Whom Jehovah will raise
2 Kings 23:34-24:634And Pharaoh-nechoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father, and turned his name to Jehoiakim, and took Jehoahaz away: and he came to Egypt, and died there. 35And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh: he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every one according to his taxation, to give it unto Pharaoh-nechoh. 36Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 1In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him. 2And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servants the prophets. 3Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did; 4And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the Lord would not pardon. 5Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 6So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. (2 Kings 23:34‑24:6); 2 Chron. 36:5-85Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. 6Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon. 7Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. 8Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. (2 Chronicles 36:5‑8)
Contemporary Prophets: Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Ezekiel
Jehoiakim was a most unlovely character—treacherous, ful, and blood-thirsty. He was several years Jehoahaz’ senior, and was not born of the same mother. “And his mother’s name was Zebudah [‘gainfulness], the daughter of Pedaiah of Ramah.” The mother’s name was a good prediction of her son’s behavior. He taxed the land to get the money demanded by Pharaoh: “he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every one according to his taxation, to give unto Pharaoh-Necho.” Having been slighted by the people in their choice of his younger half brother, he would make no effort to ease the people’s burdens, but rather increase them. He was in no way under obligations to them; and having behind him the power of Egypt, he had little to fear from them (see 2 Kings 23:34-3534And Pharaoh-nechoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father, and turned his name to Jehoiakim, and took Jehoahaz away: and he came to Egypt, and died there. 35And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh: he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every one according to his taxation, to give it unto Pharaoh-nechoh. (2 Kings 23:34‑35)).
His wickedness is depicted figuratively in Ezek. 19:5-75Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion. 6And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men. 7And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring. (Ezekiel 19:5‑7). He too, like his deposed predecessor, “became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men. And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fullness thereof, by the noise of his roaring.” His violence and rapacity are graphically represented here.
In the fifth year of his reign a fast was proclaimed among his subjects (the king seems to have had no part in it), and Baruch, Jeremiah’s assistant, read in the ears of all the people the message of God to them from a book. Informants told the king what was being done, and he ordered the book brought and read before him.
Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him. And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife [Hebrew: “scribe’s knife”], and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words (Jer. 36:22-2422Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him. 23And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. 24Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words. (Jeremiah 36:22‑24)).
It was an act of daring impiety, especially for a Jew who was taught to look upon all sacred writing with greatest reverence. But Jehoiakim was fast hardening himself past all feeling, and no qualms of conscience are perceptible over his sacrilegious act. Jeremiah sent him a personal and verbal message, more awful than any king ever heard.
And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast? Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity (29-31).
He also attempted to put Urijah the prophet to death because he prophesied against Jerusalem and the land. The prophet fled to Egypt, but Jehoiakim sent and fetched him, and “slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people” (Jer. 26:2323And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. (Jeremiah 26:23)). His bitter hatred of God and His truth vented itself even on the body of His slaughtered servant, denying it the right of burial among the sepulchers of the prophets. In just retribution God repaid him in kind for his murder and insult. “Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah: They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! [as in family mourning] they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory! [public mourning] He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem” (Jer. 22:18-1918Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory! 19He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem. (Jeremiah 22:18‑19)). And so it happened to him: Nebuchadnezzar defeated and drove out of Asia Jehoiakim’s master, Necho (see 2 Kings 24:77And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt. (2 Kings 24:7)). “In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him” (2 Kings 24:11In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him. (2 Kings 24:1)). And though Nebuchadnezzar could not immediately punish him, his punishment came from another quarter. “The LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servants the prophets.”
Scripture (historically) is silent regarding his end. 2 Chron. 36:66Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon. (2 Chronicles 36:6) states that Nebuchadnezzar “bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.” It does not say he was taken there. He may have been released after promising subjection to his conqueror. But even if it could be proven that he was actually carried to Babylon, it would in no wise contradict what is recorded in 2 Kings 24:66So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. (2 Kings 24:6) (“So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers”). He might easily have returned to Jerusalem, as other Jewish captives at a later date did. And though there is no historical record in Scripture concerning his death, this does not prove that the prophecies of Jeremiah concerning his end were not fulfilled to the letter. We do not really need the history of it, for prophecy in Scripture is only prewritten history—the advance sheets, we might say. It is enough to know what God had foretold concerning it; the fulfillment is certain. Josephus stated that Nebuchadnezzar finally came and slew Jehoiakim, “whom he commanded to be thrown before the walls, without any burial” (Antiquities 10.6.3). “So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers” simply expresses his death; it is a distinct expression in Scripture from “buried with his fathers,” as a comparison of 2 Kings 15:3838And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead. (2 Kings 15:38) and 16:20 will readily show. So the king who denied the prophet’s body honorable burial was himself “buried with the burial of an ass.” He mutilated and burnt God’s book, and his body was in turn torn and burnt unburied in the scorching sun.
His wicked life was a sad contrast to that of his righteous father. Jeremiah asked, “Did not thy father eat and drink [lived plainly], and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD” (Jer. 22:15-1615Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? 16He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 22:15‑16)). Necho changed his name, but could not change his nature.
His name, like that of his brother, is omitted from the royal genealogy of Matt. 1. “His uncleanness and iniquity” are mentioned in the Apocrypha (1 Esdras 1:42). During his reign (when Nebuchadnezzar took the kingdom) the times of the Gentiles began. And until they are fulfilled, Jerusalem “shall be trodden under foot,” even as it is this day.