God sent word to His people through His messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on His dwelling place, 2 Chronicles 36:15. However, they mocked God’s messengers, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy, 2 Chronicles 36:16.
It was in the ninth year of Zedekiah, when Nebuchadnezzar marched against Jerusalem, 2 Kings 25:1, he did this for a year and a half, 2 Kings 25:2 / Jeremiah 39:1-10. The people in Jerusalem were desperate because there was no food, 2 Kings 25:3.
Despite fleeing from the city, they had no chance against the mighty Babylonian army, 2 Kings 25:4-5 / Jeremiah 52:4-27. Both Jeremiah, Jeremiah 38:23, and Ezekiel, Ezekiel 12:13, said this would happen, and the latter had also prophesied the dispersion of the troops, 2 Kings 25:14.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘A breach was made about midnight in the northern wall, Ezekiel 9:2, and an entry effected into the second or lower city, 2 Kings 22:14, which was protected by the wall of Manasseh, 2 Chronicles 33:14.’
Zedekiah was captured and his son was killed before his eyes, 2 Kings 25:6-7 / Jeremiah 39:6 / Jeremiah 52:10, because of his rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kings 24:20. Then they put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar had shown mercy to Jehoiachin, but none was shown to Zedekiah, hence the harsher treatment he received, 2 Kings 25:7.
The Babylonians under Nebuzaradan who was the commander of the army of Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem, 2 Kings 25:8, and went about totally destroying it, 2 Chronicles 36:17-20 / Jeremiah 52:12-23.
Nebuchadnezzar knew if we wiped out Jerusalem then he would totally wipe out Israel’s pride and joy. This is why he burned the city but especially the temple, 2 Kings 25:9 / 2 Chronicles 36:18-19. Jeremiah tells us how he felt about it in Lamentations 5:11-12.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Compare the prophecies of Jeremiah, Jeremiah 21:10 / Jeremiah 34:2 / Jeremiah 38:18 / Jeremiah 38:23. Psalms 79:1-13 / Psalms 79:1-13, is thought to have been written soon after this destruction of the temple.’
They broke down the walls around Jerusalem and Nebuzaradan carries into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the rest of the populace and those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, 2 Kings 25:10-11 / 2 Chronicles 36:20.
Nebuchadnezzar had totally destroyed the city of Jerusalem and earlier he had already destroyed Lachish, Debir and Beth Shemesh but he did however spare some of the rural areas and left the people to continue farming, 2 Kings 25:12.
All the bronze and gold articles of both the royal palace and temple were cut into pieces in order to be transported to Babylon, 2 Kings 25:13 / 2 Chronicles 36:18 / Jeremiah 52:17-23. They take away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service, 2 Kings 25:14.
They also take away the censers and sprinkling bowls, all that were made of pure gold or silver, 2 Kings 25:15. Everything was taken away to Babylon, Jeremiah 39:8-9 / Jeremiah 52:14 / Jeremiah 52:23.
The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea and the movable stands, which Solomon had made for the temple of the LORD, was more than could be weighed, 2 Kings 25:16.
The pillars were eighteen cubits high, 2 Kings 25:17, that is, twenty-seven feet high. The bronze capital on top of one pillar was three cubits high, that is, four and half feet high, and was decorated with a network and pomegranates of bronze all around, and we are told the other pillar was similar, 2 Kings 25:17.
They totally destroyed everything as it was prophesied many years before by God to Solomon, 1 Kings 9:8. Everything which Solomon had built, Jerusalem, the very essence and heartbeat of Israel, was now in ruins.
Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest, Jeremiah 40:2-5, and three doorkeepers, were taken into Babylonian captivity, 2 Kings 25:18.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The temple ‘door-keepers’ in the time of Solomon numbered twenty-four, 1 Chronicles 26:17-18, who were probably under six chiefs. After the captivity, the chiefs are either six, Ezra 2:42 / Nehemiah 7:45 or four, 1 Chronicles 9:17.’
Nebuzaradan now takes those still in the city, the officer in charge of the fighting men and five royal advisers, 2 Kings 25:19.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘In Jeremiah 52:25, it is said he took seven men who were near the king’s person, and the same number is found in the Arabic in this place, and the Chaldee has no less than fifty men; but in Jeremiah this, as well as all the rest of the versions, reads seven. Probably they were no more than five at first, or, perhaps Jeremiah reckoned with the five the officer that was set over the men of war, and the principal scribe of the host mentioned here, as two with the five and thus made seven in the whole.’
He took all the people who were encouraging the rebellion against Babylon, 2 Kings 25:19. He takes the secretary who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land and sixty of the conscripts who were found in the city, 2 Kings 25:19. He took them all, he took them to Babylon, and now Judah find themselves in captivity, 2 Kings 25:20-21.
In Jeremiah 41:16-18, we learn that several Jews, after the murder of Gedaliah, went to Egypt, but many of the captives were taken to Babylon. Jeremiah the prophet would have also been taken away, but Nebuchadnezzar ordered that he should be privileged and not restrained in any manner, Jeremiah 39:10-12 / Jeremiah 52:24-30.
The reason for the special treatment of Jeremiah is possibly because he actually prophesied that Babylon would conquer the city, 2 Chronicles 36:17-20 / Jeremiah 52:4-27 / Jeremiah 39:11-18. Notice that the land enjoyed its sabbath’s rest, 2 Chronicles 36:21 / Leviticus 26:34-43 / Daniel 9:2, that is, the land rested from being used for crops.
Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah to be over the people he left behind, 2 Kings 25:22 / Jeremiah 26:24. The name Gedaliah means ‘Yahweh is great’ and he was a grandson of Shaphan, head of a prominent family in Judah.
Gedaliah was favoured by Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kings 25:23, possibly because his father had taken measures to spare Jeremiah when his life was threatened by those who were rebellious in Judah before the coming of the Babylonians, Jeremiah 38:24. They had supported the reforms of Josiah and were friendly and helpful to Jeremiah, Jeremiah 26:24.
Gedaliah took an oath to reassure them and their men, he says, do not be afraid of the Babylonian officials, settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you, 2 Kings 25:24.
The full story of the shameful treachery of Ishmael and his murder of Gedaliah, 2 Kings 25:25, is found in Jeremiah 40:7-9 / Jeremiah 41:1-3 / Jeremiah 41:16-18. The army officers were a part of Zedekiah’s army which had deserted him on the plains of Jericho and left him to the mercy of Nebuchadnezzar.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following about Gedaliah.
‘Gedaliah was a man of honour and good sense, and Ishmael’s treacherous murder of this good man was probably due to two things.
1. His jealousy that Gedaliah had been appointed governor instead of himself, a member of the seed royal.
2. The ambition of the king of the Ammonites who, for his own selfish reasons, wished to destroy Gedaliah. Gedaliah had been warned of Ishmael’s enmity but unwisely refused to believe the warning.
The murderers then fled to Egypt, 2 Kings 25:26, believing that Nebuchadnezzar would again come and take vengeance on those who killed his governor, Jeremiah 43:5-7.
Jehoiachin had been in prison for thirty-seven years but was released by Awel-Marduk the king of Babylon, 2 Kings 25:27. He was given a seat of honour for being the king of Judah, and thus honoured in Babylon, 2 Kings 25:28, as such, Jeremiah 52:31-34.
This is one reason why Ezekiel focused his prophecies on the reign of Jehoiachin and not Zedekiah, Ezekiel 1:1-2. Zedekiah wasn’t considered a king of Judah simply because he was set up as king by a foreign power.
Awel-Marduk blessed Jehoiachin by allowing him to eat at his table, 2 Kings 25:29 / 1 Kings 2:7, and providing a daily allowance, 2 Kings 25:30 / Jeremiah 52:34.
Although Judah had been destroyed and the Israelites were going to be in captivity for seventy years, 2 Kings 21:10-15 / 2 Kings 23:26-27 / 2 Kings 24:3-4 / 2 Kings 24:20, there is a glimmer of hope for Israel through Jehoiachin.
In a sense it was God who was still taking care of him at this time, 2 Samuel 7:14 / 2 Samuel 7:15, and the Messiah would eventually come through David’s descendants, Matthew 1:1-17.
Although it’s not mentioned in 2 Kings, I thought it would be useful to read about Cyrus and his role. The first year of Cyrus king of Persia, 2 Chronicles 36:22, is referring to the first year of his reign over the Babylonian lands in 538/537 B.C.
His actual reign over the Medes and Persians began earlier in 557 B.C. He was known as Cyrus the Great, and he is the very person whom Isaiah names in his prophecy, Isaiah 45:1, who would help Israel rebuild the temple and Jerusalem, Isaiah 44:28-45:7.
Jeremiah had prophesied that the Israelites would go into seventy years of captivity, 2 Chronicles 36:22 / Jeremiah 29:10, however, as we now know the people didn’t listen. The seventy years of captivity were coming to an end just as Jeremiah had said, Jeremiah 15:12-14 / Jeremiah 29:10-12.
The seventy years are calculated from the first captivity during the days of Daniel and his friends, Daniel 1:1, to the first return of the captives in 536 B.C. There is no doubt that the Jews saw what was happening as a fulfilment of the prophecies.
It would be easy for God to move the heart of Cyrus, 2 Chronicles 36:22, especially if someone pointed out to Cyrus that his name actually appears in the prophecies of Isaiah, which were written many years before, Isaiah 44:28 / Isaiah 45:1-4 / Isaiah 24:13.
Cyrus then goes on to make a proclamation not only verbally but also in writing, 2 Chronicles 36:22 / 2 Kings 19:9-14. The accounts of this proclamation here, 2 Chronicles 36:23, and in Ezra 1:1-4, were the public proclamations of the decree.
The quotation of the proclamation in Ezra 6:3-5, was the official recording of the decree. It’s possible that each group would receive a different letter with the same thing written on them.
Cyrus gives credit to God and proclaims that he will build a temple for God in Jerusalem, 2 Chronicles 36:23 / 1 Chronicles 17:11-12 / 1 Chronicles 22:10 / 1 Chronicles 28:6 / 2 Chronicles 6:9-10.
He then proclaims that God’s people may return home to help with the building work, 2 Chronicles 36:23. Sadly, only a small number of Jews decided to return home from exile, as Isaiah had prophesied, Isaiah 10:22.
After the deportations only the poor of the land, the vine-growers and farmers were left, 2 Kings 25:12 / Jeremiah 39:10 / Jeremiah 40:7 / Jeremiah 52:16. Notice that Cyrus also proclaims freewill offerings, Ezra 1:4. This tells us that it wasn’t just about the remnant returning to Jerusalem to live but they were to return to also rebuild the temple, Ezra 1:1-4.
If you visit the British Museum in London, you will see on display an original pair of cufflinks based on the Cyrus Cylinder. The cufflinks are made from 24k plated bronze and are supplied in a presentation box. The Cyrus Cylinder is one of the most famous objects to have survived from the ancient world.
The cylinder was inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform, cuneiform is the earliest form of writing, on the orders of the Persian King Cyrus the Great, 559-530 B.C. after he captured Babylon in 539 B.C.
It is often referred to as the first bill of human rights as it appears to encourage freedom of worship throughout the Persian Empire and to allow deported people to return to their homelands. The cylinder was found in Babylon, modern Iraq, in 1879 during a British Museum excavation.