Jehoiachin (Or Jeconiah, or Coniah): 2 Kings 24:7-17

From: Meditations on 2 Kings By: Henri L. Rossier

2 Kings 24:7‑17 • 8 min. read • grade level: 10

Jehoiachin, otherwise known as Coniah, continues in his father’s path. His mother was Nehusta, the daughter Elnathan of Jerusalem. It appears more and more evident that the mothers of these latter kings had themselves, like their sons, forgotten the Lord. In Coniah’s day, Nebuchadnezzar’s servants besieged Jerusalem. This great king himself then came to take part in the siege in person. Jehoiachin went out to him. He was carried captive to Babylon, along with his mother, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah: “As I live, saith Jehovah, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, were a signet upon my right hand, yet will I pluck thee thence; and I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them before whom thou art afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldens. And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bear thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die. And into the land whereunto they lift up their souls to return, thither shall they not return. Is this man Coniah a despised broken vase? a vessel wherein is no delight? Wherefore are they thrown out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of Jehovah! Thus said Jehovah: Write this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days; for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah” (Jer. 22:24-30²⁴As I live, saith the Lord, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence; ²⁵And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. ²⁶And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die. ²⁷But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return. ²⁸Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? ²⁹O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord. ³⁰Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah. (Jeremiah 22:24‑30)).

All the treasures of the king and those of the temple were carried away to the capital of the Chaldeans, and all the noble or able-bodied people, men of war, princes, and craftsmen were taken away captive (2 Kings 24:14-16¹⁴And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. ¹⁵And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. ¹⁶And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. (2 Kings 24:14‑16)).

This carrying away having been effected, Jeremiah in a vision sees two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord (Jer. 24), the only place where the true state of the people might be appreciated. One of these baskets was full of very good figs in God’s eyes, like figs that are first ripe; the other of very bad figs. That which men saw was exactly the opposite of that which God reveals to Jeremiah. To the world the good figs were the people remaining at Jerusalem under Zedekiah; to God’s heart they were those carried away from Judah. Their goodness rested upon the fact that they had submitted to Gods’ judgment due their iniquity. This same principle holds true for us, only thanks be to God, we have suffered our judgment in the person of Christ, condemned in our stead upon the cross. Once the sentence was executed, God could look down with favor upon those who had been its objects. “And I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up” (Jer. 24:6⁶For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. (Jeremiah 24:6)). He was able to establish them in His presence forever. They must be perfect for that, and it was in this character that the Lord viewed the poor captive remnant. It is the same for us: in virtue of Christ’s judgment God sees us perfect in Him, however wretched we may be in ourselves.

The Lord announces the restoration of the people. “I will bring them again to this land,” but at the same time He proclaims that in the future He would give them moral perfection before him, the result of a new covenant in which everything would come from Him. He alone is its author; it will be a covenant of grace, not of responsibility. “And I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am Jehovah; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto Me with their whole heart” (Jer. 24:7⁷And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. (Jeremiah 24:7)).

The “bad figs, which cannot be eaten for badness” (Jer. 24:8⁸And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the Lord, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt: (Jeremiah 24:8)), and with which God Himself could do nothing, were those who, not having undergone the first judgment under Jehoiachin, must undergo a second and this time final judgment. Whereas God declared that everything was lost, they, trusting in themselves, were boasting that they were the representatives of the people of God. The land of Egypt, type of the world under the dominion of Satan, suited them very well. Instead of accepting the judgment of God they revolted against Him, as we shall see in the history of Zedekiah.

In the midst of the ruin God opened a door of hope to the people. It was from among those who were carried away that God would raise up a remnant, nucleus of Israel of the future, over whom the king of righteousness, the Anointed of the Lord, would reign after all the sons of David had completely failed in their responsibility. The words of Jeremiah concerning the end of Jerusalem’s desolation were later to console and strengthen Daniel’s heart when the Babylonian captivity was about to reach its end (Dan. 9:1-3¹In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; ²In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. ³And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: (Daniel 9:1‑3)). We find these same words of consolation for people of the carrying away under Jehoiachin in Ezekiel: “And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, it is thy brethren, thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel, the whole of it, unto whom it inhabitants of Jerusalem say, Get you far from Jehovah: unto us is this land given for a possession. Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Although I have removed them far off among the nations, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries whither they are come. Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will even gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where ye are scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. And they shall come thither, and they shall take away from thence all its detestable things and all its abominations. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh; that they may walk in My statutes, and keep Mine ordinances, and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God” (Ezek. 11:14-20¹⁴Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, ¹⁵Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the Lord: unto us is this land given in possession. ¹⁶Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. ¹⁷Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. ¹⁸And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. ¹⁹And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: ²⁰That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 11:14‑20)).

Let us again mention with regard to Jehoiachin, an event related by Jeremiah (Jer. 28) which took place under Zedekiah. A prophet, and there were many of these in this period, Hananiah the son of Azzur, prophesied before Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. According to him, at the end of two years the yoke of the king of Babylon which Jeremiah was bearing on his neck before all the people as a sign was to be broken. At the end of two years the captives of Judah (those that had been carried away under Jehoiachin) were to be brought back to Jerusalem and the holy vessels restored to the house of the Lord. Thereupon he broke the yoke borne by the prophet. He did that which the princes had done who were counseling those who had been carried away not to build houses, in opposition to what Jeremiah had told them (Ezek 11:3). Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: The wooden yoke which Hananiah had broken was to become an iron yoke upon all the nations, and the false prophet was condemned to death because he had “spoken revolt against Jehovah” (Jer. 28:16¹⁶Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the Lord. (Jeremiah 28:16)). Two months after this prophecy God’s sentence was carried out.

This little scene shows us what the feelings of the people and of their leaders were, in the midst of God’s judgments. They did not accept these judgments and did not submit themselves to them. Their national pride would not stand this humbling; neither they nor their king would turn to God to seek His will.

Thus, all along we have had occasion to observe through the prophets that the hearts of the people were desperately evil, and that their state necessarily called for God’s judgment.

Just as it was necessary to accept the judgment, so it was necessary to bear it patiently until the end of the seventy years assigned it by the Lord. So Jeremiah wrote to those taken captive under Jeconiah (Jehoiachin): “Build houses, and dwell in them, and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. Take wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there, and be not diminished. And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray unto Jehovah for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace” (Jer. 29:5-7⁵Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; ⁶Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. ⁷And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. (Jeremiah 29:5‑7)). At the appointed time there was to be a restoration. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you in your latter end a hope” (Jer. 29:11¹¹For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. (Jeremiah 29:11)).

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