Josiah’s reign was a happy experience for the remnant of the people still in the land. The faith of the King caused the lamp of David to shine brightly for a season (1 Kings 11:36); but it will not shine again until the appearing in glory of “great David’s greater Son,” Twenty five centuries have passed away, but the promised One has not yet come, and Israel’s sorrows continue and deepen. A few years of chaos followed the death of Josiah, and then the remnant of the people were swept out of the land by Nebuchadnezzar. Josiah was the last king worthy of the title. Three sons and a grandson succeeded him—mere puppets of their Gentile masters. Later, the Herods masqueraded as kings in Jerusalem, and in a day that is still to come the Anti-Christ will take his seat there (Dan. 11:36); but the accomplishment of God’s purposes of love await the coming of Christ. “Yet have I set My King upon My holy hill of Zion” (Psa. 2:6). Every attempt to reestablish the fallen nation prior to His return can only end in disaster, and intensify the sufferings of the people.
After his victory at Megiddo, Pharaoh-Necho took possession of the country. When he arrived in Jerusalem he found that the people had anointed Jehoahaz (otherwise, Shallum), Josiah’s second son to be their king. Necho deposed him, and carried him prisoner in chains to Egypt. Necho then installed Eliakim whose name he changed to Jehoiakim (2 Chron. 36:1-4). Eliakim means “God will raise up”; Jehoiakim means “Jehovah will raise up.” The reason for this change of name is not apparent, but it was at any rate an exercise of authority. The giving of names is a mark of lordship. Thus Nebuchadnezzar gave new names to Daniel and his three friends when he took them into his service (Dan. 1:7); and he also changed Mattaniah into Zedekiah when he set him upon Judah’s tottering throne. What humiliating details! How low the chosen people had now fallen as the fruit of centuries of persistent transgression against Jehovah! The land which was intended to be the center of God’s ways in government was now at the mercy of rival gentile powers, and the heirs of David’s royal throne, who should have been the leaders of the nation in righteousness and blessing, were now objects of universal contempt. How degrading is sin! Pharaoh-Necho held the Holy land for a short time; then Nebuchadnezzar dispossessed him. Necho was not to be the head of the Gentiles, however ardently he may have desired it. He who sits upon the throne above does as He pleases in the affairs of men; happy would it be if all competitors for power would learn this lesson. Since the sorrowful days which followed the death of Josiah the land has been held by Persians, Greeks, Romans, Saracens, Turks, and now the British, and the despised seed of Abraham have sighed for it in vain. Oh that they would humble themselves before God, and own their many sins—their violation of the law, their murder of the prophets, their rejection and crucifixion of the Messiah, and their persistent opposition to the testimony of the Holy Spirit! When this comes about, every blessing will be theirs, and peace and prosperity in the land of their desire.
Josiah’s sons were all wicked men, and we wonder why. His family was not large—only three names come before us in Scripture. Amongst earlier rulers in Israel we read that Gideon had seventy sons (Judges 8:30); Jair had thirty (Judges 10:4); Abdon had forty (Judges 12:14); and Rehoboam had twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters (2 Chron. 11:21). Such numbers are considerable; how could fatherly care be bestowed upon them all? But Josiah had but three sons and all wicked! Yet the father was a particularly godly man, and had deep reverence for the Word of God! Is it possible that Josiah’s public work, involving journeys into every corner of the land for the extirpation of evil led to neglect of the family? This is a question which should be carefully considered by all who feel called to a traveling ministry in this day. At the moment of writing I hear of a servant of Christ sailing for Africa and leaving a wife and six young children in Scotland. No servant of Christ has right to judge another; but such facts do raise questions in our minds. Children are a great responsibility entrusted to us by God. It was never His original intention that our children should be brought up by others.
We learn more about the evil ways of the sons of Josiah from the prophetical books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel than from the historical books of the Kings and the Chronicles. Concerning Shallum we read in Jeremiah 22:10-12, “Weep ye not for the dead (that is, Josiah), neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away (that is, Shallum), for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.” This suggests that something worse than mere deportation was in store for Josiah’s worthless successor. Jehoiachim, a few years later, went into easy captivity, but no such portion awaited Shallum. Possibly Necho inflicted upon him what he would have liked to inflict upon the man who opposed his march to Carchemish. Shallum’s short reign was cruel according to Ezekiel 19:1-4.
Concerning Jehoiakim a great deal is recorded in the prophetical books. Three sins in particular are laid to his charge. (1) Oppression of the people. Pharaoh Necho laid upon Judah a heavy war indemnity, which Jehoiakim was obliged to raise. “Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh: he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every one according to his taxation, to give it into Pharaoh Necho” (2 Kings 23:35). As if this was not enough for the suffering people to bear, Jehoiakim compelled them to build palaces for himself without wages. Evil as the people were, Jehovah resented this tyrannical cruelty. “Woe unto him,” said He in His indignation. Jehovah loves to see a shepherd leading the flock, but Jehoiakim was a wolf, ravaging the sheep. The contrast between this monster and his father is divinely noted in Jeremiah 22:13-17, “He judged the cause of the poor and needy: then it was well with him: was not this to know Me? saith Jehovah? The remnant of Israel might well mourn the loss of Josiah when his callous son thus held them in bondage. The moral grandeur of Israel and of David’s royal house had departed; but Jehoiakim would still affect material splendor. Let God’s saints today beware of attempting to keep up outward appearances when spiritual power has gone. God wants reality at all times.
(2) Jehoiakim not only oppressed the people, but he persecuted to the death those who witnessed against his deeds. He chased the faithful prophet Urijah into Egypt, fetched him back with an armed force, and put him to death (Jer. 26:20-23). He would have treated Jeremiah in the same way had not the princes resisted him. “When He maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: He forgetteth not the cry of the humble” (Psa. 9:12). (3) in addition to all the foregoing, Jehoiakim wickedly threw into the fire Jeremiah’s manuscript containing the words of God. Even his unholy companions were shocked but their pleading was in vain (Jer. 36). When we recall Josiah’s great reverence for the Word of God the behavior of his son appears the more terrible. The whole nation mourned when Josiah died; but Jehovah decreed that there should be no mourning for Jehoiakim. When Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem, he bound Jehoiakim “in fetters, to carry him to Babylon” (2 Chron. 36:6). But he never went to Babylon, for Jehovah had said some time before “concerning the son of Josiah King of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying Ah, my brother! or Ah, sister! they shall not lament for him, saving, Ah, lord! or his glory! He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates, of Jerusalem” (Jer. 22:18-19). Thus did the indignant God of Israel express His abhorrence of this infamous son of a godly father.
Concerning Zedekiah, the last of the lion’s whelps (Ezek. 19:5-9), the youngest of Josiah’s sons. He succeeded his nephew Jehoiachin, who, after an evil reign of one hundred days, was carried into captivity in Babylon (2 Chron. 36:9-10). His short reign was so bad that Jehovah said that no man of his seed should ever sit upon the throne of David (Jer. 22:24-30). When speaking of these vile occupants of Israel’s throne the Holy Spirit said, “Oh earth, earth, earth, hear the Word of Jehovah.” He would have the rulers of every nation and in every age understand how hateful to God are the unrighteous ways of those, who, as His responsible stewards rule over the children of men. Zedekiah profited nothing by the calamities which befell his predecessors. He was Israel’s last hope. He was “a spreading vine of low stature” (Ezek. 17:6). A very humiliating figure of speech indeed! But there might still have been crumbs of blessing for the unhappy people had he walked humbly with God. After his overthrow Jeremiah said of him “The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Jehovah, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among: the nations” (Lam. 4:20). Poor creature though he was, he counted for something with the people that were still in the land. With Zedekiah’s downfall Israel’s hopes were extinguished until the coming in power of the Lord Jesus. Zedekiah was a weak character, easily influenced by his courtiers and even by women. His outstanding sin was his violation of his oath of fealty to his overlord Nebuchadnezzar. The Chaldean “made him swear by God, but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel” (2 Chron. 36:13). Nebuchadnezzar thought to secure him by making him swear by the sacred name; but the sequel proved that. Jehovah’s name was less to the Jew than to the Gentile! “Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain” (Ex. 20:7). Had he been true to his covenant, Zedekiah’s kingdom, poor and despicable though it was, might have stood (Ezek. 17:14); but now, “As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.” Again, “Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, as I live, surely Mine oath that he hath despised, and My covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head” (Ezek. 17:16-19).
When Nebuchadnezzar discovered that his pledged vassal was negotiating with Egypt with reference to a revolt (Ezek. 17:15), he turned all his forces against him, and so completed the ruin of Judah and Jerusalem. If Zedekiah really felt that he should be free from the domination of Babylon, he should have sought help from God; instead, he treacherously turned to Egypt. Egypt, typically, represents the world as that from which God has delivered His people in grace, to seek its help in anything is a grievous offense in His sight. Let us remember this. Judgment fell first upon Judah; then, a few years later, upon Egypt also. Jehovah considered that wages were due to Nebuchadnezzar for his service in destroying Tire. That opulent commercial city did not yield rich spoil to its captors, much treasure having been carried away to the west in Tyrian ships. The wealth of Egypt, including the silver and gold carried thither by Necho from Jerusalem, was Jehovah’s recompense to the instrument of His righteous judgments (Ezek. 29:18).
It is interesting to note that both Assyria and Egypt, Israel’s two vain hopes at various times, fell under the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar; but Israel, Assyria, and Egypt are all to be blessed together at the last, so gracious is our God (Isa. 19:18-25). Meanwhile, it is sheer wickedness for the Jews to clamor for possession of Palestine. They have no claim whatever to the land. The God against whom they have sinned has definitely given the vineyard unto others (Mark 12:9). This will be reversed when the people bow humbly at the feet of their long-rejected Messiah. Pardon and blessing, with full possession of the land from the Nile to the Euphrates will then become their portion forever (Gen. 15:18).
The following reprint of an article of mine which appeared in “The Witness,” June 1942, may interest our present readers:
The Coveted, But Missing Diadem
The downfall of the petty Jewish State two thousand five hundred years ago, was doubtless a small matter in the eyes of the politicians of that day. It would scarcely have made front-page news in the press of any country. For many years Judah had been tributary to Assyria, Egypt and Babylon, and the last occupant of the throne was a very despicable character. Yet the downfall of Judah was an event of the greatest possible importance in the history of the Earth. It meant the suspension for ages of the Creator’s gracious purpose for all nations.
Jerusalem and its people had a place in the mind of God never accorded to others. David’s throne was “the throne of Jehovah” (1 Chron. 29-23). It was meant to be the divine seat of government and blessing for the whole earth. The years of David’s rule, followed by Solomon’s forty years of peace and glory furnish a picture of what Jehovah desired. But the evil of the royal house, and the idolatries of the people made it impossible for God to go through with His gracious purpose.
While David’s throne stood, however feeble and contemptible might be its occupants, it was still “the throne of Jehovah.” The last king, Zedekiah, brought on the ruin by his perfidy.
Nebuchadnezzar “made him swear by God” (2 Chron. 36:13), but he despised the oath by “breaking the covenant” (Ezek. 17:17-18). Nothing was sacred in his eyes. Now note these words of Jehovah to him “And thou profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, at the time of the iniquity of the end. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: his shall not be the same (or, what is, shall be no more). Exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high, I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more, until He come whose right it is, and I will give it Him” (Ezek. 21:25-27). Ever since that day David’s throne has lain in the dust, and the diadem of rulership over the nations has been removed (Psa. 79:27-32).
No one has held the world-scepter since the overthrow of the throne of Jehovah in Jerusalem, and the removal of the diadem from the head of David’s unworthy heir. A limited measure of supremacy was granted to Nebuchadnezzar, and that only for a time. Babylon’s evil led to the subjugation of that Empire to another. “After thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee.” Others followed as allowed by God. But of no man yet has it been true, “He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth...Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him all nations shall serve Him” (Psa. 72:8-11).
Aspirants for world-dominion have never been lacking, and some have achieved for a time a measure of success. But against all such persons there stands the solemn sentence of Ezekiel 21 “I will overturn, overturn, overturn it.” He who sets his mind upon universal sway courts ruin for himself, and for all who are associated with him.
At the present fearful juncture in the world’s history many are peering into the future anxiously. The word of God to Zedekiah answers all questions. God has One in His mind, once born in grace of David’s royal line, for whom worldwide rule is purposed. Convulsion must follow convulsion until He appears. Mark the words, “until He come whose right it is.” How often, when partaking of the Lord’s Supper, have the words, “till He come” delighted our hearts! In Ezekiel 21 we have another “till He come.” In 1 Corinthians 11:26, our removal to the Father’s house on high is in view; in Ezekiel 21 the adjustment of all earth’s disorders, and the firm establishment of blessing from pole to pole. David’s Heir—He who suffered for our salvation—will yet take up the diadem which many here coveted, but could not obtain; and from Jehovah’s long-loved center in Zion He will ride for His glory, and for the good of all creation.
“Amen, Come, Lord Jesus.”