By: Obed Pineda
If it is true that the names of Saul, David, and Solomon brought forth blissful memories of an Israel that relished in an abundance of prosperity and fame, then the opposite must be true of Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. Although the first group of kings ruled over all twelve tribes of Israel, the second group of kings ruled only over the southern kingdom of Judah. When Jehoiakim was awarded the throne of Judah by the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho (cf. 2nd Kings 23:31-37, 2nd Chronicles 36:3-5), three hundred fourteen years had passed since Israel and Judah had been one. It was during Jehoiakim’s rule when Nebuchadnezzar initially defeated Necho at Carchemish, then later arrived to Jerusalem to besiege it and (after triumphantly taking the city) deported the first group of Jewish exiles to Babylon (cf. Daniel 1:1-2). This would begin the seventy years of captivity that had been foretold by the prophet Jeremiah (cf. Jeremiah 25:1-14, 27:1-22). Thrice would the king of Babylon appear at Jerusalem’s gate to subdue her kings and take her inhabitants back to Babylon as his prisoners. Jehoiakim (cf. 2nd Kings 24:1-7), Jehoiachin (cf. 2nd Kings 24:8-16), and Zedekiah (cf. 2nd Kings 24:17-25:21) were the kings of Judah that Nebuchadnezzar defeated in battle, each time exiling more and more Jews to his kingdom. Ergo, the name of these three kings would forever be linked with the downfall of the beloved Zion. Although it would be unfair to place the blame of Jerusalem’s sacking entirely on them, their ungodly and unwise leadership did contribute to this terrible event. After each one of these kings of Judah took the throne observe that the Holy Spirit decries, “and he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers [Jehoiakim] had done” (2nd Kings 23:37, 24:9, 19 addition mine). None of these kings could claim ignorance as to what God’s will was. They had witnessed the end result of their predecessor’s obstinate resistance to obeying God’s decree of repentance and they, too, had heard the same commandment issued to them by the lips of God’s prophets. One prophet in particular advised all three kings, and suffered greatly by their hand (respectively) because of it. The Bible declares, “The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month” (Jeremiah 1:1-3). Every diligent student of Scripture knows that King Josiah was the last righteous king of Judah (cf. 2nd Kings 23:25). This vital piece of information manifests that the last time Judah was faithful to God was during Josiah’s thirty-one year reign (cf. 2nd Chronicles 34:1, 29-33). Unfortunately, this also means that Judah would enjoy stability in their kingdom for one last time, only for that short thirty-one year period. Knowing through Holy Writ that what followed Josiah’s death were dreadful and tumultuous years for the inhabitants of Judah, it is not surprising to read that “all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. Jeremiah also lamented for Josiah” (2nd Chronicles 35:24b-25a). Jeremiah was fully aware of the impending judgment that was now going to be unleashed on Jerusalem, as predicted by Huldah the prophetess (cf. 2nd Chronicles 34:19-28). Jeremiah’s love for his kinsmen and his strong desire to spare them from God’s rod of punishment was extraordinarily on display in his unwavering persistence of preaching God’s warning to them despite the many deplorable reactions he received from the very people he was trying to save. From Josiah’s eighteenth year as king of Judah to Zedekiah’s eleventh year on the throne, Jeremiah arduously labored forty years urging the people at Jerusalem to turn away from their sinful lifestyles and return to Jehovah God. It is woeful to realize that the prophet was unable to convert a single soul from sin in his forty year ministry before the fall of Jerusalem. This reality proves Koheleth’s counsel that “Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard rather than the shout of a ruler of fools” (Ecclesiastes 9:17). There is no question that one main reason Jeremiah’s words were unheeded by the final three kings of Judah before Jerusalem was destroyed, was because his voice was drained out by the boisterous lies that proceeded forth from the lips of the false prophets (cf. Jeremiah 27:9-18). It is imperative to consider the resolve of the prophet who stood his ground on behalf of the Lord and did not allow his foes to intimidate him into silence. This does not mean that the prophet did not become disheartened whenever his message was rejected by the people. Jeremiah himself recounts, “O Lord, You induced me, and I was persuaded; You are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I am in derision daily; everyone mocks me. For when I spoke, I cried out; I shouted, ‘Violence and plunder!’ Because the word of the Lord was made to me a reproach and derision daily. Then I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.’ But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not” (Jeremiah 20:7-9). The constant mocking and repudiation of the dwellers of Jerusalem undoubtedly took a toll on the prophet’s heart, but he knew too well the urgency and vitality of his commission. The prophet was cognizant that to remain silent was to be disobedient to God’s edict to him (cf. Ezekiel 2:7-8). However, it is just to mention that the prophet’s firm stance against Judah was not merely because he was afraid of kindling God’s wrath, for truly Jeremiah penned, “Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people” (Jeremiah 9:1)! This unveils why the names of Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah are reminders of a dark, sordid time in Israel’s history. Had they respected Jeremiah as a prophet of the Lord and heeded his words, the total destruction of Jerusalem could have been prevented as was the case at Nineveh (cf. Jonah 3:1-10, Jeremiah 26:12-13). Their proud and stiff-necked hearts ignored the prophet’s admonition, thus making Jehovah God’s departure from His temple inevitable. To be continued…