CHAPTER ELEVEN

The Kingdom of Judah

Ahaz-Zedekiah

SCRIPTURE COVERED: II Kings 16:1—25:7; II Chronicles 28:1—36:21

TIME COVERED: ca. 735-586 B.C.

Hezekiah and Josiah are the best-known kings during the last century and a half (735-586 B.C.) of Judah's existence as a kingdom. Both kings were reformers who took the initiative in leading their people back to God and postponing the judgment announced by the prophets upon Jerusalem.

AHAZ— FATHER OF HEZEKIAH

The nations in Palestine were on the verge of being overrun by the Assyrian armies when Ahaz was enthroned (735 B.C.) in Jerusalem by a pro-Assyrian party in the kingdom of Judah. Simultaneously, Pekah in Israel and Rezin in Syria formed an anti-Assyrian alliance. To secure themselves against attack from the south, these two kings waged the Syro-Ephraimite war against Judah, taking thousands of Judeans captive. Warned by a prophet named Oded, the king of Israel released the prisoners of war.

A. Isaiah's warning

When Ahaz was faced with the threat of invasion, Isaiah was sent to meet him with the admonition to place his trust in God with the assurance that the two kings from the north would be dethroned (Isa. 7—9). Ignoring and defying Isaiah, the king of Judah appealed to Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria, for aid. This brought immediate results. As a result of Assyrian aggression, the kingdom of Syria was terminated with the death of Rezin, and Israel was made tributary with Hoshea, replacing Pekah in 732 B.C. Ahaz himself met the Assyrian king in Damascus, participating with him in pagan religious rites and pledging his loyalty.

B. Ahaz' continued idolatry and eventual death

Ahaz promoted the most obnoxious idolatrous practices. Taking the measurements of the altar in Damascus, Ahaz ordered Urijah the priest to duplicate this altar in the temple in Jerusalem. Ahaz took the lead in pagan worship, had his son walk through the fire according to heathen customs, and took treasures from the temple to meet the demands of the Assyrian king. Even though he guided his nation successfully through this period of international crises, he incurred God's wrath. In subsequent periods, the Assyrian power extended into Judah like a razor in God's hand (Isa. 7:20), and like a river (Isa. 8:7), according to the prediction of Isaiah.

HEZEKIAH- A RIGHTEOUS KING

When Hezekiah began his reign in 716 B.C. in Jerusalem, the Northern Kingdom had already capitulated to the Assyrian advance with the fall of Samaria in 722. Throughout his twenty-nine-year reign, Hezekiah projected a reversal of the political and religious policies his wicked father had initiated.

With a keen realization that Israel's captivity was the consequence of a broken covenant and disobedience to God (II Kings 18:9-12), Hezekiah placed his confidence in God as he began an effective reform. Levites were called in to repair and cleanse the temple for worship, idols were removed, vessels were sanctified, and sacrifices were initiated accompanied by liturgical singing. In an attempt to heal the religious breach that had prevailed between the two kingdoms since Solomon's death, Hezekiah sent invitations to the people of the northern tribes to participate in the observance of the Passover in Jerusalem. At no time since the dedication of the temple had Jerusalem experienced such a joyful celebration. Even the bronze serpent erected by Moses (Num. 21:4-9), used by the people as an object of worship, was destroyed.

Politically, Hezekiah acknowledged the overlordship of Sargon II (721-705 B.C.), since Judah had already been committed to Assyrian vassalage under Ahaz. This policy averted interference in Judah when Sargon dispatched his troops to Ashdod, west of Jerusalem in 711 B.C. (Isa. 20:1). In the meantime, Hezekiah concentrated on a construction defense program, organizing and equipping his army. To assure Jerusalem of an adequate water supply in case of a prolonged siege, Hezekiah constructed a tunnel connecting the Siloam pool with the spring of Gihon. Through 1,777 feet of solid rock, the Judean engineers channeled fresh water into the pool of Siloam that was also constructed at this time. Ever since its discovery in 1880, when the inscription on it was deciphered, the Siloam tunnel has been an attraction for tourists. The wall of Jerusalem was also extended to enclose the Siloam pool. Although Hezekiah did all in his power to prepare for an Assyrian invasion, he did not depend only upon human resources. He publicly expressed his dependence upon God before his people assembled in the city square in these words: "With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles" (II Chron. 32:8).

With the accession of Sennacherib to the Assyrian throne in 705, rebellions broke out in many parts of the Assyrian Empire. In 701 Sennacherib marched his armies into Palestine, boasting in his own records that he conquered 46 walled cities in the maritime plain. After exacting a large tribute from Hezekiah, the king of Assyria demanded the surrender of Jerusalem. Encouraged by Isaiah, Hezekiah placed his trust in God for deliverance. Before Sennacherib could fulfill his threat, he received word of a revolt in Babylon. Immediately he rushed back east, boasting that he had taken 200,000 prisoners but simply noting that Hezekiah had been shut up like a bird in a cage.

This successful resistance in 701 brought to Hezekiah the acclaim and recognition of the surrounding nations expressed in abundant gifts (II Chron. 32:23). Not least among those sending congratulations was Merodach-baladan of Babylon who also had heard of Hezekiah's recovery from a severe illness. After Hezekiah displayed his wealth to the Babylonian embassy, the prophet Isaiah warned the king of Judah of impending judgment on Jerusalem, but tempered his warning by the assurance that he would have a period of peace during his reign.

Sennacherib did not conclude his efforts to suppress rebellions in the Tigris-Euphrates area until he destroyed Babylon in 689 B.C. Hearing about Tirhakah (II Kings 19:9ff.), he directed his interests westward once more. This time he sent letters to Hezekiah with an ultimatum to surrender. Hezekiah, who had experienced a previous deliverance and since then had enjoyed over a decade of peace and prosperity, calmly but confidently spread these letters before the Lord as he prayed in the temple. Isaiah sent words of assurance. The Assyrian armies never reached Jerusalem, but were destroyed somewhere en route—possibly in the Arabian Desert. Sennacherib returned to Nineveh, where he was killed by two of his sons in 681 B.C.

Hezekiah, unlike a number of his predecessors, was buried in honor when he died in 686 B.C. Not only had he led his people in the greatest reformation in Judah's history, but he had also given religious leadership to many people from the northern tribes.

JOSIAH'S PREDECESSORS

Nearly one-half a century passed between the end of Hezekiah's reign and the enthronement of Josiah (686-640 B.C.). Manasseh, who had been made coregent with his father in 696, reigned until 642 when his son Amon succeeded him.

A. Manasseh

Manasseh plunged Judah into its darkest era of idolatry by erecting altars to Baal and constructing idols comparable only to Ahab and Jezebel in the Northern Kingdom. Star and planetary worship was instituted, the Ammonite deity Moloch was acknowledged by the Hebrew king in the sacrifice of children in the Hinnom Valley, and astrology, divination, and occultism were officially sanctioned. In open defiance of God, altars for worshiping the host of heaven were placed in the courts of the temple while graven images of Asherah, the wife of Baal, were placed in the temple itself. It is quite likely that tradition is correct in attributing the martyrdom of Isaiah to Manasseh, since he shed much innocent blood (II Kings 21:16). Morally and religiously, Judah reached a very low point under this wicked king.

During Manasseh's reign, Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal extended Assyrian control down to Thebes in Egypt by 663 B.C. Although the date for Manasseh's captivity (II Chron. 33:10-13) is not given, it is likely that he was taken to Babylon during the last decade of his reign. Being returned after his repentance, Manasseh probably had little time to reverse the idolatrous influence he had promoted throughout the kingdom during his earlier years.

B. Amon

Idolatry prevailed under Manasseh's son Amon. The early training of Amon had made a decidedly greater impact upon him than the belated period of reformation. Before two years of his reign had passed, Amon was slain by slaves in the palace. Although his reign was brief, his godless leadership provided opportunity for Judah to revert to terrible apostasy.

JOSIAH

National and international changes of great significance occurred during the thirty-one-year reign of Josiah. Politically, the Assyrian empire gave way with the death of Ashurbanipal in 633 and the destruction of Nineveh in 612 B.C. to the rising kingdoms of Media and Babylon. Religiously Josiah brought about the last great reformation before the destruction of Judah.

A. Religious reformation

As an eight-year-old boy Josiah was suddenly elevated to the Davidic throne in Jerusalem after the death of his father. In all likelihood godly teachers and priests had instructed Josiah. When he was sixteen, be began to seek God earnestly and in four more years (628 B.C.), his devotion to God had crystallized to the point that he began a religious reformation. In 621 B.C. while the temple was being repaired, the book of the Law was recovered and the Passover was observed in a manner unprecedented in the history of Judah. Politically it was also safe to remove any religious practices associated with Assyria at this time since Assyrian influence was waning. Very likely Josiah continued to give religious leadership in leading his people back to God until the end of his reign.

B. Huldah

When the Law was discovered in the temple, the king called in Huldah the prophetess. She warned the king of impending judgment and instructed him in his responsibilities to obey the Law. Since Manasseh had shed so much innocent blood, it is probable that he destroyed as many of the existing copies of the Law of Moses as he could find so that the contents of the Law were relatively unknown until this copy was made available to the king of Judah.

C. Jeremiah

Jeremiah was called to the prophetic ministry in 627 B.C. Since Josiah had already begun his reform, it is reasonable to conclude that Jeremiah and Josiah worked hand in hand. Living in Anathoth, Jeremiah may not have been available or even acquainted with Josiah when the book of the Law was found in 621. However, the first twenty chapters of Jeremiah may largely be related to the Josian era.

D. Sudden death

The destruction of the Assyrian capital Nineveh in 612 B.C. by the Medo-Babylonian coalition affected the entire Fertile Crescent. In a state of military preparedness, Josiah made his fatal mistake by rushing his armies up to Megiddo attempting to stop Necho, king of Egypt, from aiding the remnant of the Assyrian army at Haran. Josiah was fatally wounded and the Judean army was routed. Suddenly the national and international hopes of Judah vanished as the thirty-nine-year-old king was entombed in the city of David. After eighteen years of intimate association with Josiah, the great prophet is singled out by name in II Chronicles 35:25—"and Jeremiah lamented for Josiah."

THE LAST KINGS OF JUDAH

Rapid changes took place during the next quarter of a century, resulting in the destruction of Jerusalem. Although Assyria which had dominated Palestine for more than a century had fallen, the Babylonian kingdom emerged as the controlling power under which the Kingdom of Judah was absorbed.

A. Jehoiakim, 609-598 B.C.

Before Jehoahaz had ruled three months in Jerusalem, the king of Egypt returned from Carchemish, where he had halted the Babylonian advance, and placed Jehoiakim, another son of Josiah, on the Davidic throne. Jehoahaz was taken prisoner to Egypt and died there as predicted by Jeremiah (22:11,12).

Jehoiakim was subject to Egypt until 605 B.C. when the Necho was defeated by the Babylonians in the battle of Carchemish. That summer the Babylonian armies advanced south and claimed treasures and hostages in Jerusalem, among whom were Daniel and his friends. By 598 B.C. Jehoiakim apparently maintained an anti-Babylonian policy so that Nebuchadnezzar marched his armies to Jerusalem. Jehoiakim seems to have been killed by marauding Chaldean bands supported by Moabites, Ammonites, and Syrians before the Babylonian forces reached Palestine. Young Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, ruled only three months. Realizing that it was futile to resist the Babylonian forces besieging Jerusalem, Jehoiachin surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar. This time the invaders stripped the temple and the royal treasuries and took the king, the queen mother, palace officials, executives, artisans, and community leaders captive. Not least among the thousands was Ezekiel. Zedekiah, the youngest son of Josiah, was made puppet king and left in charge of Judah.

B. Zedekiah, 597-586 B.C.

Subject to the Babylonians, Zedekiah was able to maintain the kingdom of Judah for only eleven years. He was under constant pressure to join the Egyptians in a rebellion against the Babylonians. When Zedekiah yielded to the pro-Egyptian party, the Babylonian armies advanced to Jerusalem besieging it in 588. After several years Jerusalem was conquered, the temple was reduced to ashes, and the capital of Judah was abandoned as its citizens were taken captive or dispersed. Zedekiah escaped but was captured at Jericho and taken to Riblah. After the execution of his sons, Zedekiah was blinded and taken in chains to Babylon.

C. Jeremiah's ministry

Jeremiah served as a faithful messenger of God through the hectic decades that brought the Kingdom of Judah to its doom. During Jehoiakim's reign, Jeremiah's scroll was burned by the king. When Jeremiah announced the destruction of the temple (Jer. 7, 26), the people would have executed him had it not been for Ahikam, a prominent political figure who came to defend him.

Throughout the last decade, Jeremiah constantly advised the vacillating king to be subservient to the Babylonian king. Being left with the lower classes of people, Jeremiah was subjected to persecution and frequent suffering as he warned the people of judgment to come, withstood the false prophets in Jerusalem. He also advised the exiles by correspondence that they should not believe the false prophets who were active there, encouraging them in the hope of an immediate return to Jerusalem. Even though Jeremiah was imprisoned, thrown in a dungeon, and abandoned by his people, he was sustained by God to live with his people through the destruction of Jerusalem. At the end of a forty-year ministry, he witnessed the disintegration of the Davidic kingdom and the destruction of the Solomonic temple, which had been the pride, and glory of Israel for almost four centuries. The book of Lamentations may well express the reflections of Jeremiah as he saw the ruins of his beloved city of Jerusalem.

Note the alternate names for these last kings:

Jehoahaz—Shallum
Jehoiakim — Eliakim
Jehoiachin — Coniah or Jeconiah
Zedekjah—Mattaniah