The translators or copyists seem to have erred in writing "Jehoiakim" in verse 1, for these two chapters relate to the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, the last son of Josiah to sit on the throne of Judah. The mistake is a trifling one, and we thank God that those who translated or made copies of the original text were preserved from serious error in performing the work. By a new figure, a new illustration (bonds and yokes, verse 2), God set before the kings of five neighboring lands and before Zedekiah their need to humble themselves before Nebuchadnezzar.
It seems clear from verse 3 that there was at the beginning of Zedekiah's eleven year reign, a conspiracy among these six kings to rebel against the rule of Babylon, but they reckoned without God, who made the earth, man and beast, by His great power and outstretched arm, and gives them to whom it seems right in His eyes.
Man has, ever since the fall of our first parents in the garden of Eden, endeavored to forget God. The Scriptures abound with testimony regarding this.
"Their inward thought is that their houses are forever, their dwelling places from generation to generation; they call the lands after their own names (or, their names are proclaimed in the lands). Nevertheless, man being in honor abideth not; he is like the beasts that perish," Psalm 49:11-1211Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. 12Nevertheless man being in honor abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish. (Psalm 49:11‑12).
Israel was God’s chosen people, and Jerusalem the city He had chosen to set His, name there. the promises toy Abraham will yet be carried out to the full, and the glory of Solomon's royal splendor will he far exceeded in the Millennial reign of Christ. But, as we have seen, the kings of Israel and of Judah sinned deeply, led the people into idolatry and other evils, until God set aside the nation He had chosen.
It was then that He gave earthly dominion to the Gentiles, represented first in Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Babylon has perished; Persia's power has long since faded; the glory of ancient Greece and Rome centuries ago turned to dust, but the sun of the Gentile day, though far past the zenith, has not yet set; already, however, there are signs that the time of Israel's recovery according to the sure word of God, is not far off.
In verse 9 we have a list of five forms of deception employed by Satan twenty-five and more centuries ago,. With slight change, they are still being used in the world. There are yet "prophets" who profess to know the mind of God, but speak for the adversary, the Devil, with fair speeches deceiving the unstable. There are still "diviners'', "dreamers", "soothsayers" and "sorcerers'', plying their trade in every city, ready to tell you, as they say, what the future holds for you. Such prophesy falsehood, and the Christian does well to avoid them wholly. God's Word is the only sure guide (Psalm 119:105105NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105)).