2 Kings 25:22 - Meaning and Application

In these verses, we see the scattering of the few people left behind. Jerusalem had been left in ruins, yet some people still remained in the land of Judah, and that was no small mercy at such a time, because their lives had been spared (Jeremiah 45:5). Now notice what a good position they were placed in. The king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah, one of their own people, to govern and protect them under his rule, and Gedaliah was a good man who would make the best of a bad situation (2 Kings 25:22). His father, Ahikam, had defended and protected Jeremiah when the leaders had planned to kill him (Jeremiah 26:24).

It is likely that Gedaliah had, on Jeremiah’s advice, gone over to the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, and had behaved so well that the king of Babylon trusted him with the government. He lived not in Jerusalem, but at Mizpah in the land of Benjamin, a place well known from Samuel’s time. People who had fled from Zedekiah came to him and placed themselves under his protection (2 Kings 25:23), and he promised safety if they would stay calm and peaceful under the rule of the king of Babylon (2 Kings 25:24). Though Gedaliah did not have the honor and power of a great king, he might have been a greater blessing to them than many of their own kings had been. Jeremiah was there too, and he seems to have acted like a trusted counselor in their affairs (Jeremiah 40:5-6).

But then came a fatal blow, only two months after Gedaliah began to govern. The Jews, for the present, were to be uprooted completely, because God had already determined it, and so it was useless for them to try to settle down again. The whole land had to be plucked up (Jeremiah 45:4). Yet this hopeful beginning was ruined, not by the Babylonians, but by some of their own people. The things that would have brought them peace were hidden from their eyes, so they did not know when things were going well, and would not believe it when they were told.

They had a good governor of their own, and they murdered him out of spite against the Babylonians, because he had been appointed by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:25). Ishmael, a man from David’s royal family, was jealous of Gedaliah’s rise and of the people’s peaceful life under him. Though he could not raise himself up, he chose instead to destroy Gedaliah, and he wickedly killed him and all his companions, both Jews and Chaldeans. Nebuchadnezzar himself could hardly have done more harm to their peace than this false branch of David’s house.

They were still living in their own land, yet they gave it up and went down to Egypt because they feared the Babylonians (2 Kings 25:26). The Babylonians had good reason to be angry over Gedaliah’s murder. Still, if those who remained had humbly explained that it was only Ishmael and his group who were guilty, we may suppose the innocent would not all have been punished. But instead, under the excuse of fear, and against Jeremiah’s counsel, they all went to Egypt. There, it is likely, they slowly mixed with the Egyptians and were never again known as Israelites. In this way, they brought complete ruin on themselves through their own folly and disobedience. Egypt got the last of them, and so the final warning was fulfilled, after all the others, that the Lord would bring them into Egypt again (Deuteronomy 28:68). Jeremiah gives a fuller account of these events in chapters 40 through 45. He saw these terrible things himself and bore a sad part in them.

Now we turn to the raising up of the captive prince. We hear no more of Zedekiah after he was taken blind to Babylon. It is likely he did not live long, but when he died he was probably buried with some honor (Jeremiah 34:5). As for Jehoiachin, also called Jeconiah, who had surrendered himself earlier (2 Kings 24:12), we are told here that when Evil-merodach became king after the death of his father Nebuchadnezzar, he released Jehoiachin from prison. Jehoiachin had been there for thirty-seven years, and he was now fifty-five years old. The king spoke kindly to him, gave him more honor than the other captive kings his father had kept in prison (2 Kings 25:28), gave him royal clothing instead of prison clothes, and let him live at the king’s own table and in the palace (2 Kings 25:29). He also gave him a regular allowance for himself and his family, enough to match his rank, with food for each day as long as he lived.

Think of this, first, as a very happy change in Jehoiachin’s condition. After so many years of prison and disgrace, to have honor and freedom again, and to enjoy the comfort of a royal court after long misery, was like morning returning after a dark and long night. No one should say they will never see good again just because they have seen little but trouble for a long time. The most miserable people do not know what kind turn Providence may still give their lives, or what comfort awaits them in line with the days they have suffered (Psalm 90:15). In the same way, the death of suffering believers brings a change like this one for Jehoiachin. It releases them from the prison of the body, takes off that prison garment, and opens the way to their advancement. It sends them to the throne and table of the King of kings, into the glorious freedom of God’s children.

Second, this was a generous act by Evil-merodach. He thought his father had made the burden of his captives too heavy, so with both human kindness and royal dignity he made it lighter. It seems that all the kings under his power were shown favor, but Jehoiachin was favored above them all. Some think this was because of the honor of his ancient family and his famous ancestors, David and Solomon. It is likely that none of the kings of the nations had descended from such a long line of kings in an unbroken male line as the king of Judah. The Jews say that Evil-merodach had himself been imprisoned by his father after his father recovered from madness, because of some failure during that time. They say that in prison he became friends with Jehoiachin, and that later, when he had the power, he showed him kindness as a fellow sufferer. Others suggest that Evil-merodach had learned the truth of religion from Daniel and his friends, and that this made him kindly disposed toward Jehoiachin.

Third, this was a kind providence from God, meant to encourage the Jews in captivity and to strengthen their faith and hope for future deliverance. This happened about midnight in their captivity. Thirty-six of the seventy years had passed, and almost as many years still remained. So when they saw their king lifted up like this, it would be a comforting promise to them that their own release would come in its proper time.

For the upright, light rises even in the dark, and that should encourage them to keep hoping, even in a cloudy and dark day, that at evening time it will be light. So when we are troubled and do not know what to do, we must not give in to despair.