Judah Alone (721-586 BC)

(2 Ki 18.1-25.30; 2 Ch 29.1-36.23)

1. Introductory notes

a. During this time, Israel (the Northern Kingdom) has been carted off into Assyrian exile, only Judah (the Southern Kingdom) remains

b. Aside from brief periods of reformation and renewal under Hezekiah and Josiah, Judah continues its apostasy and disregard for God and his covenant with them

c. As the nation drifts farther and farther from God, he graciously begins to raise up prophets more and more frequently to call the people to repentance / restoration

2. King Hezekiah

a. Restored temple worship in the first month of his reign (2 Ch 29.3)

i. Recognized God's judgment as a result of Judah's apostasy (2 Ch 29.6-11)

ii. Removed high places, Asherah, and the bronze serpent Moses had made (2 Ki 18.4)

b. Much more involved in international politics than some kings

i. Hezekiah joined Egypt and surrounding areas in rebelling against King Sargon II of Assyria

ii. Assyria quelled the uprising (cf. Is 20)

1. Warned by Isaiah not to trust in people / nations (esp. Egypt) for strength but to seek God

2. Isaiah would speak again against relying on Egypt (Is 30) because of Hezekiah's ultimately lack of trust in God for protection

iii. In 705 BC, Sennacherib of Assyria attacked Judah (2 Ki 18.30-19.8; Is 36-37)

1. He received tribute from Hezekiah (2 Ki 18.13-16)

2. Hezekiah was reassured by Isaiah (2 Ki 19.1-19; Is 37), who prophesied Assyria's defeat and Sennacherib's demise

3. The angel of the struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers (2 Ki 19.35; 2 Ch 32.21; Is 37.36), forcing Sennacherib home in retreat

4. Upon returning home, Sennacherib is murdered by his own sons (2 Ki 19.36; 2 Ch 32.21; Is 37.38)

iv. Later Merodach-baladan (of Babylon) sends envoys to try to woo Hezekiah to join in continued defiance of Assyrian authority (2 Ki 20.12-19; Is 39)

1. Hezekiah trusts in men and is rebuked by God for his faithlessness (2 Ki 20.16-18; Is 39.5-7)

2. His response to God (2 Ki 20.19; Is 39.8) and the Chronicler's note (2 Ch 32.31) show his true colors

3. This mar aside, Hezekiah does much to turn Judah temporarily back to God and fortify the nation militarily / economically

3. King Manasseh

a. Reigned for forty years, but little mention is made of his political or economic affairs...instead Scripture focuses on his apostasy and wickedness (2 Ki 21.1-9; 2 Ch 33.1-9)

i. Rebuilt all the altars, Asherah, and idols his father removed

ii. Put an Asherah in the temple

iii. Sacrificed his son

iv. Led Israel to be more wicked than the inhabitants of the land Israel destroyed in conquest (2 Ki 21.9; 2 Ch 33.9; cf. Gen 15.16; Lev 18.21-28, 20.22-23; Deut 9.5, 18.12)

b. God rebuked Manasseh and the people (2 Ch 33.10), but no one listened

i. The Lord raised up Assyria as his agent of judgment, and Manasseh was captured / deported (2 Ki 21.10-15; 2 Ch 33.11)

ii. Puncturing an enemy's nose / lip, putting a ring / hook through the hole, and tying a rope to the ring was a common way to literally / figuratively subjugate a defeated king

c. Though not recorded in 2 Ki, Manasseh repented of his wickedness (2 Ch 33.12-13) and returned to God

i. God brought him back to Jerusalem

ii. Manasseh spent the remainder of his reign strengthening Judah and right his wrongs (2 Ch 33.14-20)

4. Josiah

a. Beyond some generalities, neither Kings nor Chronicles makes mention of the political scene during the first half of Josiah's reign

i. Two years after he ascends to the throne, the Assyrian Empire begins to break up

ii. Nabopolassar conquered Babylon and declared Mesopotamian independence from Assyria

iii. These events explain how Josiah was freed from paying tribute to Assyria and able to institute reform with some measure of freedom

b. In his eighteenth year of rule, the 'Book of the Law of the Lord' was found while cleaning the temple (2 Ki 22.8; 2 Ch 34.15)

i. Instituted sweeping religious reformation (2 Ki 23.1-27)

1. Removed idols from temple

2. Deposed apostate / false priests

3. Broke down high places

4. Defiled altar where children sacrificed to Molech

5. Destroyed the altar at Bethel

6. Restored the Passover

7. ...and a whole lot more!

ii. Josiah is praised as the best king (2 Ki 23.25

iii. Because of their previous apostasy and sin, God still brought temporal consequences (2 Ki 23.26-27)

c. Jeremiah and Zephaniah prophesied during Josiah's reign, attacking many of the same sins Josiah sought to reform (see below)

d. Nahum also prophesied during this time but spoke judgment against Nineveh for her sin...which was realized in its destruction in 612 BC (see below)

e. During this time of Assyrian decline, Egypt sought to regain some of her lost glory and repeatedly ventured into the lands near Canaan

i. For some reason, Josiah denied Pharaoh Neco safe passage through his kingdom (2 Ki 23.28-30; 2 Ch 25.20-27)

1. Why? Scripture is silent.

2. Perhaps the most plausible suggestion is that Josiah wanted to expand Judah into some of the lands lost since Solomon and did not want Egypt's interference

ii. Regardless of why, this intervention cost Josiah his life and Israel her freedom...

5. Kings Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah

a. Jehoahaz was installed as king of Judah (2 Ki 23.31; 2 Ch 36.1) for three months

b. Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him, laid a heavy tribute on Israel, and installed Josiah's brother Eliakim (Jehoiakim) as puppet king (2 Ki 23.33-35; 2 Ch 36.3-4)

i. Jeremiah broke the news that Jehoahaz would never return from Egypt (Jer 22.11-12; 2 Ki 23.34)

ii. Idolatry quickly returned, which Jeremiah denounced (see below)

c. In 606 BC, Babylon crushed Egypt at the Battle of Carchemish (cf. Jer 46)

i. Jehoiakim became Nebuchadnezzar's puppet

ii. After three years he quit paying tribute (2 Ki 24.1) and rejected Jeremiah's plea to return to God (Jer 36)

iii. As predicted, God judged Judah through continual attacks from without (2 Ki 24.2-4)

iv. Jehoiakim was deported to Babylon, along with Daniel and those of the nobility (2 Ch 36.6-7; Dan 1.1-4)

1. The first deportation from Jerusalem / Judah (605 BC)

2. There were two more deportations as part of the overall exile (see below)

3. This initial deportation begins Jeremiah’s seventy years (2 Ch 36.20-23; Jer 25.11)

d. Young Jehoiachin took the throne after his father's deportation (2 Ki 24.8-9; 2 Ch 36.9-10)

i. In only three months, he is evaluated as evil (2 Ch 36.9)

ii. He reigned just long enough to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar (2 Ki 24.8-16; 2 Ch 36.10)

1. The remaining treasures of the temple were taken (2 Ki 24.13)

2. The rest of the government officials, 'men of valor,' craftsman, etc. were taken (2 Ki 24.14)

3. Only the 'poorest people of the land' remained (2 Ki 24.14)

4. The second deportation of Jerusalem / Judah (598 BC)

a. As a priest, Ezekiel was likely taken to Babylon during this time

b. This suggestion lines up nicely with Ezekiel 1.2, which can be dated precisely to 31 July, 593 BC

e. Babylon installed her own puppet, Zedekiah (2 Ki 24.17; 2 Ch 26.10)

i. Short-lived loyalty to Babylon (2 Ki 24.20; 2 Ch 36.13; Jer 52.3) and apostasy (2 Ch 36.13-16; Jer 37.2) invoked God's swift judgment

ii. To the very end, God's message of mercy continues to come to Zedekiah through Jeremiah, but he refused to listen, instead seeking aid from Egypt (Jer 25, 27, 37-38)

iii. In 586 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar and his armies ravage Judah and finally conquer Jerusalem (2 Ki 25.1-21; 2 Ch 36.17-21; Jer 39; 52)

iv. God's covenant curses (Lev 26; Deut 27-28) were finally enacted (Jer 44; Lamentations)

1. The land would lie dormant for 70 years (2 Ch 36.21; Jer 25.1-14)

2. Judah had ceased to exist...or so it seemed