The King Who Reminds Us of God's Mercy
The life and reign of Jehoiachin.
We arrive at the next-to-last king of Judah.
His reign is brief, evil, and uneventful. But what stands out about him is not so much what he does - or doesn’t do - but what God does for him.
The Overview of Jehoiachin’s Reign
According to 2 Kings 24:8, Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king of Judah. However, 2 Chronicles 36:9 in the KJV and NKJV states that he was eight years old when he became king. So which was it: eighteen or eight?
The Hebrew text reads “eight,” but some ancient textual witnesses, as well as the parallel text in 2 Kings 24:8, have “eighteen.” (NET Translator Notes)
Older manuscripts and texts have “eighteen,” which also fits with 2 Kings 24. What probably happened was that somewhere along the way, as 2 Chronicles 36:9 was copied, some scribe accidentally left off the “1” from the number “18.” Which is why many of the newer Bible translations that use more of the older manuscripts (like the ESV) have “eighteen” in 2 Chronicles 36:9.
I think eighteen is the correct age of King Jehoiachin.
Jehoiachin reigns in Jerusalem for “three months and ten days.” Although he reigned briefly, “he did evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Chronicles 36:9). He followed in the footsteps of his unfaithful father (2 Kings 24:9).
Jehoiachin’s mother was “Nehushta” (meaning “copper” or “brass”), the daughter of “Elnathan” (meaning “God has given”) from Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:8).
Jehoiachin is Taken Captive
At the beginning of the year (2 Chronicles 36:10), Babylon - under the personal oversight of King Nebuchadnezzar - came against Jerusalem and laid siege to the city (2 Kings 24:10-11). Nebuchadnezzar summoned Jehoiachin and took him as a captive to Babylon, along with “his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers” (2 Kings 24:12). This happened during the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign.
Nebuchadnezzar also “carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD” (2 Kings 24:13). This happened according to the word of the LORD.
But if you [Solomon] or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore the LORD has brought all this calamity on them.’ “ (1 Kings 9:6-9)
In addition to members of the king’s household and articles from the temple, Nebuchadnezzar also “carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land” (2 Kings 24:14).
All these people were taken from the land and taken into exile in Babylon (2 Kings 24:15-16). This was “round two” of captivity, with the first happening during the reign of Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin’s father (Daniel 1:1-2).
The three rounds of Babylonian captivity took place approximately:
606 B.C. (the one under Jehoiakim).
596 B.C. (the one under Jehoiachin).
586 B.C. (final, and the destruction of Jerusalem).
Nebuchadnezzar made Mattaniah king in Jehoiachin’s place, and changed his name to Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:17).
God’s Mercy in Captivity
After Jehoiachin had been in captivity for thirty-seven years, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, the new king of Babylon, Evil-Merodach, “pardoned” (NET) Jehoiachin and brought him out of prison (Jeremiah 52:31).
He was kind to Jehoiachin and gave him a better position than the other kings from other places that were in captivity with him (Jeremiah 52:32). Jehoiachin changed out of his prison clothes and ate food in the king’s presence the rest of his life (Jeremiah 52:33). The king of Babylon supported Jehoiachin until the day he died (Jeremiah 52:34).
The LORD continued to watch over His people, even while they were in Babylonian exile.
Crowning Principles
When all goodness is removed, the result is a “hell on earth.”
All of the leaders have been removed from the land, including the faithful, the courageous, the mighty, and the productive. When leadership is gone, everyone starts looking out for what’s best for themselves. When courage is gone, all that remains is fear and weakness. When the producers in society are no more, everyone is reduced to fighting over the remaining scraps.
This is the world that remains in Jerusalem for ten years until the “final bell” sounds in 586 B.C. It was a “hell on earth” for those who remained, as you can find in the writings of Jeremiah.
Remember the LORD’s unfailing compassion and mercy.
Even during the long years of exile, God’s love and mercy were still on display toward His people. We see Him at work in the lives of Daniel, Nehemiah, Esther, and even Jehoiachin.
During some of the hardest days of Jeremiah’s life, he wrote these words:
Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. (Lamentations 3:22-25)
The people of Judah were a living testimony to the mercy and compassion of God. You and I, as those who have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23) and thus deserve death (Romans 6:23), are also a living testimony to the mercy and compassion of God toward us (Ephesians 2:4-7; Romans 8:31-39).
