The Last King of Judah

From: Messages of God's Love: 1939

2 Chronicles 36:11-22¹¹Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹²And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord. ¹³And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁴Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. ¹⁵And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: ¹⁶But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy. ¹⁷Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand. ¹⁸And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon. ¹⁹And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. ²⁰And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: ²¹To fulfil the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years. ²²Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, (2 Chronicles 36:11‑22)

The last king in Jerusalem was Zedekiah, who ruled eleven years, but not with frill power, for he had promised to obey the king of Babylon.

Many of the chief men and those trained for war had been taken away captives, so the nation of Judah was now weak. But Jeremiah was still with them to tell God’s words, and God would have helped them if they had obeyed. But even the priests of the temple did not want to hear God’s words, and told the people what was untrue, and had set up idols.

Sometimes King Zedekiah asked Jeremiah what God had said, but when told, he did not obey, and kept Jeremiah in prison, and let men cruelly treat him.

After a few years the king broke his promise to the king of Babylon, who then came against Jerusalem with his army. But they could not get into the city, so camped outside the high walls a long time, and prevented anyone from taking food to the people inside.

So there was a famine in the city, and at last the stores of food were gone, and at night the king, with his family and soldiers, fled from the city through a gate in the king’s garden.

But the enemy soon found they had escaped and hurried after, and overtook them; some were killed, others made prisoners. The king was cruelly punished, bound with chains, and taken to a prison in Babylon where he was kept till he died.

Later more soldiers were sent to Jerusalem, and they broke down the high walls, and went into the city; took all the treasures from the palaces, and the gold, silver and brass from the temple. Then they set fire to the palaces and to the temple.