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CH 23: Josiah was so grateful that the Lord had seen his sincere humbleness and turned His wrath away from Judah, that the king instituted immediate religious reforms through-out Judah. His hearing of the Law was profound, and he wanted all the people to know the Law and give their whole hearts to God. The king also utterly destroyed all the pagan shrines and altars through-out Judah! Then he and the people celebrated Passover and there wasn't this kind of joyous celebration since the time of Judges (vs 22).
King Josiah was eventually killed in battle against Egypt and the people anointed his son, Jehoahaz (23 yrs old) to be the next king. He only reigned 3 months and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. The same king of Egypt (Pharoah Neco) who had killed his father, put Jehoahaz in prison to prevent him from ruling Jerusalem. Pharoah Neco put Eliakim, another of Josaih's son, to rule instead and demanded Judah pay 7,500 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold. Pharoah Neco also changed Eliakim's name to Jehoaikim, and his brother who was no longer the king (Jehoahaz) died a prisoner in Egypt. The new king, Jehoaikim, reigned 11 yrs, and he also did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
CH 24: During king Jehoaikim's reign, king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonian, invaded the land of Judah. And though Jehoaikim paid the demanded tribute for 3 yrs, he eventually rebelled against this invasion and Judah was completely destroyed, just as the prophets had predicted years ago during his father's reign (Josiah). When Jehoaikim died, his son Jehoaichin became king (he was 18 yrs old), only reigned 3 months, and also did evil in the sight of the Lord. During his brief reign, king Nebuchadnezzar took over Jerusalem and the king and the royal family surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar. He took all the elite of Jerusalem to Babylon as captives, 10,000 people in all. Only the poorest of the people were left in the land. Then Nebuchadnezzar put Mattaniah (Jehoiachin's uncle) as the next king of Jerusalem, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
Zedekiah was 21 yrs old when he became king and reigned in Jerusalem for 11 yrs, and he eventually also did rebel against Nebuchadnezzar.
CH 25: So, on January 15, during the 9th year of Zedekiah's reign, king Nebuchadnezzar and his entire army went and put Jerusalem under total siege. This went on for 2 yrs and in Zedekiah's 11th yr of reign on July 18th, famine was at it's worse and the last of the food was entirely gone. A part of Jerusalem's city wall got broken down and the soldiers fled, leaving Jerusalem unprotected. At nightfall, king Zedekiah also tried to flee but the Babylonian troops caught him on the plains of Jericho for his men had all deserted him at this point. They took the king to Nebuchadnezzar (who was in Riblah at the time) and made him watch all his sons get killed, then they took out his eyes and led him away to Babylon.
On August 14 of the same year (the 19th yr of Nebuchadnezzar's reign in 586 BC), his son who was the captain of the guard in Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem and burned down the Temple of the Lord, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings in Jerusalem. He then took the rest of the people who were left there as exiles, and also the defectors who had pledged their allegiance to the king of Babylon. Only the very, very poorest were left to tend the vineyards and fields. (Please see map above).
THIS IS THE CONCLUSION OF THE KINGS AND THE HISTORICAL ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HEBREW PEOPLE, GOD'S PEOPLE, EVENTUALLY KNOWN TO US NOW, AS THE JEWS OF ISRAEL (RE-ESTABLISHED IN 1948). history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/creation-israel
TO READ MORE IN DETAIL OF THESE HISTORICAL EVENTS FROM THE PAGES OF KINGS, PLEASE READ 1st & 2nd CHRONICLES, AS THEY GIVE MORE IN DEPTH DETAILS OF 1st & 2nd KINGS.
ALSO, READ HOW THE PROPHETS OF ISRAEL MANAGED TO HELP CONTINUE THE LINE OF THE HEBREW PEOPLE THROUGH GOD'S DIRECT GUIDANCE, AND HOW THEY EVENTUALLY WERE ABLE TO RE-ESTABLISH THEMSELVES BACK INTO THEIR LAND- EVEN UNDER OTHER KING'S REIGNS FROM OTHER LANDS.
P.S. HERE IS A GOOD VIDEO TO HELP EXPLORE MORE HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF THE JEWS & ISRAEL: jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/video/the-jewish-connection-to-israel/?gclid=CjwKCAiA0IXQBRA2EiwAMODil796kF6m4e4kahGqE51E6lPMvXq429ZBuW2oPDSyKyFLID57kxKqbRoCWawQAvD_BwE
THIS HAS BEEN AN HONOR AND A PRIVILEGE TO WALK THROUGH THE OLD TESTAMENT WITH YOU. GOD'S BLESSINGS TO INSIGHT AND FURTHER STUDY OF HIS WORD THROUGH-OUT YOUR LIFE TIME, IN THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS HIS SON, I PRAY FOR YOU, AMEN.
WITH LOVE,
DALILA