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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>S E C O N D C H R O N I C L E S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXXVI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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We have here,
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I. A short but sad account of the utter ruin of Judah and Jerusalem
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within a few years after Josiah's death.
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1. The history of it in the unhappy reigns of Jehoahaz for three months
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:1-4">ver. 1-4</A>),
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Jehoiakim
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:5-8">ver. 5-8</A>)
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for eleven years, Jehoiach in three months
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:9,10">ver. 9, 10</A>),
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and Zedekiah eleven years,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:11">ver. 11</A>.
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Additions were made to the national guilt, and advances towards the
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national destruction, in each of those reigns. The destruction was, at
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length, completed in the slaughter of multitudes
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:17">ver. 17</A>),
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the plundering and burning of the temple and all the palaces, the
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desolation of the city
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:18,19">ver. 18, 19</A>),
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and the captivity of the people that remained,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:20">ver. 20</A>.
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2. Some remarks upon it--that herein sin was punished, Zedekiah's
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wickedness
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:12,13">ver. 12, 13</A>),
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the idolatry the people were guilty of
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:14">ver. 14</A>),
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and their abuse of God's prophets,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:15,16">ver. 15, 16</A>.
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The word of God was herein fulfilled,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:21">ver. 21</A>.
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II. The dawning of the day of their deliverance in Cyrus's
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proclamation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:22,23">ver. 22, 23</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Destruction of Jerusalem.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 588.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah,
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and made him king in his father's stead in Jerusalem.
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2 Jehoahaz <I>was</I> twenty and three years old when he began to
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reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
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3 And the king of Egypt put him down at Jerusalem, and
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condemned the land in a hundred talents of silver and a talent
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of gold.
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4 And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over
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Judah and Jerusalem, and turned his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho
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took Jehoahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt.
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5 Jehoiakim <I>was</I> twenty and five years old when he began to
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reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did <I>that
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which was</I> evil in the sight of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> his God.
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6 Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound
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him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.
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7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon.
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8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations
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which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, they <I>are</I>
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written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah: and
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Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.
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9 Jehoiachin <I>was</I> eight years old when he began to reign, and
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he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did
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<I>that which was</I> evil in the sight of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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10 And when the year was expired, king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and
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brought him to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the house of
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and
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Jerusalem.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The destruction of Judah and Jerusalem is here coming on by degrees.
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God so ordered it to show that he has no pleasure in the ruin of
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sinners, but had rather they would turn and live, and therefore gives
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them both time and inducement to repent and waits to be gracious. The
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history of these reigns was more largely recorded in the last three
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chapters of the second of <I>Kings.</I>
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1. Jehoahaz was set up by the people
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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but in one quarter of a year was deposed by Pharaoh-necho, and carried
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a prisoner to Egypt, and the land fined for setting him up,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:2-4"><I>v.</I> 2-4</A>.
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Of this young prince we hear no more. Had he trodden in the steps of
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his father's piety he might have reigned long and prospered; but we are
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told in the <I>Kings</I> that <I>he did evil in the sight of the
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Lord,</I> and therefore his triumphing was short and his joy but for a
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moment.
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2. Jehoiakim was set up by the king of Egypt, an old enemy to their
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land, gave what king he pleased to the kingdom and what name he pleased
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to the king!
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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He made Eliakim king, and called him <I>Jehoiakim,</I> in token of his
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authority over him. <I>Jehoiakim did that which was evil</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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nay, we read of the <I>abominations which he did</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>);
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he was very wild and wicked. Idolatries generally go under the name of
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abominations. We hear no more of the king of Egypt, but the king of
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Babylon came up against him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
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seized him, and bound him with a design to carry him to Babylon; but,
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it seems, he either changed his mind, and suffered him to reign as his
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vassal, or death released the prisoner before he was carried away.
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However the best and most valuable vessels of the temple were now
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carried away and made use of in Nebuchadnezzar's temple in Babylon
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>);
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for, we may suppose, no temple in the world was so richly furnished as
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that of Jerusalem. The sin of Judah was that they had brought the idols
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of the heathen into God's temple; and now their punishment was that the
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vessels of the temple were carried away to the service of the gods of
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the nations. If men will profane God's institutions by their sins, it
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is just with God to suffer them to be profaned by their enemies. These
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were the vessels which the false prophets flattered the people with
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hopes of the return of,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+27:16">Jer. xxvii. 16</A>.
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But Jeremiah told them that the rest should go after them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+27:21,22">Jer. xxvii. 21, 22</A>),
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and they did so. But, as the carrying away of these vessels to Babylon
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began the calamity of Jerusalem, so Belshazzar's daring profanation of
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them there filled the measure of the iniquity of Babylon; for, when he
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drank wine in them to the honour of his gods, the handwriting on the
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wall presented him with his doom,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+5:3-6">Dan. v. 3</A>,
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&c. In the reference to the book of the <I>Kings</I> concerning this
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Jehoiakim mention is made of <I>that which was found in him</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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which seems to be meant of the treachery that was found in him towards
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the king of Babylon; but some of the Jewish writers understand it of
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certain private marks or signatures found in his dead body, in honour
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of his idol, such cuttings as God had forbidden,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+19:28">Lev. xix. 28</A>.
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3. Jehoiachin, or Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, attempted to reign
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in his stead, and reigned long enough to show his evil inclination;
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but, after three months and ten days, the king of Babylon sent and
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fetched him away captive, with more of the goodly vessels of the
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temple. He is here said to be eight years old, but in <I>Kings</I> he
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is said to be eighteen when he began to reign, so that this seems to be
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a mistake of the transcriber, unless we suppose that his father took
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him at eight years old to join with him in the government, as some
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think.</P>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ch36_21"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>11 Zedekiah <I>was</I> one and twenty years old when he began to
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reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
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12 And he did <I>that which was</I> evil in the sight of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
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his God, <I>and</I> humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet
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<I>speaking</I> from the mouth of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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13 And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had
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made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened
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his heart from turning unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God of Israel.
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14 Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people,
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transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen;
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and polluted the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> which he had hallowed in
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Jerusalem.
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15 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God of their fathers sent to them by his
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messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had
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compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:
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16 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his
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words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
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arose against his people, till <I>there was</I> no remedy.
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17 Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who
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slew their young men with the sword in the house of their
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sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old
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man, or him that stooped for age: he gave <I>them</I> all into his
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hand.
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18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small,
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and the treasures of the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and the treasures of
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the king, and of his princes; all <I>these</I> he brought to Babylon.
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19 And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of
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Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and
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destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
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20 And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to
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Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the
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reign of the kingdom of Persia:
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21 To fulfil the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> by the mouth of Jeremiah,
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until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: <I>for</I> as long as she lay
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desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here an account of the destruction of the kingdom of Judah and
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the city of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. Abraham, God's friend, was
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called out of that country, from Ur of the Chaldees, when God took him
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into covenant and communion with himself; and now his degenerate seed
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were carried into that country again, to signify that they had
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forfeited all that kindness wherewith they had been regarded for the
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father's sake, and the benefit of that covenant into which he was
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called; all was now undone again. Here we have,</P>
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<P>
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I. The sins that brought this desolation.</P>
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<P>
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1. Zedekiah, the king in whose days it came, brought it upon himself by
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his own folly; for he conducted himself very ill both towards God and
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towards the king of Babylon.
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(1.) If he had but made God his friend, that would have prevented the
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ruin. Jeremiah brought him messages from God, which, if he had given
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due regard to them, might have secured a lengthening of his
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tranquillity; but it is here charged upon him that he <I>humbled not
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himself before Jeremiah,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
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It was expected that this mighty prince, high as he was, should humble
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himself before a poor prophet, when <I>he spoke from the mouth of the
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Lord,</I> should submit to his admonitions and be amended by them, to
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his counsels and be ruled by them, should lay himself under the
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commanding power of the word of God in his mouth; and, because he would
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not thus make himself a servant to God, he was made a slave to his
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enemies. God will find some way or other to humble those that will not
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humble themselves. Jeremiah, as a prophet, was set <I>over the nations
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and kingdoms</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+1:10">Jer. i. 10</A>),
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and, as mean a figure as he made, whoever would not humble themselves
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before him found that it was at their peril.
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(2.) If he had but been true to his covenant with the king of Babylon,
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that would have prevented his ruin; but he <I>rebelled against him,</I>
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though he had sworn to be his faithful tributary, and perfidiously
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violated his engagements to him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
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It was this that provoked the king of Babylon to deal so severely with
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him as he did. All nations looked upon an oath as a sacred thing, and
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on those that durst break through the obligations of it as the worst of
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men, abandoned of God and to be abhorred by all mankind. If therefore
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Zedekiah falsify his oath, <I>when, lo, he has given his hand,</I> he
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<I>shall not escape,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:18">Ezek. xvii. 18</A>.
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Though Nebuchadnezzar was a heathen, an enemy, yet if, having sworn to
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him, he be false to him, he shall know <I>there is a God to whom
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vengeance belongs.</I> The thing that ruined Zedekiah was not only that
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he <I>turned not to the Lord God of Israel,</I> but that he
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<I>stiffened his neck and hardened his heart from turning to him,</I>
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that is, he as obstinately resolved not to return to him, would not lay
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his neck under God's yoke nor his heart under the impressions of his
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word, and so, in effect, he <I>would not be healed,</I> he <I>would not
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live.</I></P>
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<P>
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2. The great sin that brought this destruction was idolatry. The
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priests and people went after <I>the abominations of the heathen,</I>
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forsook the pure worship of God for the lewd and filthy rites of the
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Pagan superstition, and so <I>polluted the house of the Lord,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
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The priests, the chief of the priests, who should have opposed
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idolatry, were ring-leaders in it. That place is not far from ruin in
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which religion is already ruined.</P>
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<P>
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3. The great aggravation of their sin, and that which filled the
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measure of it, was the abuse they gave to God's prophets, who were sent
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to call them to repentance,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:15,16"><I>v.</I> 15, 16</A>.
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Here we have,
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(1.) God's tender compassion towards them in sending prophets to them.
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Because he was the <I>God of their fathers,</I> in covenant with them,
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and whom they worshipped (though this degenerate race forsook him),
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therefore he <I>sent to them by his messengers,</I> to convince them of
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their sin and warn them of the ruin they would bring upon themselves by
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|
it, <I>rising up betimes and sending,</I> which denotes not only that
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he did it with the greatest care and concern imaginable, as men rise
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betimes to set their servants to work when their heart is upon their
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|
business, but that, upon their first deviation from God to idols, if
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they took but one step that way, God immediately sent to them by his
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|
messengers to reprove them for it. He gave them early timely notice
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both of their duty and danger. Let this quicken us to seek God early,
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that he rises betimes to send to us. The prophets that were sent rose
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|
betimes to speak to them, were diligent and faithful in their office,
|
|
lost no time, slipped no opportunity of dealing with them; and
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|
therefore God is said to rise betimes. The more pains ministers take
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|
in their work the more will the people have to answer for if it be all
|
|
in vain. The reason given why God by his prophets did thus strive with
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|
them is because <I>he had compassion on his people and on his
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|
dwelling-lace,</I> and would by these means have prevented their ruin.
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|
Note, The methods God takes to reclaim sinners by his word, by
|
|
ministers, by conscience, by providences, are all instances of his
|
|
compassion towards them and his unwillingness <I>that any should
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|
perish.</I>
|
|
|
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(2.) Their base and disingenuous carriage towards God
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|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
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|
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<I>They mocked the messengers of God</I> (which was a high affront to
|
|
him that sent them), <I>despised his word</I> in their mouths, and not
|
|
only so, but <I>misused the prophets,</I> treating them as their
|
|
enemies. The ill usage they gave Jeremiah who lived at this time, and
|
|
which we read much of in the book of his prophecy, is an instance of
|
|
this. This was an evidence of an implacable enmity to God, and an
|
|
invincible resolution to go on in their sins. This brought wrath upon
|
|
them without remedy, for it was sinning against the remedy. Nothing is
|
|
more provoking to God than abuses given to his faithful ministers; for
|
|
what is done against them he takes as done against himself. <I>Saul,
|
|
Saul, why persecutest thou me?</I> Persecution was the sin that brought
|
|
upon Jerusalem its final destruction by the Romans. See
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+23:34-37">Matt. xxiii. 34-37</A>.
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|
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|
Those that mock at God's faithful ministers, and do all they can to
|
|
render them despicable or odious, that vex and misuse them, to
|
|
discourage them and to keep others from hearkening to them, should be
|
|
reminded that a wrong done to an ambassador is construed as done to the
|
|
prince that sends him, and that the day is coming when they will find
|
|
it would have been better for them if they had been thrown <I>into the
|
|
sea</I> with a mill-stone about their necks; for hell is deeper and
|
|
more dreadful.</P>
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|
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<P>
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|
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|
II. The desolation itself, and some few of the particular so fit, which
|
|
we had more largely
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+25:1">2 Kings xxv. 1</A>.
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|
|
|
Multitudes were put to the sword, even <I>in the house of their
|
|
sanctuary</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
whither they fled for refuge, hoping that the holiness of the place
|
|
would be their protection. But how could they expect to find it so when
|
|
they themselves had polluted it with their abominations?
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that cast off the dominion of their religion forfeit all the
|
|
benefit and comfort of it. The Chaldeans not only paid no reverence to
|
|
the sanctuary, but showed no natural pity either to the tender sex or
|
|
to venerable age. They forsook God, who had compassion on them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
and would have none of him; justly therefore are they given up into the
|
|
hands of cruel men, for they <I>had no compassion on young man or
|
|
maiden.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. All the remaining vessels of the temple, great and small, and all
|
|
the treasures, sacred and secular, the treasures of God's house and of
|
|
the king and his princes, were seized, and brought to Babylon,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
3. The temple was burnt, the walls of Jerusalem were demolished, the
|
|
houses (called here the <I>palaces,</I> as
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+48:3">Ps. xlviii. 3</A>,
|
|
|
|
so stately, rich, and sumptuous were they) laid in ashes, and all the
|
|
furniture, called here <I>the goodly vessels thereof,</I> destroyed,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let us see where what woeful havock sin makes, and, as we value the
|
|
comfort and continuance of our estates, keep that worm from the root of
|
|
them.
|
|
|
|
4. The remainder of the people that escaped the sword were carried
|
|
captives to Babylon
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>),
|
|
|
|
impoverished, enslaved, insulted, and exposed to all the miseries, not
|
|
only of a strange and barbarous land, but of an enemy's land, where
|
|
those that hated them bore rule over them. They were servants to those
|
|
monarchs, and no doubt were ruled with rigour so long as that monarchy
|
|
lasted. Now they sat down by the rivers of Babylon, with the streams of
|
|
which they mingled their tears,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+137:1">Ps. cxxxvii. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
And though there, it should seem, they were cured of idolatry, yet, as
|
|
appears by the prophet Ezekiel, they were not cured of mocking the
|
|
prophets.
|
|
|
|
5. The land lay desolate while they were captives in Babylon,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
That fruitful land, the glory of all lands, was now turned into a
|
|
desert, not tilled, nor husbanded. The pastures were not clothed as
|
|
they used to be with flocks, nor the valleys with corn, but all lay
|
|
neglected. Now this may be considered,
|
|
|
|
(1.) As the just punishment of their former abuse of it. They had
|
|
served Baal with its fruits; <I>cursed</I> therefore <I>is the ground
|
|
for their sakes.</I> Now the land <I>enjoyed her sabbaths;</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>),
|
|
|
|
as God had threatened by Moses,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+26:34">Lev. xxvi. 34</A>,
|
|
|
|
and the reason there given
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:35"><I>v.</I> 35</A>)
|
|
|
|
is, "Because <I>it did not rest on your sabbaths;</I> you profaned the
|
|
sabbath-day, did not observe the sabbatical year." They many a time
|
|
ploughed and sowed their land in the seventh year, when it should have
|
|
rested, and now it lay unploughed and unsown for ten times seven years.
|
|
Note, God will be no loser in his glory at last by the disobedience of
|
|
men: if the tribute be not paid, he will distrain and recover it, as he
|
|
speaks,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+2:9">Hos. ii. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
If they would not let the land rest, God would make it rest whether
|
|
they would or no. Some think they had neglected the observance of
|
|
seventy sabbatical years in all, and just so many, by way of reprisal,
|
|
the land now enjoyed; or, if those that had been neglected were fewer,
|
|
it was fit that the law should be satisfied with interest. We find
|
|
that one of the quarrels God had with them at this time was for not
|
|
observing another law which related to the seventh year, and that was
|
|
the release of servants; see
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+34:14">Jer. xxxiv. 13</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Yet we may consider it as giving some encouragement to their hopes
|
|
that they should, in due time, return to it again. Had others come and
|
|
taken possession of it, they might have despaired of ever recovering
|
|
it; but, while it lay desolate, it did, as it were, lie waiting for
|
|
them again, and refuse to acknowledge any other owners.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="2Ch36_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ch36_23"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word
|
|
of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>spoken</I> by the mouth of Jeremiah might be
|
|
accomplished, the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of
|
|
Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom,
|
|
and <I>put it</I> also in writing, saying,
|
|
23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the
|
|
earth hath the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God of heaven given me; and he hath charged
|
|
me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which <I>is</I> in Judah. Who
|
|
<I>is there</I> among you of all his people? The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> his God <I>be</I>
|
|
with him, and let him go up.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
These last two verses of this book have a double aspect.
|
|
|
|
1. They look back to the prophecy of Jeremiah, and show how that was
|
|
accomplished,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
God had, by him, promised the restoring of the captives and the
|
|
rebuilding of Jerusalem, at the end of seventy years; and that time to
|
|
favour Sion, that set time, came at last. After a long and dark night
|
|
the day-spring from on high visited them. God will be found true to
|
|
every word he has spoken.
|
|
|
|
2. They look forward to the history of Ezra, which begins with the
|
|
repetition of
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:22,23,Ezr+1:1-3">these last two verses</A>.
|
|
|
|
They are there the introduction to a pleasant story; here they are the
|
|
conclusion of a very melancholy one; and so we learn from them that,
|
|
though God's church be cast down, it is not cast off, though his people
|
|
be corrected, they are not abandoned, though thrown into the furnace,
|
|
yet not lost there, nor left there any longer than till the dross be
|
|
separated. Though God contend long, he will not contend always. The
|
|
Israel of God shall be fetched out of Babylon in due time, and even the
|
|
dry bones made to live. It may be long first; but the vision is for an
|
|
appointed time, and at the end it shall speak and not lie; therefore,
|
|
though it tarry, wait for it.</P>
|
|
|
|
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