Post by Lee on Sept 24, 2014 3:18:28 GMT
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The Judgement of Jehoiakim
Jehoiakim had been placed on the throne originally by Pharaoh-Necho, and Judah was paying tribute to Egypt. But in the fourth year of his reign control of Palestine was surrendered to Babylon. In such circumstances one might imagine that Jehoiakim would see the need to turn to the Lord, as Jeremiah so many times tries to tell him: but not this renegade son of Josiah. The prophecy of Ezekiel 19 appears to be a commentary on the response of Jehoiakim to the political crisis he faced. Jehoiakim’s predecessor Jehoahaz is the subject of verse 4: “The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt”. Attention then passes to Jehoiakim: “Now when she (the nation) saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion ... Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit. And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon” (verses 5–9).
This account suggests that Jehoiakim had attacked his neighbouring states: “he became a young lion, and learned to catch prey”. But eventually these states combined to destroy the kingdom of Judah: “And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the childen of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants the prophets” (2 Kings 24:2). Ezekiel 19 indicates that these adversaries of Jehoiakim captured him and took him bound in chains to Nebuchadnezzar. Exactly when this happened is not absolutely clear but we have to put these events together with those described in 2 Chronicles 36 and Jeremiah 36.
. Vol. 132: The Christadelphian: Volume 132. 2001 (electronic ed.) (301–302). Birmingham: Christadelphian Magazine & Publishing Association.
The Judgement of Jehoiakim
Jehoiakim had been placed on the throne originally by Pharaoh-Necho, and Judah was paying tribute to Egypt. But in the fourth year of his reign control of Palestine was surrendered to Babylon. In such circumstances one might imagine that Jehoiakim would see the need to turn to the Lord, as Jeremiah so many times tries to tell him: but not this renegade son of Josiah. The prophecy of Ezekiel 19 appears to be a commentary on the response of Jehoiakim to the political crisis he faced. Jehoiakim’s predecessor Jehoahaz is the subject of verse 4: “The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt”. Attention then passes to Jehoiakim: “Now when she (the nation) saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion ... Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit. And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon” (verses 5–9).
This account suggests that Jehoiakim had attacked his neighbouring states: “he became a young lion, and learned to catch prey”. But eventually these states combined to destroy the kingdom of Judah: “And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the childen of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants the prophets” (2 Kings 24:2). Ezekiel 19 indicates that these adversaries of Jehoiakim captured him and took him bound in chains to Nebuchadnezzar. Exactly when this happened is not absolutely clear but we have to put these events together with those described in 2 Chronicles 36 and Jeremiah 36.
. Vol. 132: The Christadelphian: Volume 132. 2001 (electronic ed.) (301–302). Birmingham: Christadelphian Magazine & Publishing Association.