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You may turn in your Bibles to 
2 Kings chapter 25. 2 Kings chapter 25. We just finished 
looking at the prophet Zephaniah, and we saw that he wrote his 
book approximately in 630 B.C. Well, the next minor prophet 
for our study is the prophet Haggai, and he wrote in 520 B.C. So there's about a 110-year period 
there, and I thought it would be best to look at that 110-year 
period, or at least a portion of it, rather than going from 
Zephaniah right into Haggai. Because there was a crucial event 
that took place between Zephaniah and Haggai, namely the fall of 
Jerusalem, specifically to the Babylonians, commanded by Nebuchadnezzar. Thankfully, the rest of the Bible 
supplies a great deal of data concerning the fall of Jerusalem 
and the Babylonian captivity of Judah. Jeremiah, for instance, 
ministered from about 627 to 580, and he was a first-hand 
witness to the destruction of Jerusalem and an advisor to a 
few of the kings that we will see, or a prophet to a few of 
the kings that we will look at this evening. Ezekiel, or Daniel, 
was probably carried off to Babylon during the first deportation. 
We learn that from his opening sentences in Daniel chapter 1. Ezekiel was carried off probably 
during the second deportation. There was a series of events 
or a series of times when Nebuchadnezzar would take some people back to 
Babylon. This happened on three occasions. Second Kings and Second Chronicles 
also record the fall of Jerusalem. And this evening we're going 
to consider a large portion of scripture. It is historical, 
but it is theological history and informative for us. We ought 
to study history because it is the record of God's decree executed 
in time and in space and as well we ought to study history because 
those who are ignorant of it are certainly doomed to repeat 
it and there are very instructive lessons in the historical records. 
of the Old Testament. We're going to look actually 
from 2 Kings 23 at verse 28 all the way to 2 Kings 25 verse 21. Now, we won't give a detailed 
exposition, but we're going to make four observations on this 
entire section. But I do want to read chapter 
25, verses 1 to 21. Now it came to pass in the ninth 
year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the 
month, that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and all his army 
came against Jerusalem and encamped against it. And they built a 
siege wall against it all around. So the city was besieged until 
the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. By the ninth day of the fourth 
month, the famine had become so severe in the city that there 
was no food for the people of the land. Then the city wall 
was broken through, and all the men of war fled at night by way 
of the gate between two walls, which was by the king's garden, 
even though the Chaldeans were still in camp all around against 
the city. Remember, Chaldeans is another 
name for the Babylonians. And the king went by way of the 
plain. But the army of the Chaldeans 
pursued the king, and they overtook him in the plains of Jericho. 
All his army was scattered from him. So they took the king and 
brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they pronounced 
judgment on him. Then they killed the sons of 
Zedekiah before his eyes, put out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound 
him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon. And in the 
fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which was the nineteenth 
year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, 
the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came 
to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the Lord 
and the king's house. All the houses of Jerusalem, 
that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire. And 
all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of 
the guard, broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around. Then 
Nebuchadnezzar, the captain of the guard, carried away captive 
the rest of the people who remained in the city, and the defectors 
who had deserted to the king of Babylon, with the rest of 
the multitude. But the captain of the guard 
left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers. 
The bronze pillars that were in the house of the Lord, and 
the carts in the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, 
the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried their bronze to Babylon. They also took away the pots, 
the shovels, the trimmers, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils 
with which the priests ministered. The firepans and the basins, 
the things of solid gold and solid silver, the captain of 
the guard took away. The two pillars, one C, and the 
carts which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, the 
bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. The height 
of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the capital on it was of 
bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits, and the network 
and pomegranates all around the capital were all of bronze. The 
second pillar was the same, with a network. and the captain of 
the guard took Saria, the chief priest, Zephaniah, the second 
priest, and the three doorkeepers. He also took out of the city 
an officer who had charge of the men of war, five men of the 
king's close associates who were found in the city, the chief 
recruiting officer of the army who mustered the people of the 
land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in 
the city. So Nebuchadnezzar, captain of the guard, took these 
and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. Then the 
king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in 
the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive 
from its own land. Amen. Let us pray. Our God and 
our Father help us to appreciate biblical history and help us 
to learn the theology. that the writers infuse in these 
accounts. We pray that you would grant 
us grace, Lord God, to be mindful of your sovereignty, of your 
glory, of your command over all of history. And our God, we thank 
you so very much that you have orchestrated our salvation through 
the cross of Jesus Christ. May we be forever grateful and 
forever praising and honoring you. We ask in Jesus' name, amen. As I said, we're going to pick 
up with King Josiah. The first observation is the 
death of Josiah. Secondly, the rise of Nebuchadnezzar. Third, the last kings of Judah. And fourth, the fall and captivity 
of Judah. Again, it's important that we 
understand this data. because it's very difficult to 
understand Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi if we are ignorant 
of the Babylonian captivity of the exile that occurred, and 
this is all ultimately in God's plan. Now this section, 2 Kings 
2, or 23, 28, to 25, 21, covers the reigns of five kings and 
about a 22-year period very quickly. Ralph Davis said, it's almost 
as if the author says, here we go again. And instead of making 
a long, drawn-out account, he just hits the main themes or 
the main thoughts that preceded those last days of Judah prior 
to its fall in 586 BC. But notice, first of all, the 
death of Josiah in chapter 23, verses 28 to 30. Josiah's grandfather, we remember, 
was Manasseh. A lot of these things we've already 
seen, we've already covered in our study thus far of the Minor 
Prophets. Well, Manasseh was a real wretch, 
and he set a new benchmark or standard for wickedness in the 
Southern Kingdom. He was, by all accounts, the 
Ahab of Judah. Remember, Ahab in the Northern 
Kingdom was looked at as the one who basically plunged the 
nation into more depravity than she had ever known before. Well, 
Manasseh was that to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. He was the 
grandfather of Josiah. He reigned for about 53 years. And it's important that we understand 
that, because in the declaration concerning the judgment in chapter 
24, God does not forget. There's a bit of theology for 
you with reference to history. God does not forget. We might 
forget all about him and ask for an ungodly leader that we 
have known, but the Lord God doesn't. Notice in chapter 24, 
at verse 3, Surely at the commandment of 
the Lord this came upon Judah, to remove them from his sight 
because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had 
done, and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed. 
For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the Lord 
would not pardon." So while men may have forgotten about wicked 
Manasseh, the Lord God did not forget. Manasseh's son, Amen, 
basically imitated his father and maintained a two-year reign 
of wickedness. Very interesting. There was an 
ungodly grandfather and an ungodly father. Here comes godly Josiah. Josiah's 31-year reign is summarized 
in 2 Kings 22 at verse 2. And he did what was right in 
the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of his father 
David. He did not turn aside to the 
right hand or to the left. What a blessed testimony concerning 
this godly king, Josiah. According to 2 Kings 22 at verse 
19, his heart was tender and he was humbled at the reading 
of the law. When Hilkiah found the book of 
the law, and it was read before this godly king. His heart was 
tender and he was humble. He then sought counsel. He sent 
for counsel from the Lord as to what should be done in Judah. 
He then restored true worship through covenant renewal and 
through intensive reform within Judah. But then notice, he died. He died on the battlefield. He 
went out to head off an attack by Pharaoh Necho, who was the 
king of Egypt. Josiah went to the aid of the 
Assyrians at this time, and he died at Megiddo. And he was quite 
a young man, and a godly man, and he was cut off in his youth. 
And sometimes we might ask the question, why would such a godly, 
good man die in his youth? Well, Jay Adams on his blog had 
a very good observation concerning this thing. He says, obviously, 
we see here a reason why one promising young person died in 
his youth, to preserve him from the trouble to come. Sometimes 
a godly man dies when he's young to preserve him from trouble 
that would be brewing in his future. In fact, the biblical 
author tells us this is the case. In 2 Kings 22, verse 20, it says, 
Surely, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you 
shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall 
not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place. So 
it was a mercy that Josiah died on that battlefield in Megiddo. 
He was spared from the judgment that was to come upon Judah. J. Adams goes on to say it was 
a kind act of God to take him, as we say, before his time. We can never be sure because 
we will not receive divine revelation about it, but there may be times 
when choice, Christian men and women are removed from this earthly 
scene to keep them from having to undergo certain hardships 
that in God's providence He is about to bring upon a country, 
a church, a family, and so forth. Let's not hear then regrets about 
God's judgment in taking a youth who is living righteously for 
Him. It may be a great mercy on His part. God knows what He 
is doing. Certainly in Judah they probably 
said, Oh, what's going on here? Here we've lost a good king, 
a solid king, a godly king. Well, the Lord is orchestrating 
all of this according to His plan, according to His promise, 
according to His mercy. Now, to consider the rise of 
Nebuchadnezzar, there's two things we need to consider. This, again, 
is biblical. It's all in the Bible for us. First of all, his reign. Prior 
to his father's death, Nebuchadnezzar's father was Nabopolassar. I hope that's the way to pronounce 
it. Nabopolosar. He reigned from about 626 to 
605. Well, in 605, remember this is 
the time frame that we're at right here in 2 Kings. In 605, Nebuchadnezzar was the 
crown prince. And he led the Babylonian armies 
into battle at Carchemish, and there he dealt a great blow to 
Egypt. Egypt was a world power at the 
time. You see, within this very section, 
a shift or a transfer of power from Egypt over to Babylon. But in that same year of 605, 
Nebuchadnezzar's father died, and so Nebuchadnezzar became 
the king of Babylon, and basically the world ruler at that time. 
I mean, he was the head honcho, he was the main man. As I said, 
in this particular section, if you notice first of all, just 
to see something of this transfer of power, in chapter 23, at verse 
33, Chapter 23, verse 34. Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim the 
son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and changed 
his name to Jehoiakim. So, notice that power. When the 
pagan king of Egypt comes to Judah, takes one man out, and 
installs another, we have to say that Pharaoh Necho has the 
power in Judah. Well, later on, after this decisive 
victory of 605, in chapter 24, in verse 7, we read, And the 
king of Egypt did not come out of his land any more, for the 
king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of 
Egypt from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates. And then, 
with reference to Jehoiachin, He is taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, 
and then Nebuchadnezzar installs Zedekiah to rule over Judah. So you see this balance of power 
transferred to the king of Babylon. And if you notice something very 
interesting, the first time in the history, in the books of 
1st or 2nd Kings, in chapter 24, verse 12, time is reckoned 
according to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. It's no longer the third year 
of Jehoiakim. It's no longer the third year 
of Jehoahaz. It is the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar 
here. So there was a transfer of power. 
Now what Nebuchadnezzar did as he marched with his armies through 
newly conquered lands, is he would tell the big cities, you 
need to pay up. It's called tribute. We hear that word, kids, and 
we think tribute is a nice thing that we do to people. Tribute 
primarily means extortion. You pay me and I won't destroy 
you. That's what Nebuchadnezzar would do. And we see some of 
the kings of Judah would pay. They'd pay that protection. It's 
like paying the bully at your school so he doesn't punch you 
in the face and take your lunch money. Well, Nebuchadnezzar was 
the bully of the then-known world. And so he'd march through these 
cities and he'd impose tribute on the cities. And what else 
would he do when he was in those cities is that he'd find choice 
young men. And he would take those young 
men with him back to Babylon. And then they would be educated 
at the University of Babylon, taught all the wisdom of the 
Chaldeans, skilled and schooled in all of the literature of the 
Babylonian Empire, and they would be reared as government officials. This is the story of Daniel. That's exactly what happened 
with Daniel and his three friends. Assyria would take some peoples, 
but they would take other peoples and sort of sew them into the 
land to offset the balance of power. Babylon would take people 
back to Babylon, by and large. That was their method. Now, it 
is crucial to remember that Nebuchadnezzar was under the control of God. 
I think we need to hear this, because so often we see a man 
raised up and put into political power, and we go nuts. We freak 
out. We talk about how evil they are, 
we talk about how bad they are, we talk about what wretched policies 
they have. I'm not saying we can never do 
that, but we need to realize that behind every Nebuchadnezzar 
is a sovereign god. Now, in terms of world leaders 
and rulers of empires, Nebuchadnezzar was a bad egg. He wasn't like a choice servant. Notice in chapter 24, verse 1. In his days, Nebuchadnezzar, 
king of Babylon, came up and Jehoiakim became his vassal for 
three years. That means he paid him tribute, 
paid him the taxes, did everything that Nebuchadnezzar said. Then 
he turned and rebelled against him, and the Lord sent against 
him, raiding bands of Chaldeans, bands of Syrians, bands of Moabites, 
and bands of the people of Ammon. He sent them against Judah to 
destroy it, according to the word of the Lord, which he had 
spoken by his servants, the prophets. Surely, at the commandment of 
the Lord, this came upon Judah, to remove them from his sight." 
We mustn't ever think that a man in power rules sovereignly. He is always subject to the authority 
of God Most High, who is King of kings and Lord of lords. The 
Lord already specified that this judgment was coming. After the 
chapter 21 tells the story of Manasseh, and then in verse 10 
of 21, it says, The Lord spoke by His servants, the prophets 
saying, Because Manasseh, king of Judah, has done these abominations, 
we'll just drop down to verse 12, Therefore thus says the Lord 
God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem 
and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem 
the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house 
of Ahab. I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it 
and turning it upside down." And again in chapter 23, verses 
26 to 29. Chapter 23, verses 26 to 29, 
even though Josiah had introduced godly reform, we read in chapter 
23, 26, nevertheless, the Lord 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 Lord 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." Brethren, we 
cannot let our fears overtake us. We need to remember God really 
is sovereign, not just in our salvation. We as Calvinists like 
to talk about that. He unconditionally elected. Jesus 
died for us particularly. The Spirit irresistibly draws 
us, and God keeps us and enables us to persevere. When we look 
at our salvation, we see the sovereignty of God, but then 
we see an ungodly man ascend a position of power, and we begin 
to freak out and lose it. I am certain that when these 
people saw Nebuchadnezzar rising up, conquering lands, taking 
peoples, taking the young men of Judah off to Babylon, they 
were probably, what's happening here? We need to look beyond 
these circumstances and these events and realize there is a 
sovereign God. several times in the prophet 
Jeremiah, which you've got to read Jeremiah in conjunction 
of these sections, he calls Nebuchadnezzar, my servant. I just don't know how you couldn't 
believe in the sovereignty of God. I don't know how anybody 
can escape the implication that God raised up a Nebuchadnezzar, 
calls him my servant, and uses him to judge his people, Judah. Third, let us look at the last 
kings of Judah. We have one who reigned for three 
months, one who reigned for eleven years, one who reigned for three 
months, and one who reigned for eleven years. There's a nice 
symmetry there. And all four of them were bumbling, 
sinful idiots. Notice, first of all, Jehoahaz. Jehoahaz, chapter 23, verses 
31 and following. He was the son of Josiah and 
he reigned for three months. This is in 609 BC. Josiah's dead, his son Jehoahaz 
takes the throne. We don't get a lot about his 
career. There's not a lot to tell. He reigned for three months. 
But notice the statement, and he did evil in the sight of the 
Lord. He was unlike his father. He was not like Josiah. It's 
an interesting study. I mean, you've got an ungodly, 
ungodly, godly, ungodly, ungodly line there. And it indicates 
something about the depth to which the nation was reformed 
under Josiah. In fact, Merrill says the death 
of Josiah also revealed just how shallow the national commitment 
to the covenant was. For almost overnight, the nation 
plunged back in to evil. So though Josiah reigned in a 
godly manner, it wasn't enough. It was too little, too late. 
We have lights out for Judah. Notice we have Jehoiakim. Pharaoh 
Necho deposes him, puts him in prison at Ribla, and then he 
puts into power Jehoiakim. This is a son of Josiah. He was 
made king by a pagan king. That doesn't bode well. He was 
another son of Josiah, but he did not share his father's godliness. He reigned eleven years, from 
609 to 597. And what do we have there? And 
he did evil in the sight of the Lord. You see that statement 
punctuate each of these four kings. Brethren, when God is 
bringing the heat and when he's bringing the judgment, the last 
thing we need is a leader who does evil in the sight of the 
Lord. God has shown his tendency or 
his ability to stay his hand of judgment. He did that in the 
days of Hezekiah, but it's not going to happen now. Now, this 
man Jehoiakim was viciously wicked. He taxed the land in order to 
pay Pharaoh Necho of Egypt. You can see that right there 
in verses 35 and 36. He taxed the land severely to 
pay the Egyptians. Jeremiah tells us in chapter 
22 verses 13 and 19 that though Jehoiakim taxed his people and 
paid Egypt, he himself had a big swanky palace that he wouldn't 
pay for. When I read this, I get really 
scared because it sounds a lot like what goes on today. It sounds 
frighteningly like what goes on today. This isn't just all 
those barbaric Old Testament warring factions and tribes. 
No, this is 21st century thuggery that goes on in our own DNA. Joachim, when he heard the prophet 
Jeremiah, burned the scroll of Jeremiah's prophecy. He's that 
guy. Jeremiah 36. He pursued and killed 
prophets who spoke against him. Not what you want, brethren. 
In the day and age when the Lord God is bringing His judgment 
to bear, the last thing you want is a king that's saying, bring 
it on through his own wicked activity. Davis refers to him 
as being anti-Yahweh to the core. He's also very foolish. Notice in chapter 24 verse 1, 
In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim 
became his vassal for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against 
him. That is foolishness. Probably 
this refers to 601. Babylon had defeated Egypt in 
Carchemish, but in 601 they came together again for battle, and 
it wasn't such a decisive victory. Perhaps when Jehoiachin saw that 
Nebuchadnezzar didn't fare that well, you know, I'm not paying 
my ticket anymore. Wrong. As a general rule, when 
Nebuchadnezzar is coming to your town, make sure you don't rebel 
against him. Ralph Davis refers to him, Zedekiah, 
and Ishmael. We didn't read about Ishmael. 
That's chapter 25, 22 and following as the three stooges of Judah. 
The three stooges of Judah. And I think he's right on. So 
now we come to Jehoiachin. Jehoiachin. He was the son of 
Jehoiakim who reigned for three months in 597. Guess what? And he did evil in the sight 
of the Lord. During his reign, the city was 
attacked by Nebuchadnezzar's servants, chapter 24, verse 10, 
then Nebuchadnezzar himself, chapter 24, verses 11 and 12. 
Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon along with treasures from the 
temple and many other people. Probably Ezekiel went at this 
particular time. So a three-month reign punctuated 
by the fact that he did evil in the sight of the Lord. So 
now he has taken the king of Judah to Babylon. So what does 
Nebuchadnezzar do? He installs Zedekiah as the king 
over Judah. And he has an eleven-year reign 
from 597 to the end in 586. He was another son of Josiah, 
but unlike his father, He did evil in the sight of the Lord. If Jehoiakim was vicious wickedness, 
Zedekiah was spineless wickedness. He would call upon the prophet 
Jeremiah, he would ask for counsel, he would say, what am I supposed 
to do? Jeremiah would tell him, and then he'd do the opposite. 
He was affected by popular sway. Jeremiah wasn't favored in Judah 
at this time. The false prophets were a lot 
more popular because they basically said, don't worry about Babylon, 
it's not really going to happen. Jeremiah was the one man who 
was speaking the truth saying, it's going to happen. In fact, 
he told Zedekiah in chapter 38 not to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah said, Surrender to Him, 
and the city will be spared. Surrender to Him, and the city 
will not be destroyed. Just do this. God has purposed 
a 70-year exile. The best thing to do is to submit 
to the rod of God, to do what Nebuchadnezzar says, and to live, 
hopefully, happily ever after. Well, of course, he doesn't listen. He also does evil in the sight 
of the Lord and notice the last verse or the last section of 
verse 20 in chapter 24. Then Zedekiah rebelled against 
the king of Babylon. Now it's on. You don't rebel 
against the king of Babylon. You don't not do what he says. So then It came to pass in the 
ninth year of his reign, chapter 25, verse 1, in the tenth month, 
on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar, king of 
Babylon, and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped 
against it." So this is it. This is January of 587. The siege 
ends in July of 586. This is the end of Judah, as 
they knew it. What happened to Zedekiah? There's 
a breach in the city wall, and he makes a run for it. He gets 
about as far as the plains of Jericho, and he's captured. He's 
brought to Riblah, which seems to be a place where they set 
up headquarters, brought before King Nebuchadnezzar, and not 
only do they have Zedekiah before him, but they bring all of his 
sons. And right before Zedekiah's eyes, the last thing he would 
ever see, by the way, they kill his sons. This makes a statement. There's no more successor to 
the throne of Judah. You blew it. I mean, humanly 
speaking, we could say, if you would have only listened to Jeremiah. 
Jeremiah could have been standing there and said, I told you so. 
If you would have submitted, this wouldn't happen to you. 
But because you rebelled against the Lord, they kill all of his 
sons right before his eyes to send home the message there would 
no longer be a king in Judah. And then they gouge out his own 
eyes. And if that isn't enough, they 
bind him in fetters and they haul him off to Babylon. It's 
interesting because Jeremiah had said that he would see Nebuchadnezzar. He did, at Riblah. Ezekiel said 
he would not see Babylon. He didn't, because his eyes had 
been gouged out. Both these prophets told him 
exactly what would happen. That's how the city fell. And 
that brings us, fourthly, to consider the fallen captivity 
of Judah. The Babylonians, if they were 
anything, were systematic in their dismantling and in their 
destruction of the city. Notice in chapter 25, at verse 
9, important buildings were burned with fire, including the temple. 
You know what they did? They burned everything down. 
Raise it. Get rid of it. Destroy the infrastructure. Secondly, 
the walls surrounding Jerusalem were torn down. Chapter 25, verse 
10. Third, the final inhabitants, 
with the exception of some of the poor, were taken to Babylon. 
Chapter 25, verses 11 to 12. Fourth, the precious metals were 
taken to Babylon. I mean, you're going to go into 
a war, you're going to fight, you're going to take the medal to the 
silver and gold. You're not going to leave it all there, you're 
going to haul it all back to your place. And then fifth, the 
remaining leaders are taken to Riblah and executed. Chapter 
25, verses 18 to 21a. And all of this history, all 
of this span, all of these kings, all of this time is summarized 
in chapter 25, verse 21b. Thus Judah was carried away captive 
from its own land. Now, during the exile, Jeremiah 
29 records instructions that the people in exile were to follow. You can turn there for a moment, 
Jeremiah chapter 29, because we might ask the question, what 
did they do in exile? Was it like a concentration camp? 
No, it was not. It was not a concentration camp. 
They had a great deal of liberty. In fact, after the captivity 
was over, the numbers suggest that a lot of people stayed right 
there in Babylon. When we get to Haggai and Zechariah and Malachi, 
and you compare Ezra and Nehemiah, the return from Babylon wasn't 
as many people as went in there. They went there, did what the 
prophets said, they started making money and having a life, and 
that became home to them. Notice in Jeremiah chapter 29 
verse 4, thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, to 
all who are carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried 
away from Jerusalem to Babylon, build houses and dwell in them, 
plant gardens and eat their fruit, take wives and beget sons and 
daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters 
to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters, that 
you may be increased there and not diminished. And seek the 
peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away 
captive, And pray to the Lord for it, for in its peace you 
will have peace." Huh? Isn't that our New Testament 
ethic in First Timothy Chapter 2? Pray for kings and all who 
are in authority. Why? So that we may lead a peaceable 
and a quiet life. Don't go standing outside and 
say, oh, I messed up battle on this with your big son. Pray 
for the peace of the city. This isn't God. We are way too 
humanistic and way too man-centered. And we look at all this with, 
oh, what an infringement upon my rights. Not when it's the 
Lord God orchestrating this. You have no rights, except hell. The fact that he lets you live 
in Babylon and have a family? Praise be to God. Pray for the 
peace of the city. Notice in verse 8, for thus says 
the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel. Do not let your prophets 
and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, who are 
not listening to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed, 
for they prophesy falsely to you in my name. I have not sent 
them, says the Lord." Anyone who would come along and say 
something opposite to Jeremiah, oh, you need to escape, you got 
to get out of here, you got to, no, you stay there. There was 
a faction that wanted to go to Egypt, and Jeremiah says, don't 
go to Egypt. So what do they do? They grab 
Jeremiah and they take him to Egypt with them. More than likely, 
Jeremiah died in Egypt. Notice in verse 10, for thus 
says the Lord, after 70 years are completed at Babylon, I will 
visit you and perform my good word towards you and cause you 
to return to this place. Add verse 11 to the top 10 texts 
that are misapplied in our day. Verse 11 is one of those passages 
that has been so wrenched out of its context, and it has been 
used as a vision text, as an inspirational text. Notice, "'For 
I know the thoughts that I think toward you,' says the Lord, "'thoughts 
of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.'" 
What's the context? You're going to leave Babylon 
and return to Judah. And it's from there that Jesus 
will come and save his people from their sins. That's the future 
and the hope here. This is not a text for you to 
take and say, after I graduate high school, I am going to be 
this. Now, you may graduate high school 
and be that, but Jeremiah 29.11 doesn't promise you that. This 
is a misapplied, unfortunately misinterpreted text yanked out 
of its context. Then you will call upon me and 
go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek 
me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. I 
will be found by you, says the Lord, and will bring you back 
from your captivity. I will gather you from all the 
nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says 
the Lord. And I will bring you to the place from which I caused 
you to be carried away captive." Now, ultimately, the captivity 
ended in 539. Cyrus, king of Persia, decimated the Babylonian Empire. They rose and were gone quick. 
The Babylonian Empire had about 100 years on the scene. Like 
that, as you look at it. It was strong, it was fast, it 
was glorious, but it ended quick. Remember, Cyrus is the one who 
issued a decree. You can read that in Ezra chapter 
1. You can also see it in 2 Chronicles 
chapter 36. Cyrus was very benevolent. Some say that he saw some similarities 
between Persian religion and Jewish religion. Some say it 
was probably because he wanted a buffer state between himself 
and Egypt. Others say it was probably because 
he wanted tribute. In other words, if I allow you 
religious freedom, you go back to your city, you build your 
temple, you build everything, just make sure you're cutting 
checks and sending them to us. Probably a bit of all three of 
those. But nevertheless, under Cyrus, 
the people of Judah were freed now to leave Babylon and go back 
to Judah. And that brings us to our study 
in the books of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. That's why they 
are called exilic prophets, post or after the exile, the exile 
referring to this Babylonian captivity. If you're interested, 
continue to read in the prophet Jeremiah, read in Ezekiel, read 
in Daniel, read those sections in 2 Chronicles, 2 Kings, for 
more information concerning that particular period in Israel's 
history. Well, from this short or brief 
survey, we've seen some sins leading to judgment in 2 Kings. The first was blood guiltiness 
in the land. Remember, that's what Manasseh 
did. Certainly, as we surveyed the minor prophets, we see all 
manner of sin and evil. But as God highlights very specifically 
why he is bringing the heat to bear upon Judah, it is for blood 
guiltiness in the land. God actually values life. God 
is pro-life. The sanctity of life means something 
for the Lord God, Jehovah. Blood guiltiness was rampant, 
and the Lord would have none of it. Secondly, the wickedness 
of rulers. This cannot be stressed enough. We often believe that they can 
do whatever they want. Well, maybe in our eyes, but 
not in God's eyes. You see, if all authority is 
given by God, all authority ultimately is answerable to God. They are not to reign any way 
they want. They are to reign according to 
the will of God. And then thirdly, a sin leading 
to judgment was refusal to heed the word of God as spoken by 
the prophets. Just look later on at chapter 
38 of Jeremiah. see the indecision of Zedekiah. He listens to the prophet. The 
prophet tells him very specifically, and then he goes and does the 
opposite. Each of these men, when they 
assumed control, or when they assumed the throne, were to write 
for themselves their own copy of the law of the Lord. They 
were all to imitate their father, Josiah, in being tender and humble 
before the Lord. They were to take the book of 
Deuteronomy, they were to internalize that, they were to operate accordingly, 
and yet they refused and they rejected the word of the living 
God. Now I ask you, do these three 
things exist today? Bloodguiltiness in the land, 
wickedness of rulers, and a refusal to hear the word of God. I would 
submit we are far more ripe for judgment than what Judah was 
in the 7th century, in the 6th and 7th century. I'm not a prophet 
or the son of a prophet, but these things make me tremble. 
Not because I don't believe God's sovereign, but because I do believe 
God is sovereign. Secondly, we need to remember 
something about the judgment of God. This Day of the Lord. Remember the Minor Prophets we've 
been studying. They speak of the Day of the Lord, which ultimately 
is that final day when Jesus comes to judge the living and 
the dead. But there were historical down 
payments. There were anticipations of that 
Day of the Lord in history. 722 B.C., 586 B.C. This was the Day of the Lord. 
We need to remember something about God's judgment. It is God's 
judgment. It wasn't Abukimnazar. It wasn't 
the nations surrounding Israel. They were servants to the Lord 
God Most High. O. Palmer Robertson says, Let 
all the nations of the world, both past and present, learn 
this lesson. It was not the power of the nations 
themselves that brought Israel into exile. The sovereign Lord 
of heaven and earth brought about this disastrous experience of 
His own people. Should any nation of the world 
think that by its own power it could preserve itself from similar 
devastations? By no means. The cup of God's 
wrath eventually shall come around to them all." And then another 
thought on the judgment of God. It doesn't happen overnight. 
It wasn't like Manasseh reigned for five days and was wicked 
and God just judged Judah. Manasseh reigned for 53 years, 
and then came Ammon, and then came Josiah, and then came this 
four king time. It wasn't overnight. And as well, God's judgment itself, 
unfortunately, not even God's judgment cures rebellion. You would think, after all this, 
chapter 25, verses 22 and following wouldn't be there. Basically, 
a man named Gedoliah was made governor over Judah. Ishmael 
assassinated him. You would think, after the day 
of God's wrath, after your city has been decimated, after everything's 
gone, after everything's destroyed, the few remaining inhabitants 
could get along together? No. There's only one thing that cares 
about it. It's the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
You know, interestingly enough, 2 Kings 25 ends with a note. It's a small note, but a note 
of hope. Notice in 2 Kings 25 at verse 27. We jump ahead some 
37 years into the captivity. 37 years. Notice in verse 27, Now it came 
to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin, 
king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh 
day of the month, that evil Meredoth, king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar 
is gone now, in the year that he began to reign, released Jehoiachin, 
king of Judah, from prison. He spoke kindly to him and gave 
him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with 
him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments, 
and he ate bread regularly before the king all the days of his 
life. And as for his provisions, there was a regular ration given 
him by the king, a portion for each day all the days of his 
life." You say, well, what's the big deal there? It's a small ray, but it is a 
ray of hope. This is not just a comment on 
the survival of the people in the captivity. It is a comment 
on the survival of a son of David. Remember the Lord God made a 
promise in 2 Samuel chapter 7 that from the line of David there 
would come a king. And later revelation tells us 
that that's Jesus Christ. God is relentless in carrying 
out his promise. This glimmer of hope that there 
is a son of David still alive, even though he's in Babylon, 
even though he's in exile, The line is still going. Ralph Davis says, I think the 
writer probably had a reason for twice dubbing Jehoiachin 
king of Judah in verse 27. And even when Yahweh was ready 
to rip the Davidic kingdom apart, he clearly told Jeroboam, I will 
afflict the seed of David on account of this, only not all 
the days. 1 Kings 11.39. It seems to me 
a text like that stands behind a passage like this. Or one could 
simply say that Yahweh's 2 Samuel 7 word is not something either 
Babylon or apostate Judah can falsify. It seems to me, then, 
that biblical theology would lead us to see a ray of hope 
in this kindness done to the exiled Davidic king." The author 
could have ended after the report of Ishmael killing Galileo. It 
would have been a negative statement. We have Jehoiachin 37 years in. 
We've got a son of David still alive. And as David says, not 
even Babylon. Our apostate Judah can stop the 
relentless character of our God to carry out His promise of Second 
Samuel 7. That from David's line, one would 
ascend the throne, one would sit down on that throne, and 
one would reign over His kingdom, world without end. Amen. So the 
book of Second Kings ends with a note of hope, which ultimately 
points us to that greater sign of David, even Jesus Christ, 
our Lord. Let us pray. Father, we thank 
you for the Word of God. We pray, Lord in Heaven, that 
you would help us to study your Word, to know the Scriptures, 
and to see your power and your glory displayed at every step 
of the way. Father, as we return, God willing, 
to the Minor Prophets, to the post-exile day, I pray that you 
would just give us understanding to see further the stage being 
set for the birth of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank 
you for him, David's Son and David's Lord. the One who has 
all power, all authority, all glory, and all majesty in Him. We just pray that You would go 
with each one of us now, that You would protect us in this 
coming week, and give us grace, Lord God, to serve You. And we 
pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.