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he last kings of Judah were all worthless. Josiah had been
the last good Judean monarch. His sons
Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah were nothing like him. Neither was his
grandson Jehoiachin. Jehoahaz (known
also as Shallum) only survived for 3 months on the throne before the Egyptians
removed him. He was replaced by his
brother Jehoiakim (also called Eliakim).
After 11 years, the Babylonians removed him from Jerusalem and allowed
his son Jehoiachin (also called Jeconiah or Coniah) to sit on the throne briefly. Shortly thereafter, his uncle Zedekiah (known
also as Mattaniah) was given his spot (Jeremiah 1:3).
During all this time, Jeremiah was the mouthpiece of God
warning these men of the impending invasion of the Babylonians and admonishing
them to surrender willingly to Nebuchadnezzar.
They didn't. And, they paid for
it: especially Zedekiah. Of course,
there is one more Jewish king yet to come, and He paid for the sins of Israel more
than all of the rest combined.
The Jews had been commanded by Moses to allow their fields
to lie fallow every 7th year (Leviticus 25:4).
They had not been faithful in that area.
So, (2nd Chronicles 36:20-21) God allowed the people to be
captured and removed from the land for 70 years. 70 Sabbaths would take 490 years at a 1 in 7 year rate. God willing, we will study that matter in a little more
depth when we get into the book of Daniel.
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