2 Kings 25:1-27
25 Now it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around. 2So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.
4Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled at night by way of the gate between two walls, which was by the king’s garden, even though the Chaldeans were still encamped all around against the city. And the king went by way of the plain. 5But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him. 6So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they pronounced judgment on him. 7Then they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, put out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon.
8And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9He burned the house of the Lordand the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire. 10And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around.
11Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive the rest of the people who remained in the city and the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon, with the rest of the multitude. 12But the captain of the guard left some of the poor of the land as vinedressers and farmers. 13The bronze pillars that were in the house of the Lord, and the carts and the bronze Sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried their bronze to Babylon. 14They also took away the pots, the shovels, the trimmers, the spoons, and all the bronze utensils with which the priests ministered. 15The firepans and the basins, the things of solid gold and solid silver, the captain of the guard took away. 16The two pillars, one Sea, and the carts, which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these articles was beyond measure. 17The height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the capital on it was of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits, and the network and pomegranates all around the capital were all of bronze. The second pillar was the same, with a network.
18And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers. 19He also took out of the city an officer who had charge of the men of war, five men of the king’s close associates who were found in the city, the chief recruiting officer of the army, who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city. 20So Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, took these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive from its own land.
22Then he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left. 23Now when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Careah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men. 24And Gedaliah took an oath before them and their men, and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.”
25But it happened in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck and killed Gedaliah, the Jews, as well as the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26And all the people, small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary – 2 Kings 25:1-27
Jerusalem’s final siege (25:1–7)
25:1–3. In January 588 b.c. (in the 10th month of Zedekiah’s ninth year) Nebuchadnezzar again marched against and besieged Jerusalem. The siege was lifted briefly when Egypt attacked Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 37:5) but the Babylonians defeated Judah’s ally easily and resumed the siege. The Jerusalemites suffered the consequences of this extended siege: famine and fear.
25:4–7. Finally the Babylonians broke through the wall of Jerusalem. This was on July 16, 586 b.c., the fourth month of Zedekiah’s 11th year (vv. 2–3). The few remaining soldiers (cf. 24:16) fled by night through a gate in a section of the wall where it was double. They headed east toward the Arabah (the Jordan Valley) but were overtaken and captured near Jericho. Zedekiah fled the city with the soldiers (Jer. 39:4) and wasalso captured. He was taken to Nebuchadnezzar’s field headquarters at Riblah (cf. 2 Kings 23:33) on the Orontes River north of Damascus. (Nebuchadnezzar was also conducting campaigns against Tyre and other Judean cities according to the Lachish Letters [D. Winton Thomas, ed., Documents from Old Testament Times. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1958, pp. 212–7].) There Nebuchadnezzar killed Zedekiah’s sons(to cut off the heirs to the throne) before his eyes, blinded Zedekiah (to make further rebellion virtually impossible; cf. Ezek. 12:3), placed him in shackles, and transported him to Babylon (cf. Jer. 32:4; 34:1–3; 39).
- Judah under Babylonian government (25:8–30)
- jerusalem’s burning (25:8–12)
25:8–12. About four weeks after the breakthrough into the city (cf. vv. 3, 8) Nebuchadnezzar sent Nebuzaradan, commander of his imperial guard, to burn Jerusalem. This was on the 7th day of the fifth month of Nebuchadnezzar’s 19th year (August 16, 586 b.c.). However, Jeremiah 52:12 reads “the 10th day” (cf. comments there). This officer led his troops in burning down every important building in Jerusalem including the temple and the royal palace which had stood for almost four centuries. Then the whole … army proceeded to break down vast sections of the city wall so that the remaining inhabitants could not defend themselves against their Babylonian conquerors. Nebuzaradan also removed all but the poorest people, carrying the majority off to Babylon. Some of these captives had surrendered to the Babylonians but others had not. The remaining farmers were intended by Nebuchadnezzar to keep the land from growing completely wild.
- the temple’s destruction (25:13–17)
25:13–17. The Babylonians broke … the large bronze pillars and pieces of furniture in the temple area to make the bronze easier to transport. The smaller furnishings of bronze … gold, and silver were simply packed up and carted off to Babylon.
The two pillars on the temple porch were so huge that the amount of bronze in them could not be weighed (cf. 1 Kings 7:15–22; Jer. 52:20–23).
- the leader’s execution (25:18–21)
25:18–21. Seraiah, an ancestor of Ezra (Ezra 7:1), and other priests were taken captive to preclude their leading another revolt. For the same reason the chief officer and advisers were arrested. Nebuchadnezzar executed all 72 of these leaders at Riblah, his field headquarters (cf. 2 Kings 25:6).
- gedaliah’s murder (25:22–26)
25:22–24. Gedaliah was a descendant of Shaphan, Josiah’s secretary of state who had implemented that king’s reforms (22:3). Gedaliah was a friend of Jeremiah (Jer. 39:14) who followed that prophet’s counsel to cooperate with the Babylonians. Since Gedaliah assumed a pro-Babylonian stance Nebuchadnezzar appointed him governor of Judah. Gedaliah set up his headquarters at Mizpah (about eight miles north of Jerusalem) since Jerusalem lay in ruins. In Mizpah a party of pro-Egyptian leaders and their followers who had escaped execution by the Babylonians called on him. The governor tried to convince these men to remain in the land and serve Nebuchadnezzar for their own good.
25:25–26. Some time later, however, Ishmael … who was of royal descent and apparently wanted to govern Judah, conspired against Gedaliah and slew him (cf. Jer. 41:2). Gedaliah had been warned of this possibility but had refused to take it seriously (Jer. 40:13–16). Gedaliah’s associates were also slain. Fearing reprisals from Nebuchadnezzar, all the Judahites including the army officers who had failed to prevent this assassination fled to Egypt for safety, forcing Jeremiah to go with them (Jer. 41:1–43:7).
God in all His holiness is only your creator until you accept Him. After you accept Him, He becomes your God, your Father, your creator. He will cleanse you of your sins and accept you into the kingdom of His heaven and hear your prayers.
Love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul. Also, love your neighbor as you love yourself.
God is testing us every day and has given us the right to make our own choices. Do you know which ones are the right choices in God’s mind?
Fear God, love God, honor God, and trust God with all your heart, mind and soul and you will receive and experience the joy of the promises of God’s blessings in His time. And always remember to ask the Father for His help and guidance in all things.
Prayer: Father, blessed is your Holy name. We are grateful for Your Son our risen Christ and Your Spirit. We praise You for the opportunity to glorify Your Son and live with Him forever. We also praise you for the opportunity to be able to choose Jesus as our Lord and Savior and to be elect children of Yours. We praise you for the laws You have set down to teach us, to keep our lives in harmony, to learn how to treat others and how to live within your boundaries. Please bless those who have read this article for they too are seeking Your righteous truth, love, wisdom and understanding.
Father, I pray these brothers and sisters have or will come to realize that Your existence is a treasure of grace and love that You have for all Your elect children.
May God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and Christianity be our guiding lights for eternity. Let it be Your will Lord not mine. Please come Lord Jesus.
I pray in Jesus sweet name and to His glory through the power of The Holy Spirit,
Amen.
