2 Kings 24

Order a Free Bible Here from - Bibles4Free.com - a - USBibleSociety.com - Ministry

Dave Burnette's Commentary

2 Kings Chapter 24

Written By: God through Inspiration

Penned By: Jeremiah

Date Penned: (586 BC)

Overview: A History of the Kings of Israel and Judah (c 1-25)

Theme: The Surviving Kingdom (c 18-25)

Message: Nebuchadnezzar Rules Babylon (v 1-20)

2 Kings 24 Commentary

(24:1-4) Nebuchadnezzar takes Babylon - Nebuchadnezzar took control as king of Babylon in 605 BC. Earlier that year, Nebuchadnezzar had defeated the Egyptians, led by Pharaoh-nechoh, at Charchemish. Thus, Babylon had taken control of all Egypt's vassals (including Judah). Later, Nebuchadnezzar invaded the land in order to establish his rule by force.

(24:1) Babylon Controls Judah - Babylon became the new world power after overthrowing Assyria in 612 BC and defeating Egypt at the battle of Charchemish in 605 BC. After defeating Egypt, the Babylonians invaded Judah and brought its people under their control. This was the first of three Babylonian invasions of Judah over the next 2o years. The other two invasions oceurred in 597 and 586 BC, respectively. With each invasion, captives were taken back to Babylon. Daniel, who wrote the book of Daniel, was one of the captives taken during this first invasion (605 BC; Daniel 1:1-6).

(24:2-17) Jehoiachin Becomes King of Judah - Babylonian troops were already on the march to crush Jehoiakim's rebellion when he died. After Jehoiakim's death, his son Jehoiachin became king of Judah, only to face the mightiest army on earth just weeks after he was crowned (597 BC. During this second of three invasions, the Babylonians looted the temple and took most of the leaders captive, including the king. Then Nebuchadnezzar placed Zedekiah, another son of Josiah, on the throne as a puppet king. The people of Judah, however, didn't recognize him as their true king as long as Jehoiachin was still alive, even though he was a captive in Babylon.

(24:4) Manasseh Suffers Consequences of His Sins - If God offers forgiveness to all who repent, why would he not forgive the sins of Manasseh? Although Manasseh repented of his sins and the Lord restored his kingdom (see 2 Chronicles 33:10-17), there were still consequences for his sins. Likewise, the people of Judah were still responsible for the long list of sins they had piled up. The sins of Manasseh exemplified the worst of the people's sins, and the time for judgment had come. When we sin, it can be tempting to assume that if we ask for forgiveness from God, those sins and the fallout from them simply disappear. While it is true that God forgives all our sins when we repent and that by his grace we are no longer judged for those sins in an eternal sense, there will still be real consequences for our bad choices.

(24:14) God Keeps His People Together - The Babylonian policy for taking captives was different from that of the Assyrians, who moved most of the people out and resettled the land with foreigners (see the note on 17:24). The Babylonians took only the strong and skilled, leaving the poor and weak to rule the land, thus elevating them to positions of authority and winning their loyalty. The wealthy and skilled were taken to Babylonian cities, where they were permitted to live together, find jobs, and integrate into society. This policy kept the Jews united and faithful to God throughout their captivity and made it possible for their return in the days of Zerubbabel and Ezra (as recorded in the book of Ezra).

Dave Burnette's Life Application
Giving the Enemy Access

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter, making application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Today we continue the book of 2 Kings with Chapter 24. In our text, we see Judah exiled to Babylon with the leaders of Jehoiachin and then Zedekiah. What catches my eye is how Judah has ignored God in how to follow the Lord, and as a result, God allows Nebuchadnezzar to take the treasures of the Lord from the House of God. In making application, we see how if we ignore the instruction of the Lord, the enemy will take possession of the territory in our lives. When we sin, we not only lose the blessings of God, we let the enemy have access to our lives which will leave us spiritually bankrupt. How about you? Do you see how your sin allows the enemy to wreck and ruin your life? Let us learn from our text today and the access Nebuchadnezzar had to the house of God due to Judah's disobedience to learn that our sin gives the enemy access to our lives.

2 Kings 24

Previous Chapter | Index | Next Chapter

2 Kings 24

¹In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.

²And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children 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.

³Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;

⁴And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon.

⁵Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

⁶So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.

⁷And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt.

⁸Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

⁹And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.

¹⁰At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.

¹¹And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it.

¹²And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.

¹³And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said.

¹⁴And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.

¹⁵And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.

¹⁶And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

¹⁷And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

¹⁸Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

¹⁹And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

²⁰For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Language Translator (Click on Tab to Translate Page)

Scripture Application (Click on Box to View Application)

Bible Search (Search Bible By Word or Verse)

Take Notes on Your Bible Studies (Using our Padlet)

Listen to the Bible (By Talking Bibles)

The United States Bible Society

Try Our Free Daily Devotion Email

For Email Newsletters you can trust