Title: Jehoiakim/2 Chronicles 36:1-8
Jehoiakim/2 Chronicles 36:1-8
1. Sons of Josiah
King Josiah had four sons: Johanan, Jehoiakim (Eliakim), Zedekiah (Mattaniah), and Jehoahaz (Shallum) (2 Chronicles 3:15). Nothing is known about Yohanan. The order of the four is not the order of age. Eliakim's mother was Zebidah (2 Kings 23:36), and Zedekiah and Jehoahaz's mother was Hamutar (2 Kings 23:31, 24:18). When Josiah died, Jehoiakim was 25 years old (2 Kings 23:36), Zedekiah was 10 years old (2 Kings 24:18), and Jehoahaz was 23 years old (2 Kings 23:31). It seems that Joash hadn't chosen a crown prince. The servants appointed a king, and Eliakim, who was older, and Jehoahaz, who was two years younger, were appointed as king (2 Kings 23:30 and 2 Chron 36:1). Jehoahaz became king, but after three months he was taken to Egypt and died there (2 Kings 23:34 Jeremiah 22:10-22). The king of Egypt made Jehoiakim king instead of Jehoahaz. Jehoiakim pledged allegiance to Pharaoh by collecting silver and gold from the people.
2. Nebuchadnezzar
Pharaoh Nego, king of Egypt, went to attack Assyria, but the situation was very different from what he had expected. Assyria was already in decline, and there was no match for it to fight. Instead, Babylon was emerging as a great power. Babylonian hero Nabopolassar, B.C. In 625, that is, in the 14th year of King Josiah, he rebelled against Assyria and began to revive the old Babylon. Then, 18 years later, B.C. Around 607, in the 2nd year of King Jehoiakim, he reunified the region by conquering Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. The son of Nabopolassar was Nebuchadnezzar.
3. Jehoiakim's Allegiance Promise
In the fourth year of Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar and his father became king (Jeremiah 25:1). Nebuchadnezzar, who became king, has been attacking Judah that year. In 2 Chronicles 36:6, it is written, 'Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up and struck him, bound him (Jehoiakim) with chains and carried him away to Babylon...' (Reference: Dan 1:1). At this time, Jerusalem was conquered, but Jehoiakim was never taken to Babylon. The word for 'take away' is the word reholicu ( ), which is the infinitive form of the word decline ( ). So, in the English Bible, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked him and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon is infinitive. This can be translated as 'they were bound and taken to Babylon', or it could be translated as 'bound to be carried away to Babylon'. Nebuchadnezzar had to withdraw his army and return to Babylon because his father, Nabopolassar, died suddenly. Before he went back, he took an oath of allegiance from Jehoiakim and just released him.
4. Jehoiakim's betrayal
The prophet Jeremiah wrote this will of God on a scroll and sent it to Jehoiakim through Baruch. But Jehoiakim cut the word of God with a sword and burned it in a brazier. 'When Jehudi read the third and fourth volumes, the king cut it down with a razor, and threw it into the hearth and burned the whole scroll. When the king and his servants heard all these things, they were not afraid or torn their clothes; and Eladan, Delayah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, but the king did not listen.” (Jeremiah 36:23-25)
5. Nebuchadnezzar's Attack
Jehoiakim betrayed him, but Nebuchadnezzar himself did not attack with his army. I think it is because there were many things in the country that I had to do in various ways after my father. Instead, he had the armies of the countries he conquered continue to attack Judah through guerrilla warfare. The Bible says this was done by God. 'As the LORD had spoken through his servants the prophets, he sent to Jehoiakim the troops of the Chaldeans, the armies of Syria, the armies of Moab, and the armies of the Ammonites, to strike down and destroy Judah' (2 Kings 24:2). These attacks continued for about five years. In the midst of this, Jehoiakim died in Jerusalem three months before Nebuchadnezzar's great offensive (Jeremiah 22:18-19). There was no funeral and no mourning.