray for such moving of the Holy Spirit today.</p><ul class="c6"><li><a onclick="return mV('Act',2,4);">Act 2:4</a>: <i>And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.</i></li><li><a onclick="return mV('Act',4,31);">Act 4:31</a>: <i>And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.</i></li><li><a onclick="return mV('Act',10,44);">Act 10:44</a>: <i>While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.</i></li></ul>
|
|
<p class="c5"><span>iii. </span>"The ceremony compares with the basic Mizpah covenant (<a onclick="return mV('1Sa',8,'11-17');">1Sa 8:11-17</a>; <a onclick="return mV('1Sa',10,25);">10:25</a>) and the renewal of the covenant at Shechem (<a onclick="return mV('Jos',24,'all');">Jos 24</a>), both of which marked turning points in Jewish history." (Wiseman)</p>
|
|
<p class="c1"><span>2. (<a onclick="return mV('2Ki',23,'4-14');">4-14</a>) The extent of King Josiah's reformation in Judah.</span></p>
|
|
<p class="c2">And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, to bring out of the temple of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> all the articles that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. Then he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem, and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven. And he brought out the wooden image from the house of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, to the Brook Kidron outside Jerusalem, burned it at the Brook Kidron and ground <i>it </i>to ashes, and threw its ashes on the graves of the common people. Then he tore down the <i>ritual </i>booths of the perverted persons that <i>were </i>in the house of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, where the women wove hangings for the wooden image. And he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba; also he broke down the high places at the gates which <i>were </i>at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which <i>were </i>to the left of the city gate. Nevertheless the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brethren. And he defiled Topheth, which <i>is </i>in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molech. Then he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, by the chamber of Nathan-Melech, the officer who <i>was </i>in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. The altars that <i>were </i>on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, the king broke down and pulverized there, and threw their dust into the Brook Kidron. Then the king defiled the high places that <i>were </i>east of Jerusalem, which <i>were </i>on the south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the people of Ammon. And he broke in pieces the <i>sacred </i>pillars and cut down the wooden images, and filled their places with the bones of men.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4"><span>a. <b><span class="c3">To bring out of the temple of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> all of the articles that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven</span></b></span>: This shows us <i>how deep</i> idolatry was in Judah. There were idols dedicated to <b><span class="c3">Baal</span></b>, to <b><span class="c3">Asherah</span></b>, and to <b><span class="c3">all the host of heaven</span></b> in the <i>very temple itself</i>. From this account, it seems that Josiah began the cleansing reforms at the center and worked outwards.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">i. <b><span class="c3">Threw its ashes on the graves of the common people</span></b>: "Throwing the ashes of the idol on the graves of the common people outside the city was not intended to defile their graves, but the very opposite. Any contact with death was believed to be an act of defilement, so scattering the dust on the graves served to defile the idols." (Dilday)</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Then he removed the idolatrous priests</span></b>: Josiah's reforms did not only remove sinful <i>things</i>, but also the sinful <i>people</i> that promoted and permitted these sinful things. The idols that filled the temple did not get there or stay there on their own – there were <b><span class="c3">idolatrous priests</span></b> who were responsible for these sinful practices.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">i. Any thorough reformation can not only deal with sinful things; it must also deal with sinful people. If sinful people are not dealt with, they will quickly bring back the sinful things that were righteously removed.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">ii. <b><span class="c3">The idolatrous priests</span></b>: "Probably they were an <i>order</i> made by the idolatrous kings of Judah, and called <i>kemarim</i>, from <i>camar</i>, which signifies to be <i>scorched</i>, <i>shriveled together</i>, <i>made dark</i>, or <i>black</i>, because their business was constantly to attend <i>sacrificial fires</i>, and probably they were <i>black garments</i>." (Clarke)</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Then he tore down the ritual booths of the perverted persons</span></b>: Supposedly sacred prostitution was an integral part of the worship of many of these pagan idols. The temple had become a brothel and King Josiah corrected this disgraceful perversion.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">i. <b><span class="c3">Perverted persons</span></b>: "The Hebrew word basically denotes 'holy, set apart', here clearly for non-Yahwistic purposes." (Wiseman) "We have already often met with these <i>kedeshim</i> or <i>consecrated persons</i>." (Clarke)</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">ii. "The word translated '<i>hangings</i>' likely refers to a fabric woven by idol worshippers for curtains behind which the ritual obscenities were practiced." (Dilday)</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">He defiled Topheth...he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun...he burned the chariots of the sun...the king broke down and pulverized...he broke in pieces the sacred pillars</span></b>: This passage reveals something of the <i>extent</i> of official idolatry in Judah. It was widespread, elaborate, and heavily invested in. Previous kings of Judah had spent a lot of time and money to honor these pagan idols. It took a long, dedicated commitment on the part of King Josiah to do this work.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5"><span>i. </span>"The utilization of the horse in the solar cultus was widespread in the ancient Near East, being attested particularly in Assyrian and Aramean inscriptional and artifactual sources." (Patterson and Austel)</p>
|
|
<p class="c5"><span>ii. </span>"Since the symbolic wooden pole could be burned and pulverized the scattering of the ashes over peoples' graves served to despise both the god and its worshippers (<i>cf.</i> <a onclick="return mV('Jer',26,23);">Jer 26:23</a>)." (Wiseman)</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">iii. <b><span class="c3">And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom</span></b>: "Here it appears the sacred rites of Molech were performed, and to this all the filth of the city was carried, and perpetual fires were kept up in order to consume it. Hence, it has been considered a <i>type</i> of <i>hell</i>; and in this sense it is used in the New Testament." (Clarke)</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">iv. "The rabbins say that Topheth had its name from <i>toph</i>, a <i>drum</i>, because instruments of this kind were used to drown the cries of the children that were put into the burning arms of Molech, to be scorched to death." (Clarke)</p>
|
|
<p class="c1"><span>3. (<a onclick="return mV('2Ki',23,'15-20');">15-20</a>) Josiah extends his reformation to Bethel and Samaria.</span></p>
|
|
<p class="c2">Moreover the altar that <i>was </i>at Bethel, <i>and </i>the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place <i>and </i>crushed <i>it </i>to powder, and burned the wooden image. As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs that <i>were </i>there on the mountain. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned <i>them </i>on the altar, and defiled it according to the word of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words. Then he said, "What gravestone <i>is </i>this that I see?" So the men of the city told him, <i>"It is </i>the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel." And he said, "Let him alone; let no one move his bones." So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. Now Josiah also took away all the shrines of the high places that <i>were </i>in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the <span class="c6">Lord</span> to anger; and he did to them according to all the deeds he had done in Bethel. He executed all the priests of the high places who <i>were </i>there, on the altars, and burned men's bones on them; and he returned to Jerusalem.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4"><span>a. <b><span class="c3">Moreover the altar that was a Bethel</span></b></span>: King Josiah was so diligent in his reforms that he took down altars located in the former Kingdom of Israel. He removed the pagan altar at Bethel that Jeroboam set up hundreds of years earlier.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5"><span>i. Politically speaking, this was possible because the Assyrian Empire was weak in the days of Josiah. Josiah could intervene in this area that was subject to the Assyrian Empire because they were concerned with other things and could not stop him.</span></p>
|
|
<p class="c5"><span>ii. </span>"The altar at Bethel, which Josiah's reform also reached, had been established by Jeroboam at Solomon's death; but in the course of time a purely Canaanites worship had apparently replaced the earlier worship of the golden calf." (Patterson and Austel)</p>
|
|
<p class="c4"><span>b. <b><span class="c3">What gravestone is this that I see</span></b></span>: This is the remarkable fulfillment of a prophecy made hundreds of years earlier. The words of this anonymous prophet are recorded in <a onclick="return mV('1Ki',13,'1-2');">1Ki 13:1-2</a>: <i>Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you</i>. Josiah was careful to honor the gravestone of this anonymous prophet.</p>
|
|
<p class="c1"><span>4. (<a onclick="return mV('2Ki',23,'21-23');">21-23</a>) Josiah keeps the Passover on a national basis.</span></p>
|
|
<p class="c2">Then the king commanded all the people, saying, "Keep the Passover to the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your God, as <i>it is </i>written in this Book of the Covenant." Such a Passover surely had never been held since the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was held before the <span class="c6">Lord</span> in Jerusalem.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4"><span>a. </span><b><span class="c3">Keep the Passover to the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant</span></b>: Josiah could not command heart obedience to the word of God, but he could establish a national holiday to observe the Passover.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Such a Passover surely had never been held</span></b>: The celebration of the Passover had become so neglected that this was a remarkable observance. </p>
|
|
<p class="c5">i. Passover remembered the central act of redemption in the Old Testament: God's deliverance of Israel from Egypt in the days of Moses. Their neglect of Passover proved that they had neglected to remember the <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s work of redemption for them. It was as if a group of modern Christians had completely forgotten communion or the celebration of the Lord's Supper, which remembers Jesus' work of redemption for us.</p>
|
|
<p class="c1"><span>5. (<a onclick="return mV('2Ki',23,'24-25');">24-25</a>) The vast extent of Josiah's reforms.</span></p>
|
|
<p class="c2">Moreover Josiah put away those who consulted mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the <span class="c6">Lord</span> with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did <i>any </i>arise like him.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4"><span>a. <b><span class="c3">Moreover Josiah put away</span></b></span>: King Josiah also fulfilled the commandment of God to <b><span class="c3">put away</span></b> those who practiced the occult and spiritism. His passion was to <b><span class="c3">perform the words of the law which were written in the book</span></b>.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">i. The great reformation in the days of Josiah is an example of simply going back to the word of God and seeking to base all thought and practice on what God has revealed in His word. It was an Old Testament example of the Reformation principle of <i>sola scriptura</i>. </p>
|
|
<p class="c4"><span>b. <b><span class="c3">There was no king like him</span></b></span>: Josiah was one of the most remarkable kings of Judah, unique in the strength of his obedience and commitment. He stands as a wonderful example of what a leader can and should be.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">i. There were other great kings of Judah and the united kingdom of Israel – such as David and Hezekiah. Yet one thing that made Josiah unique was his godliness <i>in his day</i>. He lived in a remarkably wicked time, so his godliness was remarkable against the backdrop of his times. "David was a <i>greater</i> but not a <i>better</i> man than Josiah." (Clarke)</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">ii. Nevertheless, not long after his reign Judah was severely judged by the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. This shows that despite all Josiah's efforts, there was an <i>outward</i> conformity among the people of Judah, yet their <i>hearts</i> were not really turned towards the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. "They pretended and professed to do so; but the most of them dissembled and dealt deceitfully, not turning to God with their whole hears, as good Jeremiah complaineth." (Trapp)</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">iii. Jeremiah ministered in the days of Josiah, and his message to the people of Israel shows this. Through Jeremiah, God promised that if the people genuinely turned to Him that they would dwell in the land securely (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',7,'5-7');">Jer 7:5-7</a>). Nevertheless, God looked at the people of Judah and said: <i>Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense</i>. (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',3,10);">Jer 3:10</a>)</p>
|
|
<p class="c1"><span>6. (<a onclick="return mV('2Ki',23,'26-27');">26-27</a>) God's promise of judgment.</span></p>
|
|
<p class="c2">Nevertheless the <span class="c6">Lord</span> did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath, with which His anger was aroused against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him. And the <span class="c6">Lord</span> said, "I will also remove Judah from My sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, 'My name shall be there.'"</p>
|
|
<p class="c4"><span>a. </span><b><span class="c3">Nevertheless the <span class="c6">Lord</span> did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath</span></b>: God did not turn from His wrath because despite Josiah's personal godliness, and his righteous example and leadership, the people of Judah still <b><span class="c3">provoked Him</span></b>, loving the sins introduced during the wicked days of Manasseh, Josiah's father.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5"><span>i. </span>"From consultation with Huldah he knew that there would be no deep note or lasting value in their reformation. That fact, however, did not give him the right to refuse to follow the light which had come to him." (Morgan)</p>
|
|
<p class="c4"><span>b. <b><span class="c3">I will also remove Judah from My sight</span></b></span>: God promised to bring Judah low, conquering by another and sending them into exile.</p>
|
|
<p><span>B. Josiah's end and his successors.</span></p>
|
|
<p class="c1"><span>1. (<a onclick="return mV('2Ki',23,'28-30');">28-30</a>) Josiah dies in battle against Egypt.</span></p>
|
|
<p class="c2">Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, <i>are </i>they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? In his days Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went to the aid of the king of Assyria, to the River Euphrates; and King Josiah went against him. And <i>Pharaoh Necho </i>killed him at Megiddo when he confronted him. Then his servants moved his body in a chariot from Megiddo, brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in his father's place.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4"><span>a. </span><b><span class="c3">In his days Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went to the aid of the king of Assyria</span></b>: This was part of the geopolitical struggle between the declining Assyrian Empire and the emerging Babylonian Empire. The Assyrians made an alliance with the Egyptians to protect against the growing power of the Babylonians.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">King Josiah went against him...Pharaoh Necho killed him</span></b>: <a onclick="return mV('2Ch',35,'20-25');">2Ch 35:20-25</a> tells us more about this. Pharaoh warned Josiah against battling against him saying, <i>What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I have not come against you this day</i>. Josiah stubbornly refused to hear this warning (which was actually from God) and disguised himself in battle – yet he was still shot by archers and died. This was a sad end to one of the great kings of Judah.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">i. "It was not of faith, else why 'disguise' himself? There is no record of any prayer before the battle, as in the case of so many of his godly ancestors; and this rash act of Josiah seems unaccountable." (Knapp)</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">ii. "The exact place of the battle seems to have been <i>Hadadrimmon</i>, in the valley of Megiddo, for there Zechariah tells us, chapter <a onclick="return mV('Zec',12,11);">12:11</a>, was the great mourning for Josiah." (Clarke)</p>
|
|
<p class="c4"><span>c. </span><b><span class="c3">And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in his father's place</span></b>: "The regular succession to the throne of Judah ceased with the lamented Josiah. Jehoahaz was not the eldest son of the late king. Johanan and Jehoiakim were both older than he (<a onclick="return mV('1Ch',3,15);">1Ch 3:15</a>). He was made king by popular choice: it was the preference of the multitude, not the appointment of God." (Knapp)</p>
|
|
<p class="c5"><span>i. </span>"Thus the people's sins were the true case why God gave them wicked kings, whom he suffered to do wickedly, that they might bring the long deserved and threatened punishment upon themselves and their people." (Poole)</p>
|
|
<p class="c1"><span>2. (<a onclick="return mV('2Ki',23,'31-34');">31-34</a>) The evil reign of Jehoahaz and his captivity to Egypt.</span></p>
|
|
<p class="c2">Jehoahaz <i>was </i>twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name <i>was </i>Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did evil in the sight of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, according to all that his fathers had done. Now Pharaoh Necho put him in prison at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. Then Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And <i>Pharaoh </i>took Jehoahaz and went to Egypt, and he died there.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4"><span>a. <b><span class="c3">He did evil in the sight of the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b></span>: 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.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">i. "<i>Jehoahaz</i> ('Yahweh has seized') was probably a throne name, for his personal name as Shallum (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',22,11);">Jer 22:11</a>; <a onclick="return mV('1Ch',3,15);">1Ch 3:15</a>). The practice of primogeniture was overridden in view of his older brother (Eliakim) showing anti-Egyptian tendencies." (Wiseman)</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">ii. "His name is omitted from among those of our Lord's ancestors in <a onclick="return mV('Mat',1,'all');">Mat 1</a>....which may imply that God did not recognize Jehoahaz, the people's choice, as being in a true sense the successor." (Knapp)</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">How Pharaoh Necho put him in prison</span></b>: After the defeat of King Josiah in battle, Pharaoh was able to dominate Judah and make it effectively a vassal kingdom and a buffer against the growing Babylonian Empire. He <b><span class="c3">imposed on the land a tribute</span></b> and put on the throne of Judah a puppet king, a brother of Jehoahaz (<b><span class="c3">Eliakim</span></b>, renamed <b><span class="c3">Jehoiakim</span></b>).</p>
|
|
<p class="c1"><span>3. (<a onclick="return mV('2Ki',23,'35-37');">35-37</a>) The reign of Jehoiakim over Judah.</span></p>
|
|
<p class="c2">So Jehoiakim gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give money according to the command of Pharaoh; he exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, from every one according to his assessment, to give <i>it </i>to Pharaoh Necho. Jehoiakim <i>was </i>twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name <i>was </i>Zebudah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. And he did evil in the sight of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, according to all that his fathers had done.</p>
|
|
<p class="c4"><span>a. <b><span class="c3">He taxed the land according to the command of Pharaoh</span></b></span>: Jehoiakim was nothing more than a puppet king presiding over a vassal kingdom under the Egyptians. He imposed heavy taxes on the people and paid the money to the Egyptians, as required.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">i. "Nechoh had placed him there as a viceroy, simply to <i>raise</i> and <i>collect his taxes</i>." (Clarke)</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">ii. "Yet at the same time Jehoiakim was wasting resources on the construction of a new palace by forced labour (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',22,'13-19');">Jer 22:13-19</a>)." (Wiseman)</p>
|
|
<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">He did evil in the sight of the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>: Jehoiakim, like his brother Jehoahaz, did not follow the godly example of his father Josiah.</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">i. <a onclick="return mV('Jer',36,'22-24');">Jer 36:22-24</a> 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: <i><span>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.'"</span></i> (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',36,'29-30');">Jer 36:29-30</a>)</p>
|
|
<p class="c5">ii. "To all his former evils he added this, that he slew Urijah the prophet (<a onclick="return mV('Jer',26,20);">Jer 26:20</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Jer',26,23);">26:23</a>)." (Trapp)</p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<script src="./js/Comms/DG_Footer.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
|
|
<script src="./js/MainFooter.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
|