2 Kings 24:1-20
24:1 Under the corrupt leadership of Jehoiakim, it becomes time for Judah to experience the result of sowing bad fruit. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, takes interest in Judah and imposes a tax on the kingdom for three years. The tribes of Judah no longer belong to themselves; they are controlled and contained by their enemies. This is all because in a time of divine peace and blessed abundance, they chose to forfeit their inheritance by severing their covenant with God.
24:2-4 Judah find themselves targeted by Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites. These extreme circumstances might cause us to wonder why Judah left God. It was probably not a conscious choice or a choice made all at once. Likely in small moments, the people of Judah neglected a word from God or a nudge in the right direction. If we let temptation and revenge and desire pile up, our connection with God is crushed and ultimately severed. The lesson we glean from Judah is that day to day we must maintain our relationship with God - never allowing our weakness or anger or desire grow into something more powerful than our will to be with God.
None of this should come as a surprise to Judah. Each time God establishes a covenant, He is clear about the alternative. The alternate lifestyle to righteous living is responded to by God with ferocity and immutable force. This is because God remembers the innocent and the details of their lives and demise at the hands of the evil. Justice in Hebrew is mishpat, and by God it comes down like a hammer.
24:5 Jehoiakim dies and his son, Jehoiachin becomes king; another evil king inherits a broken kingdom.
24:8-9 Jehoiachin becomes king at eighteen years old and reigns for three months. Jehoiachin is unremarkable in that he is another copy of his father, any copy of Cain. He adds nothing to the world, he only destroys. We must be careful to ensure that we are creators.
24:10-12 Nebuchadnezzar enters Jerusalem. What a darkly extraordinary moment; this is confirmation that Judah has forfeited their protection from God. Their boundaries are crossed and redrawn my enemies! The impenetrable defense of God is down, disregarded and Jehoiachin is taken prisoner.
24:13-16 Nebuchadnezzar enters in the king of Judah's house and takes whatever he pleases, all of the treasures and dedications to God. In Genesis 4:7 it is explained to us that sin desires to have us. Nebuchadnezzar exemplifies the truth of that verse. Corrupt lifestyles are our submission to the slave master - sin. Sin desires to come into our minds and corrode our souls, to take the best of us and corrode our relationship with God.
We, each individual, is a temple of God, 1 Corinthians 3:16. Sin desires to enter and ransack it. This would be terrifying if not for one, specific, blessed protection by God: sin must be invited. It cannot enter without your permission, but it will work really hard (and craftily, Genesis 3:1) to gain it! In small moments, over time, Judah began to invite sin inside. Sin grew powerful, parasitically feeding off of its hosts, and now consumes this kingdom.
24:17 Nebuchadnezzar makes Mattaniah, uncle of Jehoiachin king. It is because of God and David's faith, that Judah continues to have kings over their own kingdoms - albeit ineffective ones, 2 Kings 8:19.
24:18 Mattaniah changes his name to Zedekiah; he is twenty one when he becomes king. Zedekiah reigns for eleven years in Jerusalem. Zedekiah is another king, person, who is evil in the sight of the Lord. Judah is cast out of God's presence; while they had Him, they perverted the space and were therefore evicted. Zedekiah rebels against Nebuchadnezzar. From our perspective, we can guess that it the attack does not bode well.
